The
Cumans, also known as "Polovtsians", were a
Turkicnomadic people comprising the western branch of the
Cuman–Kipchak confederation. Their homeland covered parts of present-day southern Russia and neighbouring countries, in the 10th to 13th century.[1][2][3]: 116
Khan
Boniak/Bonyak/Boniek/Bongek/Maniak. Boniak was a khan during the time of Sharukan. He was called "the Mangy" by Russians. He led invasions, together with Togortac, on Kievan Rus’ in 1096, 1097, 1105, and 1107. In 1096 Boniak attacked Kiev, burned down the princely palace in Berestove, and plundered the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. In 1107 he was defeated by the Kievan Rus’ princes' forces near Lubny. He led the invasions, together with Togortac, on Kievan Rus. He is mentioned for the last time in the Primary Chronicle in 1167, when he was defeated by Prince Oleg I of Chernigov. Boniak is often represented as a sorcerer in Rus' folklore.[4]
Taz (meaning 'bald'), brother of Boniak. He perished at the battle on the
Sula River, along with Sugr.[5]
Khan
Köten Sutoiovych (Kuthen/Kotian/Kotony/Zayhan or Jonas), son of Khan Konchek.[6] He is
Mstislav Mstislavich's father-in-law. Köten was of the Terteroba clan. He participated in the power struggles between the princes of Kievan Rus' in 1202, 1225 and 1228. After the defeat by the Mongols in 1222, he convinced the princes of Kievan Rus' to forge an alliance against the
Mongols. He fought in the war against the Mongols (allied with the Russians) in the
Battle of Kalka River, where the Rus'-Cuman alliance was defeated. In 1238 he was again defeated by Batu Khan on the Astrakhan steppes.[7] Afterwards, Koten led 40,000 "huts" (families) (around 70 - 80,000 people) to Hungary (to escape from the Mongols), where he was later assassinated. The Cumans then left Hungary, pillaging along the way and migrated to the
Second Bulgarian Empire. Some of the Cumans were later asked to come back to Hungary and help rebuild it after Mongol devastation. He was possibly the most notable of Cumans (together with Baibars). Koten was from the
Terteroba clan that ruled
Cumania in the late 11th century, as well as in the mid-13th century.[8]
Khan Koten's daughter, married
Mstislav Mstislavich, Prince of Halych (r. 1219–1228).
Khan Koten's second daughter, married
Narjot de Toucy. After her husband died, she became a nun.
Khan Konchak (Konchek, Kumcheg - meaning 'trousers') Otrakovich, his daughter married Igor's son, prince
Vladimir III Igorevich of Putivl. He was involved in wars and raids with the Russians (Prince Igor), along the Ros River, where the Cumans attacked towns belonging to the Olgovichi (the ruling dynasty of Chernigov). He defeated
Igor Svyatoslavich, prince of the
Principality of Novgorod-Seversk, the tale of which is immortalized in the Rus' epic
The Tale of Igor's Campaign. He united the western and eastern Cuman-Kipchak tribes.[9]
Yuri, son of Khan Konchek. His name may indicate his conversion to Christianity.[10]
Khan Kobyak/Kobiak/Kopyak/Köpek ("dog" in Turkish), one of the leaders of Crimea.[11] He was involved in wars and raids against Prince Igor, along the Ros River, where the Cumans attacked towns belonging to the Olgovichi (the ruling dynasty of Chernigov). He also participated with Khan Konchak in an assault on Kievan Rus’. Kobiak, Khan Konchak and other notable were routed and captured on the Khorol River in 1183/1184. He had an alliance with Igor in his feud with the son of Rostislav I.[12][11]
Chilbuk: chieftain, captured Igor of Novgorod-Seversk[11]
Roman, son of Kza, chieftain, captured Vsevolod of Kursk.[11]
Khan Gzak/Gza/Kza/Koza, chieftain, father of Roman. Khan Gzak was a rival of Khan Konchek.He attacked
Putyvl where Prince
Igor Svyatoslavich's army is destroyed; the prince gets wounded and captured with his son and brother. This tale is immortalized in the Rus' epic
The Tale of Igor's Campaign and in
Alexander Borodin's opera
Prince Igor.[12]
Eldechyuk: chieftain, captured Svyatoslav of Rilsk.[11]
Toksobich, Kolobich, Etebich, Tetrobich - Russian versions of Cuman-Kipchak chieftains captured in battle, may be any of the above forementioned or other individuals entirely. The Cuman-Kipchak base name would most likely be the equivalent of - Toks(o), Kolo, Ete, Tetr(o).[14]
Lavor/Ovlur/Vlur, possibly a kinsman, aided Igor in his escape.[15]
Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan, (Cuman-Kipchak base name Sharu/Sharo), chieftain, Konchak's grandfather, who had been defeated by the Russians in a great battle on the Sula River in 1107. Called "the Old" by Russians.[16]
Khan Ayepa, son of Osen, father in law of
Yuri Dolgorukiy (a Russian Rurikid prince and founder of Moscow). His daughter married
Yuri Dolgorukiy. Khan Ayepa attacked
Volga Bulgaria, perhaps due to an instigation of his son in law. The
Bulgars in turn poisoned Ayepa and the other princes, all of which died.[17]
Prince Andrei I of Vladimir (
Andrey Bogolyubsky). He was the son of Yuri Dolgoruki, who proclaimed Andrei a prince in Vyshhorod (near Kiev). His mother was a Polovtsian/Cuman princess, khan Aepa's/Ayepa's daughter. Andrey is beatified as a saint in Russian Orthodox Church. He was known in the West as Scythian Caesar.
