Cumans and Tatars
István Vásáry
The Cumans
and the Tatars were nomadic warriors of the Eurasian steppe who exerted an enduring impact on the medieval Balkans. With this work, István Vásáry
presents an extensive examination of their history from 1185 to 1365. The basic instrument of Cuman and Tatar political success was their military
force, over which none of the Balkan warring factions could claim victory. As a consequence, groups of the Cumans and the Tatars settled and mingled
with the local population in various regions of the Balkans. The Cumans were the founders of three successive Bulgarian dynasties (Asenids, Terterids
and Shishmanids) and the Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids). They also played an active role in Byzantium, Hungary and Serbia, with Cuman immigrants
being integrated into each country's elite. This book also demonstrates how the prevailing political anarchy in the Balkans in the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries made it ripe for the Ottoman conquest.
- Presents an extensive examination of the role of the Cumans and the Tatars in the medieval Balkan states between 1185-1360s
- Provides a military, political and ethnic history of the period
- Takes a comprehensive approach which will appeal to students of Balkan history and also to students of nomadic peoples, Byzantine society, and medieval Europe
Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
2. Cumans and the second Bulgarian empire
3. Cumans in the Balkans before the Tatar conquest, 1241
4.
The first period of Tatar influence in the Balkans, 1242-1282
5. The heyday of Tatar influence in the Balkans, 1280-1301
6. Cumans and
Tatars on the Serbian scene
7. Cumans in Byzantine service after the Tatar conquest, 1242-1333
8. The Tatars fade away from Bulgaria and
Byzantium, 1320-1354
9. The emergence of two Romanian principalities in Cumania, 1330, 1364
Conclusion
Appendices
List of
abbreviations
Bibliography
Index