Kalmaks in the Majmu al-Tawarikh: Characterizing the Term and Image

Introduction. The study analyzes the meaning and use of the term ‘Kalmak’ in the sixteenth-century Majmu al-Tawarikh. Goals. The paper seeks to identify the semantic, ideological, and historical-cultural functions of the term. To facilitate this, the work shall spot certain contexts in which the term appears in the Majmu al-Tawarikh, determine its meaning as a marker of religious otherness, and analyze the religious-political dichotomy between Muslims and ‘Kalmaks’ within the Uluses of Jochi and Chagatai. Materials and methods. The article focuses on published Kyrgyz and Russian translations of the chronicle. In addition, the reliability of identified messages has been verified through comparative insights into a number of writings, such as the Qara Tawarikh, Tarikh-i Ḥamidi, Tarikh-i Rashidi, Zafarnama, Materials in the History of the Golden Horde (Collections from Persian Writings), History of Kazakhstan from Persian Sources, as well as the Nogai and Kazakh heroic epics ‘Edige’, ‘Forty Batyrs of Crimea’, and Kazakh legends. The study is based on the principles of historicism and systemic analysis, and employs the comparative historical and semantic methods. Results. It has been established that the term ‘Kalmak’ in the Majmu al-Tawarikh bears a predominantly ideological connotation, and is used to designate the image of ‘infidels’ and ‘enemies’ — in opposition to Muslims — regardless of ethnic or religious self-identities of designated groups. The analysis of sources makes it possible to assert that the term ‘Kalmak’ was taking shape within the Golden Horde under Özbeg Khan, and initially was used to nominate nomadic groups who retained traditional beliefs and rejected Islam. In this context, it is particularly important to distinguish between the concept of ‘Kalmak’ as religious-ideological category — and its later use as ethnonym for the Oirat that would be associated with the term in much later periods. In the late fourteenth century, the term ‘Kalmak’ had already become widespread enough to move beyond the Golden Horde’s borders as is evidenced, in particular, by its use in the Zafarnama. Conclusions. In the examined chronicle, the term ‘Kalmak’ had no strictly ethnic connotation but rather reflected the religious and political polarization that had developed in the region throughout the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries.

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