2018, vol. 6, no. 4. Pochekaev R.Yu.

2018, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 729-740

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-4.729-740

   THE EVOLUTION OF SOYURGHAL IN CHINGGISID
AND NON-CHINGGISID STATES
DURING THE POST-IMPERIAL PERIOD*

R.Yu. Pochekaev
National Research University Higher School of Economics
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
rpochekaev@hse.ru

Abstract: Research objectives: An analysis of the evolution of the land-law institution of soyurghal which was applied during the 15th–19th centuries in the Chinggisid and non-Chinggisid states that arose after the disintegration of the Mongol Empire and its uluses. This work is an attempt to clarify the reasons behind the preservation of this imperial legal institution during the post-imperial period, along with the points of commonality and differences which emerged during its evolution in the different states and regions of Asia.
Research materials: This research is based on wide range of historical and legal sources with information on soyurghal and its evolution. There are yarliks (or firmans) of monarchs (patents and letters), historical chronicles, along with treatises on the political and administrative structure of post-imperial states. The author analyses the documents of the Kazan, Crimean, Bukharan, and Khivan khanates, as well as Kashgharia, the states of Aq-Koyunlu and Qara-Kouynlu, Savafid Iran, and Mogul India. This research is also based on results of scholars who have already discussed soyurghal of the imperial and post-imperial period: M. Abduraimov, K.A. Antonova, A.M. Belenitskiy, P.P. Ivanov, A.K.S. Lambton, V.F. Minorskiy, Sh.F. Mukhamed’yarov, I.P. Petrushevskiy, M.A. Usmanov, etc.
The novelty of the study: The presented article is the first attempt to compare the evolution of institution of soyurghal based on a wide range of sources from different states and epochs to clarify basic trends of this evolution and find the reasons for using different categories of soyurghal in different states to a greater or lesser extent.
Research results: The author finds that during the 15th–19th centuries the institution of soyurghal had three meanings: land investiture for vassals (state and military officers), land investiture for state officers and clergy, and lastly a grant from the monarch to his subject in general. These different kinds of soyurghal were used in all states which were analyzed in the article. The conclusion is that this land-law institution was used in fact throughout the whole area of the former Mongol Empire and that this imperial legal tradition was preserved during the period after the disintegration of the empire itself.

Keywords: Mongol Empire, Chinggisid states, Jochid Ulus, Chaghadaid Ulus, Iran under the Safavids, Great Moghuls, Mongol imperial law, Islamic law, privileges and
immunities

For citation: Pochekaev R.Yu. The Evolution of Soyurghal in Chinggisid and Non-Chinggisid States during the Post-Imperial Period. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie = Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 729–740. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-4.729-740

* The research for this article was funded by a grant from the National Research University Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg, Grant № 18-IP-01.

