Cuman language
Encyclopedia
Cuman was a Kipchak Turkic language spoken by the Cumans
(Polovtsy, Folban, Vallany, Kun) and Kipchaks
; the language was similar to the today's Crimean Tatar language
. The Kipchak language
/Cuman is documented in medieval works, including the Codex Cumanicus
, and it was a literary language in the Central and Eastern Europe that left a rich literary inheritance. The language became the main language (lingua franca) of the Golden Horde.
The Cuman-Kipchaks were nomadic people that lived in the steppes of Eastern Europe
, north of Black Sea
before the Golden Horde
. Many Cumans were incorporated into other Turkic peoples including the Crimean Tatars
, Karachays
, and Kumyks
.
They later had an important role in the history of Hungary
, Rumania (see, for example, the Besarab dynasty
), Moldavia
and Bessarabia
.
The Cuman language became extinct in early 17th century in the region of Cumania
in Hungary
, which was its last stronghold. Today, Gagauz people
of modern Moldavia
speak a close variation of Cuman Turkish. Turks of Turkey
can also read and understand old Cuman texts. From Codex Cumanicus book,
Cuman Turkic
Atamız kim köktesiñ. Alğışlı bolsun seniñ atıñ, kelsin seniñ xanlığıñ, bolsun seniñ tilemekiñ – neçikkim kökte, alay [da] yerde. Kündeki ötmegimizni bizge bugün bergil. Dağı yazuqlarımıznı bizge boşatqıl – neçik biz boşatırbiz bizge yaman etkenlerge. Dağı yekniñ sınamaqına bizni quurmağıl. Basa barça yamandan bizni qutxarğıl. Amen!
In Modern Turkish
, the text is
Atamız sen göktesin. Alkışlı olsun senin adın, gelsin senin hanlığın,
olsun senin dilemeğin– nasıl ki gökte, ve yerde.
Gündelik ekmeğimizi bize bugün ver. Ve de yazıklarımızdan (suçlarımızdan) bizi bağışla–
nasıl biz bağışlarız bize yaman (kötülük) edenleri.
Ve de şeytanın sınamasından bizi koru.
Tüm yamandan (kötülükten) bizi kurtar. Amin!
Tradition holds that the last speaker of the cuman language was a certain István Varró, a resident of Karcag (Hungary
) who died in 1770.
Cumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
(Polovtsy, Folban, Vallany, Kun) and Kipchaks
Kipchaks
Kipchaks were a Turkic tribal confederation...
; the language was similar to the today's Crimean Tatar language
Crimean Tatar language
The Crimean Tatar language is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria...
. The Kipchak language
Kipchak language
The Kipchak language is an extinct Turkic language of the Kipchak group.The descendants of the Kipchak language include the majority of Turkic languages spoken in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus today, as Kipchak was used as a lingua franca in Golden Horde–ruled lands.Kazakhs are remnants of...
/Cuman is documented in medieval works, including the Codex Cumanicus
Codex Cumanicus
The Codex Cumanicus was a linguistic manual of the Middle Ages, designed to help Catholic missionaries communicate with the Cumans, a nomadic Turkic people. It is currently housed in the Library of St. Mark, in Venice ....
, and it was a literary language in the Central and Eastern Europe that left a rich literary inheritance. The language became the main language (lingua franca) of the Golden Horde.
The Cuman-Kipchaks were nomadic people that lived in the steppes of Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, north of Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
before the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
. Many Cumans were incorporated into other Turkic peoples including the Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
, Karachays
Karachays
The Karachays are Turkic speaking people of the North Caucasus, mostly situated in the Russian Karachay-Cherkess Republic.-History:The Karachays are a Turkic speaking people descending from the Kipchaks and probably the Cumans, with some admixture of the medieval Alans and native Caucasians; their...
, and Kumyks
Kumyks
Kumyks are a Turkic people occupying the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language...
.
They later had an important role in the history of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Rumania (see, for example, the Besarab dynasty
House of Basarab
The Basarabs were a family which had an important role in the establishing of the Principality of Wallachia, giving the country its first line of Princes, one closely related with the Muşatin rulers of Moldavia...
), Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and Bessarabia
Bessarabia
Bessarabia is a historical term for the geographic region in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the east and the Prut River on the west....
.
The Cuman language became extinct in early 17th century in the region of Cumania
Kunság
Kunság is a historical and geographical region in Hungary situated in the current Bács-Kiskun and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties. Like other historical European regions called Cumania, it is named for the Cumans, a nomadic tribe of pagan Kipchaks that settled the area...
in Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, which was its last stronghold. Today, Gagauz people
Gagauz people
The Gagauz people are Turkic speaking group living mostly in southern Moldova , southwestern Ukraine , south-eastern Romania and northeastern Bulgaria. Unlike most other Turkic speaking people, the Gagauz are predominantly Orthodox Christians...
of modern Moldavia
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
speak a close variation of Cuman Turkish. Turks of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
can also read and understand old Cuman texts. From Codex Cumanicus book,
Cuman Turkic
Atamız kim köktesiñ. Alğışlı bolsun seniñ atıñ, kelsin seniñ xanlığıñ, bolsun seniñ tilemekiñ – neçikkim kökte, alay [da] yerde. Kündeki ötmegimizni bizge bugün bergil. Dağı yazuqlarımıznı bizge boşatqıl – neçik biz boşatırbiz bizge yaman etkenlerge. Dağı yekniñ sınamaqına bizni quurmağıl. Basa barça yamandan bizni qutxarğıl. Amen!
In Modern Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, the text is
Atamız sen göktesin. Alkışlı olsun senin adın, gelsin senin hanlığın,
olsun senin dilemeğin– nasıl ki gökte, ve yerde.
Gündelik ekmeğimizi bize bugün ver. Ve de yazıklarımızdan (suçlarımızdan) bizi bağışla–
nasıl biz bağışlarız bize yaman (kötülük) edenleri.
Ve de şeytanın sınamasından bizi koru.
Tüm yamandan (kötülükten) bizi kurtar. Amin!
Tradition holds that the last speaker of the cuman language was a certain István Varró, a resident of Karcag (Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
) who died in 1770.