Nogai Horde
Encyclopedia
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic
and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe
from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks
and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde. In the thirteenth century the Golden Horde
commander Nogai
(Nogai Khan) formed an army of the Manghits joined by numerous Turkic tribes. A century later the Nogais were led by Edigu
, a commander of Manghit origin, who founded the Nogai ruling dynasty.
There were two groups of Nogais
: those north of the Caspian Sea
under their own Bey
(leader), and those north of the Black Sea
nominally subject to the Crimean Khan
. The first group was broken up circa 1632 by the Kalmyks. The second shared the fate of the Khanate of Crimea.
Nogai language
was a form of Kypchak
Turkic
, the same language group as that of the neighboring Kazakhs, Bashkirs and Crimean and Kazan Tatars. Their religion was Muslim, but religious institutions were weakly developed.
They were pastoral nomad
s grazing sheep, horses, and camels. Outside goods were obtained by trade (mostly horses and slaves), raiding, and tribute. There were some subject peasants along the Yaik river. One of the main sources of income for the Nogais was raiding for slaves, who were sold in Crimea
and Bukhara
. Hunting, fishing, caravan taxation, and seasonal agricultural migration also played a role although it is poorly documented.
The basic social unit
was the semi-autonomous ulus or band. Aristocrats were called mirza
. The ruler of the Nogais was the Bey. The capital or winter camp was at Saraychik
, a caravan town on the lower Yaik
. From 1537 the second in rank was the Nureddin, usually the Bey's son or younger brother and expected successor. The Nureddin held the right bank along the Volga
. From the 1560s there was a second Nureddin, a sort of a war chief. Third in rank was the Keikuvat, who held the Emba
. Political organization was fluid and much depended on personal prestige since as nomads, the Nogai subjects could simply move away from a leader who was disliked. Ambassadors and merchants were regularly beaten and robbed. Stealing horses, looked down upon in many cultures, was an important part of social and economic life on the steppe. Beys and Mirzas would often declare themselves vassals of some outside power, but such declarations had little meaning.
Circa 1557 the Nogay nureddin Kazy Mirza quarreled with Ismael Beg and founded the Lesser Nogai Horde on the steppe of the North Caucasus
. The Nogais north of the Caspian were thereafter called the Great Nogai Horde. In the early seventeenth century The Great Nogai Horde broke down further under the onslaught of the Kalmyks.
The Nogais north of the Black Sea were nominally subject to the Crimean Khan rather than the Nogai Bey. They were divided into the following groups: Budjak
(from the Danube to the Dniester), Yedisan
(from the Dniester to the Bug), Jamboyluk (Bug to Crimea), Yedickul (north of Crimea) and Kuban
. In particular, the Yedisans are mentioned as a distinct group, and in various locations.
During the next 150 years, Black Sea grain ports assist massive southward expansion of Russian agriculture and population.
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe
Pontic-Caspian steppe
The Pontic-Caspian steppe is the vast steppeland stretching from the north of the Black Sea as far as the east of the Caspian Sea, from western Ukraine across the Southern Federal District and the Volga Federal District of Russia to western Kazakhstan,...
from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks
Kalmyk people
Kalmyk people is the name given to the Oirats, western Mongols in Russia, whose descendants migrated from Dzhungaria in 1607. Today they form a majority in the autonomous Republic of Kalmykia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Kalmykia is Europe's only Buddhist government...
and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde. In the thirteenth century 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...
commander Nogai
Nogai Khan
Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
(Nogai Khan) formed an army of the Manghits joined by numerous Turkic tribes. A century later the Nogais were led by Edigu
Edigu
Edigu was a Mongol emir of the White Horde who founded the new political entity, which came to be known as the Nogai Horde....
, a commander of Manghit origin, who founded the Nogai ruling dynasty.
Society
Nogais
The Nogai people are a Turkic ethnic group in Southern Russia: northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia and the Astrakhan Oblast; undefined number live in Chechnya...
: those north of the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
under their own Bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
(leader), and those north of the 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...
nominally subject to the Crimean Khan
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
. The first group was broken up circa 1632 by the Kalmyks. The second shared the fate of the Khanate of Crimea.
