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Djagfar Tarihi Preface · Djagfar Tarihi Contents · Chapters 1-5 · Chapters 6-10 · Chapters 11-15 · Chapters 16-20 · Chapters 21-25 and Ghazi-Baradj · Appendix
Volume 1 · Volume 1 Appendix · Volume 2 · Volume 3

Bakhshi Iman
DJAGFAR TARIHI
(THE ANNALS OF DJAGFAR)

Volume 3

 
<= Previous Contents Next =>
Volume 3
Contents
Editorial Comments
Fargat Nurutdinov DJAGFAR TARIHI publication story pp. 6-10
Fargat Nurutdinov Timing of the Kazan city foundation pp. 11-15
Fargat Nurutdinov Bulgarian Khans of all dynasties pp. 81-103
Fargat Nurutdinov Tore (Tengrianism) pp. 110-124
Fargat Nurutdinov ? Ukrainian Troy pp. 129-141
Fargat Nurutdinov How and when got to Kazan a Czech coin of the 10th c. pp. 141-144
Fargat Nurutdinov Unknown Mokhammediyar pp. 145-156
Fargat Nurutdinov Oldest History of Trident pp. 157-166
Fargat Nurutdinov Miniatures from the Djagfar Tarihi Annals pp. 171-177
Annalistic Materials
Kul Gali HON KITABY A few advices for travelers to Tubdjak pp. 16-30
Kul Gali HON KITABY Description of Saksin pp. 31-58
Kul Gali HON KITABY Brief about Bulgaro-Kipchak relations pp. 64-75
Kul Gali HON KITABY Fragments pp. 62-63
Kul Gali Brief about Yar Chally p. 169
Kultasi Kazan History pp. 60-62
Bakhshi Iman Brief about Bulgarian Viziers pp. 75-80
Bakhshi Iman Fragments of “Djagfar Tarihi“ pp. 59-60
Reykhan Bulgari Flowers of the Kipchak Fields pp. 103-106
Gazi Baba Brief about Bulgarian Heraldry p. 107
Gazi Baba Bulgarian Calendars Tore and Kam-Boyans pp. 108-109
Gazi Baba Alphabet of Danube Bulgars p.125
Gazi Baba Batyr Djilan and Karamats (Sacred Groves, Temple) pp. 126-128
Volume 3
F.Nurutdinov
Conspectus of “Djagfar Tarihi“ fragments
KUL GALI
 HON KITABY (BOOK OF HUNS)
Fragments from the Chapter
 “A FEW ADVICES FOR TRAVELERS TO TUBDJAK“
 

Translator's Notes

In the statement of the author and publisher Fargat Gabdul-Khamitovich Nurutdinov, he wrote the annalistic contents of the Volume 3 as a conspectus. Per F.Nurutdinov, the conspectus renders the annalistic information in the “Djagfar Tarihi“ of the snatched original translation of collection. While studying in the IYALI KFAN USSR (Language and Literature Institute of the Kazan Branch of  USSR Academy of Sciences) graduate school, F.Nurutdinov reportedly tried to initiate publication of the translation of the annals, but that led to an opposite result, in 1982 all Nigmatullin original notebooks with the text of the translation were snatched from the summer cabin of his father. F.Nurutdinov retained only a portion of “Djagfar's“ translation that was located at his Kazan home, apparently none of then were Nigmatullin's original notebooks. However, F.Nurutdinov's notes in the text indicate that some portions are of the original Nigmatullin translation.

Because of the eclectic structure of the Volume 3, with massive editorial comments by Fargat Nurutdinov, and multiple fragments of different authors assembled from a loose-leaf like conspectus format, this posting does not follow the publication's sequence, but the contents are reorganized by the authors of the fragments and editorials. The Page numbers, where shown, indicate the actual pages in the Volume 3 book publication. The offered copy of the printed edition contains typos and misspellings, for which I apologize and intend to correct them with time.

The “mouse over“ explanations basically follow the definitions found in the Annals and represent the views of its writers, which may be different from the known or accepted conditions of the present time. They are the best guess and some of them may be incorrect because of incorrect interpretation of the text  by the translator. The translator of the Annals to Russian left a multitude of Türkisms in his translation, and they are preserved in the English translation, in blue italics, with additional comments by the translator from Russian to English denoted with a marker “- Translator's Note“ .

For a brief dictionary of medieval Bulgarian geographical names and expressions click here. For phonetical conventions click here

What we know about Kul Gali and his works
Kul Gali Biography here
Bulgaria ca 1050
Map by F.Nurutdinov
Tubjak (West Siberia and Moddle Asia) ca 1050
Map by F.Nurutdinov

KUL GALI
 HON KITABY (BOOK OF HUNS)
Fragments from the Chapter
 “A FEW ADVICES FOR TRAVELERS TO TUBDJAK“

1. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT TUBDJAK

16

Tubdjak is the biggest il [province] in the State, settled by 70 Uz and Kirgiz nomadic tribes. But you will not find sandjaks [viceroyalty], beyliks, uluses, Tarkhanlyks there, like in the other ils, as it is divided only into tübas. Such a division was partly established because our hishdeks [nomads] more than all others are concerned about the preservation of equality, and consequently do not allow neighbors to raise in rank of their titles or possessions. There is also another reason for it: from a tüba is raised a smallest tax ...

There are a total of seven tübas in the province. They are Urug-tüba, Ulug-tüba, Seber, Kara-Idjim, Ak-Idjim, Saban-tüba and Sary-tüba...

In the western part of the province stands out Urug-tüba, limited from the west and north by Djaik [Ural], from the east by the Urugtau [Mugodjar] mountains, from the south by Djurdjan [Khoresm], the banks of the Turanian [Aral] sea and Man-Kyshlak. From the time immemorial the Uzian tribe Urug or Djurug dominates there, that's the reason for that called.

