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HomeDatelinesThe most ancient history of Bulgars – 2

The most ancient history of Bulgars – 2

Chapter 16. Reign of Khans Masgut, Ibragim, Baluk and Azgar (1004-1006, 1006-1025, 1025-1028, 1028-1061 AD respectively)

Masgut was raised to the throne, after which he immediately released Vasyl and approved Sal-Sal as the governor of the Kashan. The encouraged by it Ulugbek crushed the army of Bulymer and presented Ulubiy with a choice of the submission to the Bulgar, or to perish under the hoofs of the tulpars and the swords of the Bulgarian bakhadirs. Being on the verge of full despair, Bulymer pleaded to Ibragim begging to immediately take the throne and stop the war, promising to triple the size of the Djir Tribute for it, abandon the claims for the Khazarian territories, and to open for the Bulgarian merchants all cities and roads of the Russ.

Just at this time in the Bolgar flared disturbances led by Kul-Mohammed, the son of Nasyr. Hudja Ahmed, the young son of the sheikh Musa, directly addressed the Kan on the market square, on behalf of the participants of the disturbances, the nobles, with the demand to stop the war immediately and to lower the exactions. Masgut ordered to seize Hudja Ahmed and escort him out from the country by the Horys-yuly, but that only poured the oil in the flame. Masgut summoned the kursybai, but while it was drawing close, the people have already besieged him in the Bolgar citadel. Learning about these events, Ibragim immediately went, with the subashis, chirmyshes and the city militias, from the Bulyar to the capital.

From the other side to the Bolgar from the Nur-Suvar went the kazanchis, desiring to get even with the murderer of the kind to them Timar. But Misha-Üsuf, the son of the 90 years old Kermek, expelled by Masgut from his own city, was ahead of them all. When he left to the capital and began to advance with his troops to the Baryndjar gate, Masgut did not wait and fled from the Bolgar to the Batysh. The kazanchis, who have come after that, wanted to drive into the citadel and to raise to the throne Tuktar, the grandson of Djakyn and the son of Abdallah, but Misha-Üsuf did not let them in, and handed over the Mumin-Kerman to Ibragim. He, the son of Mar Dju-Malik, the son of Bulat Hasan, and Sal-Sal, who came too, raised Ibragim to the throne of the State. And the tebir Masgut and the ulan Tuktar were distanced from him.

Bulymer immediately signed a peace with the Bulgar on the above-stated conditions, and Ibragim reduced the kursybai to one thousand persons, giving the rest allodials and privileges. He immediately returned Hudja Ahmed from the Russ, and when Hudja Ahmed went back, he took to educate and adopted his son Iskhak and was called Abu – Iskhak.

In our annals about the time of the Ibragim reign, I gathered very little of the substance…

The Kan ruled according to the laws of Almysh and Talib, therefore the State was calm and plentiful. What was occurring outside the State was of little interest for the Kan, and only once the delay with the payment of the ” Djir” forced him to move a hand…

After the death of Bulymer, a war for the domination started in the Russ between his sons. Myshdauly, who was sitting in the Dima-Tarkhan, and was supported by the Rum, has won. Under his order, the defeated Ar-Aslap had to treacherously kill one of the Bulymer’s sons from Bozok-Khalib, and the servants of Myshdauly himself killed the other son of Bozok, Barys, as the main pretenders for the father’s throne. Myshdauly stopped paying the tribute for the Djir, which forced Ibragim to send the governor of the Mardan Gilas to the Kan. Gilas took the Kan on the run and installed there one of the Khaddads, Kurdan, who was friendly to the State.

Ar-Aslap, contrary to the Myshdauly orders, did not come to his aid, for what Ibragim helped him to cope with the strongest famine in the Balyn. Moreover: encouraging Ar-Aslap on the overthrow of the Myshdauly’s yoke, Ibragim sent him a Kan’s hat, the copy of his. Only three such hats were made by the house of the master Atrak bine Musa. Shortly before his death, Ibragim sent another cap, together with a copy of the “Notes” by Bakir, ornaments, and not a small sum of money for the construction of the mosques, to the Khurasan Sultan Mahmud.

The Sultan was considered a descendant of the Prophet himself, and for the gifts, the Kan hoped to receive from him healing from the heavy disease. The gifts were brought by Hudja Ahmed, and he remained with the Sultan at his request. From the Khurasan he went to. Hudja Ahmed also sent medicines to Ibragim, but they did not reach him on time: the Kan died after several months of sufferings, and was buried in his castle Alamir-Sultan. And this castle Ibragim built right after the Bulymer’s wars.

