The Yagmas (), or Yaghmas, were a medieval tribe of

Turkic people 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 members ...

that came to the forefront of history after the disintegration of the Western Turkic Kaganate. They were one component of a confederation which consisted of Yagma, the

Karluks The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs, , Qarluq, Para-Mongolic languages, Para-Mongol: Harluut, zh, s=葛逻禄, t=葛邏祿 ''Géluólù'' ; customary phonetic: ''Gelu, Khololo, Khorlo'', , ''Khallokh'', ''Qarluq'') were a prominent no ...

, the Chigils and other tribes which founded the

Kara-Khanid Khanate The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; zh, t=喀喇汗國, p=Kālā Hánguó), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Karluk Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the early 13th century. Th ...

. From the seventh century until the

Karakhanid The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; zh, t=喀喇汗國, p=Kālā Hánguó), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Karluk Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the early 13th century. Th ...

period, the Yagma were recorded in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, Persian, and Chinese accounts as a prominent and powerful political entity in the

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...

Dzungaria Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand'), also known as Northern Xinjiang or Beijiang, is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. Bound by the Altai Mountains to the n ...

, and Jeti-su.

History

The Yagmas appear to be of

Toquz Oghuz The Toquz Oghuz (Lit. "''Nine Clan"'') was a political alliance of nine Turkic Tiele tribes in Inner Asia, during the early Middle Ages. The Toquz Oghuz was consolidated and subordinated within the First Turkic Khaganate (552–603) and rema ...

origin or are closely associated with them. According to ''

Hudud al-'alam The ''Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam'' (, "Boundaries of the World," "Limits of the World," or in also in English "The Regions of the World") is a 10th-century geography book written in Persian by an anonymous author from Guzgan (present day northern Afg ...

'' "their king is from the family of the Toquz-Oghuz kings." According to the Persian work ''Mujmal al-Tawarikh wa-'l-Qisas'', the Yağma "padšâh" bore the title of Bogra Khan. The Yagma title of Bogra Khan allowed V.Bartold to suggest that Karakhanid Il-khans were from the Yagma tribe.

Mahmud al-Kashgari Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Kashgari; ; , Мәһмуд Қәшқири; , Махмуд Қашғарий was an 11th-century Kara-Khanid scholar and lexicographer of the Turkic languages from Kashgar. His father, Husayn, was the mayor of ...

mentioned the Yagma and Tukhsi tribes, with a clan of Chigils, along the Ili River. In the tenth century the Yagma tribe lived in the

Kashgar Kashgar () or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. For over 2,000 years, Kashgar ...

area and further northwest. Al Gardezi, who used sources composed in the eighth century, wrote that the Yagma united numerous tribes between the

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

and

in the larger part of the eastern

Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

, including Kashgar City and District. Gardezi called the Yagma a "rich people with large herds of horses" in a country of "one month of travel". The Yagma constantly clashed with the Karluks and the Kimaks, and were a dependent of the Western Turkic Kagans until their demise.

Etymology

According to Yury Zuev, a

semantic Semantics is the study of linguistic Meaning (philosophy), meaning. It examines what meaning is, how words get their meaning, and how the meaning of a complex expression depends on its parts. Part of this process involves the distinction betwee ...

meaning of the word ''yağma'' in the ancient Common Turkic language, is "attack, onslaught." However, according to Peter Golden, the word may have derived from Turkic verbal root ''yağ-'' "to pour down, rain", but noting that the form with -ma is unusual. He also noted the Persian word yaġmâ meaning "prey, plunder, booty, spoils", and that it is unclear if it has any relationship with Yağma.

Historical accounts

The following account of the country of Yaghma and its towns is given in the tenth century text ''

'':

References

{{Turkic peoples Uyghurs Turkic peoples of Asia Extinct Turkic peoples Turkic peoples