TheAlat (a.k.a.Ala-at,Ala,Alachin,Alagchin,Alchin,Alchi,Alayontli,Ulayundluğ (اُوﻻيُنْدْلُغْ) ("piebald horse", pinto);Boma (駁馬 or 駮馬 "piebald horse"),Helai (賀賴),Helan (賀蘭),Hela (曷剌),Bila (弊剌),[a] ordru-gu ha-la-yun-log[3] ("Ha la yun log Turks")[4]) were one salientTurkic tribe known from Chinese annals.
Alats were possibly identical to theLuandi,[5] orXueyantuo,[6] orKhalajes,[7][8] the last group being a Turkic Central Asian people known to medieval Arab and Persian Muslim geographers and in Bactrian inscriptions.[9]
Literature on Alats is very rich; Alats were a subject of study byTangshu,Jiu Tangshu,Tang Huiyao, N.Ya. Bichurin, S.E. Malov, N.A. Aristov,Grigory Grum-Grshimailo, Yu. Nemeth, G. Howorth, P. Pelliot, L. Hambis, and others.
In ancient Turkic lexicon, the meaning of "skewbald" (horse) is expressed with the terms "ala" or "alagchin" still active now in composite expressions. Tang Huiyao mentioned, right after theAshina tribe, a tribe namedGeluozhi[ya] (葛羅枝[牙]) (Middle ChineseZS: *kɑt̚-lɑ-t͡ɕiᴇ[-ŋˠa]), whosetamga is depicted as
.[10]Zuev took this as a variant of 遏羅支Eluozhi[11] (supposedly from MC *a-la-tsie) and asserted that this is the earliest transmission and certainly ascends to Alagchin (Alachin, Alchin, Alchi). During the Tang period, Chinese chroniclers calqued the ethonym Alat asBoma "skewbald horses".[12] Elsewhere, Zuev stated that "Sometimes the tribal name 曷剌Hela (<ɣа-lât < *alat < *ala-at "skewbald horse") is written down with hieroglyphs 賀賴Helai (ɣâ-lâi <alai), which is equivalent to 賀蘭Helan (<alan ~ala "skewbald, motley, mixed").[13] SinceOghuz (Turkmen) tribe ofAlayontli has the same tamga asBoma (Alat) tribe and whose name also translates as "skewbald horse", Zuev is certain that Alayontli is the same tribe as alat.[12]
Chinese historiographers also preserved many similar titles, individual and tribal names inXianbei society, where horses were held in high esteem:
According toPeter A. Boodberg the title Helazhen transcribes "undoubtedly *atlačin 'horseman' from Tk.atla 'to mount a horse'", thus "a purely Turkish form inT'o-pa". All of those foresaid names & titles are traceable back to Turkic orTurco-Mongol *atlan "to ride" < *at- "horse", whereas *ala- *alaɣ-, or *alutu means "variegated", "dappled", or "piebald", thus describing the preferred coat-color(s) of nomadic northerners' warhorses.[14]
The ethnonymAlat might have been transcribed asKhalaj orQalaj in Persian, Arabic and Bactrian sources, corresponding to 訶(達)羅支He(da)luozhi (< *ha-(dat-)la-tɕĭe) or 葛(達)羅支Ge(da)luozhi (< *kat-(dat-)la-tɕĭe), which in turn are variants of 葛羅支Geluozhi.[8] According to theNew Book of Tang (vol. 217),Boma 駁馬 ~Bila 弊剌 ~Eluozhi 遏羅支 neighboured theJiegu 結骨 (i.e.Yenisei Kyrgyz). Arab geographeral-Idrisi recorded that the Khalajes'winter quarter and castle were situated near theKimeks, who in turn dwelt in theIrtysh basin, to the north and/or west of the Kirghizes. Thus, based on geographic arrangements, theBoma ~ Bila ~ Eluozhi (i.e. Alats) might be the same as Khalajes.[7]
Tongdian glossedHelan as simply "horse" inOld Turkic[15] andYuanhe Maps and Records of Prefectures and Counties glossed Helan as "piebald horse",[16]
TheNew Book of Tang described the facial appearance of Alats, as resemblingKyrgyz's.[17] 9th-century authorDuan Chengshi described the Kyrgyz's as "yellow-haired, green-eyed, red-mustached [and red-]bearded".[18] TheNew Book of Tang also described the Kyrgyz's as "all tall, red-haired, pale-faced, green-irised";[19] Kyrgyz's regarded black hair negatively and insisted that black-eyed individuals were descendants of the Han generalLi Ling.[20]
Fang Xuanling, inJinshu, (Ch. 110) states that around 349 to 370 CE the Xiongnu leader, titled Chanyu, Helaitou brought his tribe of 35 thousand to theXianbeiFormer Yan state and submitted to its emperorMurong Jun. Helaitou was bestowed the title of General Pacifying the West, and settled in the Daizong district. TheHelan was listed as the 14th of 19 tribes of theSouthern Xiongnu.[21]
According to the Chinese annals, the home of the Alat was either theAlashan Mountains[22][23] or the basin of theNarym River.