Then he was afraid of an attack by Timar and thought to hid in the strong and remote from the capital castle in case of a need. In addition to it under the order of Ibragim in the place of the menzel (“djam”) at the mouth of the Ака or Sain-Idel, in 1021 was built the balik Djunne-Kala which also was called Djun. And it was named so by one of Djun’s descendants, Djunne, who was himself erecting the city…

During the Ibragim time, the calm in the State was kept by the sardars of the kursybai, Vasyl, the son of Sal-Sal Amir, and his son Mardan. Before his death, Ibragim declared Ashraf, the son of Timar, his successor because Ashraf was looking after him, as he had no sons. But when Ashraf was raised to the throne, Vasyl demanded Bulyar from him, for the support of his kursybai. Ashraf refused, and the offended Vasyl helped Azgar, the son of Masgut, to take the throne. Ashraf-Kan retired, without a fight, from the Bolgar to the Bulyar and for that he received a moniker Baluk.

And Vasyl kept the province Kashan and in addition received also the Dyau-Shir district of the Baytüba, from the Akhtay to the mouth of the Dyau-Shir or Shepshe. Due to that, the Bek’s herd of horses reached 300 thousand heads. And all these were the excellent Bashkortian horses which in the Russ were called “Modjarian” and were valued above the others.

In the 1028 AD Myshdauly, who grew insolent, conceived to restore the Khazarian Khaganate, ordered the Galidjians and the hired Sadimians to capture the Bolgar and then sail down the river, while he himself decided to capture the Khin and join them in the Bekhtash. Our fleet crushed the enemy, but Myshdauly, with the help of the Rums seized the Khin. This loss incensed the merchants, and when Baluk advanced in the same year to the Bolgar, they refused to defend it.

The kazanchis also armed against the Kan, as they were dissatisfied with his taxes and amity with the kursybai. But suddenly the capital’s lowly raised in a mutiny for the protection of Azgar, and went with the weapons in hands onto the walls of the Bolgar. Mardan with his kursybai was also approaching the city. In such circumstances the Kan, reflecting about the vicissitudes of the life decided to pass voluntary the Kan’s hat to Baluk. For this, he elicited a post of the Suvar il’s Ulugbek.

Eventually, Ashraf did not dare to ride into the Bolgar, but in retaliation declared Bulyar the capital, and ordered to call it “Bolgar”, and renamed Bolgar to “Ibragim”. The Mardan’s kursybai was sent to the Khin and quickly kicked Myshdauly out from it. The people of this restless Balynian Bek got to the Djurash, and in the 1032 AD grabbed the power there with the help of the Myshdauly’s son Ustabiy. Baluk had to send the kursybai and our fleet there and to install there the loyal to our State Emir Timer-Kabak. In addition in a skirmish by an accident, arrow was killed Ustabiy, a generally harmless Bek who most of all loved the crafts and was building churches in the province of his father. But he was excessively obedient to the whimsical Myshdauly, and that ruined him…

When the kursybai has returned, instead of the award for the labours it learned that it is subject to the immediate dissolution. Mardan was deprived of his former possessions, and in place of the 4 thousand kusyrbays the Kan hired the Kyrgyzes. In fact, shortly before these events, the Oimek horde of the Kyrgyzes captured the Türkistan, but then it split into the Türkistan part, or the Kara-Oimeks, and the Eastern, or the Ak-Oimek part. Between them started the wars, and one of the Kara-Oimek khans, Kuman, with a part of his people, asked for refuge in the State. 

Baluk avidly accepted the fugitives into the service, and they already were with him in a campaign against the Bolgar. The Kan installed Kuman as their leader, and consequently we began to call these Kyrgyzes as Kumans, though we also called them in the Persian “Kypchaks”, and in the Sabanian “Kyrgyz”. Azgar out of compassion gave Mardan the district Kermek, disputable with the Bellak. Gilas at first was indignant, but when Mardan promised to provide 2 thousand soldiers from his district to the kursybai instead of the Bellakians, he reconciled and together with Azgar assigned the district to the Amirs.

The Kan, seeing again Mardan in the kursybai, now already in a position of the Bellakian envoy, did not find objections and gave in. A part of the subashes and the dismissed kusyrbays of Mardan, fled to the Kermek abandoning everything and did not regret it, because the Kan ordered to turn everybody remaining in the Kashan and Dyau-Shir into the kara-chirmyshes. Many of them opposed it and preferred to leave to the lands of the Martüba between the Arsu and Misha. Being in the state of the extreme embitterment, the subashis expelled from there almost all the Ars and occupied their lands. After the subashis the runaway chirmyshes from everywhere began to flock there, and they were becoming there the subashis without any sanction.

