Keraites

{{Short description|Turco-Mongol tribal confederation in Mongolia}} {{Distinguish|Karaite (disambiguation){{!}}Karaite}} {{pp-dispute|small=yes}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2020}} {{Infobox country | native_name = {{Lang|mn|Хэрэйд}} (''Khereid'') | conventional_long_name = Keraites | common_name = Keraites | era = Middle Ages | status = Subjects to: <br/>[[Liao dynasty]],<br/>[[Qara Khitai]] (Western Liao),<br/>[[Genghisids]] | empire = | status_text = | today = Various [[Mongolic peoples|Mongolic]] ([[Khalkha]], [[Buryats]], [[Kalmyks]] and [[Oirats]])<ref name="Хэрээд">[https://www2.1212.mn/sonirkholtoi/FamilyName/?search=ХЭРЭЭД Үндэсний Статистикийн Хороо. Хэрээд.]</ref><ref name="Хэрэйд">[https://www2.1212.mn/sonirkholtoi/FamilyName/?search=ХЭРЭЙД Үндэсний Статистикийн Хороо. Хэрэйд.]</ref><ref name="Хэрэй">[https://www.academia.edu/30239168/Кударинские_буряты_в_XIX_веке_этнический_состав_и_расселение_The_Qudara_Buryats_in_the_19th_century_ethnic_composition_and_settlement_pattern Нанзатов Б. З. Кударинские буряты в XIX веке: этнический состав и расселение // Вестник БНЦ СО РАН. — 2016. — № 4 (24). — С. 126—134.]</ref><ref name="Кхирит">[https://www.academia.edu/38636494/Селенгинские_буряты_в_XIX_в._этнический_состав_и_расселение_юго-западный_ареал_Selenga_Buryats_in_19TH_century_ethnic_composition_and_resettlement_south-west_area_ Нанзатов Б. З., Содномпилова М. М. Селенгинские буряты в XIX в.: этнический состав и расселение (юго-западный ареал) // Вестник БНЦ СО РАН. — 2019. — № 1 (33). — С. 126—134.]</ref><ref name="Кереит">[https://books.google.com/books?id=0OBoAAAAMAAJ&q=кереит+гирей Бембеев В. Ойраты. Ойрат-калмыки. Калмыки: история, культура, расселение, общественный строй до образования Калмыцкого ханства в Поволжье и Предкавказье. — Джангар, 2004. — С. 87. — 495 с.]</ref> and [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] speaking ([[Kazakhs]], [[Kyrgyzs]], [[Nogais]], [[Uzbeks]] and [[Bashkirs]]).<ref name="Keraites1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070109022815/http://www.elim.kz/z_orta.php=The clans of the Middle Zhuz on the "Genealogy of the Kazakhs.]</ref><ref name="Keraites2">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140617103251/http://atababa.kz/ru/generation/middle_zhuz/kerey= Middle Zhuz Kerey.]</ref><ref name="Keraites3">Vostrov V.V., Mukanov M.S. , Tribal composition and settlement of the Kazakhs (late XIX - early XX centuries). Alma-ata, 1968, pp. 58-59.</ref><ref name="Keraites4">Султанов Т. Кочевые племена Приаралья в XV—XVII вв.// Вопросы этнической и социальной истории. М., 1982.</ref><ref name="Keraites5">Allworth Edward, The modern Uzbeks from the fourteenth century to the present: a cultural history, Hoover Press, 1990, p.74.</ref><ref name="Keraites6">Firdaws al-iqbal. History of Khorezm by Shir Muhammad Mirab Munis and Muhammad Riza Mirab Aghahi. Translated from Chaghatay and annotated by Yuri Bregel. Brill, 1999,р.55.</ref><ref name="Keraites7">Malikov A. "92 Uzbek Tribes" in Official Discourses and the Oral Traditions from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2020, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 515.</ref><ref name="Keraites8">Трепавлов В. В. История Ногайской Орды. — М.: Восточная литература, 2002. стр. 499—504.</ref><ref name="Keraites9">[https://rusneb.ru/catalog/000199_000009_002987594/=Начертание всеобщаго землеописания по новейшему разделению государств и земель.]</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Хамидуллин |first=Салават |url=https://www.academia.edu/33883263 |title=История башкирских родов. Гирей. Том 2. Часть 1. / С. И. Хамидуллин, Ю. М. Юсупов, Р. Р. Асылгу- жин, Р. Р. Шайхеев, Р. М. Рыскулов, А. Я. Гуме- рова, Г. Ю. Галеева, Г. Д. Султанова. – Уфа: ГУП РБ Уфимский полиграфкомбинат, 2014. – 528 с.: илл.}}</ref>| | year_start = 11th century | year_end = 13th century| | event_start = | date_start = | event1 = conversion to Christianity | date_event1 = | event_end = absorbed into the [[Mongol Empire]]. | date_end = | | p1 = Zubu | p2 = Kara-Khanid Khanate | s1 = Mongol Empire| | image_flag = | image_coat = | image_map = Mongol Empire c.1207.png | flag_type = | symbol = | symbol_type = | image_map_caption = || | capital = | common_languages = | | religion = [[Church of the East]]| | government_type = [[Khanate]] | title_leader = [[Khan (title)|Khan]] | leader1 = Markus Buyruk Khan | year_leader1 = 11th century | leader2 = Saryk Khan | year_leader2 = 12th century | leader3 = Kurchakus Buyruk Khan | year_leader3 = 12th century | leader4 = [[Toghrul|Toghrul Khan]] (last) | year_leader4 = –1203| | footnotes = }} The '''Keraites''' (also ''Kerait, Kereit, Khereid'', [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]]: керейт; [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]: керей; [[Mongolian Script|Mongolian]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠬᠡᠷᠢᠶᠡᠳ}}, Хэрэйд; [[Nogai language|Nogai]]: Кереит; [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]: ''Kerait''; [[Traditional Chinese characters|Chinese]]: 克烈, [[Persian language|Persian]]: کرایت<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashid al-Din Hamadani |title=Jami' al-tawarikh |quote=کرایت}}</ref>) were one of the five dominant [[Turco-Mongol]] tribal confederations ([[khanate]]s) in the [[Altai-Sayan region]] during the 12th century. They had converted to the [[Church of the East]] in the early 11th century and are one of the possible sources of the European [[Prester John]] legend.

Their original territory was expansive, corresponding to much of what is now [[Mongolia]]. [[Vasily Bartold]] (1913) located them along the upper [[Onon River|Onon]] and [[Kherlen River|Kherlen]] rivers and along the [[Tuul River|Tuul river]].<ref>V.V. Bartold in the article on Genghis Khan in the 1st edition of the ''[[Encyclopedia of Islam]]'' (1913); see Dunlop (1944:277)</ref> They were defeated by [[Genghis Khan]] in 1203 and became influential in the rise of the [[Mongol Empire]], and were gradually absorbed into the succeeding Mongol khanates during the 13th century.

