Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review

452–471

Authors: Golev K.

Research objectives: The aim of the present paper is to examine the phenomenon of Bulgarophilia which was a recognizable pattern in the activities of the Cuman-Qïpchaq tribes of the Balkans during the late 12th and first half of the 13th century. The author seeks to answer the question: what were the factors that shaped the persistent Cuman support of the newly established Second Bulgarian Empire against various adversaries, such as Byzantium, the Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Kingdom of Hungary? Research materials: The present paper is based on various sources. The material of primary importance for the analysis of the Cuman-Qïpchaq activities in the Balkans is extracted from the Byzantine chronicles as well as from the Latin and French sources for the Crusaders on the Balkans. The data for the Cumans in the Rus’ letopisi, Persian chronicles and other Islamic sources are used as comparative material. Despite their diverse nature, all these sources share one similar feature – they do not place the history of the Cuman-Qïpchaqs at the center of the narrative and usually touch upon it only when the nomads were involved in the affairs of their sedentary neighbors. Thus, the picture of the Cuman-Qïpchaq activities in certain regions in general (and in the Balkans in particular) is inevitably fragmented and incomplete not only on the pages of the individual chronicles, but also in the entire medieval historiographical traditions in which they are found. Therefore, in order to draw a complete analysis of the Cuman-Qïpchaq presence in the Balkans, a comparative approach towards the diverse source base is adopted. The novelty of this study: The present text is the first one to identify and define the phenomenon of Bulgarophilia demonstrated by the Cumans during their activities on the Balkans at the end of the 12th and first half of the 13th century. It is also among the first research works that put the data for the Cuman presence in the Balkans in a broad comparative perspective, using additional sources for the history of these nomads in the Pontic Steppes as well as Central Asia. Research results: The consistent pattern of Cuman support for the Bulgarian military activities in Southeastern Europe is not viewed as a result of a certain emotional affection of the Cuman elite, but rather as a consequence of purely objective and material considerations. Bulgarophilia is examined and interpreted in the context of the general historiographical concept for the development of a balance between the Cuman-Qïpchaqs and their sedentary neighbors.

489–503

Authors: Akhundova F.N.

Objective: The disclosure of the nature of the relations of the Turkic-Mongol khans with the Sufi sheikhs and the reason for the establishment of these relations. Research materials: The Persian and Arabic sources, with the compositions of Ruzbikhan Khunji Isfaqani, al-Qashani, Hamd Allah Qazvini, Vassaf, Fadl Allah Rashid al-Din, and Ismail b. Bazzaz in particular being carefully compared in their modern translations. Results and novelty of the research: As a result of the analysis of sources, the author revealed the most important episodes in the spiritual life of the Hulaguid and the Golden Horde’s Turkic-Mongol khans. It becomes clear that Mongol power not only provoked an unprecedented rise of Sufism, but was itself an active participant in this process. It is obvious that despite the ethnic environment and native religion, the Turkic-Mongols, who subdued territories in the Middle East and Central Asia, were definitely inclined to Sufism. The matter is not only apparent in the centralized politics of empire which reflected on the administrative-political rule of uluses, but also in the spiritual views of the representatives of the Ruling House. During the research, the author also considered issues of political situations in the context of which certain episodes from the life of the Mongol khans took place. Meticulous study of the sources gave the opportunity of finding numerous interesting facts from the history of Mongol rule.

528–536

Authors: Karpov S.P.

Research objectives: To clarify the circumstances around the beginning of the Time of Troubles in the Golden Horde in 1359–1360, the overthrow of Kulpa Khan and the coup d’etat of Navruz Khan. Research materials: The author analyzes the whole body of Russian chronicles that mention this event, and for the first time ever publishes a unique text of the Venetian notary Benedetto Bianco, who reported this event. The article contains both the original text in Latin from the cartulary of acts kept in the Venetian State Archive in Italy, and the Russian translation of the source. The novelty and results of the research: In general, the published document confirms and clarifies the account in Russian chronicles that Navruz’s coup occurred in the winter of 1360 and was the result of a conspiracy of the Horde’s nobility. As a result of the coup, Kulpa, his two sons and the emirs supporting him died. In addition to the exact date of the coup, Benedetto Bianco’s record also reveals interesting details about the patronage of Kulpa to Christians, apparently the Catholic monastic orders active in those years in the Golden Horde and the Italian merchants who traded there. The notary’s record vividly portrays the circumstances of the coup that occurred in the steppe, perhaps during a campaign, a journey or hunting trip, rather than at the khan’s residence. Being in the center of events, Bianco is accurate on details and dates, which further increases the value of his description. Both after Navruz’s coup and before it, Tana’s trading post was continuously being rebuilt and settled, still recovering after the long break of the 1340–50s. Transactions for the purpose of acquiring real estate, land and houses, in Tana occupy an important place in the acts of Benedetto Bianco.

551–568

Authors: Aksanov A.V.

Research objective: To analyze historical sources and modern studies of the rule of Ulugh Muhammad’s sons in the Khanate of Kazan. Research materials: On the basis of study of a wide range of sources (the Russian chronicles, books of official orders in the Russian state, ambassadorial documents, historical acts, the Turko-Tatar narrative sources, notes of foreigner visitors, etc.) and specialized modern research works, the author of this article reveals the problems of representation of the Khanate of Kazan’s history during the period of Ulugh Muhammad’s sons’ rule. Research results and novelty: The author gave a special place in the research methodology to textological and hermeneutic analysis. Due to this, the author managed not only to verify the information of various sources, but also to interpret certain historical information on the basis of the context of sources that were considered authentic in that era. The author of the article is inclined to think that the succession of power from Ulugh Muhammad to Mahmud was legitimate. He clarifies the chronological framework of the rule and political status of the first Kazan khans, criticizes the arguments of modern historians, and puts forward a hypothesis about the rule in Kazan of Mustafa bin Ulugh Muhammad. As a result of the research, the author managed to adjust the perception of political history of the Khanate of Kazan during the rule of Ulugh Muhammad’s sons.

