# Az people

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{{short description|Extinct Turkic people}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2017}}
The '''Az''' were a [Turkic](/source/Turkic_languages) people from present-day [Russia](/source/Russia) whose origins are still vague. 

==Mentions==

The Az peopls's existence is confirmed by the [Tannu-Ola mountains](/source/Tannu-Ola_mountains) inscriptions of Mugur-Sargol and Bayan-Kol and certain verses of the [Göktürks](/source/G%C3%B6kt%C3%BCrks), while describing the battles between the Göktürks and the [Kyrgyz](/source/Yenisei_Kyrgyz). According to the Bayan-Kol inscriptions, the Az were divided to many clans living in the region of Mugur west of the Tannu-Ola mountains. There are also writings from the 8th century (around 714 AD) in [Uyghur](/source/Uyghur_Khaganate) sources about the uprising of the Az against the Göktürks.

==Origins==

The origin of the Az is disputed; but most researchers agree that they are without much doubt a people of non-Turkic origin who were influenced by neighboring Turkic people and became Turkophones.

Most research has been done by Russian linguist experts who trace them as close ethnically to [Ket people](/source/Ket_people) of [Yenisei](/source/Yenisei_River) basin in [Siberia](/source/Siberia) due to similarities in name between {{lang|otk|𐰔:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣}} {{transliteration|otk|'''az''' budïn}} and the ''Assans'', who spoke an extinct Yeniseic [Kott](/source/Kott_language) dialect.<ref>BARTHOLD Wilhelm, ''12 Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der Türken Mittelasiens'', Berlin, Arthur Collignon, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Islamkunde, 1935, p37</ref> The primary information on their language was collected by [Matthias Castrén](/source/Matthias_Castr%C3%A9n) in 1845, with further research and information added later by the anthropologist [Dmitry Anuchin](/source/Dmitry_Anuchin). Meanwhile, Az were also hypothesized to be Turkicized descendants of the Iranian-speakers, particularly [Asiani](/source/Asii)-[Wusun](/source/Wusun).<ref>Golden, P.B. (1992) "An Introduction to the History of the Turkic peoples" ''Turcologica'' 9. p. 53</ref><ref>Kubrev, G.V. "A Runic Inscription at Kalbak-Tash II, Central Altai, with Reference to the Location of the Az Tribe" in ''[Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia](/source/Archaeology%2C_Ethnology_and_Anthropology_of_Eurasia)'' 44/4 (2016). p. 97-98 of 92–101 </ref>

==Legacy==

The name ''Az'' has been suggested to live on in the names of several other peoples of southern Siberia: the [Kamas](/source/Kamasins) ("Mountain Az"), the [Karagas](/source/Tofalar) ("Black Az" or "Plains Az"), and the [Khakas](/source/Khakas_people) ("White Az").<ref>{{cite book|first=Aulis J.|last=Joki|title=Die Lehnwörter des Sajansamojedischen|year=1952|location=Helsinki|pages=34–35}}</ref><ref>Simoncsics, Péter. 1998. "Kamassian". ''The Uralic Languages'', ed. Daniel Abondolo, pp. 580–601.</ref> However, ''Khakas'' is in fact an exonym constructed by the Soviets for [Yenisei Kyrgyz](/source/Yenisei_Kyrgyz)' [descendants](/source/Khakas_people), based on {{lang-zh|t= 黠戛斯|p= Xiajiasi|labels= no}}, which actually transcribes the ancient endonym ''Kyrgyz''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kara |first=Dávid Somfai |author-link=Somfai Kara David |date=2018 |title=The Formation of Modern Turkic 'Ethnic' Groups in Central and Inner Asia |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26571579 |journal=The Hungarian Historical Review |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=98–110 |issn=2063-8647 |jstor=26571579 |quote=The remaining Turkic clans (Yenisei Kyrgyz) were called the Tatars of Minusinsk by the Russians, and soon this became their autonym (tadarlar). In Soviet times, their official name (exonym) changed. They became Khakas after their Chinese name “xiajiasi,” or Kyrgyz.}}</ref>

==Sources==
Saadettin Gömeç: ''İslâm Öncesi Türk Tarihinin Kaynakları Üzerine''. In: AÜ Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Tarih Bölümü Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, Bd. 20, Nr. 31, 2000, S. 51–92 (72f.) [http://dergiler.ankara.edu.tr/dergiler/18/28/177.pdf]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{authority control}}

{{Turkic peoples}}

Category:Ethnic groups in Siberia
Category:Extinct Turkic peoples

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