Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review

22–36

Authors: Nikolov A.

Objective: This article is dedicated to the study of the Byzantine Chronica Breviora and the information about the Tatars recorded in them. Research materials: The main focus is on the Chronica Breviora which was once published by the famous German Byzantinist, Peter Schreiner. The composition of the chronicles is quite heterogeneous, but nevertheless they share some common features. This article presents those passages of the chronicles that refer to the mentions of Tatars in the broadest sense of the term. Results and novelty of the research: It should be noted that in the text of the chronicles one can find information about the Tatars in connection with three general events. The most important of them is the expansion of Tamerlane (Timur Leng) at the beginning of the 15th century in the Middle East and in Anatolia, in the context of his conflict with the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid Ι. This eventually ended up with Tamerlane’s victory near Ankara in 1402 and the devastation of Anatolia by the Tatars. It also saw the capture and death of Bayezid himself and the beginning of the interregnum in the Ottoman state. In the chronicles there is further information about the capture of the city of Varna in Bulgaria by the Tatars of Aqtau in 1399 AD, and information about the election of two Orthodox bishops in Saray in 1334 and 1343 AD with the participation of bishops from the Russian principalities. As far I know, these texts have been translated only partially into Russian.

55–76

Authors: Mayorov A.A.

Research objectives: The identification of the factors that had the most significant impact on the creation and function of the new administrative structures of the small principalities in the northern part of the Chernigov Principality in the second half of the fourteenth century, along with the determination of the degree of impact on these processes of two factors: vassalage to the khans of the Golden Horde, as well as the internal political and foreign policy situation. Research materials: Several medieval Russian chronicles, among which are the Lavrentyevskaya, Ipatievskaya, Nikonovskaya, Simeonovskaya, Uvarovskaya, Novgorodskaya First, Galicko-Volynskaya, and Rogozhsky Chronicle. Among the materials used are also published correspondence of Smolensk princes with Riga and the cities of the Hansa, Chinese and Mongolian sources on the history of the Golden Horde, the memorandum of the Synod of Lubeck, and the memoirs of European travelers. Results and novelty of the research: Until now, the process of the emergence of independent principalities in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the northern part of the lands of the Chernigov Principality is regarded as a natural result of intensifying feudal fragmentation of the Russian lands. A multifactor analysis of the processes that took place in the north of the Chernigov lands in the second half of the thirteenth century, carried out in this article, shows that the emergence and preservation of these principalities was largely influenced by the specific characteristics of the vassalage of local princes to the khans of the Golden Horde, as well as the processes generated by the growing influence of Prince Nogai and the emergence of a situation of real dual power. The adoption of a direct vassalage to the Golden Horde’s khan by Russian princes from the northern Chernigov territories led to the consolidation of the allocated territories for local branches of princely families. The consequence of dual power was the transfer of the rights of the rulers of the Bryansk principality to one of the branches of the Smolensk princely family and the simultaneous preservation of small thrones for princes belonging to the Chernigov dynasty. The last third of the thirteenth century in the north of the Chernigov lands saw the lands divided into those ruled by Smolensk princes (in fact the Bryansk principality itself) and those ruled by the Chernigov dynasty. The interaction and combination of these several factors led to the emergence of legal prerequisites for the disintegration of a formally unified territory in the future. As a result, in the northern territories of the Chernigov princedom at the end of the thirteenth century, a legal basis was created for the emergence of a group of sovereign administrative and political entities known in Russian historiography as the Principalities of the Upper Oka Basin.

90–114

Authors: Viktorin V.M., Vasil’ev D.V., Idrisov E.Sh., Imasheva M.M.

Research objective: An analysis of the archaeological sites of the Middle Ages and the ethnographic characteristics of the village Tatarskaya Bashmakovka in the Cis-Volga region of the Astrakhan region. Research materials: The writings by Abu Hamid al-Gharnati, reports on archaeological expeditions in the Astrakhan region, and the data of ethnographic studies were used in this research. Research results and novelty: The surroundings of the Tatarskaya Bashmakovka village in the Astrakhan region abound in medieval archaeological monuments. A new approach to the analysis of the funeral rites in the burial grounds located in the vicinity of the Tatarskaya Bashmakovka allows us to draw a conclusion about the penetration of the traditions of Islam among the population of the Volga Delta since the pre-Mongol period. The comparative craniological analysis data suggests that the population that is found in these burial grounds was anthropologically close to some ethnic groups of the Khazar era. This was the population of the Saqsin region that existed in the Volga Delta from the eleventh to thirteenth century. Subsequently, this population became an integral part of the Golden Horde Tatars. Ethnographic characteristics of Tatarskaya Bashmakovka are also of academic interest. One of the parts of the ethno-specific population group of the Astrakhan region is the Yurt Tatars. Most ethnographers and historians consider them descendants of the indigenous population of one of the fragments of the Golden Horde, the Astrakhan Khanate. Based on the ethnographic material, the article presents the local characteristics of the Yurt Tatars of the village Tatarskaya Bashmakovka. As we see it, this information will significantly complement the history of the peoples of the Lower Volga region and above all the Turkic peoples, the heirs of the Golden Horde, who are called the Yurt Tatars today. It will also show the processes of their ethnic interaction with other Turkic-Tatar ethnic groups which today comprise one of the main ethnic components in the Astrakhan region.