The governor of the Martüba at that time was Alay, the son of Üsuf, the former Ulugbek of the Bolgar and Nur-Suvar. In the 970 AD, Üsuf founded the balik Djably-Kala which, however, began to be called Simbir by the people. Alay in 1028 founded a balik on the Sura-su which began to be called by his name, Alay-Tura. But after the Kan learned about the favouritism of Alay toward the fugitives, he transferred him to the post of Vali in the Tukhchi and appointed Kuman in his place. In the place of Kuman and his Kyrgyzes, who left with him, Baluk hired a new runaway horde of the Kara-Oimeks, led by the Khan Ishim. It is said that on the advice of Kuman, who was dreaming of getting out from the Saksin deserts at any cost and consequently was tirelessly searching for a replacement for himself, Ishim sent to Baluk his daughter Minlebika with a purpose to get, with the help of her charms, a better service.

Khanysh completely charmed Ashraf, and the mad with love Kan ordered to sign Ishim up for the post of the sardar of the kursybai, and his people in the place of the bakhadirs of Mardan and the Kyrgyzes of Kuman. All this happened in the 1035 AD, just before a new attack by Myshdauly on the Khin. Like in the first time, this Ulubiy ordered the 16 thousand Sadimians and Galidjians, led by the Sadumian Bek Khin-Kubar to capture the Bolgar and after that to join him in the Bekhtash. He himself was intending again to capture the Khin. It became known to Ishim, and he asked his daughter to help him.

Minlebika herself came to her father from the capital, and sent to Myshdauly the following letter: ”I want to be yours, the glorious warrior, come with your near friends and catch me…” Not knowing any limits in his debauchery passed to him by his Jewish mother, Myshdauly immediately galloped with a huge army to the appointed place at the Shir. But, having approached and seeing the wife of the Kan only with three djuras, he left the army and raced to her with a hundred of his servants. Chained in an armor, he was confident in his safety in any circumstances. The Balynians did not know about those iron arrows and the big bows which began to be produced in the Bulgar.

At the approach of the Balynian Ulubiy, Sabir, the brother of Mardan, who rode next to the Bika, shot such an arrow, and sent Myshdauly to hell. While the Balynians were coming to their senses from the shock, Minlebika with her entourage trotted away. With the death of this Balynian his house crushed at once. The Saksin again obtained its peace. But Khin-Kubar with his people disembarked from 400 ships near the Bolgar and began to ravage its suburbs. The Kan sent toward him the bakhadirs of Mardan from the Bulyar, the Kyrgyzes of Kuman, and the fleet headed by Kaf-Urus and the son of Tuka Kadyl. Prior to that, the fleet was at the Kashan, besieged by the subashis, who were indignant with the Kan’s decrees and actions, but Baluk decided that the city Ibragim was more important.

Our cavalry fell upon the enemy simultaneously with the fleet. The Galidjians treacherously left the Sadimians and sailed down the Idel, and we stomped and shot the army of Khin-Kubar. Mardan wanted to spare the Sadumian leader for his bravery, but the Kermeks already hung Khin-Kubar, covered with wounds, on a tree. The Galidjians were captured by the Mardanians by the menzel Timer-Kabak in the mouth of the Samar-su which later began to be called Samar. After that, having received the news about the capture of the Bashtu by the ally of Myshdauly, the Kan sent Gilas with a part of the Bellakian Badjinaks to the capital of the Russ.

On the way, he was joined by a group of the Kashan Badjinaks, who at first helped him besiege the Bashtu, but then enticed his Badjinaks to go with them with the stories about their carefree life. The ally of Myshdauly fled from the Bashtu, but the leader of the Kashans at night warned the city that all the Badjanaks are leaving, and at the daybreak quietly took all of them to the Kashan. The Balynians immediately attacked the empty camp of Gilas. The fooled Ulugbek with 150 Arbugans began to retreat to Kharka, but there was surrounded by the Anchians and surrendered, because of his unwillingness to shed the blood of the Anchians.

