4. Samaria to Samarkand Kyrgyz consider themselves an imperishable people.

Some even think the name Kyrgyz is a variation of the Kyrgyz word Kyrylgyz, indestructible. Hebrews have also earned a similar reputation. Both nations seem to arise again and again from an unending series of trauma, genocide, and destruction.1 Sin Despite the divine favor both nations aunt, they both uplift narratives that reveal humiliating national sins. The Manas Epic records the following slaughter: a Kitai khan, Alookei, attacked the Kyrgyz and scattered them from Samarkand. The epic concludes that they were destroyed and exiled because of sin: The poor people who came to Altay, And the heroes who were exiled Survived their hardships, Were separated from their people, And endured this on account of their sins.2 Manassehs biblical tribe and their heroes were destroyed and exiled for similar reasons:

The members of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land. They were very numerous But they broke faith with
1

In 1916 the Tsars armies tried to completely annihilate Kyrgyz. This unknown genocide was cut short by the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. In addition to this Kyrgyz have seen numerous tyrants and conquerors sweep through their lands.
2

Karalaev, Saiakbai, Manas; Translated by Elmira Kochumkulkizi, Ph.D. Candidate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Washington (Seattle) lines 3013-3018.

the God of their fathers, and whored after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day. 3 This historic battle ended with Samarias capture in 721 BCE. The captives were deported. Eventually Israel and Manassehs scattered masses disappeared from history somewhere beyond the Euphrates. The tribes are now known as the legendary Lost Tribes of Israel who, according to biblical prophecy, are supposed to reappear in the last days. 4 Samarkand and Samaria The Manas Epic starts with Kitai khans deporting Jakyb and his ravished brothers from the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Andijan, and Talas. Samarkand deserves some attention in this analysis. The citys origins date back to about 700 BCE, which correlates with Samarias deportation. A casual observer might think Samarias deported captives brought the toponym of their capital with them - in memory of the old capital Samaria, the exiles new land was called Fort Samar or Samarkand. But the prevalent view on Samarkands etymology states asmara, an old Persian word for rock or stone, and the sufx kand, meaning city or fort, break down Samarkand to mean City of Rock, not City of Samar, or City of Samaria. On that basis, Samarkand would have no connection to Samaria or
3 4

1 Chronicles 1:23-26 (English Standard Version). Emphasis added by author. Zechariah 10:6-10

Israels lost tribes. Nonetheless, Samaria and Samarkands deportation stories deserve more attention, because we may have found a clue that other historians overlooked. From the Manas Epic: As for Alke and Molto's Dreadful demands: They took large quantities of gold. If one couldn't give gold to them, They took their grazing livestock. If the numbers did not tally, They beheaded and killed the owner. Those Kyrgyz who fought back They paid with blood and sent to their ancestors those who talked back They caught and made them slaves. They destroyed everything, They brought on a great calamity. From the Alt-Shaar to Margilan, All the way to Kokand, And the sheikh with his soldiers wearing blue coats, In the lands of Bukara and Samarkand, Were reduced in numbers and destroyed.5 Ashim Jakypbek also mentions Samarkand in his version, Tengiri Manas:

Khans Alooke and Molto, conquering from the beginning they came and attacked Samarkand and Anjiyan, then killed the hero Orozdu.6 When that was known they attacked Talas
5

Karalaev, Saiakbai, Manas; Translated by Elmira Kochumkulkizi, Ph.D. Candidate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Washington (Seattle) lines 880-899. Parenthesis added by author.
6

Orozdu is Jakybs father in this account

and left no man to lead the people. Bent elders and nursing babies were left. Pretty girls and ladies were taken. Ripped from life and livestock, only beggars remained.7 The biblical chroniclers also note that only the poorest of the poor remained in the land after the people were attacked and deported.

The Manas Encyclopedia states that many versions of the epic refer to Samarkand as Manas fatherland.8 The mountains of Samaria, on the other hand, represented Manassehs fatherland.9 And in 1885 Samarkands rabbi claimed Samarkands Jewish population was in fact descended from Reuben, Gad, and Manassehs half tribe, not from Jews or Judeas Tribe.10 So perhaps Samarias toponym was in fact exported to Samarkand. The Scattered Ten According to Ashim Jakypbek the ten orphaned sons of Orozdu were scattered from Samarkand in ten different directions.

