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Searches for an Imaginary Kingdom

The trefoil of the Mouse-Hole

Lev Gumilev

{325}

14. A Space-Time Scheme

Conversation with an Arts Man

What is history? Science? Yes, there's no argument. Art? Of course, for the ancient Greeks included Clio among the nine Muses. Philosophy? There is no doubt of this for all those acquainted with the monist method. But apart from this, history is a craft, because for successful work the historian should become a "dab hand" at a series of purely technical devices and methods for processing obstinate material. In this he is like the sculptor or artist who has also raised a craft to the level of artistry.

In colleges of fine art and music a factor is taken into account which, unfortunately, is often neglected in arts faculties - the ability to acquire technique. They consider that anyone can learn to draw or play the piano, but if learning this is difficult, it is better to recommend the student to take some other subject. This is right, because if the ABC is difficult, then the works of art, which are all people want, will not be achieved. So, the task is to ensure that comprehending history should be an easy matter.

For a long time this simple thought seemed to me unquestionable, but I came to be convinced to the contrary. Shortly after publishing part of the preceding chapter as an article, [+72] I met an arts man and had a long conversation with him. Among many subjects one arose which is directly connected with the thesis propounded here. The arts man said that it was the process of work that concerned him, not the result, and that he counted a well compiled bibliography as the crowning glory of research. In this way he did not offend against logic, but set another task - to overcome the difficulties and accumulate knowledge as an aim in itself. Based on his principle he considered the addition of a new text, a factual detail, or a variant {326} translation to the treasure house of knowledge as the highest achievement

I fear I was sharp when I called this approach trophy hunting, and the "treasure house" an antique shop. This approach missed what I considered most important, the search for truth. The gathering of material itself is only useful to a certain point, after which the accumulation of information becomes unencompassable and, so, the sense of understanding is lost.

Simple methods of systematising, alphabetically, by centuries, countries etc , give no sense of understanding, any more than simple arithmetical addition in columns replaces integration. But if we search, there is a way out - the co-ordination of material and the hierarchical organisation of information. Empirical generalisation arises as a result of such work, and this V.I. Vernadskii has equated in reliability to an actually observed fact. [+73] In his opinion, we can only raise high the edifice of our knowledge and understanding by means of continuity, continuing the work started by the great scholars of the past, but for this we have no need to repeat the work they have done. It is more sensible to set new tasks, since each generation demands that authors reply to questions that worry it, and not those that worried its distant ancestors.

But how are we to get round the verbosity of former authors, and one's own, which was necessary to prove a particular thesis and is not needed once it has been proved?

There is a means for this, too this is the undeservedly despised word - a scheme.

In the natural and technical sciences a scheme is the corner-stone of any constructuon, because it is regarded as a device easing both the construction of the work and its perception by the consumer, in our case the reader. A scheme is a purposeful generalisation of material it allows one to survey the essence of the subject investigated, leaving out the details obscuring it. It is easy to take in a scheme, so, strength remains to go further, i.e. to pose hypotheses and arrange to check them A scheme is the skeleton of the work without which it becomes a medusa or cephalopod mollusc. The latter also find themselves a suitable habitat, but, alas, it is always a restricted one, and without schematic generalisation a meeting point of various branches of knowledge is impossible, and this alone {327} gives the necessary corrective to check the veracity of the information given by ancient authors. As for bibliography, it has been compiled by Professor G. Moravcsik, [+74] and I refer the interested reader to that solid work.

Here my friend the arts man observed that, although my ideas were not without interest, they had not been proved at all. At first, I was extremely surprised, but when I managed to understand the sense of what he was saying I saw that here, too, he was strictly consistent. He called proof only a text containing precisely formulated information, but not considerations about the subject raised. Of course, I did not agree with him. In that case, of course, I would have been obliged to assert that Prester John ruled in the "Three Indias"! Instead, I proposed putting my, obviously conventional, scheme down in terms of time and space and he would be convinced that the facts speak for themselves. For clarity the whole essential information has been reduced to a synchronic table and four historical maps with annotations, so that a broad historical panorama is obtained. We have not taken primary information as a standard, but first order generalisation obtained earlier as a result of precise analysis of details. Thus, the principle of the hierarchical organisation of information and a scale ensuring a review of the subject as a whole have been observed.

In the accounting system offered, a "proved statement" will not be one which has a footnote to an authentic source, but one which does not contradict strictly established facts and logic, however paradoxical the conclusion based on such principles. Incidentally, this is how all natural scientists work.

I hope that my arts friend will not complain of my methods of argument, though they are unusual for him, and it even seems to me that with a certain amount of impartiality he will be convinced of their sensible and fruitful nature.

A Synchronic Table

The intention of the table is to give a visual survey of the events described in the text against the background of world history. Two conventional generalisations have been used to this end - time and space. A breakdown into decades gives us a summary conception of {328} the course and direction of historical processes; with a closer approximation one gets a kaleidoscopic perception, with a more distant, an amorphic one.

