2026, vol. 14, no. 2. Ivanov V.A.

2026, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 325-341

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2026-14-2.325-341

EDN: https://elibrary.ru/LGACFM

 THE POPULATION OF THE BUGULMA-BELEBEEVSKAYA UPLAND
DURING THE GOLDEN HORDE PERIOD (13th–14th centuries)

V.A. Ivanov
Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov
of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences
Kazan, Russian Federation
ivanov-sanych@inbox.ru

Abstract. This article provides an archaeological and geographical overview of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland which, in its ethnocultural context, represents a border zone between the historical, geographical, and ethnocultural worlds of the sedentary and nomadic populations of the Southern Cis-Urals. The aim of the study is to identify the dynamics of the development of this territory by the nomadic, semi-nomadic, and sedentary populations of the Volga-Kama region and the Southern Cis-Urals in the second half of the 1st – first half of the 2nd millennium AD. The study materials include archaeological maps of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland, reflecting the geography of settlement in this area of representatives of various ethnocultural groups – late Sarmatians (?), Ugrians (Magyars), and Turkic nomads (Pechenegs, Kipchaks). The chronology of the study covers the period from the second half of the 1st millennium AD to and including the 13th–14th centuries. This article examines a historical and geographical model, constructed on the basis of archaeological data, which suggests that the area of the upland was completely uninhabited during this period. This was due to the natural, geographical, and climatic conditions of the area, which were equally unfavorable to both nomads and sedentary farmers – the Volga Bulgars. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that the author, for the first time and based on the latest archaeological research, has compiled archaeological maps of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland during the Middle Ages. These maps consistently demonstrate the absence of traces of nomadic, semi-nomadic, or sedentary populations in its core territory during this period. It was only during the Golden Horde era when the population of the Southern Cis-Urals became part of the Bolgar Ulus as the Bashkir Yurt that semi-nomadic Ugrians-the bearers of the Chiyalik archaeological culture-settled along the northern and northeastern foothills of the Bugulma Upland. Separate groups of Kipchak nomads, who formed the ethnic core of the nomadic part of the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde), arrived in the valleys of the largest rivers flowing from the highlands – the Ik, Chermasan, and Dema. At the same time, Bulgarian craftsmen erected several stone mausoleums in the Chiyalik settlement area. Whether the Chiyalik Ugrians or the Kipchak Turks commissioned these constructions remains unresolved.

Keywords: Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland, Pechenegs, Kipchaks, Ugrians, mausoleums

For citation: Ivanov V.A. The Population of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland du­ring the Golden Horde Period (13th–14th centuries). Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie = Golden Horde Review. 2026, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 325–341. https://doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2026-14-2.325-341 (In Russian)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vladimir A. Ivanov – Dr. Sci. (History), Professor, Senior Research Fellow of the Department of Medieval Archeology, Institute of Archeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (30, Butlerov Str., Kazan 420012, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-7243-2588. E-mail: ivanov-sanych@inbox.ru

Received  29.12.2025
Revised  04.05.2026
Accepted  04.06.2026