Legends and Myths of the Kyrgyz

Writings of "Shajarat al-Atrak"

In the anonymous work "Shajarat al-Atrak," which represents a reworking of the lost manuscript "Tarikh-i Arba-i Ulas," "usually attributed to Ulugh Beg," the following legend is recounted. "A thousand years after the death of Oghuz Khan, during the reign of Ilkhan ibn Tengiz Khan, Shah Afridun-Tur ibn Faridun, with numerous armies, set out for Maverranahr and Turkestan. At that time, Suyunch Khan, who was the eighth ruler of the Tatars, seizing the favorable moment for revenge against the descendants of Oghuz Khan, allied with Tur ibn Faridun, and they jointly attacked the Ilkhan. In a fierce battle, the Mongols were defeated and completely destroyed; only the son of the Ilkhan, Kiyan, and his nephew Nukuz, as well as two women who hid in the mountains of Erken-Kun, survived. Later, from their descendants, the Mongols (Kiyat and Darlekin) emerged.

"According to other accounts," continues the anonymous author, "during the defeat of the Mongol people, forty girls fled in one direction, and thirty young men fled in another direction. From the descendants of those forty girls, the Kyrgyz emerged, and from the descendants of the thirty young men, the Otuz-Oguly came." The Turkestan mentioned above, to which Shah Afridun-Tur ibn Faridun went after Maverranahr, can be seen as the state of the Karakhanids-Turks, while the descendants of Oghuz, who are referred to in this story as Mongols, are the Karakhanid Turks. These reports state that the Kyrgyz—Otuz-Uulu came from the descendants of Oghuz, i.e., the Karakhanid Turks, which may correspond to reality. Here, it could be about the Karakhanid Kyrgyz, who could also be referred to as Otuz-Uulu, named after the clan or tribe from which, as we believe, the Karachor dynasty and the Karakhanid dynasty emerged. By the name of the dominant clan or tribe, the Karakhanid Kyrgyz could also be called Otuz-Uulu. This is an ancient lineage. They are mentioned in the well-known Talas ancient Turkic monuments found in the Talas Valley.

Information from "Majmu at-Tawarikh"

Alternatively, the above-mentioned information from "Shajarat al-Atrak" could refer to the Kyrgyz of the right and left wings when the Karakhanid Kyrgyz (Otuz-Uulu) and the "Priirtysh" Kyrgyz were reunited. However, this Kyrgyz union could also be named Otuz-Uulu, due to the leading role of the right wing in this ethnic formation. The aforementioned legend about the origin of the Kyrgyz was evidently based on the folk etymology of the ethnonym "Kyrgyz" as "kyrk-kız" ("forty girls"), as well as on the fact that these same Kyrgyz were called Otuz-Uulu.

In "Majmu at-Tawarikh," in one account detailing the episode of the struggle of Yakub-Bek and his son Manas together with the Mongols against the Kalmyks, it is reported: "Ong-Khan, taking the Mongol army and the left army, moved toward Chongchi. Ong-Khan approached Kara-Kishlak. Chongchi, coming out of Kara-Kishlak, formed ranks, (however) Chongchi turned to flee. Ong-Khan killed so many Kalmyks, gave Kara-Kishlak to Yakub-Bek, and himself arrived in Tashkent." "Here, under the term 'Left Army' ('Koshun-i Sol'), the tribes of the 'Left Wing' of the Kyrgyz tribes are meant. Overall, as can be seen from the provided text of "Majmu at-Tawarikh," the 'Right army,' i.e., the troops of the 'Right Wing' of the Kyrgyz, were also referred to as the Mongol army, while the 'Left army' was not called Mongol."

This information from "Majmu at-Tawarikh" could relate to events in the first half of the 12th century, particularly the resistance against the Kara-Khitans, who invaded the territories of the Eastern Karakhanid Kaganate and were defeated by the head of this state, Kagan Ahmed, who was surely accompanied by his son Ibrahim. In this account, the Kalmyks should be seen as Kara-Khitans, while the Mongol army or 'Right' wing refers to the army or wing of the Karakhanid Kyrgyz. The 'Left' army or 'Left Wing' in these reports was not Mongol (Karakhanid), which should correspond to reality. Under 'Ong'-Khan in this account, one can see the aforementioned head of the Eastern Karakhanids, Kagan Ahmed, or his son Ibrahim. Apparently, the formation of the Kyrgyz unions of the right ('Ong') and left ('Sol') wings was associated with Kagan Ahmed.