In addition to the Urugs,  there also lives a part of another Uzian tribe, the Uy. It is also called Uil, Uildar, Uyyaguz (pronouced as Uy-Yaguz- Translator's Note) , Uykek...

“Kek“ or “As“ means in the Uzian “clan“, but sometimes also “tribe“. The Uilians, together with the Khindyrians, established the Sabanian confederation of the Uzian clans, and untill now a part of the Uilians live in their old native land, in the Sabanian tüba, on the river Uyyaguz  [Ayaguz]. One more big group of the Uilians lives in the Saksin and Mardan, in the tübas of the cities Uykek [Uvek] and Suz Uryny...

The river, along which are located Uilian pastures is also called Uil' [Uil]...

The center of the tüba is the city of Er or Er-balik, located at the mouth of the river Er-Inesh [Or].

The northern part of the il, where is also located its capital Saba-Kül, is called Ulug-tüba. West from it is Urugtau, to the south is Idjim, in the east is Yrtysh [Irtysh]. Here, in surrounded by the Kirgiz tribes and clans, is coaching Kydan, the clan of the Tubdjak Ulugbek Kichi-Mergen, the son of the Kondjik Ulugbek and the nephew of the Kara-Mergen Ulugbek...

We call Kydans the part of the Kypchaks in service to the Kytay [Mongolian] tribe of Kara-Kytay. Once the Kara-Kytays served to the Hons and took from them the called “Syanbi“, they were the strongest of the Kytay tribes, but then they were defeated by the Imens [Manchurians] and weakened...

However a lack of the people Kara-Kytays compensated by their natural bravery which surpassed that of the other Kytays, and with taking into the service of the Kypchaks. Coming to the Kara-Kytays service, these Kypchaks had to drink a bowl of koumiss, take an oath of loyalty and say: “I am Kytay“. This phrase they pronounced in the form “mon - gyt“, and we began to call them Mongyts. The Mongyts adopted the Kytay's language, but did not merged into one mass. Among them were those who accepted Kytay's customs and superstitions (pagan blunders). They were especially cruel during the war toward the Türks oppositing the Kytays. We despised them and called them Kaymans, that is “identical to the pagan Uigurs“. The word “kay“ [pagan Uigur] was considered an expletive...

It arose in the time when the Kays were at war with the Hons and destroyed a few Sabanian clans...

The word “Kayman“ is a very strong curse in our language, like the word “kay“. Those Kays who accepted the the true belief, we praised very much and called them “Sary Kashan“. In the Kuakbash I visited a colony of local Sary Kashans at the invitation of their duvan [head] Kutlu-Mohammed, and saw myself that they are very tidy and benevolent people...

When the ruling dynasty of the Kara-Kytays split, one Kara-Kytayan prince with a greater part of the Kaymans formed his beylik to the east of the Kara-Kytaja, and began to called it and his people Kaymanian [Naymanian]...

Those Kypchaks who had to hire into the service to the Kara-Kytays but preserved their Türkic customs and their respect for other Türks, we call Kydans. Our Kans willingly accepted and still take the Kydans, and the Kara-Kytays, onto the service, as they acquired from the Kara-Kytays their military bravery, skills and the weapons. But the Kydans were and are very proud and capricious, and quite often raised mutinies against their masters. So, in the reign of the Emir Adam the Kydanian troops of the biy Ugyrdjak raised a mutiny against the Uzian's Sultan in the Uzian land. Braking through Daglyk, Ugyrdjak and his brothers of Turbin and Ardjan besieged the Madjara-Suba, were beaten off. Then they went to Khin-Kerman, but there also they failed to profit. But in the Kara-Saklanian [N.Pontic] steppe spread a rumour about their heroism, and the Shir Kyrgyzes, the usual foes of the State, invited them. Together with these Kypchaks, Ugyrdjak established his domination over that steppe, but he did not want to remain there and left to the Man-Kyshlak. The Saksinians tried to stop him, but he outwitted them by organizing a false river crossing, crossed the Idel in another place and broke through to the Man-Kyshlak. Ardjan inherited his authority,  tried to conclude an alliance with the Bashtu Bek against the State, but that, ingratiating Adam, killed the Kydanian. Then Turbin left the Kara-Saklan and engaged into the service to the State. He and his people accepted the true belief and established the city of Gazilar in the Mardan...

The Kydanian ancestor of the Kichi-Mergen Ulugbek fled with his people to the State during a conflict in the Kara-Kytayan state...

The Kyrgyzes, who in the beginning were unhappy with his appointment as an Ulugbek, soon reconciled to it, as he protected their freedoms and besides was not one of them...

However Kichi-Mergen himself lost valour and the pride of his ancestors, and in his fear lowered himself by taking me for a secret naib [auditor], and my travelling notes for a book of the court records. Forgotting about any decency and honour, he, like a last amil [collector and re-buyer of taxes], right during the feast selebrating my arrival, humiliatingly expressed his concern: “Is the greatest in the whole universe Kagan [Kan Chelbir] (1178-1225 - Translator's Note) pleased with my service?“ I calmed him as well as I could, but since then loathed even a sight of him and was very glad when our caravan set out from the Sabakül...

The Kydans are coaching in the Ulug-tüba together with several  loyal Kirgiz clans, who are called “tazlar“ by the others Tubdjakians ...
16
17

Everything in the Tubdjak between the rivers Yrtysh and Abi-Darja [Ob], is the tüba Seber with center in the city Omek...

