The Naimans, also Naiman Turkics[1][2], (kazakh language: Найман хандығы) Naiman in Mongolian language means "eight", because Naimans were direct descendants of the Segiz Ogyz poeple, "segiz" means "eight" in the Kazakh language. They were a Mongolian name given to a group of Turkic tribes dwelling on the steppe of Central Asia, having diplomatic relations with the Kara-Khitan, and subservient to them until 1177. The Naimans are most often classified as a Turkic people from Segiz Oghyz (means 'Eight Oghuz' in Turkic),[3][4][5][6]
Like the Khitans and the Uyghurs, many of them were Nestorian Christians or Buddhists. When last Tayan Khan was killed after a battle with Genghis Khan in 1203, his son Kuchlug with his remaining Naiman troops fled to the Kara-Khitan. Kuchlug was well received there and the Khitan Khan gave him his daughter in marriage. Kuchlug soon began plotting against his new father-in-law, and after he usurped the throne, he began to persecute Muslims in the Hami Oases. But his action was opposed by local people and he was later defeated by the Mongols under Jebe.
Although, the Naiman Khanlig was crushed by the Mongols, they were seen in every parts of Mongol "Empire." Ogedei's great khatun Töregene might be from this tribe. Hulegu had a Naiman general, Ketbuqa, who died in the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.
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More than 400,000 of the Kazakh population are Naimans (see Modern Kazakh tribes or Middle Juz). They originate from eastern Kazakhstan. Some Naimans dissimilated with the Kyrgyz and Uzbek ethnicities and are still found among them. There is a small population of Naimans in Afghanistan. They belong to the Hazara tribe and reside in Shaikh Ali valley. They are Sunni Muslims. The clan Naiman is rarely found in Northern Mongolia.
By the time they were conquered by Genghis Khan most of the Naimans were Christians. They remained so after the Mongol conquest and were among the second wave of Christians to enter China with Kublai Khan.[7] Meanwhile, the Naimans who settled in Western Khanates of Mongol "Empire" all eventually converted to Islam. There was a tradition that the Naimans and their Christian Kerait relatives were descended from the Biblical Magi. The commander of the Mongol army that invaded Syria in 1259, Kitbuqa, was a Naiman: he is recorded to have "loved and honoured the Christians, because he was of the lineage of the Three Kings of Orient who came to Bethlehem to adore the nativity of Our Lord".[8]
Other pre-Genghis Mongolian tribes include
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