View source for Pechenegs

{{Short description|Extinct Turkic people}}
{{about|the Turkic tribe|the Russian weapon|Pecheneg machine gun}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{infobox ethnic group
| group            = Pechenegs
| image            = The Pechenegs defeating the Rus, from the Skyllitzes Matritensis, fol. 173r, (Public Domain) via Creative Commons.jpg
| image_caption    = The Pechenegs slaughter the [[Varangian]] army of [[Rus' people|Rus]], from the [[Madrid Skylitzes]].
| popplace         = [[Eastern Europe]], [[Anatolia]] (historical)
| rels             = 
| langs            = [[Pecheneg language]] (historical)
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
| related_groups   = [[Oghuz Turks]] and [[Cumans]]
}}
{{Infobox country
| common_name            = Pecheneg Khanates
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Pecheneg Khanates
| status                 = [[Khanate]]
| capital                = 
| common_languages       = [[Pecheneg language|Pecheneg]]
| year_start             = 889
| year_end               = 1091
| p1                     = Khazar Khaganate
| flag_p1                = 
| s1                     = Kipchaks
| s2                     = 
| image_map              = Pechenegs c.1030.svg
| image_map_caption      = Pecheneg Khanates and neighbouring territories, c.1030
| image_flag             = 
| religion               = 
| currency               = 
| legislature            = 
| title_leader           = 
| leader1                = 
| year_leader1           = 
| leader2                = 
| year_leader2           = 
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 
}}

{{History of the Turks pre-14th century}}
The '''Pechenegs''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|ɛ|tʃ|ə|n|ɛ|ɡ}}) or '''Patzinaks''',<ref group="note">{{langx|az|Peçeneq(lər)}}, {{langx|tr|Peçenek(ler)}}, [[Middle Turkic languages|Middle Turkic]]: {{lang|xqa|بَجَنَكْ}} {{transliteration|xqa|Bäčänäk}}, {{langx|ro|Pecenegi}}, {{langx|ru|Печенег(и)}}, {{langx|uk|Печеніг(и)}}, {{langx|hu|Besenyő(k)}}, {{langx|el|Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται}}, {{lang-ka|პაჭანიკი}}, {{langx|bg|печенеги|pechenegi}}, {{langx|bg|печенези}}, {{transliteration|bg|pechenezi}}; {{lang-sh-Latn-Cyrl|Pečenezi|separator=/|Печенези}}, {{langx|la|Pacinacae, Bisseni}}</ref> also known as '''Pecheneg Turks''','''{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}}''' were a semi-nomadic [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] people from [[Central Asia]] who spoke the [[Pecheneg language]]. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Pechenegs controlled much of the [[steppe]]s of southeast [[Europe]] and the [[Crimean Peninsula]]. In the 9th century, the Pechenegs began a period of wars against [[Rus' people|Rus']], and for more than two centuries launched raids into the lands of Rus', which sometimes escalated into full-scale wars.

== Ethnonym ==

The Pechenegs were mentioned as ''Bjnak'', ''Bjanak'' or ''Bajanak'' in medieval [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]] texts, as ''Be-ča-nag'' in [[Classical Tibetan]] documents, and as ''Pačanak-i'' in works written in [[Georgian language|Georgian]].{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=93}} [[Anna Komnene]] and other Byzantine authors referred to them as ''Patzinakoi'' or ''Patzinakitai''.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=93}} In [[medieval Latin]] texts, the Pechenegs were referred to as ''Pizenaci'', ''Bisseni'' or ''Bessi''.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=93}} [[East Slavic peoples]] use the terms ''Pečenegi'' or ''Pečenezi'' (plural of ''Pečeneg''), while the [[Polish people|Poles]] mention them as ''Pieczyngowie'' or ''Piecinigi''.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=93}} The Hungarian word for Pecheneg is ''besenyő''; the Romanian term is ''Pecenegi''.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=93}}

According to [[Max Vasmer]] and some other researchers the [[ethnonym]] ''Pecheneg'' may have derived from the [[Old Turkic language|Old Turkic]] word for "brother-in-law, relative" (''baja'', ''baja-naq'' or ''bajinaq''; {{langx|az|bacanaq}}, [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]]'': baja'', {{langx|tk|baja}} and {{langx|tr|bacanak}}), implying that it initially referred to an "in-law related clan or tribe".{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=93}}{{sfn|Golden|2003|p=I.64}} [[Peter Benjamin Golden|Peter Golden]] considers this derivation by no means certain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Peter Benjamin Golden |url=https://www.academia.edu/12545004 |title=An Introduction to the History of the Turkic peoples |pages=264}}</ref>

In [[Mahmud al-Kashgari|Mahmud Kashgari]]'s 11th-century work [[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk|''Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk'']], the Pechenegs were described as "a Turkic nation living around the country of [[Rûm|the Rum]]" (''Rum'' was the Turkic word for the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] or [[Anatolia]]) and "a branch of [[Oghuz Turks]]"; he subsequently described the Oghuz as being formed of 22 branches, of which the Pecheneg were the 19th.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Tekin| last = Maḥmūd| first = Kāshgarī |author2=James Kelly| title = Türk Şiveleri Lügatı = Dīvānü Luġāt-It-Türk| location = Duxbury, Mass| year = 1982}}</ref>

Pechenegs are mentioned as one of 24 ancient tribes of [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuzes]] by 14th-century statesman and historian of [[Ilkhanate]]-ruled Iran [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]] in his work [[Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh|''Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh'']] ("Compendium of Chronicles") with the meaning of the ethnonym as "the one who shows eagerness". The 17th-century [[Khanate of Khiva|khan of Khiva]] and historian [[Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur]] mentions the Pechenegs as ''bechene'' among 24 ancient tribes of [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkmens]] (or Oghuzes) in his book ''[[Shajara-i Tarākima]]'' (Genealogy of the Turkmen) and provides for its meaning as "the one who makes".

