On the eve of the Mongol invasion, the history of the tribes living in its steppe western and central regions of Asia, was connected primarily with the state associations of the Kipchak tribes.»[1, p.1] The main sources of this period still remain Chinese dynastic histories — Yuan-shi, as well as information from Persian and Arab authors.
In the second half of the XI century Seljuks made a campaign to Mangyshlak (1065). The Alchin tribes led by Ali Arslan defeated the Kipchaks. In turn, in 1221 the Polovtsians in alliance with the South Russian princes defeated the Seljuks in the Crimea.
«Yuan-shi» informs about settlement by Kipchak tribes of the western regions of modern Kazakhstan: «Jinga (Kipchaks) moved to the northwest (from China) to the mountains of Yuili-boli-shan — (foothills of the Southern Urals).»[2]
Having moved to western Kazakhstan and further west, the Kipchaks subjugated the tribes that had previously inhabited these places. Russian chronicles confirm the presence of the Kipchak tribal association in the k. XI century on the territory in question. Among the tribes dependent on the Kipchaks are the Yemaks (Kimaks).
The period immediately preceding the Mongol invasion was marked by the formation of a unified economic and cultural type among the tribes that experienced the process of mutual influence, ethnic consolidation, the formation of new Turkic tribes and tribal associations on the territory of western Kazakhstan and the Volga-Ural region. The further history of this region is connected with the Mongol invasion and their clashes with the Kipchak tribes on this territory. Information about it is preserved by Juzdjani, Juveini, Rashid-ad-Din and other famous authors.
During 1221 to 1237, the Mongols repeatedly encountered the Kipchaks here and defeated them. After the conquest of the Syr Darya cities, in 1221 Juchi went on a campaign to the northeast of the Aral Sea and defeated the Kipchaks in battle.
«According to the Arabian writer Ibn-Wasyl,» wrote A.Kadyrbaev, «in 1229-1230 on the territory of Western Kazakhstan the flame of war between Tatars (Mongols) and Kipchaks flared up again». It strongly flared up in 1237. Especially showed itself in the fight against the Mongol conquerors a detachment of Kipchaks led by Bachman — Kipchak from the tribe Olburlik. The operation against him was carried out by large forces of Mongolian troops. About it in detail inform «Yuan-shi» and Persian historians of XIII-XIV centuries.
Juweini wrote about Bachman that he was fearless and elusive: «wherever the Mongol troops did not look for his traces, nowhere found him, because he went to other places and remained unharmed. Having learned that he was hiding on one of the islands of the river Itil (Volga), a large army of 200 ships moved against him». Bachman’s detachment was surrounded and after a fierce battle was destroyed, and he himself was captured and executed.
Rashid-ad-Din also cites the story of Bachman’s capture, the operation against which was carried out by large forces under the command of Genghis Khan’s grandson Munkhe, who later became the last great khan of the empire created by his grandfather before its collapse into separate Mongol states. Only 20 thousand warriors were put on the ships, not counting those who marched by roundup along the coast. The data of «Yuan-shi» echo the data of Muslim authors. «On the 3rd moon (i.e. March 1237) Munkah Khan invaded the lands of the Kipchaks and reached the Caspian Sea. Their (Kipchaks) ruler Bachman fled with his family to an island in the sea. Munkhe-khan, having learned about it, moved to capture him. Fortunately, the wind rose and the water receded, and it became possible to wade through. Munke-chan said: «Heaven opens the way for me.» Bachman’s army was slaughtered and he himself was captured. Munkae-khan ordered him to kneel down, but he replied, «I am a chieftain myself and am not afraid of death. I am not a camel to kneel.»
After that, without losing his presence of mind before his execution, advised the Mongols to think better about their return, as there was a probability of a tide.»[1, p.21-22]
Here is how it sounds at N.Bichurin: «The ninth summer, Ding-yu. Khan made a raid at Tsetsek-gagin-nora. Munkhe fought Kipchak and, having subdued this generation, beckoned its head Batsimak.»[3, p.289] Then there is the following information:
«The Mongols struck at the generations in the state of Kincha and subdued them. Kincha is 30 thousand li away from the Middle State. In summer the nights are extremely short. The sun barely sets and immediately rises. This country produces excellent horses, and the rich breed them in great numbers. The inhabitants usually recline on metal and leather. They are courageous and brave; firm and ardent. Their eyes are blue (blue), their hair is reddish. Munkhe with an army came to the sea of Khuan-tian-gi-sa. Suddenly there was a strong wind, and the waters of the sea dried up. After that he went further and cut down the people, and took the elder Batsimyan alive as a prisoner. Then he encircled the cities of Gan-lo-sa and Me-tso-sa and subdued them.»[3, p.289-290].
