TheOnoghurs,Onoğurs, orOğurs (Ὀνόγουροι, Οὔρωγοι, Οὔγωροι; Onογurs, Ογurs; "ten tribes", "tribes") were a group ofTurkicnomadic equestrians who flourished in thePontic–Caspian steppe and theVolga region between the 5th and 7th centuries, and spoke anOghuric language.[1]
The nameOnoğur is widely thought to derive fromOn-Oğur "ten Oğurs (tribes)".[2] Modern scholars consider Turkic terms for tribeoğuz andoğur to be derived from Turkic*og/uq, meaning "kinship or being akin to".[3] The terms initially were not the same, asoq/ogsiz meant "arrow",[4] whileoğul meant "offspring, child, son",oğuš/uğuš was "tribe, clan", and the verboğša-/oqša meant "to be like, resemble".[3] The modern name of "Hungary" (seename of Hungary) is usually believed to be derived from On-Oğur (> (H)Ungari).[5][6]
The Onoghuric orOghuric languages are a branch of theTurkic languages. Some scholars suggestHunnic had strong ties withBulgar and to modernChuvash[7] and refer to this extendedOghuric grouping as separate Hunno-Bulgar languages.[8] However, such speculations are not based on proper linguistic evidence, since the language of the Huns is almost unknown except for a few attested words and personal names. Scholars generally consider Hunnish as unclassifiable.[9][10][11][12]
Chuvash language isagglutinative in the structure of grammar, phonetically it issynharmonic. Some scholars consider the Chuvash as the sole living representative ofVolga Bulgar language.[13][14][15][16] while others support the idea that Chuvash is another distinctOghur Turkic language.[17] Chuvash is sometimes considered to share a linguistic connection with theKhazar language although the classification of Khazar language debated among scholars.[18][19][20][21] Chuvash has two to three dialects.[22][23] Chuvash language isagglutinative in the structure of grammar, phonetically it issynharmonic. In this respect, it's almost no different from otherTurkic languages.Oghuric family is distinguished from the rest of the Turkic family by sound changes and it has a special place.
The Oghuric languages are also known as "-r Turkic" because the final consonant in certain words isr, notz as in Common Turkic.[24]Chuvash:вăкăр -Turkish:öküz -Tatar:үгез - English:ox. Hence the nameOghur corresponds toOghuz "tribe" in Common Turkic.[25] Other correspondences are Com.š : Oghurl (tâš :tâl, 'stone');s >š;*č >ś;k/q >ğ;y >j, ś;d, δ >δ >z (10th cent.) >r (13th cent.)";ğd >z >r (14th cent.);a >ı (after 9th cent.).[26][27] The shift froms toš operates beforei,ï, andiV, andVladimir Dybo calls the sound change the "Bulgarpalatalization".[28]
Denis Sinor believed that the differences noted above suggest that the Oghur-speaking tribes could not have originated in territories inhabited by speakers ofMongolic languages, given that Mongolian dialects feature the-z suffix.[29]Peter Golden, however, has noted that there are many loanwords inMongolic from Oghuric, such as Mongolicikere, Oghuric*ikir, Hungarianiker, Common Turkic*ikiz 'twins',[25] and holds the contradictory view that the Oghur inhabited the borderlands of Mongolia before the 5th century.[30]
The Oghuric tribes are also connected with theHungarians, whose exo-ethnonym is usually believed to be derived fromOn-Oğur (>(H)Ungari).Hungarians ->Hun Oghur -> (ten oghur tribes): On ogur -> up.chv. Won ogur -> dow.chv. Wun ogur ->belor. Wugorac ->rus. Wenger ->slove. Vogr, Vogrin ->cheh.pol. Węgier, Węgrzyn, ->lit. Veñgras.[5] The Hungarians are culturally of mixedUgrian /Turkic heritage, with Oghuric-Bulgar and Khazar influences, even though much of the modern-day Hungarian gene pool also has strong Slavic, Germanic, and Iranic influences.[31][32][33] Hungarian has many borrowings from Common Turkic and Oghuric languages:[34]
Hung.tenger, Oghur.*tengir, Comm.*tengiz 'sea',[25] Hung.gyűrű, Oghur.*ǰürük, Comm.*yüzük 'ring',[35] and terms of equestrian cultureló 'horse',nyereg 'saddle',fék 'bridle',ostor 'whip'.[36] A number of Hungarian loanwords were borrowed before the 9th century, shown bysz- (< Oğ.*ś-) rather thangy- (< Oğ.*ǰ-), for example Hung.szél, Oghur.*śäl, Chuv.śil, Comm.*yel 'wind', Hung.szűcs 'tailor', Hung.szőlő 'grapes'.[35]
In theOghuz languages asazer.tur.öküz meansox (totemic animal), and is a reflection of the Chuvash language wăkăr whererhotacism is used, in theKipchak languages it isögiz.[37][38]