== Name == In English, the name is primarily adopted as ''Keraites'', alternatively ''Kerait'', or ''Kereyit'', in some earlier texts also as Karait or Karaites.<ref name="ReferenceA">"History of the voyages and discoveries made in the north translated from the German of [[Johann Reinhold Forster]] and elucidated by several new and original maps" p.141-142</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">"A General History And Collection of Voyages And Travels, Arranged In Systematic Order: Forming A Complete History of The Origin And Progress of Navigation, Discovery, And Commerce By Sea And Land, From The Earliest ages to the present time." [[Robert Kerr (writer)]], section VIII.2.</ref>

One common theory sees the name as a cognate with the Mongolian {{lang|mn|хар}} (''khar'') and Turkic ''qarā'' for "black, swarthy". There have been various other Mongol and Turkic tribes with names involving the term, which are often conflated.<ref>"EAS 107, Владимирцов 324, ОСНЯ 1, 338, АПиПЯЯ 54-55, 73, 103-104, 274. Despite TMN 3, 427, Щербак 1997, 134." [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/main.cgi?root=mongqrs Tower of Babel Mongolian etymology database].</ref> According to the early 14th-century work ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]'' by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]],:<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rashiduddin-thackston/page/62/mode/1up |title=Jamiʻuʼt-tawarikh. Compendium of chronicles. A History of the Mongols. Part One / Translated and Annotated by W. M. Thackston |publisher=Harvard university |year=1998 |page=61}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashid al-Din Hamadani |title=Jami' al-tawarikh |language=Persian |quote=نقل می کنند که در قدیم الایام پادشاهی بوده و هفت پسر داشته تمامت سیاه چرده بدان سبب ایشان را کرایت گفته اند. بعد از آن به مرور ایام هر يك از شعب و فرزندان آن پسران اسمی و لقبی مخصوص می افتد و يك شعبه را که پادشاهی در ایشان بوده تا این غایت مطلق کرایت می گویند و باقی پسران بنده آن برادر شدند که پادشاه بود و از ایشان پادشاه نبوده. والله أعلم.}}</ref> {{blockquote|Chapter three}}{{blockquote| It is related that in ancient times there was monarch who had eight (seven) sons, all of whom were dark-skinned. For which reason they were called Kerait. After that, with the passage of time, the separate offspring of each of the sons took on name and epithet. The division among whom the monarchy is held until today is known simply as the Keraite, a special name and nickname. The other sons became the servants to the brother who was monarch, and there was no monarch found among them."}}

Other researchers also suggested that the Mongolian name ''Khereid'' may be an ancient [[totem]] name derived from the root Kheree (''хэрээ'') for "[[raven]]".<ref>Хойт С.К. Кереиты в этногенезе народов Евразии: историография проблемы. Элиста, 2008. 82 с.</ref>

==History==

===Origins=== {{excessive citations|date=September 2025}} The Keraites first entered history as the ruling faction of the [[Zubu]], a large confederacy of tribes that dominated [[Mongolia]] during the 11th and 12th centuries and often fought with the [[Liao dynasty]] of [[north China]], which controlled much of Mongolia at the time.

The names and titles of early Keraite leaders suggest that they were speakers of Turkic languages, and Togrul is a Turkic rather than a Mongol name. Toghrul's father and grandfather bore the Turkic title buiruk ('commander'); the title of the Keraite princess, Dokuz-khatun, is Turkic, as is the title 'Yellow Khan' under which one Keraite leader is known.<ref name="grousset">R. Grousset, ''The Empire of the Steppes'', New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers University Press, 1970, p191.</ref><ref name="Ratchnevsky, Paul 1975">Ratchnevsky, Paul (1975). Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy. "Tu Ji's arguments may be open to refutation, but he is probably Correct in attributing a Turkic origin to the Keraits. The names and titles of the Kerait rulers are Turkic. To'oril is the Mongolized form of the Turkic Toghrul. Toghrul's father and grandfather bore the Turkic title buiruk ('commander'); the title of the Kerait princess, Dokuz-khatun, is Turkic, as is the title 'Yellow Khan' under which one Kerait leader is known"</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Unesco |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volym 4 |year=1992 |pages=74 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=9789231036545 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yTFnuWQKvkC&pg=PA74}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pelliot |first=Paul |title=La Haute Asie. |year=1931 |location=Paris |quote=In French: heatcoup des titulatures kérait étaient turques, et Togroul est plutôt un nom turc qu'un nom mongol. In English: Many of the Kerait titles were Turkic, and Togroul is more of a Turkic name rather than a Mongolian one.}}</ref> Building on this discussion of names and titles, Russian researcher Zolkhoev noted that Mongols not infrequently bore names of Turkic origin, but he stressed that such linguistic evidence alone is insufficient to establish a Turkic origin for the Keraites.<ref name="Zolkhoev 2014">Zolkhoev 2014.</ref> In contrast [[Sarsen Amanzholov|Amanzholov]] wrote names of the Mongols before the 13th century were not Turkic.<ref name="Amanzholov 1959">Amanzholov 1959.</ref>

