Volume 11, Nº 3 (2023)

Research Objectives: To examine Mark Batunskii’s theory, articulated in Volume 1 of his history of Russia and Islam, that by calling the Tatars “Pechenegs” and  “Polovtsy” the Rus’/Russian sources “Islamized” both the Tatars and their Kyivan predecessors.

Research Materials: This article is based upon narrative sources, including chronicles, tales, epics, and saints’ lives, which refer to the Tatars from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries.

Novelty of the Research: No specialists have engaged Batunskii’s theory by analyzing the terminology applied to the Tatars, either Muslim or not, in the medieval sources. Nor has anyone compared the Rus’ application of other terms also applied to Muslims such as “pagan,” “Ishmaelite,” “Hagarene” and “Saracen” to their appearance in Western European sources.

Results: Extensive examination of the sources reveals that Rus’/Russian sources carefully identified who was a Muslim (besermen) and who was not. The Pechenegs, Polovtsy and Tatars who invaded Rus’ in the thirteenth century were not. Only sources from the late fourteenth century and later associated Tatars, now Muslims, with Pechenegs and Polovtsy not as adherents of Islam but as nomads who were not Orthodox Christians. This historicist identification had the effect of minimizing Tatar adherence to Islam. Fifteenth and sixteenth-century sources do put more emphasis on the Islamic identity of the Tatars, probably because of the increasing weight placed upon Russian Orthodox Christianity as the hallmark of Muscovy.

The purpose of the research: This research builds upon the author’s previous work focused on exploring the reflection of Mongolian imperial ideology in sources from various countries that were influenced to varying degrees by the Mongolian expansion during the 13th and 14th centuries. The objective is to search for and systematically categorize the manifestations of Mongol ”world-organizing” ideas within Russian sources.

Research materials: The primary sources for this study were the oldest Russian chronicles, including the Laurentian, First Novgorod, and Hypatian chroniclew, along with several others. Valuable information was also extracted from collections of yarlyqs (edicts) from Mongol khans to Russian metropolitans, hagiographic literature, and religious records. Comparative materials from Eastern and European sources were utilized to elucidate the identified elements of Mongolian ideology. The works of both Russian and foreign historians, specializing in Russian and Mongolian history, were extensively referenced.

The results of the research and scientific novelty: This research reaffirms conclusions made by other experts regarding the limited interest among Russian scribes in the material and spiritual culture of the Mongols. Ideological aspects of Mongolian power are scarcely documented in Russian sources, although in some instances, they can be reasonably reconstructed. The foundations of Mongolian ”universalism,” such as the concept of Eternal Heaven, the deification of Genghis Khan, and the Great Yasa attributed to him, have left traces in chronicles and other historical sources. Russian sources also provide supplementary information highlighting Mongolian “imperialism,” including the Mongol Empire’s system of titles, interactions between the Ulus of Jochi and Karakorum, and the steppe rituals that princes were compelled to perform within the Horde. Overall, Russian materials do not support the notion that the Mongols aimed to conquer ”the whole world.”

Research objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the causes and circumstances surrounding the death of Grand Duke Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. His demise occurred during his presence at the headquarters of Turakina and in the presence of the Great Khan Guyuk.

Research materials: The research draws from a complex of Russian chronicle sources, monuments of ”hagiographic” literature from Ancient Rus’, Plano Carpini's “The History of the Mongols,” Rashid al-Din's “The Collection of Chronicles,” Juvayni Ata-Malik's “The History of the Conqueror of the World,” and acts of diplomatic correspondence.

Results and novelty of the study: Through a critical and comparative analysis of written sources, examined in the context of the political landscape within the Mongolian Empire leading up to and during the Kurultai of 1246, the authors of this article conclude that Plano Carpini's account of the poisoning of Russian Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich by Turakina khatun is unreliable. Utilizing a methodology akin to the natural sciences, the study ultimately attributes Yaroslav Vsevolodovich's death to natural causes, specifically complications arising from an acute toxicoinfective disease. This conclusion is drawn considering the absence of qualified medical care, weakened immunity, and the advanced age of the ruler of Northeastern Russia.

Research objectives: This study aims to characterize the legal status of the emir of the tumen (i.e., miriarch) in the Chinggisid states, including the uluses of Hulagu, Jochi, Chagatay, and the Timurid State. The focus is on their roles as military commanders and administrative officers, drawing from medieval legal documents, narrative sources, and prior research findings.

Materials and methods of research: The primary materials under examination are the jarlyks contained within Muhammad b. Hindushah Nakhchivani’s “Dastur al-katib fi ta‘yin al-maratib,” in its original Persian form and in the German translation by J. von Hammer-Purgstall. Additionally, various medieval sources detailing the history of the Chinggisid states of the 13th–14th centuries, both of Oriental and Russian origin, are considered. The research methods employed encompass historical-legal, diplomatic, and comparative historical analyses, forming an interdisciplinary approach that enables the comparison of diverse sources in the pursuit of authentic information.

Scientific novelty: This work represents the inaugural Russian translation of the first jarlyk regarding the appointment of the emir of the tumen sourced from the ”Dastur al-katib.” It distinguishes itself by employing an interdisciplinary approach and cross-referencing with other source types.

