What Do Ancient Kyrgyz Kurgans Speak Of?

What do Kyrgyz burial sites tell us?

At the turn of the early Middle Ages, the Kyrgyz found themselves in the Yenisei River valley in Southern Siberia. They migrated or were relocated to this area by the Juzhans during the Juzhan-Gaoguy wars in the mid-1st millennium AD for political reasons. The ancient Turks were moved by the Juzhans from Turfan "to the southern side of the Altai Mountains," and one of the representatives of the Turkic ruling clan, named Tsigu, i.e., "Kyrgyz," began to rule "between the rivers Afu and Gyan," Abakan and Yenisei in the Minusinsk Basin (Bichurin, 1998, pp. 225, 226).

According to sources, from the mid-1st millennium AD, the Kyrgyz settled in the steppe regions of the Minusinsk Basin, in the valleys of the Yenisei and Abakan. In these territories, from the Sayan Mountains to the sources of Chulym, Kyrgyz burial mounds were widespread, which included monumental mounds of the clan nobility, known as chaatas. Such mounds were surrounded by enclosures made of stone slabs and furnished with stone steles, on which tamgas were inscribed. Inside the enclosures of the chaatas were burial pits, at the bottom of which were placed clusters of burned bones in leather, birch bark, and wooden containers, along with funeral food, including sheep meat, as well as ceramic vessels, among which were ornamented "Kyrgyz vases." Among the Kyrgyz burial sites, there are also small stone mounds of ordinary nomads, containing characteristic burials according to the cremation rite, as well as burials of children and dependent populations of kysthims according to the inhumation rite. The Kyrgyz culture of this era is represented by temporary summer and winter settlements, where hearths and remnants of metallurgical production have been found. In the 8th century, the Kyrgyz mastered the Yenisei variant of ancient Turkic runic writing, and the ruling elite began to practice the custom of erecting memorial steles with epitaphs on the mounds in honor of buried rulers, military leaders, and heroes (Klyashtorny, 2006, pp. 340-342).

The Samoyedic population of the Tashkt culture that lived here was partially assimilated and became part of the Kyrgyz, while most were pushed into neighboring taiga and forest-steppe areas. In the state of the Yenisei Kyrgyz, these tribes, known by the names Dubo, Milige, Echzhi, found themselves in a vassal position — kysthims.

The Kyrgyz nobility, the begi, collected tribute from the kysthims, capturing and using them for work in the nomadic economy (Bichurin, 1998, p. 362).

In the mid-6th century AD, after the defeat of the Juzhan Khaganate by the ancient Turks, the Yenisei Kyrgyz gained independence from their former suzerains — the Juzhan khagans. Subsequently, the Kyrgyz ruler agreed to recognize himself as a vassal of the Turkic khagan. The Yenisei Kyrgyz began to supply the Turks with "extremely sharp weapons" as tribute (Bichurin, 1998, p. 360).

It is likely that the Turks also captured people living in Kyrgyz lands. It is known that in 569 AD, the ruler of the western wing of the First Turkic Khaganate gifted a captive "from the Kyrgyz people" to a visiting Byzantine envoy (Khudyakov, 1995, p. 60).

In 572 AD, the "northern lands," including those populated by the Kyrgyz, were designated as a fief for a Turkic prince (Gumilev, 1993, p. 54). During the dynastic disputes in the First Turkic Khaganate in 581 AD, the Kyrgyz managed to free themselves from the power of the ancient Turks. In 583 AD, the "tsigu" — the Kyrgyz not only "ruled to the north" of the Turks but also planned to "take revenge" on the ancient Turks by starting military actions in Central Asia (Khudyakov, 1995, p. 52).

After the collapse of the First Turkic and Eastern Turkic Khaganates, in 629 AD, the Yenisei Kyrgyz fell under the dependence of the rulers of the Telez Khaganate, led by the Seyyanto tribe (Bichurin, 1998, p. 362).

However, by 632 AD, the Kyrgyz state regained its independence. In that year, the Chinese emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty sent his envoy to the Kyrgyz state. The Kyrgyz response embassy arrived in the Tang Empire only after 11 years, in 643 AD. The envoys brought valuable gifts to the emperor, including sable fur coats and skins (Kyunner, 1961, p. 56).

Five years later, the ruler of the Kyrgyz state on the Yenisei, "Sylyfa" - elteber Shibokuy Achzhan, visited China. During the ceremonial reception, the Kyrgyz ruler became intoxicated and "expressed a desire to hold Huban," i.e., to become a vassal of the Chinese emperor (Bichurin, 1998, p. 363).

Emperor Taizong was offended by the behavior of the guest from the distant northern country but preferred to maintain friendly relations with the Kyrgyz state. In accordance with Chinese tradition, he renamed the Kyrgyz possessions "the Gyan-Gun region," and the Kyrgyz elteber received a Chinese military rank and the title of "chief commander" of his country (Bichurin, 1998, p. 363).

These honorary diplomas and titles did not place the Kyrgyz state in real dependence on the Tang Empire. The power of the Kyrgyz elteber relied on an administrative apparatus that consisted of three "ministers."

Ancient Kyrgyz in the 1st—2nd centuries AD.