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The western historiography of ancient and medieval history of the Turkic peoples

The history of great barbarians Attila, Jenghiz Khan, Tamerlane has always attracted the attention of historians.Accounts of them written by western and oriental chroniclers served to spread their repute.

This article gives a brief overview of some works of generalized, monographic level, published in English and Russian. These are the elected historical studies that made the most outstanding contribution to the Western historiography of the ancient and medieval history of the Turkic peoples. All thesecompositions becamea majorphenomenon inWestern historiography ofthe history of CentralAsia.It should be emphasized thatthese researchers determine it.These monographshave arichbibliography,illustrations and maps.The given overview presents the diverse, comprehensive character of these studies.Theirvaluablefeatureis an understanding of aspects ofcontinuity,community andspecificityof the Turkic andMongolian peoples.Thus, Westernhistorianswith high professionalism on the base of extensivesources made invaluablecontributions to the studyof ancient andmedieval history of the Turkic peoples. 

The history of great barbarians Attila, Jenghiz Khan, Tamerlane has always attracted the attention of historians.Accounts of them written by western and oriental chroniclers served to spread their repute. The researchers have been interested how ―the great barbarians irrupted into areas of developed historical civilizations and suddenly, within a few years, reduced the Roman, Iranian, or Chinese world to a heap of ruins. Their arrival, motives, and disappearance seem inexplicable, so much so that historians today come near to adopting the verdict of old writers , who saw in them the scourge of the Lord, sent for the chastisement of ancient civilizations. But the historians knew that their motivations and patterns of behavior acquire clarity as we come to understand their way of life‖ [1].

This article gives a brief overview of some works of generalized, monographic level, published in English and Russian. These are the elected historical studies that made the most outstanding contribution to the Western historiography of the ancient and medieval history of the Turkic peoples.

One of the leading researchers of the history of Central Asia is a French historian Rene Grousset. R. Grousset first published his masterpiece on Central Asia in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War. Its English edition was published in 1970 by the publishing house of Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA. The French historian could summarize all material accumulated by that time and explored a big number of questions dedicated to the history of Central Asia. This book, based on the wide array of sources gave a detailed description of the life of the Great Steppe from ancient times to the XVIII century. . The narrative is based on the research of the author himself, who attracted a large number of sources of European, Chinese, Persian and other backgrounds He began his narrative with the Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, and then explored the early medieval empire in Central Asia, the history of the Turks and the penetration of Islam in the XIII century. He told about the empire of Jenghis Khan and his successors, about Turkestan in the epoch of the Jagataites, the Kipchak Khanates and Tamerlane's empire. Grousset ended his narrative with the collapse of Dzungaria,annexation of it by the Manchus who ruled in China later.

Exploring the long history of the Turkic-Mongol peoples, he set the task of his work:―I would like to bring before your minds this great barbarian people, dominated by three mighty figures—Attila, Jenghiz Khan, Tamerlane—as they march through ten centuries of history, from the borders of China to the frontiers of the West‖ [2].

Grousset describedTurks and Mongols as an intelligent, level headed, practical people which, drilled by the harsh realities of its environment, were ever ready for the word of command, whose adventure was nearly always successful, and that the same rhythm recurred throughout thirteen centuries— that period between the Huns' entry into Loyang and the Manchus' into Peking. The reason of these victories is a fact that the nomads, retarded though they were in material culture, always possessed a tremendous military ascendancy. They were the mounted archers. The military superiority of the nomads disappeared because the sedentary peoples now met them with artillery, and thus overnight acquired an artificial ascendancy over nomads[3].

The scientific views of R. Grousset were greatly influenced by the ideas of the historians of the Annalesschool. Thanks to their concepts he began his book "Empire of the Steppes" with a review of the temperature and climate of Mongolia and reasoning about the impact of the Altai and Tien-Shan mountain ranges on the steppe climate. As representatives of this school, R.Grousset built his work on a wide variety of archaeological, geological and linguistic materials. Thus, under the influence of the works of Braudel, Grousset expanded historical boundaries of oriental studies in areas that were previously ignored.The novelty of this composition is seen in the point of view of the outstanding Western European scholar on the well-known events, whose opinion was devoid of prejudices, biases and conjuncture approach. R. Grousset‘s book "Empire of the Steppe" was highly praised by historians. L. Gumilev considered this work the culmination point in the European orientalism of the first half of the XX century.