Zolkhoev claims the majority of scholars and researchers classify the Keraites as a Turkic people.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zolkhoev |first=Boris |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/etnicheskaya-i-yazykovaya-prinadlezhnost-plemeni-kerait-v-ix-xii-vv-v-istochnikah-po-istorii-mongolov-i-issledovaniyah-zarubezhnyh-avtorov |title="Этническая и языковая принадлежность племени кераит в IX-XII вв. В источниках по истории монголов и исследованиях зарубежных авторов" |journal=Вестник Бурятского Государственного Университета. Философия |date=2014 |issue=8 |pages=140–144 |quote=In Russian: Большинство исследователей склонны относить их к тюркоязычной группе. In English: Most researchers tend to classify them as a Turkic-speaking group.}}</ref> A number of European and Asian scholars classified them as a [[Turkic peoples|Turkic people]].{{Efn|Attributed to multiple sources.<ref>Ratchnevsky 1975.</ref><ref>Baumer 2016.</ref><ref>Grousset 1939.</ref><ref name=":Klimkeit"/><ref>Man 2004.</ref><ref>Man 2014.</ref><ref>Saunders 1971.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tu |first=Ji |title=Mengwu'er shiji |year=1934}}</ref><ref>Czaplicka 1918.</ref><ref>Schwarz 2000.</ref><ref>Runciman 1987.</ref><ref>Halbertsma 2008.</ref><ref>Gilman, Klimkeit 2013.</ref><ref>HUNTER 1989.</ref><ref>Taube 1989.</ref><ref>Pelliot 1931.</ref><ref>Irinchin 1979.</ref><ref>Zhou 1979.</ref><ref>Baum 2003.</ref><ref>Soucek 2000.</ref><ref>Poucha 1956.</ref><ref>Favereau 2021.</ref><ref>Kychanov 1997.</ref><ref>Kadyrbaev 1990.</ref><ref name="Mukanov 1974">Mukanov 1974.</ref><ref>Tynyshpaev 1925.</ref><ref>Viktorova 1960.</ref><ref>Roux 1984.</ref><ref>Serdobov 1971.</ref>}} Scholars like Erica C. D. Hunter,<ref>Hunter, E.C.D. (1989–91). ''The Conversion of the Kerait to Christianity in a.d. 1007.Vol.22''. ZAS.</ref> [[:de:Paul Ratchnevsky|Paul Ratchnevsky]],<ref name="Ratchnevsky, Paul 1975"/> [[Christoph Baumer]],<ref>Baumer, Christoph (2016). "''The History of Central Asia''. <q>The Keraite elite were of Turkic origin, but by the twelfth century they were bilingual or spoke mostly Mongolian.</q></ref> Zhou Qingshu,<ref>Zhou, Qingshu (1979). ''The Ethnic Origin of the Önggüd''. Hohhot: China Association of Mongolian History</ref> [[René Grousset]],<ref>Grousset, René (1939). The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia</ref> Ian Gilman,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gilman |first1=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UGpr2KsbS94C&pg=PA226 |title=Christians in Asia before 1500 |last2=Klimkeit |first2=Hans-Joachim |date=2013-01-11 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-10978-2 |language=en}}</ref> Yekemingghadai Irinchin,<ref>Irinchin, Yekemingghadai (1979). ''On the Origins of the Ethnic Groups of Northern China and the Mongols''. Journal of Inner Mongolian University.</ref> Hans-Joachim Klimkeit,<ref name=":Klimkeit">{{Cite book |last1=Seyfeydinovich |first1=Asimov, Muhammad |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9yTFnuWQKvkC&pg=PA74 |title=History of civilizations of Central Asia: The Age of Achievement: A.D. 750 to the End of the Fifteenth Century |last2=Edmund |first2=Bosworth, Clifford |last3=UNESCO |date=2000-12-31 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=978-92-3-103654-5 |language=en}}</ref> [[John Man (author)|John Man]],<ref>Man, John (2004). ''Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection''.</ref><ref>Man, John (2014). ''The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan, His Heirs and the Founding of Modern China''.</ref> [[John Joseph Saunders|John Saunders]],<ref>Saunders, John Joseph (1971). ''The History of the Mongol Conquests''.</ref> [[:zh:屠寄|Tu Ji]],<ref>Tu, Ji (1934). ''Mengwu'er shiji''.</ref> [[Maria Czaplicka]],<ref>Czaplicka, Maria (1918). ''The Turks of Central Asia in History and at the Present Day: An Ethnological Inquiry Into the Pan-Turanian Problem, and Bibliographical Material Relating to the Early Turks and the Present Turks of Central Asia''.</ref> Klaus Schwarz,<ref>Schwarz, Klaus (2000). ''Philologiae Et Historiae Turcicae Fundamenta: T. primus. History of the Turkic peoples in the pre-islamic period''. <q>The non-muslim Turks under mongol dominion in the period from 1200 to the 1350 are the fallowing : the Uighur, Keraite, Naiman, Öngüt, Qirqiz, ...</q></ref> [[Steven Runciman]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mrw8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA238 |title=A History of the Crusades |date=1987-12-03 |publisher=CUP Archive |isbn=978-0-521-34772-3 |language=en}}</ref> [[Tjalling Halbertsma]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Halbertsma |first=Tjalling H. F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXmmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |title=Early Christian Remains of Inner Mongolia: Discovery, Reconstruction and Appropriation |date=2008-08-31 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-4323-0 |language=en}}</ref> [[:de:Manfred Taube|Manfred Taube]],<ref>Taube, Manfred (1989). ''Geheime Geschichte der Mongolen''. Munich</ref> [[Paul Pelliot]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pelliot |first=Paul |title=La Haute Asie |year=1931 |location=Paris |quote=In French: vons ici nos «Turcs Kérait» convertis au christianisme dans les premières années du xı siècle, et qui, au xııı, dominaient dans le bassin de l'Orkhon.}}</ref> [[Wilhelm Baum (historian)|Wilhelm Baum]],<ref>Baum, Winkler, Wilhelm, Dietmar W (2003). ''The Church of the East: A Concise History''. Routledge. <q>Two hundred thousand Turkish Keraits were baptized, and the bishop requested that the catholicos send priests and deacons</q></ref> [[Svat Soucek]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soucek |first=Svatopluk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7E8gYYcHuk8C&q=Kerait |title=A History of Inner Asia |date=2000-02-17 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-65704-4 |pages=104 |language=en}}</ref> [[:cs:Pavel Poucha|Pavel Poucha]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Poucha |first=Pavel |title=Die geheime Geschichte der Mongolen als Geschichtsquelle und Literaturdenkmal |year=1956 |quote=Alles ist bei den Käräyit türkisch, sie waren also eher Türken als Mongolen.}}</ref> [[Marie Favereau]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Favereau |first=Marie |title=The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2021}}</ref> [[Yevgeny Kychanov]],<ref name="Kychanov">Kychanov, Yevgeny. Кочевые государства от гуннов до маньчжуров. — М.: Изд. фирма «Восточная литература» РАН, 1997. — З20 с.</ref> Alexander Kadyrbaev,<ref>Kadyrbaev. Тюрки и иранцы в Китае и Центральной Азии XIII—XIV вв. — Алма-Ата: Гылым, 1990</ref> Marat Mukanov,<ref>Mukanov. Этнический состав и расселение казахов Среднего Жуза. — Алма-Ата: Наука, 1974. — 200 с.</ref> Mukhamedzhan Tynyshpaev,<ref>Tynyshpaev М. Материалы к истории киргиз-казахского народа. — Ташкент, 1925. — С. 12—14</ref> Lidija Viktorova,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Viktorova |first=Lidija Leonidovna |title=Mongoly: Proischoždenie naroda i istoki kul'tury |year=196O}}</ref> [[Jean-Paul Roux]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roux |first=Jean-Paul |title=Histoire des Turcs : deux mille ans du Pacifique à la Méditerranée |year=1984}}</ref> Nikolai Serdobov,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Serdobov |first=Nikolai Alekseevich |title=История формирования тувинской нации |year=1971}}</ref> [[Nikolai Aristov]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aristov |first=N.A |title=Ethnic structure of Türkic tribes and nations and information on their numbers |year=1896}}</ref> Muratkhan Kani,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kani |first=Murtkhan |title=Қазақтың көне тарихы |year=1993 |location=Almaty}}</ref> Rudolf Kaschewsky,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaschewsky |first=Rudolf |title=Die Religion der Mongolen}}</ref> Türükoğlu,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Türükoğlu GökAlp |title=Sınırlandırılmış Türk Tarihi |language=Turkish}}</ref> Gabzhalilov, Talas Omarbekov,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gabzhalilov |title=Қазақстан тарихы этникалық зерттеулерде |publisher=Alash |year=2011 |location=Almaty |language=Kazakh}}</ref> [[Sarsen Amanzholov]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amanzholov |first=Sarsen |title=Вопросы диалектологии и истории казахского языка |year=1959 |location=Almaty}}</ref> Alkey Margulan<ref>Margulan 1961.</ref> classified them as [[Turkic peoples|Turkic people]].