The territory of Eurasia has been broken down into five ethno-cultural regions which correspond to geographic areas for the period studied, with some small but justified tolerance taking account of campaigns of conquest. We move from east to west in the following order: the Far East, including China, Tibet and Manchuria, the zone of monsoon precipitation and area of Chinese culture and Buddhist propaganda. The Great Steppe, the arid zone and area of nomad culture and Nestorianism. The Near East, the sub-tropical zone and area of Muslim super-ethnic culture; Eastern Europe, the region of the dissemination of Byzantine culture in the form of Orthodoxy; the West, the feudal, Catholic Romano-German cultural unity in the zone of abundant cyclone precipitation and relatively high average annual temperature. As this division was considered real by contemporaries in the Middle Ages, it is most convenient for us. The comparatively full list of events in the outer columns is intended to tie in little known events to those known to the reader from middle school text-books (see table, p. 330).

Historical Ethnography

The best system of generalising data on the ethnogenesis of nomad peoples in east Central Asia is schematic maps covering either the whole of east Central Asia, when it is necessary to note the details of ethnic mixing, or the whole of Eurasia, if the development of events in Asia is linked with their echoes in Europe.

The main task of the scheme offered is to explain the nature and sequence of ethnic transformations taking place in Middle Asia from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries and to establish the part played by the confessional principle in ethnic integration against the background of Asia's history. Therefore, the schematic maps, more precisely blueprints, are supplied with annotations giving essential information on both peoples and periods shown. Thus, the historical and ethnographic scheme not only illustrates our basic text, but supplements it and extends the researcher's view, giving him the parallel perspective needed to correct conclusions reached earlier by another route. The maps should be used jointly with the {329} synchronic table, since together they supply the space and time scheme with the help of which one can most easily find one's bearings in the events described in the book.

The ancient period of the ethnogenesis of the nomads is not shown in the scheme since special investigations have been devoted to it: The Hun-nu, Moscow, 1960 and The Hun-nu in China Moscow, 1974 (both in Russian).

