Kyrgyz.

This is coolbert:

"unconquerable" or "undefeatable"

Here with some miscellany regarding the Kyrgyz people, the land, etc. Historic and otherwise.

1. The Battle of Talas - - 751 A.D. Often described as a "high-water mark" of history. The expansionist Chinese Tang dynasty, seeking dominion over central Asia, military force and outposts, vassal states reaching as far west as modern Kyrgyzstan, south of Lake Balkash, defeated in combat against the parvenu [upstart] Arabic/Islamic Abbasid Caliphate! "Thus and no further" for the Tang!

"The Battle of Talas . . . in 751 AD was a conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control of the Syr Darya [and dominion, control or influence over all of Central Asian as a consequence] . . . Out of 10,000 Tang troops, only 2,000 managed to return from Talas to their territory in Central Asia."

NOT necessarily to be thought of as Chinese troops alone in combat against an Islamic army. The Chinese force consisting of Tang "regulars" numbering only a third [1/3] of those combatants available to the Chinese general in command.

Talas also not only the single one effort of the Muslim to eject the Chinese from central Asia:

"Prior to the battle, there were other indirect encounters between the combatants. The first occurred in 715 . . . The second encounter occurred in 717"

On both occasion, the Chinese victorious, their dominion over central Asia for the time being secure, at least until Talas. IN THE MANY CENTURIES SINCE TALAS, THE CHINESE HAVE NEVER VENTURED AS FAR WEST AS THEY DID DURING THE TANG! A point beyond which Chinese rule and dominion being too far west has been determined?

2. Manas. The great epic poem of the Kyrgyz people. The theme of the epic being war and heroism of Manas. The very existence of the Kyrgyz people as a consequence of Manas and his battlefield valor.

"Manas . . . is a traditional epic poem claimed by the Kyrgyz people dating to the 18th century, though it is possibly much older. The epic tells the story of Manas, his descendants and his followers. Battles against Kitay and Qalmaq enemies form a central theme in the epic"

The chanting of the poem by "bards" a popular form of entertainment in Kyrgyzystan.

Such is the length of Manas that a "bard" [Manaschis] chanting the poem for eight hours a day would take six months to complete the entire epic. And these "bards" are men so highly trained they can recite with word-for-word perfection between them an absolute!!

"Manas is the classic centerpiece of Kyrgyz literature, and parts of it are often recited at Kyrgyz festivities by specialists in the epic"

"Manaschi . . . Manaschis tell the tale in a melodic chant unaccompanied by musical instruments."

3. Kyrgyz. The very name of the people has a special significance. During the time of Manas, the forty clans of the Kyrgyz people only united through warfare, conflict.

"'Kyrgyz', is believed to have been derived from the Turkic word for 'forty', in reference to the forty clans of Manas, a legendary hero who united forty regional clans against the Uyghers."

"The 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan is a reference to those same forty tribes"

Forty as a number having a special universally understood significance, normally suggestive of the end of an era, the beginning of a new era. What was before is gone, something new has replaced it:

* It rained for forty days and forty nights.
* The Hebrews spent forty years in the wilderness.
* JESUS spent forty days in solitude and fasting.
* Forty acolytes fought and died at the side of Gobind Singh [last guru of the Sikhs].

And: * The forty clans of the Kyrgyz people became united because of Manas!

4. The Ferghana valley. A valley with rich soil [until the Soviet era], noted for agriculture and stock breeding from times of antiquity, surrounded by arid desert land, having water and irrigation available. A land OF PLENTY in an area of relative desolation, Ferghana coveted from the time of yore by a myriad host of tribes, nations and peoples. A land only NOW recovering from the excesses of Soviet times?

Among those domesticated animals found in Ferghana the "Celestial" horses so highly prized by the Chinese. The Nisean breed as used by the ancient Parthian cataphracts.

"During the 8th century CE, Ferghana was the location of fierce rivalry between the Tang Dynasty of China and the expansion of Muslim power, leading to the Battle of Talas in 751"

Good luck Kyrgyz people. A proud people with a proud tradition living in hard and unforgiving part of the world. A small nation deserving a big chance. Let us hope!

coolbert.