Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Rustam SHUKUROV
The present research was made possible with the support of the RGNF Foundation
(project no. 07-01-00547a). My special thanks are due to Dr. Oya Pancaroğlu (Boğaziçi Uni�
versity, Department of History, Istanbul) for her help in preparation of this piece for publica�
tion.
P. Charanis, The Formation of the Greek People, in The ‘Past’ in Medieval and Modern Greek
Culture, ed. Sp. Vryonis, Malibu, 1978, p. 97; P. Charanis, The Transfer of Population as a Po-
licy in the Byzantine Empire, in Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 3, no.2, p. 148ff; S.
Vryonis, Byzantine and Turkish Societies and Their Sources of Manpower, in Studies on Byzantium,
Seljuks, and Ottomans: Reprinted Studies [Byzantina kai Metabyzantina vol. 2] Malibu. Calif.,
1981, no. �����������������
III, p. 125-140; C. Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles: étude
de géographie historique, Athens, 1976, p. 75–84.
74 Rustam SHUKUROV
�
See for instance a general survey with a helpful bibliographical section for Medieval
Europe: Personal Names Studies of Medieval Europe. Social Identity and Family Structures, ed. G.T.
Beech, M. Bourin, P. Chareille, Kalamazoo�������������������������������������������
, 2002. �����������������������������������
See also a recent study of Ancient
Greek anthroponymics: Greek����������������������������������������
Value as Evidence, ed. Simon Hornblow�
Personal�������������������������������
���������������������������������������
Names�������������������������
������������������������������
. Their
�����������������������
er & Elaine Matthews, Oxford, 2000. For ����������������������������������������������������
studies of Byzantine onomastics see, for instan�
ce: A.E. �����
Laiou, Peasant Names in Fourteenth-century Macedonia, in Byzantine and Modern Greek
Studies, vol. 1, 1975, p. 71–95; A.E. Laiou, Peasant Society in the Late Byzantine Empire. �� A Social
�������
and Demographic Study, Princeton, 1977, see esp., Chapter IV “Names” ; J. Lefort, Anthropo-
nymie et société villageoise (Xe-XIVe siècle), in Hommes et richesses dans l’Empire byzantin. Tome II:
VIIIe-XVe siècle, éd. par V. Kravari, J. Lefort et C. Morrisson, Paris, 1991, p. 225–238; J.
Lefort, Toponymie et anthroponymie: le contact entre Grecs et Slaves en Macédoine, in Castrum
4, Frontière et peuplement dans le monde méditerranéen au Moyen Âge, éd. J.-M. Poisson,
Rome - Madrid, 1992, p. 161-171; F. Brunet, Sur l’ Hellénisaton des toponymes slaves en
Macedoine Byzantine, in Travaux et Mémoires, t. 9, 1985. p. 235–265 ; V. Kravari, L’hel-
lénisation des Slaves de Macédoine orientale, au témoignage des anthroponymes, in ΕΥΨΥΧΙΑ,
Mélanges offerts à Hélène Ahrweiler, vol. II, Paris, 1998, p. 387-397 ; D. ��� Dželebdžić,
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 75
in some cases, onomastics is able to fill some gaps in the traditional
sources. Toponymics provides ample material about the distribu�
tion of the Franks in the Peloponnese. In the case of the Empire
of Trebizond, personal and place names are sometimes the only in�
dication of the factual ethnic diversity in the particular regions of
the Pontos.
In the present piece, an attempt will be made ��������������������
to fill that gap at
least partially and to propose new ways of describing ethnic minorities
in the population of the Byzantine Empire�������������������������
. The
�����������������������
present study focu�
ses on the fate of the Byzantine Turkic groups under the Palaiologoi.
Geographically, it is limited to the Balkan territories of the Byzantine
Empire from Serres to Ochrid and the Vardar valley, including the
territories approximately matching the present Greek province of Ma�
cedonia and the Republic of Macedonia.�
Our task is facilitated by several recent studies. It is worth men�
tioning an article of the Russian scholar Piotr Zhavoronkov on the
Late Byzantine Turkic aristocracy, which analyzes mainly Byzantine
narrative sources. The study of Zoritsa Đoković is the first synthe-
Slavic Anthroponyms in the Judicial Decisions of the Demetrios Chomatenos, in Zbornik radova
Vizantiloshkog instituta, vol 43, 2006, p. 483–498 (in �����������
Serbian����
) ; Z. Đoković, Étude de
l’anthroponymie slave dans les praktika du XIIe et XIIIe siècle, in Zbornik radova Vizantiloshkog
instituta, vol 43, 2006, p. 499–516 (in Serbian�������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������
). ����������������������������������������
Additional relevant references see also
below.
H. & R. Kahane, The Western Impact on Byzantium: The Linguistic Evidence, in Dum-
barton Oaks Papers, vol. 36, 1982, p. 127–153; H. & R. Kahane, Italienische Ortsnamen in
Griechenland, Athen, 1940; H. & R. Kahane, Abendland und Byzanz, in : Reallexikon der
Byzantinistik, ed. ������������������������������������������������
P. Wirth, Amsterdam 1970, S. 345–634 (Sprache); O. Markl, Ortsnamen
Griechenlands in frankischer Zeit, [Byzantina Vindobonensia, I], Graz, Köln, 1966; A. Bon, La
Morée franque: Recherches historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur la principauté d'Achaia,
1204-1430, vol. 1, Paris, 1969.
�
R. ��������
Shukurov, The Byzantine Turks of the Pontos, in Mésogeios, t. 6, 1999, p. 7–47.��������
On the
Kartvelian minority in Trebizond see also: E. Zhordania, Etnicheskii sostav naselenia Ponta
v ��������������������������������
X�������������������������������
III–���������������������������
XV�������������������������
vv. Chast’ I: Lazy, in: Byzantinoslavica�, vol. 58, 1997, 125–139; E. Zhordania,
Etnicheskii sostav naselenia Ponta v ��������������������������������������������������
X�������������������������������������������������
III–���������������������������������������������
XV�������������������������������������������
vv. i nekotorye voprosy toponimiki Ponta.
Chast’ II: Chany, in: Byzantinoslavica�, vol. 60, 1999, p. 71–86; E. Zhordania, Kartvel’skoe
naselenie Ponta v XIII-XV vv. : dissertatsiia ... kandidata nauk: 07.00.03, Moscow, 2002.
P. Zhavoronkov, Tiurki v Vizantii (XIII–seredina XIV v.) �������������������������������
Chast’ 1: tiurkskaia aristokra-
tiia (The Turks in Byzantium (13th-mid-14th c.). Part 1: The Turkish aristocracy), in Vizantiiskii
vremennik, 2006, vol. 65, p. 168–169.
76 Rustam SHUKUROV
For the first stage of the research, I chose Byzantine personal and
place names containing roots of Oriental origin and gave them etymo�
logical interpretation. By “Oriental” I am referring conventionally to
names derived from Arabic, Persian and Turkic roots.