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Decade	Far East	Great Steppe	Near East	Eastern Europe	Western Europe
861-70	Insurrections in China soldiers and peasants	War between Kirghiz and Uighurs	Turkish guardsmen change the caliphs Seizure of Eastern Persia by Yakub Saffarid Rising by Zindji	Break between Byzantium and the Papal throne	Division of the Empire between Charles the Bald and Louis the German
871-80	Rising by Huang Chao who takes both capitals of China Loyang and Chang' An	Tangut found Xia-go Shato in Ordos	Yakub seizes Khorasan, but is repulsed from Baghdad and dies Amr succeeds him	Greek offensive against the Arabs	Division of Germany into three and formation of the Arslat kingdom
881-90	Defeat of Huang Chao by Shato and Tangut forces serving the Tang dynasty	Shato acquire Shanxi (where they become Sinicised) Khitan conquer Tatab and Tatars (Snivel)	Zindji suppressed	Greek-Bulgar war begins Pechenegs enter Black Sea area	War with Normans, and Carolingians deprived of power Eudes of Pans
891-900	Fall of the Tang dynasty	Pechenegs force Guz out of Emba into Turkmenia	Rising by Qarmatians in Bahrein Ismail Samani captured Amr and conquered Taraz	Hungarian incursion into Bulgaria Pecheneg raid on Hungarians	Hungarians move to Pannonia Catalonia and Aquitaine become separate
901-10	The general Zhu Wen founds the Later Liang dynasty (in Chang' An) Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms starts in 1907	Ye-lu Ambagan unites the eight tribes Turks attack Mavarannahr	Institution of rank of Emir al-Umar and limitation of caliph's authority	Attacks by Rus` on Constantinople and Mazanderan	Hungarian raids on Germany and Italy
911-20		Ye-lu Ambagan try to conquer Dansyan, Togon and Zubu, but repulsed by Turkic Shato	Buid's appearance	Pressure Bolgar on Greeks, Pecheneg on Rus`, Arabs on Georgia	Formation duchy of Normandy. Election of Henry the Fowler as king of Germany
920-30	Li Cun-xu founds Hou-Tang (in Loyang)	Khitan drive Kirghiz from Orkhon and conquer Bokhai Seljuk accept Islam	Devastation of Mecca by Qarmatians Ruin of caliphate	Volga Bolgars convert to Islam Greek victories over Bulgars and Arabs	"Feudal revolution" against Carolingians
931-40	Shi Kin-tan (Shato) in alliance with Khitan founds Hou-Jin (in Kaifeng)	Khitan incursion into China Seizure of Beijing	Caliphate loses Samosata, Malatia, Western Armenia	Khazar victory over Alans, Byzantium, Rus` Pechenegs Persecution of Jews in Byzantium	War of Germans against Danes, Slavs, Hungarians
941-50	Liu Zhi-yuan (Shato) founds Hou-Han and drives out Khitan	Khitan kingdom becomes Liao empire (i.e., is Simcised)	Capture of Balasagun by pagan Turks Shi'ism in Mavarannahr, Nasr renounces it Mutiny and executions under Nukh	Campaigns of Rus` against Byzantium and Berdaa	Louis IV d'Outremer, King of France, vainly struggles with his feudal lords
951-60	Gou Wei founded Hou Zhou which became Song in 960 after coup by Zhao Kuang-ym	Karluk converted to Islam	Decline of Samanid Emirate Buyids in Baghdad	Ol'ga baptised	Campaign of German king Otto I in Italy Germans rout Hungarians on the Lekh
961-70	Song begin conquest of southern China	Tatars in alliance with Song Rising by all Amur tribes against Liao suppressed	Seizure of Egypt by Fatimids	Victory of Byzantium in Crete, Syria and Bulgaria Fall of the Khazar kaganate	Campaign by Otto I in Italy Creation of the German nation
971-80	Song conclude conquest of southern China and Shato in Shanxi		Founding of Ghazni sultanate	Pecheneg offensive against Rus`, Bulgars against Byzantium	Subjugation of Poland by Otto I and German war with Czechs
981-90	Khitan (Liao) beat the Chinese (Song)	Zubu routed by Khitan Song embassy with gifts to Uighuria to persuade Uighurs to submit to China	Seljuks settle around Bokhara Agreement between caliph and Nestorian catholicos	Start of the struggle between Rus` and the Latin West War with Pechenegs Conversion of Rus`	At an Imperial Council in Verona it is decided to wage war "against the Greeks and Saracens"
991-1000	Disintegration of Song empire (peasant risings) Christians expelled from China	Mutiny of Zubu against Liao, suppressed	Fall of the Samanids	Greek victories over Bulgarians and Arabs in Syria	Adoption by Hungary of the Latin rite Rome the capital of the Empire
1001-10	Liao victories over Khitan, Koreans, Uighurs and Tatars	Tatars submit to Khitan	War of Karakhanids with Mahmud Ghaznevi	Persistent war between Byzantium and Bulgaria	Ardum, marquis of Ivrea, defends Lombardy against the German emperors
1011-20	Koreans repulse Khitan	Rising of Zubu and Dansyan against Liao, pacified	Karluk repulse the 'Chinese Turks' (Zubu) from Yarkand	Conquest of Bulgaria Defeat of Svyatopolk the Accursed	Acquisition of Henry II's kingdom of Lombardy by the emperors
1021-30	War of the Khitan (Liao) with Tangut (Xia) over Uighuna	Rising by Zubu against Liao	Weakening of Arabs in Syria and Iran	Unioon of Armenia with Byzantium Division of Rus` along Dnepr (battle of Listven)	Change of dynasty in Germany, Conrad II of Franconia conquers the Poles, Eudes of Champagne, the Lyutichi and irrupts into Italy where he issues the oldest law on fiefs (in the Roncal valley)
1031-40	Xia (Tangut) strengthened and war with Song Gosrai king of Tubot		Victories of Seljuks over Ghaznevids	Victory of Rus` over Pechenegs, Byzantium over Arabs
1041-50	Victories of Khitan (Liao) over Tangut (Xia) and Chinese (Song)	Zubu deliver horses to Liao	Seljuks conquer Khwarizm and Iran Islamisation of Turks in Kipchak steppe	Secession of Bulgaria and Serbia from Byzantium Incursion of Pechenegs, pressed by Guz, into Byzantium	Victories by Germany over Poles, Czechs, Hungarians
1051-60	Peace and alliance of Liao and Xia	Zubu tribes and their king drive horses and camels into Liao	Victory of Seljuks over Buyids and Fatimids	Defeat of Pechenegs by Polovtsy and Guz Polovtsy incursion into Rus` Peace between Byzantium and Pechenegs	Schism of the churches Unification of Normandy and its victory over France
1061-70	War between China and Tangut Tibetan victory over Tangut		Seljuks conquer Iran Defeat of Armenia and Georgia	Incursion of Polovtsy into Rus`	Norman conquest of England
1071-80	Khitan move into Shanxi, Chinese into Amdo	Rising of Zubu against Liao Leader seized	Seljuks conquer Syria, Asia Minor, Tarmiz, Nicaea, Haleb and Mavarannahr Hasan Sabbah in Alamut	Expulsion of Izyaslav who is supported by Emperor and Pope Izyaslav's return	Normans seize southern Italy, Hungarians Belgrade Henry IV at Canossa
1081-90	Tangut transfer the war to China	Peace between Zubu and Liao Mogusy recognised as chief of all Zubu tribes		Normans invade Epirus, Pechenegs Thrace	Henry IV fights the Normans
1091-1100	Increase in strength of Jurchen Decline in might of Liao Khotan people attack Tangut	Rising of Mogusy against Liao with help of Basmil and Dalidi	Dissension in Seljuk sultanate	Victory of Greeks over Turks and Pechenegs Conference of princes at Lyubech	First Crusade
1101-10	Alliance of Tangut and Tubot and defeat of Chinese	Khitan victory Suppression of remaining Zubu resistance Conversion of Ongut	Ismailites in Syria Georgians defeat Turks at Trialeti	Victory of Greeks over Normans	Boemund's call to fight the Greeks Defeat of Henry IV
1111-20	Rising by Jurchen, they seize Bokhai and Liaodong	Last rising of Zubu suppressed (end of Zubu)	Sanjar seizes Ghazna, Alexius Comnenus wins Asia Minor	Polovtsy defeat Guz, Pechenegs and Belaya Vezha Campaigns of Russian princes against Polovtsy	War of Emperor Henry V with Popes
