Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review

6-20

Authors: Zhdanovich O.

The present article contains the translation and commentary to a fragment from the text of early Byzantine historian Menander Protector of the 6th century who describes the first Byzantine embassy to the Turks in 568. This source is extremely important for the study of relations between civilizations in the early medieval period. When commenting the original source, the author sought to look through the eyes of the Romans on the relationship between European Byzantine and Asian steppe civilizations. The Turks drew attention to Byzantium in order to achieve with its help the diplomatic blockade of Persia and to derive from this maximum benefit. In 568, the Turkic khagan sent to Constantinople an embassy headed by the military leader Maniah. As a result of the negotiations, both sides agreed on joint military operations, which were to be undertaken, if necessary, against Persia and Avar tribes. But more important was the fact that the Turks obtained from Byzantium the right to control over Silk Road. In August 568, there occurred a reciprocal visit to the khanate. The Byzantine embassy was headed by Zemarh, commander of the eastern cities. The Romans’ journey to Altai was interesting and exciting since they knew nothing about the customs and lifestyle of the Turks before the travel. It was the completely unknown world to the Byzantines with an absolutely different mentality, way of life and mode of thinking. Zemarh’s diplomatic mission was described by Menander Protector who was a contemporary of Zemarh, historian and politician, and who knew the Byzantine court ceremonies and all diplomatic nuances. Obviously, the historian used in his work the protocols and reports of the embassy. Description of the Zemarh’s journey to the southern Altai, preserved in fragments of the Menander’s «History», provides us with a complete picture of how the Romans perceived the Turks.

35-60

Authors: Mirgaleev I.M., Paşaoğlu D.D.

The article reviews the manuscript book of Abdulgaffar Qirimi by the name of «Umdet ul-Ahbar» («The Support of Communications»). This work is written in Ottoman language according to the tradition of Ottoman historical writings. Authors of the article briefly recount Abdulgaffar Qirimi’s information contained in his work and dedicated to Genghis Khan, the Golden Horde, and the Crimean Khanate. Recently in Kazan have been published the facsimile and transcription of this work. Therefore, the authors decided to introduce into scholarly circulation the Russian summary of this work (the work being translated into Russian). Using a continuous method, the authors have made an overview of the main political events mentioned in the book. This information will be useful for the specialists studying the history of the Golden Horde and Tatar khanates. The importance of this source is beyond any doubt since Abdulgaffar Qirimi reports many original details and, especially for the 18th century, his information is authentic and based on personal observations. The manuscript book consists of several parts. It contains information about world history, the history of the prophets, the history of the Seljuks and Ottomans. The main part of the work is devoted to the Golden Horde (starting from Genghis Khan and his descendants), Crimean Khanate, Girayids and murzas. Abdulgaffar Qirimi sought to write a history of the descendants of Jochi khan. He used in his book more than 20 historical works. Abdulgaffar Qirimi reports the names of these works and indicates where he got this or that information. At the same time, he had access to the archives of the Crimean Khanate and used his family legends as well as popular traditions. Plenty of space in his work occupy his own observations as of a participant in military campaigns and court life. Although Abdulgaffar Qirimi makes some mistakes, however his work contains a complete history of the Golden Horde. His information concerning khans Berke, Tokhta, Uzbek, Tokhtamysh, and Ulugh Muhammad reflects the «popular version» and is based on oral historiology of the Tatars. Extensive information about the Crimean Khanate and the State structure of khanate are sufficiently original. In addition, a question of the spread of Islam among Tatars is considered in some detail and largely confirmed by other sources.

74-94

Authors: Halperin Ch.J.

