Kayı tribe

The Kayı tribe or Kai tribe (Turkish: Kayı boyu) was an Oghuz Turkic people and a sub-branch of the Bozok tribal federation. In the 11th century Mahmud al-Kashgari cited Kayı (Kayiglardir). The word kayı means "the one who has might and power by relationship".

As a Kayitag (Russified Kaitag) group (Mountain Kayi) the Kayı tribe played a prominent role in the history of the Caucasus, and now the Kayitag language is classified as one of five dialects of the Kumyk language, which for ten centuries (10-19 cc.) was a lingua franca in the North Causacus. Kayitag principality was a leading component of the Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh state on the Caspian western seaboard that in different forms lasted from the 8th to the 19th centuries. Kaitag textiles, stamped out under the Soviet rule, remain distinct in their artistry and workmanship.

According to Ottoman tradition, Osman I, founder of Ottoman Empire, was descended from the Kayı tribe. This claim has, however, been called into serious question by many modern historians. The only evidence for the Ottomans' Kayı descent came from genealogies written during the fifteenth century, more than a hundred years after the life of Osman. More significantly, the earliest genealogies written by the Ottomans did not include any reference to Kayı descent at all, indicating that it was fabricated at a later date.

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