Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review

478–505

Authors: Bubenok O.B., Golovko A.B

Research objectives: To determine both the ethnic structure of the population of the Ros’ river basin before the arrival of the Mongol armies in the first half of the thirteenth century and the changes to the local population after the inclusion of this region into the Golden Horde. Materials: Written sources of Old Russian, Byzantine, Western European, Persian, and Mongolian origin; results of archaeological excavations in the Ros’ river basin; toponymy data. Results and novelty of the research: For the first time ever, a comparative analysis of the evidence of written sources and archaeology about the ethnic structure of the population of Ros’ river basin was carried out not only for the pre-Mongol time, but for the Golden Horde period as well. As a result, it has been made possible to trace the stages of change among the former population of region. It has been established that for the beginning of the thirteenth century, the left bank of the Ros’ river was dominated by a Turkophone population known in written sources as the Torks or Black Hoods. The arrival of the Mongols here led to the migration of significant groups of this population to the steppes of Eastern Europe. However, some Torks continued to live in their former locations according to the data of toponyms and hydronyms. At the same time, the Golden Horde rulers began to populate the banks of the Ros’ river by the militarized immigrants from the Circassian lands and other regions of the Golden Horde. This has been proven by the results of excavations of barrows near the Yablonovka and Tagancha villages. This resettlement was the result of a pragmatic policy of the Golden Horde rulers aimed at strengthening this part of the border between the Ulus of Jochi and Rus’, running along the Ros’ rive

520–546

Authors: Rudenko K.A

Research objectives: To analyze the materials of the most famous hoards of the Golden Horde era found on the territory of the Bulgharian ulus on the basis of a comprehensive analysis. To identify the coincidence of jewelry that they contained. To determine the similarities and differences with other finds from this territory, as well as to identify the possible place of their manufacture and their connection with archaeological sites. Research materials: Preserved jewelry from the Karasham and Juketau hoards. The former was found in 1950 near the village of Karasham in the Zelenodolsk district of the Republic of Tatarstan. The latter was found in 1924 on the outskirts of the city of Chistopol in the Chistopol district of Tatarstan, next to the medieval settlement – the remnants of the Bulgharian city of Juketau which existed from the tenth to early fifteenth centuries. In addition to jewelry, both hoards contained silver and gold coins which made it possible to determine the time when these hoards were buried. The hoard near the village of Karasham was deposited at the beginning of the fifteenth century. The Juketau hoard was deposited in the 1350–70s. Both hoards are not fully preserved. The author carefully studied jewelry from the hoards that are now stored in the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan, as well as in the State Hermitage. Items from other hoards of this time found in the territory of Tatarstan, as well as published materials from private collections, are also involved in the study. Results and novelty of the research: The author investigated, for the first time ever, the surviving part of the Karasham hoard, including jewelry that was not considered in the studies of other scholars. A comparative analysis of the jewelry was carried out. To find out the distribution of such jewelry, a search was made for analogies and similar jewelry that was found in other hoards as well as among the archaeological materials from settlements of the Golden Horde era. It was found that the most significant part of the Karasham hoard’s jewelry was made in the jewelry workshops of the city of Bolghar, and partly by the jewelers from other craft centers in the Golden Horde. It should be noted that jewelry was made in both gold and silver in Bolghar. The most popular products were bracelets with images of the lion’s muzzle on the ends of objects, as well as bracelets with stylized images made using niello. Such bracelets were found both in the hoard from Karasham and from Juketau. The existence of jewelry workshops in Bolghar is also confirmed by archaeological excavations. In the second half of twentieth and at the beginning of the twenty-first centuries, archaeologists found several jewelry workshops in the central part of the city dated to the fourteenth century. Crucibles, jewelry tools, and more than hundred foundry molds were discovered here. The author assumes that a famous jeweler from Bolghar named Shagidulla worked here at the beginning of fourteenth century. It was also found that the hoard from Karasham was most likely collected by several generations of the same family. In contrast, the hoard from Juketau was a personal treasure

555–582

Authors: Beletskaya O.V

Research objectives: This research deals with the study of one of the Northern Black Sea region’s settlements – Aq Mečit (meaning “white mosque”). In addition, the author aims to collect and analyze all available materials related to Aq Mečit; to identify the earliest written sources; to localize and identify the name; to trace the source information about whether there was a ford, a bridge, a ferry or something else across the Southern Bug; to establish the trade route passing through Aq Mečit. Research materials: The source base is very scarce because we have no written documents of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries mentioning Aq Mečit. The author uses only two documents of the sixteenth century, namely the chorographic work “Description of Tartaria” by Martinus Bronovius and the “Mosques in the Fields in Tatar kesheny” by the anonymous author. There are some written sources from the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Also, the author does a comparative analysis of eighteen cartographic sources, the earliest one being Guillaume le Vasseur de Beauplan’s map of 1648. Research results: It is established that the name Aq Mečit is relatively new (it was recorded in sources from the last quarter of eighteenth century). In earlier sources (sixteenth century), this settlement was called differently: Cercicesseniam, Getricessenia, Chryczkieszemi H. Besides the keshen, there were also a tomb of a merchant and a mosque. Now it is the territory of Tsvitkovo village in the Domanivsk district of the Mykolaiv region. The settlement occupied an important strategic place. It was on the crossroads of several routes: the road from north to south, along of the Southern Bug, and the road from west to east. There were many fords (brod in Russian) across the Southern Bug and the most famous of which was Chertaysky ford. Most likely, there was neither a castle nor a fortress. It is possible that there was a settlement of the Golden Horde, but this assumption must be confirmed by archaeological survey. The name transformation may have been as follows: Chertalkesheni – the former Mečit (Mosque) – Aq Mečit – Tsvitkovo farm – Nezamozhnykiv farm – Zhovtneve – Tsvitkovo. The village of Akmechetka that appeared on the geographical map in the nineteenth century was most likely the tiny settlement (vysielok in Russian) near Aq Mečit (now Prybuzhie village, Domanivsk district, Mykolaiv region) and it has nothing to do with the Golden Horde period. Novelty of the research: The novelty of this research is that the author found a new settlement (previously unknown to scholars), the name of which reflected the geographical realities (the Chertala river) and the existence of religious buildings – keshen. The author decided to term it Chertalkesheni as there are many different spellings of this settlement in sources like Cercicesseniam, Getricessenia, Chryczkieszemi