In the case of Oriental names, the most valuable and ample infor�
mation is provided by anthroponymics that constitutes the main bulk
of evidence underlying the present study. These names are preserved
in a great variety of sources of different genres: historiography, court
poetry, documentary sources, emperor’s chrysobulls, marginal notes
and obits, signatures of manuscripts’ copyists, etc. Collection of the
anthroponymic material and compilation of the database have been
considerably facilitated by Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit
that registered approximately 30,000 names of persons living in the
Palaiologan period as found in Greek sources.�������������������������
The initial list of the
Oriental names has been formed by means of the analysis of PLP’s
Z. Đoković, Stanovništvo istočne Makedonije u prvoj polovini XIV veka, in Zbornik radova
Vizantiloshkog instituta, �������������������������
vol����������������������
. 40, 2003, ����������
p. 97–244.
�
Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit, ed. E. Trapp et al. Bd. 1–12, Wien,
1976–1995 (CD-Rome version: Wien, 2001) (hearafter – PLP).
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 77
data. ���������������������������������������������������������������
Later, by re-examining the primary sources, some additions and
corrections have been made to the PLP records including the recovery
of missed family links and the addition of individuals overseen in PLP.
In addition to PLP, which disregards the information in non-Greek
sources, the database has been supplemented by evidence from con�
temporary Persian, Turkish and west European sources that occasio�
nally mention individuals living in Byzantine lands. However, these
additions are not numerous.
Names of Oriental origin have been organized into a digital data�
base. The chosen personal names number around 470. I have included
in the database only those names the Oriental derivation of which are
irrefutable. Outside the database there remain a comparatively huge
number of non-Greek names of unknown origin. These unidentified
names may have been of Slavic, west European, Armenian, Turkic,
Albanian or other origin. However, the proper analysis of their lingui�
stic provenance is a matter for future investigations. The basic list of
Oriental names may thus increase in the course of further etymological
work; here I present preliminary results of the study.
The next stage of the research consists in placing the chosen names
into historical context, employing traditional methods of prosopo�
graphical study. Each entry of the database represents a prosopographi�
cal questionnaire containing the following rubrics: 1) Family name
or sobriquet; 2) Etymological interpretation; 3) Baptismal name; 4)
Occupation and social status; 5) Location; 6) Floruit; 7) Family links;
8) Primary sources; 9) Secondary sources.
From the names listed in PLP, Oriental names of the residents of
the Balkans, the Aegean and Ionian islands, Anatolia and the Black Sea
region, who were subjects of the Byzantine Empire, were extracted. It
must be stressed that the database does not include the names of fo�
reigners, subjects of Muslim states such as the Seljuq Sultanate, the
�
See also the already published and commented parts of the database: R. Shukurov, Ia-
goupy: tiurkskaia familiia na vizantiiskoi sluzhbe (Iagoupai: a Turkish Family in Byzantine Service),
in Vizantiiskie ocherki, Saint Petersburg, 2006, p. 205–229; R. Shukurov, Anatavly: tiurkskaia
familiia na vizantiiskoi sluzhbe (Anataulai: a Turkish Family in Byzantine Service),’ in Vizantiiskii
vremennik, vol. 66 (91), 2007, p. 193–207.
78 Rustam SHUKUROV
As it has been said, the present study explores the problem of the
Turkic population in one of the above-mentioned areas Macedonia
extending from Serres to Kastoria and Ochrid. Macedonia, a densely
populated province of late Byzantium, was the only Byzantine area
supplied with the demographic data sufficient for a rough statistical
approximation. Macedonia
������������������������������������������������������
is probably the most studied region of Late
Byzantium. The geography, economy and demographics of the region,
and, in particular, of its southern and southwestern parts (Chalkidike,
the lower flow of the Strymon) have been described in great detail.10
10 10�
See for instance: Fr. Dölger, Aus den Schatzkammern des heiligen Berges, München,
1948; Fr. Dölger, Sechs byzantinische Praktika des 14. Jahrhunderts für das Athoskloster Iberon,
München, 1949; G. Ostrogorsky, Pour l’histoire de la féodalité byzantine, Bruxelles, 1954,
p. 259–368 ; Khvostova K.V. Osobennosti agrarno-pravovykh otnoshenii v Pozdnei Vizantii
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 79
The basis for these studies ����������������������������������������
is the profuse documental material, whi�
ch is found in the acts of the monasteries of Mount Athos.11 Monastic
documents include imperial chrysobulls and private acts of donation,
deeds of purchase, court decisions on the disputes over������������������
contested��������
lands,
delineations of lands etc. The most informative type of monastic
document, containing abundant anthroponymical data, is praktikon,
an inventory containing fiscal information on monastic possessions
and listing taxes and households of parokoi present on the land. Such
assessments took place in Macedonia in 1300–1301, 1316–1318,
1320–1321, 1338–1341 and, in addition, some sporadic assessments
occurred in some of the intervening years. After the middle of the
fourteenth century, there were no assessments, but they briefly reap�
peared in the beginning of the fifteenth century; the last known prak-
tikon dates to 1420.12
(���������������������������
XIV������������������������
–�����������������������
XV���������������������
vv.). Moscow, 1968; J. Lefort, Habitats fortifiés en Macédoine orientale au Moyen
Âge, in Habitats fortifiés et organisation de l'espace en Méditerranée médiévale, Lyon, 1983, p.
99–103; J. Lefort, Radolibos: population et paysage, in Travaux et Mémoires, vol. 9, 1985, p.
195-234 ; J. Lefort, Population and Landscape in Eastern Macedonia during the Middle Ages:
The Example of Radolibos, in Continuity and Change in Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Society,
ed. A.
��������������������������������������������������������������
Bryer et H. Lowry, Birmingham-Washington, 1986, p. 11-21 ; J. Lefort, Population
et peuplement en Macédoine orientale, IXe–XVe siècle, in Hommes et richesses dans l’Empire byzantin,
vol. 2, Paris, 1991, p. 63-82; N. Kondov, Demographische Notizien über die Landbevölkerung
aus die Gebiet des Unteren Strymon in der erstern Halften des XIV Jahrhunderts, in Études balkani-
ques, t. 2-3, 1965, S. 201-172; N. Kondov Das Dorf Gradec. Die demographisch-wirtschaftliche
Gastalt eines Dorfes aus dem Gebiet des unteren Strymon von Anfang des 14. Jahrhunderts, in :
Études Balkaniques, t. 7, 1971, S. 31–55 ; t. 13, 1977, S. 71–91; P. Karlin-Hayter, Les
Catalans et les Villages de la Chalcidique, in Byzantion, vol. 52, 1982, p. 244-263 ; A.E. Laiou,
Peasant Society in the Late Byzantine Empire ; D. Jacoby, Phénomènes de démographie rurale à
Byzance aux XIIIe et XIVe siècles, in Études rurales, vol. 5-6, 1962, p. 163-186; D. Jacoby, Fo-
reigners and the Urban Economy in Thessalonike, ca. 1150–ca. 1450, in Dumbarton Oaks Papers,
vol. 57, 2004, p. 85–132.
11 11�
French Byzantinists have been publishing the main bulk of the acts of the monasteries
of Mount Athos in the series: Archives de l'Athos (Paris, 1937–), founded by Gabriel Millet
et Paul Lemerle; so far 22 volumes have come out, although, of course, beyond the published
volumes there still remains a considerable number of formerly published and unpublished
monastic documents.