Toglyy: Cuman chieftain during time of Igor's imprisonment.[18]
Sokal, Cuman chieftain who obtained a major victory against Rus' in 1061.[19]
Kutesk, headed the Cuman (Or rather Pecheneg) attack on Hungary in 1085-1086, coming into Hungary by a north-east route, possibly via Verecke pass.[20] He may be synonymous with the Hungarian version of Cselgü.
Boricius, Cuman chieftain in Hungary, of the 4th rank of Cuman political hierarchy.[21]
Jiajak Jaqeli, empress consort of Alexios II of Trebizond. Jiajak (meaning 'flower') was daughter of Beka I, the Cuman
atabeg of Samtskhe. The Jaqelis held the Georgian feudal office of Eristavi, which could be "governor of a region" or an "army-commander".
Etrek/
Otrok/Atraka, son of Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan. Otrok withdrew to the north Caucasian steppes due to the aggressive policies of
Vladimir II Monomakh, grand prince of
Kievan Rus'. Thereafter, in 1118, 40,000 Cuman troops under Otrok entered the service of the Georgian king
David IV of Georgia, where they helped to make Georgia the most powerful kingdom in the region.[10][22]
Princess Gurandukht, daughter of Khan
Otrok of the Cumans. She married king
David IV of Georgia in 1107. The marriage occurred years before the recruitment of around 40,000 Cuman-Kipchaks in the Georgian service. Gurandukht is a Persian name; her original Turkic name is unknown as are the details of her life. The chronicler of king David IV praises Gurandukht's virtues and points out that the marriage helped David to secure the transfer of the Cuman-Kipchak families as allies of the Georgian crown, which in turn helped to make Georgia the most powerful kingdom in the region.
Vakhtang, born in 1118, son of King
David IV of Georgia and the Cuman princess Gurandukht, daughter of Khan
Otrok. He was involved in an attempted coup against
Demetrius I of Georgia, his brother and heir apparent. Vakhtang was captured, blinded and cast in prison where he apparently died shortly afterwards.
Eltut, brother to Konchak/Konchek, died when the Chernigovian-Cuman army was defeated in 1180.[18]
Sevinch, son of Khan
Boniak/Maniak. Sevinch helped
Yuri Dolgorukiy, grand prince of
Kiev, in 1151, in his struggles against other princes in the south. According to the Rus sources, Sevinch expressed his desire to "plant his sword in the golden gate of Kiev as his illustrious father had done."[10]
Yurgi/Yuri, occidental name of Konchak/Konchek's son, died against the Mongols at the Battle of Kalka River. He and his father Khan Konchek tried to create a more cohesive force out of the many Cuman tribes. His Russian name may indicate his conversion to Christianity.[12]
Asalup, his daughter married Igor's grandfather, Oleg.[14]
Girgen, his granddaughter was Igor's stepmother.[14]
Zeyhan/Zehanus, possible murderer of Ladislas IV.[23]
Turtel/Tort-oyul, meaning "five sons" possible murderer of Ladislas IV.[24]
Menk/Manj/Mäŋ, meaning "birthmark", led Béla IV's troops
in 1264 against Béla's own son, Duke Stephen.[25]
Begovars (r.: Bey-bars), Cuman chieftain who led the Cumans that helped King
Béla IV of Hungary with his attack on the
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia in 1229.[26] It is plausible that he is identical with Bortz (also Boricius).
