Cuman People

Cuman People

The Cumans (Turkish: kuman / plural kumanlar Hungarian: kun / plural kunok; Greek: Κο(υ)μάνοι, Ko(u)mánoi; Romanian: cuman / plural cumani, Polish: Połowcy, Plauci (Kumanowie), Russian: Половцы - Polovtsy, Ukrainian: Половці - Polovtsee, Bulgarian: Кумани, Czech: Plavci, Georgian: ყივჩაყი, ყიფჩაღი, German: Falones, Phalagi, Valvi, Valewen, Valani) were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria. Other researchers state that the Cumans were welcomed to Hungary before the Mongol invasion. Cumans had also settled in Bulgaria before the Mongol invasion.

Related to the Pecheneg, they inhabited a shifting area north of the Black Sea and along the Volga River known as Cumania; where the Cuman-Kipchaks meddled in the politics of the Caucasus and Khwarezm. They eventually settled to the west of the Black Sea, influencing the politics of Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Moldavia, Georgia and Wallachia. Cuman and Kipchak tribes joined politically to create a confederation known as the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. The Cuman language is attested in some medieval documents and is the best-known of the early Turkic languages. The Codex Cumanicus was a linguistic manual which was written to help Catholic missionaries communicate with the Cuman people.

The Cumans were nomadic warriors of the Eurasian steppe who exerted an enduring impact on the medieval Balkans. The basic instrument of Cuman political success was military force, which dominated each of the warring Balkan factions. Groups of the Cumans settled and mingled with the local population in various regions of the Balkans. Arguments have been brought forward which argue that the name of three successive Bulgarian dynasties (Asenids, Terterids, and Shishmanids), and the founding Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids) are of Cuman origin. But, in the cases of the Basarab and Asenid dynasties, medieval documents refer to them as Vlach (Romanian) dynasties They also played an active role in Byzantium, Hungary, and Serbia, with Cuman immigrants being integrated into each country's elite.

The Cumans were called Folban and Vallani/Valwe by Germans, Kun (Qoun) by the Hungarians, and Polovtsy/Polovec (from Old East Slavic "половъ" — yellow) by the Russians - all meaning "blond". It is difficult to know which group past historians were referring to when they used the name Kipchak, as they could refer to the Cumans only, the Kipchaks only, or to both together. The two nations joined and lived together (and possibly exchanged weaponry, culture and fused languages). This confederation and their living together may have made it difficult at times for historians to write exclusively about either nation. Some of the clans of the Cuman-Kipchaks were the Terteroba, Burdjogli, Toksoba, Etioba/Ietioba, Kay, Itogli, Kochoba (meaning Ram Clan), Urosoba, El'Borili, Kangarogli, Andjogli, Durut, Djartan, Karabirkli, Kotan/Hotan, Kulabaogli; Olelric, Altunopa and the Olberli.