Cumania

Quick Facts: Who was Cumania?

Subject:

Cumania

Known for:

A vast Turkic tribal confederation dominating the Eurasian Steppe from the 10th to 13th centuries.

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The name Cumania originated as the Latin exonym for the Cuman–Kipchak confederation, which was a tribal confederation in the western part of the Eurasian Steppe, between the 10th and 13th centuries. The confederation was dominated by two Turkic nomadic tribes: the Cumans (also known as the Polovtsians or Folban) and the Kipchaks. Cumania was known in Islamic sources as Dasht-i Qipchaq (دشت قپچاق) which means "Steppe of the Kipchaks" or "Kipchak Plains" in Persian, and al-Qumāniyīn (القمانيين) which means "The Cumans" or "The Cuman people" in Arabic. Russian sources have referred to Cumania as the "Polovtsian Steppe" (Polovetskaia Step), or the "Polovtsian Plain" (Pole Polovetskoe). A different, more organized entity that was later known as the Golden Horde was also referred to as "Comania" by Armenian chronicler Hethum (Hayton) of Korykos.

Career & Major Achievements

"Cumania" was also the source of names, or alternate names, for several smaller areas – some of them unconnected geographically to the area of the federation – in which Cumans and/or Kipchaks settled, such as the historic region of Kunság in Hungary, and the former Diocese of Cumania (in Romania and Hungary). Hethum of Korykos described Cumania as "wholly flat and with no trees". but there are here few houses or towns or villages. The pasturage, however, being excellent, horses and cattle are numerous, and the population for the most part subsists on the produce thereof. The climate is cold, and their water comes from springs and wells.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

By the 11th and 12th centuries, the nomadic confederacy of the Cumans and (Eastern) Kipchaks (who were a distinct tribe with whom the Cumans created a confederacy, although other sources say that Cumans and Kipchak are simply different names for the same tribe) were the dominant force over the vast territories stretching from present-day Kazakhstan, southern Russia, Ukraine, to southern Moldavia and eastern Wallachia in present-day Romania. Considering the nomadic way of life of these peoples, these frontiers can be regarded only as approximate; hence there were various definitions of what Cumania meant over the course of time. Depending on their region and their time, different sources each used their own vision to denote different sections of the vast Cuman territory: in Byzantine, Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Persian and Muslim sources, Cumania meant the Pontic steppe, that is the steppelands to the north of the Black Sea and on its eastern side as far as the Caspian Sea, where the lowlands between the Dnieper, the Volga, the Ural and the Irtysh Rivers were favorable to the nomadic lifestyle of the Cumans. Later, for a short time period, in Western sources Cumania also referred to the area in eastern Wallachia and southern Ukraine (centered on the lowlands of Budjak and the Bărăgan Plain), referring to the area where the first contact between the Cumans and the Western Christians took place, and where, later, the Cumans of the region would accept Catholicism. Using the traditional Turkic assignment of colours to the cardinal points, White Cumania used to be located to the west and may have denoted eastern Wallachia, while Black Cumania was located to its north and may have denoted Moldavia.

Notable Quotes by Cumania

“This wilderness is green and grassy with no trees, nor hills, high or low ... there is no means of travelling in this desert except in wagons.”

“The pasturage, however, being excellent, horses and cattle are numerous, and the population for the most part subsists on the produce thereof.”

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Cumania

True or False: “Did Cumania ever function as a single, politically unified state or empire?”

Answer (FALSE ❌): Cumania was never a centralized state; rather, it was a vast realm composed of loosely connected tribal units led by independent rulers or khans.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Cumania