Kummagyaria

Kummagyaria is the name of a former homeland of the Hungarians (Magyars). The approximate location of this homeland is a riparian area of the Kuma River, Southern Russia. It was mentioned by travellers, historians and geographers. Kummagyaria was also referred to in contemporary papal bulls. For hundreds of years, until near-recent times, the peoples of the Caucasus were aware that the area extending north from the Caucasus Mountains to the Manich River, was inhabited by Magyars and their related peoples.

Historical references

The first recorded reference to Kummagyaria is from the 5th century. Moses of Chorene, in his work The History of Armenia, describes the neighbouring peoples of Armenia, and among them is mentioned the Kum-, or Kuma Magyars who lived north of the Caucasus range.

In 1245, the papal envoy John of Plano Carpini also called the area Kummagyaria. Papal bulls by Popes Innocent IV in 1253, Alexander IV in 1258 and Michael IV in 1288 and 1291 also make reference to Kummagyaria, (spelled as Cummageria). A bull proclaimed by Pope John XXII in 1329 is addressed to Gyeretyán, who was the then chieftain of Kummagyaria.

The capital city was known as Magyar, or Mazsar. It was located on the Kuma, and was mentioned by the Arab traveller and geographer Abu al-Fida in 1321. Travellers who were to pass through the area later, once only ruins of the city remained, also confirmed that it was formerly a city of the Magyars. Further evidence of Magyar occupation of the area consists of numerous archaeological finds and existing placenames, such as the Burgun Majari site near the former capital.In 1569, Jędrzej Taranowski, a diplomat of the Polish king Sigismund II Augustus, was returning from Constantinople, heading towards Astrakhan. In his journal he wrote:

cquote|On the night of October 7th we made camp amongst the gravemounds of the Magyars. Even today there are many ruins of buildings to be found, the ruins of the temples of the pagan Magyars... their territory comes to an end at the Sasyk River. As we passed through their former territory we saw ruins of fortifications every day, the ruins of the former Magyar temples. The steppe contains Magyar grave mounds that are abundant in treasures, Fortifications made of enormous stones that are now covered in moss are in abundance. The last inhabitants of this land were Christians, most likely the Cherkes. [ Tardy, Lajos. ’’Régi hírünk a világban’’, Gondolat, Budapest, 1979 ] In 1712, the French traveller Aubrey de la Motraye passed through the area. His notes state that from what he heard from the local Tatar population, he maintained that the city of Mazsar was formerly inhabited by Magyars. [ Tardy, Lajos. ’’Régi hírünk a világban’’, Gondolat, Budapest, 1979 ]

Kummagyaria’s development

Bulgar Turkic peoples inhabited the area east of the Urals in the 6-8th centuries, contemporaneously with the Khazar Khaganate. One such people, the Pechenegs were subjects of the Uyghur Empire. The Khazars were in a period of decline due to internal conflicts, making them convenient targets of attack for the Uyghurs. In turn, the Pechenegs were attacked by the Oghuz, and were forced to move west. This, in turn, provided an opportunity for the Pechenegs to attack the Magyars, at the battle of the Jergen Hills. This domino-effect of peoples attacking others led to a portion of the Magyar tribes and their allies being compelled to move west, while the rest of the Magyars moved south of the Manich, where its marshland would serve as protection. A large proportion of this southern group settled in the Caucasus region, which served as their summer pasture. A small number crossed the Caucasus Mountains and settled amongst the Persians. (This is the group that the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus refers to as „sabartoi asfaloi”, „brave Savards/Sabirs”).

The Magyars were thus divided into two groups. The group that eventually settled in what was formerly Pannonia and founded the Kingdom of Hungary remained in contact with the Magyars in the Kuma area by means of envoys until the former’s adoption of Christianity (c. 10th century). By the 12th-13th century, however, the frequency of these fraternal contacts had greatly diminished, to the extent that by then all that was known by the Magyars in Europe was that there remained some Magyars in the east.

In time the Magyar Kuma tribes withdrew from the mountains to the lowlands, where they generally lived peaceably, as is evidenced by the writings of Abu Said Gardezi (in 1050) and Al Bakri (d. 1094). According to Al Bakri, the Caucasus Magyars were then living in the area bounded by the Don, Volga and Kuban rivers, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus. A system of borderland marches protected their territory. Their neighbours to the south were the Alans and Abkhazians. According to Gardezi, the military force of the Magyars consisted of 20,000 warriors, while the entire population amounted to around 250,000, similar in size to the Magyars of Árpád and the Hungarian Conquest. The peacetime leader was the kündü (or kende), while the military commander was known as the gyula. They took many Slavs and Russians as slaves, who they would trade in Kerch for precious furs.