Three of the eight Pecheneg "provinces" or clans were collectively known as [[Kangar union|Kangars]].{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=182}} According to [[Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus]], the Kangars received this denomination because "they are more valiant and noble than the rest" of the people "and that is what the title Kangar signifies".{{sfn|Curta|2006|p=182}}<ref>''Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio'' (ch. 37), p. 171.</ref> Because no Turkic word with a similar meaning is known, [[Ármin Vámbéry]] connected the ethnonym to the [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] words ''kangir'' ("agile"), ''kangirmak'' ("to go out riding") and ''kani-kara'' ("black-blooded"), while [[Carlile Aylmer Macartney]] associated it with the [[Chagatai language|Chagatai]]  word ''gang'' ("chariot"),{{sfn|Macartney|1968|pp=104-105}} semantically related to the Turkic [[Kang-chü|Gaoche]].<ref>[[Peter Benjamin Golden|Golden, Peter B.]], "[https://www.academia.edu/7798262/_Ethnogenesis_in_the_Tribal_Zone_The_Shaping_of_the_T%C3%BCrks_ Ethnogenesis in the Tribal Zone: The Shaping of the Türks]". From: [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281319966_Studies_on_the_Peoples_and_Cultures_of_the_Eurasian_Steppes Studies on the Peoples and Cultures of the Eurasian Steppes], ed. C. Hriban, Florilegium magistrorum historiae archaeologicaeque Antiquitatis et Medii Aevi, IX (Bucharest-Brăla, 2011):17-63 / ISBN 978-973-27-2152-0</ref>

[[Omeljan Pritsak]] proposed that the name had initially been a composite term ''(Kängär As'', mentioned in Old Turkic texts) deriving from the [[Tocharian languages|Tocharian]] word for stone ''(kank)'' and the ethnonym ''As'', suggesting that they were Tocharian-speaking or at least formed a confederation consisting of Tocharian, [[Eastern Iranian languages|Eastern Iranian]] and [[Bulgar language|Bulgaric Turkic]] elements. Their connection with Eastern Iranian elements is hinted at in the remark of [[al-Biruni]] regarding a people that "are of the race of al-Lān and that of al-Ās and their language is a mixture of the languages of [[Khwarezmian language|Khwarazmians]] and the Badjanak.".{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=213}} 

If the latter assumption is valid, the Kangars' ethnonym suggests that (East) Iranian elements contributed to the formation of the Pecheneg people but [[Victor Spinei|Spinei]] concedes that Pechenegs were of "a predominantly Turkic character... beyond any doubt".{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=94}}<ref>Victor Spinei, "''[https://brill.com/view/book/9789047428800/Bej.9789004175365.i-482_005.xml|The Romanians and the Turkic Nomads North of the Danube Delta from the Tenth to the Mid-Thirteenth Century]{{Dead link|date=September 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}''", {{ISBN|9789047428800}} / Brill 2009, p.181</ref> This may be mirrored in the [[Old Russian literature|Old Rus translation]] of [[Josephus Flavius]] (ed. Meshcherskiy, 454) which adds "the [[Jasz people|Yas]], as is known, descended from the Pecheneg tribe." Based on their fragmentary linguistic remains, scholars view them as [[Common Turkic languages|Common Turkic]]-speakers, most probably [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]] ([[Gyula Németh (linguist)|Németh]], followed by [[Lajos Ligeti|Ligeti]])<ref>Németh, "Die Inschriften," 16, pp. 50-1; Ligeti, "A magyar nyelv," p.362, 506; and [[György Györffy|Györffy]], "A Besenyők nyelve," p.170-91. Cited in the [[Encyclopaedia of Islam|Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition)]], Vol.VIII, Leiden 1994, p.289</ref> or [[Oghuz languages|Oguz]] ([[Nikolai Baskakov (linguist)|Baskakov]]).<ref>Баскаков, Н. А. ''Тюркские языки'', Москва 1960, с. 126-131.</ref> [[Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall|Hammer-Purgstall]] classifies the Chinese [[Kangju]] and Byzantine [[Kangar union|Kangar]] as purely Turkic name variants of the [[Kangly]];<ref>Hammer-Purgstall, Joseph, Freiherr von, ''[https://archive.org/details/geschichtedergo02purgoog/page/n70 Geschichte der Goldenen horde in Kiptschak, das ist: der Mongolen in Russland]'', 1840. digital page n70 or 6/mode/2up.</ref> however, [[Wang Pu (Song dynasty)|Wang Pu]]'s institutional historical work [[Tang Huiyao]] apparently distinguishes the ''Kang(ju)'' from the ''Kangheli'' (aka ''Kangly'').<ref>''Tang Huiyao'', [https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=461266 "Vol. 72"] quote:  "'''康國'''馬。'''康居國'''也。是大宛馬種。形容極大。武德中。康國獻四千匹。今時官馬。猶是其種。……'''康曷利'''馬。印宅。" rough translation: "Horses of the '''Kang nation''', which is the '''Kangju nation'''. They are a stock of [[Ferghana horse|Dayuan horse]]s. In the middle of the [[Emperor Gaozu of Tang|Wude era]] [622 - 626 CE], the '''Kang nation''' tributed 4,000 horses. Nowadays, the officials' horses are [probably] of that stock. [...] '''Kangheli''''s horses; [[tamga]] [resembles] [character] 宅"</ref> [[Karl Heinrich Menges|Menges]] saw in ''Kang-ar-as'' the plural-suffix ''-as'', and Klyashtorny the Turkic numerus collectivus ''-ar-'', ''-er-''.<ref>K. H. Menges, Altaic elements, s. 101-104. ([https://doczz.biz.tr/doc/5145/tarih-enstit%C3%BCs%C3%BC-dergisi-say%C4%B1-4-5---edebiyat-fak%C3%BCltesi cited PDF])</ref><ref>[[Klyashtorny, Sergey Grigorevich|S.G. Klyaštornij]], ''Drevnetyurkskie Runiçeskie Pamyatniki Kak Istoçnik Po Istorii Sredney Azii'', Moscow 1964, p.163-167 ([https://doczz.biz.tr/doc/5145/tarih-enstit%C3%BCs%C3%BC-dergisi-say%C4%B1-4-5---edebiyat-fak%C3%BCltesi cited PDF])</ref>

