Kasimov Tatars of the Kypchak Tribe

Abstract

Objective: To study the three Tatar genealogies dating back to the Golden Horde’s Prince Isenei Kypchatsky. Research materials: This study has detected three genealogies. One of them from the Saratov regional archive belongs to the Tatars of Khvalynsky district, bearing the surname Kipchaksky. Two others, from the Astrakhan regional archive and the Russian State Archives of Ancient Acts respectively, belong to those Kasimov Tatars bearing the surname Tonkachev. These genealogies have been studied in detail. The persons mentioned in them were then compared with individuals mentioned in documentary sources. Results and novelty of the research: It was found that a number of the princes’ and murzas’ surnames of Kasimov Tatar groupings – such as Tonkachevs (Tonkacheevs), Bulushevs, Alyshevs, Kikichevs, Emashevs as well as of the Kypchatsky Tarars of Saratov governorship – are related. They originate from the princes of the Kypchak tribe – one of the most influential in the Golden Horde. These princes had the special status of Karachi begs. DNA tests have revealed the possibility of the relationship of these Tatar surnames with modern carriers of the Kypchak ethnonym, which strongly supports the Kypchak origin of the Golden Horde’s princes from this clan.