[[Rashid al-Din Hamadani]] write in his [[Jami' al-tawarikh]]:<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rashiduddin-thackston/page/61/mode/1up |title=Jamiʻuʼt-tawarikh. Compendium of chronicles. A History of the Mongols. Part One / Translated and Annotated by W. M. Thackston |publisher=Harvard university |year=1998 |page=61}}</ref> {{blockquote|Chapter three}}{{blockquote| "The Turkic tribes that have also had separate monarchs and leaders but do not have a close relationship to the tribes mentioned in the previous division or to the Mongols yet they are close to them in physiognomy and language".}}{{blockquote|Each of these nations has had monarch or leader, their yurts dwelling places were delineated, and each has branched off into various subdivisions. These nations are held in high esteem at this time by other Turks previously mentioned and by the Mongol Turks because Genghis khan's family, who are monarchs of Mongols, conquered and subdued them through God's might. In ancient times these nations were of more importance and mightier than any other groups of Turks, and they had powerful monarchs. The stories of each of these nations wil be mentioned separately.}} {{blockquote|They had powerful monarchs from within their own tribes, and at that time they possessed more might and power than other nations within those borders. Christian missionary activity reached them, and they converted to that religion. They are a sort of Mongol. Their dwelling place is along the Onon and Kerulen Rivers, the land of Mongolia, which region is near the frontier of [[Cathay]]. They had many disputes with many tribes, particularly with the Naiman".}}

The Kerait are mentioned under the chapter title "The Turkic tribes that have also had separate monarchs and leaders but do not have a close relationship to the tribes mentioned in the previous division or to the mongols yet are close to them in physiognomy and language".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rashiddun Fazlullah |url=http://archive.org/details/rashiduddin-thackston |title=Compendium of Chronicles: A History of the Mongols, part 1 |last2=Thackston |first2=W. M. (Wheeler McIntosh) |date=1998}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashid al-Din Hamadani |title=Jami' al-tawarikh |language=Persian |quote=در ذکر اقوامی از اتراک که ایشان نیز هر یک علی حده پادشاهی و مقدمی داشته اند}}</ref> Irinchin who favored Turkic origin for Keraite note, Rashid ad-Din in his classification distinguishes them from the Mongol-speaking tribes, grouping them together with tribes of predominantly Turkic origin, with the exception of only the Tanguts.<ref group="lower-alpha">Rashid al-Din Hamadani grouping Keraites together with: Bekrin, [[Karluks]], [[Kipchaks]], [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]], [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]], [[Naimans|Naiman]], [[Ongud|Öngüt]], Tangut</ref> [[Sarsen Amanzholov|Amanzholov]] and Mukanov wrote Rashid ad-Din classifies the Keraits among the Turks, and in his classification distinguishes them from the Mongols and listed them Next to the Turkic tribes.<ref name="Amanzholov 1959"/><ref name="Mukanov 1974"/> In contrast Semenov and [[Ilya Pavlovich Petrushevsky|Petrushevsky]] note, Rashid al-Din uses the term “Turks” broadly for the nomadic tribes of Central Asia of very diverse origins, including peoples speaking not only Turkic but also Mongolic, Tangut, and Tungusic languages. Thus, for him “Turks” is not an ethno-linguistic label so much as a socio-cultural one - “nomads.”<ref name="Rashid al-Din1">Рашид-ад-дин. [https://www.academia.edu/127917102/Рашид_ад_дин_Сборник_летописей_Т_I_кн_1_М_Л_1952 Сборник летописей. Т.I, кн.1. М., Л., 1952] Moscow. p. 29, 92-93. In Russian: ''"Тюрками Рашид-ад-дин называет кочевые племена Центральной Азии самого различного происхождения, говорившие не только на тюркских языках, но и на языках монгольском, тангутском и тунгусо-манчжурских. Таким образом, «тюрки» у нашего историка – не этнический и лингвистический, а социально-бытовой термин: «кочевники»."''</ref> Petrushevsky further argues that it can be stated with a high degree of probability that a number of polities - Tatars, Kerait, Naiman, Jalayir, Suldus, Barlas, Merkit, and Oirat - were Mongolic-speaking rather than Turkic-speaking in the 13th century.<ref name="Rashid al-Din3">Рашид-ад-дин. [https://www.academia.edu/127917102/Рашид_ад_дин_Сборник_летописей_Т_I_кн_1_М_Л_1952 Сборник летописей. Т.I, кн.1. М., Л., 1952] Moscow. p. 29, 92-93. In Russian: ''"Можно утверждать, с большой долей вероятности, относительно ряда племен – татар, кераитов, найманов, джалаиров, сулдузов, барласов, меркитов, ойратов, – что в XIII в. они были монголоязычны, а не тюркоязычны."''</ref> In contrast [[Nikolai Aristov]] wrote from the fall of the [[Uyghur Khaganate]] to the time of Genghis Khan, Mongolia, with the exception of its extreme northeastern part, where the Mongols appeared, continued to be occupied by the Turks, he further classified the Keraite, Naiman and Öngüt as Turkic Tribes.<ref>Aristov 1896.</ref>

In the "Yuan chao mi shi" there is an indication of their kinship with the Mongols.<ref name="Ushnitsky 2011">Ushnitsky 2011.</ref> But this kinship in "Yuan chao mi shi" is not between Keraites and Mongols as peoples, It only talks about relationships between Keraite ruler [[Toghrul|Wang khan]] and Mongol ruler [[Yesugei]].<ref group="lower-alpha">After eliminating his brothers, Wang khan was overthrown by his own uncle and Yesügei helped him to defeat his uncle. They were blood brothers.</ref><ref name="Amanzholov 1959"/>

Amanzholov and Mukanov wrote [[Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur|Abul-Ghazi]] classified the Keraites as Turkic people and distinguishes them from the Mongols.<ref name="Amanzholov 1959"/><ref name="Mukanov 1974"/>