Here the inal [head of tüba] is chosen from among the biys of the Kirgiz tribe Iskilik. The word “Iskilik“ is pronounced also “Askal“ and “Esegel“. As the motherland of the Iskiliks is the Seber, they are also frequently called “Sebers“. They are descendants of the Kirgiz Kilik tribe and Altaians, that's why they are called “Kilikian“. The Iskiliks also live in the south of Bajgul, and in the Ulug-tüba, and we quite often call the south of the Bajgul and Northern Tubdjak, alongside with the Seber, “Iskil“ (“Askal“, “Esegel“) or “Seber“...

And the native land of the Kiliks is Kara-Idjim tüba. Is is encircled by the Turanian sea , Ulug-tüba, Idjim, headwaters of thr river Khin-Darya [Turgay] and Ulugtau [Ulytau] mountain. Here... dominates the Uzian tribe Hindyr (from Hin > Hun + plural affix “dyr“, i.e. “Huns“ - Translator's Note), whose warriors are famous for their marksmanship in the bow shooting... The center of the tüba, city Hindyr, is located on the river Khin-Darya at its merging with its influent river Kilik-Bulak [Irgiz], on which banks the Kiliks live. From there one part of the Kiliks in the famine years moved to the Sébér, and another joined Badjanaks and left with the Sabans to the north. The northern Kiliks, whom we frequently call “Illak“ or “Ilek“, settled on the bank of the Djaik influent, which received their name Illak (Ilek)...

South of the Kara-Idjim is Sary-tüba, limited in the west by the Turanian sea, in the north by the border with the Kara-Idjim, lake Bulyar or Baylar dingize [Tengiz] and the upper and middlr flow of the river Atil [Kulanutpes], in the east by the source of the river Sarysu and the western coast of the Bulgarian or Sabanian [Balkhash] lake, in the south by the river Irgiz [Kalmakkyrgan]. And the name “irgiz“, was explained to me, means a steppe stream that cuts a ravine and disappear...

In the Sary-tüba dominates the Uzian tribe Kangly, also called Bulyar or Baylar. This tribe sometime, together with the Sabans headed the Badjinaks, but it was less numerous than the Sabans, and for this reason the Badjinaks sometimes are also called Sabans, but not the Kangly. A part of the Kangly, with Badjanaks, left from there to the Mardan, where they settled around the lake Kangly dingeze [Shalkar], and to the mountain [shan] Cherem [Cheremshan], near which is the great capital of our State, Bulyar.

The mountain Ulugtau, which the ancients called “Cheremshan“, is greatly revered by the Badjanaks (this hill, promonent in the flats of the area, has a remarcable history spanning millenia. Lately, it was repossessed by the state Orthodox Chirch commercializing the pilgrimage and arousing the reverence to the legendary mountain - Translator's Note)... It is a source of the rivers Djilanchyk (Snake river - Translator's Note), Khin-Darya and Bulyarchay (Bulyar river - Translator's Note), the right influent of the Sarysu...

When we were in Tubdjak, the Kytay tribe Burdjigin suddenly attacked the friendly to the State Kytay tribe Arakytay [Merkits]. Arakytays are the northern Kytays and are considered the indigenous Kytays, and that's why they are called “pure (Ara) Kytays“. This Arakytay tribe controlled the eastern part of the Hons and Kyrgyzes, whom they called “Argyn“, by the Argyn [Argun] river, where they managed to defeat Bulümar's father, the Kan Djilka of the Hons. After that battle Bulümar withdrew one part of the Hons and the subjected to them Kyrgyzes to the West, but the other part, led by the Bulümar brother Burdjigin, retreated at that time to the river Djilka [Shilka]. Djilka carried the name of this river  because he was born on its bank. In that same place he also was buried in the wooden house “kur“, above which was built a kurgan [artificial earthen hill]...

But soon the Djilkian part of the Hons and Kyrgyzes also had to submit to Arakytays and began to be called “Argyns“. The descendants od Burdjigin or Chindjigin adopted the customs and language of the Kytays, and were left by the Arakytays as the biys of the Argyns, but did not forget their humiliation. To always remember it, they even kept the name of Burdjigin, made out of two Bulgarian words: “buri“ or “chin“ [wolf] and “djigin“ or “djakyn“ - “prince“... From that clan came out the present ruler of the Kytay land Timer [Chingizkhan]...

Despite of the past wars, the relations of the State with Arakytays were good, and their merchants were frequently coming through the Altai to the Seber for their trading business. The Arakytays Khan Kara-Kolyn even sent to the Bulyar his ambassadors, who told the Kan: “The event with Djilka happened after the Djilka's ancestor, the Hons Kan Madji, defeated and killed our Khan and for a long time enslaved Arakytays, so that even the blood account of our feud is equal, and there is no sense to cloud our relations by already superfluous memories of the past insults. In fact, you are friends with the Kara-Kytays, and they are descendents of the Arakytays “... Gabdulla liked this straight talk, and he sent to Arakytays our ambassadors and merchants. The pestilent Kaymans, who managed to form their own beylik in the Altai, did not let the Kan's ambassador into the land of the Arakytays... When the Kaymans, together with Kytay tribe Kirey attacked Kara-Kolyn, Timer with his Burdjigins and Argyns traitorously switched over to the side of the enemies. However, Arakytay defeated the enemies and captured Timer, and then sold him to a merchant Nazym in the Kozgyn. Nazym did not bring the slave to the Echke Bulgar, as the Kytay slaves were not valued, and sold him to the Sabanian inal Kukdjal.. .. The Imenian Khan, learning about it, demanded from the Kara-Kytay Khan Aldjan to release Timer, as this Burdjigin earlier rendered him considerable services... Aldjan, mindful that the Imens would disrupt the trade with the Kara-Kytays, very important to them, meekly asked Chelbir to release Timer. The Kan has been appreciating the friendship with Aldjan, and ordered the Tubdjak Ulugbek Kara-Mergen to resolve the affair. The Ulugbek personally visited Saban-tüba and persuaded inal to release Timer, and for that he gave his daughter in marriage to the Kukdjal's son Kamal...
18
19

Timer for a few years served the Imens, and then with their support seized most of the Kytay lands and began to call himself “Khan Chingiz“. And this word, as the explained to me Saban inal Kukdjal, is the Imenian name of the clan Burdjigin... Kara-Kytays call Timer people  “Tatars“, the way they always called all Kytays who were serving Imens. In fact, Timer and his ancestors served Imens for a long time ...

