The participation of the Kipchaks in the ethnogenesis of Kazakh tribes and clans has been much written in scientific literature. This is also evidenced by the existing in science eponymous collective name for all Kazakh tribes. However, the study of historical interrelations requires systematization of accumulated knowledge, which are sometimes scattered in bits and pieces in separate historical works.
Let us consider the data confirming the kinship and ethnic interrelations of the Argyn tribe with some tribes of the Middle Juz. This will help to present a picture of the possible presence of Argyns in the large tribal unions, news about which are found in the sources.
The connection of some Argyn clans with the Kipchaks is evidenced by a common tamga with them. For example, it is known that the tamga of the Kipchak tribe is one or two oblique lines (/; //). The tamga sign // had also the Argyn clan Kan-zhygaly and a number of other Turkic tribes, whose ethnic fates were connected with the Kipchaks. Researcher K. Shaniyazov gives an objective explanation for the existence of such a connection. «Each tribe or ancient clan, which was part of a given union of tribes, had its own tribal or clan tamga. In this case, apparently, the common tribal tamga or tamga prevailing in the given union of tribes was taken as a basis. Such a tribe in Desht-i Kipchak from the mid-X to 30-40s of the ХШ century and from the ХУ century to the middle of the ХUN century were Kipchaks. Consequently, the basis of tamga signs, which were part of the Kipchak tribal unions, was the Kipchak tamga /. Having separated from the Kipchak union, tribes or new tribal unions probably took the former tamga as a basis, making some changes in it.»[1, p.152].
If we turn to the period preceding the Mongol conquest, we can assume that the Argyns, as well as many Turkic-speaking tribes were part of the Kipchak confederation of tribes. N.Aristov, justifying the mixed composition of the Argyn tribe, provides the following data in favor of this position. Thus, investigating the tribal composition of Naimans, Kireys and Kipchaks, he draws the following parallels between these tribes and the Argyn tribe: in each of the mentioned tribes there were clans with the same name, such as, for example, the clan Tertoul in Argyns and Naimans. In this regard, N. Aristov wrote: «The genus Tertoul is present, as we will see below, in the Argyn tribe. Since the tamga of the tertoul clan in the Turgai region has two circles (iki kuz, two eyes), i.e. exactly the tamga of the Argyns, then the Tarba-Gatai tertouls may be Argyns, who have fallen behind the main mass of the tribe, which went far to the west. Captain Andreev mentions about these tertoules on the Chinese border in his «Description of the Middle Horde» (1785): «the volost Akbarak Akbulat Dertaul, in which before there was a foreman Karabash Imetyubyt, and after his death Zhoshanbiy; his subordinate kibitoks up to 600».
According to the above-mentioned manuscript Semipalatinsk information of 1866, the Tertauls considered themselves a special clan from the Baijigits and were divided into departments Tokan (1.000 kib.), Toguz (800 kib.) and Tuzakchi (600 kib.), in total 2400 kib. — A.A.Ivanovsky, who was engaged in anthropological studies in Zaisan uyezd and Tarbagatai district, gives at «tertauls» still the fourth division janybek and subdivisions of all four; his information attribute tertauls to Zaisan naimans, which are named three more divisions ak-naiman, dzhal and mam-bed («Ethnographic review», book 26, 1895, p.60).»[2, p.83-84]».
N.Aristov compares tamgas of Argyns of separate sub-genera with Kipchaks and Kerey, which allowed the Russian researcher to determine the ethnic proximity of Argyns to the large tribes of the Middle Juz. But, studying the interrelationships of the tribes of the Middle Juz among themselves, N. Aristov provides at the same time information indicating the existence of their historical ties with other Turkic tribes.
«From the information (unfortunately not full enough) about clan composition of volosts of Akmola uyezd (Akmola region) according to the census of 1895, reported to me by A.I.Troitsky, it is seen that in Nurinsky volost with Kuvandyk clan Temesh there is a clan Turtogul, having all-Argyn tamga (two circles); from the branches of this volost we notice Kyrgyz and Bopy. Curious further in the Spasskaya volost (ku-vandyk, Murat clan) are the branches of the Saliya (compare with sa-li-ya, the elder Nien-ba-en, who according to «Gin-shi» in 1160-1190, sought the help of the Chzhurch-zhhurts in 1160-1190). sought the help of the Church-zhen emperor against Kara-kida-nei, together with Bogu, an elder of the Kangla clan…) and bayau (compare with Bo-ya-wu, a Kangla clan, according to biographies in «Yuan-shi»). The Momun clan Kanjigaly in Kor-zhunkulskaya and Eremenskaya volosts is characterized by a special type of face and has a tamga of Kipchaks 11 ; in the latter volost the branches of Koskeldy, Kyldigar’a, Oyum’a, Kama and Dzhapar. Of the Momun clans Kulan-Kipchak (Ishimskaya volost) and Boshtun-Kipchak (Akmolinskaya volost) have the all-Kipchak tamga, and the Kirey clan (Mun-Chaktinskaya volost of Ak-Sary, Kur-Sary and Goat branches, and Kyzyl-Tarakskaya volost of Buras’a, Kurman’a, Kur-Sary, Biskara, Dzhebike and Tolke branches) keeps the all-Kirey cross. The Chirubai-nurinskaya volost (Kuvandyk tribe of Kareke) has branches of tok-bura, ak-bura, chuchak’a, bargana, kendzhigary and agys’nurbai. In general, the Argyn tribe justifies the meaning of its name, being really a mixture of Kireev, Naiman, Kipchak, etc. particles.»[2, p.92-93].