Among the works of a generalized level on our problem a serious interest presentsthe monograph of the American orientalist, authoritative researcher of the history of Turkey C.. Findley, "The Turks in World History», Oxford University Press, 2005.Chronologicallythe book provides a coverage of such issues as the pre-Islamic Turks andtheir precursors (through the eleventh century C.E.); the entry of the Turksand the Mongols, with whom the Turks shared a great deal, into the Islamicworld (eleventh to fourteenth centuries); the last great age of indigenousAsian empire building (fourteenth to eighteenth centuries); and finally the modern period.The book concluded with the author's reflections on the Turkic peoples in the contemporary period. Hesaw the objective of his research in the looking for ―continuities and distinctive designs in the historyof the Turkic peoples‖ [4].

In this study the American historian traced the direction of the Turkic peoples fromthe steppe to the empire and the nation-state - the Republic of Turkey, the five post-Soviet republics, other entities and communities in Eurasia and the global diaspora. On the pages of the book the author combined natural, economic, social and political conditions in which the history of the Turkic peoples unfolded. He is convinced ―that the two-thousand-year history of their expansion acrossEurasia may shed a valuable light on the processes by which a large and diversegroup of people established, transformed, and projected its identityacross space and time‖[5]. C. Findley studied the formation of Turkic identity through deep transformations, primarily through the consistent entry of the Turks into Islam and Modernity. He emphasized two factors, determining the Turkic world– it is a language and Islam that―has become the next most decisive constituent of Turkic identity after language‖[6]. C. Findley emphasized the common cultural roots in the consolidation of the Turks: ―whatunited the Turkic peoples above all was the cultural baggage that they carriedas they spread across Eurasia. This cultural complex was characterizedby long-term continuity, as well as by great potential both to absorb exogenouselements and to transform itself‖ [7]. Thinking about the Turkic history that contains both remarkably long continuities and great transformations, Findley stood out two such transformations as particularly significant: ―the Turks entry first into Islam and then into modernity‖ [8].

The orientalist provided a principled resistance to those groups of "outsiders" whichhave not considered them particularly civilized at all. Such perceptions have to do largely with their historically nomadic lifestyle. He explained: ―In their civilizational commitments, they have undergone profound conversions over time … In a sense, the Turks migrated among civilizations as they moved across Eurasia. Yet while doing so, they maintained their identity. They also proved that they could remain committed to a particular civilization over very lengthy periods and contribute greatly to its advancement‖ [9]. The certain novelty of this research is seen in C. Findley‘s approach to the history of Turkic peoples through the definition of their role in resolving the conflict of civilizations:―The fact that much of Turkic history unfolded on or near frontier zones between Islamic and European civilization may certainly throw light on the extent to which those zones have or have not been sites of millennial conflict‖ [10].

A notable contribution to the western historiography of ancient and medieval history of Central Asia is the study of American historian, orientalist Peter Golden "Central Asia in World History», New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. The American historian narrated the history of this vast region from ancient times to the present.

For P. Golden the fundamental components of the identity of Central Asia in that period were ―the ties of clan, tribe, status, locale, religion … and these were often multi-layered‘‘ [11].Therefore P. Golden set the aim of his study- the research of the history of Central Asiain this multi- layering of tribes, languages, religions, in their interaction and interference. P.Golden explored Central Asia as a region shifting ethnic, linguistic, political and cultural bordersin the appropriate historical context.

The importance of Central Asia was estimated in different ways: ―Ancient and medieval observers considered it marginal to ―civilization‖. Modern historians have deemed it the ―heartland‖ or ―pivot‖ of Eurasian history because it produced the largest empires of premodern times‖ [12].

The content of the book is described in chronological order in 9 sections. In the context of the theme of this article our attention will be focused on the review of chapters 1-7.

In the introduction P. Golden underlined that Central Asia historically,;; encompassed two interacting yet fundamentally different lifeways, each inhabiting different ecological niches: the settled folk of its oases and the nomads of the steppes‖, where―that interactions between these two diverse populations have "shaped much of our knowledge of Central Asia," as accounts from settled societies recorded the "primitive" way of life of the "barbarian" nomads ( their primitive customs, cuisine and clothing of hides, furs and felt‖ [13].

Chapter One provided an up-to-date explanation for the evolution of pastoral nomadism and its adoption of ―low and high technology as circumstances required‖.P. Golden determined two factors, which united ethnically different states and people – it is a creation of huge nomadic empires by conquering of neighboring tribes and trade that connected people at remote distances. Commerce connected the people of Central Asia to the wider world; the nomads of the steppe provided the link to Eurasian cities as goods traveled from China through Central Asia to Persia and then on to the Mediterranean‖[14].