The children of Kara-Kolyn with a part of remaining Arakytays and loyal Argyns fled to the kind Aldjan, and he sheltered them. In the beginning they were placed in the area Kagan located between river Uyyaguz (Ayaguz), lake Kagan (Zaisan), Kara-Yrtysh (Black Irtysh) and Kagan  mountains (Tarbagatai Ridge). Then the younger son of Kara-Kolyn, Tudjun, also received pastures near the rivers Irgiz, Sarysu and Chul (Chu), because Aldjan wanted to strengthen the border with Djurdjan there.

Aldjan was very far-sighted. 9 years after my journey to Tubdjak the Djurdjans captured Tudjun's district (djoz - district, i.e. county - Translator's Note), however, Subyatai, the best Sardar of Timer, knocked them out from there. Djurdjans, and also Tudjun and his people, saving their lives, fled to the Sary-tüba. This war forced Chelbir to distract from the Kisanian and Balynian engagemants and send kursybay to Tubdjak. While Tatars were hesitating, to attack the State or not, the kursybay has had time to enter the Sary-tüba by the Türkic road...

The Tatars began to attack our tabyr (fortification made of one or several rings of waggons), but only lost many people, and when they decided to circle it, they fell under attack of the part of the kursybay that stayed outside the fortifications, and of the arriving for assistance a new army of Djurdjan. After a fierce combat the Tatars retreated, and the Tudjun district remained for Djurdjan, as Chelbir did not start worsenning the situation in the east by a dispute with the Djurdjanians. And Arakytays themselves, and the Argyns in their majority preferred to remain in the Tubdjak, and Chelbir gave them tlands along the Kilik-Bulak...

From the 1219 begun the continuous intrusions of the Tatars into Tubdjak, and mostly were invading the Timer's subjects Kydans, Kaymans, Kyrgyzes and Argyns. The Tatar Khan did it so that he could not be accused directly of the attacks by his horde, in fact the parts of these tribes were spread in many countries in the south. And if we were showing to his ambassadors the crowds of the captured people, they were replying under his order: “Ò÷åñå àðå our run away people whom we also hold to be criminals and are ready to execute them“...

In the 1223 the Kaymans and Kydans of Timer again besieged the Sary-balik. The Inal Kasim, who specifically came to meet with me to the Uyyaguz, mindful that on the return leg I may not come to his tüba, defended the city very bravely, but the forces were unequal... The situation of city was desperate when a released by us from a captivity servant of Uran-Kytay at full gallop rode to the Tatars with the message: “Subyatai with all his army was taken prisoner and they are escorted from the Bulgar. If this city would be ravaged, the Bulgarian escort will hack down all the captured to the last person, and they will start with Subyatai“. The frozen by this message Tatars stopped the fight for the city, and when they were given the Kytays captured in the Mutton battle, they left back to their land...

When kusyrbays entered Sary-balik, one of them asked inal Kasim: “Why do you battle so badly for this desert , in fact the State has many others, and blossoming, lands?“ The old Kasim answered: “Each clan has only one their land, given to them by the Almighty God, without which the community would be lost. This is the land of my clan. People in State are like water in a bowl. Break this bowl, and the water will spill,  divide the land, and the people will disperse “...

1 Start of fragment (Inal Kasim told Kul Gali that once, for some time, the Uils became the strongest Badjanakian tribe... They helped the Alan dynasty to seize the Idelian throne, for which they were prosecuted by the Honish dynasties of the Idel. But when Arakytays [under a name of Jujans] seized Khin Uils allied with them, and for a long time nobody dared to disturb them. However, when Arakytays became weak, the Suvarian Kans of the Idel again began to restrain Uils.

But also between the Idelian Bulgars there was no unity. So, in the beginning Bulgars-Utigs [Utrigurs] expelled to the Kara-Saklan [Ukraine] many Baylars [Kotrags](Bay is a noun, lar is the pl. affix, so Baylar is Bays   - Translator's Note), and then the Suvarians forced a part of Utigs, dissatisfied with the Suvar's domination, to leave to Burdjan [N.Caucasia]... At the same time, the Utigs allowed the Arakytay Khan Tubay with his Arakytays and Uilts to stay between the rivers Chuyl (Tsivil) and Deber (Sviyaga) and from them came the Serbians (the Türkic ancestors of the Chuvashes)...

 When the power in the Khin was captured by the Serbiys (Türküts) they decided to annihilate the former owners of the country, Arakytays, and those were forced to flee into the Ulagian territory (Lower Danube) together with a part of the Uils. The other peoples began to call the fugitives Uyars (Avars), concatenating in this name the names of the Uils (Uy) and Arakytays (Ar)... The Serbiy's Kans did not destroy the Idel state, but only took from it the Saksin and forced it to pay them a tribute. They called Idel “Bershud“, like the Madjars, causing the Horezmian writers frequently confused Idel with Bardjil (Persia), and Bolgar they called “Bershahar“. And Madjars' word “ber“ means “Bulgar“...) End of fragment 1.

1 The fragment in (...) brackets was preserved only in my rendition.
20
21

In the 1224 the Kayman Khan Mangush with his 100-thousand horde of Kaymans, Kireys, Kyrgyzes and Kydans defeated the Sabanian militia of the inal Kamal and occupied the Sabanian tüba... The kursybay initially set out to Kuakbash, but then under a new order of the Kan engaged in the pursuit of Karabash... This new order came after a false news of Kichi-Mergen to the Kan about an attack of Karabash on the Tubdjak under an order of the Tatar Khan. The Ulugbek foresaw a possible contender in Karabash, and decided to destroy him with a weapon of slander...

