Chibirov, A.L. ALANS IN SERVICE OF THE YUAN DYNASTY. THE ORIENTAL CHRONICLES. Print

Keywords: Mongols, Alania, China, Yuan dynasty, Mongolia, Alans-Asses, Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism.
Tragic consequences of the Tatar-Mongolian invasion into Alania, along with the destruction of the statehood resulted in the subsequent waves of migration of the survived population, which contributed to the establishment and growth of large Alanian settlements both in the west and in the east of Eurasia. The Alans, who migrated to the territory of Hungary, are quite well-known in the historical science, which is not the case with the part of the Alanswho moved to China and Mongolia for whatever reasons. In the early ХIIIth century the Mongolians taking over the Northern China faced the following challenges: conquering Southern China and arranging administration for this huge territory. For these purposes they used representatives of the conquered peoples, among themAlans, as military force. Being in the state of feudal disunity, the Alanian princes were not able to unite in the fight against a common enemy; in fact, part of them, for various reasons, defected to the enemy, others subjected to their authorityafter the occupation of Alania by Mongolians. The article gives a large number of examples of Alanian princes’ defection to the enemy with their dependents and their participation in wars on the side of Mongolian khans to protect the interests of the Yuan Dynasty. The Alanian cavalrymen’s movement to the east was carried out in three stages: after the defeat of the Alans in 1222, before Batu Khan’s conquest and after the final conquest of Alania in 1239. According to the Chinese and other sources, Alanian cavalry, totaling to approximately 30000 warriors, was actively involved in all military operations of the Mongols in the east, where they proved to be great warriors. Part of the Alans (or Asuds) had been sent to the Inner Mongolia, where dispersed among Mongolian tribes, they were being assimilated losing their language, culture and religion. After the fall of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty (1368), the Alanian retinue left China with the last Mongolian emperor Toghontemür.

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