Edige and Kazakh history

Research Article

Abstract

Over the last twenty years of the current century, there has been an immeasurably increased interest in the history of the Golden Horde, which played an important role in the ethnogenesis of the Turkic peoples of Eurasia. The proposed author's research focuses on the key figure of Edigei in the history of the Golden Horde, who undoubtedly played a significant role during a period of brief renaissance – practically the final flourishing of this once so powerful state in Eurasia. The thematic narrative reveals questions of personal history, the biography of the epochal personality of Edigei, connected and intertwined by ethnic roots with many Turkic tribes. The personal history of Edigei is reflected in the historical written tradition of Arab, Persian, European, and Russian chroniclers. The biography and epic of Edigei have become the object of close source study attention from Western European historians. Oral history and Turkic folklore have multiple historical and literary variations, with more than 60 versions about Edigei and the events in which he directly participated. Edigei left a significant mark on the military history of the Golden Horde era, inflicting defeat on the Lithuanian Prince Vytautas; the great Tamerlane did not directly confront him. The Moscow Principality paid him tribute. One of the most powerful behind-the-scenes rulers ended up at the epicenter of historical legends, epics of Turkic peoples, and the orbit of research interests of modern historians. The legendary figure of Edigei, idealized in the folk heroic epic, is at the center of the author's attention. Each period of the past has left its indelible mark on the historical memory of the Turkic peoples, who passed down legends orally and preserved the epic of Edigei for our generation. The article offers a brief source study review of the available materials from the Middle Ages, focusing on Edigei. The authors propose a structural analysis and arrangement of the literary monument, revealing probable ethno-Turkic connections with the Nogais, Tatars, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Turkmens, etc. They reveal the place and role of narratives about Edigei in the European historical scientific tradition and the historical memory of the Turkic peoples of Eurasia. The specificity of the thematic plot of the author's research lies in the similarity of ideas and motives of the epic with some identification markers/features inherent to each ethnos. The authors believe that such obvious ethnic connections determined the evolution of historical assessments of Edigei, contributed to the devaluation of his historical past by the Turkic peoples, and the disparagement of his heroic epic, even leading to the prohibition of research. The acquisition of sovereignty, with the active formation of national history, has once again turned close attention to individuals who made a significant contribution to the history of the state. At the current stage, questions of Edigei's history have become the subject of deeper research by scholars from the Eurasian and Western European scientific communities. Along with the source study, the authors present a historiographical analysis of works devoted to the personal history of Edigei and its historiography. The object of the authors' research is the questions of source study and historiography of Edigei's history. The subject of the research is the role and place of Edigei in the Turkic history of Eurasia based on published medieval sources. As a result of the conducted research, the authors believe that the role and place of Edigei in the history of the Turkic peoples of Eurasia is of colossal significance, which is reflected in cultural memory, oral history, and folklore. Despite being forgotten in the 20th century, historical justice, with the growth of national consciousness and the search for ethnic roots, has brought Edigei to new levels of historiography.