Baris Oguz

Baris Toquz Oguz, Khagan of Sarai

Baris is the khagan of the lands surrounding lower Volga. The three great cities of his realm are Sarai, old capital of the Golden Horde and throne of the legendary marshall Batu-khan, current capital; Oguzgrad, the conquered city of the Rus, a great trade and transportation hub; and Asrakhan, gateway of the Volga and Caspian which is the cultural capital of the Khaganate.

## Origins

*They who are numberless*
*like ants in the earth*
*fish in the sea*
*birds in the air;*
*who are cowardly, brave, ignorant,*
*wise and childlike,*
*and who destroy and create,*
*my epic tells only of their adventures.*

*They who fall for the traitor’s lie*
*and drop their banner on the ground,*
*leave the field to the enemy and run for home,*
*and they who pull a knife on the renegade*
*and who laugh like a green tree*
*and cry without ceremony*
*and who swear like hell,*
*my epic tells only of their adventures*

Like many other Turkic warlords of the era, Baris traces his ancestory back to three distinct myths.

### Legend of Procreation

Teoman and Mete founded the Great Hun. One of their descendant had two daughters, and they were so beautiful that it was believed that Tengri had blessed them to marry the gods. When the khan heard the prophecy, he built a high tower in the north of his country to keep his daughters away from people. He imprisoned her daughters in this tower so no other men would see them and steal their hearts. Khan pleaded to marry his daughters to the god. One day, Tengri finally came in the form of a gray wolf and married his daughters and had many children. Nine of these childrens had deep voices when (throat-)singing, similar that of a gray wolf. Lineage of those nine, called themselves Toquz (Nine's) and populated by carrying the gray wolf spirit of their father, these would become the Altay branch (Turks, Mongols etc.). Ten of these children had the charming and curiosity of their mothers. Lineage of those called themselves On (Ten's) and migrated past the Ural mountains to explore new worlds, they would become the Ural branch (Finns, Hungarians, Bulgars etc.).

### Legend of Asena

The Töre tribe was an extension of the Great Hun, descendent of the Tokuz. They formed a horde after the Great Hun's demise, but were later defeated by a neighboring tribe. Except for a ten-year-old boy, they were massacared. None of the enemy soldiers had dared to kill this boy. They cut off the boy's feet and threw him into a swamp. There a she-wolf, Asena, found the boy, she fed the boy meat and breastfed milk.

So the boy grew up over time and became a fine man. He mated with the she-wolf, and Asena immediately conceived. One day, khan of the neighbouring tribe found out the boy was still alive and again sent his men to have him killed. Töre boy, valiantly fought but was defeated. However, enemy soldiers didn't want to kill the godess she-wolf next to the boy. Asena immediately fled to a cave on a mountain. Inside the cave was a vast valley several hundred "li (1 li = 500m)" wide, covered with tall grass and surrounded by mountains. The she-wolf, gave birth to ten sons in the valley.

### Legend of Ergenekon

Asena and her children, following the path wild goats have used, descended down the valley. There, there were ample fruit trees and various prey, fresh streams, springs, forests, and meadows. Thanking Tengri they decided to stay here. They named this place "Ergene Kon" meaning "mineral place". Ten sons grew up and occasionaly went outside for raiding, to bring back women and knowledge. As generations passed, the horde became self-sufficient and the gateway where Asena and her children came from had been long forgotten.

Four centuries later, their horde multiplied so much that they could not fit into the Ergenekon valley. A blacksmith said that if the iron ores of the mountain was melted, a way out could be made. They laid a row of wood and a row of coal in the place where the iron was located and lit the fire. They fanned all at once with seventy bellows, which they put on seventy places (total of 4,900 bellows). The iron melted, making enough room for a loaded horse to pass. Then a female gray wolf emerged, the illusion of Asena, and lead Turks return to their old homeland and avenge their ancestors.

## Ascension to Power

### Fall of the Golden Horde

When the Timurid armies routed Khan Tokhtamysh's armies, Golden Horde decended into chaos. Commander of the imperial guards, Maoten gathered the remaining troops and dashed back to the capital Sarai. He declared his temporary rule over the khaganate and tried to stabilize the situation. Several regions declared their indepedence, among them the Crimean Khanate, Khazan Khanate and the Nogai Khanate. Maoten didn't had the power to gather them all back into the nation. He also lacked legitimacy as he was not of royal Genghisid blood. Therefore he married Nesu-Rin khaton, one of the decendands of the great Batu-khan. Their firstborn male child, Baris, were to be the actual Khagan to unite the Golden Horde and lead the confederation.

### Youth

Baris spent his youth learning about natural sciences and arts. From the Italian colonies, he had the opportunity to see advanced renaissance sketches and paintings. From the manuscripts brought from the libraries of Samarkand and Istanbul, learned about the scientific thought processes. Unlike the usual Turco-Mongol princess, he didn't enjoy wrestling or sparring but liked archery. Soon he came to age and for his first assignment given the role of commander of the Guards Akinji forces. Akinjis were responsible for scouting, raiding and probing the enemy. Some of its workloads were to Baris's liking and some were not. Therefore he divided the command. Baris himself took the role of Chief of Staff, where he could plan the campaigns and study the geography, meanwhile, his trusted blood-brother Tanger, took control of the men.

At one raid far inside the Russian principalities, they came upon a straggler camp. On the camp was one fortune teller, intrigued Baris entered the teller's tent. It turns out the fortuneteller was a young girl from Finland and was a shaman for the Ilmatar diety. Knowledge and beauty of the shaman quickly captured Baris's heart. As the Turco-Mongol tradition dictates, it wasn't allowed to marry a "kam" from a foreign tribe, and marry in a young age. Nevertheless against tradition, Baris married Eila. This first created huge unrest among the people of Sarai as this might bring a curse upon the family and state. But as people got to know the wisdom and kindness of Eila, she was soon sanctified to a revered figure.

### Coronation

Maoten, at the age of 70 retired from the throne. At the age of 21, Baris was coronated as the new Khan of the Sarai Khanate.

In the next 2 years of his reign, Baris restored and repaired the long ignored cities of Astrakhan and Sariğsyn. This attracted new poeple to join the cause and soon Sarai Khanate became a stop for the Silk road traders.

## Banner of Sarai

### Symbology

* **Gray:** The dark and chaotic days of the past.
* **White:** The bright and pure future
* **Blue:** Turkic heritage
* **16 Tassels tied in doubles:** 16 great Turco-Mongol states
* **Wolf pelted Fox crest:** Patronage of godesses Ilmatar and Asena. Cunning and strength.
* **5 Arrows:** The 5 principles from top to bottom:
	+ (Be Tolerant, Be Progressive, Unify the Steppes, Tend the People, Seek Advice)