Abul-Gazi gives the following account of the conquest of Desht-i Kipchak, corresponding to 1221.
«From Bukhara Genghis Khan went to Samarkand. From there he sent an ambassador to Juchi-Khan to Kipchak and said: ‘My dear son! Ride out with all your army and bring the animals of Desht-i Kipchak to our side: I want to hunt.» It has been said above that when the tsareviches were on a campaign against Kharezm, Genghis-khan sent us an order that Juchi and Jagatai should regard Ogday as their chief and not go out from under his orders. For this reason Juchi-khan, after the conquest of Kharezm, being weighed down by this order, went to Desht-i Kipchak, subdued all the inhabitants of that steppe, and spent his time there in hunting for beasts and birds. As soon as a messenger came from his father and recounted his words, Dzhuchi-khan left with all his army and, chasing before him all the beasts of the steppe, arrived at his father. Then he brought him rich gifts; horses he delivered as a gift one hundred thousand: of them twenty thousand were gray, twenty thousand were blue, twenty thousand wrinkled, twenty thousand raven and twenty thousand chubarye.»[4, p.78-79].
The following message refers to 1241-1242, when the Kipchaks in large numbers went to war against the son of Juchi, who defeated them in battle
«Because of the strong resistance of a part of the Kipchak tribes (Ugedei Khan) sent Batu …, Buri, Munke, and other tsareviches on a campaign to help Subetai (Subedei), since Subetai-baatur met with strong resistance from those countries and peoples whose conquest he had been entrusted with as early as Genghis Khan, namely, the peoples of Kanlin (Kangli), Kibchaut (Kipchaks).»[1, p.22-23 ]
«During the long process of ethnogenesis, the same ancient and medieval tribes became part of different emerging nationalities: …. Kypchaks served as an important component in the formation of Kyrgyz, Kazakh and Karakalpak nationalities. The process of consolidation of nationalities was complicated by the multi-tribal population…»…[5, p.16-17].
Of no small importance for determining the location of the Kipchaks, which included many ancestors of the Turkic peoples, are legends that testify indirectly to the reliability of some facts. Thus there is a legend about the tribes of Oguz, the son of Kara Khan, from whom the names of Turkic steppe tribes originate. According to the legend, Oguz adopted a child born in the hollow of a tree and gave him the name Kipchak. And further on according to the legend: «After 17 years Oguz defeated the tribe It-barak, came to the land of Iran, conquered those possessions and after many years returned to his land. News came that the It-baraks were plotting rebellions: he sent a clan of Kipchaks to settle between the country of the It-baraks and Tayak. (Berezin read: Yaik: in manuscripts: Yaik, Tayak) to protect the latter from rebellion. Since that time there is a summer and winter nomad of Kipchaks there.»[6, p.498].
Mahmud Kashgari wrote about the Kipchaks in the XI century, as a tribe of the Turkic branch and determined their location between the Volga and the Urals.[6, p.77 Consequently, the appearance of the Kipchaks in the territory of Western Kazakhstan dates no later than the 10th century. The source of the 10th century «Hudud al-Alam» indicated the southern border of the Kipchaks, which was in contact with the Pechenegs, and the Pechenegs, in turn, in the VIII century lived between the Balkhash and the Syr Darya.[7, p.66-67].
At the same time, as pointed out by orientalist V. Gordlevsky[8, p.22-23], the Kipchaks were in Asia Minor before the arrival of the Seljuks, i.e. in the IХ — Х century. Medieval author Abu-l-Fazl Beyhaki reported about Turkic tribes living in Khorezm under 1030 among which were mentioned and Hifchaks, i.e. Kipchaks.[6, p.234] In the south of Russia the appearance of Kipchaks according to Russian chronicles is dated 1055, therefore, the penetration of Kipchaks, apparently, should be attributed to the X century.