This article for the first time in scholarship surveys the contribution of Iurii Vasil’evich Seleznev of Voronezh State University to the study of Rus’-Tatar relations and the Juchid ulus, called the Golden Horde, during the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. The article contains analyses of five major monographs written by Seleznev dealing with Rus’-Tatar relations from 1385 to 1434, the composition of the elite of the Juchid ulus, military conflicts between Rus’ and the Horde during the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, (with Andrei Olegovich Amel’kin) the history and historical memory of the battle of Kulikovo Field in 1380, and the role of Rus’ princes as members of the Juchid ulus elite. The article identifies the strengths and weaknesses of each monograph. Finally the article attempts for the first time to draw connections among the conclusions of the five monographs. The strength of Seleznev’s work are his equal mastery of the societies on both sides of the Rus’-Tatar border. His employs the Rus’ sources and Russian translations of oriental sources in new and creative ways to extract hard data on previously unposed questions or on questions which have been previously posed but answered subjectively such as the parameters of Rus’ princely trips to the Horde or the frequency of Rus’-Tatar military conflicts. In addition he appreciates the complex evolution of Rus’ literary works such as those about the battle of Kulikovo Field in 1380. Seleznev also approaches questions of social history with an open mind inoculated against nationalist prejudices which would reject out of hand any possibility of Tatar influence on the Rus’ mentality or society. He is sparing in his use of anachronistic and biased terminology toward the Tatars. The weaknesses of his studies include a lack of familiarity with studies of the Mongol Empire and its successor states other than the Juchid ulus in Western languages which by and large precludes comparative analysis and results in an insular presentation of Rus’-Horde relations in isolation from the parallel experience of other sedentary societies subjected to Mongol rule. He has not himself integrated the results of his separate monographs, for example by addressing the contradiction between what must have been the enormous Rus’ expertise about the Horde with the often simplistic pejorative depiction of the Tatars in Rus’ sources. Seleznev had not as yet written a comprehensive study of Rus’-Tatar relations which would encompass the totality of Rus’-Tatar interaction, including for example institutional borrowing. Nevertheless the strengths of his research far outweigh the weaknesses. Seleznev’s ever-growing body of work makes a significant contribution to increasing historical knowledge of medieval Rus’ and the Tatars of the Juchid ulus.

120-134

Authors: Sabitov Zh.M

This article explores the question about the origin of the Golden Horde emirs’ dynasties during the reign of Uzbek and Janibek khan. Based on numerous Venetian, Arabic, Turkish, Persian primary sources the author provides his own version of origin and genealogical relationships of various emirs. Based on a list of emirs of Janibek khan from «Daftar-i Chingiz-name», the author traces the origins of Mogul-buga to Kipchak tribe and the origins of Kutlu buga to Naiman tribe. Author argues that during the reign of Uzbek khan, the Kungirat and Kiyat were the most influential clans. The Kipchak and Nayman were the most influential clans during the reign of Janibek khan. The author considers three-level hierarchy of emirs. The first level includes the emirs – clan rulers in every district (ulus). There were 4 tribes in each ulus. The second level includes the emirs who were the rulers of ulus. After the administrative reform of Uzbek khan, they replaced the Jochids in the political system of the Golden Horde. If formerly the governance of ulus was inherited by one of the Jochids, then during the reign of Uzbek khan emirs were appointed directly from the center. The third level includes four Karachi Beys who were advisers of the khan. The author also examines the origin of Nanguday from Kungirat clan. The author puts forward his own version of a genealogy of Nanguday. Additionally, this article contains the author’s assumptions about biography of Isatay Kiyat and Isa Uysun. According to these assumptions, Isatay Kiyat can be identified with well-known Gourgen Isa. And Isa Uysun, in turn, can be identified with the brother of Tuluk Timur, who was a governor of the Crimea in the era of Uzbek khan.

147-171

Authors: Nadyrova Kh.G.

The Kazan Khanate has evolved over a century. However, during this period, the formation of its urban planning culture was based on the traditions of the Golden Horde, which was the materialization of the attitudes of the society and the State toward the form of cities and settlements with complexes of buildings and structures. Achievements of urban planning culture of the Kazan Khanate was largely manifested in its capital – Kazan.The author used a synergetic approach or complexity theory of the cities, according to which the city is investigated as a holistic and open system. It is organized hierarchically with interconnected mega-, media- and micro-levels and is capable of self-organization and development.Spatial organization of the Kazan Khanate was at the mega-level. The value of this level in the system of the city manifested itself in the location of Kazan on the territory of the khanate, connections with cities in other states and with centers of uluses of the khanate. Media level was formed by architectural-spatial structure and planning structure together with its elements: landscape, communication frame, large architectural complexes. Micro-level included separate religious, memorial, public, residential buildings and household constructions.Changes at each of these levels led to changes in the complicated system rectilinearly and unpredictably. In accordance with the theory of the complexity of cities, the urban system is changed by applying the means of influence (development mechanisms) into hierarchical levels. At the media level, these funds were laws and decrees that regulate construction, traditional principles and methods of construction of various ethno-social groups, medieval towns, etc. Mechanisms of development on the mega-level were: laws and decrees of the khans, military pressure of the neighboring states, recognition or denial of the rights of various ethnic groups within the khanate on the traditional ethnic areas, etc. Urban planning culture of the Kazan Khanate as a system in the period from 1445 to 1552, passed through several phases of development: formation after the collapse of the Golden Horde; development in the state of unstable equilibrium under conditions of confrontation with the Moscow State and the Nogai Horde; chaos and death when the Russian State defeated the khanate and Kazan. Application of the synergetic approach in the research made it possible to trace the features of the development of urban planning culture of the Kazan Khanate.

