Balkar
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (130,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Russia: 108,426 (2002) (in Kabardino-Balkaria only: 104,951),Kazakhstan: 1,798 (2009) | |
| Languages | |
| Karachay-Balkar (Balkar dialect), Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam, Nondenominational Muslims, Muwahhid Muslims | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Karachays |
The Balkars (Karachay-Balkar: sg. таулу - tawlu, pl. таулула - tawlula) are a Turkic people of the Caucasus region, one of the titular populations of Kabardino-Balkaria. Their Karachay-Balkar language is of the Ponto-Caspian subgroup of the Northwestern (Kipchak) group of Turkic languages.
The modern Balkars identify as a Turkic people, who share their language with the Karachays from Karachay-Cherkessia and Kumyks from Dagestan.
The ethnogenesis of the Balkars resulted, in part, from an invasion of Alania during the 11th century, by Kipchak Turks and their Cuman allies. Alania had its capital in Maghas, which some authors locate at Arkhyz, in the mountains currently inhabited by the Karachay-Balkar, while others place it in either what is now modern Ingushetia or North Ossetia.
During the 14th century, Alania was destroyed by Timur. Many of the Alans, Cumans, and Kipchaks migrated westward into Europe. Timur's incursion into the North Caucasus introduced the remainder to Islam.
In the 19th century, Russia annexed the area during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. On October 20, 1828 the Battle of Khasauka took place, in which the Russian troops were under the command of General Georgy Emanuel. The day after the battle, as Russian troops were approaching the aul of Kart-Dzhurt, the Karachay-Balkar elders met with the Russian leaders and an agreement was reached for the inclusion of the Karachay-Balkar into the Russian Empire.
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Wikipedia