Interesting is R.G.Kuzeyev’s message about the Bashkir tribe Kypchak, which includes the 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.»[9, p.116 Thus, we can say on this basis that the ancestors of the Zhetyru tribal union were indeed in the Kipchak union of the XI-XIII centuries, and indirect evidence of this can be the presence of the same name 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 (Kypchaks — 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 genus Dzhet-uru is historically and ethnically closely connected with the tribes of Desht-i-Kipchak.»[9, p.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 transmission of many attributes of tribal life, primarily ethnonyms and tamgas, from the ancient and medieval times»[9, p.118 ], allows us to draw a conclusion about the probable existence of many Turkic tribes within the Kypchak union, including Ramadan, whose history from the beginning of the second millennium A.D. was obviously closely connected with the territory of Western Kazakhstan.
One should not forget the fact of interaction with the Pechenegs and Oguzes as the Kipchaks moved westward and southward.
The Mongol conquest became a new stage of migrations and also a new period in the process of ethnogenesis of Turkic peoples. The territory of Western Kazakhstan was included, as is known, in the ulus Dzhuchi, which later received the name of the Golden Horde state. The fate of many Turkic tribes, such as the Ramadan tribe, is also connected with the history of this state formation.
Ibn al-Asir tells the following story about the Mongol conquest of Desht-i-Kipchak. When the Mongol army fought with the combined forces of the Kipchaks and Alans, neither side won. Then, according to Ibn Alasir, the Mongols sent their ambassadors to the Kipchaks and convinced them that they would not touch the Kipchaks if they did not help the Alans. Having thus deceived the Kipchaks, the Mongols defeated the Alans and attacked the Kipchaks. «Hearing this news, the Kipchaks who lived far away fled without any fight and withdrew, some took refuge in swamps, others in the mountains, and others went to the country of the Russians. Tatars have stopped in Kipchak.»[10, p.25-26].
Information about the borders of the Golden Horde state is contained in the descriptions of European travelers Plano Carpini, Guillaume Rubruk, the Arab author al-Omari.[11; 10] The Mongols were interested first of all, of course, the lands suitable for nomadic farming, i.e. steppe spaces. The core of the Golden Horde were the Black Sea, Caspian and North Kazakhstan steppes. The main territory can also be defined by the interfluve of the Dnieper, Don, Volga and Ural rivers. So, Plano Carpini wrote: «We rode through the whole country of Comans, which is a continuous plain and has four large rivers: the first — Dnieper (Neper) …, the second — Don …, the third — Volga …, the fourth is called Yaik …»…[11, p.61].
In general, the western border of the Golden Horde was determined by the Danube River, the eastern border was along the Irtysh and Chulyman Rivers. In the south, Khorezm was part of the Golden Horde until the 60s of the XIV century. The Mangyshlak peninsula was also part of the Djuchid possessions. The pre-Caucasian steppes, as well as Derbent, were the frontiers of the Golden Horde khans, separating them from the possessions of the Hulaguids in Transcaucasia. «The Crimean peninsula … was one of the uluses of the Golden Horde, but the Mongols themselves intended to settle only in its steppe regions.»[12, p.56 ] Thus, there is a testimony in the source — Ibn Hajar al-Askalani, an Arab author of the XIV century in his chronicle, which had the name «Notification of the unwise about the children of the century», left an interesting message about one of the ambassadors, whose father’s name was Zeineddin Ramadan or Ramazan [10, p.350], and he was, according to the sources, the ruler of the Crimea. In 1356 the Venetian Republic concluded a trade agreement with him, according to which the Venetians received the right to trade in the seaside city of Provanto. And in 1385, according to al-Askalani, «the ambassadors of Uzbek Toktamyshkhan, Sultan of Desht, arrived (to Egypt). The name of the eldest of them was Hasan, son of Ramazan. His father was the governor of Crimea.»[10, p.452] If we take into account that the names then reflected also belonging to a certain tribe, then maybe the ambassadors Ramazan-Ramadan mentioned in the source are descendants of the Turkic tribe Ramadan.
