Pechenegs or Patzinaks (Armenian: Badzinag, Bulgarian/Russian: Pechenegi (Печенеги), Greek: Patzinaki/Petsenegi (Πατζινάκοι/Πετσενέγοι) or less commonly Πατζινακίται, Hungarian: Besenyő, Latin: Расinасае, Old Turkish (assumed): *Beçenek, Turkish: Peçenekler) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking the Pecheneg language which belonged to the Turkic language family. For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Kazakh nomads in the steppes of the Russian Empire, ca. ... This article is about the various peoples speaking one of the Turkic languages. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Pecheneg language is the extinct Turkic language spoken by the Pechenegs in Eastern Europe, similar to Cuman. ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are traditionally considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family. ...

Origins and area

In Mahmud Kashgari's 11th-century work Divânü Lugâti't-Türk, the name Beçenek is given two meanings. The first is "a Turkish nation living around the country of the Rum", where "Rum" was used by the Turks to denote the Eastern Roman Empire. Kashgari's second definition of Beçenek is "a branch of Oghuz Turks"; he subsequently described the Oghuz as being formed of 22 branches, of which the 19th branch was named Beçenek. Max Vasmer derives this name from the Turkic word for "brother-in-law, relative" ("Bacanak" in modern Turkish). To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Byzantine Empire. ... The Oghuz Turks (also with various alternate spellings, including Oguz, OÄŸuz, Ouz, Okuz, Oufoi, Guozz, Ghuzz and Uz) are regarded as one of the major branches of Turkic peoples. ... Max Vasmer (1886 – 1962), German linguist. ...

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 and 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. (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. ... As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was the century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... 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 Don (Дон) is one of the major rivers of Russia. ... Map of the Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains (Russian: , Uralskiye gory) (also known as the Urals, the Riphean Mountains in Greco-Roman antiquity, and known as the Stone Belt) are a mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. ... For other uses, see Eurasia (disambiguation). ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields and mounts are wonderful, Motherland Location of Crimea (red) on the map of Ukraine. ...

According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, writing in c. 950, Patzinakia, the Pecheneg realm, stretched west as far as the Siret River (or even the Eastern Carpathian Mountains), and was four days distant from "Tourkias" (i.e. Hungary). Constantine and his mother Zoë. Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, the Purple-born (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ζ΄ Πορφυρογέννητος, Kōnstantinos VII Porphyrogennētos), (Constantinople, September 905 – November 9, 959 in Constantinople) was the son of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karbonopsina. ... 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. ... Satellite image of the Carpathians. ...

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)

In Armenian sources

In the Armenian chronicles of Matthew of Edessa Pechenegs are mentioned a couple of times. The first mention is in chapter 75, where it says that in the year 499 (according to the old Armenian calendar — years 1050–51 according to the Gregorian calendar) the Badzinag nation made a great destruction in many states of Rome, i.e. the Byzantine territories. The second is in chapter 103, which is about the Battle of Manzikert. In that chapter it is told that the allies of Rome, Padzunak and Uz (some branches of the Oghuz Turks) tribes which changed their sides at the peak of the battle and began fighting against the Byzantine forces, (side by side with the Seljuk Turks). In the 132nd chapter a war between Rome and the Padzinags is described and after the defeat of the Roman (Byzantine) Army, an unsuccessful siege of Constantinople by the Padzinags is mentioned. In that chapter, the Patzinags are described as an "all archer army". In chapter 299, the Armenian prince, Vasil, who was in the Roman Army, sent a platoon of Padzinags (they had settled in the city of Misis, around modern Adana, which is far away form the lands where Pechenegs were then mainly living) to the aid of the Christians. Matthew of Edessa was an Armenian historian of the 12th century born in the city of Edessa. ... The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world. ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Combatants Byzantine Empire Seljuk Turks Commanders Romanus IV #, Nikephoros Bryennios, Theodore Alyates, Andronikos Doukas Alp Arslan Strength ~ 20,000 [1] (40,000 initial) ~ 20,000 [2] - 70,000[1] Casualties ~ 8,000 [3] Unknown The Battle of Manzikert, or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Turkic forces... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... The Oghuz Turks (also with various alternate spellings, including Oguz, OÄŸuz, Ouz, Okuz, Oufoi, Guozz, Ghuzz and Uz) are regarded as one of the major branches of Turkic peoples. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Seljuk coat of arms was a double headed eagle The Seljuk Turks (also Seldjuk, Seldjuq, Seljuq; in modern Turkish Selçuklular; in Persian سلجوقيان SaljÅ«qiyān; in Arabic سلجوق SaljÅ«q, or السلاجقة al-Salājiqa) were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that ruled parts of... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ... Adana (Turkish: , Greek: ) (the ancient Antioch in Cilicia or Antioch on the Sarus) is the capital of Adana Province in Turkey. ...