12 12�
Fr. Dölger, Sechs byzantinische Praktika, S. 5–31; I. E. Karayannopoulos & G.
Weiss, Quellenkunde zur Geschichte von Byzanz (324-1453), Bd. 1–2, Wiesbaden, 1982, Bd. 1,
S. 105–107; Laiou, Peasant Society in the Late Byzantine Empire cit., p. 9–10.
80 Rustam SHUKUROV
13 13�
A discussion of similar problems see in: Jacoby, Foreigners and the Urban Economy in
Thessalonike cit.,���������������
p. 86–87, 130.
82 Rustam SHUKUROV
14 14�
Nicetas Choniates, Historia, ed. J.A. van Dieten, 2 vols, Berlin, New York, 1975,�
p. 453.1 app., 479.44 app.
15 15�
Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.–12. Jahrhunderts, ed. E. Trapp, Bd.
1–, Wien�����������������
, 2001–, p. 262; Du Cange, Glossarium ad scriptores mediae et infimae graecitatis, Lyon,
1688, col. 172–173.
16 16�
Georges Pachymérès, Relations Historiques, éd. A. Failler, vol. 1–5, Paris, 1984–
2000, vol. 2, IV, 13 (p. 367.24); S. Vryonis, Byzantine and Turkish Societies and Their Sour�
ces of Manpower, p. 140; M. Balivet Menteşe dit “Sâğlâm Bey” et Germain alias “Mârpûç”:
deux surnoms turcs dans la chronique byzantine de Georges Pachymère, in : Turcica, t. 25,
1993, p. 141–142.
17 17�
P.M. Fraser, Ethnics as Personal Names, in Greek����������������������������������������
���������������������������������������
Personal�������������������������������
������������������������������
Names�������������������������
. �����������������������
Their Value as Evidence,
p. 149–157.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 83
exclude that some Oriental names of the database in fact belon�
ged to Greeks, Slavs, etc. and this may affect the accuracy of the
results. At the same time, to my mind, the majority of names
certainly reflect the ethnic affiliation of their holders and are an
effective tool for the reconstruction of the ethnic composition of
Late Byzantine population.
3. Oriental Names
18 18�
On Qipchaqs and Cumans see the condensed summary of P. Golden, Codex Cumanicus,
in Central Asian Monuments, ed. H.B. Paksoy, Istanbul, 1992, p. 33–63; some impression of eth�
no-linguistic composition of Turkic Anatolia in the twelfth–fourteenth centuries may be derived
from: F. Sümer, Oğuzlar (Türkmenler). Tarihleri, Boy teşkilatı, Destanları, Istanbul, 1992; F. Sümer,
Anadolu’da Moğollar, in Selçuklu araştırmaları dergisi, vol. 1, 1969, p. 1–147.
84 Rustam SHUKUROV
19 19�
PLP, nos. 12004, 12005, 12006, 12007, 12008, 12011, 12012, 93832, 93833.
20 20�
PLP, nos. 11997– 11998.
21 21�
PLP, nos. 11999– 12002.
22 22�
PLP, nos. 93830–93831.
23 23�
PLP, no. 4155.
24 24�
PLP, no. 30614.
25 25�
For ample examples consult an old work: F. Miklosich, Die Bildung der Slavischen
Personen- und Ortsnamen, in Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften, philosophisch-historische
Klasse, Wien, 1860–1874 (repr. Heidelberg, 1927), S. 16.
26 26�
A.P. Kazhdan, Sotsial’nyi sostav gospodstvuiuscheo klassa Vizantii XI–XII v. Moscow,
1974, p. 215. See ���������
now: I. Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars. Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman
Balkans, 1185–1365, Cambridge, 2005.
27 27�
Nicephori Gregorae byzantina historia, ed. L. Schopen, I. Bekker, vol. 1–2, Bonn,
1829–1830, vol. 1, II, ���������������
5 (��������
p. 37); Georgii Acropolitae opera, ed. A. Heisenberg, P. Wirth,
vol. 1, Stuttgart, 1978, p. 53–54, 65; Pachymérès, Relations Historiques, vol. 1, I, 3 (p.
27.23); Vásáry, Cumans and Tatars cit., p. 64–68; Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes cit., p. 81;
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 85
Vatatzes distributed lands to them. The Cuman detachments of the
Byzantine army operating in the Balkans were referred to in the
sources for the next several decades. One more reference to a massi�
ve group of Cumans (around 2,000) in the Byzantine armed forces
relate to the 1320s: in 1327 Andronikos III, suspecting the Cuman
detachments of a lack of loyalty, ordered them to move to Lemnos,
Thasos and Lesbos.28
In the Byzantine Empire, Cumans were probably settled in colo�
nies.29 Although, undoubtedly, most Cumans still kept to a nomadic
way of life, some of them, as my list testifies, had adopted sedentary
life and become peasants.
Due to the fact that the Qipchaqs of the Northern Black Sea step�
pes were Islamized to a lesser extent as compared to Anatolian Turks,
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, they as a rule bore purely
Turkic names and nicknames.
Seemingly, most of the standard Muslim names referred to the in�
comers from Anatolia: ᾿Αλιάζης (← Ar. اﻠﻳﺎسIlyās Bibl. “Elijah”),30 Γαζῆς
(← Ar. ﻏﺎزىghāzī “conqueror, hero, especially, combating infidels”,
passed to Tk. gazi through Persian mediation),31 Μαχµούτης (← Ar.
ﻣﺣﻣودmah mūd “praised”),32 Μουσταφάς (← Ar. ﻣﺻطﻔﻰmustafā “cho�
sen, elect”),33 Μυσούρης (Ar. ﻣﻧﺻورmansūr “victor”),34 Σαλαχατηνός
(← Tk. salahaddin/salaheddin ← Ar. اﻟدﻳن ﺻﻼح alāh
s al-dīn “righteou�
sness of religion”)35 etc.
36 36�
PLP, nos. 29186, 29190, 29191.
37 37�
PLP, no. 29169.
38 38�
Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army cit., p. 61–62.
39 39�
PLP, nos. 24860–�������
24864.
������
40 40�
PLP, no. 24856.
41 41�
PLP, no. 5043.
42 42�
PLP, no. 91416.
43 43�
PLP, no. 2166.
44 44�
PLP, no. 2165.
45 45�
N. Oikonomidès, À propos des armées des premiers Paléologues et des compagnies de sol-
dats, in Travaux et mémoires, t. 8 [Hommage à Monsieur Paul Lemerle], 1981, p. 360ff ; M. Bar-
tusis, The Late Byzantine Army, p. 201–202, see also Index; J. Lefort,Villages de Macédoine:
notices historiques et topographiques sur la Macédoine orientale au Moyen Âge. 1. La Chalcidique
occidentale, Paris, 1982, p. 92, 116, 139, 146.
46 46�
PLP, no. 546���������������
(before
��������������
1341).
47 47�
Georges Pachymérès, X, 16 (p. 336ff).
