Localization of the Kyrgyz Residence Areas in Southern Siberia and Central Asia within the Periods of late Antiquity, Early and High Middle Ages

Abstract

Purpose. This article considers and analyzes the information, contained in ancient and medieval sources, about residence areas of the Yenisei and Central Asian Kyrgyz during particular historical periods, including late Antiquity, Early and High Middle Ages. These periods are related to the time of existence of political and military domination in the Central Asian Region of the ancient and medieval Turkic and Mongolian nomads, including Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turkic, Teles and Khitan nomadic ethnic groups. Results. During one of those historical periods, after the defeat of the Uyghur Khaganate, the Kyrgyz themselves dominated over Central Asian steppes. Resettlement areas of the Kyrgyz in Central Asia and Southern Siberia changed considerably on several occasions. During various historical periods, the Kyrgyz resided in the territory of Eastern Tian Shan, within the bounds of modern Xinjiang and during the following historical periods in Minusinsk Basin as well, followed by the vast territories of the Sayan and Altai Mountains and a major part of Central Asia, as well as within the bounds of the Western Tian Shan mountain range. The article analyzes the available informative historical data in ancient and medieval sources about the main resettlement areas of the Kyrgyz in different territories in definite time periods of their residence within the bounds of the Central Asian historical and cultural region. Conclusion. Since their repeated resettlement into the eastern Tian Shan region in the era of the Kyrgyz Great Power, the Old Kyrgyz descendants could have reclaimed the mountains and valleys of Tengir-Too. They could have also restored their statehood at the turn of historical modernity, firstly in its capacity as a republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and during the last decades by way of the independent state of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Despite all existing current complexities, the Kyrgyz keep their State.