Chapter 19. Reign of Otyak (1164 – 1178)

At this time Otyak and Khan-Türyay invaded the State along the Kara-Idel with a horde of the Balynians, Kanians and Kisanians on. In the beginning they besieged Uchel. At night Arbat, who loved the game of shatrandj, saw in a dream that he lost to Otyak. Taking it for a bad omen, in the morning the Ulugbek handed over the city to his brother. Otyak wanted to spare Uchel, but the malicious Balynian, threatening to break their union, insisted on burning the fortifications of the Ügary Kerman and Kalgan on the Bogyltau. The inhabitants were moved to the balik Abikül surrounded only by the palings and consequently not able to serve as a fortress.

The daughter of Khisam Bajgjul-bi was also captured with Arbat and his family. When the wife of Anbal, the Saklanian Uslan-bi, not able to stand – the philandering of the husband, left to the Mountain side, and also the daughter, for the same reason, left to Arbat. Uslan -bi died in the aul Mar-Kaves, and the mountains along the right bank of the Kara-Idel received her name, Uslantau. And her tomb became a place of pilgrimage, for many people thought that she was a saint…

Then the allies landed at Boltar, and met here As who was sent against them. The Tarkhan, who was initially summoned for the campaign against the Bellak, was, to his joy, turned around to the other side and threw against the Uruses not his, but the hired cavalry of Khondjak, the son of Atrak. Khondjak was defeated, and the son of Sarychin, as though he was expecting it, immediately fled with his contingent and the escaped Khondjak to the Bulyar.

As soon as the Tarkhan appeared before the capital on a foamed horse and with the words about the defeat, the Suvarbashis immediately called to arms the militia and tied up the Kan. Nobody in the country did even not conceive to defend Anbal, and his favourites and the escaped the from popular wrath bilemcheys chose to ride off quietly to the Nur-Suvar and Bolgar.

My father recalled that the Khisam’s son Selim Chalmati, the Ulugbek of the Bolgar, sent to Otyak a secret message. In it he promised Djangi not to hand over the city to the Uruses and to open the gate only to him himself. Otyak, learning about the overthrow of Anbal, raced to the Bulyar and was immediately raised to the throne by Kurnay, who joined him at the Nukrat, and also by As, the son of Sarychin, by the head of the suvarchis Umar, and by the Tarkhan of the Tubdjak Khan Turgen.

Khan-Türyay, deciding that Otyak abandoned him, in a fit of extreme anger plundered the unreinforced Aka-Basar, Khwarezmian and Ibragim baliks of the Bolgar and proceeded to storm the citadel and the Baryndjar balik. Chalmati and the Baryndjarians, however, beat off the attack of the Balyns without much effort for the Uruses could not take the Bulgarian cities with their bad arms and the absence of any machinery.

Only when Otyak again came to the Bolgar, Khan-Türyay calmed down and gladly agreed to leave with the reduced in half army, after delivery to him of Anbal, his daughter Baygül, Arbat and his son of the Azan. The rumor, however, was that they were turned over by Otyak, who desired to get rid of the contenders. The fact that Chalmati, awfully grievous for the Balynians, serenely remained in the State, and that all captives were well taken care of, speak about it. Khisam became the first Balynian ulan or boyar, and Arbat became the commander-in-chief of the Moskha.

Against the will of Baygül, but with the blessing of Anbal, Khan-Türyay took her as a wife. The Bika, hotly in love with the native land, did not forgive the Balynian the trouncing of the Uchel, of the Bulgarian baliks and of her favourite manor where she was born. Chalmati also felt the same, and in reply to the demand to turn over the captured Uruses he gave them to the Balynian decapitated and with one Bulgarian boot on each corpse. At the Uruses only the Beks and boyars had boots, and everybody at once understood that the Emir reminded to the Balynian of his disgrace in the Kisan.

The new Kan immediately cancelled the increase of the taxes and froze the position of the sides in the Martüba. This calmed people at once. Retaliating to the kazanchis who were surrounding the Anbal’s throne, the Kan ordered them, headed by the ulan Saran, to relocate to the deserted parts of the Mardanian district Muhsha and to build the city of Muhsha and Saran.