Later, in the 1236, Khan Batu, wishing to gain the sympathies of the Tubdjak biys, executed Kichi-Mergen...

In the winter of the 1226 Kichi-Mergen called in the inals of all tübas to a provincial kanash [council] in Kuakbash, which he ostensibly wrestled back from the Mangush's son. When the inals came to the place, sooner out of the desire to see the miracle of a victory over the enemy with their own eyes, they were immediately seized by the Ulugbek, who openly declared to them about his switch to the side of the Tatars. The traitor expected a fast victory, since in the steppe the word of the clan's head rules, and all the biys were in his hands. However, with the help of inal Kamal the old Kasim managed to escape and told the Kan about the mutiny of Kichi-Mergen... Mir Gazi immediately appointed him a new governor of the Tubdjak, and he, with a help of Bashkorts, Bayguls and Saksins, could stop the enemy at Sary-Balik, Akmulla and Omek.

But at the end of the 1228 the huge Tatar army of Subyatai attacked Sary-balik again. The captured by the Kytay Sardar his tribesmen began asking sobbingly the Ulugbek to surrender, to save the lives of the Sary-tüba Badjanak tribes. Then the old Kasim took in his hands a dombra and sang them the song that I composed for the Karabash biy:

Cleaning a slippery pomegranate with a sharp knife -
Can wound your hand.
Addressing a man with slippery words -
Can wound his heart.

Why had I lived to hear my wives
Asking me to let the wolves into my house?
Why had I lived to hear my kids
Asking me to betray my word?

If children do not listen the father -
Does this father have children and is he a father?
If people do not listen their biy -
Does this biy have a clan and is he a biy?

Even be alone, with last my horse fallen -
But I have a Bulgarian bow and one arrow!
Let my wounds bleed -
But shall I abandon my tormented land?

If I leave, where, in what alien land
I will find you, the land I love?
If my fate is to die - I shall die here,
Where my mother reared me and where I hear our larks...

Before, after such an answer Subyatai would hack all the people. But after the death of the Khan Timer his descendants, to whom he promised Tubdjak, became more cautious... Khan Batu, whom his father had tutored to attract the steppe subjects by attracting their biys, did not allow his Sardar to start a slaughter, and ordered him to advance to Saksin, bypassing Sary-balik. Subyatai, sending two detachments to Sabakül and Akmulla, to distract there the forces of the Tubdjaks, Bashkorts and Bayguls, moved with most of his army further to the West. Batu remained at the Sary-balik and waited for Kasim to loose his consciousness from starvation, and then his similarly weakened people surrendered... The war for Sabakül, Kyzyl Yar and Omek lasted till 1235, when Ishtyak pulled his armies from the Tubdjak...

But Gazi-Baradj had to personally come to Tubdjak and tell the inals about the State abandoning the Tubdjak. Only after that our steppe dwellers who have much more love to State than the always ironizing at them ulans, had to submit to the enemy...

The tüba Ak-Idjim in the east borders with the Seber, in the north with the Ulug-tüba, in the west with the Kara-Idjim and in the south with the Saban-tüba. Its center is the city of Akmulla (present Tselinograd) (anybody who enjoys the story of Kul Gali would enjoy the jazz with Akmulla i.e. “White Grave“ name. In 1868 the city in the freshly grabbed Central Asia was renamed to a Russified Akmollinsk. The brilliant Khruschev in 1961 renamed the millennia-old city to “Tselinograd“, i.e. “Virgin Land City“ mentioned by the commentator, erasing its Türkic name and history. In 1992 the newly independent Kazakhstan restored the name as Akmola, and 1994 it was renamed again to Astana, i.e. “Capital“ in Türkic, once again brilliantly indicating that the capital is a capital - Translator's Note) in the upper flow of the Idjim... Those going by the Tychkan (Jerboa, a mouselike rodent with long rear legs - Translator's Note) Road... would have to pass... Akmulla, and then menzel Bura-Balik (present Temirtau) on the river Kuk-Darya (Nura). A little to the south of this balik passes the boundary of the Saban-tüba...

Saban-tüba is limited in the east by the river Uyyaguz and Kagan mountains, in the north by the Yrtysh river and the boundary of the Ak-Idjim, in the west by the boundary of the Sary-tüba, in the south by the northern coast of the Bulgarian lake...

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2. ROADS OF TUBDJAK

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Tubdjak... Through this huge province of State pass a number of main caravan roads... The Saksin or Azak road starts in the Saksinian Azak, passes through the Madjara-Suba and Sakchi-Bolgar to the coast of the Bulgarian sea, and from it to the menzel Djam on the river Djam-Bulak where it joins the Bukhara road...
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From this road in the menzel Susyn splits the Türkic road, which is also called Turgu-yuly [Silk Road]... It passes through the fortress Sakmara.., the city Er-Balik which protects the mouth of the river Er-Inesh and the close-by crossing over the Djaik... To Er from the north, from bank of the Tubul [Tobol], comes the Yabalak road from the Baygul, which reaches to the Sabakül...

From Er the Türkic road crosses all Tubdjak... toward the Uzian cities on the river Syr-Darya... Most part of the population of these cities are Bulgars, that's why all the Kans of State always paid a special attention to the safety of this area. After the first attack of the Tatars, Chelbir, with an agreement with the Djurdjanian Shakh, posted there a few of our detachments, who ensured in the 1219 the evacuation of a part of the local population to the Bulgar. The Khan Kara-bash of Kydans and Oimeks, who initially served the Kytays, and then had to submit to Tatars, participated in the attack on this area, causing Chelbir's fury ...