Ushnitsky claims that most researchers consider the Keraites to be of Mongolic origin.<ref name=":Ushnitsky">{{Cite journal |last=Ushnitsky |first=Vasily |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/istoricheskiy-disput-ob-etnicheskoy-prinadlezhnosti-naymanov-i-kereitov |title="Исторический диспут об этнической принадлежности найманов и кереитов" |journal=Проблемы Востоковедения |year=2011 |pages=28–34 |quote=In Russian: Большинство исследователей, опираясь на достоверные монгольские, персидские и китайские источники, признают их монгольское происхождение. In English: Most researchers, relying on reliable Mongolian, Persian and Chinese sources, regard Keraite as Mongolian.}}</ref> Mongolian origin is supported by [[Tao Zongyi]],<ref name=":Tao Zongyi">{{cite book |last=Tao |first=Zongyi |author-mask=[[Tao Zongyi]] |script-title=zh:《南村輟耕錄》 |title=Náncūn Chuògēng Lù |trans-title=Records from a Southern Village after Retiring from the Plow |location=Beijing |publisher=Zhonghua Book Company |year=1959 |page= |language=zh }}</ref> [[Vasily Bartold]],<ref name="Bartold">Bartold .Vasily [https://www.academia.edu/37003586/Бартольд_В_В_Сочинения_Т_II_часть_1_Общие_работы_по_истории_Средней_Азии_Работы_по_истории_Кавказа_и_Восточной_Европы_М_1963 Сочинения. Т. II, часть 1. Общие работы по истории Средней Азии. Работы по истории Кавказа и Восточной Европы.] М., 1963 p. 505.</ref> [[Lev Gumilev]],<ref name="Gumilev">{{cite book |last=Gumilev |first=Lev |url=https://psv4.userapi.com/s/v1/d/z4j2Gh_KZmkmKJlsyRTTXyrlK2fHk_-6N-SXukEdDydoFSLER3R8aS2O3Hsrw75cs_5x31cojN-ONkEUjqjoRcRCWLYjf-h2YnbZJI60xQQjul5rXVRWXQ/Gumile_776_v_L_N_-_Poiski_vymyshlennogo_tsarstva_pdf.pdf |title=Поиски вымышленного царства |publisher=М.: АСТ |year=2002 |page=110}}</ref> [[Ilya Pavlovich Petrushevsky]],<ref name="Rashid al-Din3"/> Gennady Avlyaev,<ref name=":Avlyaev2">{{cite book |last=Avlyaev |first=Gennady |url=https://psv4.userapi.com/s/v1/d/z4j2Gh_KZmkmKJlsyRTTXyrlK2fHk_-6N-SXukEdDydoFSLER3R8aS2O3Hsrw75cs_5x31cojN-ONkEUjqjoRcRCWLYjf-h2YnbZJI60xQQjul5rXVRWXQ/Gumile_776_v_L_N_-_Poiski_vymyshlennogo_tsarstva_pdf.pdf |title=Происхождение калмыцкого народа |publisher=Элиста: Калм. кн. изд-во |year=2002 |page=38}}</ref> Boris Zolkhoev,<ref name="Zolkhoev 2014"/> Vadim Trepavlov,<ref name=":Трепавлов В. В.">{{Cite journal |author=Trepavlov |first=Vadim |title=Государства и народы Восточной Европы, Сибири, Дальнего Востока, Северного Кавказа в 13–17 веках |url=https://old.bigenc.ru/text/5020755 |journal=Большая российская энциклопедия |language=ru |pages= |number=}}</ref> [[Shoqan Walikhanov]],<ref name="Walikhanov">Shoqan Walikhanov. [https://www.rulit.me/author/valihanov-chokan-chingisovich Избранные произведения. М.: Наука, 1987.] p. 252. In Russian: ''"... найманы, джалаиры и кереиты были народы монгольские, по свидетельству восточных историков, и имели еще до Чингиса своих ханов."''</ref> Sergei Klyashtorny, Tursun Sultanov,<ref name="Кляшторный">Кляшторный С. Г., Султанов Т. И. Государства и народы Евразийских степей. СПб.: Петербургское Востоковедение. 2009. p. 211. In Russian: ''"Более того, татары, основной йурт которых в ХII в. находился около оз. Буир-Нур в Восточной Монголии, считались врагами собственно монгольских племен (меркиты, кереиты, кияты и т. д.)."''</ref> Aleksei Rakushin,<ref name="Rakushin">Rakushin, Aleksei [https://psv4.userapi.com/s/v1/d/8YatZalQGd4zis-KR5vEbPiKvCEAGTNNhDMJl4XhJ-4btMYAK9Wtx-e6z92AWAOXO9ygxbNa2obTOClvkjiJEMmKBqFSXlV1ep9MlHeZWBYYsij5LWGuZw/A_I_Rakushin_Mongoly_na_Volge_obretenie_novoy_rodiny__Saratov_2016.pdf Монголы на Волге (обретение новой родины: от завоевания к ассимиляции. Саратов. 2016. / отв. ред. Л. Ф. Недашковский] p. 21. In Russian: ''"Окончательное покорение Темучином этого племени, видимо, произошло только в 1205 г., после того как он разбил последнюю крупную коалицию враждебных монгольских племен, состоявшую из найманов, меркитов, кереитов, ойратов, дорбенов, татар, катаканов, салджиутов, и был «возведен на императорский престол и наречен Чингизхан»."''</ref> [[Urgunge Onon]],<ref name="Urgunge Onon">Urgunge Onon. [https://jigjids.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/the_secret_history_of_the_mongols_the_life_and_times_of_chinggis_khan1.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com The Secret History of the Mongols. The Life and Times of Chinggis Khan. London and New York. 2001.] p. 10. ''"The people of the felt walled tents were the Tatars, the Onggirads, the Kereyids, the Naimans, the Tayichi’uds, and the Merkids. All these groups spoke a language akin to that of the Mongols, but they were only included in the category of Mongols after they had been conquered by, or pledged alliance to, the Mongol tribe."''</ref>{{AI-retrieved source|date=March 2026|checked=no}} Boris Vladimirtsov<ref name=":Vladimirtsov1">{{Cite book |last=Vladimirtsov |first=Boris |title=Сравнительная грамматика монгольского письменного языка и халхаского наречия: Введение и фонетика |edition=2nd |location=Moscow |publisher=Nauka, Main Editorial Office of Oriental Literature |year=1989 |isbn=5-02-016615-4 |language=ru |quote=In Russian: Самыми же близкими соседями уйгуров из монгольских племен были найманы и кереиты, культурно общавшиеся с уйгурами. In English: The closest neighbors of the Uighurs among the Mongolic tribes were the Naimans and the Keraites, who maintained cultural contacts with the Uighurs. |page=20}}</ref> and others. Vladimirtsov suggested that the [[Mongolian script|Mongolian written language]] first arose among the Kerait and [[Naimans|Naiman]] tribes before the era of [[Genghis Khan]].<ref name=":Vladimirtsov2">{{Cite book |last=Vladimirtsov |first=Boris |title=Сравнительная грамматика монгольского письменного языка и халхаского наречия: Введение и фонетика |edition=2nd |location=Moscow |publisher=Nauka, Main Editorial Office of Oriental Literature |year=1989 |isbn=5-02-016615-4 |language=ru |quote=In Russian: По-видимому, монгольской письменный язык возник именно у этих монгольских племен до эпохи Чингис-хана. In English: It appears that the Mongolian written language first arose among these Mongolic tribes before the era of Genghis Khan. |page=20}}</ref> Russian researcher Avlyaev believes that the Kerait tribal confederation included, in addition to the Mongolic component represented by the Keraits themselves, Turkic-Uyghur and Samoyedic elements.<ref name=":Avlyaev">{{Cite journal |author=Avlyaev |first=Gennady |date=1984 |title=К вопросу о происхождении кереитов и их участии в этногенезе средневековых ойратов Джунгарии и калмыков Поволжья |journal=Проблемы этногенеза калмыков |language=ru |pages= |number=}}</ref> In Tao Zongyi's {{c.|1366}} {{translit|zh|[[Nancun Chuogeng Lu]]}},{{sfnp|Tao|c. 1366}} he lists the Keraites{{how?|date=April 2026}} among the '72 Mongol peoples'.<ref name=":Tao Zongyi"/> According to Zolkhoev, this clear designation as a subgroup of the Mongols in the Yuan period, consistent with Rashid al-Din's "Compendium of Chronicles" where they are described as a 'clan of the Mongols,' strongly suggests that the Kerait tribe belonged to the Mongolic-speaking substratum.<ref name="Zolkhoev 2014"/>

