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Sabir people

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Near East in 500 AD, showing the Sabirs and neighboring peoples.

TheSabirs(Savirs,Suars,Sawar,Sawirkamong others;Greek:Σάβιροι,[1]) were anomadicTurkicequestrianpeople who lived in the north of theCaucasusbeginning in the late-5th -7th century, on the eastern shores of theBlack Sea,in theKubanarea,[2]and possibly came fromWestern Siberia.[3][4][5]They were skilled in warfare, used siege machinery,[6]had a large army (including women[7]) and were boat-builders.[8]They were also referred to asHuns,a title applied to variousEurasian nomadictribes in thePontic-Caspian Steppeduringlate antiquity.Sabirs led incursions intoTranscaucasiain thelate-400s/early-500s,but quickly began serving as soldiers and mercenaries during theByzantine-Sasanian Warson both sides. Their alliance with the Byzantines laid the basis for the laterKhazar-Byzantine alliance.[9]

Etymology

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Gyula NémethandPaul Pelliotconsidered Turkic etymology for Säbir / Sabïr / Sabar / Säβir / Sävir / Savar / Sävär / Sawār / Säwēr from the root *sap-'to go astray', i.e. the 'wanderers, nomads', placed in a group of semantically similar names:Qazar,Qazaq,Yazar,and Qačar.[10][11][12]Al-Masudirecorded that theKhazarswere named as such in Persian, while in Turkic it isSabir,implying the same semantic meaning,[13]and related ethnogenesis.[14]

However, Golden notes that root *sap-'s aorist (ending in-ar) issapar;according toGerard Clauson,the meanings "to go astray, to deviate" of rootsap-~sep-only appeared as new words in later medieval period.[a]Golden suggests possible derivations (though still problematic) from other roots:sav-"to drive away, repulse, avoid, escape from", which fits better into the category of ethnonyms denoting nomads; orsipir-"to sweep, [...] to drive out, to send away", whose derivative would mean "those who sweep away [their foes]", even though thea/ävocalization is unattested (unlikesipir->süpür-).[16]

Walter Bruno Henningconsidered to have found them in theSogdianNafnamak (nearTurpan) long after the 5th century.[10]Some scholars related their name to the name ofSiberia(e.g.Harmatta), with a far-easternXianbei(e.g.Pritsak) andFinno-Ugricorigin (e.g.Artamonov).[17][4][18][19]The ancient historians related and differed them from theHuns,implying their mixed descent.[20][21]

Byzantine documents normally refer to Sabirs asSabiroi,although the Byzantine EmperorConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos(908-959) writes in hisDe Administrando Imperiothat he was told by a Hungarian delegation visiting his court that theTourkoi(the Byzantine name for theHungarians) used to be called "sabartoi asphaloi",[22]generally considered to mean "steadfast Sabirs", and still regularly sent delegations to those who stayed behind in the Caucasus region near Persia. Possibly some Hungarian group derived from the Sabirs as their name is reflected in Szavard, and personal clan name Zuard.[23][24]

History

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In 463 AD,Priscusmentions that the Sabirs attacked theSaragurs,OghursandOnogurs,as a result of having themselves been attacked by the Avars.[25][26][27]It has been suggested that the nomadic motion began with the Chinese attack in 450-458 against theRouran Khaganate.[28]

In 504 and 515, they held raids around theCaucasus,which was theSasaniannorthern frontier during the rule of kingKavadh I,causing problems to the Persians in their war against theByzantine Empire.[29]It has been proposed that the 20,000 Huns led byZilgibiswere Sabirs. They made treaties with bothJustin Iand Kavadh I, but decided for the former, which resulted with mutual agreement between Justin I and Kavadh I, and the former devastating attack on Zilgibis and his army.[30]

In 520s, the Queen Boareks, widow of the Sabir chieftain Balaq (Turkicbalaq[23][31]) throughJustinian I's diplomacy came closer to the Byzantines, and successfully attacked two Hunnic leaders Astera/Styrax (executed in Constantinople) and Aglanos/Glones (Sasanian ally).[32][33]She ruled over 100,000 people, and could field 20,000 strong-men army.[7]At theBattle of Satala (530),a mixed Persian army led byMihr-Mihroeconsisted of circa three thousand Sabirs.[34]In December 531, many Sabirs were summoned by the Persians to plunder aroundEuphratesia,Cyrrhus,Cilicia,but some of the booty had been returned by the Romanmagister militum.[35]

