SIGHTS,  HISTORY  , CULTURE  OF KYRGYZSTAN

• About us - Association on Promotion of Kyrgyzstan as Tourism Country

• Manas Epos: Title Page Fragments of the Epos Manas From the Version of the Great Manaschy Sagynbay Orozbakov ...

Legends  

• The Epic of Manas

• Legends of Issyk-Kull

• Kyrgyz legend about tragic love and Issyk-Kul Lake

• A brief history. Legends about Bishkek

• Legend of Chalpon Ata

The history of Kyrgyzstan goes back to the depth of ancient times. Numerous archaeological findings such as household items and tools, caves and site of the Stone Age, petroglyphs and other traces of material culture made it possible to compose quite a comprehensive and complete picture of life that primitive people lived at the territory of today's Kyrgyzstan.

The first traces of a man presence here refer to early Palaeolith-Ashel epoch (400-100 thousand years ago). There are archaeological findings and relics belonging to Moostjer epoch (100-40 thousand years ago), upper Palaeolith (40-12 thousand years ago), and Mesolith (10-6 thousand years B.C.) found in Kyrgyzstan. The Primitive men of Naeolith period (6-4 thousands B.C.) lived throughout the territory of Kyrgyzstan. The sites of these times were found at the Issyk-Kul Lake, in the Tien Shan mountains, in the Chu River valley, in the valleys of Talas, Alai, and Ketmentyobin as well as other places.

In the Bronze Age (2nd millennium - beginning of the 1st millennium B.C.) nomadic as well as sedentary populated the Kyrgyz lands with the later mostly concentrated in the valleys of the Southern Kyrgyzstan. The material evidences of this time are sepulchres, household items and items of jewellery found there.

Perhaps as early as at 7th to 3rd centuries B.C. the territory of Kyrgyzstan was inhabited by the nomadic tribes of Sakas: Saka Tigrakhauda and Saka Khaumavarga.

Early History

Stone implements found in the Tian Shan mountains indicate the presence of human society in what is now Kyrgyzstan as many as 200,000 to 300,000 years ago. The first written records of a Kyrgyz civilization appear in Chinese chronicles beginning about 2000 B.C. The Kyrgyz, a nomadic people, originally inhabited an area of present-day northwestern Mongolia. In the fourth and third centuries B.C., Kyrgyz bands were among the raiders who persistently invaded Chinese territory and stimulated the building of the original Great Wall of China in the third century B.C. The Kyrgyz achieved a reputation as great fighters and traders. In the centuries that followed, some Kyrgyz tribes freed themselves from domination by the Huns by moving northward into the Yenisey and Baikal regions of present-day south-central Siberia.

Here you can see the photo pictures/sculptures  of ancients people who lived on the territory of  Kyrgyzstan- these sculptures were made on the basis of archeological dig of skulls. Photo pictures of sculptures are from Kyrgyz National History Museum

The first Kyrgyz state, the Kyrgyz Khanate, existed from the sixth until the thirteenth century A.D., expanding by the tenth century southwestward to the eastern and northern regions of present-day Kyrgyzstan and westward to the headwaters of the Ertis (Irtysh) River in present-day eastern Kazakstan. In this period, the khanate established intensive commercial contacts in China, Tibet, Central Asia, and Persia.

In the meantime, beginning about 1000 B.C., large tribes collectively known as the Scythians also lived in the area of present-day Kyrgyzstan. Excellent warriors, the Scythian tribes farther west had resisted an invasion by the troops of Alexander the Great in 328-27 B.C. The Kyrgyz tribes who entered the region around the sixth century played a major role in the development of feudalism.

                                            The metal implements from 14-15 century►

The Kyrgyz reached their greatest expansion by conquering the Uygur Khanate and forcing it out of Mongolia in A.D. 840, then moving as far south as the Tian Shan range--a position the Kyrgyz maintained for about 200 years. By the twelfth century, however, Kyrgyz domination had shrunk to the region of the Sayan Mountains, northwest of present-day Mongolia, and the Altay Range on the present-day border of China and Mongolia. In the same period, other Kyrgyz tribes were moving across a wide area of Central Asia and mingling with other ethnic groups.

Kyrgyzstan - Mongol Domination

The Mongols' invasion of Central Asia in the fourteenth century devastated the territory of Kyrgyzstan, costing its people their independence and their written language. The son of Chinggis (Genghis) Khan, Dzhuchi, conquered the Kyrgyz tribes of the Yenisey region, who by this time had become disunited. For the next 200 years, the Kyrgyz remained under the Golden Horde and the Oriot and Jumgar khanates that succeeded that regime. Freedom was regained in 1510, but Kyrgyz tribes were overrun in the seventeenth century by the Kalmyks, in the mid-eighteenth century by the Manchus, and in the early nineteenth century by the Uzbeks.

The Kyrgyz began efforts to gain protection from more powerful neighboring states in 1758, when some tribes sent emissaries to China. A similar mission went to the Russian Empire in 1785. Between 1710 and 1876, the Kyrgyz were ruled by the Uzbek Quqon (Kokand) Khanate, one of the three major principalities of Central Asia during that period (see fig. 3). Kyrgyz tribes fought and lost four wars against the Uzbeks of Quqon between 1845 and 1873. The defeats strengthened the Kyrgyz willingness to seek Russian protection. Even during this period, however, the Kyrgyz occupied important positions in the social and administrative structures of the khanate, and they maintained special military units that continued their earlier tradition of military organization; some Kyrgyz advanced to the position of khan.