The Onogurs were one of the firstOghuric Turkic tribes that entered the Ponto-Caspian steppes as the result of migrations set off in Inner Asia.[39] The 10th centuryMovses Kaghankatvatsi recorded, considered late 4th century, certainHonagur, "a Hun[nb 1] from the Honk" who raided Persia, which were related to the Onoghurs, and located nearTranscaucasia and theSassanian Empire.[42] Scholars also relate theHyōn to this account.[42]
According toPriscus, in 463 the representatives ofErnak'sSaraghurs (Oghur.sara, "White Oghurs"), Oghurs andOnoghurs came to the Emperor in Constantinople,[43] and explained they had been driven out of their homeland by theSabirs, who had been attacked by theAvars in Inner Asia.[44][45] This tangle of events indicates that the Oghuric tribes are related to theTing-ling andTiele people.[46][47] It is considered they belonged to the westernmost Tiele tribes, which also included theUyghurs-Toquz Oghuz and theOghuz Turks, and were initially located in WesternSiberia andKazakhstan.[48]Leo I the Thracian granted Ernak the lands of the treacherousKaradach'sAkatziroi roughly corresponding to 20th century Ukraine. Later kings of the Onogur Huns included Grod,Mugel andSandilch, whoseUtigurs were engaged in a civil war against theKutrigurs ofKhinialon.
The origin of theKutrigurs andUtigurs, who lived in the vicinity of the Onoghurs and Bulgars, and their mutual relationship, is considered obscure.[49][50] Scholars are unsure how the union between Onoghurs and Bulgars formed, imagining it as a long process in which a number of different groups merged.[51][52] During that time, theBulgars may have represented a large confederation of which the Onoghurs formed one of the core tribes,[52] together with the remnants of the Utigurs and Kutrigurs, among others.[53]
Jordanes inGetica (551) mentioned that theHunuguri (believed to be the Onoghurs) were notable for themarten skin trade.[54][55][56] In theMiddle Ages, marten skin was used as a substitute for minted money.[57][42] This also indicates they lived near forests and were in contact with Finno-Ugrian peoples.[42][58]
The Syriac translation of thePseudo-Zacharias Rhetor'sEcclesiastical History (c. 555) in Western Eurasia records theAvnagur (Aunagur; considered Onoghurs),wngwr (Onoğur),wgr (Oghur).The author wrote following: "Avnagur (Aunagur) are people, who live in tents. Avgar, sabir, burgar, alan, kurtargar, avar, hasar, dirmar, sirurgur, bagrasir, kulas, abdel and hephtalit are thirteen peoples, who live in tents, earn their living on the meat of livestock and fish, of wild animals and by their weapons (plunder)". About theBulgars andAlans, during the first half of 6th century, he added: "The land Bazgun ... extends up to the Caspian Gates and to the sea, which are in the Hunnish lands. Beyond the gates live the Burgars (Bulgars), who have their language, and are people pagan and barbarian. They have towns. And the Alans - they have five towns." .[54][59]
The Onoghurs (Oghurs), in the 6th and 7th century sources, were mentioned mostly in connection with the Avar andGöktürk conquest of Western Eurasia.[60] According to the 6th centuryMenander Protector, the "leader of the Οὐγούρων" had the authority of the TurkYabgu Khagan in the region ofKuban River to the lowerDon.[61]
In early 7th centuryTheophylaktos Simokattes recorded that certain Onoghur cityΒακάθ was destroyed by an earthquake before his lifetime.[42] TheSogdian name indicates it was situated in the vicinity of Iranian Central Asia.[42]
Simokattes in theLetter of the Turk Qaγan (Tamgan) to the EmperorMaurikios recorded a complex notice:
"...the Qaghan set off on another undertaking and subjugated all theὈγώρ. This people is (one) of the most powerful because of their numbers and their training for war in full battle-gear. They have made their abodes towards the East, whence flows the riverΤίλ, which the Turks have the custom of calling the "Black". The oldest chieftains of this people are calledΟὐάρ andΧουννί."[61]
According to the Qaghan, part of thoseOuar (Uar) andKhounni (Huns) who arrived to Eastern Europe were mistook by the Onoghurs,Barsils,Sabirs and other tribes for the original Avars, and as such the Uar and Huns took advantage of the situation and began call themselves Avars.[62] Simokattes also recounts "when the Ogor, then, were brought completely to heel, the Qaγan gave over the chief of theΚὸλχ (Kolx[61]) to the bite of the sword", shows Oghurs resistance toward Turkic authority.[61] Scholars consider if theTil isQara Itil (Black Itil) i.e. Volga (Atil/Itil), then the mentionedὈγώρ would be the Oghurs, while if it is in Inner Asia, then it could be the Uyghurs.[61]
