At what stage of education do schoolchildren usually get acquainted with the concept of the "Golden Horde"? 6th grade, of course. The history teacher tells the children how the Orthodox people suffered from foreign invaders. One gets the impression that in the thirteenth century Russia experienced the same brutal occupation as in the forties of the last century. But is it worth so blindly drawing parallels between the Third Reich and the medieval semi-nomadic state? And what did the Tatar-Mongol yoke mean for the Slavs? What was the Golden Horde for them? "History" (6th grade, textbook) is not the only source on this topic. There are other, more thorough works of researchers. Let's take an adult look at a rather long time period in the history of our native fatherland.
Beginning of the Golden Horde
For the first time, Europe became acquainted with the Mongol nomadic tribes in the first quarter of the thirteenth century. The troops of Genghis Khan reached the Adriatic and could successfully move further - to Italy and to But the dream of the great conqueror came true - the Mongols were able to scoop up water from the Western Sea with a helmet. That is why the army of many thousands returned to their steppes. For another twenty years, the Mongol Empire and feudal Europe existed without colliding in any way, as if in parallel worlds. In 1224, Genghis Khan divided his kingdom between his sons. This is how the Ulus (province) of Jochi appeared - the westernmost in the empire. If we ask ourselves what the Golden Horde is, then 1236 can be considered the starting point of this state formation. It was then that the ambitious Khan Batu (son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan) began his Western campaign.
What is the Golden Horde
This military operation, which lasted from 1236 to 1242, significantly expanded the territory of the Jochi ulus to the west. However, it was still too early to talk about the Golden Horde. Ulus is administrative unit in the great and she was dependent on the central government. However, Batu Khan (in the Russian chronicles Batu) in 1254 moved his capital to the Lower Volga region. There he established a capital. Khan founded Big City Saray-Batu (now a place near the village of Selitrennoye in the Astrakhan region). In 1251, a kurultai took place, where Mongke was elected emperor. Batu came to the capital Karakorum and supported the heir to the throne. Other pretenders were executed. Their lands were divided between Möngke and Chingizids (including Batu). The term "Golden Horde" itself appeared much later - in 1566, in the book "Kazan History", when this state itself had already ceased to exist. The self-name of this territorial entity was "Ulu Ulus", which means "Grand Duchy" in Turkic.
Years of the Golden Horde
Showing allegiance to Khan Möngke served Bat well. His ulus received greater autonomy. But the state gained full independence only after the death of Batu (1255), already during the reign of Khan Mengu-Timur, in 1266. But even then, nominal dependence on the Mongol Empire remained. This exorbitantly expanded ulus included Volga Bulgaria, Northern Khorezm, Western Siberia, Desht-i-Kipchak (steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube), the North Caucasus and the Crimea. By area public education comparable to the Roman Empire. Its southern edge was Derbent, and its northeastern limit was Isker and Tyumen in Siberia. In 1257, a brother ascended the throne of the ulus (ruled until 1266). He converted to Islam, but, most likely, for political reasons. Islam did not affect the broad masses of the Mongols, but it made it possible for the khan to attract Arab artisans and merchants from Central Asia and the Volga Bulgars to his side.
The Golden Horde reached its peak in the 14th century, when Uzbek Khan (1313-1342) ascended the throne. Under him, Islam became the state religion. After the death of Uzbek, the state began to experience an era feudal fragmentation. The campaign of Tamerlane (1395) drove the last nail into the coffin of this great but short-lived power.
End of the Golden Horde
In the 15th century, the state collapsed. Small independent principalities appeared: the Nogai Horde (the first years of the 15th century), Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan, Uzbek, central authority remained and continued to be considered supreme. But the days of the Golden Horde are over. The power of the successor became more and more nominal. This state was called the Great Horde. It was located in the Northern Black Sea region and extended to the Lower Volga region. The Great Horde ceased to exist only at the beginning of the sixteenth century, being absorbed
Rus and Ulus Jochi
The Slavic lands were not part of the Mongol Empire. What is the Golden Horde, the Russians could only judge by the extreme western ulus of Jochi. The rest of the empire and its metropolitan splendor remained out of sight of the Slavic princes. Their relations with the ulus of Jochi in certain periods were of a different nature - from partnership to openly slavish. But in most cases it was a typical feudal relationship between feudal lord and vassal. Russian princes came to the capital of the Jochi ulus, the city of Saray, and brought homage to the khan, receiving from him a "label" - the right to rule their state. The first to do this was in 1243. Therefore, the most influential and the first in subordination was the label on the Vladimir-Suzdal reign. From this during Tatar-Mongol yoke and the center of all Russian lands has shifted. They became the city of Vladimir.
"Terrible" Tatar-Mongol yoke
The history textbook for the sixth grade depicts the misfortunes that the Russian people endured under the occupiers. However, not everything was so sad. The princes first used the Mongols in the fight against their enemies (or pretenders to the throne). Such military support had to be paid for. Then, at the time, the princes had to give part of their income from taxes to the khan of the Jochi ulus - their lord. This was called the "horde exit". If the payment was delayed, bakauls arrived, who collected taxes themselves. But at the same time, the Slavic princes ruled the people, and his life flowed as before.
