Kipchak branch
Nogais
Heirs of the Nogai Horde, a Turk people of the North Caucasus steppe with a rich tradition of heroic epics.
Noğaylar / Nogaylar
The Nogais take their name from Nogay, a commander of the Golden Horde who died in 1299. After the Golden Horde broke apart, the Nogai Horde emerged; its 16th-century rulers traced their descent from Edigü (died 1419), and at its height Nogai groups ranged across the steppe from the Black Sea to beyond the Volga.
Under pressure from the Kalmyks in the 17th century, Nogai groups moved west and south, and in the 1780s they became subjects of the Russian Empire. Many Nogais emigrated to the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, and their descendants live today in Türkiye and Romania. Most Nogais remained nomadic until the early 20th century.
Today the main Nogai homeland is the Nogai steppe of northern Dagestan, with further communities in Stavropol, Karachay-Cherkessia and Chechnya. The Nogais are Sunni Muslims.
- Language
- Nogai, a Kipchak Turk language closely related to Kazakh and Karakalpak, written in Cyrillic
- Branch
- Kipchak
- Homeland
- The Nogai steppe between the Terek and Kuma rivers in northern Dagestan, and neighbouring parts of Stavropol, Karachay-Cherkessia and Chechnya (Russia)
- Also living in
- Türkiye, Romania and wider diaspora
Key dates
Late 14th – 15th century
The Nogai Horde takes shape after the break-up of the Golden Horde; Edigü dies in 1419.
17th century
Under pressure from the Kalmyks, Nogai groups migrate west and south.
1780s
The Nogais become subjects of the Russian Empire.
19th century
Emigration of many Nogais to the Ottoman Empire.
1928 / 1938
A Nogai literary language is created, first in the Latin alphabet (1928) and from 1938 in Cyrillic.
Heritage
- Heroic epics (batır yırlar), including the epic of Edige
- The nomadic pastoral heritage of the Nogai steppe
- Long-standing Nogai communities in Dobruja and Anatolia
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Nogay”
- U. Schamiloglu, “Nogays”, in P. Friedrich and N. Diamond (eds.), Encyclopedia of World Cultures, vol. 6: Russia and Eurasia / China (G. K. Hall, 1994)