Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review

22-35

Authors: Klyashtorny S.G.

The article examines the earliest stages of the history of the Tatars. The origins of the Tatars are traced from the collapse of both the Han Empire and the Empire of Xiongnu and are considered during the subsequent periods preceding the emergence of the empire of Genghis Khan. The author argues that the Tatar state appeared long before the Mongol era, providing information on the resettlement of the Tatars in the 9th and 10th centuries, which explains why a century later the Mongols, who occupied the same space, were called the “Tatars” in the Turkic and Muslim environment, as well as in China. This Turkic desig­nation of the Mongols took root not only in Central Asia and the Middle East but also in Russia and Western Europe.

45-56

Authors: Jackson T.N.

The article deals with geographic descriptions in the Icelandic sagas. In the 12th through the 14th centuries Scandinavia special geographical works contained descriptions of the inhabited world based both on West-European chorographical tradition and local topographic information about Northern and Eastern Europe. At the same time we can often come across “written geography” in the sagas. Geographical descriptions occur in the sagas of different genres, their functions and their sources are quite varied. Different saga authors possessed different degrees of skill in inserting the geographical material into their narrative. The main attention in this article is paid to the geographic description that we find in the Icelandic “Göngu-Hrólfs saga”, relating to the sagas of ancient times and written down, probably, at the beginning of the 14th century, namely – to the description of Tattararíki, that is the “State of the Tatars”.

65-72

Authors: Gorsky A.A.

The article considers the dynamics of relations between Russia and the Horde during the 15th century. These relations were determined by the gradual disintegration of the Horde and the parallel strengthening of the Moscow principality. The author defines the main attributes of the Russian political dependence on the Horde in the 14th century (the practice of granting the yarlyk’s authorizing the rule of the Russian princes and their obligation to pay an “exit fee”), which had a direct influence on the nature of mutual relations. The article traces both the persistent attempts of the Moscow princes to free themselves from vassalage during periods of political instability in the Horde and the constant tendency to recognize subordination in the periods of the strengthening of the khans’ power. The author points to a significant activation of the foreign policy of the Moscow princes over a few decades prior to the approval of Russian independence. This tendency had determined the subsequent foreign policy of the Muscovite tzars after the collapse of the Horde at the beginning of the 16th century.

82-95

Authors: Fomenko I.K.

The article presents the development of the European cartography of Eurasia as a reflection of the gradual accumulation of geographic and ethnographic information about people and states, which history was directly connected with the formation and subsequent dissolution of Genghis Khan’s empire. The author traces the gradual increase in the information on eastern regions among western cartographers, which however consistently compared the strengthened Russian State with the “Tartar kingdoms”. The author emphasizes as well the importance of the information provided by the European maps for the study of the state structure of the Golden Horde, of the formation of the new Eurasian nations and of Russia’s relations with the Tatar states.

110-146

Authors: Gulevich V.P.