As for the northern borders of the state, the researchers call the settlement Mokhshi, which is identified with Narovchatovskiy settlement in the Penza region.[10, p.18] The beginning of the formation of the Golden Horde refers to 1243 and is associated with the return of Batu from the western campaign in the Black Sea and Caspian steppes, «known in the eastern authors under the name of Desht-i Kypchak». The Russian principalities of the northeastern and southwestern parts of Russia were in a semi-independent state and paid tribute to the Mongols. Mordovian tribes settling along the Moksha River were included in the area of full political influence of the Golden Horde khans, like Bashkiria and Volga Bulgaria. From Russian lands Kolomna, Pereyaslavl, Tula were included in the Golden Horde. V.Egorov calls the existing buffer zones between Russian principalities and Mongolian lands proper. As a rule, these lands were inhabited by the Russian population and administratively subordinated to the Mongols. Mentioned by Plano Carpini village Kanov is the modern city of Kanev, located at a distance of 120 km south of Kiev on the Dnieper.[11,p.195] «… having arranged … affairs in Kiev … we on horseback … hastily headed from Kiev to other barbarian nations. We arrived to some village by name Kanov, which was under direct authority of Tatars.»[11, p.59] Clarification of northern borders of Golden Horde is important that as it was specified above, M.Tynyshpayev wrote about Ramadan in Penza province. If to address to such source as the Book of the Big Drawing, we find there according to the instructions of M.Tynyshpayev the river under the name Ramon, and the city of Ramon (or Romon).[13, p.106-109] Here it is also mentioned the city of Kanev on the Dnieper and the river Kanevka. We will point out that I.I.Neplyuev, the governor of the Orenburg region, in his work is also called, but already quite definitely Romodanovskaya volost in Kaluga province and the village Romodanovka, in which the peasant unrest took place.[14, p.330].
The ethnic situation in the conquered by the Mongols Desht-i-Kipchak can be characterized by the words of the Arab author of the XIV century. al-Omari: «In ancient times this state was the country of the Kipchaks, but when it was seized by the Tatars, the Kipchaks became their subjects. Then they (Tatars) mingled and interbred with them (Kipchaks), and the land prevailed over the natural and racial qualities of them (Tatars), and they all became exactly Kipchaks, as if they were of the same (with them) kind, because of the fact that the Mongols (and Tatars) settled on the land of the Kipchaks, intermarried with them and stayed to live in the land of them (Kipchaks).»[10, p.235].
Although most scientific studies devoted to the history of the Golden Horde assert the idea that the Russian principalities, although they were politically dependent on the Mongols, their lands nevertheless did not become part of the Golden Horde state. And yet these lands were conquered by the Mongols: in 1238 conquered Russian principalities — Ryazan, Vladimir, in 1240 captured Kiev.[15, p.58] Speaking about the importance of agricultural areas in the economic life of the Golden Horde, famous researchers B.D.Grekov and A.Y.Yakubovsky wrote the following: «The lands in the northern part of the former Saratov, Penza and southern part of Nizhny Novgorod provinces also played a great importance in the system of the Golden Horde state…»…[15, p.102 It was in these lands, according to M.Tynyshpayev’s reports, that the town of Romodan was located, from which, apparently, it follows that perhaps, the tribe of Ramadan, or some groups of this tribe could reach and settle during the Mongol invasion of the Russian principalities in these places and subsequently give their name to the name of the village mentioned by the famous Kazakh scientist.
The period of the Golden Horde of the XIV century is interesting in terms of historical events associated with the beginning of the reign of Tokhtamysh from 1380. Having become with the help of Emir Timur khan of the Golden Horde and Ak Horde, Tokhtamysh tried to pursue an independent policy. «Tokhtamysh’s great-power aspirations caused a rebuff from Timur, to whom the strengthening of the Golden Horde and Ak Horde united under one strong power was extremely undesirable. A fierce long struggle between Timur and Tokhtamysh began.»[16, p.127] The policy of Tokhtamysh was objectively aimed at uniting the territory, as well as its population, i.e. the tribes of Desht-i-Kipchak.
