Sabir people
Etymology
Etymology
---------

[Gyula Németh](/wiki/Gyula_N%C3%A9meth_%28linguist%29 "Gyula Németh (linguist)") and [Paul Pelliot](/wiki/Paul_Pelliot "Paul Pelliot") considered Turkic etymology for Säbir / Sabïr / Sabar / Säβir / Sävir / Savar / Sävär / Sawār / Säwēr from the root \**sap\-* 'to go astray', i.e. the 'wanderers, nomads', placed in a group of semantically similar names: [Qazar](/wiki/Khazars "Khazars"), [Qazaq](/wiki/Kazakhs "Kazakhs"), [Yazar](/wiki/Yazar "Yazar"), and Qačar. [Al\-Masudi](/wiki/Al-Masudi "Al-Masudi") recorded that the *Khazars* were named as such in Persian, while in Turkic it is *Sabir*, implying the same semantic meaning, and related ethnogenesis. 

However, Golden notes that root \**sap\-'''s aorist (ending in* \-ar*) is* sapar*; according to [Gerard Clauson](/wiki/Gerard_Clauson "Gerard Clauson"), the meanings "to go astray, to deviate" of root* sap\- *\~* sep\- *only appeared as new words in later medieval period. Golden suggests possible derivations (though still problematic) from other roots:* sav\- *"to drive away, repulse, avoid, escape from", which fits better into the category of ethnonyms denoting nomads; or* sipir\- *"to sweep, \[...] to drive out, to send away", whose derivative would mean "those who sweep away \[their foes]", even though the* a*/*ä *vocalization is unattested (unlike* sipir\- *\>* süpür\-*).*

[Walter Bruno Henning](/wiki/Walter_Bruno_Henning "Walter Bruno Henning") considered to have found them in the [Sogdian](/wiki/Sogdia "Sogdia") Nafnamak (near [Turpan](/wiki/Turpan "Turpan")) long after the 5th century. Some scholars related their name to the name of [Siberia](/wiki/Siberia "Siberia") (e.g. [Harmatta](/wiki/J%C3%A1nos_Harmatta "János Harmatta")), with a far\-eastern [Xianbei](/wiki/Xianbei "Xianbei") (e.g. [Pritsak](/wiki/Omeljan_Pritsak "Omeljan Pritsak")) and [Finno\-Ugric](/wiki/Finno-Ugric_peoples "Finno-Ugric peoples") origin (e.g. [Artamonov](/wiki/Mikhail_Artamonov_%28historian%29 "Mikhail Artamonov (historian)")).[Christian, David](/wiki/David_Christian_%28historian%29 "David Christian (historian)"). *A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia*. Blackwell Publishing, 1998\. Page 279\. The ancient historians related and differed them from the [Huns](/wiki/Huns "Huns"), implying their mixed descent.
Byzantine documents normally refer to Sabirs as Sabiroi*, although the Byzantine Emperor [Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos](/wiki/Constantine_VII_Porphyrogennetos "Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos") (908\-959\) writes in his* [De Administrando Imperio](/wiki/De_Administrando_Imperio "De Administrando Imperio") *that he was told by a Hungarian delegation visiting his court that the* Tourkoi *(the Byzantine name for the [Hungarians](/wiki/Hungarian_people "Hungarian people")) used to be called "*sabartoi asphaloi*", generally considered to mean "steadfast Sabirs", and still regularly sent delegations to those who stayed behind in the Caucasus region near Persia. Possibly some Hungarian group derived from the Sabirs as their name is reflected in Szavard, and personal clan name Zuard.*