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 87
listed is represented in the following charts (percentage figures are
rounded off):
Table 1:
48 48�
P. Wittek, La descendance chrétienne de la dynastie Seldjouk en Macédoine // Échos d’Orient.
No. 176. 1934. P. 409–412 ; P. Wittek, Yazijioghlu ‘Ali on the Christian Turks of the Dobruja,
in BSOAS, vol. XIV/3, 1952, p. 639–668 ; P. Wittek, Les Gagaouzes = Les gens de Kaykaus, in
Rocznik Orientalistyczny, t. XVII, 1951–1952, p. 12–24 ; Charanis, The Transfer of Population
as a Policy in the Byzantine Empire cit., p. 150.
88 Rustam SHUKUROV
4. Toponymic Evidence
49 49�
Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army cit., p. 257–258, 330.
50 50�
V. Kravari, Villes et villages de Macédoine occidentale, Paris, 1989, p. 76-78 ; PLP, no.
11999.
51 51�
Ibid., p. 133.
52 52�
Ibidem
53 53�
Ibidem
54 54�
Ibid., p. 132.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 89
tury?, a place near Rousaiou in Kalamaria, probably called after the
name of its former pronoiar; by 1327, it was occupied by a company of
Barbarenoi soldiers;55
Kουµουτζούλου, Kουµουντζούλου (? ← Τκ. kümcülü “having a buried
treasure”, where kümcü ← kümüncü “a buried treasure”56; cf. Ott. gömü
“a buried treasure”) 1301–mid-15th c., in Kalamaria near Neocho�
rakion;57
Μελίκι (← Ar. ﻣﻟﮏmalik “king”, passed to Tk. melik through Per�
sian mediation), the late thirteenth–early fourteenth century?, east of
Berroia, probably called after the name of its former pronoiar.58
The following place names could initially designate both Qipchaq
and Anatolian Turks:
Τουρκοχώριον/Tjurki Hor (“Turk�����������������
i����������������
sh village”), 14th c.?, contemporary
Patris, 5 km north-northwest of Berroia in the foothills of Bermion;59
Τουρκοχώριον, ca. 1302, probably near Gabriane in Kalamaria.
Its localization is not clear; Lefort localizes it west of Thessalonike,60
however a document of the Laura monastery (chrysoboullon sigillion of
Andronikos II Palaiologos) referred to it together with Gabriane (τὴν
Γαβρίανην καὶ τὸ Τουρκοχώριον); it is important that the chrysobull con�
cerns the region of Kalamaria exclusively, mentioning no places out�
side the region.61 Τουρκοχώριον has been localized in Kalamaria also
by the editors of the Acts of Lavra.62 I join the editors of the Acts in
localizing it somewhere near Gabriane.
55 55�
Actes de Docheiariou. Texte, éd. N. Oikonomidès, Paris, 1984, no. 18.13 (p. 142), p.
140; J. Lefort,Villages de Macédoine, p. 139.
56 56�
G. Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-Thirteenth-Century Turkish, Oxford,
1972, p. 722.
57 57�
Lefort,Villages de Macédoine cit., p. 83–84.
58
G. Chionides,῾Ιστορία� τῆς�
���� Βεροίας��
���������, τῆς�
���� πόλεως�
������� καὶ�
���� περιοχῆς,
�������� Thessalonike, 1970, p. 103,
161; G. Theocharides, Μία� διαθήκη� �������� κα��
����ì μία�
���� �����
δίκη� Βυζαντινή��
�����������. ᾽Ανέκδοτα�
���������� Βατοπεδινὰ�
����������� ἔγγραφα,
�������
Thessalonike, 1962, p. 68 (map).
59 59�
Kravari, Villes et villages de Macédoine occidentale cit., p. 91.
60 60�
Lefort, Villages de Macédoine cit., p. 61, 62 note 2, 110
61 61�
Actes de Lavra, ed. P. Lemerle, A. Guillou, N. Svoronos, D. Papachryssanthou,
S. Çirkoviç, vol. 1–4, Paris, 1970–1982, vol. 2, no. 94.23 (p. 123).
62 62�
Actes de Lavra, vol. 4, p. 91-92, 98, 151, 156.
90 Rustam SHUKUROV
63 63�
Actes de Lavra, vol. 2, no. 108.485 (p. 202), vol. 4, p. 98 ; Lefort, Villages de Macédoine
cit., p. 90.
64 64�
On nicknames and patronyms in Byzantine anthroponymics see, for instance: A.P.
Kazhdan, Ob aristokratizatsii vizantiiskogo obschestva VIII–XII vv. (On Aristocratisation of By-
zantine Society in the Eighth-Twelfth Centuries), in Zbornik radova Vizantoloshkog instituta, vol. 11,
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 91
here I mean, on the one hand, high-ranking military and civilian offi�
cials, and, on the other hand, the holders of patronyms, which conti�
nued existing through several generations.
The persons included in my list belonged to different strata of By�
zantine social hierarchy and were of different property status. Here
follow some numerical expressions of the social standing of the holders
of Oriental names (percentage figures are rounded off):
1968, p. 47–53; Laiou, Peasant Society in the Late Byzantine Empire. A Social and Demographic
Study, p. 118–120; E. Patlagean, Les débuts d’une aristocratie byzantine et le témoignage de l’his-
toriographie : système des noms et liens de parenté aux IXe–Xe siècles, in The Byzantine Aristocracy (XI
to XIII Centuries), ed. M. Angold, Oxford, 1984, p. 23–41; J.-Cl. Cheynet, ������� Du prénom au
patronyme: les étrangers à Byzance (Xe–XIIe siècles), in Studies in Byzantine Sigillography, ed. N.
Oikonomidès, Washington, 1987, p. 57–66.
92 Rustam SHUKUROV
65 65�
Bartusis, On the Problem of Smallholding Soldiers cit., p. 1–126; Bartusis, The Late
Byzantine Army cit.�������������
, p. 157–190.
66 66�
PLP, nos. 868–871.
67 67�
PLP, nos. 7816, 7822, 7824, 92055.
68 68�
PLP, nos. 17216– 17224, 94096, 94097.
69 69�
PLP, nos. 17784, 17787.
70 70�
PLP, nos. 26334–26340.
71 71�
V. Laurent, Une famille turque au service de Byzance : les Mélikès, in Byzantinische Zeits-
chrift, 1956, Bd. 49, S. 349–368.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 93
ghter), settled in the Empire. In this case, the family name is a direct
reference to the royal blood of the family’s ancestor.
The question of the origin of the Soultanoi family is rather com�
plicated. The earliest known member of the family of the Soultanoi,
᾿Αθανάσιος Σουλτάνος, is mentioned in two acts of Vatopedi monastery
and appears to be the founder of the Byzantine lineage.72 He had a dau�
ghter, Eudokia, who, around 1279, married Theodoros Sarantinos, a
high-ranking Byzantine official. The wife of Athanasios Soultanos was
a noble lady whose family name included the most renowned aristocra�
tic patronyms of the Empire: Doukaina Angelina Komnene. It means
that Athanasios himself must have belonged to the highest aristocratic
strata of the Empire, thanks to his noble lineage. G. Theocharides first
suggested that he was a brother or a son of ‘Izz al-Dīn Kay Kāwus II
and had married an unknown sister of Michael Palaiologos.73 E. Zacha�
riadou later identified Athanasios Soultanos as one of the sons of ‘Izz
al-Dīn Kay Kāwus II who remained in Byzantium after the escape of
his father.74 This hypothesis has been accepted as proven by G. Chioni�
des.75 But the editors of PLP have questioned this identification. The
editors of the acts of Vatopedi referred to Zachariadou’s identification
but have withheld judgement on it.
