The Pechenegs or Patzinaks (in Hungarian: Besenyők, Russian: Печенеги, Ukrainian: Печеніги ) were a semi-nomadic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking a Turkic language. Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Turkic languages are a group of closely related languages that are spoken by a variety of people distributed across a vast area from Eastern Europe to Siberia and Western China. ...

Origins and Area

According to one theory, the Pechenegs originated from the Wusun people of Central Asia, recorded in Chinese chronicles in the early centuries of the modern era. Whatever the truth of this, the Pechenegs emerge in the historical records only in the 8th and 9th centuries, inhabiting the region between the lower Volga, the Don, and the Ural Mountains. By the 9th-10th centuries AD they controlled much of the steppes of southwestern Eurasia and the Crimean Peninsula. Although an important factor in the region at the time, like most nomadic tribes their concept of statecraft failed to go beyond random attacks on neighbours and spells as mercenaries for other powers. Wusun (烏孫) --- information about this historic people can be found in Chinese historical annals. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Modern-Era of NASCAR is a dividing line in NASCARs history. ... (7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. ... This earthenware dish was made in 9th century Iraq. ... For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ... The term Don may refer to; Don, Donald Ducks nickname. ... Map of Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains (Russian: Уральские горы = Урал) also known simply as the Urals and as the Riphean Mountains in Greco-Roman antiquity, is a mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. ... African-Eurasian aspect of Earth Eurasia is the landmass composed of the continents of Europe and Asia. ... The Crimea /kraɪˈmia/ is a peninsula and an autonomous republic of Ukraine on the northern coast of the Black Sea. ...

According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus writing in c.950, Patzinakia - that is the Pecheneg realm - streched east as far as the Siret river (or even the Eastern Carpathians), and was four days distant from "Tourkias" (i.e. Hungary). Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos (the Purple-born) ( 905 – November 9, 959) was the son of Byzantine emperor Leo VI and nephew of Alexander III. He earned his nickname as the legitimate (or more accurately legitimized) son of Leo, as opposed to the others who claimed the throne during his lifetime. ... The Siret River is a river that rises from the Carpathians in the Northern Bukovina region of the Ukraine, flows southward into Romania for 470 km before it joins Danube. ... This is about the terrestrial mountain range. ...

The whole of Patzinakia is divided into eight provinces with the same number of great princes. The provinces are these: the name of the first province is Irtim; of the second, Tzour; of the third, Gyla; of the fourth, Koulpei; of the fifth, Charaboi; of the sixth, Talmat; of the seventh, Chopon; of the eighth, Tzopon. At the time at which the Pechenegs were expelled from their country, their princes were, in the province of Irtim, Baitzas; in Tzour, Konel; in Gyla, Kourkoutai; in Koulpei, Ipaos; in Charaboi, Kaidoum; in the province of Talmat, Kostas; in Chopon, Giazis; in the province of Tzopon, Batas."

(Constantine Porphyrogenitus, De Administrando Imperio, c. 950, translation by R.J.H. Jenkins)

Alliance with Byzantium

In the 9th century, the Byzantines became allied with the Pechenegs, using them to fend off other, more dangerous tribes such as the Varangian Rus and the Magyars. This was an old Roman ploy (divide and rule) continued by their Byzantines successors – playing off one enemy tribe against another. The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Varangians or Variags were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from Sweden. ... Magyars are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. ...

The Uzes, another Turkic steppe people, eventually expelled the Pechenegs from their homeland; in the process, they also seized most of their livestock and other goods. An alliance of the Oghuz, Kimeks and Karluks were also pressing the Pechenegs, but another group, the Samanids, defeated that alliance. Driven further west by the Khazars and Cumans by 889, the Pechenegs in turn drove the Magyars west of the Dnieper River by 892. Turkic peoples are Northern and Central Eurasian peoples who speak languages belonging to the Turkic family, and who, in varying degrees, share certain cultural and historical traits. ... For all Turkic groupings and Turkic history, see Turkic peoples. ... Kmek or Kimak was a nomadic tribe lived in modern Astrakhan Oblast of Russia in 9th-13th century. ... The Qarluq (Karluk) were originally a nomadic turkic tribe based on the transoxania steppes (roughly east and south of the Aral Sea) in Central Asia. ... The famous Samanid mausoleum of Ismail of Samanid in Bukhara. ... The site of the Khazar fortress at Sarkel. ... Cumans, also called as Polovtsy, (Russian Половцы, from old Slavic for pale yellowish) was the European name for the Western Kipchaks, a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... Events End of Strathclyde as a fully independent kingdom. ... This article is about the river. ... Events Poppo of Thuringia, count of the march in Thuringia,is deposed by the German Carolingian king Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia invades Great Moravia Duke Guido of Spoleto crowned Roman Emperor in April The former Silla general Gyeonhwon attacks the city of Gwangju and declares himself king. ...