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 Rus and the Magyars. This was an old Roman ploy (divide and rule) continued by their Byzantine successors — playing off one enemy tribe against another. Byzantine Empire at its greatest extent c. ... Rus’ (????, ) was a medieval East Slavic nation, which, according to the most popular (but by no means only) theory, may have taken its name from a ruling warrior class, possibly with Scandinavian roots. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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 was 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. This article is about the various peoples speaking one of the Turkic languages. ... The Oghuz Turks (also with various alternate spellings, including Oguz, Oğuz, Ouz, Okuz, Oufoi, Guozz, Ghuzz and Uz) are regarded as one of the major branches of 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 Samanids (875-999) (in Persian: Samanian) were a Persian dynasty in Central Asia and eastern Iran, named after its founder Saman Khoda. ... The Khazars (Hebrew Kuzari כוזרי Kuzarim כוזרים; Turkish Hazar Hazarlar; Russian Хазарин Хазары; Tatar sing Xäzär Xäzärlär; Crimean Tatar: ; Greek Χαζάροι/Χάζαροι; Persianخزر khazar; Latin Gazari or Cosri) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people from Central Asia, many of whom converted to Judaism. ... Cuman, also called Polovtsy, Polovtsian, or the Anglicized Polovzian (Russian: , Ukrainian: , Bulgarian: , Romanian: , Hungarian: ), is a Western European exonym for the western Kipchaks. ... 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 Bulgarians went to war against Byzantium. Early in 895, Emperor Leo VI the Wise 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. ... Byzantium (Greek: Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city, which, according to legend, was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas (Βύζας or Βύζαντας in Greek). ... 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 ... This follis by Leo VI bears the Byzantine Emperors official title, BASILEVS ROMEON, Emperor of the Romans; translation of text: Leo, by the grace of God, King of Romans Leo VI the Wise or the Philosopher (Greek: Λέων ΣΤ΄, Leōn VI, Armenian: [1]), (September 19, 866 – May 11, 912) was Byzantine... 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 out 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 a 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. ... This article is about the Danube River. ... This article is about Transdanubia, the region in Hungary. ... The Pannonian Plain is a large plain in Central Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea (see below) dried out. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

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 the lands of Rus, which sometimes escalated into full-scale wars (like the 920 war on the Pechenegs by Igor of Kiev reported in the Primary Chronicle), but there were also temporary military alliances (e.g. 943 Byzantine campaign by Igor).^[1] In 968, the Pechenegs attacked and then besieged the city of Kiev. 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),members of the Warsaw pact (light orange), and other former Communist regimes not aligned with Moscow (lightest 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... Events The golden age of the Empire of Ghana began in Africa. ... Burial of Igor the Old, by Heinrich Semiradski (1845-1902). ... The Primary Chronicle (Old-Slavonic: Повсть времяньныхъ лтъ; Russian: Повесть временных лет, Povest vremennykh let; Ukrainian: Повість времмених літ, Povist vremennykh lit; often translated into English as Tale of Bygone Years), is a history of the Ancient Rus from around 850 to 1110 originally compiled in Kiev about 1113. ... 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. ... Andrey Ivanov, The Exploit of a Kievan Boy (1810). ...

