The Ancient Tatar States in Central Asia

The article examines the earliest stages of the history of the Tatars. The origins of the Tatars are traced from the collapse of both the Han Empire and the Empire of Xiongnu and are considered during the subsequent periods preceding the emergence of the empire of Genghis Khan. The author argues that the Tatar state appeared long before the Mongol era, providing information on the resettlement of the Tatars in the 9th and 10th centuries, which explains why a century later the Mongols, who occupied the same space, were called the “Tatars” in the Turkic and Muslim environment, as well as in China. This Turkic desig­nation of the Mongols took root not only in Central Asia and the Middle East but also in Russia and Western Europe