At the same time, Ushnitsky himself described the Keraites as a mysterious tribe whose ethnic affiliation is unclear and is unlikely ever to be definitively established. According to him, most likely, they consisted of groups of different origin, united by the adoption of Nestorian Christianity as a state religion.<ref name="Ushnitsky 2011"/> There are also such hypotheses regarding the Keraites: [[Yevgeny Kychanov]] considered them to be part of the [[Yenisei Kyrgyz]],<ref name="Kychanov" /><ref name="Ushnitsky 2011"/> while Saishiyal believed that they had a [[Tungus]]ic origin.<ref name="Saishiyal">Saishiyal. Сказание о Чингисхане / пер. со старомонгольского Норпола Очиров. — Улан-Удэ: ОАО «Республиканская типография», 2006. p. 90.</ref><ref name="Ushnitsky 2011"/>

They are first noted in Syriac Church records which mention them being absorbed into the [[Church of the East]] around 1000 by Metropolitan Abdisho of the [[Merv (East Syriac ecclesiastical province)|Merv ecclesiastical province]].

===Khanate=== After the Zubu broke up, the Keraites retained their dominance on the steppe until they were absorbed into the [[Mongol Empire]]. At the height of its power, the Keraite Khanate was organized along the same lines as the Naimans and other powerful steppe tribes of the day. A section is dedicated to the Keraites by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318), the official historian of the [[Ilkhanate]], in his ''Jami' al-tawarikh''.

The people were divided into a "central" faction and an "outer" faction. The central faction served as the khan's army and was composed of warriors from many different tribes with no loyalties to anyone but the Khan. This made the central faction more of a quasi-feudal state than a genuine tribe. The "outer" faction was composed of tribes that pledged obedience to the khan, but lived on their own tribal pastures and functioned semi-autonomously. The "capital" of the Keraite khanate was a place called Orta Balagasun, which was probably located in an old [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] or [[Khitan people|Khitan]] fortress.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

Markus Buyruk Khan was a Keraite leader who also led the Zubu confederacy. In 1100, he was killed by the Liao. Kurchakus Buyruk Khan was a son and successor of Bayruk Markus, among whose wives was Toreqaimish Khatun, daughter of Korchi Buiruk Khan of the [[Naimans]]. Kurchakus' younger brother was Gur Khan. Kurchakus Buyruk Khan had many sons. Notable sons included [[Toghrul]], Yula-Mangus, Tai-Timur, and Bukha-Timur.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} In union with the [[Khitan people|Khitan]], they became vassals of the [[Kara-Khitai]] state. {{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

[[File:WangKhan.JPG|thumb|Depiction of Wang Khan as "[[Prester John]]" in ''[[Le Livre des Merveilles]]'', 15th century.]] After Kurchakus Buyruk Khan died, Ilma's Tatar servant Eljidai became the de facto regent. This upset [[Toghrul]] who had his younger brothers killed and then claimed the throne as Toghrul khan ({{Langx|mn|Тоорил хан|Tooril khan}}) who was the son of Kurchakus by Ilma Khatun, reigned from the 1160s to 1203.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} His palace was located at present-day Ulan Bator and he became [[Adelphopoiesis|blood-brother]] ([[anda (Mongol)|anda]]) to Yesugei. Genghis Khan called him ''khan etseg'' ('khan father'). Yesugei, having disposed of all Tughrul's sons, was now the only one in line to inherit the title khan.

The Tatars rebelled against the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] in 1195. The Jin commander sent an emissary to Timujin. A fight with the Tatars broke out and the Mongol alliance defeated them. In 1196, the Jin Dynasty awarded Toghrul the title of "Wang" (king). After this, Toghrul was recorded under the title "Wang Khan" ({{lang-zh|c=王汗|p=Wáng Hàn}}). When Temüjin, later [[Genghis Khan]], attacked [[Jamukha]] for the title of [[Khan (title)|Khan]], Toghrul, fearing Temüjin's growing power, plotted with Jamukha to have him assassinated.

In 1203, Temüjin defeated the Keraites, who were distracted by the collapse of their coalition. Toghrul was killed by Naiman soldiers who failed to recognize him.

===Mongol Empire and dispersal=== Genghis Khan married the oldest niece of Toghrul, [[Ibaqa Beki|Ibaqa]], and then two years later divorced her and had her remarried to the general Jürchedei. Genghis Khan' son [[Tolui]] married another niece, [[Sorghaghtani Bekhi]], and his son [[Jochi]] married a third niece, [[Begtütmish]]. Tolui and Sorghaghtani Bekhi became the parents of [[Möngke Khan]] and [[Kublai Khan]].<ref name=tang>{{cite book |title=Jingjiao: the Church of the East in China and Central Asia |editor-last1=Malek |editor-first1=Roman |editor-last2=Hofrichter |editor-first2=Peter |year=2006 |isbn=978-3-8050-0534-0 |series=Collectanea Serica |publication-place=Germany |publisher=[[Monumenta Serica Institute]] / Steyler Verlag |chapter=Sorkaktani Beki: A prominent Nestorian woman at the Mongol Court |language=en |first=Li |last=Tang |pages=349–356 |doi=10.4324/9781003204022-25 |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jingjiao/4mBCEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA349}}</ref> The remaining Keraites submitted to Timujin's rule, but out of distrust, Timujin dispersed them among the other Mongol tribes.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}

Rinchin protected Christians when [[Ghazan]] began to persecute them but he was executed by [[Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan]] when fighting against his custodian, [[Chupan]] of the [[Taichiud]] in 1319.

