History of kyrgyzstan Fall 2011 Questions for the State Exam

1. What is History? Time Periods and Historical Sources on the History of Kyrgyzstan.

What is History? The Word History originated from the Greek Word “Historia” which means “inquiry, knowledge acquired by investigation” and has entered the English language in 1390, meaning “relation of incidents, story.” In the late 15^th century this word received the meaning “record of past events.” Sir George Clark believes hat knowledge of the past has come down through one or more human minds, has been “processed” by them and therefore cannot be impersonal. It is affected by the person, it has the personal judgments and points of view. One is as good as another, so there is no “objective” historical truth and cannot ever be. Therefore, history is interpretation. When we try to answer the question of “what is history,” consciously or unconsciously we reflect our own position in time. History is a process of selection. The documents don’t tell us what happened, but only what a historian thought what happened or wanted others to think what happened or what he wanted himself to think it happened. As a result, facts and docs alone don’t constitute a history, they provide in themselves no ready made answer to the question of what is history. Other disciplines help in historical research. The interaction of the disciplines with historical discipline helps to more deeply understand historical processes. For example, chronology determines the actual sequence of past events; paleography studies the ancient forms of writing (and the deciphers them); numismatics studies the collection of coins and money, epigraphy learns the ancient writings on rocks, metals, wood and other items, genealogy investigates ancestry, heraldry studies the symbols of states, people and cities, topology learns the geographical names and etc. Various disciplines interact; aid each other to learn their subjects better.

Definition: History- a branch of knowledge that records and analyzes past events; a usually chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events; The study of the past or the product of our attempts to understand the past, rather than the past itself.

Approaches to history:

Formation (Marxist) approach- primitive, slaveholding system, feudalism, capitalism, and socialism

Civilization approach- 13 civilizations of Danilevsky, 13 civilizations of Spengler, 26 civilizations of Toynbee)

Periods of Kyrgyzstani history

1. Stone and Bronze Ages (800000 – 1000 BC): first stone tools found on the territory of Kyrgyzstan, the burial of Neanderthal girl, two cultures of Bronze age;

2. Iron Age (1000 BC – 6th century): Sakas and Usuni civilizations, the opening of the Great Silk Road;

3. The Middle Ages (6-14th centuries): the Turkic dynasties – the Western Turks, Turgesh, Karluks, and Karakhanids, Yenisei Kyrgyzs, the formation of common Turkic language and culture, flourishing of Turkic trade along the Silk Road and establishment of handicraft centers: Suyab, Balasagun, Uzgen;

4. Mongolian Rule (13-16th centuries): Conquest of Central Asia by Mongolians and establishment of Chingizid and Timurid dynasties in Central Asia (Chaghatai, Haydu, Mogolistan). The decay of urban centers: Bukhara, Samarkand, Balasagun, Uzgen

5. The formation of the Kyrgyz ethnic group in the Tien-Shan Mountains (15-16th centuries): local, Central Asian and South Siberian roots of the Kyrgyz formation

6. Kyrgyz ethnic consolidation (17-19th centuries): Kyrgyz fighting against states of Dzhungharia (Kalmyk), China and Kokand

7. Russian colonization (19-early 20th centuries): the 1916 Kyrgyz revolt

8. Soviet Rule (early 1920s – 1991): Soviet economy, Stalinism, Rusification, decline of national cultures;

9. Post-Soviet period (1991-present): independence, democratization, market economy, the 2005 March events.

Historical Sources:

1. Written chronicles: Chinese, Greek, Arabic, Persian, Turkic, Western

2. Oral sources: legends, epics, genealogies, songs

3. Material sources: archeological objects, architecture, and ethnographic things (dress, food)

Functions of History:

1. Informational

2. Educational

3. World viewing

4. Politico-practical

because without knowing our past there is no way to future. History is important because it helps us to understand the present. If we will listen to what history has to say, we can come to a sound understanding of the past that will tell us much about the problems we now face. History teaches values. Moreover, it influences our future. As these movements and settlements prove, the present history of KG and of its different oblasts and rayons is impossible to look upon without looking up to the history of neighboring countries and nations.

2. Stone Age on the Territory of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia (2.5 million-5 thousand years ago).

