Khalyzians
Encyclopedia
The Chalyzians or Khalyzians or Khalis or Khwalis (Arabic
: Khwarezmian, Byzantine Greek: Χαλίσιοι, Khalisioi, Magyar
: Kaliz were a people mentioned by the 12th-century Byzantine
historian John Kinnamos.
Kinnamos in his epitome twice mentions Khalisioi in the Hungarian army. He first describes them as practicing Mosaic law
; though whether they were actually Jews is unclear. Other editions state that they were Muslim
s. They were said to have fought against the Byzantine Empire as allies of the tribes of Dalmatia
in 1154, during Manuel Comnenus's campaign in the Balkans.
Prior to the years 889–92 some Khalis and Kabar
s (Kavars) of the Khazar realm had joined the Hungarian (Magyar) federation that had conquered and settled in Hungary. Another group had joined the Pechenegs. Al-Bakri (1014–1094) states that around 1068 A.D. there were considerable numbers of al-Khalis amongst the nomadic Muslim Pechenegs (Hungarian: Besenyő), that lived around the southern steppes of Russia
.
He also mentions that the original al-Khalis living within the Khazar realm may have been foreign slaves from Byzantine Constantinople
and/or other lands. The Pechenegs gave them the choice of staying in their country, where they could inter-marry or leave for another country of their choice. Anna Komnena in her Alexiad
mentions a Besenyő chief named Khalis.
Abraham Harkavy
hypothesized that the Khalyzians were refugees fleeing the destruction of their khaganate by the Kievan Rus
in the 960s CE and the Pecheneg influx which followed in the 970s. A contemporary of Harkavy's, the Polish
historian August Bielkowski, suggested that the Khalyzians were identical with the tribe known in Russia
n sources as the Khvalisy
; hence they may have been connected to the Arsiya.
The maternal ancestors of the great aristocratic Pecheneg-Hungarian family Aba, to which the Hungarian king Samuel Aba (1041–47) belonged, were according to Hungarian chronicles of Khwarazmian origin (de gente Corosmina, de Corosminis orta).
is a city in present day Uzbekistan, in the former Persian province of Khorasan. Since it was part of the silk road
, it was known internationally, and had several different names in several different languages, including Byzantine Greek who called the products of this city "khalisios", which was masculine for "of the city of khalis."
, also called Sariycin/Khamlikh. It was ruled by a governor with the title of Tarkhan
As-Tarkhan.
Source: Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Volume II, Number 3, September 1978, p.262 (Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts).
1. Hungarian (Kalász): ethnic name for a member of a Turkic people known as the Kaliz.
2. Czech and Slovak (Kalaš): from the personal name Kála.
3. Finnish: unexplained.
(Ukraine), Kalasë (Albania) and numerous places in Russia (Kalasevo: Respublika Mordoviya), Iran (Kalash Garan: Ostan-e Lorestan), Afghanistan (Kalizeh: Velayat-e Helmand) and Punjab Pakistan (Kalis/Kalas).
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: Khwarezmian, Byzantine Greek: Χαλίσιοι, Khalisioi, Magyar
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
: Kaliz were a people mentioned by the 12th-century Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
historian John Kinnamos.
Kinnamos in his epitome twice mentions Khalisioi in the Hungarian army. He first describes them as practicing Mosaic law
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
; though whether they were actually Jews is unclear. Other editions state that they were Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s. They were said to have fought against the Byzantine Empire as allies of the tribes of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
in 1154, during Manuel Comnenus's campaign in the Balkans.
Prior to the years 889–92 some Khalis and Kabar
Kabar
The Khavars or erroneously Kabars were Khazarians, therefore Turkic people who joined to the Magyars in the 8th century.- History :...
s (Kavars) of the Khazar realm had joined the Hungarian (Magyar) federation that had conquered and settled in Hungary. Another group had joined the Pechenegs. Al-Bakri (1014–1094) states that around 1068 A.D. there were considerable numbers of al-Khalis amongst the nomadic Muslim Pechenegs (Hungarian: Besenyő), that lived around the southern steppes of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
He also mentions that the original al-Khalis living within the Khazar realm may have been foreign slaves from Byzantine Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and/or other lands. The Pechenegs gave them the choice of staying in their country, where they could inter-marry or leave for another country of their choice. Anna Komnena in her Alexiad
Alexiad
The Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I....
mentions a Besenyő chief named Khalis.