== Language ==

{{Main|Pecheneg language}}
[[Mahmud al-Kashgari]], an 11th-century man of letters who specialized in Turkic dialects, argued that the language spoken by the Pechenegs was a variant of the [[Cuman language|Cuman]] and [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]] idioms.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=95}} He suggested that foreign influences on the Pechenegs gave rise to phonetic differences between their tongue and the idiom spoken by other Turkic peoples.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=181}} Anna Komnene likewise stated that the Pechenegs and the Cumans shared a common language.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=95}} Although the Pecheneg language itself died out centuries ago,{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=343}} the names of the Pecheneg "provinces" recorded by Constantine Porphyrogenitus prove that the Pechenegs spoke a Turkic language.{{sfn|Róna-Tas|1999|p=239}} The Pechenegs are thought to have belonged to the [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]] branch of the [[Turkic languages|Turkic family]], but their language is poorly documented and therefore difficult to further classify.<ref>Баскаков, Н. А. Тюркские языки, Москва 1960, с. 126-131.</ref>

==Composition==

Byzantine emperor [[Constantine VII]] [[Born in the purple|Porphyrogennetos]] lists eight Pecheneg tribal groupings, four on each side of the [[Dnieper river]], reflecting the bipartite left-right Turkic organization. These eight tribes were, in turn, divided into 40 sub-tribes, probably clans. Constantine VII also records the names of eight former tribal leaders who had been leading the Pechenegs when they were expelled by the [[Khazars]] and [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuzes]]. [[Peter Benjamin Golden|Golden]], following [[Gyula Németh (linguist)|Németh]] and [[Lajos Ligeti|Ligeti]], proposes that each tribal name consists of two parts: the first part being an [[equine coat color]], the other the tribal ruler's title.{{sfn|Golden|1992|p= 265-6}}

The Erdim, Čur, and Yula tribes formed the [[Kangar union|Qangar/Kenger]] ([[Greek alphabet|Greek]]: Καγγαρ) and were deemed "more valiant and noble than the rest".

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Tribal Compositions
|-
! Transcribed tribal name !! Reconstructed tribal name !! Meaning !! Location !! Transcribed leader's name || Reconstructed leader's name
|-
| Ιαβδι-ερτί(μ) || *Yavdı{{efn|or "Yawdı"}}-Erdim{{efn|or "Erdem"}} || Tribe of the Erdem{{efn|bravery, virtue}} with brilliant, shining horses || Dniepr's west bank || Βαϊτζαν || *Bay{{efn|wealthy}}-ča
|-
| Κουαρτζι-τζούρ || *Küerči{{efn|From ''küverči'' < ''küğerči''}}-Čur || Tribe of the Čur with bluish horses || Dniepr's east bank || Κούελ || *Küğel{{efn|bright-green}}
|-
| Χαβουξιν-γυλά || *Qabuqšın-Yula or *Khabuži/Kapuži-Jula{{efn|Possibly not an equine coat color; cf. [[Ottoman Turkish]] قاپو‎ ''kapu'' "door, gate, [[Sublime Porte|Porte]]", Hung. ''kapu'' "gate, entrance, door". If so, this tribe was the guardians of the Pechenegs to the west.<ref>A magyarok eredete, Vámbéry</ref>}} || Tribe of the [[Gyula (title)|Yula]] with bark-colored horses || Dniepr's west bank || Κουρκοῡται || *Qorqutai{{efn|From ''qorqut-'' "to frighten"}} 
|-
| Συρου-κουλπέη || *Suru-Kül-Bey || Tribe of the Kül-Bey with grayish horses || Dniepr's east bank || Ιπαόν || *Ipa / *Iba (?),{{efn|cf. Hung. '''Ipoch'''; may be Ipa + Hung. dim. suffix -cs (-ç).<ref>{{cite journal|author=G. GYÖRFFY|title= MONUMENTS DU LEXIQUE PETCHÉNÈGUE|journal=[[Acta Orientalia ]]|page=78}}</ref>}}
|-
| Χαρα-βοη || *Qara-Bay || Tribe of the [[Bey]] with black horses || Dniepr's west bank || Καϊδούμ || *Qaydum{{efn|From ''qayt-'' < ''qayıt-'' < ''qaðıt-'' "to turn back"; cf. Hung. '''Kajdan'''}}
|-
| Βορο-ταλμάτ || *Boru-Tolmač || Tribe of the Tolmač{{efn|"interpreter, translator"}} with grayish horses || Dniepr's east bank || Κώσταν || *Qosta{{efn|cf. [[Khakas language|Sağay]] '''qosta''' "foe-seeking magical arrow"(?)}}
|-
| Γιαζι-χοπὸν || *Yazı-Qap(ğ)an || Tribe of the [[Kavhan|Qap(ğ)an]] with dark-brown horses || Dniepr's west bank || Γιαζή || *Yazı{{efn|From ''Yazığ'', metathesis of ''Yağız''}}
|-
| Βουλα-τζοπόν || *Bula-Čopan{{efn|or "Čaban"}} || Tribe of the [[Župan|Čopan]] with piebald horses || Dniepr's east bank || Βατᾱν || *Bata / *Bota{{efn|"small camel"}}
|}