Tortel/Tortul, one of the murderers of King Ladislaus IV in 1290. "Five" according to András Pálóczi-Horváth, "four" according to "Kinship in the Altaic word".[27]
Uzur: a member of the Great Council at Teteny which settled the provisions of the law of 1279 regarding Cuman settlement. In preparatory discussion for this, Cuman interests were represented by Uzur and Tolon.[25]
Tolon, meaning "full moon", participated with Uzur in the preparatory discussion for the Great Council at Teteny which settled the provisions of the law of 1279 regarding Cuman settlement.[25]
Alpra/Al-bura (meaning "tawny colored camel", supreme Cuman commander of the 1260s and 70s, who in 1273 King Charles of Sicily admonishes to stay loyal to the Hungarian crown after the death of King Stephen.[25]
Arbuz [meaning "watermelon" according to Palóczi and
Rásonyi, a less accepted theory connects it to Turkic "arva-" (to cast a spell, to do magic); Kipchak "arba-" + deverbal (noun or adjective forming) suffix "-ış" or "-uş"], possible murderer of Ladislaus IV.[25]
Kemenche, meaning "little bow", possible murderer of Ladislas IV - assassination attempt on the king of Hungary; he was caught and executed.[25]
Kutlu Aslan (happy lion in Turkish) - involved in Kubasar's coup.
Kitzes, chief of the Cumans that were in a war against the
Byzantine Empire. He fought a battle against emperor
Alexios I Komnenos with a body of 12,000 Cumans.[28] The Cumans lost the battle; Alexios had the mountain passes sealed and either massacred or captured the Cuman forces who had refused to submit.[29]
Sytzigan (from Cuman-Turkic Sïčğan, "mouse"), Syrgiannes after baptism, son of a Cuman leader and member of an influential Cuman group that was present in the Byzantine court.[30] Later he marries a member of the ruling Palaiologos family and before 1290 became
Megas Domestikos (Commander-in-Chief of the Army), a title granted by Byzantine Emperor
Andronikos II.[31] Sytzigan's son,
Syrgiannes Palaiologos was a
Pinkernes and a friend of
Andronikos III Palaiologos and
John Kantakouzenos.[32]
Bortz (Burchi, Boricius), Hungary, prince of the Cumans that settled in Hungary.[33] Under his leadership, he and 15,000 Cumans got baptized in 1227.[34]
Bachman Khan, he rallied the Cuman-Kipchak clans after a Mongol surprise attack in 1237 – they hid in the forests along the Dnieper River. Khan Bachman and his ally, the
Alan leader Catchar and were eventually surrounded and captured by Budjek and Mangku/Möngke/Mangku Khan.
Möngke Khan demanded he kneel before him. Khan Bachman refused and said “Do you think I am a camel?” Instead of asking for mercy, Bachman asked to die by Möngke’s own hand. Instead, Möngke had Budjek kill him - by cutting him in two, possibly as insult to injury.[35] Khan Bachman’s death was a major blow to the Cuman-Kipchaks’ fate[36]
Sultan
Baibars ("white bigcat-Siberian Tiger"/"leopard" in Turkic), fourth Sultan of Egypt from the Mamluk Bahri dynasty. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260,[2] which marked the second substantial defeat of the Mongol army, and is considered a turning point in history.
Seyhan, a Cuman chieftain and father of Queen
Elizabeth the Cuman. Historians point out that a charter of her father-in-law, Béla IV refers to a
Cuman chieftain Seyhan as his kinsman, implying that Seyhan was Elizabeth's father. His domains lay near the Tisza.[25][38][39]
Elizabeth the Cuman, queen of Hungary in 1272-1277, during the minority of her son, King
Ladislaus IV of Hungary. She was queen consort and wife of King
Stephen V of Hungary. A struggle took place between her and the noble opposition, which led to her imprisonment; but supporters freed her in 1274.[40] Elizabeth was the daughter of Seyhan, a Cuman chieftain.[38][39]
Tsar
Ivan Asen I of the Second Bulgarian Empire, established the Second Bulgarian Empire, with the help of his Cuman allies. First emperor of the new empire. The
Asen dynasty is of Cuman origin, as well as the
Terter dynasty (which
Koten was part of) and the
Shishman dynasty.
Boril of Bulgaria (Boril Kaliman), 1207–1218, Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from Cumans through the Asen dynasty of Bulgaria - of Cuman origin.[41][42]
Fruzhin, a 15th-century Bulgarian noble who fought actively against the Ottoman conquest of the
Second Bulgarian Empire. He was a son of one of Tsar Ivan Shishman.