Keraites arrived in Europe with the [[Mongol invasion of Europe|Mongol invasion]] led by [[Batu Khan]] and [[Mongke Khan]].  [[Kaidu]]'s troops in the 1270s were likely mostly composed of Keraites and Naimans.<ref>Tynyshbaev (1925)</ref>

From the 1380s onward, Nestorian Christianity in Mongolia declined and vanished, on the one hand due to the [[Islam in Central Asia|Islamization]] under [[Timur]] and on the other due to the [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] conquest of Karakorum. The remnants of the Keraits by late 14th century lived along the [[Irtysh River|Kara Irtysh]].<ref>Tynyshbaev (1925) </ref> These remnants were finally dispersed in the 1420s in the Mongol-Oirat wars fought by [[Uwais Khan]].<ref>Tynyshbaev (1925)</ref>

==Clans== According to the early 14th-century work ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]'' by [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]],:<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rashiduddin-thackston/page/62/mode/1up |title=Jamiʻuʼt-tawarikh. Compendium of chronicles. A History of the Mongols. Part One / Translated and Annotated by W. M. Thackston |publisher=Harvard university |year=1998 |page=62}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rashid al-Din Hamadani |title=Jami' al-tawarikh |language=Persian |quote=کرایت، چورقین، تونگقایت، ساقیات، توباووت، البات}}</ref> {{blockquote|The Keraites consist of many tribes and groups, all of which followed ong khan, as follows: Keraite, The jirqin, The Tongqayit, Saqiyat, The Toba'ut, The Albat.}}

== Church of the East Christianity == {{Main|Christianity among the Mongols}} [[File:HulaguAndDokuzKathun.JPG|thumb|The [[Ilkhanate]] ruler [[Hulagu Khan]] with his Keraite Christian wife [[Doquz Khatun]].]] The Keraites were converted to the [[Church of the East]], a sect of [[Christianity]], early in the 11th century.<ref name=tang/><ref>Hunter (1991).{{Page needed|date=April 2016}} {{cite book|author=Silverberg, Robert|author-link=Robert Silverberg|title=The Realm of Prester John |url=https://archive.org/details/realmofpresterjo00silv|url-access=registration| publisher=Doubleday | year=1972|page=[https://archive.org/details/realmofpresterjo00silv/page/12 12]}}</ref><ref name="BoltonHutton2000">{{cite book|author1=Kingsley Bolton|author2=Christopher Hutton|title=Triad Societies: Western Accounts of the History, Sociology and Linguistics of Chinese Secret Societies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6irEoGgDrm4C&dq=khitan+mongol+tongue+known+turks+influence+empire&pg=PR49|year=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-24397-1|pages=xlix–}}</ref> Other tribes evangelized entirely or to a great extent during the 10th and 11th centuries were the [[Naimans|Naiman]] and the [[Ongud]].

Hamadani stated that the Keraites were Christians. [[William of Rubruck]], who encountered many Nestorians during his stay at [[Mongke Khan]]'s court and at [[Karakorum]] in 1254–1255, notes that Nestorianism in Mongolia was tainted by [[shamanism]] and [[Manicheism]] and very confused in terms of liturgy, not following the usual norms of Christian churches elsewhere in the world. He attributes this to the lack of teachers of the faith, power struggles among the clergy and a willingness to make doctrinal concessions to win the favour of the Khans. Contact with the [[Catholic Church]] was lost after the [[Islam in Central Asia|Islamization]] under [[Timur]] ({{Reign|1370|1405}}), who effectively destroyed the Church of the East. The Church in [[Karakorum]] was destroyed by the invading Ming dynasty army in 1380.

The legend of [[Prester John]], otherwise set in India or Ethiopia, was also brought in connection with the Eastern Christian rulers of the Keraites. In some versions of the legend, Prester John was explicitly identified with Toghril,<ref name=tang/> but Mongolian sources say nothing about his religion.<ref>{{cite book|author=Atwood, Christopher P.|title=Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire|year=2004|publisher=Facts On File |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmo0000atwo|url-access=registration|isbn=0816046719}}</ref>

===Conversion account=== An account of the conversion of this people is given in the 12th-century ''Book of the Tower'' (''Kitab al-Majdal'') by [[Mari ibn Suleiman]], and also by 13th-century [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]] historian [[Bar Hebraeus]] where he names them with the Syriac word {{lang|syc|ܟܹܪܝܼܬ}} "Keraith").<ref>[https://archive.org/details/BarHebraeusChroniconEcclesiasticumVol.3 Bar Hebraeus, Chronicon ecclesiasticum (ed. and tr. J.B. Abbeloos and T.J. Lamy, vol. 3, coll. 279-81)].<br />See Hunter (1991).{{Page needed|date=April 2016}}</ref><ref>Bar Hebraeus Chron. Syr. (1286) 204/184</ref> According to these accounts, shortly before 1007, the Keraite Khan lost his way during a snowstorm while hunting in the high mountains of his land. When he had abandoned all hope, a saint, [[Sergius of Samarkand]], appeared in a vision and said, "If you will believe in Christ, I will lead you lest you perish." The king promised to become Christian, and the saint told him to close his eyes and he found himself back home (Bar Hebraeus' version says the saint led him to the open valley where his home was). When he met Christian merchants, he remembered the vision and asked them about the Christian religion, prayer and the book of canon laws. They taught him the [[Lord's Prayer]], [[Te Deum]], and the [[Trisagion]] in Syriac. At their suggestion, he sent a message to Abdisho, the Metropolitan of [[Merv (East Syrian Ecclesiastical Province)|Merv]], for priests and deacons to baptize him and his tribe. Abdisho sent a letter to [[Yohannan V]], [[Patriarch of the Church of the East]] in Baghdad. Abdisho informed Yohannan V that the Khan asked him about fasting and whether they could be exempted from the usual Christian way of fasting since their diet was mainly meat and milk.