History
-------

In 463 AD, [Priscus](/wiki/Priscus "Priscus") mentions that the Sabirs attacked the [Saragurs](/wiki/Saragurs "Saragurs"), [Oghurs](/wiki/Oghur_%28tribe%29 "Oghur (tribe)") and [Onogurs](/wiki/Onogurs "Onogurs"), as a result of having themselves been attacked by the Avars. It has been suggested that the nomadic motion began with the Chinese attack in 450\-458 against the [Rouran Khaganate](/wiki/Rouran_Khaganate "Rouran Khaganate"). 
In 504 and 515, they held raids around the [Caucasus](/wiki/Caucasus "Caucasus"), which was the [Sasanian](/wiki/Sasanian_Empire "Sasanian Empire") northern frontier during the rule of king [Kavadh I](/wiki/Kavadh_I "Kavadh I"), causing problems to the Persians in their war against the [Byzantine Empire](/wiki/Byzantine_Empire "Byzantine Empire"). It has been proposed that the 20,000 Huns led by [Zilgibis](/wiki/Zilgibis "Zilgibis") were Sabirs. They made treaties with both [Justin I](/wiki/Justin_I "Justin I") and Kavadh I, but decided on the former, which resulted in mutual agreement between Justin I and Kavadh I, and the former devastating attack on Zilgibis and his army. 
In 520s, the Queen Boareks, widow of the Sabir chieftain Balaq (Turkic balaq*) through [Justinian I](/wiki/Justinian_I "Justinian I")'s diplomacy came closer to the Byzantines, and successfully attacked two Hunnic leaders Astera/Styrax (executed in Constantinople) and Aglanos/Glones (Sasanian ally). She ruled over 100,000 people and could field 20,000 strong\-men army. At the [Battle of Satala (530\)](/wiki/Battle_of_Satala_%28530%29 "Battle of Satala (530)"), a mixed Persian army led by [Mihr\-Mihroe](/wiki/Mihr-Mihroe "Mihr-Mihroe") consisted of circa three thousand Sabirs. In December 531, many Sabirs were summoned by the Persians to plunder around [Euphratesia](/wiki/Euphratesia "Euphratesia"), [Cyrrhus](/wiki/Cyrrhus "Cyrrhus"), [Cilicia](/wiki/Cilicia "Cilicia"), but some of the booty had been returned by the Roman [magister militum](/wiki/Magister_militum "Magister militum").*

During the [Lazic War](/wiki/Lazic_War "Lazic War") (541–562\), in 548, along with the [Alans](/wiki/Alans "Alans") they allied with [Gubazes II of Lazica](/wiki/Gubazes_II_of_Lazica "Gubazes II of Lazica") and conquered the [Petra](/wiki/Petra%2C_Lazica "Petra, Lazica") from the Persians. In 551, some Sabirs were allied to [Bessas](/wiki/Bessas_%28magister_militum%29 "Bessas (magister militum)") in the [successful attempt](/wiki/Siege_of_Petra_%28550%E2%80%93551%29 "Siege of Petra (550–551)") to wrest Petra from the Persians, meanwhile, other four thousand led by Mihr\-Mihroe were part of the unsuccessful siege of [Archaeopolis](/wiki/Nokalakevi "Nokalakevi"). In 556, two thousand Sabirs served as heavy infantry mercenaries of the Byzantine Empire against the Sasanian Empire. They were led by Balmaq (Turkic barmaq*, "finger" ), Kutilzis (Turkic* \*qut\-il\-či*, with* qut *meaning "majesty") and Iliger (Turkic* Ilig\-ār*, "prince\-man"). They won against the three thousand [Dilimnites](/wiki/Daylamites "Daylamites") near Archaeopolis. Eight hundred Dilimnites were killed in a failed rush. In the same year, some five thousand Sabirs allied to the Persians were killed by three thousand Roman horsemen.*

As part of the [Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591](/wiki/Byzantine%E2%80%93Sasanian_War_of_572%E2%80%93591 "Byzantine–Sasanian War of 572–591"), in 572–573, Sabirs lost as part of the Sasanian mixed army against the [Marcian](/wiki/Marcian_%28cousin_of_Justin_II%29 "Marcian (cousin of Justin II)") near [Nisibis](/wiki/Nusaybin "Nusaybin"). In 578, some eight thousand Sabirs and Arab allies were on the side of the Persians and raided territory around [Resaena](/wiki/Resaena "Resaena") and [Constantia](/wiki/Viran%C5%9Fehir "Viranşehir").
The Syriac translation of the [Pseudo\-Zacharias Rhetor](/wiki/Pseudo-Zacharias_Rhetor "Pseudo-Zacharias Rhetor")'s Ecclesiastical History *(c. 555\) in Western Eurasia recorded thirteen tribes, including the* sbr *(Sabir). They are described in typical phrases reserved for nomads in the ethnographic literature of the period, as people who "live in tents, earn their living on the meat of livestock and fish, of wild animals and by their weapons (plunder)".*