Tsar
George Terter I of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from the Cuman
Terteroba clan.[41][42] Khan
Köten was probably his relative or even direct ancestor.[43]
Tsar
George Terter II of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from the Cuman Terteroba clan.[41][42]
Aldimir (Bulgarian: Алдимир) or Eltimir. A member of the Terter dynasty and a younger brother of Tsar George I Terter, Aldimir was an influential local ruler as the despot of Kran. Khan
Köten was probably his relative or even direct ancestor.[43] His name means "heated iron".[44]
Tsar
Theodore Svetoslav of the Second Bulgarian Empire, son of George Terter I.
Tsar
Ivan Alexander of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended of the Asen, Terter and Shishman dynasties. Was Tsar during the second golden age of Bulgaria (naphew of Michael Shishman).
The Cuman Tsaritsa of Bulgaria, Cuman noblewoman who subsequently married two Tsars Emperors of Bulgaria, Kaloyan of Bulgaria and Boril of Bulgaria.[51]
Every ruler from the Wallachian
House of Dănești, which was one of the two main lineages of the Wallachian noble family House of Basarab. They were descended from Dan I of Wallachia. The other lineage of the Basarabs is the
House of Drăculești. Their Cuman lineage is not confirmed.
The House of Drăculești were one of two major rival lines of Wallachian voivodes of the House of Basarab, the other being the Dănești. Their Cuman lineage is not confirmed.
Syrgiannés/Sıçğan It is seen that some of the
Cumans, who were on the way to prevent the
Seljuk Turks expansion and were taken into
Byzantine service after a
Mongolian invasion, also served in the imperial palace and rose to high positions in time. As a matter of fact, Syrgiannés (Sytzigan: Sıçğan: Rat), who was the son of one of the Cuman begs, was baptized and married a woman from the
Palaiologos family, and later received the title of
Megas Domestic. The presence of his descendants in the
Byzantine Empire continued for nearly 100 years. The last representative of this The
Cuman Family, which was later assimilated into Byzantine Culture was also named Syrgiannés, just like the first member of the family. Syrgiannés, who was the governor of
Macedonia and
Thrace, was the elder emperor II. After participating in the struggles between Andronikos and his grandson that started in 1320, he fell out of favor and led a dull life until he was killed by the emperor's men in 1334. [52][53][54]
^Robert Lee Wolff: "The 'Second Bulgarian Empire.' Its Origin and History to 1204" Speculum, Volume 24, Issue 2 (April 1949), 179; "Thereafter, the influx of Pechenegs and Cumans turned Bulgaria into a battleground between Byzantium and these Turkish tribes..."
^Bartusis, Mark C. (1997). The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204–1453. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 26–27.
ISBN978-0-8122-1620-2.
^Szilvia Kovács
Bortz, a Cuman Chief in the 13th CenturyActa Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
Vol. 58, No. 3, Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Mediaeval History of the Eurasian Steppe: Szeged, Hungary May 11—16, 2004: Part III (2005), pp. 255-266
^
ab(Hungarian) Kristó, Gyula; Makk, Ferenc (1996). Az Árpád-ház uralkodói [Rulers of the House of Árpád]. I.P.C. Könyvek.
ISBN963-7930-97-3, p.268.
^
abKlaniczay, Gábor (2002). Holy Rulers and Blessed Princes: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN0-521-42018-0, p.439.
^
abcdefghijklmnopqIstván Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005
^
abПавлов, Пламен (2005).
""Авантюристът-скит" Алдимир и Теодор Светослав" [The "Scythian Venturer" Aldimir and Theodore Svetoslav]. Бунтари и авантюристи в средновековна България [Rebels and Venturers in Medieval Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). Варна: LiterNet.
ISBN954-304-152-0.
^Андреев, Йордан; Лазаров, Иван; Павлов, Пламен (1999). Кой кой е в средновековна България [Who is Who in Medieval Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian), p.9. Петър Берон.
ISBN978-954-402-047-7.
^The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, John V. A. Fine, John Van Antwerp Fine, University of Michigan Press, 1994,
ISBN0472082604,
p. 367.
^Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365, István Vásáry, Cambridge University Press, 2005,
p. 78.
^At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities, Laurențiu Rădvan, BRILL, 2010,
ISBN9004180109,
P. 508.
^Васил Н. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, Част I, II изд., Наука и изкуство, София 1970.
