Asiangymmax
Sartuul
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There are several theories about the origin of the term. It may be derived from the Sanskrit sārthavāha "merchant, trader, caravan leader", a term supposedly used by nomads to describe town-dwellers, according to Vasily Bartold, Gerard Clauson, and most recently Richard Foltz.
The earliest known use of the term is in the 1070 Turkic text Kutadgu Bilig "Blessed Knowledge", in which it refers to the settled population of Kashgaria. Then, the term apparently referred to all settled Muslims of Central Asia, regardless of language.
Rashid-al-Din Hamadani in the Jami' al-tawarikh writes that Genghis Khan commanded for Arslan Khan, prince of the Karluks, to be given the title "Sartaqtai", which he considered to be synonymous with Tajik.
A 13th-century Mongolian source, The Secret History of the Mongols, states that the Mongols called people from Central Asia, most notably Khwarazm, "Sartuul". "Sar" in Mongolian means "moon" so sart or sarta would mean "ones with (flag with) moon" since the Muslims had a crescent moon symbol on their flags. One of the Mongol tribes living in Zavkhan Province, Mongolia is made up of descendants of merchants from Khwarazm who resided in Kharkhorin and is still called Sartuul.
The earliest known use of the term is in the 1070 Turkic text Kutadgu Bilig "Blessed Knowledge", in which it refers to the settled population of Kashgaria. Then, the term apparently referred to all settled Muslims of Central Asia, regardless of language.
Rashid-al-Din Hamadani in the Jami' al-tawarikh writes that Genghis Khan commanded for Arslan Khan, prince of the Karluks, to be given the title "Sartaqtai", which he considered to be synonymous with Tajik.
A 13th-century Mongolian source, The Secret History of the Mongols, states that the Mongols called people from Central Asia, most notably Khwarazm, "Sartuul". "Sar" in Mongolian means "moon" so sart or sarta would mean "ones with (flag with) moon" since the Muslims had a crescent moon symbol on their flags. One of the Mongol tribes living in Zavkhan Province, Mongolia is made up of descendants of merchants from Khwarazm who resided in Kharkhorin and is still called Sartuul.