579–595

Authors: Khrapunov N.I.

Research objective: This paper analyses a little-known source, the account of British traveller William Tooke, describing his journey though Russia in 1785, which supplies information on the Crimea and the Crimean Khanate. Research materials: This paper addresses Tooke’s letters to the editor of the London-based Gentleman’s Magazine – a source previously not used by Russian scholarship. This was the first publication which informed a British audience about the Crimea after its first joining to Russia. Research novelty and results: This paper reveals that Tooke received his information on the Crimea primarily from the account of the employee of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vasilii Zuev, who visited it in 1782. The British author then added to it the data excerpted from the work by Swedish Johann Thunmann, and also his own information gathered from Russian sources. Tooke’s letters allow one to understand the beginnings of the research investigation of the Crimea, the European intellectuals’ ways of understanding the region’s economic potential and approaches to its development, their approaches to sources, the stereotypes burdening their understanding of the area and its culture, and the information on the distant northern Black Sea area obtained by European society in the period in question. Tooke’s work is a good example of the transfer of ideas between Russia and Western Europe, when the Crimea was not only the subject of learning but also a kind of “mirror” which allowed those who researched it to understand their own culture in a deeper way.

618–634

Authors: Ivanov V.A.

Objectives: To show how modern historians perceive and interpret the history of nomads of the Golden Horde regarding whom the main sources of information are archaeological sources. Materials of the research: This article is based on the results of a critical discourse analysis of the publications by contemporary source-study researchers. Their work expounds to some extent the history of the Mongol conquest of the nomads of Dasht-i-Kipchak and highlights their role and place in the administrative and political system of the Golden Horde (Ulus of Jochi). Results and novelty of the research: A paradoxical situation has developed in the modern historiography of the Golden Horde. The history of the Golden Horde is studied by historians and archaeologists – representatives of two related disciplines that study the same theme, that is the history of human society. However, they study this theme using different methods and based on different sources. The absence of a mutual correlation between the results obtained and conclusions based on them leads to the fact that in parallel historical and archaeological studies of the Golden Horde, parallel images of this state are often created, often contradicting each other. This is particularly evident in the publications dedicated to the nomads of Dasht-i-Kipchak, who, firstly, became one of the first targets of the Mongol conquest in Eurasia; secondly, they also became the main population of the Golden Horde. The mechanistic reading of medieval narratives without source criticism leads to a situation in historical studies which sees the geography of the dwelling area of nomads (the Örberli, the Kuns, the Kangli) and the direction of the Mongol invasion of Dasht-i-Kipchak scattered in space. Insufficient correlation of archaeological and historical data (extracted from narratives) deprives the existing historical reconstructions of objectivity and denies the interested reader of an adequate understanding.

644–655

Authors: Maslyuzhenko D.N, Tataurov S.F.

The publication of the results of the archaeological research of the Isker ancient settlement in 1988 and 1993 undoubtedly represents one of the most anticipated events for all specialists in the history and archaeology of the Siberian Tatars of the late Middle Ages. This monument represents the archaeological remains of the capital’s center of the Siberian Khanate – the town of Isker – also known as Sibir and Kashlyk. It has been studied for more than a hundred years and the publication of the results is scattered across numerous papers in dozens of collections of articles, while archaeological materials are kept in several museums, including some outside the Russian Federation. All this significantly complicates the real study of this archaeological site and its role in the history of the Siberian Turkic-Tatar statehood. The book under review is divided into three conditional and very uneven parts. The first part, analyzing written sources, was written by V.V. Trepavlov, who managed to both inscribe this town in the context of Siberian history of the 13th–16th centuries and demonstrate its continuity with the previous political center – Chimgi-Tura. The second part, based on archaeological materials, was written by A.P. Zykov, who correlated archaeological research materials of 1988 and 1993 with the results of previous works. In the opinion of reviewers, the main weakness of authors’ concepts lies precisely in this part, since it does not fit with the first part of the book. Finally, the third part of the book, written by P.A. Kosintsev, examines the controversial issues of the economic reconstruction of the Siberian Tatars of the late Middle Ages. The reviewers recognize the relevance of this publication, but they believe that some of the shortcomings of the archaeological methodology will complicate its actual use and many of the conclusions drawn will be further contested.

664–666

Authors: Gibatdinov M.M.

The Third international Conference “Tatarstan – Japan: History and Perspectives of Relations” was the result of international research cooperation between the Marjani Institute of History and Institute for North East Asian Research (NEAR) of the University of Shimane and was held in Kazan as the part of official program of the Year of Japan in Russia. Among the traditional topics of conference: the cultural contacts between Tatarstan and Japan, the history of Tatar migration in the Far East, the role of Tatars in the dialogue between Japan and Muslims, the promotion of Islam in Japan, ancient metallurgy and “Tatara” steel casting technology, along with ancient and medieval sources about Tatars. This year, the agenda of conference was enlarged by analyses of bilateral business cooperation, and such new topics as the role of Kazan as the center of Orthodox missionary activity in the Orient (translation of sacred texts to the Japanese and Chinese languages, proselytizing activity and the impact of Russian missioners on the development of Sinology and Japanology in Russia, etc.).