The Migrations of the Oghuz in the Medieval Period: Causes, Directions and Consequences

Vestnik NSU Series History and Philology, 2022

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DOI 10.25205/1818-7919-2022-21-5-131-144
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Introduction. In the 10th – 11th centuries, the process of formation of the Oghuz tribes was underway in Central Asia. It was accompanied by the disintegration of kinship ties and the emergence of statehood. A new type of ethnic community was being formed, based on territorial and economic ties. The formation of the Oghuz Yabgu State with its political center in the lower reaches of the Syr Darya (river in the territory of modern Kazakhstan) played an important role in this process. The paper analyzes the preconditions and peculiarities of the Oghuz tribes’ westward migration. In addition, a comparative analysis of its economic and political consequences is carried out. Results. The Oghuz State, like many other nomadic empires, was not monolithic and its borders were not permanent and strictly defined. As a result of the extended social conflict, the Syr Darian Yabgu State collapsed and did not withstand the attack of the neighboring Kipchak tribes in the middle of the 11th century. This caused a new migration wave directed westward. Conclusion. As a result of the Oguz migration to the Westward there have been changes in the geopolitical and ethnoterritorial characteristics of Western Asia and Asia Minor regions. Oguz migration has become an integral organism of cultural and economic values. The political and ethnic traces of these changes can still be seen today.