1121-30	Fall of Liao and Northern Song Formation of Southern Song and Qi Jurchen conquer Amdo	Tatars and Mongols are vassals of Jurchen kingdom, Kin (Jin)	Khan of Kashgar defeats Kara-Kitai of Ye-lu Dashi	Mess Pechenegs by Greeks Turks by Georgians; Tiflis capital of Georgia	Concordat Worms between the Pope and Emperor Sugerius, strengthening of the king's power in France
1131-40	Jurchen advance halted Rising at lake Dongdinghu of Qi liquidated by Song	Mongols defeated the Jurchen Kara-Kitai defeated Mahmud at Hodjent	Sanjar's campaign against Khwarizm Restoration of the lay authority of the caliph	Winning of Asia Minor from Turks Disintegration of Kiev Rus` Peace between Rus` and Polovtsy
1141-50	Capitulation of Southern Song and shameful peace Executions in Kin	Peace between Mongols and Kin Battle of Katwan	Turks conquer Edessa	War between Ol'govichi and Izyaslav II	Second Crusade German campaign against Wends, unsuccessful
1151-60	Disintegration in Km Murder of Digunai and campaign against south stopped	Mongol and Tangut alliance against Jurchen	Sanjar captured by Guz, but escapes Fall of Seljuk sultanate	Victory of Greeks over Hungarians, Normans, Crusaders and Serbs	Barbarossa's campaigns in Italy Henry II Plantagenet king of England
1161-70	War between Jurchen and Mongols and Chinese Peace of Lunsin	War of Tatars against Mongols Breakdown of Mongol clan and tribal union	Sala ad-Din founds Ayubid dynasty in Egypt Gunds destroy Ghaznevid state	Georgians conquer Am Defeat of Kiev by Andrei Bogolyubskii	Campaigns by Germans against Elbe Slavs and Italy War between England and France, Scotland, and conquest of part of Ireland
1171-80	Laws against Chinese influence in Jin empire under Emperor Wu-lu	Disturbances in Kerait and in Kara-Khitan khanates	Growth in strength of Khwarizm (Tekesh)	Break between Byzantium and Venice, and Greeks defeated by Seljuks at Minocephalos	Defeat of Frederick I at Legnano and his peace with Pope Alexander III
1181-90	"Period of complete tranquillity"	First time Temujin chosen as khan Mongols defeat Tatars	Crusaders defeated at Lake Tiberias and fall of Jerusalem	Murder of Andronicus Comnenus and foundation of Wallachian-Bulgarian kingdom	Frederick I destroys the burggrafs
1191-1200	Consolidation of north-west frontier of Km Empire	Naiman intervene in Kerait khanate	Third Crusade Khwarizmshah conquers Iraq and Signak	Bulgars defeat Byzantium and Empire falls apart	Hohenstaufen conquer Naples and Sicily War between Richard I and Philip II Augustus
1201-10	War of Song against Kin, peace Khitan rise against Jurchen	Jamuqa chosen as gurkhan Defeat of Kerait, Naiman and Merkit by Mongols, Great kuriltai	Khwarizmshah Muhammed conquers Gur and wars with Kara-Khitan	Fourth Crusade, Latin Empire, war with Bulgaria and peace Pope's call for blockade of Rus`	France conquers Normandy Start of Albigensian crusade
1211-20	War of Mongols against Kin Fall of Beijing	Kuchlug ruler of Kara-Khitan Kuchlug's defeat and death	Crusade of Hungarians and Germans to Egypt fruitless	Georgia flourishes under Queen Tamara	French victory (at Bouvignes) over Germans, Flemings and English
1221-30	War of Jurchen against Mongols and Chinese	Mongols conquer Tangut Death of Chinggiskhan and election of Ogedei	War of Khwarizm with Mongols and defeat of Khwarizm Crusade of Frederick II Compromise with Muslims	Battle on the Kalka Epirus Greeks win back Solun and defeated by Bulgarians	Pope Gregory II excommunicates Frederick II Teutonic Order in Prussia. End of Albigensian crusade; inquisition
1231-40	Fall of Kin (Jurchen) Empire Conflict of Mongols and Song Empire	Reforms of Ye-lu Chu-cai Building of Karakorum	Mongols conquer Iran, Armenia and Georgia	Mongols conquer Rus`, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria	Defeat of Knights of the Sword in Lithuania and their fusion with Teutonic Order
1241-50	Mongols invade Sichuan and Henan	Death of Ogedei, election and death of Guyuk Batu increases in strength	Crusade of Louis IX to Egypt, his defeat by Mamluks, surrender of Damietta	Crusaders invade Rus`, repulsed by Aleksandr Nevskii
1251-60	Mongols subjugate Tibet and irrupt into Annam	Election and death of Mongke Kubilai declares himself khan and rising of Ank-Boke	Mamluk coup in Egypt, Louis IX leaves Palestine Mamluks defeat Mongols	Suppression of pro-Catholic party in Rus`	War of Guelphs and Ghibellines throughout Europe
1261-70	Mongol offensive against Song Empire Transfer of Mongol capital to Beijing, adoption of name Yuan	Defeat of Arik-Boke Qaidu consolidates in Seven Streams area	Alliance of Mamluks and Golden Horde against Iran Ilkhans Fall of Antioch	Greeks recover Constantinople and Morea	Defeat of Ghibellines by Charles of Anjou Ruin of Hohenstaufens
1271-80	Mongol conquest of Song Empire completed	Start of Qaidu's war against Kubilai	Prince Edward of England tries to make an alliance with Ilkhan Abaga Armistice between Crusaders and Mamluks	Tatar-Russian forces conquer Caucasus War of Byzantium with Charles of Anjou	Council of Lyons Czechia devastated by Rudolph Habsburg
1281-90	Yuan Empire subjugates Indochina and Zond archipelago	Insurrection and defeat of Naya Nestorianism brought under control	Mamluks defeat Mongols Muslim revolution in Iran put down	Tatar campaigns against Hungary and Poland with no particular results and unsuccessful attack on Iran	Sicilian Vespers War of Provence against Aragon Rise of Genoa and Florence
1291-1300	Kubilai dies, his grandson Temur succeeds	Arrival of Montecorvino in Beijing Offensive of Qaidu to Selenga, repelled by Ongut forces	Mamluks conquer Acre Ilkhan Ghazan converted to Islam	Rise and defeat of Nogai Khan Toktu associated with lamas	War between France and England English invade Scotland Peace between Aragon and Charles II of Anjou
1301-10	Conversion of Chinese forbidden as result of Taoists' complaint Attempt to convert khan Haisan	Gaidudies Decline of Chagatai ulus Peace Fictitious unification of all Mongol uluses, but actual dissension and enmity	Mamluks defeat Mongols in Syria Knights of St John conquer Rhodes	Rus` part of Golden Horde	Conflict between Boniface VIII and Philip the Fair Popes confined to Avignon Templars arrested
1311-20	Buddhists take churches from Christians on banks of Yangzi		Defeat of Golden Horde by Persian Mongols Annihilation of Nestorian Mongols in Iran	Golden Horde converted to Islam Executions of Buddhists and pagans Support for Moscow against Tver'	Execution of Templars Scots defeat English, and Swiss the Austnans
1321-30	Montecorvino dies, decline of Catholic bishopric in China 'Russian regiment' formed in Beijing		Rise of Ottomans they seize Brusa and Nicomedia	Devastation of Tver` by Moscow - Tatar forces of Ivan Kalita. Rise of Moscow	Ludwig of Bavaria s campaign against Rome fruitless
1331-40	Alans living in Beijing ask the Pope to send a bishop		Decline in the power of the llkhan sand collapse of the Mongol-Persian khanate	Consolidation of Lithuania under Gedymin, of Serbia under Stefan Dushan	The whole of Italy subject only to local rulers Petrarch king of poets Humanism Start of Hundred Years War
1341-50	Creation of White Lotus sect and of Followers of Maitreya, an anti-Mongol trend	Disintegration of the Chagatai ulus and transfer of power to Emirs	Formation of Serbadar state (in Khorasan) and of Seid (in Mazanderan)	Khan Janibek supports Moscow against Lithuania Poles seize Galicia	Battle of Crecy
1351-60	Rising by Red Turbans, decline of Yuan Empire		Ottomans take Gallipoli peninsula	'Great Revolt' in the Golden Horde, transfer of power to officers Alliance of Moscow and the Horde broken	Battle of Poitiers Jacquerie Temporary decline of France