^Г. Бакалов, История на българите, Том 1, 2003, с457
The
Cumans, also known as "Polovtsians", were a
Turkicnomadic people comprising the western branch of the
Cuman–Kipchak confederation. Their homeland covered parts of present-day southern Russia and neighbouring countries, in the 10th to 13th century.[1][2][3]: 116
Khan
Boniak/Bonyak/Boniek/Bongek/Maniak. Boniak was a khan during the time of Sharukan. He was called "the Mangy" by Russians. He led invasions, together with Togortac, on Kievan Rus’ in 1096, 1097, 1105, and 1107. In 1096 Boniak attacked Kiev, burned down the princely palace in Berestove, and plundered the Kiev Monastery of the Caves. In 1107 he was defeated by the Kievan Rus’ princes' forces near Lubny. He led the invasions, together with Togortac, on Kievan Rus. He is mentioned for the last time in the Primary Chronicle in 1167, when he was defeated by Prince Oleg I of Chernigov. Boniak is often represented as a sorcerer in Rus' folklore.[4]
Taz (meaning 'bald'), brother of Boniak. He perished at the battle on the
Sula River, along with Sugr.[5]
Khan
Köten Sutoiovych (Kuthen/Kotian/Kotony/Zayhan or Jonas), son of Khan Konchek.[6] He is
Mstislav Mstislavich's father-in-law. Köten was of the Terteroba clan. He participated in the power struggles between the princes of Kievan Rus' in 1202, 1225 and 1228. After the defeat by the Mongols in 1222, he convinced the princes of Kievan Rus' to forge an alliance against the
Mongols. He fought in the war against the Mongols (allied with the Russians) in the
Battle of Kalka River, where the Rus'-Cuman alliance was defeated. In 1238 he was again defeated by Batu Khan on the Astrakhan steppes.[7] Afterwards, Koten led 40,000 "huts" (families) (around 70 - 80,000 people) to Hungary (to escape from the Mongols), where he was later assassinated. The Cumans then left Hungary, pillaging along the way and migrated to the
Second Bulgarian Empire. Some of the Cumans were later asked to come back to Hungary and help rebuild it after Mongol devastation. He was possibly the most notable of Cumans (together with Baibars). Koten was from the
Terteroba clan that ruled
Cumania in the late 11th century, as well as in the mid-13th century.[8]
Khan Koten's daughter, married
Mstislav Mstislavich, Prince of Halych (r. 1219–1228).
Khan Koten's second daughter, married
Narjot de Toucy. After her husband died, she became a nun.
Khan Konchak (Konchek, Kumcheg - meaning 'trousers') Otrakovich, his daughter married Igor's son, prince
Vladimir III Igorevich of Putivl. He was involved in wars and raids with the Russians (Prince Igor), along the Ros River, where the Cumans attacked towns belonging to the Olgovichi (the ruling dynasty of Chernigov). He defeated
Igor Svyatoslavich, prince of the
Principality of Novgorod-Seversk, the tale of which is immortalized in the Rus' epic
The Tale of Igor's Campaign. He united the western and eastern Cuman-Kipchak tribes.[9]
Yuri, son of Khan Konchek. His name may indicate his conversion to Christianity.[10]
Khan Kobyak/Kobiak/Kopyak/Köpek ("dog" in Turkish), one of the leaders of Crimea.[11] He was involved in wars and raids against Prince Igor, along the Ros River, where the Cumans attacked towns belonging to the Olgovichi (the ruling dynasty of Chernigov). He also participated with Khan Konchak in an assault on Kievan Rus’. Kobiak, Khan Konchak and other notable were routed and captured on the Khorol River in 1183/1184. He had an alliance with Igor in his feud with the son of Rostislav I.[12][11]
Chilbuk: chieftain, captured Igor of Novgorod-Seversk[11]
Roman, son of Kza, chieftain, captured Vsevolod of Kursk.[11]
Khan Gzak/Gza/Kza/Koza, chieftain, father of Roman. Khan Gzak was a rival of Khan Konchek.He attacked
Putyvl where Prince
Igor Svyatoslavich's army is destroyed; the prince gets wounded and captured with his son and brother. This tale is immortalized in the Rus' epic
The Tale of Igor's Campaign and in
Alexander Borodin's opera
Prince Igor.[12]
Eldechyuk: chieftain, captured Svyatoslav of Rilsk.[11]
Toksobich, Kolobich, Etebich, Tetrobich - Russian versions of Cuman-Kipchak chieftains captured in battle, may be any of the above forementioned or other individuals entirely. The Cuman-Kipchak base name would most likely be the equivalent of - Toks(o), Kolo, Ete, Tetr(o).[14]
Lavor/Ovlur/Vlur, possibly a kinsman, aided Igor in his escape.[15]
Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan, (Cuman-Kipchak base name Sharu/Sharo), chieftain, Konchak's grandfather, who had been defeated by the Russians in a great battle on the Sula River in 1107. Called "the Old" by Russians.[16]
Khan Ayepa, son of Osen, father in law of
Yuri Dolgorukiy (a Russian Rurikid prince and founder of Moscow). His daughter married
Yuri Dolgorukiy. Khan Ayepa attacked
Volga Bulgaria, perhaps due to an instigation of his son in law. The
Bulgars in turn poisoned Ayepa and the other princes, all of which died.[17]
Prince Andrei I of Vladimir (
Andrey Bogolyubsky). He was the son of Yuri Dolgoruki, who proclaimed Andrei a prince in Vyshhorod (near Kiev). His mother was a Polovtsian/Cuman princess, khan Aepa's/Ayepa's daughter. Andrey is beatified as a saint in Russian Orthodox Church. He was known in the West as Scythian Caesar.
