Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
polity of uncertain location and origin during the early 13th century.
History
Giovanni da Pian del Carpine
Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, variously rendered in English as ''John of Pian de Carpine'', ''John of Plano Carpini'' or ''Joannes de Plano'' (c. 11851 August 1252), was a medieval Italian diplomat, archbishop and explorer and one of the firs ...
, a 13th-century
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
to the court of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
Khan
Guyuk Guyuk may refer to:
*Guyuk, Nigeria, a town
* Uğurtaş, a town in Turkey, formerly called Güyük
*Güyük Khan
Güyük (also Güyug;; ''c''. March 19, 1206 – April 20, 1248) was the third Khagan-Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the eldest son ...
, gave a list of the nations the Mongols had conquered in his account. One of them, listed among tribes of the Caucasus, Pontic steppe and the Caspian region, was the "Brutakhi, who are
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
."
Nikolay Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best ...
pointed to the fact that Carpine meant
Burtas
Burtas (russian: Буртасы, ''Burtasy''; cv, Пăртассем, ''Părtassem''; tt-Cyrl, Бортаслар, , ) were a tribe of uncertain ethnolinguistic affiliation inhabiting the steppe region north of the Caspian Sea in medieval times ( ...
by ''Brutaches''.
Some translations read "Comani Brutakhi", (''Comani Brutachi, qui sunt Iudii'') which seems to indicate an alignment with the
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
-
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the ...
; however, this reading has been challenged by many historians who have asserted that there should be a comma between the Comani and Brutakhi. However, earlier in the same list Giovanni refers to " Comania", leading some to regard the postulated comma as redundant and therefore highly suspect.
Unclear Identity
The identity of the Brutakhi is unclear. Giovanni later relates that the Brutakhi shave their heads, a common Turkic custom. Some historians have theorized that the Brutakhi may have been a remnant of the
Khazar
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
people, or a result of some sort of
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
efforts. Alternatively, they may have been Cuman-Kipchak converts to Judaism (possibly connected to the
Krymchaks
The Krymchaks ( Krymchak: , , , ) are Jewish ethno-religious communities of Crimea derived from Turkic-speaking adherents of Rabbinic Judaism.Karaims). Another possibility is that the Brutakhi are connected to the
Mountain Jews
Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews also known as Juhuro, Juvuro, Juhuri, Juwuri, Juhurim, Kavkazi Jews or Gorsky Jews ( he, יהודי קווקז ''Yehudey Kavkaz'' or ''Yehudey he-Harim''; russian: Горские евреи, translit=Gorskie Yevrei ...
of
Daghestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
, who are believed to have ruled independent states at points in their history. Some scholars have speculated that "Brutakhi" may be a corruption of "Brutas" or "
Burtas
Burtas (russian: Буртасы, ''Burtasy''; cv, Пăртассем, ''Părtassem''; tt-Cyrl, Бортаслар, , ) were a tribe of uncertain ethnolinguistic affiliation inhabiting the steppe region north of the Caspian Sea in medieval times ( ...
", a steppe tribe of uncertain ethnic affiliation mentioned by other medieval sources.{{Cite book, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=10c7AQAAIAAJ&q=%22%D0%91%D1%80%D1%83%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B8%22, title=Дзвін: часопис Спілки письменників України, date=1997, publisher=Каменяр, language=uk