Having gathered the tribes of Desht-i-Kipchak, Tokhtamysh fought with Timur’s army in 1391 in the area of Kundurcha. This battle ended with the defeat of Tokhtamysh and the fragmentation of the lands of Western Kazakhstan. Here is how Abulgazi Bahadur-khan wrote about it. «On the bank of the river Idil (Volga) he (Timur — H.G.) fought with Tokhtamysh. Emir Timur was victorious, and Tokhtamysh-khan turned to flight. Emir Timur exterminated a lot of people.»[4, p.94].
The next battle of great importance for the fate of the Turkic tribes and clans occupying the territory of the Golden Horde, especially western Kazakhstan, took place in 1394-1395 between Tokhtamysh and Timur and also ended with the defeat of Tokhtamysh, who defeated Timur. between Tokhtamysh and Timur and also ended with the defeat of Tokhtamysh, who, according to the medieval chronicler of Sarymedin Ibrahim Ibn Dukmak, who left evidence of this battle in his work «A precious pearl in the biography of caliphs and sultans», «after the defeat fled to the land of the Russians.»[10, p.329-330 ] The same information is also reported by another author. «On Saturday, the 2nd dzulhidje of 797 (= September 18, 1395) Emir Tulumen Alishah, who traveled as an ambassador to Tsar Tokhtamyshkhan, appeared to the highest court together with Khoja Medjeddin Ismail. He informed Sultan Ezzahir that he had been to Tokhtamyshkhan and that he had promised him all the best. At that very time the news came that Timurlenk was coming to him (Toktamysh). Then he (Toktamysh) set out (on a campaign) and moved with his troops, (but) he was betrayed by one of his retainers and went over to Timurlenk. Then they met and fought for three days. Tokhtamysh was defeated and fled to the lands of the Russians.»[10, p.363].
Ibn Arabshah in his work «Miracles of predestination in the fate of Timur», also left interesting facts about the battle of Timur and Tokhtamysh in 1395. The author draws the consequences of the battle as follows.
«This battle and pogrom lasted about 3 days, then there was dust from the flight of the army of Tokhtamyshev, showing the rear, his troops scattered and retreated, and Timur’s hordes scattered over the possessions of Desht, and settled down (in them). He subdued their tribes and the last and the first of them obeyed him. He took possession of the movable and divided it, and the immovable and carried it away with him, collected (all) captured and distributed the booty, allowed to plunder and strip, caused destruction and violence, destroyed their tribes, exterminated their languages, changed their orders and took away (with him all) captured money, captives and property. His advanced troops reached Azak and he destroyed Saray, Saraychuk, Hadjitarhan and (all) these regions. The position of Idiku under him has risen.»[10, p.466].
The Golden Horde, as is known, was a nomadic state. «In the system of internal management of the Golden Horde an important place was occupied by the administrative and official apparatus, represented by servants, as well as military nomadic nobility, among which the most prominent was the role of natives of Turkic peoples — Kipchaks, medieval Uighurs, Volga Bulgars.»[16, p.83] The history of Turkic tribes and clans continued as part of the states formed in the course of the Mongol conquest. In this respect, both the official apparatus and the army of the Golden Horde were composed precisely of representatives of the local population. «The main part of the subjects of the Golden Horde were Turkic peoples, the Kipchaks conquered by the Mongols, the Polovtsians of Kazakhstan, the Volga region and the Black Sea region, the inhabitants of Khorezm and Volga Bulgaria and the inhabitants of the Russian principalities … The Mongols themselves, of whom the nobility and the few elite troops consisted, rather quickly fell under the influence of their more cultured subjects, adopting by the end of the 13th century their Turkic language and then the religion of Islam.»[16, p.84 ]
The local population, recognizing the political domination of the Mongols, was naturally incorporated into the decimal system of organization of administrative and military power. «The nomadic and semi-nomadic population of the conquered countries also entered the uluses of the Chingizids and was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands of tens of thousands … The division was made taking into account the tribal structure of the local population, and this was an important factor that contributed to its consolidation for a long time.»[16, p.90] The Mongol conquest, including the period of existence of the Golden Horde had an important historical significance, first of all for the completion of the process of ethnogenesis of the Turkic peoples. First of all, of course, it is the idea of a strong central authority, which contributed to the unification of disparate tribes into a single whole, defining the future borders of the new state, bringing into effect and legitimizing the concept of legitimacy. Thus, during the period of Mongol rule, it can be said that statehood was formed on a local ethnic basis.