Toglyy: Cuman chieftain during time of Igor's imprisonment.[18]
Sokal, Cuman chieftain who obtained a major victory against Rus' in 1061.[19]
Kutesk, headed the Cuman (Or rather Pecheneg) attack on Hungary in 1085-1086, coming into Hungary by a north-east route, possibly via Verecke pass.[20] He may be synonymous with the Hungarian version of Cselgü.
Boricius, Cuman chieftain in Hungary, of the 4th rank of Cuman political hierarchy.[21]
Jiajak Jaqeli, empress consort of Alexios II of Trebizond. Jiajak (meaning 'flower') was daughter of Beka I, the Cuman
atabeg of Samtskhe. The Jaqelis held the Georgian feudal office of Eristavi, which could be "governor of a region" or an "army-commander".
Etrek/
Otrok/Atraka, son of Sharokan/Sharohan/Sharukan. Otrok withdrew to the north Caucasian steppes due to the aggressive policies of
Vladimir II Monomakh, grand prince of
Kievan Rus'. Thereafter, in 1118, 40,000 Cuman troops under Otrok entered the service of the Georgian king
David IV of Georgia, where they helped to make Georgia the most powerful kingdom in the region.[10][22]
Princess Gurandukht, daughter of Khan
Otrok of the Cumans. She married king
David IV of Georgia in 1107. The marriage occurred years before the recruitment of around 40,000 Cuman-Kipchaks in the Georgian service. Gurandukht is a Persian name; her original Turkic name is unknown as are the details of her life. The chronicler of king David IV praises Gurandukht's virtues and points out that the marriage helped David to secure the transfer of the Cuman-Kipchak families as allies of the Georgian crown, which in turn helped to make Georgia the most powerful kingdom in the region.
Vakhtang, born in 1118, son of King
David IV of Georgia and the Cuman princess Gurandukht, daughter of Khan
Otrok. He was involved in an attempted coup against
Demetrius I of Georgia, his brother and heir apparent. Vakhtang was captured, blinded and cast in prison where he apparently died shortly afterwards.
Eltut, brother to Konchak/Konchek, died when the Chernigovian-Cuman army was defeated in 1180.[18]
Sevinch, son of Khan
Boniak/Maniak. Sevinch helped
Yuri Dolgorukiy, grand prince of
Kiev, in 1151, in his struggles against other princes in the south. According to the Rus sources, Sevinch expressed his desire to "plant his sword in the golden gate of Kiev as his illustrious father had done."[10]
Yurgi/Yuri, occidental name of Konchak/Konchek's son, died against the Mongols at the Battle of Kalka River. He and his father Khan Konchek tried to create a more cohesive force out of the many Cuman tribes. His Russian name may indicate his conversion to Christianity.[12]
Asalup, his daughter married Igor's grandfather, Oleg.[14]
Girgen, his granddaughter was Igor's stepmother.[14]
Zeyhan/Zehanus, possible murderer of Ladislas IV.[23]
Turtel/Tort-oyul, meaning "five sons" possible murderer of Ladislas IV.[24]
Menk/Manj/Mäŋ, meaning "birthmark", led Béla IV's troops
in 1264 against Béla's own son, Duke Stephen.[25]
Begovars (r.: Bey-bars), Cuman chieftain who led the Cumans that helped King
Béla IV of Hungary with his attack on the
Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia in 1229.[26] It is plausible that he is identical with Bortz (also Boricius).