Stone Age (2.5 million years ago – 6000 years ago)

Paleolith (Early Stone Age)

Early Paleolith

Middle Paleolith

Late Paleolith

Mesolith (Middle Stone Age)

Neolith (New or Late Stone Age) Stone Age (2.5 million years ago – 6000 years ago)

The Stone Age is the longest historical and cultural period of human society, the main feature of which is the production of tools and instruments of stone. Its beginning dates back as 2.5 million years ago when the human separated from the animal world and ends 6000 years ago when tools started being made of metals.

First hominids appeared on the territory of Kyrgyzstan about a million years ago (800000 years ago). The most ancient stone tools found on the territory of Kyrgyzstan (300000 years ago): On Archa (Central Tien Shan), Kojo-Bakyrgan-Sai (Batken province) refer to Early Paleolith. The most ancient site is the Sel-Unkur cave (Haidarkan, south of Kyrgyzstan) that dates as 1.5 million years ago (by Uzbek scholars) or 600000 years ago (by Kyrgyz archeologists).

During that time people lived in groups – human bands. They could produce the most primitive stone tools, learnt how to produce and use fire.

During the time of Middle Paleolith the stone tools became more complicated. Various types of stone are used for tools, techniques become more complex. Stone tools of that period are found in Tosor Valley (Issyk-Kul), Georgievka village (Kazakhstan), Sasyk Unkur (Osh province), Ak Olon (Balykchy, Issyk-Kul).

In 1938 professor Okladnikov found the burial of a Neanderthal girl in Teshik Tash (Uzbekistan) that dates as 40000 years ago. That burial proves the fact that 40000 years ago people on the territory of Kyrgyzstan already buried their dead and probably they already got primitive religious beliefs about the life after the death.

During the period of Late Paleolith human bands developed into more progressive form – blood-related group, where people were united on the basis of blood as well as economic commonality. The main form of social organization was matriarchy in which a female played a dominating role, was the head of family or society, and descent and kinship are traced through the female line.

Mesolith is not well researched on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Such site as Obshir I-V (Obshir River, south of Kyrgyzstan), Ak-Sai (Naryn).

During Neolith the so-called Neolithic Revolution took place. It was called the revolution because during that period a radical shift from hunting and gathering to producing farming and cattle breeding economies took place. Domestication of animals resulted in cattle breeding, while gathering helped to cultivate crops. Pastoralism and agriculture gradually became the main economies since then. Radical changes occurred also in the social organization of society, where matriarchy was declining in its significance, but the role of men whose labor became more important was increasing had been gradually replaced by patriarchy - the domination of men. Patriarchy became the main form of social organization during the Bronze Age.

Neolith sites are Semetei Grotto (Chatyr-Kul Lake, Naryn), Maitor (Kumtor), Terek I-VI (Ak Sai, Naryn), Teke Sekirik Cave (Kochkor, Naryn).

3. Bronze Age on the Territory of Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia (3 thousand-1 thousand BC).

Brazen Age (4000 BC – 3000 BC)

Bronze Age (3000 – 1000 BC)

Early Bronze Age

Middle Bronze Age

Late Bronze Age Bronze Age (3000 – 1000 BC)

The Bronze Age is the historical period of wide spread and use of tools, weapons and utensils made of bronze. Bronze is the alloy of copper and tin. Bronze tools were stronger compared to copper tools. The production of bronze and bronze tools brought cardinal changes to the economy.

Two cultures are found on the territory of Kyrgyzstan. Andronovo culture appeared in the north of Kyrgyzstan: Chui, Issyk-Kul, Talas valleys, Central Tien Shan. The culture adopted the name of Andronovo village in Siberia, where first similar tools and objects were found.

It was a pastoralist culture, however not always nomadic but also sedentary. Agriculture was practiced but was not leading compared to pastoralism. Andronovo populations bred cattle, sheep, camels, horses. Livestock was kept inside houses where people lived. Andronovo people were the first who produced kymys from horse milk.

In the south of Kyrgyzstan, the Fergana Valley the other culture appeared – Chust culture. It was the culture of agriculturalists. The name was received from the name of Chust village in Uzbekistan. Chust people cultivated crops: wheat, barley, millet (просо), oat. Crops were stored in pits inside houses. Chust settlements were found in Uzgen, Kurshab, Nookat and Osh. Osh settlement is the most ancient and unique settlement of the Bronze Age. Many objects made of stone, bronze and bone were found there. People were farmers and sedentary but also practiced cattle-breeding that was secondary to agriculture.

