Cumans
Cumans, also called as Polovtsy, (Russian Половцы) was the European name for the Western Kipchaks, a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga.
History
The Cumans invaded southern Ukraine, Moldavia, Wallachia, and part of Transylvania in the 11th century and then continued their attacks by plundering the Byzantine Empire, Hungary, and Kievan Rus'.
In 1089, they were defeated by Ladislaus I of Hungary. In alliance with the Vlachs (Romanians) and the Bulgarians during the Vlach-Bulgar Rebellion by brothers Asen and Peter in Tarnovo, the Cumans are considered to have played a significant role in the final victory of the rebellion over Byzantium and the restoration of Bulgaria's independence (1185). The Cumans suffered a severe defeat defeated by Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kievan Rus in the 12th century and crushed by the Tatars in 1238. Many of them took refuge in Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Byzantine Empire. After many clashes with the Hungarians, the Cumans were eventually evicted from Hungary to join their kin who lived in Bulgaria. Later, however, a large segment of Cumans were re-invited back to Hungary. The Cumans who remained scattered in the steppe of what is now Russia joined the Golden Horde khanate.
In the 13th century, the Western Cumans adopted Catholic Christians, while the Eastern Cumans converted to Islam. The Catholic "Diocese of the Cumans" founded in Milcov in 1227 and including what is now Romania and Moldova, retained its title until 1523.
The Cuman influence in the region of Wallachia and Moldova was so strong that the earliest Wallachian rulers bore Cuman names (whether they were ethnic Vlachs/Romanians or Cumans is historically irrelevant and difficult to prove). Basarab I, son of the Wallachian prince Tihomir of Wallachia obtained independence from Hungary at the beginning of the 14th century. The name Basarab is considered as being of Cuman origin, meaning "Father King".
Legacy
While the Cumans were assimilated, their name can still be encountered in placenames as far as the city of Kumanovo in the Northeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, Comăneşti in Romania and Comana in Dobruja. The Cumans settled in Hungary had their own self-government there. In Hungary, the name of the Cumans (kún) is still preserved in county names such as Bács-Kiskun and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok and town names as (eg.) Kiskunhalas, Kiskunszentmiklós, etc..
Also, toponyms of Cuman language origin can be found especially in the Romanian counties of Vaslui and Galaţi, including the names of both counties.
In the countries where the Cumans were assimilated, family surnames derived from the words for "Cuman" (such as coman or kun, "kuman") are not uncommon. Among the people that have such a name are Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci, Romanian poet Otilia Coman (Ana Blandiana) and Romanian football player Gigel Coman. Traces of the Cumans are also the Bulgarian surname Kumanov (feminine Kumanova), its Macedonian variant Kumanovski (feminine Kumanovska) and the widespread Hungarian surname Kun/Kún.
For the Russian relations with the Cumans (in Russian: Polovtsy), see the Battle of the Stugna River, the Battle of the Kalka River, and the Tale of Igor's Campaign. A set of Polovtsian Dances occurs in Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor.
Further reading
- Vasary, Istvan (2005) "Cumans and Tatars", Cambridge University Press