In 840, the Kyrgyz allied with theTang dynasty to defeat the Uyghur Khaganate (Mongolia). The Kyrgyz qaghan (king) killed the Uyghur qaghan and rescuedPrincess Taihe. They moved toJeti-su and spread south to theTian Shan mountains andXinjiang. The Kyrgyz then lived peacefully around Central Asia and Xinjiang, as vassals to the Tang.[13][14]
TheTanghuiyao (8–10c) called themTsze-gu (Kirgut) andXiajiasi. According toTang records Xiajia could mean "yellow head and red face". That's what the Uyghurs called the Kyrgyz.[15] Their tamga (tribe symbol) is identical to the modern day Kyrgyz tamga.[16]
They were part of theChagatai Khanate and ruled by other Turkic people. In 1685 theOirat (Dzungar, Mongolic) ruled them.
Russia then took over, Modern Kyrgyzstan declared independence in 1991.
By the 16th century they lived inSiberia, Xinjiang, Tian Shan, Pamir-Alay,Middle Asia,Urals,Kazakhstan, etc.[17] InChina, the term Kyrgyz also refers to the oldest Turkic tribes that lived there (theTiele and Yeniseian Kyrgyz).[18]
Nowadays Kyrgyz are mostly Muslims of theHanafiSunni school.[24] But they were originallyshamanist.Arab traders travelled along theSilk Road and arrived by the 8th century. But the Kyrgyz were not immediately converted. ThePersian textHudud al-'alam, said that the Kyrgyz "venerate the Fire and burn the dead".[25]
In the 19th century, the Russians conquered Kyrgyz land and drove many to China.[32] The Kyrgyz had a better life in China than in Russia. The Russians fought against the Muslim nomadic Kyrgyz. But because there were so many Chinese-Kyrgyz, the Russians stopped because they did not want to fight against the Chinese. The Muslim Kyrgyz were sure that in any upcoming conflict, China would defeat Russia.[33]
Some are called the "Fuyu Kyrgyz". They are Yenisei Kirghiz (Khakas people) people. In the 17th c, the Dzungar khanate moved them from the Yenisei river to Dzungaria. In the 18th c, theQing dynasty then defeated Dzungaria and moved them toManchuria. They now live in Wujiazi Village, Fuyu County,Heilongjiang. Their language is related to the Khakas language (the Fuyü Gïrgïs dialect).[34]
↑Zuev, Yu.A.,Horse Tamgas from Vassal Princedoms (Translation of Chinese composition "Tanghuyao" of 8–10th centuries), Kazakh SSR Academy of Sciences, Alma-Ata, 1960, p. 103(in Russian)
12Rachel Lung, Rachel (2011).Interpreters in Early Imperial China. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p.108.ISBN978-90-272-2444-6. Retrieved15 June 2012.During the reign period of Kaiyuan of [emperor] Xuanzong, Ge Jiayun, composedA Record of the Western Regions, in which he said "the people of the Jiankun state all have red hair and green eyes. The ones with dark eyes were descendants of [the Chinese general] Li Ling [who was captured by the Xiongnu]...of Tiele tribe and called themselves Hegu.
↑Abramzon S.M.The Kirgiz and their ethnogenetical historical and cultural connections, Moscow, 1971, p. 45
