The history of mountain Altai

Whatever you see now in Altai – forested hills in river valley, crystal lake, rock over a glacier or dry hot steppe – hasn't changed in the course of history of our days. Some would come here to build a new civilization, others left to build new nations somewhere else. The nations were born and died here. Those mountains saw us strong, breaking the rocks into pieces, changing water currents, building long roads over impossible passes. But they also saw us weak – when we couldn't start fire or used sticks as weapons to fight a wolf. The rocks of the mountains won't tell you all the story, but we can.

Imagine being an invisible witness next to these four: fair haired, blue eyed. They are talking an ancient language that will later become the father of half of earth languages. You understand from the tone of the speech that they are satisfied – they are carrying a lot of fish they have just caught. Their women will put the fish into clay pots and bury it in the ground next to the fire place in the middle of the hut. Their leather clothes look rough but not primitive since they learnt to make needles from copper. They even make jewelry out of it. But still no weapons or tableware has been produced here – the stone age, far from the bronze. However they have domesticated cows, horses and sheep and already tried planting seeds. They all live in the 21 century, with the only difference that it's before Christ. Their ancestors come from Eastern Europe. The life of their descendants will remain the same for thousands of years, but then they will become Pazyryk people. The latter though will not remember their ancestors and will be completely different, the people to become the ancestors of southern Siberia Scythians. We don't know the name of those four we are imagining now – usually they get the name of the place where their remains are found. Those four will lay their bones next to mountain Afanasyevskaya and will be named people of Afanasevo culture.

The time flies and now we are just 200 years before Christ. With a whistle an arrow pierces the ground, the bow is made of a bone, horn and wood. Here passed a group of warriors wearing beautifully decorated belts and a shirt of metal armor plates tied together with ropes. Never before those lands saw an arrow like this – with an eagle feather, with a three-lobbed tip with a hollow bone ball put above.

They make the air sing – the last song their enemy hears. The warriors are going to collect taxes of Xiongnu smiths – a group of ancient Mongolian tribes who were brought together in one nation by great Chanyu Mode. Just 300 years ago their ancestors lived next to the Scythians, had similar households and only differed in their burying ritual – they put deer stone, constructed shrines and fenced the territory. The archaeologists call them 'the culture of gravestones'

But the peace was lost. What could a Scythian acenace and calking hammer do if the enemy carries a broadsword, a spear and dozens of whipping arrows while the Xiongnu are hurrying to the battlefield on their horses? They replaced the Scythians on the north and made their southern neighbor build the great wall. And then, when their nomad state will fall in the middle of the second century BC due to infinite civil wars, a new nation will take over here – Mongolian speaking Xianbei, who will build Rouran Khaganate. The remains of Xiongnu nation will migrate to the west bringing the people they conquered with them and making the unconquered stay away as far as possible, as far as northern Africa sometimes. The Xiongnu are the reason of the great migration and their chief Atilla will become a legend even before his death. They will conquer Rome but soon will disappear in Europe, where they will be known as Huns.

Now let's travel through time once again. The 8 century is coming to an end. The long line of caravans is seen afar. The warriors look gloomy; their women are in tears. Two hundred years ago a blue flag with a golden wolf head was put on their land. The Turks would be able to get free from Rouran oppression without partnering with the old Altai tribe Tele. But the times when Asia was trembling from heavy metal chains on Turk carts were gone. The Rouran Khaganate was formed by many powerful tribes willing to control the profit bringing Great Silk Road. The civil strives torn the country apart into the west and the east.

The fall was long and painful – for 50 years that the Turk tribe was ruling the East Khaganate, but then the power was taken from a newly formed Yugur Khaganate. And now, just like Xiongnu, the defeated are heading west. They will take the name of Kypchak and inhabit the steppe from the Irtysh to the Danube. In Russia they got the name of Polovtsian, in Europe they are the Cumans. However in 100 years the Yugur Khaganate will be defeated by a new tribe – Enisey Kyrgyzs. The latter were plucking up their powers from the 6 century in the Khakass-Minusinsk Hollow. The others thought they agreed to be just an enslaved province, but Kyrgyzs proved wrong. They became a strong authoritarian empire - the Kyrgyz Khaganate.

Altaians of the Tele tribe paid their taxes in iron, but the Kyrgyzs made them work on the fields and construction. The tribes who disobey will be either dead or made to leave the country. The latter was chosen by a tribe relative to Khanty and Mansy – the Ugrians, who formed the Hungarian kingdom on the west in the end. The descendants of the migrating people passing by will meet the Hungarians in the 13 century. The daughter of the last Kypchak king – khan Kotyan will take the name of Elizaveta and get married to Hungarian king. That is how Kypchak blood enters the dynasties of Ryuriks, Kapets, Valua, Bourbons, Tudors and Windsors.

Now we travel in time again to the 13 century. The sheep are eating the grass, a shepherd in a woolen robe leans against a warm stone and tells a story to his grandson – the story he heard from his grandparents. The boy, very suntanned, approaches him leaving his toys behind. May be the story goes like this: Kyrgyzs were replaced by Kidani and Altai was under the Liao empire ruling with its numerous languages and religions. Some worshipped the mountain spirits, some believed in the turk god of sky Tengri, Islamic and Buddhist religions appeared. But Kidani aristocrats spoke Mongolian dialect and were Nestorian Christians – the religion borrowed from Iran and Syria through Samarkand.

But may be the old shepherd is telling how a hundred years ago Qara Khitai was fighting the Muslims of Semirechye until the former was defeated by eight Turk kinships of Naimans. Or probably he is talking about what he remembers himself – how the Temujin from Borgijin kinship got over the ruling – his name later was changed into Genghis khan. How he made the Naimans leave the steppes, with the remaining people inhabiting Mayma river that still has Naiman name. Far West is on fire, the armies die, the greatest kings are kneeling in front of the strongest continental empire ever – the Golden Horde. And it seems it will be ruling the world forever, but it already fell into pieces in the 14 century

Soon the Altai territory will be ruled by a unit of four Mongolian tribes called Derben Oyrat. Oyrat has the same root as the horde and it will become the name of the inhabitants of the land. In the 16 century the unit will have only 2 main enemies – Kazakh kingdom on the west and China on the east. A century later part of Oyrats will migrate to the lower Volga basin to create Kalmyk Khanate, part of them will become Tibetans. Those who stayed will be citizen of Dzungaria. The south of Altai will be their land, while the north up to Tomsk taiga zone will be ruled by a befriended kingdom of Telengits. Later Dzungaria will take over the Telengits but in the 18 century will be surrounded by the Chinese and nine tenths will die in genocide.

But now we are right in the center of the republic – in its peace and quiet. The old man talks leisurely, the boy is sleeping on his chest. A process of thousand years is coming to an end – forming local kinships that will become a part of Russian empire in 500 years.

Nothing really changed but the date. Now we are where we started – in the 21 century. You see the mountains as they look at you. You will remember this journey, as they will not forget you and quickly changing the world around you. The mountains won't tell you much but the descendants will. But we don't know what their generation will be called.

Enjoy your travel