=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}

== History ==

=== Origins and area ===
According to [[Omeljan Pritsak]], the Pechenegs are descendants of the ancient [[Kangar_people|Kangars]] who originate from [[Tashkent]]. The [[Orkhon inscriptions]] listed the Kangars among the subject peoples of the [[Eastern Turkic Khaganate]]. Pritsak says that the Pechenegs' homeland was located between the [[Aral Sea]] and the middle course of the [[Syr Darya]] along the important trade routes connecting [[Central Asia]] with [[Eastern Europe]], and associates them with [[Kangar union|Kangars]].{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|pp=211-212}}

According to [[Constantine VII|Constantine Porphyrogenitus]] writing in c. 950, the Pecheneg realm, or ''Patzinakia'' stretched west as far as the [[Siret River]] (or possibly the Eastern [[Carpathian Mountains]]), and was four days' journey from "Tourkias" (i.e. [[Hungary]]).{{Blockquote|The whole of Patzinakia is divided into eight provinces with the same number of great princes. The provinces are these: the name of the first province is Irtim; of the second, Tzour; of the third, Gyla; of the fourth, Koulpeï; of the fifth, Charaboï; of the sixth, Talmat; of the seventh, Chopon; of the eighth, Tzopon. At the time at which the Pechenegs were expelled from their country, their princes were, in the province of Irtim, Baïtzas; in Tzour, Kouel; in Gyla, Kourkoutai; in Koulpeï, Ipaos; in Charaboï, Kaïdoum; in the province of Talmat, Kostas; in Chopon, Giazis; in the province of Tzopon, Batas.|[[Constantine VII|Constantine Porphyrogenitus]]: ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]''<ref>''Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio'' (ch. 37), p. 167.</ref>}}

[[File:Khazarfall1.png|thumb|The [[Pontic steppe]]s, {{circa|lk=no|1015}}]]
[[Paul Pelliot]] originated the proposal that the ''[[Book of Sui]]''{{mdash}}a 7th-century Chinese work{{mdash}}preserved the earliest record on the Pechenegs.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=211}} The book mentioned a people named ''Bĕirù'', who had settled near the ''Ēnqū'' and ''Alan'' peoples (identified as [[Onogurs]] and [[Alans]], respectively), to the east of ''Fulin'' (or the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]).{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=211}}{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=113}}{{sfn|Golden|2011|p=232}} [[Victor Spinei]] emphasizes that the Pechenegs' association with the ''Bĕirù'' is "uncertain".{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=113}} He proposes that an 8th-century [[Uyghurs|Uyghur]] envoy's report, which survives in [[Lhasa Tibetan|Tibetan]] translation,{{sfn|Róna-Tas|1999|p=235}} contains the first certain reference to the Pechenegs.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=113}} The report recorded an armed conflict between the ''Be-ča-nag'' and the ''Hor'' ([[Uyghur Khaganate|Uyghurs]] or [[Oghuz Turks]]) peoples in the region of the Syr Darya.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=113}}<ref name="Venturi">{{cite journal|last= Venturi|first=Federica|title= An Old Tibetan document on the Uighurs: A new translation and interpretation|journal= Journal of Asian History|issue= 42|volume= 1|page= 21|date= 2008}}</ref>

[[Ibn Khordadbeh]] (c. 820 – 912 CE), [[Mahmud al-Kashgari]] (11th century), [[Muhammad al-Idrisi]] (1100–1165), and many other [[Muslim]] scholars agree that the Pechenegs belonged to the Turkic peoples.{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=182}} The ''[[Russian Primary Chronicle]]'' stated that the "[[Turkmens|Torkmens]], Pechenegs, [[Torks]], and [[Polovci]]ans" descended from "the godless sons of [[Ishmael]], who had been sent as a chastisement to the Christians".{{sfn|Spinei|2009|p=186}}<ref>''Russian Primary Chronicle'' (year 6604/1096), p. 184)</ref>

=== Westward migration ===
[[File:Europe mediterranean 1097.jpg|thumb|Europe 1097]]
The [[Second Turkic Khaganate|Turkic Khaganate]] collapsed in 744, which gave rise to a series of intertribal confrontations in the [[Eurasian steppes]].{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=212}} The [[Karluks]] attacked the [[Oghuz Turks]], forcing them to launch a westward migration towards the Pechenegs' lands.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=212}} The Uyghur envoy's report testifies that the Oghuz and Pecheneg waged war against each other in the 8th century, most probably for the control of trade routes.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=212}} The Oghuz allied with the Karluks and [[Kimaks]] and defeated the Pechenegs and their allies in a battle near the Aral Sea before 850, according to the 10th-century scholar [[Al-Masudi]].{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=212}} Most Pechenegs then migrated towards the [[Volga River]], but some groups were forced to join the Oghuz. The latter formed the 19th tribe of the [[Oghuz Yabgu State|Oghuz tribal federation]] in the 11th century.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=212}}{{sfn|Golden|2003|p=I.64}}

The Pechenegs who left their homeland settled between the [[Ural River|Ural]] and the Volga rivers. According to [[Gardizi]] and other Muslim scholars who based their works on 9th-century sources, the Pechenegs' new territory was quite large, with a 30-day-walk extension, and were bordered by the [[Cumans]], [[Khazars]], Oghuz Turks and [[Slavic peoples|Slavs]].{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=213-214}}{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=114}}
[[File:Beçene Türkmen Tagmasy Abyl Gazy.jpg|thumb|[[Tamga]] of Pecheneg tribe as per [[Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur|Abul-Ghazi]]'s «[[Shajara-i Tarākima|Genealogy of Turkmens]]»]]
The same sources also narrate that the Pechenegs made regular raids against their neighbors, in particular against the Khazars and their vassals, the [[Burtas]], and sold their captives into slavery.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}}{{sfn|Spinei|2003|pp=113-114}} The Khazars allied with the Oghuz against the Pechenegs and attacked them from two directions. Outnumbered by the enemy, the Pechenegs were forced into a new westward migration.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=213}}{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=113}}{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=138}} They marched across the Khazar Khaganate, invaded the dwelling places of the [[Hungarians]], and [[Hungarians#c. 830 to c. 895|expelled them]] from the lands along the [[Kuban River]] and the upper course of the river [[Donets]].{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=213-214}}{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=138}} There is no consensual date for this second migration of the Pechenegs: Pritsak argues that it took place around 830,{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}} but Kristó suggests that it could hardly have occurred before the 850s.{{sfn|Kristó|2003|p=144}}