Results of the research: The analysis of the document facilitates the reconstruction of the legal status of the temnik, shedding light on their role as a military commander and high-ranking official within the uluses of Hulagu, Jochi, Chagatay (including the Timurid State). This includes an exploration of the qualifications expected of candidates for this position, as well as their associated rights and responsibilities. The diplomatic analysis contributes to a clearer understanding of the emir of the tumen's position within the state hierarchy and underscores the significance attributed to candidates for this role by Chinggisid rulers.

Research objectives: This study aims to determine the nature of payments made to the Golden Horde, as documented in the texts of the Short Collection of Khan’s jarlyks issued to Rus’ Metropolitans.

Research materials: The research draws from various sources, including charters prepared by the orders of the Golden Horde and Yuan Empire rulers, charters of a spiritual and contractual nature from Rus’ princes, as well as Rus’ chronicles.

Results and novelty of the research: This study proposes characteristics of the tax items found in Khan’s jarlyks and uncovers potential insertions within the label texts. It is demonstrated that the extensive list of duties present in the Khan’s charters was not originally a part of these documents. Many tax terms were intentionally added to the texts of the jarlyks during their translation into Russian. Some of these terms represented the Horde taxes that were actually collected from Russian lands, while others denoted payments recognized in Rus’, but not directed to the benefit of the Golden Horde. Furthermore, certain terms appear to be artificial tax designations.

This article delves into the monographic study by Professor A.G. Emanov of the University of Tyumen. It represents an attempt to culturally and anthropologically explore the sphere of economic relations in the Old World during the 13th–15th centuries, centered around an in-depth examination of the history of one of the largest trade and craft hubs of that era – the Crimean city of Caffa (modern-day Feodosia). The study draws upon a broad spectrum of written and material sources. The author meticulously analyzed private legal documents, both public and private records in various languages such as Latin, Middle Greek, folk Romance, Germanic, Slavic, as well as other European and Oriental languages, along with collections of numismatic artifacts. The author also compiled a topography detailing the distribution of treasures and individual finds of Caffa's coins in Eastern Europe.The primary research hypothesis is a departure from the conventional West-East dichotomy, proposing instead the coexistence of the North and the South as central to historical processes. The author's distinctive style is marked by a penchant for metaphors and etymological exercises. He symbolizes the North as the North Star and the South as the Midday Sun, aligning with how medieval people, especially merchants and sailors, referred to them. To characterize trade and cultural exchange between the North and the South, the author employs the unique term “meridional communication.” The book's most distinguishing feature lies in the author's reconstruction of how medieval Europeans perceived goods exported from Caffa. This perception is explored in the context of urban culture, including the representation of Siberian furs in European heraldry. Additionally, the author reconstructs the mindset of businesspeople from that era. His conclusions suggest that their motives were not purely driven by greed but rather guided by ethos – a behavioral model characterized by a set of value orientations and virtues, encompassing elements such as charity and compassion for the less fortunate and vulnerable.

References to the Takhcheya region can be found in numerous sources dated the late 16th – early 17th centuries. This toponym aroused great interest among historians, but all attempts to localize this land had a very relative success until recently. Sometimes, even within the framework of one publication, two opposing opinions were expressed about which territories this notation was used at the end of the 16th century.

In a recent article, one of the authors of this investigation made an attempt to analyze the information contained in the main source – a charter on lands given by Ivan IV to Yakov and Grigory Stroganov in 1574. This publication provides a more extensive historiographical review of the topic and analyzes the toponymy of the regions, adjoining from the south to the Chusovaya possessions of salt producers.

As a result, the authors came to the conclusion that the name Takhcheya meant an ancient transport corridor connecting the Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals, in a broader sense, the European and Asian parts of the mainland, which went to the Southern Trans-Urals along the Chusovaya, Sylva and Ufa rivers in its upper reaches and went to north of the modern Chelyabinsk region.

This is the most convenient place for crossing the Ural Range, in its lowest part, where the routes of historical roads passed, which in the Russian tradition were called the Kazan road. Several hydronyms and toponyms with the same root “takht/takhch” as in the name of Takhcheya, meaning “stop, parking place” have been identified here: the preserved names of places of traditional parking on trade routes. Thus, the assumption about the formation of the name in connection with the nature of the area, as a communication corridor and about the spread of the Takhcheya region in the South Trans-Urals, is confirmed. The Stroganovs were interested in joining the Takhcheya region to their possessions, since trade routes, that passed here, connected the Urals with Central Asia, in particular, Bukhara and Samarkand. It was quite tempting to take control of these roads, but to implement the letter of commendation granted in 1574 seemed not possible.

The Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences is a leading humanities research center in Tatarstan. It is one of the recognized and authoritative regional centers in Russia and an important link in international academic cooperation in the field of studying the history of the Tatars, Tatarstan, Eurasian history, and Turkic-Tatar civilization.

Researchers from the Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde and Tatar Khanates of the Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with colleagues from other research centers in the Russian Federation and abroad, not only investigate the historical realities of the past, including the Golden Horde state and Tatar Khanates but also develop common approaches to its history, which is essential in modern conditions. As part of this work, roundtable discussions and presentations were organized in Bashkortostan and the Samara Region in May-June 2023. All of these scientific events provide a significant impetus for the study of the legacy of the Tatars of the Golden Horde at the regional and international levels. An important outcome is the establishment of cooperation between historians and local historians from the Volga and Ural regions. Joint discussions of scientific issues have allowed not only to outline the prospects for further research, but also to establish new productive traditions in the relationships between professionals and history enthusiasts.