In 894, the Bulgars went to war against Byzantium. Early in 895, Emperor Leo Grammaticus invoked the help of the Magyars, who sent an army under a commander named Levente into Bulgaria. Levente conducted a brilliant campaign and invaded deep into Bulgaria, while the Byzantine army entered Bulgaria from the south. Caught in a vice of Magyar and Byzantine forces, Tsar Simeon I realised he could not fight a war on two fronts, and quickly concluded an armistice with the Byzantine Empire. Births Deaths Events Northumbrians and East Angles swear allegiance to Alfred the Great. ... Bulgars (also Bolgars or proto-Bulgarians) - a people of Central Asia, probably originally Pamirian, who became Turkified and later Slavicized over time. ... Byzantium was an ancient Greek city-state, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas. ... Events Bohemia breaks away from Great Moravia Arnulf of Carinthia undertakes his second Italian campaign Approximate date of composition of the Musica enchiriadis, the beginnings of western polyphonic music Births Athelstan of England Erik Bloodaxe, king of Norway 933-935 (+954) Deaths Categories: 895 ... Leo VI the Wise (September 19, 866 – May 11, 912) was Byzantine emperor from 886 to 912. ... The Byzantine Army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine Navy. ... Tsar Simeon the Great (ruled 893-May 27, 927) was 27 when he took the throne of Bulgaria from his brother Vladimir, the son of Prince Boris, who was deposed and blinded by his own father after his attempt to return Bulgaria to paganism. ...

Tsar Simeon also employed the Pechenegs to help fend off the Magyars. The Pechenegs were so successful that they drove the Magyars remaining in Etelköz and the Pontic steppes, forcing them westward up the lower Danube, Transdanubia and towards the Pannonian plain, where they later founded the Hungarian state. The Etelköz or Atelkuzu was an area settled by the Magyars from the mid-9th century to circa 895 CE when they were driven west by the Pechenegs and occupied the Carpathian Basin. ... Pontic Steppes roughly corresponds to southern Ukraine and is often thought to extend from the Mouth of the Danube, or Dobrugea, to the Kuban River in southern Russia. ... The Danube (Donau in German; Dunaj in Slovak; Duna in Hungarian; Dunav in Croatian; Дунав/Dunav in Serbian; Дунав in Bulgarian; Dunăre in Romanian; Дунай (Dunay) in Ukrainian; Danuvius in Latin) is Europes second-longest river (after the Volga). ... This article is about Transdanubia, the region in Hungary. ... The Pannonian plain is a large plain in central/south-eastern Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea (see below) dried out. ... ...

History and Decline

Eastern Europe, showing the area of main Pecheneg settlement, c.1015.