The Pechenegs settled along the rivers [[Seversky Donets River|Donets]] and [[Kuban River|Kuban]].{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}} It is plausible that the distinction between the "Turkic Pechenegs" and "Khazar Pechenegs" mentioned in the 10th-century ''[[Hudud al-'alam]]'' had its origin in this period.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}} The ''[[Hudud al-'Alam]]''{{mdash}}a late 10th-century Persian geography{{mdash}}distinguished two Pecheneg groups, referring to those who lived along the Donets as "Turkic Pechenegs", and to those along the Kuban as "Khazarian Pechenegs".{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=213}} Spinei proposes that the latter denomination most probably refers to Pecheneg groups accepting Khazar suzerainty, implies that some Pecheneg tribes had been forced to acknowledge the Khazars supremacy.{{sfn|Spinei|2003|p=113}}

In addition to these two branches, a third group of Pechenegs existed in this period: [[Constantine VII|Constantine Porphyrogenitus]] and [[Ibn Fadlan]] mention that those who decided not to leave their homeland were incorporated into the Oghuz federation of Turkic tribes.{{sfn|Golden|2003|p=I.64}}{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}}

{{Blockquote|Originally, the Pechenegs had their dwelling on the river Atil (Volga), and likewise on the river [[Ural (river)|Geïch]], having common frontiers with the Chazars and the so-called Uzes. But fifty years ago, the so-called Uzes made common cause with the Chazars and joined battle with the Pechenegs and prevailed over them and expelled them from their country, which the so-called Uzes have occupied till this day. [...] At the time when the Pechenegs were expelled from their country, some of them of their own will and personal decision stayed behind there and united with the so-called Uzes, and even to this day they live among them, and wear such distinguishing marks as separate them off and betray their origin and how it came about that they were split off from their own folk: for their tunics are short, reaching to the knee, and their sleeves are cut off at the shoulder, whereby, you see, they indicate that they have been cut off from their own folk and those of their race.|[[Constantine Porphyrogenitus]]: ''[[De Administrando Imperio]]''<ref>''Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio'' (ch. 37), pp. 167., 169.</ref>}}

However, it is uncertain whether this group's formation is connected to the Pechenegs' first or second migration (as it is proposed by Pritsak and Golden, respectively).{{sfn|Golden|2003|p=I.64}}{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}} According to Mahmud al-Kashgari, one of the Üçok clans of the Oghuz Turks{{sfn|Atalay|2006|p=I.57}} was still formed by Pechenegs in the 1060s.{{sfn|Pritsak|1975|p=214}}

=== Alliance with Byzantium ===
[[File:63-manasses-chronicle.jpg|thumb|Sviatoslav enters Bulgaria with Pecheneg allies,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/ProblemsOfByzantineHistoriographyThreeNotesOnMiniaturesInThe|title=Problems of Byzantine Historiography ~ Three Notes on Miniatures in the Chronicle of Manasses|accessdate=21 June 2023|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> from the ''Constantine Manasses Chronicle''.]]

In the 9th century, the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] allied with the Pechenegs, using them to fend off other, more dangerous, tribes such as [[Kievan Rus']] and the [[Magyars]] (Hungarians).

The Uzes, another [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] steppe people, eventually expelled the Pechenegs from their homeland; in the process, they also seized most of their livestock and other goods. An alliance of [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]], [[Kimeks]], and [[Karluks]] was also pressing the Pechenegs, but another group, the [[Samanid]]s, defeated that alliance. Driven further west by the [[Khazars]] and [[Cuman people|Cumans]] by 889, the Pechenegs in turn drove the Magyars west of the [[Dnieper]] River by 892.

Tsar [[Simeon I of Bulgaria]] employed the Pechenegs to help fend off the Magyars. The Pechenegs were so successful that they drove out the Magyars remaining in [[Etelköz]] and the [[Pontic steppes]], forcing them westward in [[Battle of Southern Buh]] and making them leave [[Etelköz]] forever and settle in [[Pannonia]] where they later founded the [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian state.]]<ref>Zlatarski, ''Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo'', p. 304.</ref><ref name="bakalov22">Bakalov, ''Istorija na Bǎlgarija'', "Simeon I Veliki".</ref><ref name="delev922">Delev, ''Bǎlgarskata dǎržava pri car Simeon''.</ref> 

=== Late history and decline ===

By the 9th and 10th centuries, Pechenegs controlled much of the steppes of southeast [[Europe]] and the [[Crimean Peninsula]].  Although an important factor in the region at the time, like most nomadic tribes, their concept of statecraft failed to go beyond random attacks on neighbours and spells as mercenaries for other powers.