Reasons to doubt this identification are rather serious. If Athana�
sios Soultanos’ daughter Eudokia reached marriageable age (at least
12 years old) and was married at the latest by 1279, it means that she
was born not later than 1267 but most likely much earlier since it was
exceptionally rare for Byzantine girls to be married at that young age.
In such a case, Athanasios was born no later than 1250-1251 to reach
reproductive age (16-17 years) by the time of the birth of his daughter.
In such a case, he could not have been the son of ‘Izz al-Dīn Kay Kāwus
72 72�
Actes de Vatopedi, éd. J. Bompaire, J. Lefort, V. Kravari, Ch. Giros, Paris, 2001,
vol. 1, no. 62, p. 334, 336.71–72; no. �������������������
64, p. 344–361.
73 73�
Theocharides, Μία� διαθήκη�
�������� κα��
����ì μία�
���� �����
δίκη� Βυζαντινή
���������� cit.���������������
, p. 55 note 6.
74 74�
E. Zachariadou, Οἱ� �����������
χριστιανο��ì ���������
ἀπόγονοι� ����
τοῦ� ���������
᾽Ιζζεδ���
ì��ν� ���������
Καικαοὺς� ���
Β��’ ����
στὴ� ������
Βέροια, in
Μακεδονικ�ά, 1964–1965, vol. 6, p. 62–74.
75 75�
G. Chionides, ῾Ιστορία� τῆς����� Βεροίας��
���������, τῆς�
���� πόλεως�
������� καὶ�
���� περιοχῆς.
�������� Thessalonike, 1970. p.
115–117.
94 Rustam SHUKUROV
II for the latter was born in 1237 (or 1235), and in 1250-1251 he was
only 13-14 (or 15–16). At the same time, it is known that the eldest
son of ‘Izz al-Dīn was Mas‘ūd. Therefore, the identification of Athana�
sios Soultanos as a son of ‘Izz al-Dīn Kay Kāwus II is chronologically
impossible. However, we do not yet have any plausible hypothesis to
explain Athanasios family name and his high position in the social
hierarchy of Byzantine society. It is most likely that, judging by his
family name and status, he was a member of the Saljuqid ruling house
and came to Byzantium with ‘Izz al-Dīn Kay Kāwus II. However, the
question of the degree of his kinship to the latter remains open76.
Nothing is known about the Asian progenitor of the Anataulai,
however it is obvious that he must have been quite a prominent per�
son. The honorary title (laqab) ‘ayn al-dawla was well-known at the
courts of Muslim rulers. Since the ninth century, laqabs with the com�
ponent dawla belonged to highest Muslim court officials and military
commanders, as well as to supreme rulers (viziers, sultans).77 In the
Saljuqid period, according to the Saljuqid great vizier Nizām al-Mulk,
“…the titles dīn, islām suit four grades of persons: first are rulers, se�
cond are viziers, third are ‘ulamā, fourth are amīrs, who are constantly
engaged in holy war and contribute to the victory of Islam.”78 Howe�
ver, since the twelfth century, the prestige of the titles with the com�
ponent dawla had been declining.79 Hence, the Muslim progenitor of
the Byzantine family of the Anataulai probably was a senior military
officer, or perhaps even a governor. Very likely, he originated from
Anatolia as the titles with the element dawla do not seem to have been
76 76�
More details see: R. Shukurov, Semeistvo ‘Izz al-Dina Kay Kawusa II v Vizantii (The
Family of ‘Izz al-Din Kay Kawus II in Byzantium), in VV. 2008. T. 67 (92) (forthcoming).
77 77�
C.A. Bosworth, Lakab, in The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition, Leiden, 2004. Vol.
5. P. 621b,
������ 622b.
�����
78 78�
See the entry “Laqab” in: Dehkhodâ Aliakbar, Loghatnâme (Dictionary), CD Version,
Tehran, 2000; I have at hand only a Russian edition of Nizam al-Mulk’s book, Nizam al-
Mulk, Kniga ob upravlenii gosudarstvom, transl. B.N. Zakhoder, Dushanbe, 1998, p. 127.
79 79�
C.A. Bosworth, Lakab, p. �����
623a.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 95
widespread in the Golden Horde. It is also probable that he came to
the Balkans with the Saljuq sultan ‘Izz al-Dīn Kay Kāwus II.80
As to the Iagoupai, here again it is difficult to judge the status of
the family’s progenitor, because the name was very common in the
Muslim world and could belong to both commoners and noble per�
sons. However, as the descendants of the Byzantine Iagoupai jealously
preserved the patronym for the next eight generations, their Muslim
progenitor must have been a person of prominence and rank. By kee�
ping their patronym, descendants appealed to the glory and nobility
of their ancestor. It is not impossible that the Turkic ancestor belonged
to the ruling family of the emirate of Germiyan, a Turkmen state with
the capital in Kütahya. Some considerations in favour of this sugge�
stion have been published elsewhere.81
In conclusion, it must be noted that the exceedingly high percen�
tage of aristocracy in the database (about ¼) is hardly justifiable and
can be explained by the nature of the available sources. Despite the
high percentage of aristocracy in the list, of course, aristocrats were si�
gnificantly fewer when compared with the middle and lower classes.
Quite remarkable is the fact that if one places the holders of Orien�
tal names on the geographical map, it becomes obvious that their di�
stribution in Macedonia was not at all even. The places of residence
marked on the map outline rather compact areas. It is quite remarka�
ble that the names marked on the map aggregate into several con�
glomerations. These regions represent the nucleus areas of the Turkic
ethic presence in Macedonia: the lower Strymon, Serres, Berroia and
Lake Joannitsa (swamps), the valleys of the rivers Vardar and Strymon,
80 80�
R. Shukurov, Anatavly: tiurkskaia familiia na vizantiiskoi sluzhbe (Anataulai: a Turkish
Family in Byzantine Service).
81 81�
R. Shukurov, Iagoupy: tiurkskaia familiia na vizantiiskoi sluzhbe (Iagoupai: a Turkish
Family in Byzantine Service).
96 Rustam SHUKUROV
82 82�
PLP, nos. 12004, 12005, 12007
83 83�
PLP, nos. 12000–12002.
84 84�
PLP, no. 11997. ᾿Αβραµπάκης ← Ar. اﺑراﻫﻳمibrāhīm “Abraham” + Tk. bek “ruler, chief�
tain etc.” (G. Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica, Bd. 2, Leiden, 1983, S. 54).
85 85�
PLP, no. 10116;
��������������
likely Kazania is the fem. form of Kazanes (← Tk. kazan “cauldron”).
86 86�
PLP, no. 60.
���
87 87�
PLP, no. 11492. Κατζάριος� ← Tk. kaçar/qajar “moving swiftly, fleeing”, from the Tur
kmen tribal name Qajar (see: Sulejman Efendi, Čagataj-Osmanisches Wörterbuch, bearbeitet
von I. Kúnos, Budapest, 1902, S. 112)?