From the 9th century AD, the Pechenegs started an uneasy relationship with Kievan Rus. For more than two centuries they launched random raids into Rus lands, which sometimes escalated into full-scale wars (like the 920 war on the Pechenegs by Igor of Kiev reported in Nestor's Chronicle), but there were also temporary military alliances (e.g. 943 Byzantine campaign by Igor). In 968, the Pechenegs attacked and then besieged the city of Kiev. Part of them joined the Prince of Kiev Sviatoslav I in his Byzantine campaign of 970-971, though eventually the Pechenegs ambushed and killed the Kievan prince in 972, and according to the Chronicle of Bygone Years, the Pecheneg Khan made a chalice from his skull - a traditional steppe nomad custom. The fortunes of the Rus-versus-Pecheneg confrontation swung during the reign of Vladimir I of Kiev (990-995) but were followed by the defeat of the Pechenegs after the reign of Yaroslav I the Wise (1037). Shortly afterwards, the Pechenegs were replaced in the territories surrounding Kievan Rus by another Steppe people - the Cumans or Polovtsy. Image File history File links Khazarfall1. ... Image File history File links Khazarfall1. ... Pre-1989 division between the West (grey) and Eastern Bloc (orange) superimposed on current national boundaries: Russia (dark orange), other countries of the former USSR (medium orange) and other former communist regimes (light orange). ... Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Ру́сь, Kievskaya Rus in Russian; Київська Русь, Kyivs’ka Rus’ in Ukrainian) was the early, mostly East Slavic¹ state dominated by the city of Kiev (ru: Ки́ев, Kiev; uk: Ки́їв, Kyiv), from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ... Events The golden age of the Empire of Ghana began in Africa. ... Burial of Igor the Old, by Heinrich Semiradski (1845-1902). ... Nestor (c. ... Events King Constantin II of Scotland retires and becomes a monk, succeeded by his cousin Malcolm I of Scotland Births Deaths Harald I of Norway Categories: 943 ... Events Births Emperor Kazan of Japan Ethelred II of England Romanus Argyrus, later Romanus III of the Eastern Roman Empire. ... A monument to St. ... Sviatoslav I, Prince of Kiev (c. ... Events Major volcano eruption in Mashu Japan Devastating decade long famine begins in France Byzantine Emperor John I successfully defends the Eastern Roman Empire from massive barbarian invasion Construction completed on Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, worlds oldest Islamic university Births Leif Ericson, Norse explorer Seyyed Razi, important Muslim... Events Births Deaths Culen of Scotland Categories: 971 ... Events Otto II marries Theophanu, Byzantine princess. ... The Russian Primary Chronicle (Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest vremennykh let, which is often translated in English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the early East Slavic state, Kievan Rus, from around 850 to 1110. ... Khan (sometimes spelled as xan, han, Polish chan) is a title meaning ruler in Mongolian and Turkish. ... Russian chalice A chalice (from Latin calix, cup) is a goblet intended to hold drink. ... A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (from Russian step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are... Detail of the Millennium of Russia monument in Novgorod (1862) representing St Vladimir and his family. ... Events Construction of the Al-Hakim Mosque begins in Cairo. ... Events (Erik Segersäll) is succeeded by (Olof Skötkonung), the first baptized ruler of Sweden. ... Yaroslav I the Wise (978?-1054) (Christian name: Yury, or George) was thrice prince of Novgorod and Kiev, uniting the two principalities for a time under his rule. ... // Events Construction of the church of Saint Sophia Cathedral is started in Kyiv. ... The Cumans, also known as Polovtsy (Slavic for yellowish) were a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... The Cumans, also known as Polovtsy (Slavic for yellowish) were a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ...

After centuries of fighting involving all their neighbours - the Byzantine Empire, the Bulgars, Kievan Rus, Khazaria and the Magyars, the Pechenegs were finally routed at Levounion by a combined Byzantine and Cuman army in 1061. Attacked again in 1064 by the Cumans, many Pechenegs were slain or absorbed. After the siege of Constantinople in 1091, the Pechenegs were virtually annihilated by Emperor Alexius I. For some time, significant communities of Pechenegs still remained in Hungary, but finally the Pechenegs ceased to be a distinct people and were assimilated into neighboring peoples such as the Bulgars, Magyars and Gagauz. The Cumans, also known as Polovtsy (Slavic for yellowish) were a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... Events Normans conquer Messina in Sicily Pope Alexander II elected The building of the Speyer Cathedral in Speyer, Germany, had begun to be built. ... Events Sunset Crater Volcano first erupts. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Events Henry, son of William I attempted a coup against his brothers but failed to seize the English throne. ... Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus Alexius I (1048–August 15, 1118), Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), was the third son of John Comnenus, the nephew of Isaac I Comnenus (emperor 1057–1059). ... Bulgars (also Bolgars or proto-Bulgarians) - a people of Central Asia, probably originally Pamirian, who became Turkified and later Slavicized over time. ... Magyars are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. ... The Gagauz are a Turkic people minority of southern Moldova (in Gagauzia) and of southwestern Ukraine (in Budjak) that numbers around 250,000. ...

See also

• Cumans
• Khazars
• Kipchak

Cumans, also called as Polovtsy, (Russian Половцы, from old Slavic for pale yellowish) was the European name for the Western Kipchaks, a nomadic West Turkic tribe living on the north of the Black Sea along the Volga. ... The site of the Khazar fortress at Sarkel. ... Kipchaks (also Kypchaks, Qipchaqs) are an ancient Turkic people, first mentioned in the historical chronicles of Central Asia in the 1st millennium BC. Their language was also known as Kipchak. ...

External links

• www.patzinakia.ro
• The Chronicle of the Bygone years