In the 9th century, the Pechenegs began a period of wars against [[Kievan Rus']]. For more than two centuries, they had launched raids into the lands of Rus', which sometimes escalated into full-scale wars (like the 920 war on the Pechenegs by [[Igor of Kiev]], reported in the ''[[Primary Chronicle]]''). The Pecheneg wars against Kievan Rus' caused the Slavs from Walachian territories to gradually migrate north of the Dniestr in the 10th and 11th centuries.<ref>V. Klyuchevsky, The course of Russian history. v.1: "Myslʹ.1987, {{ISBN|5-244-00072-1}}</ref>  Rus'/Pecheneg temporary military alliances also occurred however, as during the Byzantine campaign in 943 led by Igor.<ref group="note">[[Ibn Haukal]] describes the Pechenegs as the long-standing allies of the Rus', whom they invariably accompanied during the 10th century [[Caspian expeditions of the Rus|Caspian expeditions]].</ref> 

[[File:Andrey Ivanov 005.jpg|thumb|left|The heroic deed of the young Kyivite during the siege of Kyiv by the Pechenegs in 968. [[Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Stories About Spies. Story 1. Through the Pecheneg Camp |url=https://szru.gov.ua/en/kids-page/stories-about-spies-story-1-through-the-pecheneg-camp |website=szru.gov.ua |language=en}}</ref>]]
In 968 the Pechenegs [[Siege of Kiev (968)|attacked and besieged Kiev]]; some joined the Prince of Kiev, [[Sviatoslav I, Prince of Kiev|Sviatoslav I]], in his Byzantine campaign of 970–971, though eventually they ambushed and killed the Kievan prince in 972.  According to the ''Primary Chronicle'', the Pecheneg [[Khan (title)|Khan]] [[Kurya (khan)|Kurya]] made a [[Chalice (cup)|chalice]] from Sviatoslav's skull, in accordance with the custom of [[steppe]] nomads.  The fortunes of the Rus'-Pecheneg confrontation swung during the reign of [[Vladimir I of Kiev]] (990–995), who founded the town of [[Pereyaslav]] upon the site of his victory over the Pechenegs,<ref group="note">The chronicler explains the town's name, derived from the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] word for "retake", was inspired by Vladimir "retaking" military glory from the Pechenegs.</ref> followed by the defeat of the Pechenegs during the reign of [[Yaroslav I the Wise]] in 1036. Shortly thereafter, other nomadic peoples replaced the weakened Pechenegs in the [[Pontic steppe]]: the [[Cuman people|Cumans]] and the [[Torks]]. According to [[Mykhailo Hrushevsky]] (''History of Ukraine-Ruthenia''), after its defeat near Kiev, the Pecheneg Horde moved towards the [[Danube]], crossed the river, and disappeared out of the [[Pontic steppes]].

Pecheneg mercenaries served under the Byzantines at the [[Battle of Manzikert]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heath |first1=Ian |title=Armies and Enemies of the Crusades Second Edition |date=2019 |isbn=978-0244174873 |page=73|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> After centuries of fighting involving all their neighbours—the Byzantine Empire, [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]], Kievan Rus', Khazaria, and the Magyars—the Pechenegs were annihilated as an independent force in 1091 at the [[Battle of Levounion]] by a combined Byzantine and Cuman army under Byzantine Emperor [[Alexios I Komnenos]]. Alexios I recruited the defeated Pechenegs, whom he settled in the district of [[Moglena]] (today in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]]) into a [[Tagma (military)|tagma]] "of the Moglena Pechenegs".<ref>{{Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565–1204|page=117}}</ref> Attacked again in 1094 by the Cumans, many Pechenegs were slain or absorbed. The Byzantines defeated the Pechenegs again at the [[Battle of Beroia]] in 1122, on the territory of modern-day [[Bulgaria]]. With time, the Pechenegs south of the [[Danube]] lost their national identity and became fully assimilated, mostly with [[Romanians]] and [[Bulgarians]]. Significant communities settled in the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1000–1301)|Hungarian kingdom]], around 150 villages.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02115/html/index.html |title=Magyar néprajzi lexikon |publisher=Akadémiai Kiadó |year=1977 |volume=One |location=[[Budapest]] |chapter=besenyők |trans-chapter=Pechenegs |chapter-url=https://mek.oszk.hu/02100/02115/html/1-703.html}}</ref>

In 1105 or 1106, Pecheneg troops were deployed to Italy in an unsuccessful effort to capture Otranto and prevent Bohemond's invasion of the Byzantine Balkans. [[Anna Komnene]] erroneously reports that Bohemond dragged Pecheneg prisoners in chains before Pope Paschal II to gain support for his invasion, although the respective itineraries of the two men clearly indicate that they did not meet on this occasion.{{sfn|McMahon|2024|p=704-710}} According to the Byzantine historian [[John Kinnamos]], the Pechenegs fought as [[mercenaries]] for the [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine Emperor]] [[Manuel I Komnenos]] in [[Catepanate of Italy|southern Italy]] against the [[Normans|Norman]] [[king of Sicily]], [[William I of Sicily|William the Bad]].<ref>Kinnamos, IV, 4, p. 143</ref> A group of Pechenegs was present at the Battle of [[Andria, Italy|Andria]] in 1155.<ref>[[Ferdinand Chalandon|Chalandon]] 1907</ref>

{{Continental Asia in 1000 CE|right|The Pechenegs and contemporary Asian polities circa 1000 CE.}}
The Pechenegs as a group were last mentioned in 1168 as members of Turkic tribes known in the chronicles as the "[[Chorni Klobuky]] (Black Hats)".<ref>[[Ivan Katchanovski]], Zenon E. Kohut, Bohdan Y. Nebesio, Myroslav Yurkevich, ''Historical Dictionary of Ukraine'', Scarecrow Press, 2013, p. 439.</ref> The Pecheneg population of Hungary was likely decimated by the [[First Mongol invasion of Hungary|Mongol invasion of Hungary]], but names of Pecheneg origin continue to be reported in official documents. The title of "Comes Bissenorum" (Count of the Pechenegs) lasted for at least another 200 years.