88 88�
PLP, no. 17216, 17219, 17221, 17222, 94097.
89 89�
PLP, no. 17787.
������
90 90�
PLP, nos. 26329–26330. Seemingly Σουλι���� ᾶς� ← Ar. Sulaymān “Solomon” (G. Mora�
µ���
vcsik, Bd. 2, S. 286).
91 91�
πασᾶς� ← Tk. turum or turun “resembling a stallion” (see: G. Clau�
PLP, no. 29194, Τουρ�������
µ������
son, An Etymological Dictionary, p. 549; Sulejman Efendi, Čagataj-Osmanisches Wörterbuch, S. 197)
+ Tk. pasha “leader, commander” (← Per. pāshā contracted form of �ﭘﺎدﺷﺎهpādshāh “king”)?
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 97
the names of two members of the aristocratic family of the Σουλτάνοι
Δηµήτριος and Μιχαήλ (dīmitri sultān, mīkhū sultān) are found; these
were residents of Zichna after 1387 and had blood links with the Ly�
zikoi family (Λυζικοί).92
Σαρακηνός (Melitziani, Eunouchou, Serres)93 and Σαρακηνόπουλος
(Chrysoupolis)94 were most probably of Anatolian Turkic origin as well.
Δαµασκηνός (Drama)95 might well have been an Asian of non-Tu�
rkic origin; Βαρβαρηνός (Prinarion/Aeidarokastron),96 probably, was
one of the Barbarenoi soldiers (see also above).
In connection with the resettlement of the Turks, a remarkable
feature can be observed: it is not impossible that Turkic rural settlers
were kept far from the main centres of the region such as the cities of
Serres, Zichna and Drama and settled closer to the sea.
The Lower Strymon is known as a region where Byzantine mer�
cenaries were settled as was the case of the Prosalentai, Imperial navy
rowers who were assigned land in the area east of the mouth of the
Strymon.97 It is interesting to note that paroikos Γεώργιος Βαρβαρηνός
who, as noted above, might have been a member of the Barbarenoi
soldier company, lived in the coastal location of Prinarion close to the
mouth of the Strymon. It is not impossible that the Turkic mercenaries
and Barbarenoi were assigned lands for their service in that region.
92 92�
Wittek, Yazijioghlu Ali cit.��������������
������������������
, p. 650–651; P. Wittek, Les gagaouzes, 19ff. ����������
Probably,
the progenitor of the Lyzikoi was Slav: Z. Đoković, Stanovništvo istočne Makedonije, p. 202.
93 93�
PLP, nos. 24860, 24861, 24863, 24864;
94 94�
PLP, no. 24856.
95 95�
PLP, no. 5043.
96 96�
PLP, no. 2166.
97 97�
Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army cit.�����������
, p. 48–49.
98 Rustam SHUKUROV
This area divides into two sub-areas: the first one centres on Berroia
and the second one gravitates towards marches and swamps of Joannit�
sa. The high level of the concentration of Turkic names is represented
by the region of Berroia. This area was probably occupied by both
Qipchaq and Anatolian Turks. The place name Kοµανίτζης, being a de�
rivation form the name of a landowner and located northeast of Berroia
(see above), indicates the presence of Qipchaqs here. It is curious that
an Asian, the paroikos Νικόλαος Τοῦρκος, was a resident of Kοµανίτζης
98 98�
PLP, nos. 93833, 12012.
99 99�
PLP, no. 11998.
100 100�
PLP, nos. 869, 871.
101 101�
PLP, no. 7816.
102 102�
PLP, no. 7824.
103 103�
PLP, no. 17232.
104 104�
PLP, nos. 29186, 29190.
105 105�
PLP, no. 29169.
106 106�
PLP, no. 29182.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 99
in 1338.107 If it is not a coincidence, this instance demonstrates that
the sobriquet Τοῦρκος was probably applicable to Cumans.
However, most of the Oriental residents were probably incomers
from Anatolia. Some members of the family of the sultan ‘Izz al-Dīn
Kay Kāwus II were settled by Byzantine authorities in the region of
Berroia: his mother Προδουλία (?, in a Persian source bardūliya), pos�
sibly his wife, sister, daughter and his son Constantine Melik were
residents of Berroia.108 It is not impossible that other Asian residents of
Berroia (Μυσούρης,109 Μελίκ110 and ᾿Αστραπύρης Μελίκης111) were Ana�
tolian Turks or their descendants. The local villages of Τουρκοχώριον
and Μελίκι most likely obtained their names from Turks of Anatolian
descent.
In the region of Berroia and the swamps near Lake Joannitsa,
there were lands belonging to the family of the Soultanoi who were
very likely linked with the Saljuq ruling house (see above): Θεοδώρα
Μονοµαχίνα Σουλτανίνα (Berroia),112 Ξένη Παλαιολογίνα Σουλτανίνα
(Nesion, Resaine),113 ᾿Αθανάσιος Σουλτάνος (Κομανίτζη),114 ᾿Αλέξιος
Σουλτάνος Παλαιολόγος (Nesion),115 ∆ηµήτριος Σουλτάνος Παλαιολόγος
(Resaine),116 Σουλτάνος Παλαιολόγος (Berroia).117 It is worth noting
that ᾿Αθανάσιος Σουλτάνος, being undoubtedly of Anatolian Turkish
blood, possessed land in Κομανίτζη, a location named after its former
Cuman owner. If this place belonged initially to a Slavicized Cuman,
107 107�
PLP, no. 29191.
108 108�
P. Wittek, La descendance chrétienne de la dynastie Seldjouk en Macédoine cit.; Wit-
tek, Yazijioghlu ‘Ali on the Christian Turks of the Dobruja cit.; P. Wittek, Les Gagaouzes =
Les gens de Kaykaus; E. Zachariadou, Οἱ χριστιανο�� �����������ì ἀπόγονοι��������������������������
����������������������������������
τοῦ����������������������
�������������������������
᾽Ιζζεδ���������������
���������������������
�������������
������������
Καικαοὺς�
������������
��
���’ στὴ�
����
Βέροια������������������������������������������������������������������������������
. More details on the family of the sultan ‘Izz
�����������������������������������
al-Dīn Kay Kāwus II see also: R. Shuku-
rov, Semeistvo ‘Izz al-Dina Kay Kawusa v Vizantii (The Family of ‘Izz al-Din Kay Kawus in
Byzantium).
109 109�
PLP, no. 19898.
110 110�
PLP, nos. 17784 and 92662.
111 111�
PLP, no. 1597.
112 112�
PLP, no. 26335.
113 113�
PLP, no. 26336.
114 114�
PLP, no. 26337.
115 115�
PLP, no. 26338.
116 116�
PLP, no. 26340.
117 117�
PLP, no. 26341.
100 Rustam SHUKUROV
and then was transferred to an Anatolian Turk, one may see here cer�
tain continuity: one may wonder whether traditionally this area was
intended for allotting Turkic migrants with arable land?
