BASHGIRD

BASHGIRD, Leader of the Bashkir tribes in the 1st half of the 10th century (according to other data, in the 1st half of the 9th century). According to Gardizi, B. “was one of the top ranks among the Khazars. He was between the Khazars and the Kimeks with 2000 horsemen. The Khazar Khakan sent a man to Bashgird with a proposal to displace Saqaliba...”. Pre­sumably, an ethnonym Bashkort is derived from the name of B. There is also an opinion that  Bashgird  is  an  ancient  ethnonym, ransformed in legends, according to the steppe tradition, into the name of a Bashkir leader.