In 15th-century Hungary, some people adopted the surname ''Besenyö'' ([[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] for "Pecheneg");{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} they were most numerous in the [[county of Tolna]]. One of the earliest introductions of [[Islam]] into [[Eastern Europe]] came about through the work of an early 11th-century Muslim prisoner who was captured by the Byzantines. The Muslim prisoner was brought into the Besenyő territory of the Pechenegs, where he taught and converted individuals to Islam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/preachingislama00arnogoog|title=The preaching of Islam; a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith|first=Thomas Walker|last=Arnold|date=21 June 1896|publisher=Westminster, A. Constable and co.|accessdate=21 June 2023|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> In the late 12th century, [[Abu Hamid al-Gharnati]] referred to Hungarian Pechenegs – probably Muslims – living disguised as Christians. There is a village in southeast [[Serbia]] called [[Pečenjevce]] that was founded by Pechenegs. After the war with Byzantium, the remnants of the tribes found refuge in the area and settled there.<ref>[https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/172732 Studies on Pechenegs Dr. AKDES KURAT]</ref><ref>[https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1177828 ATLAS NATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES ISSN 2602-4128 TWO FRIEND PEOPLE IN THE NORTH OF THE BLACK SEA: ON THE RELATIONS OF THE PECHENEKS AND THE KUMAN-KIPCHAKS]</ref><ref>[https://openaccess.firat.edu.tr/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11508/15341/428284.pdf?sequence=1 T.R. FIRAT UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY THE RELATIONS OF PEÇENEK AND KIPÇAKS WITH THE BYZANTINE STATE MASTER'S THESIS]</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/42101656|title=Peçenekler|first=Recep|last=Ayçiçek|journal=Peçenekler|accessdate=21 June 2023|via=www.academia.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/2477/tur|title=Batı Anadolu'da Bir Peçenek Beği: Kızıl Beğ|first=Tuncer|last=Baykara|date=21 June 1998|journal=Belleten|volume=62|issue=235|pages=735–746|accessdate=21 June 2023|via=belleten.gov.tr|doi=10.37879/belleten.1998.735|s2cid=252493145 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.turkalemiyiz.com/Home/Getturkdevletleri?categoryid=9&aid=3063|title=Türkalemiyiz.com "Türk Dünyasının İnternet Sitesi"|website=www.turkalemiyiz.com|accessdate=21 June 2023}}</ref>

==Settlements bearing the name Pecheneg==
*[[Besenyszög]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Besenyőd]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Besenyőtelek]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Besnyő]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Bešenovački Prnjavor]], [[Serbia]]
*[[Bešeňov]], [[Slovakia]]
*[[Bešeňová]], [[Slovakia]]
*[[Bešenovo]], [[Serbia]]
*[[Beščeně]], a part of [[Kunovice]], [[Czech Republic]]
*[[Biçənək]], [[Azerbaijan]]
*[[Ládbesenyő]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Máriabesnyő]] a part of [[Gödöllő]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Pechenihy]], [[Ukraine]]
*[[Pecineaga]], [[Romania]]
*[[Peçenek, Kazan|Peçenek]], [[Turkey]]
*[[Pečenice]], [[Slovakia]]
*[[Pečenjevce]], [[Serbia]]
*[[Pečeneg Ilova]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
*[[Pečeňady]], [[Slovakia]]
*[[Pieczeniegi]], [[Poland]]
*[[Pieczonogi, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship]], [[Poland]]<ref name="paron">{{cite book |last1=Paroń |first1=Aleksander |title=The Pechenegs: nomads in the political and cultural landscape of Medieval Europe |date=2021 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden Boston |isbn=978-90-04-44109-5 |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004441095/BP000018.xml?language=en |access-date=30 October 2024 |chapter=7}}</ref>
*[[Pieczonogi, Lesser Poland Voivodeship]], [[Poland]]<ref name="paron" />
*[[Pöttsching]], [[Austria]]
*[[Szirmabesenyő]], [[Hungary]]
*[[Pechenitsa]], [[Bulgaria]]

== Leaders ==
* [[Kurya (khan)|Kurya]] c. 970s<ref group="note">While his rule's exact end cannot be dated, Kurya was no longer khan by 988.</ref>
* [[Metiga]] c. 980s
* [[Kuchug]] c. 990s
* [[Kızıl Beg]] Western Anatolia  c. 1184-(????)s <ref>{{cite journal | url=https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/2477/tur | title=Batı Anadolu'da Bir Peçenek Beği: Kızıl Beğ | journal=Belleten | year=1998 | volume=62 | issue=235 | pages=735–746 | last1=Baykara | first1=Tuncer | doi=10.37879/belleten.1998.735 | s2cid=252493145 | doi-access=free }}</ref> 
== Descendants of the Pechenegs ==

Some historians believe that the Pechenegs were the ancestors of the modern [[Karakalpaks]]. According to Askerbay Turganbayev, there is a scientific hypothesis suggesting that after their defeat in the 11th–12th centuries, some Pechenegs migrated to the Aral region, where they contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Karakalpaks. He notes similarities in traditions, nomadic lifestyles, and some linguistic elements between the Karakalpaks and earlier [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] peoples, including the Pechenegs.<ref name="Turganbayev2023">Askerbay Turganbayev. ''Historical Science on the Pechenegs as the Ancestors of the Karakalpaks''. // Finland International Scientific Journal of Education, Social Science & Humanities. — 23 April 2023. — Vol. 11, Iss. 4. — P. 1517–1525. — ISSN 2945-4492.</ref>  

Public figure Olzhas Suleimenov suggested that the name "Pecheneg" derives from the word ''Pajanak'' ("in-law"), indicating kinship ties between Pecheneg khagans and Russian princes. This word has parallels in Turkic languages, including Karakalpak, where ''baja'' or ''boja'' also means "in-law."<ref name="Suleimenov1985">Olzhas Suleimenov. ''Az i Ya''. — Almaty: Zhazushy, 1985.</ref>  

The 14th-century Persian historian Rashid al-Din recorded that one of the Kipchak tribes was called "Kara-Borkli" ("Black Hats"), which may be linked to the ethnonym "Karakalpaks." Some scholars suggest that this tribe was among the remnants of the Pechenegs that assimilated into the Kipchak and later Karakalpak groups.<ref name="Rashidaddin">Rashid al-Din. ''Jami' al-Tawarikh'' (Compendium of Chronicles). — Moscow: Nauka, 1965.</ref>  

