On the territory of ancient Russia lived peoples, which are known only from chronicles and numerous legends. They lived, fought and were friends, competed, passed on to the Russians, in part, their traditions and culture, leaving information about themselves in the historical memory of generations. In the Arab-Persian language they were called the Kipchaks, the Byzantines called them the Cumans, and in Russia they are known as the Polovtsians. Anyone who has studied history, when asked about the Polovtsians, will remember "The Lay of Igor's Campaign." On that, perhaps, all the generally known information about the Polovtsy is exhausted, and there are very few scientific works telling about the Polovtsians.
So who are the Polovtsians and where did they come to Russia?
It is assumed that the main composition of the Polovtsians consisted of Turkic and Mongolian tribes. In the 8th century, in the Central Asian region, the Uighurs defeated the Türkic Khaganate. The surviving Turks fled and became part of the Kimak Kaganate. By the way, the Polovtsy got the name “Kipchak” from the Uighurs and it means “fugitives”, “losers”. By the 11th century, the "losers" - the Kipchaks, managed to move away from the kaganate of the Kimaks who had sheltered them and to declare themselves as the main force in the Central Asian region. And now the word "Kipchak" meant "an empty, hollow tree." Active tribes of the Kipchaks moved westward, migrating to the steppes of Eastern Europe. The resettlement went in two directions - part went south (to the Syrdarya), and part to the Volga region. The name "Polovtsy" was assigned to the tribes after they reached the Northern Black Sea region.
Researchers believe that the Slavs gave the name "Polovtsy" as a derivative of the word "plava" (straw) because of the appearance of the nomads. By the middle of the 11th century, the Kipchaks (Polovtsians) roamed a vast area: from the Irtysh to the Volga. Contemporaries gave the name to this territory - Desht-i-Kipchak (Polovtsian steppe). Having displaced all other tribes from the Polovtsian steppe, the Polovtsians finally approached the borders of Ancient Rus. It is believed that during the period of feudal fragmentation, the Polovtsians had a huge impact on the economic, political, social and cultural life of the Old Russian state.
The chronicle mention of the first appearance of the Polovtsians at the borders of Russia dates back to 1055. The "Tale of Bygone Years" says: "At the age of seven, come Bolush with the Polovtsi, and make Vsevolod peace with them, and when the Polovtsi returned, they did not come at all." Despite the fact that this entry does not indicate the belligerent attitude of the Polovtsians towards the Russians, the opinion was established that the nomads caused enormous damage to the economic and political life of Ancient Russia.
Little is known about the Polovtsian soldiers. The main military force of the nomads was the rapidly moving detachments of light cavalry, armed with bows. Polovtsian warriors also had sabers, spears and lassos. Wealthy warriors wore chain mail. From the second half of the 12th century, the Polovtsians used heavy crossbows and "liquid fire" in battle. The Polovtsi adhered to the tactics of a surprise attack on the enemy. As a rule, they attacked weakly defended villages and bypassed fortified fortresses. The Polovtsian warriors skillfully distributed their forces in battle: light cavalry marched in the vanguard of the battle, then the main forces entered the battle. The Russian princes had a hard time in battle with such an experienced and skillful enemy.
At the beginning of the 60s of the XI century, the Polovtsians began to regularly attack the Russian lands: “For the first time, the Polovtsians came to the Russian land in war; Vsevolod came out against them in the month of February on the second day. And they defeated Vsevolod in the battle and, having conquered the land, left. That was the first evil from filthy and godless enemies. The prince was looking for them. The attacks of the Polovtsians on the lands of the Russian princes took place up to the Mongol invasion of Russia and were the main pain of the Russians who lived on the border with the Polovtsian steppe.
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It was difficult for the Rusich to cope with the Polovtsy, since at that time the state was weakened after the decision of Yaroslav the Wise to distribute the princely inheritance to his sons. By this decision, he greatly weakened the central authority in the state. And although each of the sons of Yaroslav the Wise considered himself "sovereign", in 1068 Vsevolod, Izyaslav and Svyatoslav joined forces and launched a campaign against the Polovtsians. The united princes' army was defeated by the Polovtsians (battle on the Alta River). Time passed. Conflicts constantly arose between the brothers. The Yaroslavichs failed to preserve the unified political system of Rus. The Polovtsians took advantage of the discord of the brothers, intensifying their attacks on Russia, thereby accelerating its collapse.
