"Chronicle of Karchi" as a source for the study of the history and ethnogenesis of Karachays and Balkars

Lthe “Karcha” chronicle, which tells about the ancient pages of the history of the Karachays and Balkars, is a colleague of “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”. The chronicle begins with events that took place before our era. It reveals many facts previously unknown or disputed in history.

It contains numerous information about the Huns, Alans, Bulgarians, Khazars, Cumans and many other peoples who inhabited Eastern Europe in antiquity and in the early Middle Ages, when in the 7th century on the lands located between the Black and Caspian Seas, reaching in the north to Moscow -rivers, in the east - to the Urals, in the west - to the Dnieper, a powerful state was formed - Khazaria. It was the first state in Eastern Europe. In terms of economic development, military power and international influence, it competed with Byzantium and Persia, had its own original culture and script.

Now about the history of the "Karcha" chronicle itself.

In the Karachai family of the Khasanovs, two manuscripts written in the Turkic, presumably in the Bulgaro-Khazar language, were inherited. One based on the Greek alphabet is the chronicle of Botai, the son of Kazakgy, the other on the Arabic script is the chronicle of Barlyu, the son of Botai. Unfortunately, Botai's manuscript disappeared after the mysterious death of Magomed Khasanov, who took it to Leningrad to see specialists. Initially, the Barlyu manuscript was written in Greek letters in the Khazar language. Bantau Tolgun Chaushegir rewrote it in Arabic letters at the beginning of the 15th century and continued the chronicle. The Barlyu manuscript was rewritten in Cyrillic by the historian Nazir Khasanov (only 10 chapters out of 23). In Soviet times, he could not publish it. Already after the death of N. Khasanov, the book was published in 1994 in Cherkessk. I have carried out interlinear translation of three chapters. The materials presented in them describe events from ancient times to the XIV century. Including the invasion of Batu and Tamerlane. The author's comments and explanations were given to them.

In the first chapter of the chronicle, it is reported that in very ancient times the country of the pra-Turks consisted of seven principalities, which in turn were divided into eastern and western. Then the author of the chronicle specifically lists the tribes related to them: Sibyls, Bulgarians, Avars, Huns, Massagets, Kipchaks, etc.

The country was divided into Western and Eastern Turks. However, these are not the Turks of the Great Khaganate of the 6th-9th centuries, about whom Gumilev and other historians wrote. We are talking about events that took place before our era. Some of the tribes mentioned in the annals are generally unknown to history. The names of some tribes are very interesting: Sibilian Subans (Svans), southern Mengur (Mengrelian) sibils, Kodur (Koduri) Alpsills, Yungur (Inguri) sibyls, Bazamta (Bzymta) sibyls. The tribes are named after the rivers of Georgia. Turkic tribes are mentioned there as early as the time of Alexander the Great. In the annals of Leonty Mroveli “The Life of the Kings of Kartli” it is said: “And, seeing these inhabitants around that river Kura, cruel pagan tribes, which we call the rebels and Kipchaks ...” Kartli". "Bun" in Persian means "root". This means that the Turks lived there even before the Macedonian invasion. In the same chronicle, the chapter "Invasion of the Khazars" comes before the chapter "Invasion of Alexander". The names of rivers and localities are easily translated from the Karachay-Balkar language: Kodori (kudoru-bean), Bzymta (bazymty-confident), Mengrelia (mengyu-eternal) ...

Among the names of the tribes, one more interesting thing can be noticed.

HUNNEvars

SIBILants

BASANGety

Pay attention to the endings. If you select them, you get: Avars, Antes, Getae. That's where the new tribes came from. This is still only a hypothesis, but a hypothesis that has the right to the attention of scientists.

Further in the annals, it is reported about the principalities in the state of Sybil, covering the territory between the Black and Caspian Seas, in the north bounded by the Don and Volga rivers, in the south by the Caucasus Range. Heroes of the Karachay-Balkar Nart epic act in the same area.