Tortel/Tortul, one of the murderers of King Ladislaus IV in 1290. "Five" according to András Pálóczi-Horváth, "four" according to "Kinship in the Altaic word".[27]
Uzur: a member of the Great Council at Teteny which settled the provisions of the law of 1279 regarding Cuman settlement. In preparatory discussion for this, Cuman interests were represented by Uzur and Tolon.[25]
Tolon, meaning "full moon", participated with Uzur in the preparatory discussion for the Great Council at Teteny which settled the provisions of the law of 1279 regarding Cuman settlement.[25]
Alpra/Al-bura (meaning "tawny colored camel", supreme Cuman commander of the 1260s and 70s, who in 1273 King Charles of Sicily admonishes to stay loyal to the Hungarian crown after the death of King Stephen.[25]
Arbuz [meaning "watermelon" according to Palóczi and
Rásonyi, a less accepted theory connects it to Turkic "arva-" (to cast a spell, to do magic); Kipchak "arba-" + deverbal (noun or adjective forming) suffix "-ış" or "-uş"], possible murderer of Ladislaus IV.[25]
Kemenche, meaning "little bow", possible murderer of Ladislas IV - assassination attempt on the king of Hungary; he was caught and executed.[25]
Kutlu Aslan (happy lion in Turkish) - involved in Kubasar's coup.
Kitzes, chief of the Cumans that were in a war against the
Byzantine Empire. He fought a battle against emperor
Alexios I Komnenos with a body of 12,000 Cumans.[28] The Cumans lost the battle; Alexios had the mountain passes sealed and either massacred or captured the Cuman forces who had refused to submit.[29]
Sytzigan (from Cuman-Turkic Sïčğan, "mouse"), Syrgiannes after baptism, son of a Cuman leader and member of an influential Cuman group that was present in the Byzantine court.[30] Later he marries a member of the ruling Palaiologos family and before 1290 became
Megas Domestikos (Commander-in-Chief of the Army), a title granted by Byzantine Emperor
Andronikos II.[31] Sytzigan's son,
Syrgiannes Palaiologos was a
Pinkernes and a friend of
Andronikos III Palaiologos and
John Kantakouzenos.[32]
Bortz (Burchi, Boricius), Hungary, prince of the Cumans that settled in Hungary.[33] Under his leadership, he and 15,000 Cumans got baptized in 1227.[34]
Bachman Khan, he rallied the Cuman-Kipchak clans after a Mongol surprise attack in 1237 – they hid in the forests along the Dnieper River. Khan Bachman and his ally, the
Alan leader Catchar and were eventually surrounded and captured by Budjek and Mangku/Möngke/Mangku Khan.
Möngke Khan demanded he kneel before him. Khan Bachman refused and said “Do you think I am a camel?” Instead of asking for mercy, Bachman asked to die by Möngke’s own hand. Instead, Möngke had Budjek kill him - by cutting him in two, possibly as insult to injury.[35] Khan Bachman’s death was a major blow to the Cuman-Kipchaks’ fate[36]
Sultan
Baibars ("white bigcat-Siberian Tiger"/"leopard" in Turkic), fourth Sultan of Egypt from the Mamluk Bahri dynasty. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260,[2] which marked the second substantial defeat of the Mongol army, and is considered a turning point in history.
Seyhan, a Cuman chieftain and father of Queen
Elizabeth the Cuman. Historians point out that a charter of her father-in-law, Béla IV refers to a
Cuman chieftain Seyhan as his kinsman, implying that Seyhan was Elizabeth's father. His domains lay near the Tisza.[25][38][39]
Elizabeth the Cuman, queen of Hungary in 1272-1277, during the minority of her son, King
Ladislaus IV of Hungary. She was queen consort and wife of King
Stephen V of Hungary. A struggle took place between her and the noble opposition, which led to her imprisonment; but supporters freed her in 1274.[40] Elizabeth was the daughter of Seyhan, a Cuman chieftain.[38][39]
Tsar
Ivan Asen I of the Second Bulgarian Empire, established the Second Bulgarian Empire, with the help of his Cuman allies. First emperor of the new empire. The
Asen dynasty is of Cuman origin, as well as the
Terter dynasty (which
Koten was part of) and the
Shishman dynasty.
Boril of Bulgaria (Boril Kaliman), 1207–1218, Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from Cumans through the Asen dynasty of Bulgaria - of Cuman origin.[41][42]
Fruzhin, a 15th-century Bulgarian noble who fought actively against the Ottoman conquest of the
Second Bulgarian Empire. He was a son of one of Tsar Ivan Shishman.