Constant Polovtsian raids on the borders of Rus were not always carried out on the initiative of the nomads. The deepening civil strife between the Russian princes led to the fact that some of them used the Polovtsians in their confrontation with each other. So there are documents that confirm that during 1073, 1078-1079, the Polovtsians helped the princes of Svyatoslavovich against the Yaroslavich. According to research experts, performing such tasks, the Polovtsians became a regulator of the political balance in Ancient Russia. They supported the struggle of one or another prince, preventing any of them from becoming the unifier of Russia. But nevertheless, the main goal of the Polovtsian raids on the borders of Russia was the banal and, practically, not punishable, the ability to plunder Russian villages, take away slaves. By the way, it is for the sake of preserving the achieved "relationship" with the Russians,Polovtsians often helped them in conflicts with "third parties" - Bulgars, Poles, etc.
Only by the beginning of the XII century were all the problematic issues between the Russian princes settled, and they were able to unite in the struggle against the Polovtsians. The campaigns of the Russians against the Polovtsy in 1103 and 1106 ended in victories. An especially convincing victory was won by the army gathered by Vladimir Monomakh in 1111 (the Battle of Salnitsa) and the capture by the Russians of the largest Polovtsian encampments - Sugrov and Sharukan.
The tactics of the Russian princes in relation to the Polovtsy also changed over time. The Rusichi resorted to "marriage" diplomacy. In 1107, the son of Vladimir Monomakh married the daughter of Khan Aepa, and in 1117, the son of the great Kiev prince married the granddaughter of the Polovtsian Khan Tugorkan. Svyatoslav Olgovich and Svyatopolk II tied themselves with the same marriage ties with the Polovtsian clans.
As a result of all these well-thought-out moves, successful diplomacy and military actions, it was possible to push the Polovtsy back beyond the Volga and Don. And a relative peace was established on the borders of Russia.
The victories of the Russians over the Polovtsians played a cruel joke. First, the Grand Duke, having decided that the Polovtsians were no longer terrible for Russia, terminated allied treaties with the nomadic tribes (Pechenegs, Torks), which helped him in the fight against the Polovtsians. Secondly, the Russian princes, having decided that the threat of the Polovtsian invasion had passed, began to split Russia again. Smolensk and Polotsk split off from Kievan Rus, which was the beginning of the collapse of the entire Old Russian state.
The Polovtsi soared in spirit, rallying around Khan Konchak. They again began to invade the Russian lands. But Khan Konchak also failed to seize the Russian lands under his arm - an internal struggle for power in the horde prevented. An attempt by the Russians to repeat the success of Monomakh's campaign against the Polovtsians ended in the defeat of the Russian army - it is about him that the Lay of Igor's Regiment narrates.
The Mongol invasion for the Polovtsy and the Russians was unexpected. They united against a common enemy. A battle took place near the Kalka River in 1223, in which the army of the Russians and Polovtsians was defeated. Most of the Polovtsians were forced to leave the Polovtsian steppe and move to Hungary, Transcaucasia, the Balkans and Byzantium.
It is believed that the Cumans, who left for the North Caucasus, laid the foundation for the formation of the Karachai, Balkan and Kumyk ethnic groups. The Polovtsians who settled in Hungary completely assimilated. In Byzantium and Bulgaria, the Polovtsians were used as a military force.
The Horde who seized the Polovtsian steppe gradually merged with the remnants of the Polovtsians, and the Polovtsians, in turn, became part of the Golden Horde. Therefore, we can assume that the Polovtsians participated in the ethnogenesis of such peoples known today as the Tatars, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Bashkirs, Uzbeks and other Turkic-speaking peoples.
It should be recognized that the Polovtsians played an important role in the formation of the Russian state. And it would be wrong to speak of them as enemies of Ancient Russia. And today, the historical roots of many nationalities inhabiting Russia lead to the Polovtsian encampments.