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Map 1. Tribes of the Great Steppe from Eighth to Tenth Centuries (176 KB)

General note. In the eighth century, dominance of the Great Steppe passed from Turks to Uighurs (747) and then to the Kirghiz (847), but the limits of the kaganates are omitted on the map (see L.N. Gumilev, The Ancient Turks (in Russian), Moscow, 1967). Attention is paid to the small tribes who by the tenth century fused together into peoples and formed the five great states: Khitan (Chinese Liao), Shato (Kin), Dansyan (later Tangut, Chinese Xi-xia), Uighuria (Chinese Khoikhu) - two independent principalities, and the Tibetans who later created the ephemeral Tubot kingdom. As regards ethnogenesis, tribes small in numbers deserve great attention so we here give their ethnic classification, embracing linguistic, anthropological and historical data.

A. Turkic-speaking tribes

I. Europeoid west Siberian tribes

(1) Kengeres (Kangar, Kangyui, Kengerli, Pechenegs)

(2) Kirghiz, Eniseiones (Gegu, Khagyas)

(3) Kipchak (Kyui-yue-she, Polovtsy)

(4) Cigil (Jikil)

(5) Tyurgeshi (people consisting of two large tribes: the Abar aborigines of Dzungaria and the Mukrin nomads coming from the Amur in the third century).

II. The Teless group of tribes who spread from Khesi throughout the Great Steppe in the 4th cent.; Europeoid, deriving from the eastern branch of the I order white race.

(1) Uighurs or Tokuz-Oguz (Chinese Khoikhu)

(2) Yagma (Chinese Yan-mian)

(3) Tongra (Chinese (Tongluo)

(4) Bugu (Chinese Pugu)

(5) Kurykan (Chinese Guligan)

(6) Izgil (Chinese Sijie)

(7) (Chinese Sytsze)

(8) Telengit (Chinese Duolange)

(9) Bayirku (Chinese Bayegu)

(10) Ediz (Chinese Adie)

(11) (Chinese Huxie)

(12) (Chinese Kibi)

(13) (Chinese Hun)

(14) (Chinese Baisi)

(15) (Chinese Gong-yue), their Teless origin is doubtful

III. The Chui group, descendants of the Hun who remained in Central Asia in the second cent.

(1) Chuyue

(2) Chumi

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(3) Shato, offshoot of the Chuyue

(4) Kimek (Chinese Chumugun); united with the Kipchak and formed the Koman (Cuman) people or Polovtsy

IV. Dzungarian group

(1) Karluk

(2) Basmil

(3) Neshet

(4) Shu-ni-she

(5) Khuluvu

(3, 4, 5 - united with Basmil and took their name)

V. Sayan-Altai group

(1) Chik a people who died out, in contemporary Tuva

(2) Tubalar (Chinese Dubo)

(3) Echzhen (Chinese Ezhi)

(4) Turk after 747 (Chinese Tujue/Turku), a branch of the Gokturk (Blue, or Heavenly, Turks who lived on the Orkhon until 747; they settled in the Mountain Altai as Teles (tribe) and Todosh (group). At the present time they have fused with the Telengit. In the tenth to twelfth centuries they were known as Tikin (from Turkish Tegin "prince'); evidently the title of their ruler). Conquered by the Mongols in 1207-8.