Near Lake Jannitsa were located the lands of the aristocratic fami�
ly of the Lyzikoi who apparently had blood links with the Soultanoi��;�
Berrhoia was the native land of Γεώργιος Λυζικός.118
The Oriental names for that area make up 15% of the list of Orien�
tal names for Macedonia, and 10% of the total number of region’s re�
sidents in PLP. It is the highest percentage of Asian settlers among all
the Macedonian regions. Of course, it is quite possible that it was that
area and especially the localities adjoining the swamps near Lake Jan�
nitsa that were extensively used for the resettling of Turkic incomers.
However, the high percentage of Asians here may also be explained by
the fact that the most frequently mentioned Oriental names in the area
belonged to renowned aristocratic families (the Soultanoi, Melikai, Ly�
zikoi) who were mentioned disproportionately frequently as compared
with common people.
118 118�
PLP, no. 15196.
119 119�
PLP, no. 93832.
120 120�
PLP, nos. 93830–93831.
121 121�
PLP, no. 29178.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 101
mercenaries who were enlisted in a special detachment of the Imperial
bodyguards called Τούρκοι Βαρδαριώται.122 As late as the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries, Byzantine narrative sources still referred to the
detachment of the palace guard recruited from the Vardariot Turks.123
If one takes into consideration the available information about the eth�
nic composition of the region, it would seem improbable that, in the
fourteenth century, the Vardariot guards were still ethnically Hun�
garian or were the descendants of the initial Hungarian settlers. One
may suggest, judging by the discussed onomastics of the region, that,
in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Vardariotai ethnically
were either Qipchaq or Anatolian Turks who replaced the Hungarians
but retained the traditional denomination of Τούρκοι Βαρδαριώται. It
is also not impossible that the notion “Τούρκοι Βαρδαριώται”, by that
time, had purely territorial meaning and implied a group of settlers
of mixed origin, who traditionally were enlisted into the palace guard
detachment.124 The Vardariotai seem to have occupied the Lower Var�
dar closer to Thessalonike, however, now it is impossible to give an
exact location.125
There exists an argument in favour of the Anatolian origin of the
fourteenth- century Vardariot Turks. In the fourteenth century, Pseu�
do-Kodinos relates that, during the Christmas celebrations, the Var�
dariotai acclaimed the Emperor “in the tongue of their ancient ho�
122 122�
R. Janin, Les Turcs Vardariotes, in Écho d’Orient, t. 29, 1930, p. 437–449; S. Kyriaki-
des, ��
���������������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������
αχριδώ��������������������������������������������
�������������������������������������������
καί����������������������������������������
���������������������������������������
�������������������������������������
�������������������������������������
επισκοπή�����������������������������
����������������������������
της� ������������������������
οι����������������������
���������������������
Τούρκοι��������������
������������� in Επιστημονικές������������
Βαρδαριώται��, ��� �����������
Επετηρίδες� ������������
Φιλοσοφικής�
Σχολής� ��������������
Πανεπιστημίου� ������������
Θεσσαλονίκης, vol. 3, 1939, p. 513–520; V. Laurent, ‘Ὁ� ������������
Βαρδαριωτῶν� �����
ἤτοι�
Τούρκων��. Perses,
�������� Turcs
�����������������������������������
asiatiques ou Turcs hongrois? in Сборникъ� въ���� паметъ����
����������
на�
��� проф��
������. �������
Петъръ�
Никовъ, Sofia, 1940, p. 275–288; G.I. Konidares, Η πρώτη μνεία της επισκοπής Βαρδαριοτών
Τούρκων υπό τον Θεσσαλονίκης, in Θεολογία, vol. 23, 1952, p. 87–94, 236–238; G. Moravcsik,
Byzantinoturcica, Bd. 1. Leiden, 1983, S. 87, 322; R. Guilland, Recherches sur les institutions
byzantines, Berlin; Amsterdam, 1967, t. 1, p. 304 ; N. Oikonomidès, Vardariotes—W.l.nd.
r—V.n.nd.r: Hongrois installés dans la vallée du Vardar en 934," in Südost-Forschungen, 1973,
Bd. 32, p. 1–8 (repr.: Idem, Documents et études sur les institutions de Byzance (VIIe-XVe s.), [Va-
riorum Reprints], London, 1976); A. Kazhdan, Vardariotai, in Oxford Dictionary of Byzan-
tium, Oxford, 1991, p. 2153.
123 123�
Acropolites, p. 131.26–28; Pachymérès, IV, 29 (t. 2, p. 417.3).
124
Janin, Les Turcs Vardariotes cit., p. 447.
125
Charanis, The Transfer of Population as a Policy in the Byzantine Empire cit., p. 148;
Vryonis, Byzantine and Turkish Societies and Their Sources of Manpower cit., p. 138
102 Rustam SHUKUROV
Turks with “Persia” again noting that they wore “Persian headgear,
��������
φόρεμα��, �����������
called aggouroton” (περσικὸν��������� ἀγγουρωτὸν� ������������
ὀνομαζόμενον).127 Final�
ly, Pseudo-Kodinos explains that “long ago they were Persians by race;
the Emperor [space for a name left vacant], relocating them from there
[i.e. “Persia” – Author], settled them at the Vardar river; this is why
they are called Vardariotai.”128
Byzantine literature of the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries nor�
mally employed the terms “Persians” and “Persian language” in re�
ference to the subjects of the Saljuqs of Anatolia and their Turkish
language. One may find the relevant references, which are abundant,
in Moravcsik’s Byzantinoturcica.129 This appears to have been not sim�
ply an “archaizing” gesture of Byzantine authors but rather a common
delusion that the Saljuqs were Persian and spoke Persian. It suffices
to say that John Tzetzes, in his well-known passage on greetings in
foreign languages, identified a Turkish phrase as Persian.130
One can suggest that John III Vatatzes (1221–1254), Theodore II
Laskaris (1254–1258) or more likely Michael VIII131 may have been
implied in the Psedo-Kodinos for the emperor who relocated “the
Persians” from their homeland, and that Τούρκοι Βαρδαριώται of the
fourteenth century were, at least partly, the descendants of the Saljuq
immigrants resettling in the Vardar valley in the second half of the
thirteenth century; these were the Anatolian Turks from whom the
Vardariots inherited their “Persian tongue”.132 As we have seen, Ana�
126 126�
Pseudo-Kodinos, Traité des offices, introduc., texte et traduc. par J. Verpeaux, Paris,
1966, p. 210.7–8.
127 127�
Ibid., p. 181.26–28.
128 128�
Ibid., p. 182.6–10.
129 129�
Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica cit., Bd. 2, S. 252ff.
130 130�
E. Hunger, Zum Epilog des Johannes Tzetzes, in Byzantinische Zeitschrift, Bd. 46, 1953,
S. 302–307.
131 131�
But surely not Theophilos, as Janin and Moravcsik has suggested: Janin, Les Turcs
Vardariotes cit., p. 440–445; G. Moravcsik, Byzantinoturcica, Bd. 2, S. 322.
132 132�
It is not impossible that the first layers of Anatolian Turkish element had appeared at the
Vardar as early as the twelfth century as Laurent has suggested (V. Laurent, ‘�� Ὁ�������������
������������
Βαρδαριωτῶν�
ἤτοι����������
Τούρκων��
���������, p. ������������
285–286��).