Tsar
George Terter I of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from the Cuman
Terteroba clan.[41][42] Khan
Köten was probably his relative or even direct ancestor.[43]
Tsar
George Terter II of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended from the Cuman Terteroba clan.[41][42]
Aldimir (Bulgarian: Алдимир) or Eltimir. A member of the Terter dynasty and a younger brother of Tsar George I Terter, Aldimir was an influential local ruler as the despot of Kran. Khan
Köten was probably his relative or even direct ancestor.[43] His name means "heated iron".[44]
Tsar
Theodore Svetoslav of the Second Bulgarian Empire, son of George Terter I.
Tsar
Ivan Alexander of the Second Bulgarian Empire, descended of the Asen, Terter and Shishman dynasties. Was Tsar during the second golden age of Bulgaria (naphew of Michael Shishman).
The Cuman Tsaritsa of Bulgaria, Cuman noblewoman who subsequently married two Tsars Emperors of Bulgaria, Kaloyan of Bulgaria and Boril of Bulgaria.[51]
Every ruler from the Wallachian
House of Dănești, which was one of the two main lineages of the Wallachian noble family House of Basarab. They were descended from Dan I of Wallachia. The other lineage of the Basarabs is the
House of Drăculești. Their Cuman lineage is not confirmed.
The House of Drăculești were one of two major rival lines of Wallachian voivodes of the House of Basarab, the other being the Dănești. Their Cuman lineage is not confirmed.
Syrgiannés/Sıçğan It is seen that some of the
Cumans, who were on the way to prevent the
Seljuk Turks expansion and were taken into
Byzantine service after a
Mongolian invasion, also served in the imperial palace and rose to high positions in time. As a matter of fact, Syrgiannés (Sytzigan: Sıçğan: Rat), who was the son of one of the Cuman begs, was baptized and married a woman from the
Palaiologos family, and later received the title of
Megas Domestic. The presence of his descendants in the
Byzantine Empire continued for nearly 100 years. The last representative of this The
Cuman Family, which was later assimilated into Byzantine Culture was also named Syrgiannés, just like the first member of the family. Syrgiannés, who was the governor of
Macedonia and
Thrace, was the elder emperor II. After participating in the struggles between Andronikos and his grandson that started in 1320, he fell out of favor and led a dull life until he was killed by the emperor's men in 1334. [52][53][54]
^Robert Lee Wolff: "The 'Second Bulgarian Empire.' Its Origin and History to 1204" Speculum, Volume 24, Issue 2 (April 1949), 179; "Thereafter, the influx of Pechenegs and Cumans turned Bulgaria into a battleground between Byzantium and these Turkish tribes..."
^Bartusis, Mark C. (1997). The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society, 1204–1453. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 26–27.
ISBN978-0-8122-1620-2.
^Szilvia Kovács
Bortz, a Cuman Chief in the 13th CenturyActa Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae
Vol. 58, No. 3, Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Mediaeval History of the Eurasian Steppe: Szeged, Hungary May 11—16, 2004: Part III (2005), pp. 255-266
^
ab(Hungarian) Kristó, Gyula; Makk, Ferenc (1996). Az Árpád-ház uralkodói [Rulers of the House of Árpád]. I.P.C. Könyvek.
ISBN963-7930-97-3, p.268.
^
abKlaniczay, Gábor (2002). Holy Rulers and Blessed Princes: Dynastic Cults in Medieval Central Europe. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN0-521-42018-0, p.439.
^
abcdefghijklmnopqIstván Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans 1185-1365, Cambridge University Press, 2005
^
abПавлов, Пламен (2005).
""Авантюристът-скит" Алдимир и Теодор Светослав" [The "Scythian Venturer" Aldimir and Theodore Svetoslav]. Бунтари и авантюристи в средновековна България [Rebels and Venturers in Medieval Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). Варна: LiterNet.
ISBN954-304-152-0.
^Андреев, Йордан; Лазаров, Иван; Павлов, Пламен (1999). Кой кой е в средновековна България [Who is Who in Medieval Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian), p.9. Петър Берон.
ISBN978-954-402-047-7.
^The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, John V. A. Fine, John Van Antwerp Fine, University of Michigan Press, 1994,
ISBN0472082604,
p. 367.
^Cumans and Tatars: Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365, István Vásáry, Cambridge University Press, 2005,
p. 78.
^At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities, Laurențiu Rădvan, BRILL, 2010,
ISBN9004180109,
P. 508.
^Васил Н. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, Част I, II изд., Наука и изкуство, София 1970.
^Г. Бакалов, История на българите, Том 1, 2003, с457