Alat (a.k.a. Ala-at, Ala, Alachin, Alagchin, Alchin, Alchi, Alayontli, Ulayundluğ (اُوﻻيُنْدْلُغْ) ("piebald horse", pinto); Boma 駁馬 or
Alats were possibly identical to Luandi[5] or Xueyantuo;[6] or Khalajes,[7][8] a Central Asian people known to medieval Arab and Persian Muslim geographers and in Bactrian inscriptions,[9]
Literature on Alats is very rich; Alats were a subject of study by Tangshu, Jiu Tangshu, Tang Huiyao, N.Ya. Bichurin, S.E. Malov, N.A. Aristov, Grigory Grum-Grshimailo, Yu. Nemeth, G. Hоworth, P. Pelliot, L. Hambis, and others.
Name
editIn ancient Turkic lexicon, the meaning of "skewbald" (horse) is expressed with the terms "ala" or "alagchin" still active now in composite expressions. Tang Huiyao mentioned, right after the Ashina tribe, a tribe named Geluozhi[ya] (
Chinese transcribers also preserved many similar titles, individual and tribal names in Xianbei society, where horses were held in high esteem:
- tribal name Helan (
賀 蘭 ); - individual names: such as Xiongnu Shanyu Helaitou (
賀 賴 頭 ); Tuyuhun prince Helutou (賀 虜 頭 ); Tiefu Xiongnu chief Liuhu's second son Eloutou (閼陋頭 ); Northern Wei general Gao Huan's Xianbei name Heliuhun (賀 六 渾), Aliutou (阿 六 頭 ), Heliutou (賀 六 頭 ); - the title Helazhen
賀 剌真 (recorded in Nanqishu) of bodyguards (三郎 sānlāng) serving Northern Wei emperors in the 5th century.
According to Peter A. Boodberg the title Helazhen transcribes "undoubtedly *atlačin 'horseman' from Tk. atla 'to mount a horse'", thus "a purely Turkish form in T'o-pa". All of those foresaid names & titles are traceable back to Turkic or Turco-Mongol *atlan "to ride" < *at- "horse", whereas *ala- *alaɣ-, or *alutu means "variegated", "dappled", or "piebald", thus describing the preferred coat-color(s) of nomadic northerners' warhorses.[14]
The ethnonym Alat might have been transcribed as Khalaj or Qalaj in Persian, Arabic and Bactrian sources, corresponding to 訶(
Tongdian glossed Helan as simply "horse" in Old Turkic[15] and Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties glossed Helan as "piebald horse",[16]
Physical Appearance
editThe New Book of Tang described the facial appearance of Alats, called Boma ~ Bila ~ Elouzhi, as resembling Kyrghyzes'.[17] 9th-century author Duan Chengshi described the Kyrgyz tribe (Jiankun buluo
History
editSouthern Xiongnu in China
editFang Xuanling, in Jinshu, (Ch. 110) states that around 349-370 CE the Xiongnu leader, titled Chanyu, Hèlàitóu (
According to the Chinese annals, the home of the Southern Xiongnu tribe Alat was either Alashan Mountains[22][23] or the basin of the Narym River.
Alat as a component tribe
editAlats integrated themselves into the Xianbei confederation.[24] The Tuoba-Xianbei-founded Northern Wei dynasty's Eight Great Noble Clans (
Al-Khwarizmi asserted that Khalajes were one of the two remnant tribes of the Hephthalites.[25][26] Even so, modern Khalaj have no idea about their origins, and Sims-Williams cited Bactrian documents which dated from the years 678 and 710 and named a Khalaj people, thus these new archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that Khalajes were the Hephthalites' successors.[27] According to Minorsky, Khalajes were "perhaps only politically associated with the Hephthalites."[28]
Middle Ages
editJiu Tangshu & Tongdian mentioned a tribe of "skewbald horses" Boma, besides Basmyls, Kyrghyzes, Khwarazmians etc., who in 638, submitted to the Western Turkic Duolu Qaghan. Tongdian cites as a comment a fragment from an unknown composition that "Tujue call the skewbald horses Hélà (曷剌) (MC: *ɦɑt̚-lɑt̚), and the state is also called Hela (曷剌
"They are north from the Tujue, 14,000 li from the Chinese capital. They follow grass and water, but mostly live in the mountains. Their standing army is 30,000 men. There is always snow, and foliage does not fall down. They plough fields with horses. All horses are skewbald colors, therefore the state is also given the same name. They live in the north near a sea. Though they have horses, they do not ride them, but use their milk for food. They are frequently at war with Kirgizes".