For the first time I met this Khan during my trip by the Hon road... This road is also called Kaganian, Khinian and Kashanian. It begins in the Bolgar and goes through the Tamta-Bashkort and Er to the Sabakül... After Sabakül the largest cities along this road are the Urus-Kan (present Kurgan), Kyzyl Yar (present Petropavlovsk) and Omek (present Omsk)... In the Kyzyl Yar from the Hon road branches the Tychkan-yuly, which goes to Atbasar, Akmulla and menzel Gazanbash near the Gazan mountain (present Chingiztau mountains), located on the border of the State with the Kara-Kytay... To the Gazan also comes the Hon road from the Omek... From the Omeka to the Gazanbash possibly come overland, through the seven big stations called here baliks, or by the ship by the Yrtysh river to the Seventh Balik, and from it already by a land route to that menzel...

The Baliks were built with a huge effort out of the trees transported there by the Yrtysh from the Bajgul... To build as many menzels as was necessary was not possible, and they were set at a distance of about four marches one from each other, and named by the numbers and baliks... When the Tubdjak Ulugbek Tagyl, the grandfather of the Kara-Mergen Ulugbek reported to Anbal (1135-1164 - Translator's Note) about the results of the construction, the Kan said: “ If it is better for you, leave them as they are. But if even once the Sardars, ambassadors, officials, post workers or merchants would complain about the inconveniences of the Hon's road, I shall make you an ordinary postman on that road“. From that time the maintenance of the Hon's road became the main task for all Tubdjak Ulugbeks, who were not afraid of a rivalry by other Kypchak biys...

Kara-Mergen was telling me that when the Kara-Kytay invaded Tubdjak, in the Sabakül menzele were not any postmen nor horses in place. And then Tagyl himself rode the Hon's road carrying the message, succeding before that in persuading the Sardar Halik of the kusyrbay detachment to move to protect the Kyzyl Yar. These kusyrbays were barely rescued from execution by the Emir Kolyn, but the immediate death was replaced by a slow death in the Yabalak... Eventually luck fell to bothof them: Tagyl managed to be the first to the Kan with a message about the intrusion of the infidels, and the Sardar appeared in time at the Kyzyl Yar and beaten off the enemies. And though in this Kara-Kytay invasion mainly participated not the Kytays, but their subject Oimeks, the Anbal's courtiers inflated this victory out of scope to a route of all Kara-Kytay army. But the same lie helped the disgraced kusyrbays: Kolyn coerced the Kan to forgive them and return the heroes of his glorious war to the Echke Bulgar...

Right after the Nauruz I set out from the Bulyar to the Sabakül with a merchant Asadulla, a descendant of the merchant Asad, through Yar Chally, Ufa and Sterlé... But in the Sterle I was caught by a messenger of the merchant Nazym, calling me to go to Tubdjak together with him through the Er. He allowed his son Masud with the main part of the caravan to go first, and remained to wait for me in the Sakmara... I accepted his offer, as Asadulla was going only to Sabakül, and Nazym was going to the very Kytay borders...

The travel by the military road which connected the fortresses Kichu-Bayram and Sakmara was a dangerous undertaking, but the Sardar of garrison of the Kashmau fortress Bek Tugan came to my help and himself accompanied me to the Sakmara. When I asked him whether he may get punished for it, he answered: “I touched with my hand the flap of your furcoat, that wouldi avert from me and my family any troubles“. Near the Sakmara I was already met by Nazym...

The Sakmara with its palisade, certainly, reminds more a regular menzel than a fearful fortress... In the 1135 this fortress was burnt by the Ooimeks, after which its size was reduced in half... Near it, already after the invasions of Subyatai, was built a new fortress Kargaly...

In the Sakmara tüba live the descendants of the Badjinaks who moved here from the Balasagun, the old Sabanian city in the Kashan, during the reign of Bat-Ugyr (882-895 - Translator's Note). A part of the Balasagun Badjinaks also settled at Sus-Uryny where they founded menzel Balasagun [present village Balasheyka]... They say that the name “Badjanaks“ Sabans took as a symbol of their submission to the clan Dulo, and that it came from the Sabanian name for the coat of arms of the clan Dulo, “bu sanak“, which is “imperial or great pitchfork“... The “sak“ or “sagun“ in Badjanak is “murky or black stream“ (small river), frequently a mountain stream, and the “balasagun“ is “non-murky“ (clear) stream (small river). The Sakmara in Badjanak is  “murky rivulet“...

