Sir-Kıvchak were a

Turkic people The Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose memb ...

whose existence is controversial and who were proposed to be precursors to the Kipchaks who settled in East Europe in the 10th century.

Name

The ''Sir'' appeared as ''Xinli'' 薪犁 ( OC: *''siŋ-ri(:)l'') in Sima Qian's

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

but were not referred to again until the 7th century as '' Xue'' 薛 ( MC: *''siᴇt̚''). In the

Bain Tsokto inscriptions The Tonyukuk inscriptions (), also called the Bain Tsokto inscriptions are Turkic inscriptions of the 8th century located in modern-day Mongolia. They are the oldest written attestations of the Turkic language family, predating the Orkhon insc ...

of 720s erected by

Tonyukuk Tonyukuk ( otk, 𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀:𐱃𐰆𐰪𐰸𐰸, Bilgä Tuňuquq, lit=Tunyuquq the Wise, zh, , c=暾欲谷, p=Tunyugu, , born c. 646, died c. 726) was the baga-tarkhan (supreme commander) and adviser of four successive Göktürk khaga ...

, the name ''Türük'' "

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

" is mostly accompanied by the name ''(E)Sir'' (

Old Turkic script The Old Turkic script (also known as variously Göktürk script, Orkhon script, Orkhon-Yenisey script, Turkic runes) was the alphabet used by the Göktürks and other early Turkic khanates from the 8th to 10th centuries to record the Old ...

: 𐰾𐰃𐰼).Muharrem Ergin:''Orhun Abideleri'', Boğaziçi Yayınları, İstanbul, 1980, p.33, p.52 According to S.G.Klyashtorny and T.İ. Sultanov this shows the importance of Sir element in the

Second Turkic Khaganate The Second Turkic Khaganate ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰃𐰠, Türük el, State of the Turks, , known as ''Turk Bilge Qaghan country'' ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰝:𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀:𐰴𐰍𐰣:𐰃𐰠𐰭𐰀, Türük Bilgä Qaγan eli) in Ba ...

(681-744) S.G.Klyahtorny-T.İ.Sultanov:''Türkün Üçbin Yılı'', (translation by Ahsen Batur),Selenge Yayınları, İstanbul, p.127-129 This opinion is possibly supported by the fact that in the Khöshöö Tsaidam Monuments erected in 735 for

Bilge Khagan Bilge Qaghan ( otk, 𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀:𐰴𐰍𐰣, Bilgä Qaγan; ; 683 – 25 November 734) was the fourth Qaghan of the Second Turkic Khaganate. His accomplishments were described in the Orkhon inscriptions. Names As was the custom, his ...

, the name ''Sir'' follows the name ''Türük'' and precedes other tribal names.

Origin

After the defeat of the short lived

Xueyantuo The Xueyantuo were an ancient Tiele tribe and khaganate in Northeast Asia who were at one point vassals of the Göktürks, later aligning with the Tang dynasty against the Eastern Göktürks. Names Xue ''Xue'' 薛 appeared earlier as ''Xi ...

khanate in 646, Sir people escaped to west. In 679-681 term they supported Turkic revolt against the

Tang Empire The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingd ...

in China. After the Turkic Empire was restored they took part in the formation of the new empire.

Uyghur Khaganate

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

, who replaced the

possibly mentioned the Kïvchak, instead of Sir, as the tribe who accompanied the Turks in their Moyun Chur monument. Thus it seems that the names Sir and Kïvchak were used interchangeably and Kïvchak was the name Sir people assumed after the collapse of the

Turkic Empire The following is a list of dynasties, states or empires which are Turkic-speaking, of Turkic origins, or both. There are currently six recognised Turkic sovereign states. Additionally, there are six federal subjects of Russia in which a Turkic ...

. Klyashtorny proposed that the new name Kïvchak means "unfortunate" in

Old Turkic language Old Turkic (also East Old Turkic, Orkhon Turkic language, Old Uyghur) is the earliest attested form of the Turkic languages, found in Göktürk and Uyghur Khaganate inscriptions dating from about the eighth to the 13th century. It is the o ...

, probably referring to the problems they encountered after the collapse of the empire. Kïvchak remnants escaped to west to

Kimek The Yemek were a Turkic tribe constituting the Kimek-Kipchak confederation, whose other six constituent tribes, according to Abu Said Gardizi (d. 1061), were the Imur (or Imi), Tatars, Bayandur, Kipchaks, Lanikaz, and Ajlad. Ethnonym Min ...

territory. The

Kipchak people 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 Sec ...

of the later era likely descended from the Kïvchak of the 8th century. However, this early attestation of the ethnonym Kipchak is uncertain as damages on the inscription leave only ''-čq'' (𐰲𐰴) (*''-čaq'' or *''čiq'') readable. S.E.Malov, G.Aidarov and S.Karzhaubai have read this as ''Türük Qïbčaq'', however the group which took part in the Mongolian and Japanese expedition in 1996-1998, did read the relevant passage as ''türk qaγan čaq älig yïl olurmïš'' ("I heard that the Turuk qayans sat on the throne exactly for fifty years").

Other views

According to ''The Cambridge History of Inner Asia'', however, the identification of Sir people with the Kipchak is not well established.Denis Sinor: ''The Cambridge History of Inner Asia'', Cambridge University, 1990, p.278

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sir-Kivchak Xueyantuo Kipchaks Central Asia 8th century in Asia Tribes of the Göktürks