131–158

Authors: Maslyuzhenko D.N.

Research objective: To identify the stages and consequences of the Islamization process of the population of the south of Western Siberia in the 13th–16th centuries. Research material: The research work was conducted on the basis of analysis of published sources: annals, chronicles, ambassadorial documents, missive letters and contracts, travellers’ notes, archaeological and ethnographical materials. Results and novelty of the research: Historiography of Siberian Islam traditionally considers Kuchum Khan as the central figure in the process of Islamization of local Turkic-Tatar groups. As a rule, previous attempts at establishing Islam there are considered rather superficially. The author of the article believes that it is inappropriate to take the first from the second when considering the process of Islamization and lacking an understanding of some of its consequences. The acquaintance of the population with Islam began in the pre-Mongol period due to the presence in this territory of Turkic nomads familiar with the culture of Central Asia. Purposeful attempts to establish this religion were connected with the activities of the descendants of Shiban ibn Jochi in the ulus of which the western lands of the region under consideration were included. They directly fit into the corresponding trends in the central lands of the ulus of Jochi, especially during the period of Uzbek Khan. The existence of the wintering camps of the Shibanids on the Syr Darya, where Islam had a traditionally strong position, was an important factor. Thus, there were two potential centers for the introduction of Islam into Siberian lands (the Volga region and Central Asia), which had an economic impact on the Shibanid domain. The consequences of the activities of Muslim preachers were ambiguous. On the one hand, there were clashes on religious grounds, but on the other, alternative faiths, in particular Buddhism, clearly retained their positions on the Siberian periphery. With the beginning of Shibanid statehood in the form of the Uzbek Khanate, as well as its heirs in the region – the Tyumen and Siberian Khanates – the dynasty began to purposefully support the Muslim community, something expressed in the vocabulary of the aristocracy, the presence of seyyids and hafizes at the khan’s court, hutba’s and sikka’s implementations during the enthronement of the rulers. Obviously, this indicates the great importance of this community in supporting the power of the khan. Indirect evidence suggests that by the end of the fifteenth century, Islam was accepted not only by representatives of the elite, but also by ordinary nomads. However, the crisis of the local statehood of the Shibanid dynasty at the beginning of the sixteenth century became a factor in the departure of the khans and their supporting nomadic groups to the Syr Darya and the Aral Sea region. This led to a significant decrease in the number of local Muslims and a break in cultural traditions. Moreover, after 1563, the new Siberian khans, Ahmad Giray and Kuchum, faced the problem of sowing Islam in the territory of Siberia along the Irtysh which had not previously been directly subordinate to the khanate. The result was a new stage of Islamization which at the same time affected precisely the new groups of the population subordinated to the khan’s power.

175–184

Authors: Gibadullin I.R., Sayfetdinova E.G.

Purpose: To present the results of the Russian translation of the earliest Istanbul manuscript of the Golden Horde era. Research materials: An excerpt from the work of Mahmud al-Bulgari “Nahj al-Faradis” (“Path to Heaven”). The article contains an excerpt of the first section of the third chapter of “Nahj al-Faradis” by Mahmud al-Bulgari. Results and novelty of the research: “Nahj al-Faradis” by Mahmud al-Bulgari played a significant role in the cultural life of the Tatar people. It is especially interesting in terms of studying the history of social thought in the medieval Volga region as its author relied on a large number of works of famous Muslim theologians. The text is a compilation of religious and ethical teachings with an artistic form given to its embodiment. Fascinating tales and wise parables were crafted to nurture loyalty to Islam and a strong immunity to the temptations that lie in wait for a Muslim on the way to Paradise. The text is replete with fragments from the main works telling about the life of the prophet Muhammad and the interpretation of the hadiths in the works of Muslim jurists, the content of which was transmitted in simple, understandable language.

193–198

Authors: Giniyatullina L.S.

The presentation of translations of handwritten copies of the works of Ötemish Hajji and Abdulgaffar Kyrymi on the history of the Golden Horde and the Tatar khanates was held at the Marjani Institute of History on February 21, 2019. The first publication – “Qara-tavarikh” by Ötemish Hajji – contains a translation of the complete manuscript of Ötemish Hajji. The second publication consists of two books: a transcription and translation into Russian of “Umdet al-Akhbar” by Abdulgaffar Kyrymi. These books were published with the support of the State Program of the Republic of Tatarstan “Preservation of the National Identity of the Tatar People (2014–2019)” in the “Textual Heritage” series. The round table, “The History of the Golden Horde and the Tatar Khanates in the Writings of Ötemish Hajji and Abdulgaffar Kyrymi,” was held after the presentation. Famous experts on this subject took part in the round table.