Jin Tangshu also noted that Alats and Kyrgyzes spoke mutually unintelligible languages.[33]
From the story of Abulgazi and description of two Mongolian embassies (in 1233 and 1254) to Alachins, they lived along Yenisei, the sources of Angara, and the east coast of lake Baikal, called by the Chinese chroniclers "Northern sea". Based on annalistic traditions, the author of the "Family tree of Türks" Abulgazi described the country of skewbald horses:
- "A multitude of Tatar tribes coached along the banks of the Angara-muren, which runs east of the Kirgiz country and runs into the sea. On the seacoast at the estuary of this river is a large city surrounded by settlements where live nomadic tribes in large numbers. Their horses are large... All of them are skewbald in hue, there are no others. Near that city called Alakchin was a silver spring, therefore all caldrons, dishes, and vases were from silver. It is that country that the Uzbeks mean when say: "there is a country where all horses are skewbald, and the stoves are from gold".[12]
The Khaljī tribe had long been settled in Afghanistan.[34] A Khalji dynasty of Turkic Khalaj origin ruled large parts of South Asia from 1290 to 1320, they were the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate of India, they are noted in history for repeatedly defeating the warring Mongols and thereby saving India from plundering raids and attacks.[35]
Modern time
editAfter the Russian revolution in 1917, Alats (Kazakh: Alaş), named after a legendary founder of the Kazakh people, headed a movement of the Turkestan peoples for independence, and created a functioning state of the Kazakh people known as Alash Autonomy that operated between December 13, 1917, and August 26, 1920, controlling roughly the territory of the present-day Republic of Kazakhstan, with a capital in Alash-qala (modern Semey). The Alash leaders in December 1917 proclaimed establishment of Alash Orda, a Kazakh government, aligned with the Russian White Army and fought against the Bolsheviks.
In 1919, when the White forces were losing, Alash Autonomous government began negotiations with the Bolsheviks. In 1919–20 Bolsheviks defeated the White Russian forces in the region and occupied Kazakhstan. On August 26, 1920, the new Soviet government disbanded the Alash Autonomy, and established the "Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic", later the name was changed in 1925 to "Kazak Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic" and changed again in 1936 to "Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic". However, the movement for independence continued, and it continued until 1925, when the war for independence was finally extinguished
Modern demographics
editThe historical Alats' descendants now live in China, Russia in the Altai, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, the Caucasus, eastern section of the Iranian plateau; as well as possibly Turkmenistan, India, and Afghanistan, if Alats were indeed the Khalajes known in Bactrian inscriptions and to medieval Arab and Persians geographers.
Alat tribe members who migrated to China changed their surname to Hè (trad.
Alats are also the main ethnic component in the Kazakh Junior-Kishi Zhuz and constitute parts of Uzbeks. Further west, Alats constitute one Oghuz Turkish tribe, Alayuntlu in Turkish and Alayuntluq in Azeri, which means "with spotted horses". Alanyuntlu's descendants live in Central Turkey.[citation needed] Alayundluq participated in the ethnogenesis of Azeris, as Alayuntluq tamgas have been found in historical residences of Azeris in Georgia, Armenia, and the modern Republic of Azerbaijan.[37]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Golden, Peter B. An Introduction to the History of Turkic Peoples. (1992) p. 142
- ^ Tongdian vol. 200: "拔悉彌
一 名 弊 剌國,隋 時 聞焉" tr. "Basmyls, another name is Bila state, known in Sui time then." - ^ Moriyasu, Takao (1977) "A propos des tribus de l'Asie Centrale qui se trouvent dans les sources tibétaines: DRU-GU et HOR" in Journal of Asian and African Studies No. 14. p. 8. (in French and Japanese)
- ^ Venturi, Federica (2008). "An Old Tibetan document on the Uighurs: A new translation and interpretation". Journal of Asian History. 1 (42): p. 31 of pp. 1-35
- ^ Wei, Lanhai; Li, Hui. "About the names of Chanyu family and branch tribes of Xiongnu".
- ^ Wen-sheng, Bao (2010). "Name and Origin of Xueyantuo Tribe". Journal of Inner Mongolia University. S2CID 163563213.
- ^ a b Moriyasu, T (1977). "À propos des tribus de l'Asie Centrale qui se trouve dans les sources tibétaines: DRU-GU et HOR". Journal of Asian and African Study (14): 28–30.
- ^ a b Inaba, Minoru. "The Identity of the Turkish Rulers to the South of Hindukush from the 7th to the 9th Centuries A.D.". Zinbun (38): 1–16.
- ^ Sims-Williams (2005). Some Bactrian Seal-Inscriptions // Afghanistan, ancien carrefour entre l’est et l’ouest, ed. O. Bopearachchi and M.-F. Boussac, pp. 335–46
- ^ Zuev Yu.A., "Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuiyao" of the 8th to 10th centuries)", Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, pp. 124, 132 (in Russian).
