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", also known as Torkils) were a medieval Turkic tribe of Oghuz and/or Kipchak 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), 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 ("Black Hats", Turkic ''Karakalpak''), semi-nomadic tribes who fought as border guards for various princes of

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 Berendei 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, Torchyn, 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, 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.

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Further reading