Alat tribe

Alat (Ala-at, Ala, Alachin, Alagchin, Alchin, Alchi, Alayundu ("piebald horse", pinto); Chinese Boma 駁馬 "piebald horse", Bi-la, Helai 賀賴, Helan 賀蘭, Heloγ, Hela, Arabic Khalaj and Khalaches, Bactrian Xalaso) are one of the salient Turkic tribes known from Chinese annals, Bactrian inscriptions, and Arab and Persian medieval geographers as a prominent tribe that played a distinguished role in the history of Eurasia. In "Tang huiyao" the Alat tamga is depicted as . The modern Alats live in Russia in the Altai, Kazakhstan, Turkey, eastern section of the Iranian plateau, India, and Afghanistan. They are also known as Alats, Alachins, Alayundu, Khalaj, and Khalaches.

Literature on Alats is very rich; Alats were a subject of study by Tangshu, Jiu Tangshu, Tang Huiyao, N.Ya. Bichurin, S.E. Malov, N.A. Aristov, G.E. Grumm-Grjimailo, Yu. Nemeth, G. Hоworth, P. Pelliot, L. Hambis, and others.

In ancient Türkic lexicon, the meaning of "skewbald" (horse) is expressed with the terms "ala" or "alagchin" still active now in composite expressions. The Chinese transcription for Alachins, E-lo-chji is the earliest transmission for the Alat tribe within the Kazakh Junior Juz and parts of Uzbeks. During the Tang period, the Chinese chroniclers used a Chinese version for "skewbald horses", as Boma.

Tongdian states that around 349-370 CE a leader of Southern Huns Heloγ Tou (i.e. Alat Tou), with a title Shanyu, brought his tribe of 35 thousand people to the Former Yan Xianbei state and submitted to its dynasty. The Shanyu Helai Toy was bestowed a title of General Pacifying the West, and settled in the Daizong district. It adds that apparently, the tribe Yanto are their descendants. Yanto lived intermixed with tribe Se, therefore they are called Se-yanto (Pin. Xueyantuo), that surname of Kagan clan was Ili-tu, that from generation to generation Se-yanto were a strong tribe, and that Se-yanto was a Tele (Pin. Tiele) tribe.Fang Xuanling in Jin Shu stated that Helai (Alats) were one of 19 tribes of the Southern Hun Shanyu.

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