Archaeological studies in the deltas of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers have uncovered traces of Saka-Massagetae tribes, which may have been the ancestors of the Karakalpaks. The consolidation of Pecheneg tribes in the southeastern Aral region in the 9th–11th centuries is believed to have played a role in Karakalpak ethnogenesis.<ref name="AralArchaeology">A. Nurmukhamedov. ''Archaeological Findings in the Aral Region''. — Nukus: Karakalpakstan, 2001.</ref>

== See also ==<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->
*[[Megleno-Romanians]] 
*[[Taksony of Hungary]]
*[[Tonuzoba]]
*[[Pok (genus) ]]       
*[[Szolnok (genus)]]
*[[Vata (noble)]]
*[[Ladislaus I Losonci]]
*[[Benedict, son of Samud]]
*[[Chorni Klobuky]]   
*[[Sinka de Sinka]] 
*[[Cumans]]
*[[Kangar union]]
*[[Kankalis]]
*[[Khazars]]
*[[Kipchaks]]
*[[Manav People]]
*[[Petržalka]]
*[[PKP Pecheneg]], A Russian-made general-purpose machine gun named after the Turkic tribe
*[[Timeline of the Turkic peoples (500–1300)]]
*[[Karakalpaks]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group="note"}}

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== References ==

=== Primary sources ===
*''Anna Comnena: The Alexiad'' (Translated by E. R. A. Sewter) (1969). Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-0-14-044958-7}}.
*Constantine Porphyrogenitus: ''De Administrando Imperio'' (Greek text edited by Gyula Moravcsik, English translation by Romillyi J. H. Jenkins) (1967). Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies. {{ISBN|0-88402-021-5}}.

=== Secondary sources ===
*{{cite book |last=Atalay |first=Besim |year=2006 |title=Divanü Lügati't – Türk |publisher=Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi |isbn=975-16-0405-2}}
*{{cite book |last=Curta |first=Florin |year=2006 |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500-1250 |url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt |url-access=registration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-89452-4}}
*{{Cite book |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |year=2011 |title=Studies on the Peoples and Cultures of the Eurasian Steppes |publisher=Editura Academiei Române|isbn=978-973-27-2152-0}}
*{{Cite book |last=Golden |first=Peter B. |year=2003 |title=Nomads and their Neighbours in the Russian Steppe: Turks, Khazars and Quipchaqs |publisher=Ashgate |isbn=0-86078-885-7}}
*{{cite book |last=Golden|first=Peter B.|title=An Introduction to the History of the Turkic People|year= 1992|publisher= Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden}}
*{{Cite book |last=Kristó |first=Gyula |year=2003 |title=Háborúk és hadviselés az Árpádok korában |language=hu |trans-title=Wars and Tactics under the Árpáds |publisher=Szukits Könyvkiadó | isbn=963-9441-87-2}}
*{{Cite book |last=Macartney |first=C. A. |year=1968 |title=The Magyars in the Ninth Century |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-08070-5}}
*{{cite journal |last1=McMahon |first1=Lucas |title=Anna Komnene, the Kontostephanoi, and the Norman invasions of 1107–1108 and 1147–1149 |journal=Byzantinische Zeitschrift |date=2024 |volume=117 |issue=3 |pages=693-714 | doi =  	10.1515/bz-2024-1170304 }}
*{{cite journal | last = Pritsak | first = Omeljan | title = The Pechenegs: A Case of Social and Economic Transformation | journal = Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi | volume = 1 | pages = 211–235 | publisher = The Peter de Ridder Press | year = 1975 }}
*{{cite book |last=Róna-Tas |first=András |year=1999 |title=Hungarians and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: An Introduction to Early Hungarian History (Translated by Nicholas Bodoczky). |publisher=CEU Press |isbn=978-963-9116-48-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Spinei |first=Victor |year=2003 |title=The Great Migrations in the East and South East of Europe from the Ninth to the Thirteenth Century (Translated by Dana Badulescu) |publisher=Romanian Cultural Institute |isbn=973-85894-5-2}}
*{{Cite book |last=Spinei |first=Victor |year=2009 |title=The Romanians and the Turkic Nomads North of the Danube Delta from the Tenth to the Mid-Thirteenth century |publisher= Koninklijke Brill NV |isbn=978-90-04-17536-5}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last=Golubovsky |first=Peter V. |year=1884 |url=http://new.runivers.ru/lib/book3143/10047/ |trans-title=Pechenegs, Torks and Cumans before the invasion of the Tatars. History of the South Russian steppes 9th-13th centuries |title=Печенеги, Торки и Половцы до нашествия татар. История южно-русских степей IX—XIII вв |language=ru |postscript=at [[Runivers.ru]] in [[DjVu]] format.}}
*{{cite book |last=Pálóczi-Horváth |first=A. |year=1989 |title=Pechenegs, Cumans, Iasians: Steppe peoples in medieval Hungary |series=Hereditas |location=Budapest |publisher=Kultúra [distributor] |isbn=963-13-2740-X}}
*{{cite book |last=Pritsak |first=O. |year=1976 |title=The Pečenegs: a case of social and economic transformation |location=Lisse, Netherlands |publisher=The Peter de Ridder Press}}

== External links ==
{{Commonscatinline}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060111120813/http://www.patzinakia.ro/ www.patzinakia.ro]
*[http://www.imwerden.de/pdf/povest_vremennyx_let.pdf The Primary Chronicle]
*[http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/rus/texts/constp.html Of the Pechenegs, and how many advantages]

{{Turkic topics}}
{{Turkic peoples}}
{{Oghuz tribes}}

{{Authority control}}

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[[Category:10th century in Kievan Rus']]
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[[Category:11th century in Kievan Rus']]
[[Category:History of the western steppe]]
[[Category:Extinct Turkic peoples]]