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TheBerendei orBerindei (Romanian:Berindei; Ukrainian:Берендеї,Berendeyi; Russian:берендеи,berendei,перендеи,perendei,перендичи; in Hungarian:berendek; in Polish:Berendejowie) were a medievalTurkictribe, most likely ofKipchak origin.[1] They were part of the tribal confederation of the "peak caps" or the "black hats" (theChorni Klobuky, in Turkickarakalpak).
The Berindeis were semi-nomadic and have been documented as holding various military positions, such as that of "frontier guards" on the payroll ofRus' lords. The Berindeis are mentioned in the chronicles of theKievan Rus' in the 11th and 12th centuries as "Chornye Klobuki" and, together with thePechenegs andUzs, became settled along the borders of the Rus' steppes. Some rebel Berindei tribes took refuge in territories which are part of today’sRomania. Most of the Berindeis remained on the territories of theKiev andPereyaslavl principalities, where they functioned as cavalry troops in the region of the lowerDnieper river.
During the 12th century, the Berindeis were already assimilated, but also maintained their own military aristocracy. After the Berindei nobility were accepted by the elite of the Kievan Rus' state, towns were created by the new nobility and started to flourish. The Berindei cavalry continued to remain active against the raids undertaken by theCumans.[2] In 1177, aCuman-Kipchak army, allied withRyazan, sacked six cities belonging to the Berendei andTorkil.
After the great Mongol invasion of 1241, some Berindeis and other Turkic peoples moved toBulgaria to join with those who had already taken refuge in Hungary. The rest of these tribes mixed with the nomad population of theGolden Horde, where after, the historians at this time ceased with the usage of the Berindei tribal name.
Some of Turkic placenames in south ofKyiv Oblast and inCherkasy Oblast, namelyKaharlyk, Karapyshi, Tahancha, Koshmak, are believed to be connected to the Berendei. Additionally, so is the name of the city ofBerdychiv in southern part ofZhytomyr Oblast, which is founded by the "Berendychi".
Also, there is a village calledBerendi in the town of Serik, located in theAntalya province of Turkey. The people of this village are known as "coz", or settled people. Berendi is one of the oldest villages in the region, and since the word for non-settled people in Turkish is "cuz", the villagers of Berendi are conjectured to be the descendants of Muslim Pechenegs who were also designated as "coz" historically. An example of a "cuz" or nomadic people, are theYörüks of Antalya, who are direct descendants of the Oghuz Turks.
There are two villages calledBerende inBulgaria, which names, according to the linguist Anna Choleva–Dimitrova, stem from the Berendei tribe.[3]
In modern-day Romania, the Berindeis were documented to have lived inTeleorman County, around the town ofRoșiorii de Vede together with thePechenegs, Uzs, andCumans.[4] InOlt County, there is also aBerindei village.
Berindei (occasionally spelled Berindey) survives into modern times, designated as a family name. This is the surname of several noted Romanian personalities such as the architects Ion. D. Berindey, Dimitrie I. Berindey, and the generalAnton Berindei born in Roșiorii de Vede; the architects Ion (Johny) Berindei and Ion Berindei, the historiansDan Berindei andMihnea Berindei; the jazz musicians Emil Berindey, Mihai Berindei, and Ștefan Berindei.
During thecommunist regime in Romania (1945–1989), many Berindeis have emigrated to Europe and the United States.
