Argyn Explained

Group:Argyn
Native Name:Арғын
Native Name Lang:kk
Flag:Argyn tamga.svg
Flag Caption:Tamga used by the Argyn[1]
Regions:Akmola, Karaganda, Kostanay, North Kazakhstan, and Pavlodar Regions
Languages:Kazakh
Related Groups:Middle jüz

The Argyn (Арғын|Arğyn) tribe (or clan) is a constituent of the Kazakh ethnicity. The Argyn are a component of the Orta jüz (Орта жүз; "Middle Horde" or "Middle Hundred"). Kazakhs historically consisted of three tribal federations: the Great jüz (or Senior jüz), Middle jüz, and Little jüz (or Junior jüz). Karakhanid scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari glossed Arghu as "ravine between two mountains", because the Arghu country was located between Tiraz and Balasagun.[2]

Origin

Argyns are of mixed origin. A historical bilingual, yet steadily Turkicizing, people, Basmyls,[3] [4] likely contributed to the ethnogenesis of Argyns because both Basmyls and Argyns occupied roughly the same geographic location,[5] in Beiting Protectorate, where Basmyls made their first recorded appearance[6] [7] and which is now in western China, and still home to a Kazakh minority. Kara-Khanid scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari wrote that Basmyls spoke their own language besides Turkic.[4]

"They are handsomer men than the other natives of the country, and having more ability, they come to have authority; and they are also capital merchants." Kashgari mentioned an urban Argu people who spoke Middle Turkic with "a certain slurring (rikka)", like people of Sogdak and Kenchek;[8] Golden proposes that the Arghu were Iranian speakers undergoing Turkicization.[9]

A 2013 study on Argyns' genetics identifies twenty Y-chromosome DNA haplogroups: of these, G1a-P20 constitutes 71% of 2186 samples; R1a*-M198(xM458) 6%, C3c-M48 5%, C3* - M217(xM48) 3%; and other haplogroups represent less than three percent. The authors noted that "Tribe Argyn took on graph an isolated position, demonstrating the absence of genetic links with other Kazakh tribes."[10]

Etymology

The name of the Argyns probably corresponds to that of the "Argons" mentioned by Marco Polo in a country called "Tenduc" (around modern-day Hohhot) during the 13th century.[11] Polo reported that this clan who had "sprung from two different races: to wit, of the race of the Idolaters of Tenduc and ... the worshippers of Mahommet.

See also

Notes and References

  1. S. Kudayberdy-Uly, "Family tree of Turks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs and their Khan dynasties", Alma-Ata, Dastan, 1990.
  2. Maħmūd al-Kašğari. Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk. Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. Series: Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. (1982). "Part I". p. 151
  3. Golden, Peter B. An Introduction to the History of Turkic peoples (1992). p 142-143
  4. Maħmūd al-Kašğari. "Dīwān Luğāt al-Turk". Edited & translated by Robert Dankoff in collaboration with James Kelly. In Sources of Oriental Languages and Literature. Part I. (1982). p. 82-83
  5. Gumilyov, L. Searches for an Imaginary Kingdom: The trefoil of the Bird's Eye View' Ch. 5: The Shattered Silence (961-1100)
  6. Tongdian vol. 200 (in Chinese)
  7. [Zizhi Tongjian]
  8. Kashgari. Part I. p. 83
  9. Golden, P.B. An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples. Series: Turcologica 9. p. 164
  10. Zhabagin, M. et al. "J16.78 - The gene pool of Argyn in the context of generic structure of Kazakhs according to data on SNP-Y-Chromosome markers." presented at European Human Genetics Conference 2013. Paris, France. (2013)