- ^ Ouyang Xiu, Song Qi et al. Xintangshu. vol. 217-lower. "
又 有 駁馬者 ,或 曰弊剌,曰遏羅 支 " tr. "There are also Piebald Horse-folk; called either Bila or Eluozhi" - ^ a b c d Zuev Yu.A., "Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms", p. 132
- ^ Zuev, Yu. "Xueyantuo Khaganate and Kimeks: Turkic ethnogeography of the Central Asia in the middle of 7th century" Shygys, No 1, pp. 11-21, No 2, pp. 3-26 (2004) Oriental Studies Institute, Almaty
- ^ a b Mueller, Shing. "Horses of the Xianbei: 300-600 AD A Brief Survey", in Pferde in Asien: Geschichte, Handel, und Kultur, (2009). p. 189-190
- ^ Du You. Tongdian Vol. 197 "
謂 馬 為 賀 蘭 " tr. "[Tujue] call horse(s) Helan" - ^ Li Jifu et al. Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties (vol. 4) "
北 人 呼 駮馬 為 賀 蘭 " tr. "Northerners call piebald horses Helan." - ^ Xin Tangshu, "vol. 217b" txt: "
又 有 駁馬者 ,或 曰弊剌,曰遏羅 支 ,...人 貌多似 結 骨 ,而語不 相 通 。" tr: "There are also Piebald-Horse folk, also called either Bila or Eluozhi [...]. [Those] peoples' faces much resemble Kyrghyzes', yet the languages are not mutually intelligible." - ^ Youyang Zazu "vol. 4" txt: "
堅 昆 部落 [...] 其人髮 黃 ,目 綠 ,赤 髭 髯 " - ^ Xin Tangshu, "vol. 217b", txt: " [...]
人 皆 長大 ,赤 髮 、皙面、綠 瞳 " - ^ Xin Tangshu, "vol. 217b", txt: "以黑
髮 為 不祥 。黑 瞳 者 ,必曰陵 苗裔 也" - ^ Fang Xuanling, "Jin Shu", Series "Bo-na", Peking, 1958, Ch. 97. p. 66b, l. 11b
- ^ Li Jifu Yuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties vol. 4
- ^ Yue Shi. Universal Geography of the Taiping Era [976-983] (vol 36.)
- ^ Yue Shi. Taiping Huanyu Ji (vol 36.): "
賀 蘭 ,鮮卑之 類 " Tr. "Helan, a kind of Xianbei" - ^ Inaba, Minoru. "The Identity of the Turkish Rulers to the South of Hindukush from the 7th to the 9th Centuries A.D." (2006). Zinbun, 38: 1-19. p. 15-16
- ^ Kurbanov A.D., "Hephthalites: (essays on history)", St. Petersburg, European House, 2006, ISBN 5-8015-0203-3; PhD thesis [1]
- ^ Bonasli, Sonel (2016). "The Khalaj and their language". Endangered Turkic Languages II A. Aralık: 273–275.
- ^ Minorsky, V. "The Khalaj West of the Oxus [excerpts from "The Turkish Dialect of the Khalaj", Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London, Vol 10, No 2, pp 417–437]". Khyber.ORG. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2007-01-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Du You. Tongdian. Vol. 200. "突厥
謂 駮馬 為 曷剌,亦 名 曷剌國 。" - ^ Old Book of Tang vol 194 lower
- ^ Tongdian vol. 199 "
自 厥越失 、拔悉彌 、駮馬 、結 骨 、火 燖、觸 木 昆 諸國 皆 臣 之 " tr. "On their own, many states such as Jueyueshi, Basmyls, Boma, Kirghizes, Khwarazmians, and Chumukun, etc. all submitted to him." - ^ Kenzheakhmet, Nurlan (2014). ""Ethnonyms and Toponyms" of the Old Turkic Inscriptions in Chinese sources". Studia et Documenta Turcologica. II: 296, 304.
- ^ Xin Tangshu "vol. 217b" txt: "而語
不 相 通 。" - ^ Khalji Dynasty. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2010. 23 August 2010.
- ^ Barua, Pradeep (2005). The state at war in South Asia. Vol. illustrated. U of Nebraska Press. p. 29 of 437. ISBN 978-0-8032-1344-9. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Book of Wei vol. 113 "
賀 賴 氏 ,後 改 為 賀 氏 。" - ^ Ibrahimov, T. (2019) Traces of the Oghuz Tribe Ulayundlug/Ala Yundlu (Ala Atly - with pinto horses) in Azerbaijan