Torks (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: торки, literally "

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

", also known as Torkils) were a medieval Turkic tribe of Oghuz and/or

Kipchak Kipchak may refer to: * Kipchaks, a medieval Turkic people * Kipchak languages, a Turkic language group * Kipchak language, an extinct Turkic language of the Kipchak group * Kipchak Khanate or Golden Horde * Kipchak Mosque, a mosque in the villa ...

origins. The Torks, alongsides

Kipchaks The Kipchaks, also spelled Qipchaqs, known as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Russian annals, were Turkic nomads and then a confederation that existed in the Middle Ages inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the eighth cent ...

(e.g.

Berendei The Berendei or Berindei (Romanian: ''Berindei''; Ukrainian: ''Берендеї'', ''Berendeyi''; Russian: ''берендеи'', ''berendei'', ''перендеи'', ''perendei'', ''перендичи''; in Hungarian: ''berendek''; in Polish: ''Ber ...

), and other tribes like Ulichi,

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...

, etc., formed the

Chornye Klobuki Chorni Klobuky or Chornye Klobuki, meaning "black hats" (from and ), was a generic name Kievan Rus Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of Russ ...

.Akhmetova, Zhanculu et al. Kipchak Ethnonyms in the "Tale of Bygone Years" in ''International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation'', Vol. 24, Issue 06, 2020 In 1177 a

Cuman The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as " ...

army, allied with Ryazan, sacked six cities belonging to the

and Torks. In

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, many placenames trace to Torks, such as

Torchesk Torchesk (; ) was a medieval town, located between today's villages of Olshanytsia and Sharky in Kyiv Oblast (oblast, province) of central Ukraine near Kaharlyk. Torchesk was first mentioned in a chronicle under the year of 1093 as the center of ...

Torchyn Torchyn (; ) is a rural settlement in Lutsk Raion, Volyn Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located on the banks of the Serna in the drainage basin of the Dnieper. Population: History Until 26 January 2024, Torchyn was designated urban-type settlem ...

, rivers Torets and

Torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end which can be used as a light source or to set something on fire. Torches have been used throughout history and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggl ...

, Torsky way along the river Tetilha, villages Torets,

Torky El Torky or El Torkey () or Torky () is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Heba El Torky (born 1991), Egyptian squash player * Nouran El Torky (born 1992), Egyptian squash player * Mohsen Torky (born 1973), Iranian football re ...

, Toretske and also a town near the Ukrainian border of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

called

Torki Torki () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Medyka, within Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It lies approximately north of Medyka, north-east of Przemyśl, ...

Sources

Further reading