The last of Thartay kin
# The last of Thartay kin

The last of Thartay kin (Һуңғы Һартай,Һуңғы Ҫартай,Последний из Сартаева рода) – monument of medieval Bashkir folklore.

## History

The work was created, presumably, at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. The narration (hikayat) is conducted on behalf of the leader of the Bashkir Thartay kin (Sartay clan) Jalyk- bey.

In Russian, the text of the work was recorded by local historian M.I. Kasyanov in 1935 .The manuscript is stored in the archives of the Ufa Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (F., inventory 12. 1935 ). The original text in the Bashkir language has not been preserved.

In the 70s of the XX century, the work was translated into the Bashkir language from the Russian text by the folklorist M. M. Sagitov.

Poetic interpretations of the work in the Bashkir language were carried out by Ahmet Suleimanov, Mahmut Yamaletdin, in Russian– by Robert Pal.

The hikayat tells about the hard-fought of the Bashkirs of the Tharts kin (Sartay clan) against the troops of Aksak-Timer (Lame Timur,Tamerlane) at the end of the XIV century. These tragic events took place during the war between emir from Samarkand Timur and the Khan of the Golden Horde Tokhtamysh.

Jalyk Bey (son of Burnak,Tashkay`s son) and his family lived fairly well on the banks of the Agidel River in the south of the Ural Mountains. Jalyk Bey was very proud of his sons Karmasan and Sarmasan.

Suddenly, from the south, the enemy invaded the Bashkir land. The Bashkirs bravely fought against the Mongol troops of Tura-Mengu and then Lame Timur (he calls them "sarbazes" (Persian: سرباز soldier), barlases). Jalyk Bey's sons Karmasan and Sarmasan died fighting the enemy. The Bashkirs gave the name Karmasan and Sarmasan to the tributaries of the Belaya River (Ағиҙел, Agidel) in Bashkortostan, after them.

Jalyk Bey and his comrades took revenge on their enemies for a long time. The Thartays (Sartays) were killed but never surrendered to the invaders. Jalyk Bey grew old, lost his herds. He calls himself a badger left without a hole, the last of the Thartay kin.

As the legende has been preserved in written form, features characteristic of literary works prevail in its style. The narrator also used traditional motifs found in legends in delinceation of characters. The work also reflected the traditions of the ritual poetry of the Bashkirs.

«The last of Thartay kin» also has traditions of the bayit (бәйет, lyric-epic genre of Bashkir poetry ) or dastan genre (Persian: داستان dâstân, "story" or "tale").

