Name of Sabar
It has been determined through the unorganised information in various foreign resources that this Turkish community had played an important role in the Western Siberia and the northern region of the Caucasus in the 5th-6th centuries DC. This Turkish community was named as Sabar, Sabir, and Savir in the Byzantine resources and as Savır, Sabr, S(a)bir, Sibir, etc. in the Armenian, Syrian Christian, and Islamic resources.
The allegations stating that the Sabar people were of Slav or Mongolian or Finno-Ugrian origin had become out-of-date. Today, it has been understood that they were Turks in origin in respect of the names that they hold and the historical and cultural characteristics. As a result of the labial attraction in various languages, the word of Sabar has been observed in various forms. The word of Sabar that can only be identified with Turkish language was formulated as the addition of the suffix of +ar to the verb of "sab+ar" (=sap-ar= sapmak/ violate, deviate) (Some other examples are: Khazar, Bulgar, Kabar, etc). It has the meaning of "deviationist, defector, uncontrolled, free" and it is in compliance with the naming procedures among the Turks. Furthermore, the personal names pertaining to Sabar people are also Turkish. Balak, İlig-er, Bo-arık =Buğ-arık, etc.
Ancient History of Sabar People
The ancient periods of Sabar people are not known well. If they had separated from a main group in accordance with the meaning of their names, they must have been one of the communities subject to the Great Hun Empire that lived in the region of the west of Tien Shan Mountains- Ili River that was their homeland. The first definite information about Sabar people was provided by the Byzantien historian Priskos (5th century) on the occasion of the great movement among the Western Siberian tribes between the years of 461-465 and the large-scaled events of migrations. Against the Avar pressure that came from the east, the Sabar people abandoned their lands and oriented towards the west. They drove the Ogur-Turk tribes that lived in the plain lands between Altay-Ural Mountains (the southern region of today's Kyrgyzstan steppe lands) from their homeland. Then, they settled within the environs of Tobol and İçim Rivers.
Sabar people had had profound influences in this region through their culture that was superior to the cultures of the native people that lasted for centuries: The names of places and castles such as Sabar, Saber (Tapar), Soper, Savri, Sabrei, Sıbır (Sı-vır), etc. are much widespread within the environs of Tobolsk and on the banks of Ob, Tura and Irtish. The personal names such as Ay-sabar, Kün-sabar, etc. have also been encountered. The people of Tobolsk have called the ancient inhabitants of this region as Sybyr, Syvyr.
Furthermore, Sabar people have an important place in the folk tales and heroic short stories of the people in this region. Apart from Ostiyak people that considered Sabar people as their celebrities, the Vogul people have also called the Russians with the name of "Sa-per" that they were subject to. All these events indicate the superior characteristics of the ancient Sabar people in the public opinion. The capital city of the Sibir Khanate that was founded in the same region (16th century) had the name of Sibir.
This word identified a wide geographical area in the course of time (Siberia)… The Russians had captured the city of Sibir (Isker) and then called the region with this name. Then, this name indicated much wider regions upon the advance of the Russian movement. Therefore, the keepsake of the Sabar Turks has survived until nowadays.
Sabar People in the Eastern Europe
Sabar people had expanded their domination towards the Eastern Europe in the very early year of503 and they subdued some of the Bulgarian groups. A crowded group of Sabar people settled between the Idyll (Volga)- Don Rivers and on the banks of Kuban River that was located in the north of the Caucasus. Therefore, they were directly in contract with the Byzantine and Sassani State. These situations led them to have a priority in the history of the Eastern Europe. In those years while the Iranian- Byzantine wars kept ongoing, Sabar people had a large-scaled military operation under the command of Balak (Belek?). Then, Sabar people collaborated with Sassani people and fought against the Byzantine (516).
It has been known that they organised some raids towards the Ermeniye region and then penetrated into Anatolia and advanced towards Kayseri, Ankara, and Konya. On this occasion, the Byzantine must have been lost in amazement due to the great war power and especially the high techniques of the war materials. The expressions of Prokopios are significant: "Sabar people have machines that have not been designed either by Iranians and the Roman people since the periods that the human being remembered. There was always a scientist in each two empires and they made war machines in every period. However, any invention that was similar to tho materials of these barbarians have not been invented or used like they did so far.
It is beyond doubt that this is the masterpiece of the human wisdom." Pursuant to Balak (died in 520s), his widow wife, Bo(ğ)arık that replaced him was a famous Turkish queen that was well-known with her warrior and governor characteristics and her beauty. She commanded the Sabar army that was composed of "100 thousands" of people. The Byzantine Emperor Justinianos (527-565) preferred to conclude an agreement with Boğarık in return for various silvermade vases and the other rich gifts and presents (528). The Byzantine must have considered that it would be a more appropriate political stance to collaborate with Sabar people and establish friendly terms in the Sasani War that was ongoing for centuries.
Collapse of Sabar People
Any clear evidence pertaining to the following period could not be obtained about the Sabar people that seemed to have been in cooperation with the Byzantine until the year of531. It has been anticipated that they suffered from terrible losses and casualties in the continuous and successful wars of Sasani State in the Caucasus (especially in 545) in the period of Şehinshah Anuşirvan (Adil). As a result of this decline, they lost their military power and they had a terrible strike from Avar people towards the year of 557. After a short period, the Sabar regions were under the domination of the Gok-Turk State that reached to the Black Sea.
In the year of 576, their domination in the Caucasus was abolished by the Byzantine. Then, some of Sabar people were settled in the south of Kura River. Their name was observed in an unorganised manner until the middle of the 7th century. It has been understood that Sabar people constituted the main community of the Khazar people that came into existence as a great state in the same region in these years. Similarly, it has been observed that Belencer and Semender tribes that were considered as Khazar tribes were essentially two big Sabar groups.