№ 1 2014

HISTORICAL INVARIANTS IN TIME AND SPACE

R.S. Khakimov

(Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan)

The article deals with the heterogeneity of historical time and space, which affects the understanding of social processes. This understanding contributes to periodization of social processes not in chronological order but according to the semantic division of historical phases. From a historical standpoint, space appears as a structured field in ethnic, economic and administrative sense. Despite the constant social changes, structural and cultural invariants are preserved in their previous form. These invariants are clearly seen in the example of nomadic empires of Eurasia, from the Golden Horde – until the Russian Empire.

Keywords: historical invariants, space-time, landscape, means of communication, Golden Horde, Russia, Tatarstan.

About the author: Rafail’ Sibgatovich Khakimov – Director, Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan (AS RT), Vice-president of AS RT, Academician of AS RT, Doctor of historical studies (420014, Kremlin, entrance 5, Kazan, Russian Federation); history@tataroved.ru

MENANDER PROTECTOR. HISTORY: ON THE TURKISH EMBASSY TO THE PERSIANS AND BYZANTINES IN 568 A.C. (translation and commentary)

Olesia Zhdanovich

(Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)

The article presents annotated translation from ancient Greek into Russian of the book of Menander Protector. In this text Menander Protector describes first the Turkish embassy to the Persians, and then to the Byzantines. The Great Turkic Khanate was the first Steppe empire in history. The relationship between Turkic Khanate and Byzantine Empire began from the middle of 6th century, parallel to the establishment of the Steppe empire. The purpose of the first Turkish embassies to the Byzantines was conclusion of an alliance against the Persians. Since the end of the 4th century Sassanid Empire and Byzantium challenged each other for the territory of Armenia, part of Georgia and the lands of southern Arabia. At the same time the Byzantine Empire’s relationship with the barbarians in the West were problematic. In addition it was going through a difficult economical and political period inside Empire. Another side of antagonism between Persian and Byzantine Empire was silk trade. Persian Empire had a monopoly on it. Byzantine Empire was in dire need of silk and was forced to buy it overpriced. Turks had silk and proposed it to Byzantines at a bargain price.

This article contains the view of the problems of relationship between European Byzantine and Asian Nomadic civilizations in terms of Byzantine author. Previously the Russian translation of Menander Protector was done in the middle of the 19th century by Spiridon Destunis. However, his translation was fragmented and unprofessional containing many imprecisions. Our versions have many rectifications and important comments to some elements of Nomadic and Byzantine style of life. This research should help to understand some part of life, customs and diplomacy of ancient Turks.

Keywords: Turks, Persians, Byzantines, Great Turkic Khanate, Byzantine, Sassanid Empire, Nomads, silk, embassy.

About the author: Olesia Petrovna Zhdanovich – Research Associate, Sector of civilizations of the Black Sea Region, Department of Regional history, Institute of Historyof Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, PhD (01001, Grushevsky st., 4, Kiev, Ukraine); olbio@bk.ru

STUDIES OF Y-CHROMOSOME POLYMORPHISM IN THE CONTEXT OF HISTORY: CURRENT STATE OF THE DISCIPLINE

Zh.M. Sabitov

(L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University)

Polymorphism of Y-chromosome is an interdisciplinary science which aims to answer historical questions related to the peoples’ ethnogenesis on the basis of population genetic research . Scientific research of Y-chromosome polymorphism began at the end of 1990s. Studies of Y-chromosome polymorphism represent only part of population genetic researches. In 2002 there was introduced a single standard regarding SNP-tree mutations and names haplogroups (consortium of Y-chromosome). Prior to this there was no less than 5 different classifications haplogroups. About this time, the National Genographic Project have been started, which purpose was to explore all the world populations by STR (short tandem repeats) and SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) mutations of Y-chromosome. The basis is the principle of geographical residence. The results of research of the participants of this project resulted in hundreds of articles on the ethnogenesis of different nations of the earth published in journals specialized in population genetics, mainly in the English. In this article, the author presents his view on the methodological problems related to establishing of new application of historical science (the study of polymorphism of the Y-chromosome). The article contains descriptions and examples of faulty research and methodological mistakes. The author also addressed the issue of historiography of the study of the ethnogenesis of the Turkic peoples of Eurasia and methods of population genetics identifying the tools and methods for the study of Y-chromosome polymorphism. This article describes the methods of population genetics such as cluster analysis, phylogenetic networks, multidimensional scaling, calculation of “genetic” distances, TMRCA.

