The etymology of some ethnonyms found on the Great Silk Road

Abstract

The article examines the etymology of some ethnonyms found on the Great Silk Road. A partial
etymological analysis is made of the names (ethnonyms) of the Ulus, the country located along the Great Silk
Road. The analyzes made information about the tribes of that time. It is believed that some of the ethnonyms
here have been preserved to this day, some have been called differently, and some have not reached our time.
It is known from history that the Great Silk Road passed through many countries, tribes, and peoples. The
countries located along the Silk Road conducted trade through the Silk Road, and one was responsible for the
security of the caravan routes.
The history and etymology of the ethnonyms Avar, Karluk, Kurykan, Kyrgyz, China, On ok, Sogdy, Tabgach,
Tangut, Tatar, Tuput, Turgesh, Urum, Chigil are shown and described. It is known that any name, whether
it is a toponym or an ethnonym, is based on a special sign. The peculiarity of each name was related to their
profession.
The Chinese ethnonym, like many other ethnonyms, is said to have been imposed on the country from
outside. It is argued that it is an ethnonym formed on behalf of the Qidan tribe of Mongolian origin, which
conquered Northern China and founded the Liao state in the X-XI centuries. It is said that the influence of
merchants who traded with the state of Khytan/Kidan had a lot of influence on the widespread spread of this
name to Europe and Russia. It is known from history that the Great Silk Road was created for the trade of silk fabrics produced in secret by the Chinese. Although the main road runs in the direction of China - Central Asia
- Byzantium - Iran - Europe, it is now known that it has many branches that spread in all directions.
The article was written within the target program project approved by the Ministry of Education and Science
of the Republic of Kazakhstan BR10965370 «Study of the historical toponymy of the Great Silk Road at the
junction of sciences».