REFERENCES

  1. Abduraimov M. Voprosy feodal’nogo zemlevladeniya i feodal’noy renty v pis’makh emira Khaydara. Opyt kratkogo issledovaniya istochnika [Questions of Feudal Landownership and Feudal Rent in the Letters of Amir Khaydar. Attempt of a Brief Research of the Source]. Tashkent, 1961. 111 p. (In Russian)
  2. Abduraimov M.A. Ocherk agrarnykh otnosheniy v Bukharskom khanstve v XVI – pervoy polovine XIX v. [Essay on Agrarian Relations in the Bukharan Khanate of the 16th – first half of the 19th] Vol. 2. Tashkent, Fan Publ., 1970. 287 p. (In Russian)
  3. Abduraimov M. Pozdneyshie upominaniya o soyyurgale [Latest mentions of soyurghal] Obshchestvennye nauki v Uzbekistane [Social Sciences in Uzbekistan], 1961, vol. 2, pp. 40–46. (In Russian)
  4. Abduzhemilev R.R. (comp.), Mirgaleev I.M. (ed.). Dokumenty Krymskogo khanstva iz sobraniya Khusayna Feyzkhanova [Documents of the Crimean Khanates from the Huseyn Feyzkhanov’s Collection]. Simferopol, Konstanta, 2017. 816 p. (In Russian)
  5. Abul Fadhl Allami. Ain i Akbari. II. Transl. by H.S. Jarrett. Calcutta, Baptist Mission Press, 1891. 458 p.
  6. Akhmedov B.A. Ikta v Sredney Azii v XVI – nachale XVIII vv. [Iqta in the Central Asia of the 16th – beginning of the 18th]. Formy feodal’noy zemel’noy sobstvennosti i vladeniya na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke (Bartol’dovskie chteniya 1975 g.) [Forms of Feudal Land Ownership and Possession in the Near and Middle East (Readings in honor of V.V. Bartol’d of 1975)]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1979, pp. 15–24. (In Russian)
  7. Antonova K.A. Osnovnye formy feodal’nogo zemlevladeniya v Mogol’skoy Indii XVI veka [Principal forms of feudal landownership in the Mogul India of the 16th century]. Uchenye zapiski Instituta vostokovedeniya [Proceedings of the Institute of Oriental Stu­dies], Vol. 5, 1953, pp. 245–274. (In Russian)
  8. Antonova K.A. Suyurgal v akbarovskoy Indii (k voprosu o formakh zemle­vladeniya v srednevekovoy Indii) [Soyurghal in the Akbar’s India (on the forms of landownership in the medieval India)]. Uchenye zapiski Tikhookeanskogo instituta [Proceedings of the Pacific Ocean Institute], Vol. 2, 1949, pp. 149–176. (In Russian)
  9. Ashrafyan K.Z. Feodalizm v Indii [Feudalism in India]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1977. 239 p. (In Russian)
  10. Ashurbeyli S.B. Feodal’nye pozhalovaniya v Shirvane v XV–XVII vv. [Feudal grants in Shirvan of the 15th–17th]. Formy feodal’noy zemel’noy sobstvennosti i vladeniya na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke (Bartol’dovskie chteniya 1975 g.) [Forms of Feudal Land Ownership and Possession in the Near and Middle East (Readings in honor of V.V. Bartol’d of 1975)]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1979, pp. 25–31. (In Russian)
  11. Belenitskiy A. K istorii feodal’nogo zemlevladeniya v Sredney Azii i Irane v timuridskuyu epokhu (XIV–XV vv.) (obrazovanie instituta «suyurgal») [On the history of feudal landownership in Central Asia and Iran in the age of the Timurids (establishment of the institution of soyurghal)]. Istorik-marksist [Marxist Historian], 1941, vol. 4, pp. 43–58. (In Russian)
  12. Efendiev O.A. Institut «suyurgal» i tsentralistskaya politika praviteley Ak-Koyunlu i pervykh Sefevidov [Institution of “soyurghal” and centralizing policy of Aq-Koyunlu rulers and the first Safavids]. Formy feodal’noy zemel’noy sobstvennosti i vladeniya na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke (Bartol’dovskie chteniya 1975 g.) [Forms of Feudal Land Ownership and Possession in the Near and Middle East (Readings in honor of V.V. Bartol’d of 1975)]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1979, pp. 168–175. (In Russian)