Kyrgyzstan in  the grip of Kokand khanat

In the beginning of 19 centuries Kyrgyzstan gets in grip of Kokand khanate. The period of Kokand become history of Kyrgyzstan as the period of taxes, oppression, an arbitrariness, revolts. One of the main heads of struggle against Kokand oppression was batir of sorts clan solto Chui valleys Baiitik Baatir. In 1860 has become a citizen of Russia. It headed revolts against Kokand conquerors, take a part with Russian forces in rout of fortresses Pishpek, Tokmok, Merke, Aulie-Ata. Was rewarded with Stanislav's award of 3-rd degree and a gold medal with Annenskaya tape.
Trading ways of East Turkestan passed through Kyrgyzstan, and governors of Kokand khanat aspired to establish the control over them. During this period the islam became extend especially strongly. The kyrgyz people pay to kokand khan the duty. Not once Kirghiz people lifted revolts. In the autumn of 1873 southern kyrgyz decided to take Russian citizenship and by means will get rid from kokand oppression. At that time they been refused in their request. But after of some unsuccessful revolts of Kirghiz people, the Russian side makes a decision to liquidate Kokand khanate by its connection to Russia.

                                                                                                  Baitik Baatir  ►

Voluntary occurrence  in structure of Russia. After a cancelling of the serfdom, with growth of the large capitalist industry, to the Russia became necessary more, than before, commodity markets and sources of raw material , to one of which could become Central Asia. And Central Asian people, and in particular Kyrgyzstan, saw on behalf of Russia the defender from aggressors and the powerful economic partner. Process of connection of Kyrgyzstan to Russia in the north of the country was peacefull, and in the south aggressive. Difficulties created also that fact, that the imperial authorities have not considered specificity of the Kirghiz society entered new administrative division .

Heads of areas there were imperial officers and police officers. Over local volosts supervised clans-breeding bais. Kyrgyz lived near lake Issik-Kul as a tribe of bugu on January, 17th, 1855 to swear to Russian empire. The manap of clan bugu was Borombay Bekmurat uulu. In 1844 he has directed the embassy in Western-Siberian governorship. In 1853 has received a grade of the Russian colonel. In 1855 he has sworn in Omsk about acceptance of the Russian citizenship.
In 1862 with the request to be naturalized in Russia have addressed kyrgyz, borrowed east territory Chui valleys. In same to year citizenship was taken by kyrgyz lived in in the middle of Chui valleys . In 1864 Russian citizenship have been taken by kyrgyz borrowed Susamir and Ketmentebinsky valley.In the year 1864 on December, 24th the Kirghiz tribe sayak has submitted the application on acceptance of a tribe to the Russian citizenship.

Kyrgyzstan - Russia

In 1876 Russian troops defeated the Quqon Khanate and occupied northern Kyrgyzstan. Within five years, all Kyrgyzstan had become part of the Russian Empire, and the Kyrgyz slowly began to integrate themselves into the economic and political life of Russia. In the last decades of the nineteenth century, increasing numbers of Russian and Ukrainian settlers moved into the northern part of present-day Kyrgyzstan. Russian specialists began large-scale housing, mining, and road construction projects and the construction of schools. In the first years of the twentieth century, the presence of the Russians made possible the publication of the first books in the Kyrgyz language; the first Kyrgyz reader was published in Russia in 1911. Nevertheless, Russian policy did not aim at educating the population; most Kyrgyz remained illiterate, and in most regions traditional life continued largely as it had before 1870.

By 1915, however, even many Central Asians outside the intelligentsia had recognized the negative effects of the Russian Empire's repressive policies. The Kyrgyz nomads suffered especially from confiscation of their land for Russian and Ukrainian settlements. Russian taxation, forced labor, and price policies all targeted the indigenous population and raised discontent and regional tension. The Kyrgyz in Semirech'ye Province suffered especially from land appropriation. The bloody rebellion of the summer of 1916 began in Uzbekistan, then spread into Kyrgyzstan and elsewhere. Kazaks, Turkmen, Uzbeks, and Kyrgyz participated. An estimated 2,000 Slavic settlers and even more local people were killed, and the harsh Russian reprisals drove one-third of the Kyrgyz population into China.

Photo picture of basmatchs from Museum of  Mikhail Frunze -they have been shot in a consequence

Kyrgyzstan - The Soviet Union and Recent History

Following a brief period of independence after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution  toppled the empire, the territory of present-day Kyrgyzstan was designated the Kara-Kyrghyz Autonomous Region and a constituent part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) in 1924. In 1926 the official name changed to the Kyrgyz Autonomous Republic before the region achieved the status of a full republic of the Soviet Union in 1936.

Recent History

In the late 1980s, the Kyrgyz were jolted into a state of national consciousness by the reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev and by ethnic conflict much closer to home. As democratic activism stirred in Kyrgyzstan's cities, events in Moscow pushed the republic toward unavoidable independence.

 

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