In Sakmara we spent the Sabantuy, after which we set out to the east. Riding next to me Nazym has started the “Camel song“ [record in the I.M.-Kh.Nigmatullin's notebook: “Nowadays called “ Oly ülnyn tuzany“]...
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While we were catching up with the main caravan, we did not have, I am asking to believe it, any protection, and our all caravan consisted of twenty five camels and forty people. But if the reader would not believe me, I will willingly shall forgive him, because those who went with me on the safest in the Kara-Saklan Savysh road also did not believe it. But nevertheless... the situation was exactly that. The attacks on the officials and merchants on the Hon's road were so rare, that as a fresh example I was told a story about the robberies of the Sabanian biy Gazi-Kaplan in the last three years of the Anbal's reign and in all the fourteen years of the reign of Otyak. For some time he was among the courtiers of the Kan and so distinguished himself by at fulfilling his whims, that the Kan decided to form a new province Idjim specially for him, out of the southern part of the Tubdjak. However the joy of the new Ulugbek was short ,as in his province after the split of the former il the size of the taxes has almost doubled, and people very soon began to grumble. The discontent of the local biys was also caused because Gazi-Kaplan, who was just one of them, demanded them to submit to him, and also because he accepted the true faith... The dissatisfied biys surrounded the Gazi-Kaplan's quarters in the Akmulla and demanded that he refuse the post of the Ulugbek and attain a reunion of the Tubdjak, or to fight with them... Gazi-Kaplan chose to refuse from the post of the Ulugbek, but his impudent request for a restoration of the unity for the Tubdjak caused a terrible fury of the Kan. The Ulugbek was seized by Turgen and turned over to the ilchibek (representative) of Anbal, but near the Kyzyl Yar the Idjim biys snatched out their leader from the hands of the Tubdjaks and  ilchibek's people... After that all that the Idjims did was only to struggle for their right to pay the former taxes in fight against the Turgen's detachments. Finally, in the fight suffered onlyone merchant, Gabdrahman, a descendant of Islam-Batysh, a grandfather of Nazym, but he himself lived on, and the robbers turned out to be the people of Turgen, who suspected the merchant in intention to break the Kan's interdiction on the trade with the rebellious Gazi-Kaplan. But when it turned out that only a drover separated from the caravan in a southern direction in search of a horse that run away from the camp, the Ulugbek and the biys of the tüba immediately compensated Gabdrahman all the damages ... Otyak also was deaf to the requests of the Idjims, and Gazi-Kaplan continued with the payment of the former taxes, beating off the attempts of the Tubdjak patrols to seize his area... Only the Visier Gubajdulla convinced Chelbir to meet the wish of the Idjims, and their struggle  stopped right away...

The son of Gabdrahim, the father of Nazym Islam, also had only one unpleasant incident was during his travel in the Tubdjak. but also only when he with his people suddenly deviated from the Hon's road for a trip to the aul of his father-in-law, biy Turgay. During a night the Kypchaks from the neighboring clan drove away the merchant's horses... The horse theft for Kyrgyzes was considered almost as heroism, therefore nobody even searched for the thieves, and Turgaj-biy replaced his son-in-law's loss right away. However, in this situation all biys were obligated to do so...

The main attraction of the Er is the Horse market. Only from the Tubdjak are driven there for sale up to 300 thousand horses. Here is also selling everything necessary for the cavalrymen and coachmen...

We celebrated Djien in the Kyzyl Yar, where we drunk koumiss right on the bank of the Idjim... Here we acquired 550 camels...

The Kyzyl-Yar fortress has approximately thirty buildings (of which five are mosques), surrounded by a rampart, behind which is a palisade and a moat with two drawbridges, eastern and western... The soldiers from the rampart, under a protection of the palings from behind it can hit the enemy, invisible to the enemy... On the rampart against bridges are two quadrangle towers... A suburb where live 1500 people is surrounded only with a rampart to obstruct the passage to the cavalry... In the winter this rampart and the internal wall of the moat are poured with water, making them an ice hill... The garrison almost entirely consist of the Baygul Ishtyaks employed by the Tubdjak Ulugbeks for garrison service. For this service their families receive at once such a big payout that parents willingly send their sons to the Tubdjak...

When the Kara-Kytay cavalry, consisting mostly of the Kaymans and Kydans, broke through to the city, its all inhabitants hid in the fortress, and on the external rampart were left only archers. For them out of the big baskets filled with dirt were made shelters on the rampart, from behind which they fired at the enemy... Halik has brought one part of the kursybay into the city, and another positioned in a tabyr near the suburbs... The archers, completing a good work on the external rampart and having shot all arrows, retreated to the fortress and tabyr... The infidels, after clearing passages in the piles of their killed tribesmen and horses, started to race with shouts into the suburb, but at this moment our people ignited it... The surrounded by fire enemies burst in flames and burned down in front of the eyes of their tribesmen, who were not able to do anything to help them. The Kayman biy, whose son got into a trap, raced with his djurs (mercenary, militiaman, member of feudal retinue - Translator's Note) to his help, but to our shooters he became a good target, and they immediately hit him and several of his people... The Kaymans in a fury rushed once again on the tabyr, but again were met by a terrible rain from the bow and crossbow arrows, and retreated...

The Kara-Kytay Khan was so shocked by the losses that he started negotiations with the State and recognized its right to have the Tubdjak... After the conclusions of the p[eace our relations with the Kara-Kytay became most friendly, however they did not allow through their territory our caravans to the Khin [Northern China], in order to receive intermediating profits from the trade of the State with the Imens. And in the territory of the Kara-Kytay state our merchants were allowed to trade, but only in several cities where the entrance was forbidden to the Imens. But even with all this the trade with the Kara-Kytays was very profitable for our merchants...

In Omek we met a merchant Sajfulla, a descendant of Baytugan, the brother of Islam-Batysh. He sailed here from the Bajgul on fifty ships with a multitude of rafts... From there Masud  went with 505 camels and 215 people to the Kozgyn [present Novosibirsk] to meet there other Sayfulla's ships sailing there from the Bajgul by the Abi-Darya, which we also called Baygul [Ob]... In the estuaries of the rivers running into Abi-Darya and Yrtysh, the Sajfulla's caravans are always met by the Baygul and Tajgas [eastern Sibirian and Far East] traders, and exchange their goods for his...
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27

I sailed Yrtysh river a part of the way to the Seventh Balik on the Sajfulla's ship... From the Seventh Balik we went to the Gazan mountain... Thus, all our way from the Sakmara to the Gazan mountain took 80 days...

Here is the the native land of the Sabans, therefore this tüba also is called Sabanian... The local Sabans told me, that Kan Gazan died there, and over his “kur“ [wooden funeral chamber] people filled a huge kurgan which began to be called Gazan mountain. Near it there passes the border of the State with the Kara-Kytay...

