Burtas (russian: Буртасы, ''Burtasy''; cv, Пăртассем, ''Părtassem''; tt-Cyrl, Бортаслар, , ) were a tribe of uncertain ethnolinguistic affiliation inhabiting the
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate gras ...
region north of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
in medieval times (modern
Penza Oblast
Penza Oblast (russian: Пе́нзенская о́бласть, ''Penzenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Penza. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,386,186.
Geogr ...
,
Ulyanovsk Oblast
Ulyanovsk Oblast (russian: Ульяновская область, ''Ul’janovskaja oblast’'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Ulyanovsk. Populati ...
and
Saratov Oblast
Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. As of the 2010 Cen ...
of the
Russian Federation). They were subject to the
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
.
History
Burtases had converted to
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
in
Khazar times and still practiced the
Jewish faith
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, monotheism, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots ...
in the 13th century.
They took part in a great Mongol–Russian
battle at Kulikovo pole in
1380
Year 1380 ( MCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* February – Olaf II of Denmark also becomes Olaf IV of Norway, with his mother M ...
, on the side of the Mongols
In the
1380
Year 1380 ( MCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* February – Olaf II of Denmark also becomes Olaf IV of Norway, with his mother M ...
s or earlier at least part of them settled in
Temnikov Principality. The Tatar-speaking ''Burtashi'' ethnic group is sometimes mentioned in forums.
Ethnic Identity
The ethnic identity of the Burtas is disputed, with several different theories ranging from them being a
Uralic
The Uralic languages (; sometimes called Uralian languages ) form a language family of 38 languages spoken by approximately 25million people, predominantly in Northern Eurasia. The Uralic languages with the most native speakers are Hungarian lan ...
tribal confederacy (probably later assimilated to Turkic language), and therefore perhaps the ancestors of the modern
Moksha people
The Mokshas (also ''Mokshans'', ''Moksha people'', in ) comprise a Mordvinian ethnic group belonging to the Volgaic branch of the Finno-Ugric peoples. They live in the Russian Federation, mostly near the Volga River and the Moksha River, a tr ...
.
Some scholars maintain that the Burtas are supposed to be Turkic-speaking and ethnically related with the Volga Bulgars.
Recently some scholars have suggested that the Burtas were
Alans
The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...
or another
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
ethnolinguistic group. An Alanic (
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...
) origin would also explain their name as ''furt''/''fort'' ('big river' in
Middle Iranian language
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are groupe ...
or 'beehive' in
Turkic language
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...
) and the Alanic endonym
''as''.
Some Soviet and modern Russian historians such as A.E Alikhova and Gren connected the Burtas to the
Chechens
The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "Eu ...
and noted that their neighbor
Avars call them "Burti".
See also
*
Temnikov Principality — Medieval Turkic and Finnic state
References
Literature
*
*
Jewish ethnic groups
Historical ethnic groups of Russia
History of Penza Oblast
History of Ulyanovsk Oblast
History of Saratov Oblast
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