During theLazic War(541–562), in 548, along with theAlansthey allied withGubazes II of Lazicaand conquered thePetrafrom the Persians.[36]In 551, some Sabirs were allied toBessasin thesuccessful attemptto wrest Petra from the Persians, meanwhile, other four thousand led by Mihr-Mihroe were part of the unsuccessful siege ofArchaeopolis.[37]In 556, two thousand Sabirs served as heavy infantry mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire against the Sasanian Empire. They were led by Balmaq (Turkicbarmaq,"finger"[38]), Kutilzis (Turkic*qut-il-či,withqutmeaning "majesty" ) and Iliger (TurkicIlig-ār,"prince-man" ).[39][40]They won against the three thousandDilimnitesnear Archaeopolis. Eight hundred Dilimnites were killed in a failed rush.[41][42]In the same year, some five thousand Sabirs allied to the Persians were killed by three thousand Roman horsemen.[43][44]

As part of theByzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591,in 572–573, Sabirs lost as part of the Sasanian mixed army against theMarciannearNisibis.[45]In 578, some eight thousand Sabirs and Arab allies were on the side of the Persians, and raided territory aroundResaenaandConstantia.[46]

The Syriac translation of thePseudo-Zacharias Rhetor'sEcclesiastical History(c. 555) in Western Eurasia recorded thirteen tribes, including thesbr(Sabir). They are described in typical phrases reserved for nomads in the ethnographic literature of the period, as people who "live in tents, earn their living on the meat of livestock and fish, of wild animals and by their weapons (plunder)".[47]

The Armenian and Arabic sources placed them in the North Caucasus, nearLaks,Alans,Filān, Masqat, Sāhib as-Sarīrand the Khazar townSamandar.By the late 6th century, the coming of thePannonian Avarsinto Europe terminated the Sabir union in North Caucasus.[9][33]According toTheophylact Simocatta,when theBarsils,Onogurs and Sabirs saw the invading Uar and Chunni they panicked because thought the invaders were the Avars.Menander Protectorplaced the events between 558 and 560.[48]He mentioned them last time in connection with the Byzantine conquest inCaucasian Albaniaduring the reign ofTiberius II Constantine(578–582),[33]but the large sums were not enough to stop them to rejoin the Persians.[30]

They were assimilated into theKhazarsandBulgarsconfederations.[49]The tribe Suwāz inVolga Bulgariais related to the citySuwārin the same state, and North Caucasian kingdom Suwār. However, it is uncertain whether these Suwār i.e. Sawâr are the Sabirs who gone to the North Caucasus and after 558 retreated to the Volga, came there as the result of the Khazar state creation, or were tribes who never went to the North Caucasus, but stopped on the Volga.[50][51]Ahmad ibn Fadlanrecorded that in the 10th century they still had own leader with the titleWirgh(*Vuyrigh,TurkicBuyruq), and there were some Suwār-Bulghar hostilities.[51]

There is no reliable information supporting the view ofMikhail Artamonov,who has claimed the intermi xing of the Sabirs and Khazars was facilitated by their common Bulgar ethnicity, or that they were TurkicizedUgrians.[52]Károly Czeglédy considered that the Khazar state was composed of three basic groups, including the Sabirs.[53]Dieter Ludwig suggested that the Khazars were Sabirs who had formed an alliance with the Uar ofKhwarezm.[54]The intimate ties between the Hungarians and the Sabirs ledLev Gumilevto speculate that rather thanOghuricthey may have beenUgricspeakers (both terms being of the same etymological origin).[55]Al-Biruniremarked that the language of the Volga Bulgars and Sawârs was "compounded of Turkic andKhazar",while modern scholars like Gyula Németh,Lajos LigetiandPeter Benjamin Goldenconsider that the Sabirs spoke standard Turkic rather than Oghuric Turkic.[50][4]

Legacy

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A number of Caucasian toponyms derive from their name; Šaberan, Samir, Samirkent, Sabir-xost, Sibir-don, Sivir-don, Savir, Bila-suvar, Sebir-oba, Sevare, Suvar,[23]and as well as the subdivisions Sabar and Sabur/Sabïr of theKyrgyzes.[56]Chuvashhistorians postulate that their nation is descended from Sabirs.[55]In theMari languagemodern VolgaTatarsare calledSuas;Chuvash also are known asSuasenmari(which meansSuar-icized Mari), or in FinnishSuaslanmari.[57]