593–610

Authors: Boterbloem K., Khabibullin A., Fakhrullin R

Research objectives: On the basis of a recently discovered map – found in the manuscript library of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg – of Iske Kazan’s fortification made by N.P.Rychkov in 1770, this article investigates the manner in which its population protected itself against its foes in the restless era that witnessed the dissolution of the Golden Horde and the transition to the Kazan khanate. It additionally asks why in fact this map was composed. Research materials: Combining the evidence of Rychkov’s map with archaeological findings and in dialogue with the relevant historiography, the authors place the map in its historical context and ponder its significance, and suggest why this map was made in 1770. Results and novelty of the research: It appears that Iske Kazan’s inhabitants turned to a unique manner to defend themselves against their enemies, using a wall-moat-wall design to prevent any storming by mounted troops, different from what has been hitherto thought about the ruins of this defensive structure. This manner of defending seems eminently well suited to the restless conditions prevailing in the Volga-Kama region around 1400 and the art of war as practiced in this region. The article additionally suggests why this map was made in 1770, linking it to the general desire of the Romanov government to discover much more precisely how its subjects lived their lives. This impetus was born from the introduction of the Western-European scientific mindset in Peter I’s reign, which paid much closer heed to a realistic understanding of nature and culture. The Russian Academy of Sciences mounted from the 1720s onward a host of scientific expeditions, which almost resemble voyages of discovery, to map the tsarist empire, of which Rychkov’s travels formed a part. The article hints at the possibility that such fact-finding missions gradually allowed the central government in St. Petersburg to increase its power over its subject peoples

654–663

Authors: Boldyreva E.M

Research objectives: To study the composition and geography of the Golden Horde collections conserved in the State Historical Museum. It is necessary to demonstrate: how museum collections are used as an essential tool of the modern researcher; how the attitude towards this source of information changes in a chronological perspective; how the absence of any types of sources’ information encourages researchers to discover new directions and develop new archaeological aspects of their study. Additionally, attention should be paid to the question of key events that became starting points for the beginning of archaeological research of the Golden Horde cities. Research materials: The lists of the collections of archaeological department of the State Historical Museum, the main inventory book of the museum, and archaeological items from the the Golden Horde collections of the archaeological department. Results and novelty of the research: The author identified the following methods of replenishing the collections: finds of private individuals of the second half of nineteenth century, items of famous collectors (P.I. Shchukin), archaeological finds of the founders of the museum (P.S. Uvarova), excavations on the instructions of the Imperial Archaeological Commission (D.Ya. Samokvasov, N.I. Veselovsky, V.A. Gorodtsov, A.A. Spitsyn, etc.), transfers from other museums (Rumyantsev Museum, Hermitage), research by museum staff (E.V. Weimarn, V.P. Levasheva, V.L. Egorov, L.L. Savchenkova, N.I. Shishlina, etc.), receipts from the state bodies of the Soviet period (the Simferopol hoard), excavations by archaeologists from friendly research organizations (G.A. Fedorov-Davydov, M.G. Kra­marovsky, etc.). Many items from these collections have taken their place in the exhibition space. The exhibition space itself was built with the database of information and publications of researchers being taken into account. Thus, the finds of the Volga expedition made it possible to display the main aspects of the statehood of the Golden Horde: its architectural traditions, culture, and all types of crafts. Also, the exposition contains items of armament – that is, the main nomadic component of the Golden Horde civilization – as well as two paizas of the heyday of the Golden Horde. Although the exposition cannot reflect all aspects of the Golden Horde civilization, the main (nomadic and sedentary) components are still demonstrated

671–674

Authors: Giniyatullina L.S

At the beginning of 2021, the Usmanov Center for Research of the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates (Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences) planned an international research conference: “Transformation of the Political and Ethnic Map of Eas­tern Europe”. The main issues of the conference turned out to be very popular and relevant, and extremely numerous specialists expressed a desire to take part in it. Therefore, the organizers of the conference decided to hold the planned conference in the form of a triptych. The general picture of medieval political-ethnic transformations was successfully divided into three main formations: the Great Hungarians, Volga Bulghars, and Tatars of the Golden Horde. Quarantine and preventive measures to counter the new coronavirus infection Covid-19 have resulted in the proliferation of online conferences. Thus, the three planned meetings were held in an extended face-to-face format with partial online participation. Thanks to this, a significantly larger number of specialists were able to take part in meetings with presentations on the history of political and ethnic transformations in the territory of medieval Eastern Europe under the influence of the migration factor. The staff of the Center discussed a number of very significant issues of the history of the Great Hungarians, Volga Bulghars, and Tatars of the Golden Horde with colleagues from other research centers of the Russian Federation and foreign countries. As a result, the academic meeting led to ambiguous results on seemingly resolved problems