Kumani-Kipčaci između Azije i Europe u razvijenome i kasnome srednjem vijeku
The Cuman-Qipčaqs between Asia and Europe in the Late Middle Ages

Summary/Abstract: This article presents a general overview of the history of the Cuman-Qipčaq, a loose confederation of Turkic nomadic tribes. While the group never formed a state of their own, the presence of their horsemen in other armies often proved to be a decisive factor in the numerous medieval factional struggles between Rus’ principalities, in the Bulgar-Byzantine wars, in internal Hungarian or Serbian struggles, and other conflicts in the wider region. In their heyday (1050–1240) the Cumans controlled the entire area from the Lake Aral to the lower Danube basin. Gordlevski suggests it is impossible to understand the history of Turkic peoples without the Mongols who in the 13th century incorporated many Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppe into their vast empire. In the same way, any study of Southeast Europe is incomplete without considering the influence of the Turkic peoples. While the Cumans had a history of taking slaves, they themselves would eventually become the most numerous slaves sold in the Black Sea region to Italy, to the Near and the Middle East. However, the Cuman language remained a long-standing lingua franca of the Black Sea steppe and is understood by the majority of Turkic peoples even today. In (South)East Europe the Cumans slowly melted into a colourful ethnic pot of populations of Slavic, Hungarian and Turkic origin. In Asia they contributed to the formation of the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and other Turkic peoples. The legacy of the Cumans is woven into dozens of European and Asian nations, and therefore the study of Cuman history is important as a platform for understanding the broader framework of Eurasian migration as well as the relations between nomadic and sedentary societies in that area.

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