By 568 theAvars, under KhaganBayan I established an empire in theCarpathian Basin that lasted for 250 years. Related peoples from the east arrived in theAvar Kaganate several times: around 595 theKutrigurs, and then around 670 the Onoghurs.[63] TheAvar Khaganate collapsed afterc. 822, a few decades later,Álmos and his sonÁrpádconquered the Carpathian Basin aroundc. 862–895. TheHungarian conquerors together with the Turkic-speakingKabars integrated theAvars and Onoghurs.[64]
Kubrat organised the Onogurs under his Empire of Old Great Bulgaria in the Mid 7th century. From the 8th century, the Byzantine sources often mention the Onoghurs in close connection with the Bulgars. Agathon (early 8th century) wrote about thenation of Onoghur Bulgars.Nikephoros I (early 9th century) noted thatKubrat was the lord of theOnoghundurs; his contemporaryTheophanes referred to them asOnoghundur–Bulgars. Kubrat successfully revolted against the Avars and founded theOld Great Bulgaria (Magna Bulgaria[65]), also known asOnoghundur–Bulgars state, orPatria Onoguria in theRavenna Cosmography.[66][67][54]Constantine VII (mid-10th century) remarked that the Bulgars formerly called themselvesOnogundurs.[68]
Onoghur-Bulgars who settled on theVolga river in the 7th century AD and converted to Islam in 922 during the missionary work ofAhmad ibn Fadlan, inhabited the present-day territory ofTatarstan.[69] After theBatu Khan invasions of 1223–1236, the Golden Horde annexed Volga Bulgaria. Most of the population survived, and a certain degree of mixing between it and theKipchaks of the Horde ensued. Onoghur-Bulgar group as a whole accepted theexonym "Tatars."
This association was previously mirrored in Armenian sources, such as theAshkharatsuyts, which refers to theOlxontor Błkar, and the 5th centuryHistory byMovses Khorenatsi, which includes an additional comment from a 9th-century writer aboutthe colony of the Vłĕndur Bułkar. Marquart and Golden connected these forms with theIġndr (*Uluġundur) ofIbn al-Kalbi (c. 820), theVnndur (*Wunundur) ofHudud al-'Alam (982), theWlndr (*Wulundur) ofAl-Masudi (10th century) and Hungarian name for BelgradNándorfehérvár, thenndr (*Nandur) ofGardīzī (11th century) and*Wununtur in theletter by theKhazar KingJoseph. All the forms show the phonetic changes typical of late Oghuric (protheticw-;o- >wo-,u-,*wu-).[68][70]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)Modern Chuvash is the only descendant language of the Ogur branch. The ancestors of its speakers left the Khazar Empire in the 8th century and migrated to the region at the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers, where they founded the Volga Bulgarian Empire in the 10th century. In the central Volga region, three Volga Bulgarian dialects developed, and Chuvash is the descendant of the 3rd dialect of Volga Bulgarian (Agyagási 2019: 160–183). Sources refer to it as a separate language beginning with 1508
Another Turkic people in the Volga area are the Chuvash, who, like the Tatars, regard themselves as descendants of the Volga Bulghars in the historical and cultural sense. It is clear that Chuvash belongs to the Oghur branch of Turkic, as the language of the Volga Bulghars did, but no direct evidence for diachronic development between the two has been established. As there were several distinct Oghur languages in the Middle Ages, Volga Bulghar could represent one of these and Chuvash another.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)Like the name Scythian up to the early medieval period, the name Hun became a generic (usually pejorative) term in subsequent history for any steppe-warrior people, or even any enemy people, regardless of their actual identity.
Syriac chroniclers (along with their Arab, Byzantine, Latin, Armenian, and Georgian counterparts) did not use ethnonyms as specifically as modern scholars do. As K. Czeglédy notes, "some sources... use the ethnonyms of the various steppe peoples, in particular those of the Scythians, Huns and Turkic tribes, in the generic sense of 'nomads'".[permanent dead link]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)