Inal Kukdjal met us very hospitably... In the feast in our honor he gladly described how Khan Timer [Chingizkhan] was in his captivity... It turned out, he was very cowardly and was especially afraid of pain. Sometimes inal wanted to strike him with a whip for negligence, but he, guessing this desire, threw himself down to his legs and  kissed his boots praying for a pardon...

The inal graciously explained me the meaning of a lot of the Badjanak words that were already forgotten in the Echke Bulgar... Their word “Uzi“ means “Bulgars“... When they want to praise a person they call him “Uzbek“, which is “Bulgar-like“... Besides, he told me an interesting story related with the word “chunkas“... When Tagyl received the order of the Kan to build  chunkases, i.e. stations, along the main roads of his il,  he asked ilchibek: “What are these “chunkas“? “ The ilchibek answered: “A stone or generally a strong column“ though he should have told in this case not about the literal, and about the service meaning of this word. A pleased Tagyl installed stone columns across the whole Tubdjak, instead of the stations, and when the same ilchibek went by the roads and asked where are the stations on them, he was surprised: “How come you did not notice the stone columns?“ Only then ilchibek, who explained to the Ulugbek only the literal meaning of the word “chunkas“, has understood that the Ulugbek did not know the service meaning of this term and consequently set up columns instead of the stations... To hide what has happened was no sense, the first merchant would find out the absence of the stations, and Emir Kolyn would send the Ulugbek to zindan (dungeon - Translator's Note). Therefore the ilchibek, who liked the ingenuous Ulugbek, first of all went with the report to the Kan. When Anbal heard the story from ilchibek, his old djur and friend, he began to laugh loudly, and laughed for a very long time... He also liked very much such people, and he ordered Tagyl to built chunkases only on the road from the center of the il to the first Kara-yuly [big and comfortable road]. But Tagyl here also distinguished himself: he asked to move the center from the Kyzyl Yar to Sabakül, closer to the Kara-yuly,  to build less stations... When Anbal received a report about it, he exclaimed: “Are in the world people lazier and more ingenuous than the Hints? “ But he allowed to transfer the center...

On the third day of my stay in center of the Sabanian tüba, a small town Kuakbash, there arrived Kydanian biy Karabash and invited me and my friends to the wedding of his son in his aul the Kagan. We went beyond Uyyaguz without any fear: like the Kara-Kytays, the Kydans never displayed perfidy with their guests... In the wedding he was the most cheerful and happy man... Speaking about me, he said that exactly like this he imagined the inhabitants of the heavens... Karabash invited to the wedding of the best chichens... After they showed their art, I thought that it would be useful for me to become their pupil for a while...

Karabash was one of the most outstanding biys of the Kara-Kytay state, but after its fall he had to serve the Tatars and had to take part in their assaults. But he did not display any eagerness, which in 1219 enabled many Uzians, Arakytays and Argyns to retreat from the Djurdjan area of the Syr-Darya to Tubdjak. But, as I already wrote, his forced participation in the assaults was enough that he, based on the Kichi-Mergen reports, was classed as a confirmed enemy of the State... That vile Kaymanian Khan Mangush, who seized our caravan, and then ripped up bellies of the Djurdjanian ambassadors and dishonored their wives and daughters, held as hostages the wife and the younger son of Karabash. Once he tried to rape her... The son jumped to shield his mother and was killed fight the rapists... His wife met the murderers with a dagger in her hand and... committed suicide. A servant girl managed to reach the quarters of Karabash and to inform him about what happened. Having lost those whose lives he saved by serving the Tatars, Karabash killed the Kayman Khan and with his clan coached away to the Tubdjak. During the attack on the Kaymans he freed me from captivity, and I was coaching with him... Many Badjinaks, Arakytays and Argyns left together with us from the Sabanian tüba and Sary-tüba...

Kichi-Mergen does not allow Karabash to be in his territory, but the Mardanians at my request are giving him for pasture coaching the Sakmara district. Chelbir, learning from Kichi-Mergen about it, personally set out to there with a desire to destroy the fugitives and to seize me...
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Much later Mir-Gazi told me that the head of Karabash was presented to Chelbir on a spear, but the Kan did not have time to enjoy it. He suddenly felt bad, and soon died (1225 - Translator's Note)... So perished the gracious Karabash-biy, who through all his life asserted only one right, the right for a life for himself and his clan... His son accepted Islam and in a jihad revenged the infidels for the death in vain of his relatives... He and his people were given land in the Kolak tüba to set up their settlement,  which later received the name of Bugulma... When the Tatars ignited the city, he retreated with his detachment to the Bulyar...

We went back we by the Tychkan road... By the end of our travel in the caravan were already about 5 thousand camels and up to 30 thousand horses... The Echkebulgarian merchants frequently sell the Tubdjak camels and horses in the Saksin markets ...

But the Kuakbash is not at all the end of the road for our merchants. Through the Kuakbash passes the ancient road from the Balasagun to the Altai, which use the Kara-Kytays, pleasing our tamgachis [tax collectors at customs posts]. Frequently, our merchants join the Kara-Kytay caravans and go with them... South of Kuakbash our merchants go only in one direction,  to the Kashan, as the road to the Khin is closed for the reasons I already wrote about. But going to Khin, Yrtysh has to be crossed and then  the Altai is crossed over... The desert Monkyry is left to the south. It was formed in the place of the old Khinian State, covered by a golden sand, which then in one of the storms was covered by the usual sand. In this desert wander the wild descendants of the ancient Khins, who swapped all their values for illusive happiness to own the golden sand, who have forgotten even about who they are... These people, already more like animals, are called Monkyrts by the name of the desert. It is said that if a traveler would unintentionally divert from the main road he will be lost forever in this terrible Tatar desert and either will be eaten by the Monkyrts, or himself will forget everything in the world and become the same as them... Oh, the Almighty! Save us from such a sad fate! [...]
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