191-225

Authors: Ponomarev A.L.

The death of the Crimean khan Haij Garey on 25 August 1466 was followed by two months of the political turmoil. Sons of the late ruler, Mengli Garey and Nur Dawlat, were two pretenders well-known to the historians. But numismatic material and newly found archival documents prove that there was one more claimant khan. He was the protege of the Shirin bek Mamak and the copper puls of Caffa with the forked tamga testify that the Genoeses were inclined to accept his supremacy. The said heraldic symbol didn’t belong to Garey khans and it was never more used for the coins of Caffa or the khanate after 1441, when Tartar beks elected Haji Garey to be their lord. These puls were the fractional currency that became necessary after there had happened the monetary reform in the khanate and those old silver dangs started to circulate side by side with a new silver denomination – aqcha. The author has discovered that these puls have die links with aqcha coins of Nur Dawlat and moreover he has found that the third «Emperor» had been mentioned in the unpublished accounts of the Genoese treasury, composed in September and October 1466. The shape of his tamga as well the steady political predilections of the Shirin beks demonstrate his kinship with Ulugh Muhammad. The name of this previously unbeknown Crimean khan, who became next year the khan of the Kazan khanate, was Ibrahim. The name of this khan is written on those coins which were earlier attributed to the Siberian khan Ibrahim (Ibak) without real, only on far-fetched and untutored grounds.

243-252

Authors: Ismagilova M.R., Shagaviev D.A.

The proposed excerpt of theological work is the translation of the first chapter of «Qalandar-name», supplemented by comments. This is the first edition of chapter from the medieval theological work written in the Golden Horde during the active Islamization of its population, during the times of great Khans – Muhammad Uzbek and Janibek. Its author, Abu Bakr Qalandar, was a native of the city of Aksaray (in modern Turkey), Sufi, great scholar, imam of a mosque in the city of Stary Krym. «Qalandar-name» is an encyclopedic work on Islamic matters and Sufism that begins with a traditional intonation typical for the works of Muslim authors, especially for compilers of theological writings. In this chapter entitled «Tawhid» (monotheism), Abu Bakr Qalandar speaks about beautiful names of the Almighty, about his creative work (comparing it with the jewelry craftsmanship), about heaven and hell, a small (world of sagri) and the highest (world of kibriya) worlds. D. Shagivaleev who wrote commentaries on the first chapter, supplied the text with verses, to which, according to him, Abu Bakr made allusions. Analysis of the work of Abu Bakr Qalandar reveals that the author of this source was an educated man of his time. In this chapter, Abu Bakr reports about the basic concepts of Islam. The authors plan to publish subsequent chapters of this work in the next issues.

262-264

Authors: Cossuto G.

In September 2013, an interesting International Symposium regarding the Turkish Cultural Legacy in Dobruja, the historical country today divided between Romania and Bulgaria, was held in the halls of the National History and Archaeology Museum of Constanta (Romania). An overview of the Proceedings of the Symposium edited by Tahsin Gemil, Gabriel Custurea, Delia R. Cornea is presented in the article (see: Moştenirea culturală turcă în Dobrogea: simpozion internaţional: Constanţa, 24 septembrie, 2013 / referenți ştiințifici: prof. univ. dr. Tasin Gemil, dr. Gabriel Custurea; coord.: prof. univ. dr. Tasin Gemil, dr. Gabriel Custurea, dr. Delia Roxana Cornea. Bucureşti: Top Form, 2013.