However, this process took place under difficult political conditions. As a result of overcoming feudal feudal feuds, separatism of individual rulers, and disintegration of the ulus system, new political unions were formed on this basis. These new states were united on the principle of a common economic and ethnic basis. In this respect, the Golden Horde became an illustrative example. On the territory of Eastern Desht-i Kipchak from the middle of the 13th century there was the state of Ak-Orda … In the XIV century the power of rulers from the Orda Ichena family extended to the Shayban ulus. A number of modern researchers attribute to this state formation on the territory of Kazakhstan the name «Kok Orda». Ak-Orda is called the possessions of Batu Khan to the west of the Yaik River, including the Shayban ulus. It is possible that after the Shayban ulus became part of the possessions of the descendants of the Horde, the name «Ak-Orda» was transferred to the entire united state. Since the end of the XIV century the possessions of the khans of Ak-Orda began to be called in sources Uzbek ulus.[16, p.99].
Al-Omari, describing the population living in the Golden Horde, wrote the following: «Noman, mentioning the ruler of the kingdom of Kipchak, says that most of the subjects of this king are inhabitants of the western part of the North. They are innumerable peoples: the most numerous of them are Russians, then, after them, the Türks of Desht-Kipchak. These are large tribes, between which there are Muslims and infidels.»[10, p.241].
The 14th century became known in the history of the Golden Horde by the weakening of the power of the khans and the beginning of the disintegration of this state. This period was also marked by the struggle of the Ak-Orda khans against the claims of Timur. In this respect, in the 80s of the XIV century, the rule of Tokhtamysh, whose power was recognized by all feudal rulers of Ak-Orda and the former Golden Horde, is of special interest.
The lands east of the Ural River, north of the Aral Sea and Syr-Darya became part of Ak-Orda. Here is how Ibn Khaldun wrote about it: Timur «… paid attention to his first business and began with that he moved against Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamysh came forward to meet him and with him was Oglan Bulat, (one of) his kinsmen. Timur entered into intercourse with him and with some of his emirs, so that Tokhtamysh suspected them. There came a skirmish, they prepared for battle and the country suffered from Timur’s troops, all who were in it were beaten or removed from the battlefield.»[10, p.392-393].
As a result of the ongoing political cataclysms of the XIV century, the ethnic picture of the former uluses of Juchi and Chagataids changed. There was the formation and division of entire ethnic groups, which were formerly part of such large tribal associations as Kipchak, which included many Turkic tribes. Ethnic territories were consolidated. Important consequences of this period were stabilization of the ethnic composition of tribes, unification of cultural and legal norms of Turkic and Turkic-Mongol tribes, and establishment of common ethnic features of different Turkic tribal associations. These tribal associations were part of the states of Ak-Orda, nomadic Uzbeks, Nogai Horde and included many clans and tribes, whose ethnic composition was generally identical. The appearance in written sources of collective ethno-political terms — ethno-politonyms, for example, «Uzbek», belongs to this time. Its ethnic composition consisted of Kipchaks, Uysuns, Kongrats, Kireites, Mangyts, Argyns, Karluks, Naimans, Burkuts, Kyyats, Keneges, Kurlauts and many others. Some of them became part of the Kazakh tribes of the Middle and Younger zhuzes, the other part at the turn of the XV-XVI centuries went to Central Asia and carried the name «Uzbek» there. The Nogai Horde included the tribes of Kypchaks, Kangli, Naimans, Uysuns and Kongrats, Mangytes, Alshins, Kytai, As and others.
«All these were Turkic and Turkicized tribes and clans, common to a number of Turkic peoples of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, scattered and mixed on the vast territory of the region by the turbulent events of the XIII century. Within the framework of the mentioned states, the processes of ethno-political development were in many respects common to Uzbeks, Nogai, Karakalpaks, Siberian Tatars, and Kazakhs. These peoples were formed in the late medieval period almost simultaneously, their formation occurred not in isolation, but in close contacts of ethnic groups, in political ties of state associations, economic and cultural intercommunication of the population» [16, p.100-1011]. [16, c.100-101].