Jakyb told Manas about the Kitai, Kalmak, and Manjuu attacking the Ala Too, destroying the pillars of the palace in
7 Ashim 8

Jakypbek, Tengiri Manas, (Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, 1995) p. 19

Kyrgyz Republics National Academy of Sciences; Manas Encyclopedia, (Bishkek, 1995) Vol. II, p. 177
9

I interviewed Kuki members of the bnei Menashe who came from northeast India to Israel, but specifically want to return to their fatherland in the mountains of Samaria (Jerusalem, 2006).
10

Lansdell, Henry Russian Central Asia, Including Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva, and Merv (Boston, Houghton, Mifflin, and Compny, 1885; Elibron Classics Replica Edition, 2003) vol. 2, p. 595

Talas, felling the ag and scattering the 10 young sons of the Hero, Orozdu, in 10 directions when they did not have a chance to ght11 Jakybs history and the Manas Epic start with ten brothers being scattered from Samarkand, while Jacobs northern kingdom ends with the ten tribes scattered from Samaria toward Persia, in the direction of Samarkand.12

First a view of those ten tribes who separated from Judea after the death of Solomon, who lived about 3000 years ago:

And he said to Jeroboam, Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you. 13 Those ten tribes (also known as Joseph) often fought against Judah and Jerusalem. Generations later Josephs tribes were destroyed: the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel (the ten tribes) away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.14

11 Ashim 12

Jakypbek, Tengiri Manas, (Kyrgyzstan Bishkek, 1995) p. 60. Authors translation.

1 Kings 11:31, 35. Assyrian kings attacked Manasseh and the northern tribes, captured Samaria, and took the ten tribes to the northeast, as far as the cities of the Medes.
13 14

1 Kings 11:31 (New King James Version) 2 Kings 17:6 (New King James Version) Emphasis added by author.

The Medes are proto-Persians. This is important because Tajik is a part of the Persian language family; additionally Tajiks consider Samarkand and Bukhara two of their cities even though they lie within Uzbekistans geographical boundaries.

Additional signicance is connected to the Medes, because one of the Median kings was Madius the Scythian (653-625 BCE). Prominent Kyrgyz scholars trace their lineage from Scythian or Saka peoples. Kyrgyzstans award-winning author, Turusbek Madylbai, claims Toktugul was previously Rakhshanak (), a Saka city within the Persian-Mede empire.15 Such Median-Scythian links strengthen the journey from Jacobs son Manasseh to Jakybs son Manas. Twelve Lost Centuries The Manas Epic records a twelve century gap, possibly the time that passed between Samaria destruction and Samarkands defeat, or more precisely, the period between the biblical recording of Manassehs captivity and the epics account of Manas resurgence: In the twelve centuries Since Karakhan's death, There was no one to resist The wrath-pouring indels.16

15 16

Madylbai, Turusbek; interview (Bishkek, 2009)

Karalaev, Saiakbai, Manas; Translated by Elmira Kochumkulkizi, Ph.D. Candidate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Washington (Seattle) lines 275-278

Where were the Kyrgyz during the twelve centuries after Assyria destroyed Samaria, from the 8th century BCE to the 4th century CE? Or should we ip the question and ask where Manassehs descendants were at this time? Samaria, Samarkand, Samakai Later we will analyze a tribal people in Northeast India called the Kuki, who claim descent from Israels tribe, Manasseh. They sing about the time they were parted from their brothers on the Samakai Mountains.17 Dr. Khuplam, a Kuki scholar, told me he believes Samakai (or Somakai) may be in Tibet because Kuki prayers mentioned Samakai in conjunction with Tibet, but Khuplam has not been able to locate the exact place of this parting.

Could this place of parting for three ethnic groups be the same location? Kuki descendants of Manmasi (Manasseh) call it Samakai; Kyrgyz descendants of Manas call it Samarkand; biblical records refer to Manasseh being torn from Samaria. If history repeats itself, Samakai and Samarkand be historical repeats of Samaria. But more likely, the descendants of Jacob remember a place of parting that sounds like sama-something and maintain of memory of a father Manase or some thing similar. Putting all the pieces of this historical puzzle together will not be accomplished quickly, and may require revisiting some traditional perceptions; like the etymology of Samarkand, the overall role of the Bible in the Manas Epic, and the prevalent opinion about the disappearance of Jacobs ten northern tribes.

17

Khuplam, Milui Lenthang, Manmasi Chate (Kuki-Chin-Mizo) thulhun kidang masa (Hills Tribals Council, Manipur India, 2005) page 35