Nogai language
Nogai language
Nogai , is a Turkic language spoken in southwestern Russia. Three distinct dialects are recognized: Qara-Nogay , spoken in Dagestan; Nogai Proper, in Stavropol; and Aqnogay , by the Kuban River, its tributaries in Karachay-Cherkessia, and in the Mineralnye Vody District...
was a form of Kypchak
Kypchak languages
The Kypchak languages , are a major branch of the Turkic language family spoken by more than 12 million people in an area spanning from Lithuania to China....
Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
, the same language group as that of the neighboring Kazakhs, Bashkirs and Crimean and Kazan Tatars. Their religion was Muslim, but religious institutions were weakly developed.
They were pastoral nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
s grazing sheep, horses, and camels. Outside goods were obtained by trade (mostly horses and slaves), raiding, and tribute. There were some subject peasants along the Yaik river. One of the main sources of income for the Nogais was raiding for slaves, who were sold in Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
and Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
. Hunting, fishing, caravan taxation, and seasonal agricultural migration also played a role although it is poorly documented.
The basic social unit
Social unit
Social unit is a term used in sociology, anthropology, ethnology, and also in animal behaviour studies, zoology and biology to describe a social entity which is part of and participates in a larger social group or society....
was the semi-autonomous ulus or band. Aristocrats were called mirza
Mirza
Mirza , is of Persian origin, denoting the rank of a high nobleman or Prince. It is usually translated into English as a royal or imperial Prince of the Blood...
. The ruler of the Nogais was the Bey. The capital or winter camp was at Saraychik
Saray-Jük
Saray-Jük or Saraychyq was a medieval city on the border between Europe and Asia in the 10th-16th centuries. It was located on the Ural River, modern Kazakhstan, Atyrau Province, near Sarayshyq village, 50 km above Atyrau...
, a caravan town on the lower Yaik
Ural River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
. From 1537 the second in rank was the Nureddin, usually the Bey's son or younger brother and expected successor. The Nureddin held the right bank along the Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
. From the 1560s there was a second Nureddin, a sort of a war chief. Third in rank was the Keikuvat, who held the Emba
Emba
Emba is one of the largest villages in Paphos, Cyprus. It is spread over a wide area and not only borders Paphos but also the villages of Chlorakas, Kissonerga, Tala, Tremithousa and Mesogi. It has a population of 4,500 people....
. Political organization was fluid and much depended on personal prestige since as nomads, the Nogai subjects could simply move away from a leader who was disliked. Ambassadors and merchants were regularly beaten and robbed. Stealing horses, looked down upon in many cultures, was an important part of social and economic life on the steppe. Beys and Mirzas would often declare themselves vassals of some outside power, but such declarations had little meaning.
Circa 1557 the Nogay nureddin Kazy Mirza quarreled with Ismael Beg and founded the Lesser Nogai Horde on the steppe of the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
. The Nogais north of the Caspian were thereafter called the Great Nogai Horde. In the early seventeenth century The Great Nogai Horde broke down further under the onslaught of the Kalmyks.
The Nogais north of the Black Sea were nominally subject to the Crimean Khan rather than the Nogai Bey. They were divided into the following groups: Budjak
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak is a historical region in the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube and Dniester rivers this multiethnic region was the southern part of Bessarabia...
(from the Danube to the Dniester), Yedisan
Yedisan
Yedisan is a historical region in modern southwestern Ukraine and southeastern Moldova . The region lies to the north of the Black Sea between the Dniester and Dnieper rivers...
(from the Dniester to the Bug), Jamboyluk (Bug to Crimea), Yedickul (north of Crimea) and Kuban
Kuban
Kuban is a geographic region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, Volga Delta and the Caucasus...
. In particular, the Yedisans are mentioned as a distinct group, and in various locations.
Decline of the Golden Horde
- 1299 Nogai KhanNogai KhanNogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
, the Mongol ruler for whom the Nogais were named - 1406-1419 EdiguEdiguEdigu was a Mongol emir of the White Horde who founded the new political entity, which came to be known as the Nogai Horde....
