Chorni Klobuky

Not to be confused with Karakalpaks or Qarapapaqs.

Chorni Klobuky (Russian: Чёрные Клобуки; Ukrainian: Чорні клобуки; Turkic: Karakalpak or Qaraqalpaq) were a group of semi-nomadic Turkic tribes that settled on the frontier between the Rus' states and the Pechenegs (and later the Cumans) during the 11th century and 12th century CE. They fought as mercenaries for various Rus' princes, forming most of the light cavalry for the Rus armies. Several tribes are named as probable Chornyi Klobuki, including the Berendei and Torkils.

Their name means "Black Hats" or "Black Hoods", and in Turkic languages it is "Karakalpak"; presumably this refers to their national costume. It is unclear whether the Chornyi Klobuki are related to the Karakalpaks of today.[1]

The name Chornyi Klobuki appears in the chronicles of Kievan Rus’ at the end of the 11th century, when they settled primarily south of Kyiv and Pereiaslav. In the 12th century many of these tribes became sedentary and town-based. Many of the Chornyi Klobuki settled just southwest of Kyiv; eventually these were assimilated into the population of what would become Russian Empire and the modern-day Ukraine, leaving behind Turkic village names (as i.e. Karabachyn in Zhytomyr oblast) and some Turkic anthropological features among some Ukrainians from these areas.

The last remnants of them were crushed by the Mongols just before the battle of Kyiv in 1240.

There are several remaining geographic names of Turkic origin on the eastern border of ancient Rus’:
Karachev (Bryansk region, Russia) – Kara-çai – black brook or river
Uleml’ (Kaluga region, Russia) – Ulama – liaison
Psur’ (Kaluga region) – Pusur – ambush
Kuyava (Kaluga region) – Kuyu – water well
Zhizdra (Kaluga region) – Ğiz der – secret location
Bytosh’ (Bryansk region) – ... taş - ... stone

See also

References

  1. ↑ David Nicolle, Angus McBride (2001), Armies of Medieval Russia, Osprey Publishing, ISBN 978-1-85532-848-8, ISBN 1855328488


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