Bellak was to receive for it a tribute from Muhsha, triple the size of the former tribute from the Burtasian Ars and Serbiyans. In the neighbourhood, on the Shir, were the possessions of the Kumanian Khan Chishma, the son of Bonyak, who was serving in the Baradj-Chishma during the Shamgun time, and who rode off to the Shir after the death of the Kan. He was reputed a brave warrior, and between him and the Mardanians was a respectful unwritten arrangement about non-attacking the possessions of each other. He has beaten Khondjak, who gained a doubtful glory of the worst robber in the Saklan, and since then went way around the upper flow of the Shir…

The Kan’s alliance with the Balynian lasted for not too long. The absolutism of Khan-Türyay displeased the boyars and the Kisanian Bek Khalib, the son of Ryshtauly. To overturn the Balynian, Khalib decided to clash him with the State and with his own son. He persuaded the ambitious son of Khan-Türyay, Myshdauly, to make a victorious attack on the State and thus receive the reasons for taking the throne. For the excuse of the attack served the Otyak’s order to restore the fortifications of the Uchel. ”Let us go in the winter”, told Khalib to Myshdauly. “The Kan left to the Kolyn, in this season the Bulgars do not expect an attack, and we will easily take rich spoils”.

The Kan really went against the Kolyn, the capital of the province Biysu, through the Uchel, for the local Tarkhan of Mer-Chura was outraged by the doubling of the tribute. Mer-Chura was secretly inspired by his father, the Urian Tarkhan Seberian Aley-bat, who anticipated the same. The brother of Aley-bat Akbalyk was the Tarkhan of the province Baygul, and he also stealthily supported the revolt. The fear of the Tamta’s Tarkhan Insan, and of Turgen prevented the brothers to act openly.

Myshdauly with Khalib drove into the limits of the State and crushed the large Misharian aul Altysh on the river Chuyl, and then proceeded to Deber. The Deberian subashis, angree at kazanchis, di not even blink, and with undisguised joy watched from the walls the fires in the ulanian estates.

Khalib remained at the Deber, as if deciding to take it, and Myshdauly set off to the Uchel, whose fortifications have not been completed even in half. The defenceless Akbikülians fled into the forest beforehand, so the Bek did not get anything. He returned to the Deber in extreme irritation and found out that Khalib has already escaped, and that the Bulgarian militia of Chalmati with two thousand kazanchis angry at the Uruses is nearing the city.
Kazanchis seized a Balynian wagon train and fell behind, giving the militia to pursue Myshdauly, who was wounded in the neck with a spear. But the townspeople were not good horsemen, and Myshdauly slipped out. However, his wound did not heal, it became inflamed, and eventually, the Bek died of it.

After that Khan-Türyay, to be cleared of the accusations of the friendship with the Kan, announced a preparation for a new attack on the State. It overflew the bowl of discontent with the Bek. Anbal, encouraged by Khalib, talk the boyars to install to the throne of the son of Khan-Türyay and Baygül-bi Djurgi, whom we called Lachyn Hisami. Baygül joined the plot with an eager soul, and at night she let the conspirators in the bedroom of her husband. She hid the sword of her hated husband beforehand, and he, unarmed when attacked, was killed by the Anbal’s axe.

The Kan was caught flat-footed by these events. Returning from the Kolyn with Mer-Chura and a thousand of his biys captured by Kurnay, Otyak encountered the Chishma’s raids. It is said that the rancorous Mukhshian kazanchis incited Chishma against the State, and let him pass through their district to the Martüba.

The first such raid the Kumans made during the Myshdauly’s raid, and distracted on themselves the Mardanians and the Misharian ak-chirmyshes. And among the Mishar Bulgars always were settling many Kumans, and therefore they are more than the Bulgars of the other provinces, similar to the Kumans… They were unable to protect all borders, and consequently the Kan transferred kursybai to the Mukhsha. The fighting capacity of the corps, however, fell strongly because of the insufficient salaries to buy the arms at a risen price, and Kurnay was obviously loosing to the more numerous Kumans. Khondjak secretly helped Chishma in hope of Kurnay’s weakening.