Ar-Aslap was not slow to come to Bashtu and offered to Gilas his service… Gilas, considering himself dishonored, agreed to remain in the Russ and was appointed the Anchian head. Ar-Aslap aspired to peace everywhere. With this purpose, he made a number of concessions to the Anchians in the Bashtu province, and immediately concluded peace with Baluk, with an obligation to diligently pay him the Djir Tribute. The needy for the capital Ashraf was satisfied with it and even did not demand extradition of Gilas, who irritated him by his refusal to double the Mardanian tribute, but he exchanged the body of Khin-Kubar for the gold of equal weight. The new Bellakian Ulugbek Balus, the son of Gilas, was forced to accept the demands of the Kan, but bore a grudge for this humiliation…

Meanwhile, the war of Kuman with the risen subashis, and the kara-chirmyshes and kurmyshes who joined them, continued. Being mindful of being removed from his post, Kuman was running the war seriously but did not achieve any success, and in the 1050 AD, he was replaced by Akhad, the son of Azgar. The new Ulugbek quickly reckoned that it is impossible to win the war with his own people, and concluded with the leaders of the Subashes an armistice agreement.

According to the agreement the Moslem subashis remained in a former status on the newly acquired lands, and the others remained in the former categories. This split the insurgents, and Akhad subdued the kara-chirmyshes and kurmyshes, who were left without support. So ended this revolt, which received the name “Five Axes”, for it was headed by the five leaders armed with axes. After that the Kan made an unprecedented lapse, he cancelled the rule according to which the ingichi who accepted Islam could transfer to the category of the subashes or ak-chirmyshes.

After the death of Ar-Aslap the new Urus Ulubiy refused to pay the Djir Tribute. Angry Baluk ordered Mardanians to punish the prick, and to make the impact stronger, attached the Saksin again to the Bellak. Balus decided that time has come for the Shir Türkmens to go to the war. But those suddenly rose and with a shout: ”Let the Badjanaks go to war and wash down the shame of the betrayal their relatives!” they besieged the Khin. Balus with the help of the Kuman’s Kyrgyzes and the Ishim’s kursybai beat off the rebels from the city, and they retreated to the Russ.

Balus, pursuing them, broke to the Batavyl and besieged it. But the Vali of the city, Rahman Gilas, did not hand over the fortress to his son, for his grievance with the Kan was still strong… In the 1060 AD Balus replicated the campaign and defeated Syb-Bulat near the Buri-Aslap. Besieging this city in retaliation for the sheltering by its inhabitants f the runaway Türkmens, the Mardanians and Kumans plundered all province between it and the Bashtu.

The Bek of the Uruses had to restart the payment of the Djir Tribute, gave the ransom for himself and promised together with Bulgars expel the Türkmens from the limits of the Russ. But at that time Akhad suddenly besieged the Bulyar with the forces of the kazanchis, the Kumans of Azan, the son of Ishim-Khan, and Tamta’s Bulgars. Azan barely managed to save from the carnage even his sister with her son Adam from the Kan.

The unwillingness of Baluk to recognize the igenchis of the Katan and Martüba as subashis repelled from the Kan a significant part of people. The kazanchis, sent to suppress the subashi disturbances in the Martüba and Kashan, after the initial fierce skirmishes with despaired ingichis preferred to accede with them about a division of the inflamed provinces. As a part of the deal, the Moslems agreed that kazanchis would enslave the igenchis- heathens, for those were a much smaller minority.

The Kan did not recognize this conspiracy… and ordered the kursybai to transfer by force of Bulgars-subashes to the status of the ak-chirmyshes. And the ak-chirmyshes paid twice larger taxes and had heavier duties than the subashis, as I already wrote. The kursybai decided that it is already too much, and came into a conspiracy with the kazanchis, who resolved to overthrow the Kan and to replace with the aged Azgar.

Akhad, mindful of the responsibility for the conspiracy of the kazanchis with the subashis, talked Balus, who came back from the vicinity of the Bashtu, into the plot. He achieved that by telling him that the Kan plans to conquer the Russ using the forces of the Mardanians. The Mardanians were not impressed by the perspective to cover with their bones the dirty roads of the Russ, and the Ulugbek opted to support the conspirators. Not to break the custom prohibiting Bulgars to shed the blood of Bulgars, they decided to send the Kumans of the Khan Asan against the Bulyar.

Before that, Asan was sent against the subashes, but he refused, for what the Kan’s groom beat him up with a whip, and he was expelled from the service. The khan had nowhere to go, and he willingly agreed to assist the conspirators…

His units suddenly broke through to the Bulyar and besieged the capital. After the Kashan subashis pierced the wall of the city in two places, the Kumans pushed through into it and killed the Kan and seid Nugman. Akhad, who was behind the Kumans, hastened to ride into the capital and to stop the bloodshed. It happened in the 1061 AD.

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