  13. Farzaliev Sh.F. O suyurgale v XV–XVI vv. (po «Akhsan at-tavarikh» Khasan-beka Rumlu) [On soyurghal in the 15th–16th (according to “Akhsan at-tavarikh” by Khasan-beq Rumlu)]. Formy feodal’noy zemel’noy sobstvennosti i vladeniya na Blizhnem i Srednem Vostoke (Bartol’dovskie chteniya 1975 g.) [Forms of Feudal Land Ownership and Possession in the Near and Middle East (Readings in honor of V.V. Bartol’d of 1975)]. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1979, pp. 141–145. (In Russian)
  14. Grigor’ev A.P. Zolotoordynskie yarlyki: poisk i interpretatsiya [The Golden Horde yarliks: search and interpretations]. Tyurkologicheskiy sbornik. 2005: Tyurkskie narody Rossii i Velikoy stepi [Studia Turkologica, 2005: Turkic Peoples of the Russian and Great Steppe]. Moscow, Vostochnaya literatura Publ., 2006, pp. 74–142. (In Russian)
  15. Ibragimov S.K., Mingulov N.N., Pishchulina K.A., Yudin V.P. (transl.) Materialy po istorii kazakhskikh khanstv XV–XVIII vv. (Izvlecheniya iz persidskikh i tyurkskikh sochineniy) [Materials on History of the Kazakh Khanates of the 15th–18th (Extracts from the Persian and Turkic works)]. Alma-Ata, Nauka Publ., 1969. 652 p. (In Russian)
  16. Ivanov P.P. Khozyaystvo dzhuybarskikh sheykhov (k istorrii feodal’nogo zemlevladeniya v Sredney Azii v XVI–XVII vv.) [Ownership of Dxhuybari Sheikhs (on the history of feudal landownership in Central Asia of the 16th–17th)]. Moscow; Leningrad, Akademiya nauk SSSR Publ., 1954. 380 p. (In Russian)
  17. Khafiz Abru (Shikhab ad-Din Abdallakh ibn Lutfallakh al-Khavafi). Zayl-i Dzhami at-tavarikh-i Rashidi («Dopolnenie k sobraniyu istoriy Rashida») [“Supplement to Compendium of Chronicles by Rashid”]. Transl. from Pers, intr., comments, notes and indexes by E.R. Talyshkhanov; ed. by I.M. Mirgaleev. Kazan, YaZ, 2011. 320 p. (In Russian)
  18. Khafiz-i Tanysh Bukhari. Sharaf-name-yi shakhi (Kniga shakhskoy slavy) [The Book of the Shah’s Glory]. Intr., transl, comments by M.A. Salakhetdinova. Vol. 1. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1983. 298 p. (In Russian)
  19. Khafiz-i Tanysh Bukhari. Sharaf-name-yi shakhi (Kniga shakhskoy slavy) [The Book of the Shah’s Glory]. Intr., transl, comments by M.A. Salakhetdinova. Vol. 2. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1989. 296 p. (In Russian)
  20. Khatibi S. Persidskie dokumental’nye istochniki po sotsial’no-ekonomicheskoy istorii Khorasana XIII–XIV vv. [Persian Documental Sources on the Social-Economic History of Khorasan of the 13th–14th]. Ashkhabad, Ylym, 1986. 134 p. (In Russian)
  21. Lambton A.K.S. Two Safavid “Soyurghals”. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 14, 1952, 1, pp. 44–54.
  22. Lunev Yu.F. Gosudarstvo i pravo uzbekskikh khanstv s XVI po XIX veka [State and Law of Uzbek Khanates from the 16th to the 19th centuries]. Moscow, AST, 2004. 216 p. (In Russian)
  23. Melioranskiy P. Dokument uygurskogo pis’ma sultana Omar-Sheykha [Document of sultan Omar Sheikh in the Uyghur script]. Zapiski Imperatorskogo Russkogo arkheologicheskogo obshchestva [Proceedings of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society], vol. 16, 1904–1905, 1, pp. 01–012. (In Russian)
  24. Minorsky V. A “Soyūrghāl” of Qāsim b. Jahāngīr Aq-qoyunlu (903/1498). Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 9, 1939, 4, pp. 927–960.
  25. Minorsky V. (transl.). Tadhkirat al-Muluk: A Manual of Safavid Administration (c. 1137/1725). Cambridge, E.J.W. Gibb Memorial, 1980. 218 p.
  26. Muhamed’yarov Sh.F. Sotsial’no-ekonomicheskiy i gosudarstvenniy stroy Kazanskogo khanstva (XV – pervaya polovina XVI vv.) [Social-Economic and Political Structure of the Kazan Khanate (15th – first half of the 16th)]. Kazan, Ikhlas, 2012. 276 p. (In Russian)