Alats integrated themselves into theXianbei confederation.[24] The Tuoba-Xianbei that foundedNorthern Wei dynasty's Eight Great Noble Clans wereBuliugu,Helan,Dugu,Helou,Huniu,Qiumu,Gexi, andYuchi. From the 3rd century, theHelan also offered marriage alliances with the imperialTuoba clan.[14]
Al-Khwarizmi asserted that Khalajes were one of the two remnant tribes of theHephthalites.[25][26] Even so, modern Khalaj have no idea about their origins, and Sims-Williams cited Bactrian documents dated from 678 and 710 and named a Khalaj people, thus these new archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that Khalajes were the Hephthalites' successors.[27] According toMinorsky, Khalajes were "perhaps only politically associated with the Hephthalites."[28]
Jiu Tangshu &Tongdian mentioned a tribe ofBoma (skewbald horses), besides theBasmyls,Kyrghyzes,Khwarazmians etc., who in 638, submitted to the Western TurkicDuolu Qaghan.Tongdian cites as a comment a fragment from an unknown composition that "Tujue call the skewbald horses Hela, and the state is also called Hela".[12][29][30][31][32]
"They are north from theTujue, 14,000 li from the Chinese capital. They follow grass and water, but mostly live in the mountains. Their standing army is 30,000 men. There is always snow, and foliage does not fall down. They plough fields with horses. All horses are skewbald colors, therefore the state is also given the same name. They live in the north near a sea. Though they have horses, they do not ride them, but use their milk for food. They are frequently at war with Kirgizes".
Jin Tangshu also noted that the Alats and Kyrgyz spoke mutually unintelligible languages.[33]
From the story ofAbulgazi and description of twoMongolian embassies (in 1233 and 1254) to Alachins, they lived along theYenisei, the sources of theAngara, and the east coast ofLake Baikal (called the "Northern sea" by Chinese chroniclers). Based on annalistic traditions, the author of the "Family tree of Türks" Abulgazi described the country of skewbald horses:
The Khalaj tribe had long been settled inAfghanistan.[34] AKhalji dynasty of Turkic Khalaj origin ruled large parts of South Asia from 1290 to 1320, they were the second Muslim dynasty to rule theDelhi Sultanate ofIndia, they are noted in history for repeatedly defeating the warringMongols and thereby saving India from plundering raids and attacks.[35]
After theRussian revolution in 1917, Alats headed a movement of Turkestan peoples for independence, and created a functioning state of the Kazakh people known asAlash Autonomy that operated between December 13, 1917, and August 26, 1920, controlling roughly the territory of the present-day Republic of Kazakhstan, with a capital in Alash-qala (modernSemey). The Alash leaders proclaimed the establishment of the Alash Orda, a Kazakh government, aligned with the Russian White Army in December 1917 and fought against theBolsheviks.
In 1919, when the White forces were losing, the Alash Autonomous government began negotiations with the Bolsheviks. In 1919–20 Bolsheviks defeated the White Russian forces in the region and occupied Kazakhstan. On August 26, 1920, the new Soviet government disbanded the Alash Autonomy, and established the "Kyrgyz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic". However, the movement for independence continued until 1925, when the war for independence was finally extinguished
The Alats' descendants now live in China,Russia in theAltai,Kazakhstan,Uzbekistan,Kyrgyzstan,Turkey, theCaucasus, eastern section of the Iranian plateau; as well as possibly Turkmenistan, India, and Afghanistan, if Alats were indeed the Khalajes known in Bactrian inscriptions and to medieval Arab and Persians geographers.
Alat tribe members who migrated to China changed their surname toHè (trad. 賀; simp. 贺)[36] and would eventually become assimilated into theHan Chinese.
Alats are also the main ethnic component in the Kazakh Junior-KishiZhuz and constitute parts ofUzbeks. Further west, Alats constitute oneOghuz Turkish tribe,Alayuntlu inTurkish andAlayuntluq inAzeri, which means "with spotted horses". Alanyuntlu's descendants live in Central Turkey.[citation needed] Alayundluq participated in the ethnogenesis ofAzeris, as Alayuntluqtamgas have been found in historical residences of Azeris inGeorgia,Armenia, and the modernRepublic of Azerbaijan. In 1625, during the war betweenEshim Khan andTursun Khan, the Alats joined thekyrgyzSaruu tribe under the name"Alakchyn".