Chapter Two narrated about the third-century emergence of a new power on the Mongolian steppe, the Xiongnu, and the Chinese response. In this periodto China's west, two nomadic powers emerged with important global consequences: the Kushan Empire and the Huns. Golden convicted the readersthat the ―rise and fall of the Xiongnu pushed various nomadic peoples, in particular Turkic groupings‖, into the Kazakh steppe, where they joined into union with other tribes and finally ―formed a new tribal union: the Huns‖ [15]. He shares the wide- spread concept in the western orientalism about the origin of the Huns from theXiongnu.Thus the historian revealed one of the key themes of the book – ―the movement of peoples and languages and the creation of new ethnic entities‖[16].

Chapter Three―DivineKhagans: Turksand their followers‖ describedEastern and Western Turkic khanates whichas Golden argued, became ―the template for all future nomadic states‖, wheredespite the adoption of sedentary administrative structures, Golden pointed out that ―pastoral nomadism remained a mainstay of the Turk economy and horsepower remained the key to their military might‖ [17].He also characterized the significance of the Silk Road in the enriching and empowering of the Turk Empire.

Chapters Four and Five are dedicated to the significance of the silk trade in Central Asia as well as the arrival of Islam.

In chapter Six "The Mongol Whirlwind" Golden describedan impact of the Mongols on the world history and the pioneeringrole of theirempire: the Mongols ―brought the steppe, the forest zone, and many of the neighboring states (China, Iran, Medieval Rus‘) into a vast world realm…[that] profoundly influenced global history, putting into place international networks of communications, the beginnings of an early 'world system' in the period between 1250 – 1350, the precursor of the modern world‖[18]. Following their initial destruction, the Mongols created a space where peaceful intercultural exchange could flourish. But Golden astutely reminds his readers that―the Mongols were more than simply the architects of this great cross-cultural highway, rather, they were active players in the exchange process and that cultural exchange went through aMongol filter‖[19].

Chapter Seven determined the preeminence of the Turkic language and Islam in Central Asia, and depictedTemür as "the last of the Eurasian great nomadic conquerors.

Golden'sbook"Central Asiain world history" presentedthe localhistory of this regionin a global context. In his view, Central Asia is a melting potof cultures,whichthis region produced. Through this combinationof local and globalP.Goldenformulated anew look at thehistory of the world.

In our opinion among theworks of a generalized character it is necessary to mention the outstanding studies of Thompson, Otto Maenchen-Helfen and Kelly.

One of the most authoritative researchers of the Huns is a British classicist and medievalist Edward Arthur Thompson. In his studies he relied on the Marxist approach to the historical process. His monograph "History of Attila and the Huns», published in 1948 in the UK, was a notable contribution to the Western Orientalism of the first half of the XX century.

The book was reprinted with the title "The Huns" in 1999 . Later this English edition was translated into Russian and published in 2008 under the title "The Huns. Formidable warriors of the steppes". E.A. Thompson was primarily a scholar of ancient and medieval history of Europe. He believed that history of the Huns themselves was certainly interesting, but he was more interested in their relationship with the Roman Empire[20].

E.A. Thompson told the history of the Huns in Europe from their first attacks on the Goths from the north of the Black Sea to the collapse of the Hun Empire after the death of their legendary leader Attila. What significantly differs Thompson‘s research from previous analogous works is a critical evaluation of sources; he analyzed them in detail and discussed the limitation of archeological evidence. However the British professor used only the European written documents and he exaggerated their importance: ―It is clear that in studying the history of the Huns we can solely rely on the evidence of the Greek and Roman travelers and historians‖ [21]. The novelty of the British professors‘ research is seen first of all in the fact that before him almost nobody in the Western historiography of the problem attempted to speak about the social history of the Huns. E.A .Thompson explored the material organization and the social structure of the Hun society in the dynamics, what it was before Attila headed it and how it was under his rule. The author told the history of the Huns in much more detail than it was done in other studies.

EA Thompson avoided a discussion about possible Chinese origin of the nomadic people of the Huns.

The British historian‘s point of view on a number of issues of the Hun history is markedly different from the one that was quite common in the Western Orientalism. He refuted the commonly held view of Attila as a brilliant military leader, diplomat and governor, and that ―the great Hun Empire was only because of his outstanding qualities‖. He argued that this empire already existed before Attila. Attila considerably differed from Jenghis Khan because he received from his predecessors already finished (or nearly finished) empire, while the Mongols were small, separated pastoral tribes‖ [22].

