Patience

Sabars were a Turkic tribe that played a significant role and left a lasting impact in the northern Black Sea region and the Caucasus between the years 463 and 558. Claims that the Sabars were of Slavic, Mongolic or Finno-Ugric origin have been discredited; their Turkic identity is evident from the names they bore as well as their historical and cultural context.^【1】

Information about the Sabars is fragmentary and primarily derived from Islamic and Byzantine sources. This is due to their failure to develop into a major state, as was the case with many other Turkic tribes in history. The earliest definitive account of the Sabars comes from the Byzantine historian Priscus, who wrote between 461 and 465. In Byzantine sources they are referred to as “Sabar, Sabeir, Saber, Sabir”; in Armenian sources as “Svar, Sbar, Sbir”; and in Islamic sources as “Sebir”. The fact that knowledge about the Sabars comes exclusively from foreign sources has led to numerous variations in their name. Kaşgarlı Mahmud also mentions the Sabars. In his work Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk, he states: “Near the lands of the Bulgars and the Romans there is a place called Saksın.” Based on his map and descriptions, the Sabars were neighbors of the Pechenegs.^【2】

The term “Sabar” is derived from the Turkish verb “sapmak” with the suffix “-ar” forming “Sab-ar”, meaning “one who deviates”, “one who changes course”, or “wanderer”. This naming convention conforms to Turkic practices of naming groups. Like the Khazars and Bulgars, their name originates from the Turkish language and constitutes one of the pieces of evidence demonstrating their Turkic identity. Furthermore, personal names associated with the Sabars are also Turkic: Balak, İliger, Boarık (Buğarık), among others.

The early history of the Sabars is poorly understood. The earliest known information about their original homeland places them in the region between the western slopes of the Tian Shan Mountains and the Ili River. If they separated from any major tribal confederation, they must have been part of a group affiliated with the Xiongnu Empire of Asia. According to the Byzantine historian Priscus of the 5th century, their name first appears among the peoples who migrated westward into Western Siberia.^【3】 In this context, unable to resist the Avars arriving from the east, the Sabars moved westward, displacing the Ogur Turks who inhabited the plains between the Altai and Ural Mountains, and settled around the Tobol and Ishim Rivers. This event is described by the Byzantine historian Priscus as follows: “The Sabirs attacked the On-Ogurs in the lands of the Ob and Irtysh rivers and drove them westward. The On-Ogurs then attacked the Saragurs. The Sabirs themselves followed them across the Yaik and Volga rivers.”^【4】 After settling in this region, the Sabars established dominance over the Finno-Ugric peoples living there, such as the Voguls and Ostyaks, creating deep cultural influences that lasted for centuries. After spending half a century in this area, namely the northern shores of the Caspian Sea and the Yaik-Volga basin, they migrated toward Eastern Europe in 503 and brought some Bulgar groups under their rule. Around 515, a large portion of the Sabars settled in the Caucasus and the Kuban basin. From this period onward, they established contact with the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires and emerged as a major force in Eastern European history. The Sabars, who participated in the wars between the two great empires of their time, Byzantium and the Sasanians, were a significant military power. Initially allied with the Sasanians, the Sabars made an agreement with Byzantium in 528 during the reign of Boarık (Boğarık) Hatun. This alliance, fostered by the efforts and gifts of Emperor Justinian I, lasted until 531. After this date, sources mention the Sabars only rarely. Until 545, the Sabars retained their military strength, but suffered heavy losses during a major campaign in the Caucasus and lost their status as a formidable military force. While part of the Sabar territory came under the control of the Kök Turks, who extended their rule as far as the Black Sea, another portion fell under the authority of the Khazars, who were subordinate to the Kök Turk Khaganate. Thus, once the Sabar Turks ceased to be a political power, their dominance in the Caucasus was destroyed by Byzantium in the 570s. After their collapse, they were resettled south of the Kura River. It is said that some Sabar groups mixed with the Magyars. References to Sabar names persist in this region until the mid-7th century, and it is known that two Sabar tribes, Belencer and Semender, formed the core population of the later Khazar state established in the same area.

The Sabars lost their political existence after barely a century. However, they left deep marks on the two major settled empires of their time: the Sasanians and the Byzantines. Their formidable military strength and especially their advanced warfare techniques were noted by Byzantine historians, who described their mobile, easily transportable siege towers pulled by battering rams. According to the Byzantine historian Procopius: “The Sabars have machines unknown to any Persian or Roman since the beginning of recorded history; both empires have always had engineers and have constructed siege engines in every age, yet no invention has ever resembled theirs, nor has any been used as effectively.”

According to the findings of S. Patkanoff, who conducted research among the Voguls, Ostyaks, and Irtysh Tatars in Western Siberia, the Sabars exerted long-lasting influence in this region. Place names and fortress names such as Sabar, Saber (Tapar), Saper, Savri, Sabrei, and Sıbır (Sıvır) are widespread along the Ob, Tura, and Irtysh rivers. Personal names such as Ay-Sabar and Kün-Sabar are also found. The inhabitants of Tobolsk refer to the region’s earliest inhabitants as Sybyr or Syvyr. Moreover, Sabars feature prominently in the folk tales of the local population. The fact that the Ostyaks, who regarded the Sabars as their ancestors, and the Voguls, who later came under Russian rule, gave the name “Saper” to the Russians, reveals the enduring perception of the Sabars’ status in popular memory. The capital of the Sibir Khanate, established in the same region in the 16th century, was also named Sibir. When the Russians captured the town of Isker during their eastward expansion, they renamed it Sibir, and as Russian campaigns advanced further east, this name gradually became applied to a vast territory, eventually evolving into the modern name “Siberia”.

At the time when Hunnic rule collapsed in Central Europe, another Turkic tribe emerged on the historical stage in Eastern Europe, engaging in conflict with the Sasanian and Byzantine Empires. Although the political dominance of the Sabar Turks eventually ended, they played a crucial role in the formation of the Turkic peoples who continue to inhabit the Caucasus, the Volga-Ural region, and Western Siberia today.