Keywords: Y-chromosome polymorphism, Ethnogenesis, Turkic peoples, Golden Horde, methods of population genetics, National Genographic Project, methodological mistakes.

About the author: Zhaksylyk Muratovich Sabitov – Associate Professor, Political Science Department, L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University, PhD (010008, Munaytpasov st., 5, Astana, Kazakhstan); babasan@yandex.ru

THEORY OF TATAR ORIGIN OF THE YAKUTS

V.V. Ushnitsky

(Institute of Humanitarian Research and Problems of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences)

The article examines the problem of the origin of the people of Sakha (Yakutia) in the light of the latest research. Basing on archaeological materials the ethnogenesis of Sakha is associated with the Baikal region’s Ust’-Tal’kinsky archaeological culture of the 12th–14th centuries. Analysis of written sources allows to associate representatives of Ust’-Tal’kinsky archaeological culture with the Usutu-mangun tribe identical with the Angara Tatars and referred to in the writings of Rashid al-Din and Abu al-Ghazi. Probably, the Angara Tatars migrated from Central Asia and compactly inhabited the Angara region near Lake Buir-Nur. The article analyzes connection between Sakha folklore sources and real history of Central Asian Tatars.

Keywords: Nomads, ethnogenesis, Central Asia, Tatars, Mongols, archaeology, Baikal region, Yakut Sakha, folklore sources.

About the author: Vasiliy Vasil’evich Ushnitskiy – Research Fellow, Department of Ethnography of the Peoples in Northeastern Russia, Institute of Humanitarian Research and Problems of Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Kandidat nauk (scientific degree) in historical sciences (677007, Petrovsky st., 1, Yakutsk, Republic of Sakha); voma@mail.ru

IBN BATTUTA ABOUT TURKIC ISLAM

M.G. Kramarovsky

(State Hermitage Museum)

The article examines the evidence of Arab Sheik Ibn Battuta concerning the peculiarities of Islam consolidation in the urban environment of the Golden Horde. The main observations of Ibn Battuta based on personal communication with the neophytes of Islamic communities. These observations provide information on the diffusion of Sufism and on the consolidation of Hanafi teaching as the leading doctrine. Ibn Battuta information represents a valuable historical source for the history of Islam in the Golden Horde.

Keywords: Arab Sheik Ibn Battuta, Golden Horde, Sufism, mezhep of Hanafi teaching.

About the author: Mark Grigor’evich Kramarovsky – leading research scientist, Oriental Department, State Hermitage Museum, Curator of Central Asian Collection, Doctor of historical studies (190000, Dvortsovaya square, 2, Sankt Petersburg, Russian Federation); solkhat@hermitage.ru

SUFI TRADITION IN SPIRITUAL CULTURE OF THE GOLDEN HORDE

E.G. Sayfetdinova

(Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan)

The author considers the special nature of the penetration of the Sufi tradition in the spiritual culture of the Golden Horde. Being a part of the spiritual culture, literary monuments from the Golden Horde epoch played a significant role in the spread of Islam in the Golden Horde. Islam rooted in the Golden Horde thanks to the fact that Sufism gave the Muslim form to the Turkic-Mongolian beliefs. The «Nahj al-Faradis» («Pathway to the Heavens»), the literary monument from the Golden Horde era, narrates about the introduction and diffusion of Islam in the Turkic-Mongolian religious and mundane traditions.

Keywords: The Golden Horde, Islam, Sufism, spiritual culture, medieval literature, «Nahj al-Faradis», Mahmoud al-Bulgari.

About the author: Elmira Gadelzyanovna Sayfetdinova – Senior Research Fellow, Usmanov Center for Research of the Golden Horde History, Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kandidat nauk (scientific degree) in historical studies (420014, Kremlin, entrance 5, Kazan, Russian Federation); аdulya2@yandex.ru

GOLDEN HORDE HISTORIOGRAPHY: THE CONTRIBUTION AND POTENTIAL OF HISTORICO-BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE

A.K. Muminov

(L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University)