E.A. Thompson questioned the military genius of Attila. He believed that the legendary leader of the Huns was almost always accompanied by military success only because he did not meet a decent resistance or he won at the expense of large losses [23].

There are certain drawbacks in this book, for instance- an apparent lack of primary sources. The author built his research on several works of the Roman origin, mainly on the writings of AmmianusMarcellinus and Priscus of Panium.

One of the most fundamental works ever published on the history of the Huns, is the book of an Austrian orientalist, historian, writer and traveler Otto J. Maenchen-Helfen ―The World of the Huns. Study of their history and culture‖. After his death he left an unfinished manuscript. It was a source of the book ―World of Huns. Study of their history and culture‖ published in 1973.

Maenchen-Helfen differed from other historians of Eurasia in his unique competence in philology, archaeology, and the history of art, he perfectly knew the primary texts, whether in Greek or Russian or Persian or Chinese. The knowledge of the Chinese sources describing theHsiung-nu afforded him to critically evaluate the widespread concept about possible Chinese origin of the Huns. Another special competence was his expertise in the history of Asian art, a subject that he taught for many years. Thanks to professionalism in philology, archaeology, and the history of art he dispelled the myth of supposed Hunnic ignorance of metal- working skills [24].

The Scientificmerit of Maenchen-Helfen as anOrientalistis in his objective, science-basedcriticism of sourceson the historyof the Huns: ―From the beginning these peoples were denigrated and demonized by European historians and dismissed as avatars of the eternal but faceless barbarian hordes from the east, against whom vigilance was always necessary, but whose precise identity was of little importance... Unless this tendentiousness is fully understood – and it rarely is- the literary evident is found to be misread‖ [25]. So he began his study with its reexamination.

In his research Otto Maenchen-Helfen expressed humanity in such a racially charged field as Hunnic studies, it was a rare phenomenon in the German historiography of 30th years of XX century. The novelty and distinctive characteristic of Maenchen-Helfen‘s research is seen in his ability to create a reliable account of the ancestors of the Turks and Mongols, free of the usual Western prejudice and linguistic limitations.Therefore, it is clearthat many scholarsconsider this booka masterpieceon the historyof the Huns.Evenin the unfinished version, it is far superior tothe work ofE.A.Thompson.

One of the recent and the most notable works on the history of the Huns is the study of the British historian Christopher Kelly ―The End of Empire: Attila the Hun and the fall of Rome‖ Norton, New York, 2009.

The novelty of Kelly‘s monograph is seen in the attempt to restore the image of Attila as a politically ingenious leader bent more on making strategic alliances to benefit his people than conquering neighboring tribes by savage attacks. Thus, the author told about his long-term contacts with the Roman general, about the promise of Honoria, the sister of Roman Emperor to marry Attila. Hitherto, before Kelly‘s studies these events were not practically described in the historical literature.

All thesecompositions becamea majorphenomenon inWestern historiography ofthe history of CentralAsia.It should be emphasized thatthese researchers determine it.These monographshave arichbibliography,illustrations and maps.The given overview presents the diverse,comprehensive character of these studies.Theirvaluablefeatureis an understanding of aspects ofcontinuity,community andspecificityof the Turkic andMongolian peoples.Thus, Westernhistorianswith high professionalism on the base of extensivesources made invaluablecontributions to the studyof ancient andmedieval history of the Turkic peoples.

 

  1. Grousset Rene ―The Empire of the steppes. A history of Central Asia‖. Rutgers University Press, 1970, p. 2
  2. Grousset Rene ―The Empire of the steppes. A history of Central Asia‖. Rutgers University Press, 1970, p. 2-3
  3. Там же, р. 5-6
  4. Carter V. Finley. ―The Turks in world history‖. Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 9 p. 4
  5. p. 225
  6. p 9
  7. р.
  8. p. 4
  9. p. 4-5
  10. 11. Golden P. ―Central Asia in World history‖. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 2
  11. p. 2 13. p. 104 14. p. 16 15. p. 33
  12. p. 6
  13. p. 49, 43
  14. p. 90
  15. p. 89
  16. Томпсон Э.А., с. 11 21. с. 14
  17. с. 243
  18. с. 244-245
  19. Maenchen-Helfen Otto…p. XXIV

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