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 103
tolian Turks were in the majority in the neighbouring areas of Mace�
donia due to the population transfers of the second half of the thir�
teenth century. If so, Vardariot guards might well have pronounced
their acclamations at the Imperial court in one of the Anatolian Turkic
dialects or in Persian, which was common at the Saljuqid court.133
133 133�
On the use of the Persian language in Anatolia at the time of Saljuqs see: C. Hillen-
brand, Ravandi, the Seljuk Court at Konya and the Persianisation of Anatolian Cities, in Méso-
geios, vol. 25–26, 2005, p. 157–169; A. Ateş, Hicri VI–VIII. (XII–XIV.) asırlarda Anadolu’da
Farsça eserler, in: Türkiyat Mecmuası, vol. VII–VIII/2,
������������ 1945,
������ p.
����������
94–135.
134 134�
PLP, no. 92115.
135 135�
PLP, no. 24862.
136 136�
PLP, no. 24942.
137 137�
PLP, no. 92115.
138 138�
PLP, no. 5047.
139 139�
PLP, no. 546.
140 140�
PLP, no. 94212.
141 141�
PLP, no. 12008.
142 142�
PLP, no. 4155; name’s etymology see above.
143 143�
PLP, no. 24941;
������������������������������������������������������
for the Qipchaq word consult: �����������������
Sulejman Efendi. ��������������������
Čagataj-Osmanisches
Wörterbuch, S. 167.
144 144�
PLP, nos. 438, 91095. G.C. Soulis, The Gypsies in the Byzantine Empire and the Balkans
in the Late Middle Ages, in: Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 15, 1961, p. 148ff; Z. Đoković,
Stanovništvo istočne Makedonije cit., p. 177.
104 Rustam SHUKUROV
145 145�
PLP, no. 872.
146 146�
PLP, no. 92055.
147 147�
PLP, no. 7822.
148 148�
PLP, no. 17220.
149 149�
PLP, no. 60.
150 150�
PLP, no. 17216.
151 151�
Charanis, The Transfer of Population as a Policy in the Byzantine Empire cit. H. Ditten,
Ethnische Ferschiebungen zwischen der Balkanhalbinsel und Kleinasien von Ende des 6. bis zur zweiten
Berlin, 1993.
Hälfte des 9. Jahrhunderts,��������������
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 105
The prevalence of the Anatolian Turks indicates that the scale of
their migration to the Balkans was considerable, although narrative
sources scarcely give sufficient data to reconstruct the history of this
relocation. Their settlement in the Macedonian regions started not
earlier than the twelfth century, but most likely the main body of the
Anatolian immigrants had appeared in the second half of the thir�
teenth century, especially due to the coming of the sultan ‘Izz al-Dīn
Kay Kāwus with his retinue, troops, and, probably, with some of his
sedentary and nomadic subjects.
The dates of the names discussed here cover the range from 1261
to the mid-fifteenth century. However, they are distributed rather ir�
regularly across this period of time: 8% of the names fall in the period
1261–1299, 56% are registered for 1300–1348, 17.5% for 1350–
1399, and 18.5% for 1400–mid-15th century. Thus, more than one
half of the selected names date to the time between 1300 and 1346.
Moreover, the case of Qipchaq names in Macedonia is even more
telling. Qipchaq
����������������������������������������������������������
names are found in the sources from 1300 to 1445;
however, as many as 87% of Qipchaq names date to 1300–1348, and
only a few are seen after 1348. Generally speaking, this is in keeping
with the information of the narrative source about the waves of the Cu�
man resettlements in Macedonia (see above). However, such an abrupt
reduction in the number of Cuman names seems somewhat puzzling.
At the same time, different regions give different pictures. For
�������
in�
stance, Constantinople provides a completely different picture where
Oriental names are distributed in the following way: 31% for 1263–
1291, 25% for 1300–1334, 22% for 1352–1396, and finally 22% for
1401–1475. Is it possible that the figures for Macedonia reveal some
specific tendency in demographic evolution in the region?
One of the reasons for this irregularity could be the nature of the
main sources for Macedonian demography, namely the acts of the
Athos monasteries containing the most detailed information just for
the fourteenth century (see above).
However, there could be one more explanation. I suggest that the
106 Rustam SHUKUROV
8. Christianization
152 152�
J. Lefort, Rural Economy and Social Relations in the Countryside, in Dumbarton Oaks
Papers, vol. 47, 1993, p. 104–106; J. Lefort, Population et peuplement en Macédoine orientale,
IXe–XVe siècle, in Hommes et richesses dans l’Empire byzantin, vol. 2, Paris, 1991, p. 69–71 ; The
Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, ed. Angeliki
E. Laiou, vol. 1, [Dumbarton Oaks Studies, vol. 39], Washington, 2002, p. 48–49.
THE BYZANTINE TURKS 107
probably settled in the region during the first Ottoman occupation
in 1386–1403, one Jew, and six persons whose religious affiliation
is indefinable.
In other words, the overwhelming majority of immigrants from
both Dasht-i Qipchaq and Muslim Anatolia had adopted Christianity.
Undoubtedly, this was the result of deliberate state policy towards
the immigrants settling in the Empire as subjects of the Palaiologan
emperors.153
Despite the rapid decline and deterioration of economic and
social conditions, the Byzantine social system still preserved its
assimilative power. According to traditional Byzantine legislation,
all subjects of the Empire had to confess Orthodox Christianity,
the state religion of the Empire. Traditionally, the first step in the
naturalisation of newcomers consisted in their adoption of the By�
zantine state religion.154
The present case of the Macedonian Asians shows that the
Byzantines were still successful in naturalising immigrants.
This is quite a valuable observation, because contradictory evi�
dence is provided by other parts of the Byzantine world. For
instance, the analogous Pontic anthroponymic material provides
grounds to assume that, in the beginning of the fifteenth centu�
ry, some Asian newcomers in the Empire of Trebizond retained
their Muslim faith. They had purely Muslim names as subjects
of the Emperor and remained as Muslims. Moreover, possibly
some of the recently baptized Asians continued to confess Islam
secretly. 155 To my knowledge, there is no such evidence in the
Palaiologan Empire. The anthroponymic material discussed
153 153�
Asdracha, La région des Rhodopes cit., p. 76f ; Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army.
p. 27, 62, 197, 244, 374.
154 154�
Vryonis, Byzantine and Turkish Societies and Their Sources of Manpower, p. 131ff; S.
Reinert, The Muslim Presence in Constantinople, 9th-15th Centuries: Some Preliminary Obser-
vations, in Studies on the Internal Diaspora of the Byzantine Empire, ed. H. Ahrweiler, A.E.
Laiou, Washington, 1998, p. 125–150.
155 155�
Shukurov, The Byzantine Turks cit.; R. Shukurov, Crypto-Muslims of Anatolia, in
Anthropology, Archeology and Heritage in the Balkans and Anatolia or the Life and Times of F.W.
Hasluck (1878-1920)., 2 vols, ed. David Shankland, Istanbul, 2004, vol. 2, p. 135–158.
108 Rustam SHUKUROV
9. Conclusion
Map 2 - Chalkidike.
R. SHUKUROV
R. SHUKUROV