B. Mongol-speaking peoples

(1) Khitan or Khitai

(2) Tatab (Chinese Xi)

(3) Togon or Tu-yu-hun, a branch of the Xian-bi in the fourth century who migrated to Tsaidam and were conquered by the Tibetans in seventh cent.

(4) Tatars, a tribal union

(5) Mongols in the strict sense of the word.

C. Tungus-speaking tribes

(1) T'ele

(2) Ugi

(3) Jurchen

D. Tibetan-speaking tribes

(1) Dansyan, or Tangut, descendants of ancient Zhun

(2) Tubo, or Tibetans, descendants of ancient Kyan

E. Tribes whose ethnic group is unclear

(1) Merkit, perhaps Turk, perhaps Mongol, perhaps Samodii

(2) Az, perhaps part of Kirghiz people, perhaps simply a "small minority"

(3) Gyuilobo, ?!

(4) Heiche, a nickname, literally Black Wagon. Chinese geographers considered they lived on the borders of the real and the fantasy worlds where the "Turks with cows' feet" allegedly lived.

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Map 2. Middle Asia in the Twelfth Century (159 KB)

General note. Compared with the preceding map, the reduction in the number of Turkish tribes and their replacement by several large Mongol ones which now form the main complement of the steppe is striking. The Turkic tribes, with one exception, adopt either Jurchen (Ongut), or Muslim (Karluk, Kalach, Kengerlu) culture. The Kipchak are the exception, but even they, too, on the western border of the steppe enter the region of Russian-Byzantine culture. The genuinely steppe tribes (Zubu) and the Kara-Khitan seek independent paths of development and find them by accepting Nestorianism or Bon. The confessional indicator of community gradually supersedes the tribal one.

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Map 3. Distribution of Religions in the Mid-Twelfth Century (168 KB)

General note. Alongside political fragmentation, ethnic and cultural blocks defined by their confessional nature stand out clearly: the Roman Catholic world, the Orthodox countries and the Nestorian church united with the Jacobite (monophysites) in 1142 divide Christianity into three mutually hostile camps. Similarly, in the Muslim lands there are two centres: the Sunni caliphate of the "Abbasids in Baghdad and the Ismaili caliphate of the Fatimids in Cairo. Northern China is taken over by Buddhism, Southern, the Song Empire, by Confucianism. Tibetan Bon successfully competes with Buddhism and Nestorianism. In Siberia there are two different religious systems: the Evenki have Shamanism and the Ugrians have dualism. The former spirit worship rapidly gives way to the world religions.

States and tribal unions:

1. Kingdom of Scotland

2. Kingdom of Norway

3. Kingdom of Sweden

4. Kingdom of England

5. Kingdom of Denmark

6. Baltic peoples: Ests, Livs, Letts, Lithuanians, Prussians

7. Russian grand principality

8. Kingdom of France

9. Holy Roman Empire of German peoples

10. Kingdom of Bohemia

11. Kingdom of Poland

12. Kingdom of Portugal

13. Kingdom of Castille

14. Kingdom of Navarre

15. Kingdom of Aragon

16. Papacy

17. Kingdom of Hungary

18. Kingdom of Sicily

19. Byzantine Empire

20. Kingdom of Georgia

21. Great Bulgar (khanate)

22. Maghrib (till 1147 the Almoravid emirate, later the Almohad caliphate)

23. Kingdom of Armenia Minor

24. Sultanate of the Great Seljuks

25. Khwarizm (shah)

26. Gurid sultanate

27. Kara-Khitan khanate

28. Idykut of Uighuria

29. Tangut kingdom

30. Kin Empire (Jin)

31. Fatimid caliphate

32. Tribal union of Bahrein Beduin

33. Song Empire

34. Korio kingdom

35. "Zubu" tribal union

36. Kerman

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Map 4. Disintegration of the Mongol Ulus (1260-1300) (179 KB)

General note. In the course of the preceding century the world has been transformed. In place of ethnic and cultural blocks, coalitions based on political clashes have arisen. At the headquarters of the Great Khan Kubilai, Buddhists, Christians of all confessions and Confucians engage in hand to hand clashes, and against them Muslims, Nestorians, followers of the Black Faith also stand forth. Religious allegiance ceases to be an indicator of political attitude throughout the Mongol Empire, but this is a slow process and in particular cases it is this which causes insurrections and punitive expeditions. The same picture is found on the western borderlands of the continent: the Templars enter into contacts with the Muslims against the Nestorians and Armenians; the Ghibellines seek aid from the Saracens and the Greeks against the Papal throne; the Popes enlist the pagan Lithuanians as allies against Christian Rus`; only Castille carries out its reconquest in a principled fashion, though here there is evidently a simple coincidence of the concerns of the Christian world and of nationalism. Ethnic unities arise in place of the collapsing confessional ones, i.e. a slow crystallisation of nationalities takes place signifying the advance of a new period with its own rhythms of development.