That is, the Bronze Age was a very important historical period in Kyrgyzstan. Two main lifestyles and two economic activities, pastoralism and agriculture, were developed during the Bronze Age which provided the basis for further development and evolution of human society.

Rock Art of the Bronze Age

A good evidence of the Bronze Age spiritual life is rock art – petrogliphs carved and drawn on rocks, stones, grottos. The richest gallery of such petrogliphs is Saimaly-Tash located in Djalal-Abad province. It is considered to be the largest not only in Central Asia but also in the world.

The Saimaly-Tash gallery is located high in the mountains, 3000-3500 meters above the sea. It was discovered more than 100 years ago by Khludov, a topographer and a painter. Later the gallery was researched by Zimma, Bernshtam, Sher. In post-Soviet period, it was studied by the archaeological expedition led by Tashbaeva. More than 10000 stones with petrogliphs were recorded and about 100000 petrogliphs were discovered. Chronologically the petrogliphs of Saimaly-Tash belong to a very long period starting with the 3 millennia BC and last until the Middle Ages.

There are many pictures of animals: goats, bulls, deer, horses, camels, dogs, wolfs, boars (кабаны), birds and other animals. You can meet the pictures of human or anthropomorphic creatures with tails.

There are many pictures reflecting not just separate animals or humans but scenes of hunting, ritual dances, animals with carts, erotic scenes, labyrinths.

Saimaly-Tash is the evidence of cultural development of humans, history of art, history of spiritual culture, since it reflects religious beliefs and religious rituals of first humans. It is a holy place of the ancient population of Tien Shan and Fergana.

4. Saka-Wusun Nomadic Civilizations: economy, politics and culture (8th-2nd centuries BC).

In the first millennium the Bronze Age in the world history was being replaced by the Iron Age, the period characterized by the rapid spread of iron tools and weapons that lasted till 200-100 BC.

Saka State Confederation (VIII – II centuries BC)

Territory

In the first millennium BC the history of Eurasia and Central Asia were not any more based on archaeological artifacts but were supplemented by written sources: Greek (“History” of Herodotus), official Chinese chronicles and Persian inscriptions. According to those sources, the vast territories of Eurasia were occupied by pastoralist tribes called differently in different historical sources: Sakas in Persian texts, Scythians in Greek, Se in Chinese. All those sources portrayed them as barbarians and outsiders.

State structure

In the VII century BC we can observe the earliest state established by the Scythians. Of course, it was not the state in the modern meaning. Therefore, scholars call that state a tribal confederation, since some elements of state structure such the ruling elite coordinating the economic activities and controlled military and other resources of smaller tribes were adopted. However, the state was based on the traditional structure established on family, clan and tribe.

In VI-V centuries BC all Sakas of Central Asia were united into two large tribal formations. The first was Tigrahauda (Massagetas, Abii, Apasiaks). They lived in the north of Kyrgyzstan as well as Sogdiana, beyond Syr Darya and in Semirechye. The second was Haumavarga, who lived in south of Kyrgyzstan - the Fergana valley. Their name derived from the name of the religious drink – haum.

Origin

Both spoke Eastern Iranian languages and belonged to European race. However, some Saka people, probably those who had some contacts with the Hunnu (Hsiun-nu) people, nomads of Turko-Mongolian origin, had a touch of Turkic physical features.

Economy

All Saka people were pastoralists. While northern Sakas were nomadic pastoralists, southern Sakas in the Fergana Valley were sedentary pastoralists and combined pastoralism with farming. The latter Sakas were influenced by both steppe pastoralist and urban agriculturalist traditions of the Fergana valley. Sheep, goats, cattle and horses were reared by Sakas. Hunting was also the source of food.

Horses were the most prestige animals, though Sakas used their milk and meat.

Social organization

Many kurgans of Sakas prove the development of social hierarchy among the Sakas. Large and high kurgans with the diameter of 50-100 meters and with the height of 9-15 meters were built in honor of rulers. As for the burials of nobility, their diameter was smaller, 30-45 meters and the height of 7 meters.

The contents of toms were different. The largest tombs were the richest as well with many golden articles, bones of animals, tools, weaponry.

The main form of social organization of Saka people was patriarchy. However, the role of women was

Art

The style that was developed by Sakas in art was called the animal style. Weaponry, pottery, jewelry were decorated with small animals.