Among the more than thirty works written in the genre of historical and biographical literature “Tabaqat al-hanafiya”, the work by Mahmud ibn Sulayman al-Kafawi holds a special place, since in this work al-Kafawi first used the productive approach collecting and organizing the chains of tradition transmitters in schools (‘an‘ana, silsila, isnad) with the aim to show the historical evolution of the Hanafite madhhab. This valuable source, “Kata’ib A‘lam al-Akhyar”, has not been published previously. We decided to revise the old views concerning the activity of al-Kafawi on the compiling and editing his work. The following new sources were detected and processed: 50 copies of the work by al-Kafawi, preserved in Turkey, Western Countries, and Central Asia. These copies of Kata’ib were important for us since they allowed to discover the three sources for the biography of al-Kafawi. Their data made it possible to establish that the work of al-Kafavi on the compiling of “Kata’ib A‘lam al-Akhyar” consisted of two phases: 1) the preparation of the book (jam‘, ta’lif) was done by al-Kafawi in 983–985 A.H.; and 2) the editing (tahrir) was the work of his pupil Muslih al-Din Mustafa ibn al-Hasan al-‘Arifi al-Sinubi (d. 1018/1609–10). In the editor’s part of the work we can see the editor’s tendency towards Sufism. This has allowed us to conclude that al-Kafawi was a native of the Golden Horde and could collect rich materials on its history.

Keywords: paleography and codicology of Oriental manuscripts, source studies, author’s original text, copies of original text, editions, religious leaders, new persons, intellectual centers, intellectual history.

About the author: Ashirbek Kurbanovich Muminov – Head of the Department of Religious Studies, L.N.Gumilev Eurasian National University; Senior Fellow, Koç University’s Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (Istanbul, Turkey, 2012–2013), Doctor of historical studies, Professor (010008, Munaytpasov st., 5, Astana, Kazakhstan); muminov_ak@enu.kz

SERBIAN WRITTEN SOURCES ON THE TATARS AND THE GOLDEN HORDE (FIRST HALF OF THE 14^TH CENTURY)

Aleksandar Uzelac

(Institute of History, Belgrade)

Serbian narrative and documentary texts, written in the first half of the XIV century, represent valuable source material for the research of Tatar political and military influence in the Balkan lands. Most important among them are Vita of King Stephen Uroš II Milutin (1282–1321), extant in three different editions and Vita of Archbishop Daniel II (1324–1337). The first one offers insight into the relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the powerful Juchid prince Nogai, while in the latter, the key role of Tatar contingents in internal power struggle between king Milutin and his brother Stephen Dragutin is mentioned. The presence of Tatars in the Battle of Velbazhd (1330), fought between Serbia and the Bulgarian Empire, is also attested in various sources, including the so-called Old Serbian chronicles and the Code of Law of Emperor Stephen Dušan (1349). Another group of sources analyzed in the text are several apocryphal writings of South Slavic literature. Their value lies in the fact that they reflect the image of the Tatars in the eyes of the Balkan Slavs. Last, but not least important testimony of Tatar activities in Serbian lands is preserved in place-names of Tatar origin, recorded in royal charters, issued by Milutin’s son Stephen (1321–1331) and grandson Stephen Dušan (1331–1355).

Keywords: Archbishop Daniel II, King Milutin, Tatars, Nogai, Battle of Velbazhd, Оld Serbian chronicles, Image of the other.

About the author: Aleksandar Uzelac – Research Associate, Institute of History, Doctor of historical studies (11000, Kneza Mikhaila, 36/II, Belgrade, Serbiya); aleksandar.uzelac@iib.ac.rs

FROM THE SOCIAL TERMINOLOGY OF CHAGHATAID ULUS AND GOLDEN HORDE: “TABIN”

I.V. Zaytsev

(Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences)

This note deals with the term Tabin occured in the Western Russian translation of the letter of the Golden Horde Khan Murtaza to the Polish king Kazimir (August 1484). The author believes that the word is Chaghataid تابين which means “the servant”. Tabin was a kind of military rank, the owner of which was close to a Khan, and served him as an adjutant or a page. We can assume the existence of such special elite military page corps at the court of Golden Horde khans, just as they existed in contemporary Timurid states.

Keywords: Golden Horde military terms, Turkic etymology.

About the author: Il’ya Vladimirovich Zaytsev – Leading Research Fellow, Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of historical studies (117036, Dm. Ulyanov st., 19; 107031, Rozhdestvenka st., 12, Moscow, Russian Federation); ilyaaugust@yandex.ru

ON THE NAME OF “GREAT HORDE”

A.A. Gorsky

(Lomonosov Moscow State University,
Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences)

The article discusses the idea that the name “Bolshaya Orda” (“Great Horde”), used in the Russian sources, is the translation of the Turkish “Ulug Orda”. The author justifies the position that this term has Russian origin, meaning “the most influential among the Hordes”.