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 Primary Chronicle, the Pecheneg Khan Kurya 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), who founded the town of Pereyaslav upon the site of his victory over the Pechenegs^[2], but were followed by the defeat of the Pechenegs during the reign of Yaroslav I the Wise (1037). Shortly afterwards, the decimated Pechenegs were replaced in the Pontic steppe by another nomadic Turkic people — the Cumans or Polovtsy. 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. ... Khan (sometimes spelled as Xan, Han, Ke-Han) is a title. ... Kurya was the name of a Pecheneg khan who allied with Svyatoslav I of Kiev in his campaigns in the Balkans. ... Chalice For other uses, see 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 (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , 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... Saint Vladimir Svyatoslavich the Great (c. ... Events Construction of the Al-Hakim Mosque begins in Cairo. ... Events (Erik Segersäll) is succeeded by (Olof Skötkonung), the first baptized ruler of Sweden. ... Pereyaslav is the former name of towns in Ukraine and Russia: Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine. ... Mikhail Gerasimovs reconstruction of Yaroslavs appearance, based on his examination of Yaroslavs skull Yaroslav I the Wise (c. ... // Events Construction of the church of Saint Sophia Cathedral is started in Kyiv. ... The Pontic steppe refers to the steppelands to the north of the Black Sea and on its eastern side as far as the Caspian Sea. ... This article is about the various peoples speaking one of the Turkic languages. ... Cuman, also called Polovtsy, Polovtsian, or the Anglicized Polovzian (Russian: , Ukrainian: , Bulgarian: , Romanian: , Hungarian: ), is a Western European exonym for the western Kipchaks. ... 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, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus, Khazaria and the Magyars, the Pechenegs were annihilated as an independent force at the Battle of Levounion by a combined Byzantine and Cuman army under Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in 1091. Attacked again in 1094 by the Cumans, many Pechenegs were slain or absorbed. They were again defeated by the Byzantines at the Battle of Beroia in 1122, on the territory of modern day Bulgaria. 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 their neighbors - Bulgarians, Magyars and Gagauz. Others, survived within the ranks of the pastoral nomadic tribes of the Balkan Highlands as Yuruks adopting Islam. 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... Combatants Byzantines, supported by Cumans, Vlachs, Bulgars and Frankish and Flemish mercenaries. ... 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. ... Emperor Alexios I Komnenos Emperor Alexios I Komnenos depicted in a mosaic in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople Alexios I Komnenos or Alexius I Comnenus (Greek: ; Latin: ) (1048 – August 15, 1118), Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), was the son of John Komnenos and Anna Dalassena and the nephew of Isaac I... Henry, son of William I attempted a coup against his brothers but failed to seize the English throne. ... // May - El Cid completes his conquest of Valencia, Spain, and begins his rule of Valencia. ... Cuman, also called Polovtsy, Polovtsian, or the Anglicized Polovzian (Russian: , Ukrainian: , Bulgarian: , Romanian: , Hungarian: ), is a Western European exonym for the western Kipchaks. ... Combatants Byzantines Pechenegs Commanders John II Komnenos Strength 20,000 men 30,000 men The Battle of Beroia (modern Stara Zagora) was fought between the Pechenegs and Emperor John II Komnenos of the Byzantine Empire in the year 1122 in what is now Bulgaria, and resulted in the disappearance of... Events Resolution of Investiture Controversy in the Concordat of Worms Pierre Abélard writes Sic et Non Births Ben Lancaster, Gradutate, Dynamite dancer. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Gagauz are a Turkic people minority of southern Moldova (in Gagauzia) and of southwestern Ukraine (in Budjak) that numbers around 250,000. ... Main areas inhabited by Yörük tribes in Anatolia The Yörük are a Turkic-speaking people primarily inhabiting the mountains of the southeast European Balkan peninsula and Anatolia. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ...

Further reading

• Pálóczi-Horváth, A. (1989). Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians: Steppe peoples in medieval Hungary. Hereditas. Budapest: Kultúra [distributor]. ISBN 963132740X
• Pritsak, O. (1976). The Pečenegs: a case of social and economic transformation. Lisse, Netherlands: The Peter de Ridder Press.

Notes

1. ^ Ibn Haukal describes the Pechenegs as the long-standing allies of the Rus, whom they invariably accompanied during the 10th-century Caspian expeditions.
2. ^ The chronicler explains the town's name, derived from the Slavic word for "retake", by the fact that Vladimir "retook" the military glory from the Pechenegs.

10th century map of the World by Ibn Hawqal. ... Rus’ (Русь, ) was a medieval East Slavic nation, which, according to the most popular but by no means the only theory, took its name from its ruling warrior class with Scandinavian roots. ... The Caspian expeditions of the Rus were several raids undertaken by the Rus on the lands located on the shores of the Caspian Sea between 864 and 1041. ...

External links

• www.patzinakia.ro
• The Primary Chronicle