The history of the Crimean Khanate’s foundation still remains poorly studied. Also, little is known about the early years of the first Crimean khan Haci I Giray whose ancestors ruled in the Crimea and the Golden Horde. In the 20s of the 15th century the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas actively intervened in the affairs of the Crimea and the Golden Horde trying to establish his sovereignty in the city of Caffa, where he strove to nominate subordinated khans. However, at the end of his reign, he could not exert a serious military pressure because until he died, he was occupied with his coronation. The boundaries of the Crimean tumen extended from the river Dniester in the West to the Volga River in the East, from the mean flow of the Dnieper and Southern Bug River in the North to the coastal cities of the Crimean peninsula in the south. In the first half of 15th century, there were many stationary settlements of Tatars in the Black Sea steppes. Thus, the tumen occupied a large territory. Having a great military power, the Crimean rulers did not separate the Crimean Ulus from the Golden Horde, but used the peninsula as a staging area for the seizure of power in the state capital city of Sarai. The Tatar nobility also sought to enthrone those khans who would be dependent on them. One of their strongest representatives was Tehene-bey who had a residence in Solkhat on the Crimean peninsula. He persuaded Vytautas to give them Ulugh Muhammad as a khan. In response, the khan nominated Tehene-bey as his deputy in the Crimea. A few years later, Ulugh Muhammad quarreled both with Tehene-bey and the Lithuanian ruler Švitrigaila. In 1433, the Grand Duke of Lithuania helped Khan Sayid Ahmad II both to split the Golden Horde and to seize power on the right bank of the Dnieper. According to many historians, Haci Giray seized power in the Crimea and defeated a Genoese military detachment in 1434, but this statement is not confirmed by the written sources and numismatic data. The assumption of some historians that Haci Giray took power with the help of the Lithuanian Grand Duke, Sigismund Keystutovich, has no confirmation. The Crimean peninsula had been owned by Ulugh Muhammad Khan before 1441, and thereafter by Sayid Ahmad II for a short time. It is not known exactly where Haci I Giray had been staying in the 30s, but in the early 40’s, he resided in Lithuania. In the spring of 1442, Tehene-bey arrived in Lithuania with the Embassy of the Crimean nobles and convinced the new Lithuanian ruler, Casimir, to allow Haci Giray to become the Khan of Crimea. The analysis of sources leads to the conclusion that Haci Giray appeared as a khan in March-April 1442. Possibly the actions of the Lithuanian Grand Duke in relation to Crimea were agreed with his elder brother Władysław III, King of Poland and Hungary. The Ambassador T. Buczacki visited Haci Giray in the summer of 1442 on behalf of Władysław III. He returned to Hungary together with the ambassador of the Tatar khan. Haci I Giray remained under the patronage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This is confirmed by the peace agreements signed in February and June 1442 between the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Casimir and ruler of Moldavia, Iliaş I. Using the patronage of the Lithuanian ruler, Haci Giray quickly established his authority on the Crimean peninsula.

164-176

Authors: Gemil T.

Although the Tatars occupy an important place in the history of southeastern Europe, the majority of local historians played down the significance of the Tatars, and this trend is occurring even today. The reason for this was primarily the fact that the Tatars were confused with the Mongols, and due to this erroneous perception the Christian Church for centuries waged propaganda against the Tatars. Romanian historians as well approach with prejudice to the topics relevant to the Tatars. The most important historical fact is that the Tatars and their ancestors the Kipchaks / Polovtsy (Cumans) played an important role in the formation and subsequent development both of the Romanian nation and statehood. In the history of Romania, the Tatars and the Ottoman Turks acted as defenders. The Tatars of Crimea, of Dobruja, and of Budjak repeatedly performed this defensive duty.

207-221

Authors: Hautala R.

In this paper I would like to present fragments of the Russian chronicles from the 13th and 14th centuries dedicated to the period of submission of Rus’ to the Mongols in 1237–1260. The process of submission of Russia to the Golden Horde is divided into two periods. The first one (1237–40) regards properly the Mongol invasion of Russian territories. The second period (1240–60) concerns the gradual submission of Russia to the Golden Horde, the process which had a more peaceful nature. The Mongol invasion was the defining moment for Kievan Rus’: for the first time in its history, the Russian population underwent a full-scale extermination with the destruction of chief towns. Contemporary to the invasion, Russian chronicles describe warfare at length and show emotional involvement as well. The requirement of the Mongol governors of absolute submission to their power with payment of the tenth share from all types of income and property are perceived as absolutely inadmissible. The succeeding destruction of the main towns of Russia, the last centres of resistance, is perceived in chronicles as a divine punishment for lack of military cooperation between the Russian princes. The Mongols themselves are presented as absolutely alien to orthodox culture and their pagan customs cause disgust in the authors of Russian chronicles. The subsequent period of the gradual submission of Russia to the Golden Horde is not less important in the evolution of political and cultural relations between nomads and the Russian settled population. Russian chronicles testify to fast restoration of towns after the Mongol invasion and stabilization of economic life. The governors of the Golden Horde are limited by the requirement of formal submission of the Russian princes which avoided direct military showdowns. Russia gradually became involved in the fiscal system of the Mongolian empire, but in exchange Russian princes receive a considerable political autonomy.