Turks - Chigili in the "Shahnameh"
In the "Shahnameh", in the episode where Ferdowsi sings of the battle between the armies of Iran and Turan, it is stated:
“He (Goshtasp) ascended the throne
And returned to battle with the Turanian king (Erjasp).”
In the original, instead of “Turanian,” it is written “Chigilian.” Elsewhere in the "Shahnameh," it is mentioned:
“To King Gurgsar, the guard brought, — The Turks from Chigil trembled with fear.
The warlord Kara-khan, the fourth son, donned armor and appeared before his father (Afrasiab), who
Gave him thirty thousand of the most worthy warriors of the Chigil Turks,
From the Taraz, Oghuz, and Khallakh cavalry, thirty thousand seasoned cavalry.”
In a message from the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk, it is stated that Sultan Ali-Arslan “has an aversion to the Shafi'i sect, reproaches me every time. If he hears in any way that the Chigilians have branded me as a Rafidi, as they said at the Khan of Samarkand, he will not spare my life.”
From this information, it can be concluded that “Chigili” and “Turk” could have been a kind of synonym for the term — “Turk,” or rather used in this sense and served to denote the same tribes from the perspective of others, particularly the Oghuz. However, it may also be true what Mahmud Kashgari reported, that the Oghuz referred to all Turks east of the Jayhun (Amu Darya) as Chigilians, named after the nearest ones, who were one “of the branches of this people,” living in the city of Chigil. The origin of this ethnonym (i.e., specifically the ethnonymic “Chigil”), its motivation, components, and semantics are likely the same as the aforementioned etymology of the name “Chigil.” It should be noted that the origin of the specifically ethnonymic “Chigil” could be related to the Chik people of the Orkhon-Yenisei texts, who lived somewhere near the Kyrgyz.
Chigilians in the vicinity of Taraz are mentioned only by Al-Muqaddasi in his work “Ahsan al-Taqasim fi Ma'rifat al-Aqalim” (mid 10th century — around 1000 AD).
According to Gardizi’s information (“Zayn al-Akbar,” 11th century), Chigilians lived around Lake Issyk-Kul, while another group lived in the Ili River valley. In “Hudud al-Alam” (10th century), it is stated that the Chigilians “are of Halakh origin” and that their area of habitation “is characterized by a large population.” According to this source, Chigilians inhabited the regions of Pre-Issyk-Kul. In the Taraz area, according to “Hudud al-Alam,” Chigilians did not inhabit there. Instead, the “Talass” Kyrgyz and Karluks were located there. According to “Kitab Masalik al-Mamalik” by Al-Istakhri (10th century), Chigilians are not mentioned. Nearby Taraz, according to this source, lived Halakhs and “Talass” Kyrgyz.
Chigilians are mentioned in the work of Ibn Khordadbeh (“Kitab al-Masalik wal-Mamalik” or “Book of Roads and Kingdoms”) in the following context: “(On) the border (of the Toguzguz), — he wrote, are the lands of the states — Kharluk, Kaymak, Guz, Jikili, Pecheneg, Turgish, Azkash, Qipchak, and Khirkhiz.” It is known that Ibn Khordadbeh’s work was used by Ibn al-Faqih, and the latter’s work was used by Al-Muqaddasi. Meanwhile, according to Al-Muqaddasi, as mentioned above, the Chigilians he referred to lived in the vicinity of Taraz. Apparently, Ibn Khordadbeh was reporting about the “Talass” Chigilians. By the way, according to Ibn Khordadbeh, Jikili are located next to the Oghuz.