, another subject and king-maker, founds Nogai dynasty - 1438 Kazan Khanate founded
- 1441 Crimean KhanateCrimean KhanateCrimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
founded - 1452 Kasimov 'khanate' founded. Beginning of Russian rule over Turkic Muslims
- 1465 or 1480 Kazakh KhanateKazakh KhanateKazakh Khanate was a Kazakh state that existed in 1456-1847, located roughly on the territory of present-day Republic of Kazakhstan.-History:...
founded - 1466 Astrakhan KhanateAstrakhan KhanateThe Khanate of Astrakhan was a Tatar feudal state that appeared after the collapse of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, where the contemporary city of Astrakhan/Hajji Tarkhan is now located...
founded - 1466 At this point the Golden HordeGolden HordeThe Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
was left with only the steppe nomads, SaraiSarai-Places:*Saraj , an historic estate in Resen built by Ahmed Niyazi Bey*Bal-Sarai, a village in Amritsar District of Punjab, India*Sarai , the capital city of the Golden Horde*Saraj municipality, a municipality in Greater Skopje, Republic of Macedonia...
and some control over the caravan trade. The name "Great Horde" appears some time after this. - 1470s Nogais hostile to Great Horde
- 1475 Ottomans take Kaffa from Genoese
- 1480-1519 Moscow and Crimea allied against Horde and Lithuania
- 1480 Ugra standoff: Horde fails in attack on Moscow. Approximate start of Russian independence from Tatars
- 1481 Nogais kill Khan of the Great Horde in battle
- 1502 Crimeans destroy remnant of Golden Horde. Sarai destroyed
Independence
- c1509 Nogais move into lands vacated by Great Horde
- 1519 end of Moscow-Crimean alliance
- 1521 Nogais, driven west by the Kazakhs, cross Volga and attack Astrakhan
- 1521 Crimea (50-60,000 horsemen) and Kazan attack Muscovy. Moscow besieged
- c1522 Kazakhs capture Nogai capital
- 1523 Crimea briefly takes Astrakhan, but its army and Khan are destroyed by the Nogais.
- 1547-1584 Ivan the Terrible Czar of Russia
- 1552 Kazan annexed by Russia. Nogais lose tribute
- c1550-60 Disorder. Moscow backs unpopular Ismael Bey. Ataulskaya Horde formed on the Emba
- 1556 Famine
- 1556 Astrakhan annexed by Russia. Nogais lose tribute
- 1557 Mirza Kazy crosses Volga and founds Small Horde along the Kuban
- 1567-1571 Russian fort on the on Terek, south of Nogais.
- 1569 Ottomans and Crimeans with Small Horde fail to take Astrakhan
- 1570s Kazakh pressure shifts Nogai trade away from Central Asia toward Moscow
- 1571 Russo-Crimean War (1571) Crimean-Nogai attack on Moscow. 100,000 horsemen. Moscow burned
- 1572 second raid fails
- 1580/81 or 1577: Saraichick destroyed by renegade Cossacks
- 1582/83 Russian peace with Sweden and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
- 1580s New Russian forts on the Volga
- 1588 many Nogais move to Don. Very destructive fighting between Big and Small Hordes
- 1592 Crimean raid on Moscow frontier. Many captives
- 1598 Moscow pushes fortifications south
- 1600 Moscow 'appoints' a Nogai beg for the first time. Civil war among Nogais
Decline
- 1500-1850 Russian population expands southward and occupies forest-steppe and steppe. This is poorly documented
- 1613-1643 Kalmyks, warlike Buddhist Mongols, move west from DzungariaDzungariaDzungaria, also called Zungaria, is a geographical region in northwest China corresponding to the northern half of Xinjiang. It covers approximately , lying mostly within Xinjiang, and extending into western Mongolia and eastern Kazakhstan...
and occupy area from the Don to the Emba. Some eastern Nogais join Kazakhs and Karakalpaks. Others stay as Kalmyk subjects. Others cross the Volga southwest to the Kuban or west across Don, both groups becoming subjects of Crimea - 1619 Isterek Bey dies. Civil war. Status of Beyship uncertain after this
- 1633 last Crimean-Nogai raid to reach the Oka
- 1634 major defeat of Nogais by Kalmyks
- 1643 Kalmyks pushed back from Astrakhan
- 1672 Kalmyks, Russians and Cossacks besiege Azov
- 1693 Kalmyks attack Nogais, as agents of Russia
- 1711 20474 Kalmyks and 4,100 Russians attack Kuban. They kill 11,460 Nogais, drown 5,060 others and return with 2,000 camels, 39,200 horses, 190,000 cattle, 220,000 sheep and 22,100 human captives, of whom only 700 were adult males. On the way home they meet and defeat a returning Nogai war party and free 2,000 Russian captives.