  27. Muhammad-Rafi Ansari. Dastur al-muluk [Manual for Sovereigns]. Intr., transl., notes and index by A.B. Vil’danova. Tashkent, Fan. 1991. 139 p. (In Russian)
  28. Nabiev R.N. Novye dokumental’nye materialy k izucheniyu feodal’nogo instituta «suyurgal» v Fergane XVI–XVII vv. [New documental materials on the study of feudal institution of “soyurghal” in Ferghana of the 16th–17th]. Proceedings of Academy of Science of Uzbek SSR. Series of Social Sciences, 1959, vol. 3, pp. 23–31. (In Russian)
  29. Nadelyaev V.M., Nasilov D.M., Tenishev E.R., Scherbak A.M. (eds.) Drev­netyurkskiy slovar’ [Ancient Turkic Dictionary]. Moscow, Nauka, 1969. 676 p.
  30. Nikitin A.N. Ulusnaya sistema Mongol’skoy imperii v pamyatnikakh pis’mennosti imperskikh tsentrov Chingizidskikh khanstv i Drevney Rusi [The Ulus System of the Mongol Empire in Written Monuments of Imperial Centers of the Chinggisid Khanates and Medieval Rus’]. Sci. Diss. (history). Moscow, 2006. 340 p. (In Russian)
  31. Ötemish Hajji. Kara tavarikh [The Black History]. Transl. by I.M. Mirgaleev, E.G. Sayfetdinova; ed. I.M. Mirgaleev. Kazan, Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, 2017. 312 p. (In Russian)
  32. Petrushevskiy I.P. Zemledelie i agrarnye otnosheniya v Irane XIII–XIV vekov [Land and Agrarian Relations in Iran of the 13th–14th]. Moscow; Leningrad, Akademiya nauk SSSR Publ., 1960. 492 p. (In Russian)
  33. Petrushevskiy I.P. K voprosu ob immunitete v Azerbaydzhane XVII–XVIII v. [On the immunity in Azerbaijan of the 17th–18th]. Istoricheskiy sbornik [Historical Collection], 1935, vol. 4, pp. 35–72. (In Russian)
  34. Petrushevskiy I.P. K istorii instituta soyurgala [On the history of the institution of soyurghal]. Sovetskoe vostokovedenie [Soviet Oriental Studies], Vol. 6, 1949, pp. 227–246. (In Russian)
  35. Pishchulina K.A. Ocherki istorii Kazakhskogo khanstva: Sb. Statey [Essays on the History of Kazakh Khanate: Collected Works]. Comp. by K.Z Uskenbay. Almaty, Institute of history and ethnology named after Ch.Ch. Valikhanov, 2016. 350 p. (In Russian)
  36. Pochekaev R.Yu. Tamgha and the struggle against it: on the history of medieval Turkic-Mongol taxation system. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2014, no. 4(6), pp. 77–95.
  37. Rakhmanova L. Dokument XVI veka po istorii feodal’nogo zemlevladeniya v Sredney Azii [Document of the 16th century on the history of feudal landownership in Central Asia]. Obshchestvennye nauki v Uzbekistane [Social Sciences in Uzbekistan], 1969, 6, pp. 55–56. (In Russian)
  38. Schurmann H.F. Mongolian Tributary Practices of the 13th Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 19, 1956, pp. 304–389.
  39. Shir Muhammad Mirab Munis & Muhammad Riza Mirab Agahi. Firdaws al-iqbal: History of Khorezm. Transl. from Chagat. & annot. by Yu. Bregel. Leiden; Boston; Köln, Brill, 1999. 718 p.
  40. Tikhonov D. Nekotorye voprosy vnutrenney politiki Yakub-beka [Some questions on internal policy of Yaqub-beq]. Uchenye zapiski Instituta vostokovedeniya [Proceedings of the Institute of Oriental Studies], Vol. 16, 1958, pp. 109–137. (In Russian)
  41. Usmanov M.A. Zhalovannye akty Dzhuchieva Ulusa XIV–XVI vv. [The Granted Acts of the Jochid Ulus of the 14th–16th]. Kazan, Kazan State University Publ., 1979. 320 p.

About the author: Roman Yu. Pochekaev – Cand. Sci (Jurisprudence), Associate professor, Professor, Head of the Department of theory and history of law and state, National Research University Higher School of Economics in St. Petersburg, ORCID: 0000-0002-4192-3528, ResearcherID: K-2921-2015 (17, Promyshlennaya str., St. Petersburg 198099, Russian Federation). E-mail: ropot@mail.ru

Received  August 24, 2018   Accepted for publication  November 28, 2018
Published online  December 29, 2018