According to Julius Klaproth, the Kuma Magyars practiced agriculture. Gardezi writes that the Magyars’ religion was a combination of Christian and Zoroastrian beliefs; Al Bakri writes that they worshipped idols. Archaeological finds in the area of a large number of so-called kamennaya baba (moustachioed stone idols) are similar to those found in the Hungarian Plain. Both Arab sources state that the Magyars were strong, had splendid clothing, and kept horses of great endurance.

Under Mongol rule

The rise of Mongol power put an end to three centuries of peace. In the spring of 1222 the Mongol armies, commanded by Subutai advanced through the Derbent Pass, where they encountered resistance from a joint Iazyg/Alan, Cherkes, Cuman, Abkhaz and Kummagyar force. The Mongol army retreated with heavy losses. The Mongols attempted to reverse the situation by approaching Juri and Daniel, sons of the Cumanian leader Köten, and asking them to bring the Cumanians over to side with the Mongols. This somewhat brazen expectation was based on the premise that, since they were related peoples, they should also be allies. Köten’s sons agreed. They were nevertheless both put to the sword by the Mongols, who now proceeded to lead the Cumanian armies before them. Köten fled with the remaining Cumans to Hungary. It is probable that by this time the Kuma Magyars were paying tribute to the Mongols. In 1236 Subutai again prepared to attack the West. He divided the enormous forces at his disposal into four groups. The southern group approached the Caspian Sea from the south, through Derbent, just as they had in 1222. They suffered few casualties as they advanced northward, and again their path took them through the Caucasus area.

Christianity and Chieftain Gyeretyán

The dual-leadership structure of the kende and gyula eventually changed to that of a single supreme leader for the Kuma Magyars; when this change occurred is not known. It must have been in existence by around the beginning of the 14th century. Pope John XXII names a sole leader, Gyeretyán, in his bull of 1329.

Gyeretyán (or Jeretyán) (meaning: shining, glorious; modern Hungarian: gyertya = candle), wanted a Catholic diocese to be created in the Magyar capital, as already existed in Astrakhan, and in other cities of Armenia, Georgia and the Crimea.

According to contemporary Franciscan sources, there were already two monasteries of their order in Kummagyaria by the beginning of the 14th century. Another monastery, known as Ûgyek (Hungarian: holy), which was located near the base of Mt Elbrus. Klaproth described its ruins, and records that the neighbouring Cherkes called it Mazhar Unneh. Northeast of this location, he discovered the ruins of another Franciscan monastery, which the populace called Klisi. These monasteries were built according to contemporary Eastern architectural styles.

When Gyeretyán perceived the growing spread of Catholicism, he decided to convert. On the chieftain’s request, Pope John XXII, who was the second Avignon pope, addressed the aforementioned bull to him, dated 3 October, 1329. The pope had consecrated six Dominican bishops, and one of these, Thomas Mancasole, the new bishop of Samarkand, took the papal bull to Magyar, and laid the foundations for the foundation of the bishopric.

Bishop Mancasole left Avignon in April 1330 with one hundred florins. He travelled by boat to Soldaja (Sudak), a port in southern Crimea, and from there arrived in Magyar in July with the aid of the vicar of Kaffa. Soon after this successful preliminary meeting, the first Catholic bishop, the Franciscan friar Thaddeus arrived.
Odorico Raynaldi wrote a commentary on the occasion of the bull’s proclamation:

The bull contained the following text:

cquote|Greetings to our dear children, to Jeretany and all Christian Magyars, Malkaites & Alans! It has caused us rather great and natural happiness, that the Most Esteemed Creator, whose summons is constant and spreads to the entire world, to all those whom He chooses to discover His mercifulness, and for his only Son, with his love that is indescribable in words that constantly envelopes every single Christian family, embraces you, who have been touched by the true faith, the teaching of the Scriptures and the light of the Apostolic Church, amongst those of the Eastern parts of the world who are yet to accept the graces of Christianity.Avignon, October 3rd of the 14th year

The destruction of Kummagyaria

In 1369 Tamerlane proclaimed himself the emir of Samarkand. Growing in power in the years to come, he was preparing to attack China when he died in 1405. As a consequence of a number of battles between him and his rival Tokhtamysh in the 1390s, the Caucasus was laid to waste, thus bringing an end to Kummagyaria’s existence.

Notes

ee also

*Hungarian prehistory