Yenisei Kyrgyz

Yenisei Kyrgyz

𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰕 Qyrqyz
Modern Khakas people regard themselves as the descendants of the Yenisei Kyrgyz who remained in Siberia despite the dispersal by the Mongols in the 13th century, and now form the Republic of Khakassia.
Languages
Old Turkic
Religion
Tengrism, Buddhism, Manichaeism
Related ethnic groups
Göktürks, Kyrgyz, Khakas, Fuyu Kyrgyz, Siberian Tatars, Altaians

Part of a series on the
History of Kyrgyzstan
Early history Medieval history Early modern history Russian Vassalage Urkun Soviet rule Independent Kyrgyzstan
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The Yenisei Kyrgyz (Old Turkic: 𐰶𐰃𐰺𐰴𐰕:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, romanized: Qyrqyz bodun), were an ancient Turkic-speaking people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The heart of their homeland was the forested Tannu-Ola mountain range (known in ancient times as the Lao or Kogmen mountains), in modern-day Tuva, just north of Mongolia. The Sayan mountains were also included in their territory at different times. The Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate existed from 538 to 1219 CE; in 840, it took over the leadership of the Turkic Khaganate from the Uyghurs, expanding the state from the Yenisei territories into Central Asia and the Tarim Basin.