Abdisho also related that the Khan had already "set up a pavilion to take the place of an altar, in which was a cross and a Gospel, and named it after Mar Sergius, and he tethered a mare there and he takes her milk and lays it on the Gospel and the cross, and recites over it the prayers which he has learned, and makes the sign of the cross over it, and he and his people after him take a draft from it." Yohannan replied to Abdisho telling him one priest and one deacon was to be sent with altar paraments to baptize the king and his people. Yohannan also approved the exemption of the Keraites from strict church law, stating that while they had to abstain from meat during the annual [[Lent|Lenten fast]] like other Christians, they could still drink milk during that period, although they should switch from "sour milk" ([[kumiss|fermented mare's milk]]) to "sweet milk" (normal milk) to remember the suffering of Christ during the Lenten fast. Yohannan also told Abdisho to endeavor to find wheat and wine for them, so they can celebrate the [[Eucharist|Paschal Eucharist]]. As a result of the mission that followed, the king and 200,000 of his people were baptized (both Bar Hebraeus and Mari ibn Suleiman give the same number).<ref name="grousset"/><ref>Moffett, ''A History of Christianity in Asia'' pp. 400-401.</ref>

== Legacy == After the final dispersal of the remaining Keraites settling along the [[Irtysh River]] by the [[Four Oirat|Oirats]] in the early 15th century, they disappear as an identifiable group. There are various hypotheses as to which groups may partially have been derived from them during the 16th or 17th century. According to Tynyshbaev (1925), their further fate was closely linked to that of the [[Argyn]].<ref> "The further fate of our Kerei is closely linked with the fate of Argyn, although they did not play such a large role as the Argyn. The Kerei [or at least the Achamail subgroup] participated in the campaign of Barak (1420) in Tashkent and Khujand. [[Dzungar–Qing War|In 1723]] the Kerei (as well as the Argyns) suffered relatively less than other peoples. In the wars of [[Muhammad Shaybani]], there is mention of a tribe called ''Sakhiot'', obviously the Kerei who had remained among the Uzbeks of Ferghana, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva." Tynyshbaev (1925)  </ref> The name of the [[Qarai Turks]] may be derived from the Keraites, but it may also be connected to the names of various other Central Asian groups involving ''qara'' "black".<ref>G. Németh, A Hongfoglaló Magyarság Kialakulása, Budapest, 1930, 264-68, cited after P. Oberling, [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/karai "Karāʾi"], ''[[Encyclopedia Iranica]]'', vol. XV, Fasc. 5 (2002), pp. 536–537.</ref> [[Kipchaks|Kipchak]] groups such as the [[Argyn]] [[Kazakhs]] and the [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] ''Kireis'' have been proposed as possibly in part derived from the remnants of the Keraites who sought refuge in Eastern Europe in the early 15th century.<ref>Dunlop (1944:289), following Howorth, ''Unknown Mongolia'' (1913).</ref> Keraites are also part of 92 tribes of [[Uzbeks]].<ref name="Keraites7"/> According to the "[[Altan Tobchi]]", the Keraites were apparently part of the ancient Oirat confederation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ushnitsky |first=Vasily |date=2011 |title=Исторический диспут об этнической принадлежности найманов и кереитов |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/istoricheskiy-disput-ob-etnicheskoy-prinadlezhnosti-naymanov-i-kereitov |journal=Проблемы востоковедения |volume=2 |issue=52 |pages=28–34 |issn=2223-0564}}</ref> Keraites were also part of [[Bashkirs]] and [[Nogais]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Хамидуллин |first=Салават |url=https://www.academia.edu/33883263 |title=История башкирских родов. Гирей. Том 2. Часть 1. / С. И. Хамидуллин, Ю. М. Юсупов, Р. Р. Асылгу- жин, Р. Р. Шайхеев, Р. М. Рыскулов, А. Я. Гуме- рова, Г. Ю. Галеева, Г. Д. Султанова. – Уфа: ГУП РБ Уфимский полиграфкомбинат, 2014. – 528 с.: илл.}}</ref><ref name="Keraites8"/>

== See also == * [[List of medieval Mongol tribes and clans]] * [[List of Mongol states]]

==Notes== {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist|2}}

===Sources=== {{refbegin}} * Boyle, John Andrew, "The Summer and Winter Camping Grounds of the Kereit," ''Central Asiatic Journal'' 17 (1973), 108–110. * [[Douglas Morton Dunlop]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150703045154/http://forum.freekalmykia.org/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=94 The Karaits of East Asia"], '' Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', University of London, 1944, 276–289. * {{cite journal |last=Hunter |first=Erica C. D. |title=The Conversion of the Kerait to Christianity in A.D. 1009 |journal=Zentralasiatische Studien |volume=22 |year=1989 |pages=142–163}} *{{in lang|ru}} Khoyt, S.K., [https://www.academia.edu/5253542/ Кереиты в этногенезе народов Евразии: историография проблемы] ("Keraites in the ethnogenesis of the peoples of Eurasia: historiography of the problem"), Elista: Kalmyk State University Press (2008). *{{in lang|ru}} Kudaiberdy-Uly, Sh. (Кудайберды-Улы, Шакарим), [https://web.archive.org/web/20150829235055/http://www.history.kz/Articles/kerey.php КЕРЕИ] "Родословная тюрков, киргизов, казахов и ханских династий" (trans. Бахыт Каирбеков), Alma-Ata, 1990. *Németh, Julius, "Kereit, Kérey, Giray" ''Ural-Altaische Jahrbücher'' 36 (1965), 360–365. * {{citation |last=Tao |first=Zongyi |author-mask=[[Tao Zongyi]] |script-title=zh:《南村輟耕錄》 |trans-title=Records from a [[Southern China|Southern]] Village after Retiring from the Plow |language=zh |title=Náncūn Chuògēng Lù |date=c. 1366 }}. *Togan, İsenbike, "Flexibility and Limitation in Steppe Formations: the Kerait Khanate and Chinggis Khan" in: ''The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage'', Vol. 15, Leiden: Brill (1998). *{{in lang|ru}} Tynyshbaev, M. (Тынышбаев, Мухамеджан), [https://web.archive.org/web/20150829235055/http://www.history.kz/Articles/kerey.php КЕРЕИ] "Материалы по истории казахского народа", Tashkent, 1925. *{{cite web|last=Borbone|first=Pier Giorgio |url=https://pisa.academia.edu/PierGiorgioBorbone/Papers/537579/Some_Aspects_of_Turco-Mongol_Christianity_in_the_Light_of_Literary_and_Epigraphic_Syriac_Sources |title=Some Aspects of Turco-Mongol Christianity in the Light of Literary and Epigraphic Syriac Sources (Pier Giorgio Borbone) - Academia.edu |publisher=Pisa.academia.edu |access-date=2012-09-20}} {{refend}}

[[Category:Church of the East in Central Asia]] [[Category:Turkic peoples]] [[Category:Mongol states]] [[Category:Former countries in Chinese history]] [[Category:Kerait people]] [[Category:Nomadic confederacies]]