Tribes are not shown in the Mongol ulus as they had ceased to exist, being swallowed up by the hordes. Subsequently, when the hordes disintegrated, tribal unions again arise, but different ones. Although some of them take the ancient names, their meaning is different and relates to a new historical period starting in the fourteenth century and ending at the end of the nineteenth.

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Chronology as The Science of Time

In comparing chronological tables it is usual to restrict oneself to a simple listing of facts arbitrarily selected and dated. Yet in this way the vector is inevitably lost, i.e. the direction of events in that causal sequence which we call history. Therefore, wishing to sum up our charts, we not only give precise dates for events needed to be recalled and referred to, but also the direction of the course of history at particular moments, trying to take account of its varied zigzags. This is of no significance for social development taken broadly, since the contradictions cancel one another out, but in detail it is essential to take account of them, because we are concerned not only with the genesis of nomad feudalism, but also with why the Kingdom of Prester John remained an unfulfilled dream and why Arik-Boke, without concealing his Nestorian convictions, lost his kingdom and his life although the Mongol people supported him. Up to now we have tried to explain the facts separately, but this is only a stage on the way to giving a general overview. Further along the way, if we are successful, we may pose the question: is the regular sequence of historical events not a function of time? But this is only a hint about the paths of future research; meanwhile we can say that, if our supposition is correct, the movement of time is uneven, for events taking place in a single region are not evenly distributed on the chronological scale, but are bunched. The attached table convinces us of this.