Keywords: Great Horde, chronicles, acts.

About the author: Anton Anatol’evich Gorsky – Professor, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leading Research Fellow, Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of historical studies (119992, Lomonosov Prospekt, 27, housing 4; 117036, Dm. Ulyanov st., 19, Moscow, Russian Federation); gor-ks@yandex.ru

IBRAHIM, SON OF MAHMOUDEK: ACCESSION TO POWER AND PURSES (1)*

A.L. Ponomarev

(Lomonosov Moscow State University)

The death of the Crimean khan Haji Giray on 25 August 1466 was followed by two months of the political turmoil. Sons of the late ruler, Mengli Giray 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 Giray khans and it was never more used for the coins of Caffa or the khanate after 1441, when Tartar beks elected Haji Giray 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 aqche 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.

Keywords: Crimean Khanate, Golden Horde, Genova, Caffa, Massaria Caffe, numismatics, political history, Ibrahim bin Mahmoudek, Nur Dawlat Giray, Ahmad bin Muhammad, Mamak Shirin, copper coinage, dang, aqcha, tamga.

About the author: Andrey Leonidovich Ponomarev – Leading Research Fellow, Department of Medieval Studies, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Doctor of historical studies (119992, Lomonosov Prospekt 27, housing 4; Moscow, Russian Federation); medieval@hist.msu.ru

* Beginning of the article. Ending of the article see in the next issue.

CRIMEA UNDER THE RULE OF THE OTTOMANS AND THE DISPUTE OVER CONCLUSION OF THE AGREEMENT: BASED ON NEW DOCUMENTS (3)

Halil İnalcık

(Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey)

The article examines the period of transition of the territory of Crimea under protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. Recently in the archives of the Topkapi Palace Museum have been discovered new documents on the history of the Golden Horde containing the letters of the Crimean khans and Beys. On the basis of new historical sources, author clarifies the contentious issues related to the agreement between Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and Mengli I Giray and reveals the reasons that influenced the way the Crimea became subservient to the Ottoman Empire.* The end of the article. See the beginning in: Golden Horde Review, 2013, no. 1, pp. 147–163; 2013, no. 2, pp. 117–127.

Keywords: expansion of the Ottoman Empire, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Northern Black Sea, Crimean Khanate, new sources on the history of the Golden Horde.

About the author: Halil İnalcık – Professor, Bilkent University; Doctor of historical studies (06800, Ankara, Turkey); inalcik@bilkent.edu.tr

* The end of the article. See the beginning in: Golden Horde Review, 2013, no. 1, pp. 147–163; 2013, no. 2, pp. 117–127.

THE CUMAN CAMPAIGNS IN 1091

Szilvia Kovács

(Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) – University of Szeged (SZTE), Hungary)

The Cumans appeared in Eastern Europe in the second half of the 11^th century. In the first part of my study, I present a brief survey of the Cuman attacks against the Byzantine Empire until 1091. In 1091 they fought along the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnénos (1081–1118) against the Pechenegs. In the battle of Lebunion, Alexios and his Cuman allies decisively defeated the Pechenegs. The Pechenegs defeated at the Battle of Lebunion lived at that time in the region Paristrion on Byzantine side of the Danube. In the same year, the Cumans attacked the Hungarian Kingdom as well.

The purpose of this study is to search for an answer to the three questions:

1. Who invited the Cumans into the Byzantine Empire?
2. What was the role of the Cumans in the battle of Lebunion in which the Byzantines achieved a great victory over the Pechenegs?
3. Could the Cumans be identical with the nomads who attacked the Hungarian Kingdom in the same year?

Keywords: Cuman attacks, Byzantine Empire, Hungarian Kingdom, 1091.

