The word "Cossack" in the translation from the Turkic languagemeans "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.
The first time about them is mentioned in the XIII century. The French ambassador Guillaume de Rubruk went back to the Mongols in 1253 and saw the Don Cossacks.
Most Russian historiansthe one who is a Cossack, declares that this is an integral part of the Slavic nation, its special branch. Some experts assert 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 Angara coast. Other scientists, answering the question of who these Cossacks are, suggest that they are descendants of the Black Sea and Azov tribes, who have tied themselves to family relations and formed a unique nationality. There is also a point of view that the North Caucasus was always the birthplace of the "Cossacks".
To argue about who such Cossacks are, it is possible toinfinity. It is not clear how such tribes as Khakases, Tanaites, Alans-Ases, Kaisaks, considered to be the progenitors of the described estate, were able to adopt Russian culture, traditions and customs, thereby de facto becoming Slavs. The reason probably lies in the fact that the huge war horde of the Russs, 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, it can be concluded thatThe fact that the Cossacks represents a unique Slavic symbiosis of peoples, which was formed outside the territory of the Russian state in conditions 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 to it were enemy neighbors. It was from here that the "Kuban Cossacks" were born. They protected their homes from attacks by nomadic tribes, and subsequently 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 emphasized, the Don Cossacks wereFirst mentioned in 1253 by the French ambassador Guillaume de Rubruk. 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.