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Date	Event	Interpretation
861	Uighurs occupy Turfan oasis, and Karluk Kashgar	End of Tang dynasty expansion
880	Huang Chao's peasant forces take Loyang and Chang'an and Shato and Tangut nomad tribes come to defence of Tang dynasty	Tang Empire splits into China and the steppe zone
884	Defeat of Huang Chao' s insurrection and creation of Tangut and Shato principalities on the shores of Huang He	Steppe victory over China
907	Ye-lu Ambagan declares himself "heavenly emperor" of the Khitan Overthrow of the Tang dynasty and war of the Hou-Liang dynasty against Shato	Appearance of a 'third force' and a three-sided war
916	Ye-lu Ambagan declares his favour to Buddhism as a non-Chinese religion	Persecution of everything foreign in China and growth of anti-Chinese attitude in steppe
920	Rising by Manichaeans in China, suppressed
923	Overthrow of Hou-Liang dynasty by Shato and foundation of Hou-Tang dynasty	Gradual Sinicization of Turkic Shato
924	Khitan subjugate steppe up to Orkhon	Khitan Khanate grows in strength
926	Khitan subjugate Bokhai	Consolidation of anti-Chinese forces
936	Overthrow of Hou-Tang dynasty and establishment of Hou-Jin under a Khitan protectorate
946	Khitan conquer Hou-Jin
947	Khitan renamed as Liao Empire Shato and Chinese drive Khitan from China and found Hou Han (Shato) dynasty
951	Chinese overthrow Hou-Han and found Hou-Zhou dynasty, and the Shato Bei-Han (in Shanxi) and make an alliance with Liao	National reaction in China against nomads and Buddhism
960	Foundation of Song dynasty
965-7	Insurrection of all Amur tribes against Liao, suppressed
979	Bei-han (Shato) conquered by Chinese	Steppe and forest tribes resist
982	Tangut rise against China	Chinese influence
с 1000	Christians driven from China
1007	War between nomads (Zubu) and Liao
1008	War between Tangut and Uighurs
1009	Conversion of Kerait
1013/14	"Infidel Turks" attack Yarkend, repulsed by Karluk
1015	Tibetans oppose Tangut in alliance with Song Empire	Tangut grew in strength and the creation of an original culture on borders of China and the Great Steppe
1036	Tangut conquer Eastern Uighuria
1044	Tangut compel China to accept peace and repel Khitan attack
1100	Khitan rout the nomads (Zubu) who were in revolt	Suppression of steppe dwellers by Sinicized Khitan
1115	Rising by Jurchen against Liao	Fall of Liao Empire Rise of a local (original) forest culture
1118	Alliance of Jurchen and Chinese aganist Liao
1124	Departure of Ye-lu Dashi to Orkhon
1125	Fall of Liao War of Jurchen against China (Song) in alliance with Tangut
1129	Ye-lu Dashi takes Balasaghun
1131	Jurchen subjugate Northern China and Eastern Tibet
1135	Mongol war against Jurchen	Renewal of steppe culture and its upsurge
1137	Victory of Ye-lu Dashi at Hodjent
1139	Mongols rout Jurchen at Hailin mountain Chinese offensive against Jurchen
1141	Ye-lu Dashi defeats Seljuks in Katwan valley
1142	Nestorians and Jacobites unite	Position of eastern Christians strengthened
1143	Defection of northern borderlands
	of Kara-Khitan khanate and formation of Naiman khanate there
1145	Rumour of Kingdom of Prester John in Western Europe
1147	Peace between Mongols and Jurchen subject to Jurchen paying tribute to Mongols	A victory saving Southern China (Song Empire)
1161	Renewal by Jurchen of destructive war against Mongols	Competition between two peoples on an upsurge
1171	Exile and return of Ong-qan the Kerait Disintegration of the Mongol tribal union
1182	Temujin chosen khan, with title of Chinggis, by part of Mongols	Consolidation of 'people of long will' against clan and tribal traditions, their internal struggle
1196-8	Ong-qan exiled by Naiman, but returns with Temujin's help
1200	Part of Mongols, Merkit, Naiman, Oirat and Tatars unite against Temujin, Jamuqa chosen gurkhan
1202	Defeat of Jumuqa's troops by Temujin and Ong-qan the Kerait
1203	Temujin conquers the Kerait khanate
1204	Temujin conquers the Naiman khanate
1205	Capture and execution of Jamuqa
1206	Great kuriltai and Temujin chosen anew as Chinggiskhan	Victory of "people of long will"
1208	Mongols conquer forest people of Siberia	Creation of a steppe power
1209	Uighurs voluntarily submit to Chinggis
1210	Start of Mongol war with Jurchen	Continuation of war for leadership in Eastern Asia
1211	Kuchlug, leader of Naiman, seizes power in Kara-Khitan khanate
1214	Religious persecution against Muslims in Kara-Khitan khanate	Nestorians become active
1215	Mongols take Beijing and agree armistice with Jurchen
1216	Mongols exterminate Merkit on Irghiz, and their clash with Khwarizmians	Muslim advance on steppe
1218	Mongols conquer Kara-Khitan khanate	Unification of steppe completed
1219	Mongol incursion into Khwarizm	Mongol counter-attack on Muslim
1220	Bukhara and Samarkand taken
1221	Gurganj (near Urgench) taken
1223	Mongols devastate Merv Battle on the Kalka
1224	Chinggiskhan returns to the steppe
1226	Ye-lu Chu-cai's programme approved by Chinggiskhan	Start of a struggle between two trends in Mongol internal policy
1227	Mongols conquer Tangut Jochi killed Death of Chinggiskhan
1229	Ogedei chosen khan
1231	Defeat of Jelal ad-Din by noyan Chormagan	End of two wars
1235	Mongols conquer Jurchen Empire
1254	Treaty of Hetoum I with Mongke-khan Byzantine and Syrian emissaries in Karakorum
1256	Mongke expresses himself in favour of Buddhism, and Arik-Boke of Christianity Batu khan dies, his son Sartak poisoned by Muslims, his heir Ulagchi dies
1257	Berke ascends throne of Golden Horde Execution of khansha Boroqchin	Self-isolation of Golden Horde from Mongol ulus
1258	Baghdad taken by Mongols and their protection of Near East Christians, incursion into Southern China and protection of Buddhism	Yellow (Nestorian) Crusade
1259	Death of Mongke Slaughter of Nestorians in Samarkand by Berke's troops
1260	War over the throne between Kubilai and Arik-Boke Defeat of Kit-Buka by Mamluks at Ain Jalud Crusaders and Pope against Mongols and Armenians	Disintegration of Mongol ulus
1261	Split between Golden Horde and Ilkhan Foundation of a diocese in Sarai	under pressure from the masses of conquered peoples
1262	War between Golden Horde and Persian Mongols Slaughter in Rus` of fiscal officers sent by Kubilai from Beijing
1263	Aleksandr Nevskii agrees with khan Berke on an alliance of Rus` and the Golden Horde but dies Arik-Boke capitulates	Effective liberation of Rus` from Mongol authority
1264	Transfer of Mongol capital from Karakorum to Beijing
1267	Quaidu's offensive occupying the Seven Streams area	Creation of resistance to the khan by Mongols he had ignored
1269	Livonian Germans cease offensive against Novgorod - "for they greatly feared even the name of the Tatars"	Consequences of alliance between Great Russia and the Golden Horde
1271	Kubilai declared himself 'Emperor of China of the Yuan dynasty'	Betrayal of his people
1274	Ilkhan Abaga asked help from the Pope and the Council of Lyons against the Mamluks and promises to accept Catholicism
1275	Qaidu begins war against Kubilai	War of people against the army
1287	Naya's insurrection under the banner of the cross
1293	Montecorvino arrives in China	Stab in the back for the Nestorians
1294	Kubilai's death
1301	Qaidu's death
1304	Christian propaganda forbidden in Yuan Empire
1305	Buddhists take churches from Christians on banks of the Yangzi	Consequences of papal interference in the affairs of the eastern church
1312	Ozbeg converts Golden Horde to Islam
1319	Suppression of the rising by the Persian Nestorian Mongols
1330	Russian regiment quartered around Beijing
1357	"Great Revolt" in the Golden Horde Death of Janibek	End of the Mongol period and of Nestorian culture
1362	Mamai's coup and violation of the traditional alliance of Rus` and the Golden Horde
1368	Chinese in revolt take Beijing

Now, it seems, we are in a position to summarise the results of our work, but ┘ all the same this is so difficult that we must put up with the 'considerations apropos' in the following chapter.

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Notes

[+72] L.N. Gumilev, "Mongoly XIII v i 'Slovo o polku Igoreve'".

[+73] V.I. Vernadskii, Biosfera 19.

[+74] Gy. Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica.

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