The Cumans (Turkish: kuman / plural kumanlar Hungarian: kun / plural kunok; Greek: Κο(υ)μάνοι, Ko(u)mánoi; Romanian: cuman / plural cumani, Polish: Połowcy, Plauci (Kumanowie), Russian: Половцы, Polovtsy; Ukrainian: Половці, Polovtsi; Bulgarian: Кумани, Czech: Plavci, Georgian: ყივჩაყი, ყიფჩაღი, German: Falones, Phalagi, Valvi, Valewen, Valani) were a nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sought asylum in and, subsequently, Bulgaria. The Cumans had also settled in Hungary and Bulgaria before the Mongol invasion. Related to the Pecheneg, they inhabited a shifting area north of the Black Sea and along the Volga River known as Cumania, where the Cuman-Kipchaks meddled in the politics of the Caucasus and Khwarezm. Many eventually settled to the west of the Black Sea, influencing the politics of Kievan Rus', the Golden Horde, the Second Bulgarian Empire, Serbia, the Kingdom of Hungary, Moldavia, Georgia and Wallachia. Cuman and Kipchak tribes joined politically to create the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. The Cuman language is attested in some medieval documents and is the best-known of the early Turkic languages. The Codex Cumanicus was a linguistic manual which was written to help Catholic missionaries communicate with the Cuman people. The Cumans were nomadic warriors of the Eurasian steppe who exerted an enduring impact on the medieval Balkans. The basic instrument of Cuman political success was military force, which dominated each of the warring Balkan factions. Groups of the Cumans settled and mingled with the local population in regions of the Balkans. Those Cumans that settled in the Balkans were the founders of three successive Bulgarian dynasties (Asenids, Terterids, and Shishmanids) and the Wallachian dynasty (Basarabids) But, in the cases of the Basarab and Asenid dynasties, medieval documents refer to them as Vlach (Romanian) dynasties. They played an active role in Byzantium, the Kingdom of Hungary, and Serbia, with Cuman immigrants being integrated into each country's elite. The Cumans were called Folban, Vallani/Valwe by Germans. In the German account by Adam of Bremen, and Matthaios of Edessa, the Cumans were referred to as the "Blond Ones" . They were called Kun (Qoun)/Kunok by the Hungarians, and Polovtsy/Polovec (from Old East Slavic "половъ" — yellow) by the Russians — all meaning "blond". It is difficult to know which group historians were referring to when they used the name Kipchak, as they could refer to the Cumans only, the Kipchaks only, or to both together. The two nations joined and lived together (and possibly exchanged weaponry, culture and fused languages), with the Cumans encompassing the western half of the confederation, while the Kipchaks and (assumably) the Kangli/Kankalis (a ruling clan of the Pechenegs) encompassing the eastern half. This confederation and their living together may have made it difficult for historians to write exclusively about either nation. Some of the clans of the Cuman-Kipchaks were the Terteroba (Ter'trobichi), Burdjogli, Borchol, Toksoba, Etioba/Ietioba, Kay, Itogli, Kochoba (meaning Ram Clan), Urosoba, El'Borili, Kangarogli, Andjogli, Durut, Djartan, Karabirkli, Kotan/Hotan, Kulabaogli, Olelric, Altunopa (meaning Gold Clan), Toksobychi, Burchevychi, Ulashevichi (Ulash-oghlu), Toksobichi (Mamluk Toqsoba), Chitieevichi, Elobichi, Kolabichi, Etebichi, Yeltunovychi, Yetebychi, Berish, Olperliuve (Olperlu), Emiakovie (Yemek), Phalagi and the Olberli. The Cumans' name in Russian and German means "yellow", in reference to the color of the Cumans' hair. The Ukrainian word Polovtsy (Пóловці) means "blond", since the old Ukrainian word polovo means "straw". Kuman means "pale yellow" in Turkic. Some authors put forward the idea that the name Polovtsy referred to "men of the field, or of the steppe" (from the Ukrainian word pole: open ground, field), not to be confused with polyane (cf. Greek polis: city). In Slavic languages the word 'polyane' literally means "open ground, field". According to O. Suleymenov polovtsy came from a word for "blue-eyed", since the Serbo-Croatian word plav means "blue": the Eastern Slavic equivalent would take the regular form *polov. The name 'Kipchak'/'Qipcak' was not in use amongst the Cumans; 'Qun', Quman' was used. It is difficult to know whether the etymology was actually referring to Cumans or mostly Kipchaks as both tribes had fused together and lived side by side.

• published: 18 May 2014
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