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Kypchaks (also Kipchaks, Qipchaqs) are an ancient Turkic people, first mentioned in historical chronicles of Central Asia in the 1st millennium BC. The western Kypchaks were also named Kuman, Kun and Polovtsian (pl. Polovtsy). Over time they migrated from western Mongolia towards eastern Europe. The Golden Horde was also named Kipchak Khanate. The first dynasty of Mamelukes in Egypt were soldiers of Cuman or Kipchak origin from Crimea, the most prominent example being sultan Baybars, born in Solhat, Crimea. They arrived in the steppes from the northern shore of the Black Sea during the 12th century, under the pressure of the Mongols. They were pushed out of Inner Mongolia into Khorasan, the Desht'i Kipchak (the Kumans' plains) and into Pannonia. Finally, they disapeared, assimilated by the indigenous peoples. The modern Northwestern Turkic languages are named after the Kipchaks. Some of the descendents of the Kipchaks are now known as Tatars, Crimean Tatars, Karachays, Karaims, Kumyks. Kypchak is the name of a Kazakh tribe within modern-day Kazakhstan. Kypchak is also the name of a village in the Crimean Peninsula. The region of Kypchakia spanning a large area between central Asia and the Caucasus is named after the Kypchaks. The word "kypchak" is named in traditional Oghuz Khan Epics.
See Also External links - Codex Cumanicus (http://www.ku.edu/carrie/texts/carrie_books/paksoy-2/cam2.html)
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