Further, listing the tribes of the Kipchaks following the Arab sources, N.Aristov identifies some of them with the clans of the Argyns. Thus, the Kipchak tribe Burzhogly is, according to the researcher, the Argyn clan Borshy, Durut is the Argyn clan Tertoul (Durt-ogul or Ogly according to N.A.), Anjogly is the Argyn clan Kanjigaly.[2, p.93 The statement of the scientist-researcher of the ethnic history of the Uzbek people K.Shaniyazov, who provides interesting information about the participation of Kipchaks in the ethnogenesis of Turkic peoples of Central Asia, related to Kazakhs, is quite solidary with this opinion. Thus, he names the tribal formations of the Sary-Kipchaks — Alty Ata, Kanzhigaly. «The tribal association «yigirma tort ota» of the Nurata Turkmens was divided into four tribes, each of which was called alty-ata: alty-ata kanzhigaly».
The Kangizhaly clan was part of the Kipchak association as early as in the ХШ-ХГУ centuries. «.descendants of Kipchaks live on the territory of Khorezm. According to K.L.Zadykhina, the Kipchaks of Khorezm were united under the name «segiz urug kipchak» (8 clans of kipchaks): kangly — kanzhigaly. the names of a number of clan divisions of kipchaks of Khorezm (kan-zhigaly, .) coincide with the names of kipchaks of the Zarafshan valley, which indicates their common origin.»[1, p.127, 132].
The Karakalpak Kipchaks also have a tribe called Alty-ata, which includes the genus Kanzhigaly. As to the fact that the Argyn clan Kanzhygaly has Kypchak roots, one can hardly doubt. All Kipchak clan groups within the Uzbek and Karakalpak peoples have almost without exception a branch of Kanzhygaly. Thus, K. Shaniyazov writes that «In the Zerafshan valley…. in the late ХbХ — early ХХ centuries lived the following groups of Uzbek-Kipchaks: Parcha-Kipchak (kanzhygaly), Sary-Kipchak (kanzhygaly), Kipchak-Saray (kan-zhygaly), Turi (Zhasha, Ore, Kirtmysh). The Parcha-Kypchak clan group settled in the villages of . Karakesek; sarai-kipchak. in the villages of . Kan-zhigaly.»[1, p.123-124, 125].
N.Aristov also pointed out: «The genus Kanji-galy is present in the Uzbek tribe Kytai-Kypchak of the Kytai division (inhabited in the valley of Ze-rafshan according to V.Radlov)». Sedentary Turkmens in Uzbekistan, which includes the Kanjigaly clan, living in the north in the mountainous Nurata district, consider themselves to belong to the Yusun tribe of the Great Horde.»[2, p.149, 432, 150] The Uzbeks of Khodjent uyezd of Jizzak district have the Kanjigaly clan. The kanzhygaly branch is also present in the association of the Kurama.[2, p.114]
The famous researcher S. Tolstov, paying attention to the clan composition of the Nurata Turkmens and pointing to the large kanzhygaly clan in this composition, defined their ethnic relationship with the Karakalpaks and Uzbeks.[3, p.97] We can only add here that ethnic interrelationships, apparently, the Nurata Turkmens have with the Kazakhs.
The history of VII-VIII centuries testifies to the contacts of the Basmyl tribe with the Karluks. These tribes, whom Mahmud Kashgarsky also calls Turkmens. According to S. Akhinzhanov, it was from the moment of migration of Turkic tribes that the Kipchaks changed their winter places of nomadic migration and moved from Semirechye to the lower reaches of the Syr-Darya. And since the Karluks were located in Semirechye since the VIII century, their contact with the Kipchaks was inevitable, according to the scientist.