In one of raids the Kumans broke through to the Deber. Otyak came to the strongest fury, for the most part of the district already belonged to the State and the Kan, and disbanded the kursybai. For the freed assets he forged a new corps from the Insan’s Yarchlynian Tintyauses and sent him to the Mukhsha. The favorite junior wife of the Kan, the daughter of the Kisan Bek Khalib Bish-Ulbi, during that time talked her husband to also transfer there the capital of the state, to be closer to her father.

When Otyak arrived to the Mukhsha, there came a message about the death of Khan-Türyay. The Kan immediately sent Insan to the Balyn, and he besieged and burned the city of Kul-Asma. The Bek of the city, Michael, jumped out of it in his underwear and was taken prisoner, but was released on the order of Otyak, as the new Bek Syb-Bulat of the Balyn promised, for his release, to renew the payment of the Djirian tribute rescinded by Khan-Türyay.

While the pacified Kan was busy with the Mukhsha, Syb-Bulat caught the rioters and severely punished them. Anbal was drowned in a box, which was nailed with him still alive, and Baygül was tied to the crossbeam of the gate and shot from the bows.

Lachyn fled to the Kisan, which caused a collision between Balyn and Khalib. Otyak backed Khalib, for Syb-Bulat did not send the promised tribute, and Khalib went against the Moskha together with Insan. The Тарkhan, whose people were tired of the war, and whose masters were withdrawn to the Mukhsha, fought without any desire, and Arbat, in a foray from the city, crushed and captured Khalib. The son Urman of Khalib, friendly with Balyn out of fear of the State, immediately occupied the Kisan and talked Chishma into attacking the Mukhsha…

Unfortunately, the quick-tempered and light-headed Kan wrangled with Insan. Bish-Ulbi accused that the Tarkhan was guilty for the capture of her father, and the Kan in anger struck him with a whip. The Tintyauses, the last of whom would never yield a way even to ulans, were indignant and on their own left to the Deber. At that moment attacked the Kumans. It was in the 1178 AD.

Leaving 50 djuras to protect the city, the Kan began retreating. Taking advantage of the confusion, Bish-Ulbi fled to the Kisan with her two sons from the Kan, Khalib and Altynbek Djelalet-din. The Kan, coming to the river Deber, which later began to be called Züya, decided to take a rest. At the dawn to camp came Insan. He was embittered by not being allowed to pass to his home by the Bulgarian kazanchis, who suspected that he switched to side of Chishma.

One of the djuras of the Kan, seeing the Tintyauses, being half-awake took them for the Kumans and raised an alarm. And Insan took the Kan’s camp for the encampment of the kazanchis and immediately attacked it. 49 out of 50 djuras of the Kan were killed. Otyak himself jumped out from the tent and raced on a horse to the Deber. But in the river the Kan suddenly fell from a racer and sank. Only one of the djuras, whom the Kan sent earlier to the Bolgar to the located there Gabdulla, raced to the destination.

Chelbir immediately hastened to the Deber with 400 militiamen. Near the city he found Insan brawling with the kazanchis, and could barely separate the fighters. He could not establish the true culprit of the death of the Kan, for the Tarkhan said that he was retreating with the Kan and got lost in the forest before the Deber. In the place of the Kan’s camp, which began to be called Otyak Field, were found the Kumanian weapons of the Tintyauses. Insan hastened to declare that it testifies to the guilt of the Kumans, and Gabdulla could not reject its validity. Only before his death the Tarkhan told the truth to my father, to redeem his soul, and trusting firmly my father’s decency.

Fortunately for Insan, one of the Chishma’s contingents appeared at that time in front of the Deber, and Chelbir threw over it with all his fury. Three thousand Kypchaks were chopped up, and their heads piled in a heap. Especially zealous was Insan, afraid that his fidelity may be questioned by Gabdulla.

Chelbir nevertheless did not forgive the Tarkhan for the death of his father, and ordered him to reside permanently in the Deber district. But Insan was already glad that he avoided the worse…