Chieftains

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  • Balaq (Turkicbalaq,'child, boy',[23]'young of an animal')[31]
  • Boa/Boarez/Boareks[58]- Sabir queen, widow of Balaq[38][33]
  • Balmaq/Barmaq (Turkicbarmaq,'finger')[38]
  • Iliger (Turkic 'prince-man')[38]
  • Kutilzis (Turkicqut-ilči/elči,'heavenly good fortune' – 'majesty')[59][31]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^As for the earliest attested meanings,sep-meant "to repair (something broken)" inOld Turkicand "to equip, fit out" inOld Uyghurandsap-meant "to instil, graft" in Old Uyghur[15]

References

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  1. ^Golden 1980,p. 256.
  2. ^Maenchen-Helfen 1973,p. 432.
  3. ^Sinor 1990,p. 200–201.
  4. ^abcGolden 1992,p. 104.
  5. ^Golden 2011,p. 146.
  6. ^Golden 2011,p. 112.
  7. ^abGolden 2011,p. 91.
  8. ^Golden 2011,p. 113:In the 559 siege ofThracian Chersonesethey fashioned small boats
  9. ^abGolden 1980,p. 35.
  10. ^abMaenchen-Helfen 1973,p. 440.
  11. ^Golden 1980,p. 127.
  12. ^Golden 2011,p. 147.
  13. ^Golden 1980,p. 36, 133.
  14. ^Golden 2011,p. 146, 149–151, 225.
  15. ^Clauson 1972,p. 784.
  16. ^Golden 2013,p. 54-55.
  17. ^Golden 1980,p. 35, 257.
  18. ^Zimonyi 2015,p. 246.
  19. ^Christian, David.A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia.Blackwell Publishing, 1998. Page 279.
  20. ^Sinor 1990,p. 200.
  21. ^Bell-Fialkoff, Andrew (2016),The Role of Migration in the History of the Eurasian Steppe: Sedentary Civilization vs. 'Barbarian' and Nomad,Palgrave Macmillan US, pp. 231–232,ISBN978-1-349-61837-8
  22. ^Sinor 1990,p. 243.
  23. ^abcdGolden 1980,p. 257.
  24. ^Sinor 1990,p. 243, 246.
  25. ^Maenchen-Helfen 1973,p. 436.
  26. ^Golden 1992,p. 92–93, 97.
  27. ^Golden 2011,p. 70, 138.
  28. ^Zimonyi 2015,p. 246–247.
  29. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 78.
  30. ^abGolden 2011,p. 87.
  31. ^abcGolden 1992,p. 105.
  32. ^Maenchen-Helfen 1973,p. 391.
  33. ^abcdGolden 1992,p. 106.
  34. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 91.
  35. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 95–96.
  36. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 117–118.
  37. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 118–119.
  38. ^abcdGolden 1980,p. 258.
  39. ^Agathias 1975,p. 87.
  40. ^Maenchen-Helfen 1973,p. 409, 414.
  41. ^Agathias 1975,p. 87–88.
  42. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 121.
  43. ^Agathias 1975,p. 115.
  44. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 122.
  45. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 150.
  46. ^Greatrex & Lieu 2007,p. 160.
  47. ^Golden 1992,p. 97.
  48. ^Zimonyi 2015,p. 250.
  49. ^Zhivkov 2015,p. 38, 138.
  50. ^abGolden 1980,p. 36, 87.
  51. ^abSinor 1990,p. 236.
  52. ^Zhivkov 2015,p. 26, 36–38.
  53. ^Golden 1980,p. 53.
  54. ^Struktur und Gesellschaft, D. Ludwig, 1982)
  55. ^ab"Suarlar/Суарлар".Tatar Encyclopaedia(in Tatar).Kazan:TheRepublic of TatarstanAcademy of Sciences. Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002.
  56. ^Golden 2013,p. 51, note 18.
  57. ^Eero Kuussaari: Suomen Suvun Tiet (Helsinki 1935)
  58. ^Evan Michael Schultheis (30 January 2019).The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields AD 451: Flavius Aetius, Attila the Hun and the Transformation of Gaul.Pen and Sword.ISBN978-1526745668.
  59. ^Golden 1980,p. 258–259.

Sources

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