In this regard, V. Bartold reads the following: «From the work of Persian historian Beyhaki we know that the Kipchaks long before the work of Mahmud of Kashgar reached south to the borders of the regions of Islam and were neighbors of Khorezm. To the movement of the Kipchaks to the south belong, apparently, Mahmud’s words about some Turkish people Bulak or Elke-Bulak, taken into captivity by the Kipchaks, but then, with God’s help, freed from this captivity.»[4, p.98] With the change of the ethnic situation in the XI century the steppe, previously called «Oguz» received the name of Kipchak.
Reflection of the existence of the Karluk ethnic component among the Kipchaks is, according to S. Akhinzhanov, the name of the Cumans tribe Ulashevichi, «which is one of the variants of the ethnonym Bulak, which was part of the Karluk tribes.»[5, p.188].
As for the Karluks and Basmyls, it is known that together with 9 tribes of Khoikhu they made up «the people of eleven tribes». At the same time, as the Chinese sources indicated, these «extraneous generations — Basimi and Gelolu» (i.e. Karluk) always went ahead in military campaigns.[6, p.315] This association had the character of a political union. Thus, the early history of the Argyn tribe was very closely connected with the Karluk union.
The political history of the early Middle Ages also connects the Karluk with the Basmyls. After the events of the XI century described by medieval authors, some researchers connected the further fate of the Basmyls with the eastern group of the Shary, which, as is known, broke away from the main mass of the tribe and went to the east.
«According to sources, in the XI century one of the Shary groups separated from the main group of Kipchak tribes migrating to the west and moved to the Talas valley. Then, fearing circumcision, they went to the eastern limits of the Kara-Khanid state. Here they, including the tribes of Basmyls, Chumuls, and Yabags, resettled in Semirechye.
In the era of the Kara-Khanids and Mongols Basmyls no longer represented any political force, as before, which speaks of the final loss of their political independence.»[7,p.166].
About this group of tribes, i.e. the eastern group of Shary is mentioned in the period of Kara-Kidan by N. Aristov, who calls them Sa-li-ya (ser. XІІ century) and reports that they together with the tribes of Kangla asked to be subject to Chzhurchens.[8, p.288 ] The researcher of the early history of the Kyrgyz T.Akerov also believes that it was about the tribes living in the eastern limits of the Karakhanid Kaganate, where in the neighborhood with the Chigils there were two regions of Shary (Sa-li-ya) and Bugu. The first of them was formed by Kypchaks Shary, which in the XI century. mixed with Basmyls.»[7, p.130].
The Mongol conquest entailed not only the migration of tribes, but also the unification of some tribes in order to protect their territories and the formation of new tribal unions, «the emergence of new ethnonyms». In this sense, as the famous ethnographer M. Mukanov noted, «the bearer of a new ethnonym, in this case the Argyns, was undoubtedly a new ethnic community, a new tribal union. «.The new tribal union was «numerous», «many» and neighboring tribes could well give it the name «arqun» accordingly. So the bearer, the object of ethnonym, consisting of different in its origin genera, due to its numerousness became known in the history of Kazakhs as the tribe argyn.»[9, p.49].
Interesting message R.G.Kuzeyev about the Bashkir tribe Kypchak, in which there is a genus Dzhet-uru, which according to the researcher «ethnically goes back to the Kazakh genus Zhetyru of the Small Juz». And further, R.Kuzeyev transmits P.Nebolsin’s story that «the Bashkirs of Djidiru are descendants of several families of Kirghiz of the Kypchak clan, who from very ancient times crossed the Urals from Siberia and entered into kinship ties with the Bashkirs.»[10, p.116 Thus, we can say on this basis that the ancestors of the Zhetyru tribal union were indeed in the Kypchak union of the ХЬХШ century, and indirect evidence of it can be the presence of the eponymous family among the Bashkirs, whose ancestors, apparently, came from the territory of medieval Kazakhstan. «From the moment of migration to the Urals and the Southern Urals, they (Kipchaks — H.G.) represented not a tribe, but a set of clans and clan groups, whose ethnic history went back to the medieval Desht-i-Kipchak . At the same time, the Dzhet-uru clan is historically and ethnically closely related to the tribes of Desht-i-Kipchak.»[10, p.113, 115] Based on the theoretical conclusion of the famous scientist R. Kuzeyev that «the multistage and mobile tribal structure of Turkic nomads, based on the principles of continuity and genealogical connection, was a peculiar mechanism of stable translation of many attributes of tribal life, primarily ethnonyms and tamgas from the ancient and medieval times»[10, p.118 In this case, it allows the composition of the Kypchak union of many Turkic tribes, whose history from the beginning of the second millennium A.D. was, obviously, closely connected with the territory of Western Kazakhstan.