Who are the Cossacks, and what do we know about them?

The word "Cossack" in translation from the Turkic language means "free man". This definition most accurately reflects the meaning of the concept, although different peoples have their own interpretation of its meaning. Hot discussions of the relative origin of the word do not stop until now. Not everyone knows about who these Cossacks are, and when they even formed as an estate.

For the first time, they are mentioned in the 13th century. The French ambassador Guillaume de Rubruk as early as 1253 went to the Mongols and saw the Don Cossacks.

Most of the Russian historians to the question of who these Cossacks are, declares that this is an integral part of the Slavic nation, its special branch. Some experts argue that the above-mentioned estate was formed among the nomadic Indo-Iranian races who left the territory of the eastern part of Lake Baikal and went to live on the coast of the Angara. Other scientists, answering the question of who these Cossacks are, suggest that they are descendants of the Black Sea and Azov tribes, who tied themselves to family relations and formed a unique nationality. There is also such a view that the birthplace of the "Cossacks" was always the North Caucasus.

To argue about who such Cossacks, it is possible indefinitely. It is not clear how such tribes as Khakases, Tanaites, Alans, Asas, Kaisaks, considered to be the ancestors of the described estate, were able to adopt Russian culture, traditions and customs, thereby de facto becoming Slavs. The reason, probably, is that the huge war horde of the Russ, conquering the southern territories, was much larger in number than the detachments of the local tribes. Among other things, the vast expanses of the south were completely deserted, so there was no one to assimilate the Slavic tribes - no one prevented them from living according to their centuries-old foundations.

Based on the above, we can conclude that the Cossacks is a unique Slavic symbiosis of peoples, which was formed outside the territory of the Russian state in conditions that are independent of it. Leaving for various reasons beyond their homeland, the Russian people reached the southern steppe borders of Russia, where they "settled", despite the fact that close neighbors were neighbors. It was from here that the "Kuban Cossacks" were born. They defended their homes from attacks by nomadic tribes, and later themselves raided themselves. The war became for them a professional occupation, it tempered their character and influenced their way of life. In the intervals between military battles, Cossacks raised cattle, hunted and caught fish.

As already stressed, the Don Cossacks were first mentioned in 1253 by the French ambassador, Guillaume de Rubruc. The Don Cossacks officially began to form after the collapse of the Golden Horde. His "backbone" was made up of Russian Christians. Some scientists claim that they were soldiers who did not want to serve with the Mongol-Tatar khans, others believe that they were robbers from Khlynovskaya land. One way or another, the army of the Don Cossacks was the most numerous and combat-ready in the Russian Empire.