Back Tartaros de Lituania AN Lipka tatarları Azerbaijani Беларускія татары Byelorussian Ліпкі (этнаграфічная група) BE-X-OLD Poljski Tatari BS Lipkes Catalan Lipka tatarları CRH Lipkové Czech Tatariaid Lipka Welsh Lipka-tatarer Danish
 One of the variations of the flag of Lipka Tatars, almost resembling the flag of Golden Horde but with smaller and reversed logo located on the upper hoist side. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 10,000–15,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Belarus | 8,445 (2019 census)[1] |
 Lithuania | 2,142 (2021 census)[2] – 3,200[3] |
 Poland | 1,916 (2011 census)[4] |
| Languages | |
| Tatar, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Polish, Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Muslim | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Volga Tatars, Crimean Tatars | |
The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to Lithuania, also known as Lipkas, Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish–Lithuanian Tatars, Belarusian Tatars, Lipkowie, Lipcani, Muślimi, Lietuvos totoriai) are a Turkic ethnic group who originally settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the beginning of the 14th century.
The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve their shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst the non-Christian Lithuanians.[5] Towards the end of the 14th century, another wave of Tatars – this time, Muslims, were invited into the Grand Duchy by Vytautas the Great. These Tatars first settled in Lithuania proper around Vilnius, Trakai, Hrodna and Kaunas[5] and later spread to other parts of the Grand Duchy that later became part of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. These areas comprise parts of present-day Lithuania, Belarus and Poland. From the very beginning of their settlement in Lithuania they were known as the Lipka Tatars. While maintaining their religion, they united their fate with that of the mainly Christian Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[citation needed] From the Battle of Grunwald onwards the Lipka Tatar light cavalry regiments participated in every significant military campaign of Lithuania and Poland.
The Lipka Tatar origins can be traced back to the descendant states of the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate and Kazan Khanate. They initially served as a noble military caste but later they became urban-dwellers known for their crafts, horses and gardening skills. Throughout centuries they resisted assimilation and kept their traditional lifestyle. While they remained very attached to their religion, over time they lost their original Tatar language, from the Kipchak group of the Turkic languages and for the most part adopted Belarusian, Lithuanian and Polish.[6][7] There are still small groups of Lipka Tatars living in today's Belarus, Lithuania and Poland, as well as their communities in the United States.
- ^ "Перепись-2019". Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Gyventojų ir būstų surašymai – Oficialiosios statistikos portalas". Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Eastern Europe and migrants: The mosques of Lithuania". The Economist. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Ludność. Stan i struktura demograficzno-społeczna – NSP 2011" (PDF) (in Polish).
- ^ a b (in Lithuanian) Lietuvos totoriai ir jų šventoji knyga – Koranas Archived 29 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, "Polish or Lithuanian Tartars", Harvard University Press, pg. 990
- ^ Leonard Drożdżewicz, Biographical Dictionary of Polish Tatars of the Twentieth Century, „Znad Wilii", nr 4 (68) z 2016 r., pp. 77–82, http://www.znadwiliiwilno.lt/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Znad-Wilii-68.pdf
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