Nogais

The Nogai ( Nogai Ногъай / NOGAJ, Ногъайлар / Noġajlar; Russian Ногайцы / Nogajzy ) are a Turkic ethnic group in the Caucasus region. They are a people of the western Turkish Kipchak subgroup.

The census in Russia 2010 determined for the whole of Russia 103.660 Nogai, of which 40,407 in the Russian republic of Dagestan, above all in Nogay district, 22,006 in the Stavropol region and 15 654 in the Republic of Karachay -Cherkessia, but only 3,444 in Chechnya, which is about of half the level of 1989 equivalent.

Alternative names

For the ethnic group of the Nogai in German is " Noghaier " common. Earlier descriptions are " Karatataren " or " Black Tatars ", " Nogai Tatars ", " Mountain Tatars " or just " Tatars ". In Turkish, the term " Nogays Türkleri " ( Nogays Turks ) is in use.

Naming and ethnogenesis

The popular name of " Nogai " is derived from a descendant of Genghis Khan. Nogai Khan seceded in 1260 with various Tatar regional strains of the Golden Horde from and built from 1280 an autonomous khanate. " Nogai " comes from the Mongolian word Нохой / Nochoj (dog) and was from may thus also a possible Turkic term for "gypsy " or for " nomad".

The Nogai today generally considered the descendants of Mongols and Kipchak nations. They were joined by numerous other ethnic groups that have been assimilated by the later Nogaiern.

Religion

The religion after the Nogai are predominantly Sunni Muslims, there is next to the clan of Karaagatsch a small Shia minority.

Settlement area

Russia and Europe

The Nogai today live primarily in southern Russia. Your Russian main settlement area forms the northern Caucasus.

The majority of Russian Nogaier lives mainly in the steppe regions of the Northern Caucasus. Their settlement area in Dagestan is referred to by them as " Nogai Steppe ". Most important rivers of the Nogay steppe dwellers are the upper Kuban and especially the Terek and the lower Volga near Astrakhan. There are now living around 90,000 Nogai. They are still there subjected to a high assimilation on the part of the more populous neighboring peoples.

Nogaische minorities are also found outside Russia. For example, in Ukraine, where around 200,000 Nogais in the areas Budschak, Jedisan and Taurien live. But even in the Dobruja live a few thousand Romanian Nogaier that there are officially called " Tatars " summed. In Romania, the Nogai settle mainly in the regions around the villages Kogolniceau, Kocali, Vala Dacilor and Kubadin. Nogaische minorities also live over in Lithuania, Poland and Bulgaria. An uncertain number of Nogai also lives in Western Europe as an ethnic minority. But there they are not covered by the respective countries according to their nationality, but according to the nationality. So most of them were then officially summed as " Russians."

Turkey

In Turkey, some are derived from more than 1 million people from Nogaiern. Their settlement area is distributed to the provinces Ceyhan / Adana, Eskisehir and Ankara. Furthermore, Tokat, Konya and Istanbul. The nogaischstämmigen Turks, in general, allocated there since 1965, the Turkish state people, trying in Turkey continue to maintain their own language as well as the old traditions such as the nogaische kitchen.

Subgroups

In the various settlement areas were formed in the course of history, five sub- groups:

• The Kuban Nogais north of the Azov Sea
• The Kara Nogai in Dagestan
• The Bujak (or Bicak ), which were originally located between the Danube and Dniester
• Jedsan (or Cedsan ), originally between the Dniester and Bug (hence the area was also Jedisan )
• Jamboyluk, originally between the bow and Crimea
• Jedischkul, originally north of the Crimea

The Nogai were sometimes divided only into three territorial groups:

• Atschikulak - Nogai ( Central Nogaier )
• Kara Nogai ( Black Nogai - )
• Ak - Nogai ( White Nogaier )

This subdivision applies today but mostly deprecated and is hardly ever used.

History

In 1260, the ancestors of today's Nogaier of the Golden Horde split off and founded around 1280, the independent Khanate of the Nogai Horde. Thus, they were at times the rulers of the Pontic steppe region to the Dobrudja. Later they were vassals of the Mongol Khanate of Astrakhan, and after it has been subjected in 1556 by Russia, she joined the Crimean Khanate in, for which they took over the northern border protection. The Nogai had long been a nomadic tradition and moved their herds to grazing grounds after. In addition, however, they operated sporadically growing grain. Nogaier contributed to the spread of Islam in Ukraine. However, the Nogai of Russian expansion towards the Black Sea and Caucasus had little to counter. Did the constant forays of the Nogai initially prevents penetration of Slavic settlers who were displaced to the south in 1783 after the victory of Russia over the Crimean Khanate and the annexation of those areas. Your tent settlements were now often inserted from the Russians set fire to their property confiscated, so most Nogaier in the territory of the Circassians at the foot of the Caucasus took refuge or immigrated to the Ottoman Empire. So settled mostly members of Bujak and Jedsan ( around 7,000 people ) in the region of Dobruja, but of which many later moved on to Anatolia. However, the largest exodus took place around the year 1859, when about 50,000 of the 70,000 living to Stavropol and on the Kuban Nogais the Tsarist empire left direction Ottoman Empire. They were joined also Nogai, who lived in the Crimea and in Ukraine. 1860 also attracted around 300,000 Crimean Tatars, with which the Nogai were traditionally allied to the Ottoman Empire. Other Nogaier attracted, together with Circassians, directly from the Caucasus to Turkey.

In the Soviet period, the Nogai had no status as a recognized minority nation or an appropriately demarcated territory, as was the case with other Caucasus peoples. This training its own national identity was more difficult.