The Cumans

Several years ago I mentioned the Codex Cumanicus, a lexicon of the Cuman language designed to help Christian missionaries preach to the Cumans. Thanks to this document, of the many variations of Turkic languages in the Middle Ages, Cuman is the best-known. They are mentioned in ancient Roman texts. Pliny the Elder mentions a fortress named Cumania in the area where there was a Cuman-Kipchak confederation (shown in yellow here) in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe.

Although they were a nomadic people, and therefore putting boundaries on their territory is a very fluid prospect, by the 11th and 12th centuries this confederation was the dominant force in the areas that are now Kazakhstan, southern Russia, Ukraine, southern Moldavia, and eastern Wallachia (in Romania).

This widespread area meant they were in contact with many others. They fought against the Kingdom of Hungary. They fought against the Byzantine Empire. They fought against each other: they were employed as mercenaries by Byzantium to fight against their ethnic cousins, the Pechenegs, with offers of gold from Emperor Alexios I. They had a specific use for gold: armor. Their higher-ranking members wore gold face plates in battle.

They were described as a handsome people, with blond hair and blue eyes. The Russian aristocracy sought Cuman women due to their beauty. Men and women both wore pants, tunics, and caftans, although women's tunics were shorter. Deep crimson was a popular color for clothing. Men shaved the tops of their heads and wore the remaining hair in braids. They wore conical hats made of felt with a broad brim or leather with fur trim. Women also wore conical hats, but with a veil that hung down the back.

A 13th century archbishop records a marriage between a Cuman princess and a Hungarian prince. Ten Cumans swore an oath that they would defend the Kingdom of Hungary. When swearing, they did so with a sword in hand, the sword touching the body of a dog that had been cut in half. A crusade historian also reports something similar: at an alliance between the Cumans and Byzantines, the Cumans had a dog walk between the two groups, then they cut the dog and had the Byzantines do the same. They swore that if the two groups failed in their oath that they would be cut in pieces.

The Cumans were overwhelmed by the Mongols in the 1230s, with the option to be destroyed or to become part of the Golden Horde. They chose the Golden Horde, and eventually blended in with other ethnic groups.

The story of the marriage above comes from one of those Christians who took an interest in the Cumans and their neighbors. Tomorrow I'll tell you about John of Plano Carpini. See you then.

The Pechenegs

While Bishop Adhemar was traveling through Slavonia with the First Crusade, he was accosted by a group of Pechenegs. They were described in an 11th century dictionary of Turkic languages as one of a group of several Turkic nations living in Anatolia, in the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Pechenegs fought with their neighbors extensively, battling the Kievan Rus for generations. At an important battle between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Turks—the Battle of Manzikert—Pecheneg mercenaries were employed by both sides! (The Turks won.)

In 1091, Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Comnenos, allied with a Cuman army, destroyed the Pechenegs as a nation at the Battle of Levounion in 1091. The Pechenegs had attacked the empire, which had been recently weakened through internal strife. Alexios' victory was the start of a Byzantine revival. The defeated Pechenegs were recruited by Alexios as a military division and settled in Macedonia. Cumans, themselves related to the Pechenegs, attacked their "cousins" in 1094, reducing their numbers.

An uprising of Pechenegs in 1122 was once again defeated by the Byzantines. Over time, those living south of the Danube were absorbed into Romanians and Bulgarians. The last recorded mention of Pechenegs was in 1168. A Byzantine historian referred to Pechenegs as "Chorni Klobuky" (Russian: "black hats"), referring to their national costume. Except for a few names of Pecheneg origin, their national identity has faded away.

So who were the Cumans, and why were they ready to ally with Byzantium against their ethnic cousins? Gold, of course. I'll explain tomorrow.