- 1720s 15,000 Nogai 'tents' flee Kalmyks for Kuban.
- 1736-39 Russians temporarily hold Azov
- 1770 Yedisans ally with Russia, blocking land route from Balkans to Crimea
- 1771 Trans-Volga Kalmyks exodus back to Dzungaria
- 1772 many Crimean Nogais accept Russian protection
- 1774 Crimea a Russian vassal
- 1783 Crimea annexed by Russia, many Nogais move from lower Dnieper to Kuban
During the next 150 years, Black Sea grain ports assist massive southward expansion of Russian agriculture and population.
- c1860 Several hundred thousand Muslims migrate from Russian to Ottoman empire
- 1900s Nogai District in Daghestan
- 2002 Nogai population: 90,700
- 2007 Nogai District formed in Karachayevo-Cherkessia
Partial List of Beys and Mirzas
- TEMIR (1480): at Ugra standoff, 1481: assassinated Ahmed Khan.
- Musa Mirza (-1506): said to have 17 sons, among them:
- SHEIDIAK (1521): defeated Astrakhan KhanateAstrakhan KhanateThe Khanate of Astrakhan was a Tatar feudal state that appeared after the collapse of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, where the contemporary city of Astrakhan/Hajji Tarkhan is now located...
1551: near UrgenchUrgenchUrgench is a city in western Uzbekistan. It is the capital of the Khorezm Province, on the Amu Darya River and the Shavat canal. The city is situated 450 km west of Bukhara across the Kyzyl Kum Desert. It is located at latitude 41° 32' 60N longitude 60° 37' 60E, at an altitude of 91 meters.The... - MAMAY (-1549): Murdered the Crimean khan in 1523. 1530s: near Yaik, then near Kazan.
- YOSUF (1549-55): (on Yaik, anti-Moscow) circa 1535: near KazanKazanKazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. 1549: helped Moscow against Kazan. 1551: near Yaik, broke with Moscow, claimed to have 300,000 horsemen and 8 sons. circa 1552: dissuaded from raid on Moscow. 1555: murdered by Araslan Mirza. - ISMAEL (1555-64) (on Volga, pro-Moscow) 1551: near Astrakhan. 1554: helped to take Astrakhan. 1555: sent 20,000 horses to Moscow 1555: BegBegBeg refers to:* Begging* Beg or Baig an alternative form of the Turkic title Bey . It is also used by Indian, Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani people....
. 1556-57: Yosuf's sons (especially Yunus) seized his property. 1558: abandoned and starved, sent across Volga to buy food. 1560: tried to attack Crimea, blocked by Kazy Mirza
- SHEIDIAK (1521): defeated Astrakhan Khanate
- SÜÜNBIKE, daughter of Yosuf, widow of Kazan Khan, Moscow's captive
- ARSLAN Mirza, son of Kuchum, killed Yosuf, Keikuvat under Ismael
- KAZY Mirza (-1577): son of Mamay. 1551: near Jaxartes. 1555: Nureddin under Ismael. circa 1557: broke with Ismael when Ismael appoints Tin Ahmed his successor. Fled to Kuban, founding Small Horde. 1577: killed in war with Kabardians
- TIN AHMED (1564–79): 1577 said to support raids on Moscow
- URUS (1579–90): 1581 with Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsCrimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
attacked Moscow's frontiers. Killed in battle against the Small Horde - UR MAMED (1590–97)
- TIN MAMED (1597–1600)
- ISTEREK (1600–18): 1600: was installed by Russians at AstrakhanAstrakhanAstrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
. 1613: was attacked by Kalmyks, fled to CaucasusCaucasusThe Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, then Azov Sea region. Swear allegiance to both Russians and Turks, then made alliance with PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and received ambassadors from Persia, refused to be vassalVassalA vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
of CrimeaCrimeaCrimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. 1616: was attacked by Crimea, sought Russian protection at Astrakhan. 1618: died under questionable circumstances - KANAY (1622–1634)