Abraham Harkavy
Abraham Harkavy
Avraam/Albert Yakovlevich Harkavy , or Avraham Eliyahu ben Yaakov Harkavy was a Russian-Jewish historian and orientalist.-Biography:...
hypothesized that the Khalyzians were refugees fleeing the destruction of their khaganate by the Kievan Rus
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
in the 960s CE and the Pecheneg influx which followed in the 970s. A contemporary of Harkavy's, the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
historian August Bielkowski, suggested that the Khalyzians were identical with the tribe known in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n sources as the Khvalisy
Khvalisy
The Khvalisy were a tribe mentioned in old Russian chronicles. August Bielkowski conjectured that Khvalisy referred to the same people called "Khalyzians" by the Byzantine chroniclers....
; hence they may have been connected to the Arsiya.
The maternal ancestors of the great aristocratic Pecheneg-Hungarian family Aba, to which the Hungarian king Samuel Aba (1041–47) belonged, were according to Hungarian chronicles of Khwarazmian origin (de gente Corosmina, de Corosminis orta).
The Khwarezmian connection
KhwarezmKhwarezm
Khwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
is a city in present day Uzbekistan, in the former Persian province of Khorasan. Since it was part of the silk road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
, it was known internationally, and had several different names in several different languages, including Byzantine Greek who called the products of this city "khalisios", which was masculine for "of the city of khalis."
A province of the Lower Volga
The province of Khwalis (Khwali-As) on the lower Volga, was the realm of the trading Eastern Iranians; its twin city Amol/AtilAtil
Atil , literally meaning "Big River", was the capital of Khazaria from the middle of the 8th century until the end of the 10th century. The word is also a Turkic name for the Volga River.-History:...
, also called Sariycin/Khamlikh. It was ruled by a governor with the title of Tarkhan
Tarkhan
Tarkhan is an ancient Central Asian title used by various Indo-European Tarkhan (Old Turkic Tarqan; Mongolian: Darkhan; ; ; ; alternative spellings Tarkan, Tarkhaan, Tarqan, Tarchan, Tarxan, Tarcan or Targan) is an ancient Central Asian title used by various Indo-European Tarkhan (Old Turkic...
As-Tarkhan.
Source: Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Volume II, Number 3, September 1978, p.262 (Ukrainian Research Institute, Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts).
Links to the Kalas(h) surname
Ancestry.com surname meaning search for Kalas:1. Hungarian (Kalász): ethnic name for a member of a Turkic people known as the Kaliz.
2. Czech and Slovak (Kalaš): from the personal name Kála.
3. Finnish: unexplained.
Towns named after the Kaliz
Budakalász (Hungary), Kalasz (Hungary/Slovakia), HalychHalych
Halych is a historic city on the Dniester River in western Ukraine. The town gave its name to the historic province and kingdom of Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, of which it was the capital until the early 14th century, when the seat of the local princes was moved to Lviv...
(Ukraine), Kalasë (Albania) and numerous places in Russia (Kalasevo: Respublika Mordoviya), Iran (Kalash Garan: Ostan-e Lorestan), Afghanistan (Kalizeh: Velayat-e Helmand) and Punjab Pakistan (Kalis/Kalas).
Sources
See also
- BöszörményBöszörményBöszörmény, also Izmaelita or Szerecsen , is a name for the Muslims who lived in the Kingdom of Hungary in the 10-13th centuries. Some of the böszörmény probably joined the federation of the seven Magyar tribes during the 9th century, and later smaller groups of Muslims arrived to the Carpathian...
- KankalisKankalisKankalis or Qanqlis or Kangly were a Turkic people of Eurasia. They were three ruling clans of Pechenegs. They first appear on history as minor branch of ancient Oghuz Turks. They formed one of the five sections which Oghuz khan divided his subjects. After the fall of Pecheneg Khanate in early...
a clan of Pechenegs (Besenyő) - Qarays and Karaim languageKaraim languageThe Karaim language is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences, in a similar manner to Yiddish or Ladino. It is spoken by Crimean Karaites – ethnic Turkic adherents of Karaite Judaism in Crimea, Lithuania, Poland and western Ukraine...