About the author: Szilvia Kovács – researcher, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) – University of Szeged (SZTE), Turkological Research Group, PhD (History) (6722, Egyetem st., 2, Szeged, Hungary); kovszi@freemail.hu

CHIMERAS AND MIRAGES OF THE GOLDEN HORDE

V.A. Ivanov

(M. Akmullah Bashkir State Pedagogical University)

The article examines the problem of so-called “imperial culture” of the Golden Horde. The author analyzes the archaeological material regarding it as a component of “imperial culture”. The author evaluates the quality of the archaeological material as well as the breadth and intensity of its distribution among the population of the Golden Horde and the neighboring tribal areas, which the author considers a priori as consumers of this “imperial culture”. Based on this analysis, the author concludes that in general, the concept of “imperial culture” of the Golden Horde is a chimera. In turn, the expected powerful effect of “imperial culture” of the Golden Horde in the culture of neighboring peoples of the Urals and the Volga region is a mirage created by the imagination of researchers.

Keywords: Golden Horde, Imperial culture, Great Yasa, social status, bocca, Chimera, Mirage.

About the author: Vladimir Aleksandrovich Ivanov – Head of the Department of General History and Cultural Heritage, M. Akmullah Bashkir State Pedagogical University, Doctor of Historical Studies, Professor (450000, Oktyabr’skoy revolyutsii st., 3a, Ufa, Bashkortostan); ivanov-sanych@rambler.ru

SOME REMARKS TO RUSSIAN TRANSLATION OF THE MANCHU VERSION OF YUANSHI

S.V. Sidorovich

(Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan)

The paper discusses the recently published translation of the first few chapters of the Manchu version of the dynastical history Yuanshi – “Dai Yuan guruni Suduri”. The author analyzes the most typical mistakes involving parallel passages from the Chinese version of the chronicle provided with author’s translation and commentary. To avoid typical mistakes in the future work, the author offers to verify difficult fragments with the original source in Chinese and offers recommendations for the use of specialized literature.

Keywords: Yuanshi, Dai Yuan guruni suduri.

About the author: Sergei Vladimirovich Sidorovich – post-graduate student of Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde History, Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan (420014, Kremlin, entrance 5, Kazan, Russian Federation); sscc@zmail.ru

Vth INTERNATIONAL BULGARIAN FORUM «POLITICAL AND ETHNO-CULTURAL INTERACTION BETWEEN STATES AND PEOPLES IN THE POST-GOLDEN HORDE SPACE (15th–16th CENTURIES)»

I.М. Mirgaleev

(Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan)

This article contains a short report on the Vth International Bulgarian Forum under the name of “Political and Ethno-Cultural Interaction between States and Peoples in the Post-Golden Horde Space (15th–16th centuries)”. The forum was held in the city of Yalta (the Crimea) at the 6th–11th of November in 2013. Coordinators of the forum were Shigabutdin Marjani Institute of History of Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Crimean branch of Archaeology Institute of National academy of Sciences of the Ukraine. The Forum was attended by many well-known experts, whose reports have caused heated debate. The greatest interest was aroused by the following reports: Kradin Nicolay (Vladivostok, Russia). Medieval States of Eurasian Steppes: general and special; Trepavlov Vadim (Moscow, Russia). Institute of Beklyaribekship in the Socio-Political Structure of the Tatar Khanates; Vladimirov Georgi (Sofia, Bulgaria). Earrings in the Form of a Question Mark from Danubian Bulgaria (13th–14th centuries). Origin and area of distribution; Cherkas Boris (Kiev, Ukraine). Crimea and the Middle Dnieper Region in the Context of the Struggle in the Crimean Khanate in the 15th – the first third of the 16th centuries; Rusev Nikolay (Kishinev, Moldova). Tatars in Moldovan Charters of the 15th century; Izmailov Iskander (Kazan, Russia). Ethnocultural Interaction of the Kazan Khanate Population with Adjacent Territories; Ilnur Mirgaleev (Kazan, Russia). “Chingiz-name” of Utemish-Hadji as a Source for the History of the Turko-Tatar States; Matveev Andrey, Tataurov Sergey (Tomsk, Russia). History of Siberian Khanate: chronology and cartography; Brehunenko Viktor (Kiev, Ukraine). Kazak-Crimean Military-Political Alliances of the end of the 16th – middle of the 17th century.

Keywords: Bulgarian Forum, Post-Golden Horde space, the Crimea, Yalta.

About the author: Il’nur Midkhatovich Mirgaleev – Head of the Usmanov Center for Research on the Golden Horde History, Sh.Marjani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan, Kandidat nauk (scientific degree) in historical studies (420014, Kremlin, entrance 5, Kazan, Russian Federation); dilnur1976@mail.ru