The Armenian and Arabic sources placed them in the North Caucasus, near [Laks](/wiki/Laks_%28Caucasus%29 "Laks (Caucasus)"), [Alans](/wiki/Alans "Alans"), Filān, Masqat, Sāhib as\-[Sarīr](/wiki/Sarir "Sarir") and the Khazar town [Samandar](/wiki/Samandar_%28city%29 "Samandar (city)"). By the late 6th century, the coming of the [Pannonian Avars](/wiki/Pannonian_Avars "Pannonian Avars") into Europe terminated the Sabir union in the North Caucasus. According to [Theophylact Simocatta](/wiki/Theophylact_Simocatta "Theophylact Simocatta"), when the [Barsils](/wiki/Barsils "Barsils"), Onogurs and Sabirs saw the invading Uar and Chunni they panicked because thought the invaders were the Avars. [Menander Protector](/wiki/Menander_Protector "Menander Protector") placed the events between 558 and 560\. He mentioned them last time in connection with the Byzantine conquest in [Caucasian Albania](/wiki/Caucasian_Albania "Caucasian Albania") during the reign of [Tiberius II Constantine](/wiki/Tiberius_II_Constantine "Tiberius II Constantine") (578–582\), but the large sums were not enough to stop them to rejoin the Persians.
They were assimilated into the [Khazars](/wiki/Khazars "Khazars") and [Bulgars](/wiki/Bulgars "Bulgars") confederations. The tribe Suwāz in [Volga Bulgaria](/wiki/Volga_Bulgaria "Volga Bulgaria") is related to the city [Suwār](/wiki/Suar%2C_Volga_Bulgaria "Suar, Volga Bulgaria") in the same state, and North Caucasian kingdom Suwār. However, it is uncertain whether these Suwār i.e. Sawâr are the Sabirs who gone to the North Caucasus and after 558 retreated to the Volga, came there as the result of the Khazar state creation, or were tribes who never went to the North Caucasus, but stopped on the Volga. [Ahmad ibn Fadlan](/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Fadlan "Ahmad ibn Fadlan") recorded that in the 10th century they still had their own leader with the title Wirgh *(\**Vuyrigh*, Turkic* Buyruq*), and there were some Suwār\-Bulghar hostilities.*

There is no reliable information supporting the view of [Mikhail Artamonov](/wiki/Mikhail_Illarionovich_Artamonov "Mikhail Illarionovich Artamonov"), who has claimed the intermixing of the Sabirs and Khazars was facilitated by their common Bulgar ethnicity, or that they were Turkicized [Ugrians](/wiki/Ugrians "Ugrians"). Károly Czeglédy considered that the Khazar state was composed of three basic groups, including the Sabirs. Dieter Ludwig suggested that the Khazars were Sabirs who had formed an alliance with the Uar of [Khwarezm](/wiki/Khwarezm "Khwarezm").Struktur und Gesellschaft, D. Ludwig, 1982\) The intimate ties between the Hungarians and the Sabirs led [Lev Gumilev](/wiki/Lev_Gumilev "Lev Gumilev") to speculate that rather than [Oghuric](/wiki/Oghur_languages "Oghur languages") they may have been [Ugric](/wiki/Ugric_languages "Ugric languages") speakers (both terms being of the same etymological origin). [Al\-Biruni](/wiki/Al-Biruni "Al-Biruni") remarked that the language of the Volga Bulgars and Sawârs was "compounded of Turkic and [Khazar](/wiki/Khazar_language "Khazar language")", while modern scholars like Gyula Németh, [Lajos Ligeti](/wiki/Lajos_Ligeti "Lajos Ligeti") and [Peter Benjamin Golden](/wiki/Peter_Benjamin_Golden "Peter Benjamin Golden") consider that the Sabirs spoke standard Turkic rather than Oghuric Turkic.
Legacy
------

A number of Caucasian toponyms derive from their name; Šaberan, Samir, Samirkent, Sabir\-xost, Sibir\-don, Sivir\-don, Savir, Bila\-suvar, Sebir\-oba, Sevare, Suvar, and as well as the subdivisions Sabar and Sabur/Sabïr of the [Kyrgyzes](/wiki/Kyrgyzes "Kyrgyzes"). [Chuvash](/wiki/Chuvash_people "Chuvash people") historians postulate that their nation is descended from Sabirs. In the [Mari language](/wiki/Mari_language "Mari language") modern Volga [Tatars](/wiki/Tatars "Tatars") are called ; Chuvash also are known as  (which means Suar*\-icized Mari), or in Finnish .Eero Kuussaari: Suomen Suvun Tiet (Helsinki 1935\)*

Chieftains
----------

Balaq (Turkic * balaq*, 'child, boy', 'young of an animal')
Boa/Boarez/Boareks \- Sabir queen, widow of Balaq
Balmaq/Barmaq (Turkic* 
	+ barmaq*, 'finger')
	Iliger (Turkic 'prince\-man')
	Kutilzis (Turkic*
	+ qut\-ilči/elči'', 'heavenly good fortune' – 'majesty')

What is the meaning of the Chuvash term for modern Volga Tatars?