Peoples of the Mongol Empire
If we ask ourselves the question of what the Golden Horde is from the point of view of the political system, then there is no definite answer. At first it was a semi-military and semi-nomadic union of the Mongolian tribes. Very quickly - within one or two generations - the striking force of the conquering troops assimilated among the conquered population. Already at the beginning of the XIV century, the Russians called the Horde "Tatars". The ethnographic composition of this empire was very heterogeneous. Alans, Uzbeks, Kipchaks and other nomadic or sedentary peoples lived here permanently. The khans in every way encouraged the development of trade, crafts and the construction of cities. There was no discrimination based on nationality or religion. In the capital of the ulus - Sarai - in 1261 an Orthodox bishopric was even formed, the Russian diaspora was so numerous here.
About the history of the Golden Horde, its poetry and culture according to the transmission of the Russian Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Mongolian warriors, among them we see a detachment commander on a horse and a signalman on a camel.
Mongolian warriors, among them we see a detachment commander on a horse and a signalman on a camel. From the Mongolian site on history.
So, from the program about the history and poetry of the Golden Horde, released in December 2004 on the Russian Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The guest of the program was Ravil Bukharaev, a historian of the Golden Horde and a translator of its poets, below is the transmission in the text in a partial transcript of the site, you can listen to it in full in audio file:
Ravil Bukharaev tells about the origin of the Horde:
“The invasion of neighboring countries was Mongol. When the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, approached the Caspian Sea, they circumnavigated it in six months. Then, after that, they ran into the Russians on the (river) Kalka (May 31, 1223. Note site), already exhausted by this campaign around the entire Caspian, they were pure Mongols.
But later, when Genghis Khan no longer led the invasion of Russia and Europe (the new, second, invasion took place 13 years later Note .. by that time he had already died, the Chingizid princes took over the leadership. Batu was ahead, but he was far from Chief among the Genghisid princes was Guyuk (grandson of Genghis Khan. Note ..
The army that was formed at the time of the invasion of Russia and Europe was an army with a different composition. The Mongols occupied the central military positions there, but in fact this army was already Kipchak. And they should have been called not the Mongol-Tatars, but the Mongol-Kipchaks. Because it was the population of the Great Steppe, and the Kypchaks are the former Polovtsians from Russian legends.
There were no Tatars as such (there). Modern Kazan Tatars with the modern name of the people, their ethnonym, this is just the people that turned out as a result of ethnogenesis, in the process or something. Was Volga Bulgaria, which was part of the Golden Horde, and the population of Bulgaria mixed with the Kipchaks, of course, and also mixed with the Slavs, who converted to Islam.
Why Islam? After all, the army of Genghis Khan was not Muslim ...
The army of Genghis Khan was not even Buddhist. They were Tengrians - worshipers of the sky (i.e. shamanists. Note site), although among them were Nestorian Christians ( - one of the sects of the Christian church, formed in Byzantium. Note..
But when under Khan Berke (another grandson of Genghis Khan, ruled in 1257-1266, at the same time, the Mongolian state was divided into independent states founded by the descendants of Genghis Khan on the territory from Beijing to the Crimea. Note. site) the Golden Horde was founded, and there was a problem of choosing a faith, then Berke became a Muslim in order to establish diplomatic ties with the most powerful state of that time, and this was, of course, Fatimid Egypt (which had broken away from the Arab Caliphate by that time, and the Caliphate itself in Baghdad, a century later, it also fell under the rule of the Turkic tribes under the nominal rule of the Caliph, who became only the spiritual ruler of the faithful.The Caliphate was put to an end by the Mongols who took Baghdad in 1258. After that, the Turks, in particular, the Ottomans, always stood at the head of the Muslim world. ).
Later, these two states - the Golden Horde and Fatimid Egypt were friends for a century, and together repelled the raids of ... whom? Mongolian Ilkhans in Persia. The Mongol army, the state and the people by that time had already split into parts, including (the dynasty) in Persia, and the Golden Horde. They were, it would seem, because of one people, but they became terrible rivals around the Silk Road, as well as in the Caspian and the Caucasus. Under Khan Berke, the Horde begins to become a Muslim state, and already, somewhere under Khan Uzbek, it becomes a major Muslim civilization. The Oguz-Kypchak language was the language of the Golden Horde. He, of course, was a Turkic language. (Along with the Turkic language, the Mongols adopted the script of the Turkic Uighurs as the script for the Mongolian language, which has always been preserved in historical Mongolia. Approx. Site).
(The Mongol Empire was, contrary to popular belief, not only a nomadic, but also a huge settled power. It had a hundred cities ) ... Some of them are still standing. Most of the Volga cities stand on the ruins of the Golden Horde cities. This is preserved in their names. Saratov is Saratau ("Yellow Mountain"). Tsaritsyn was named very wittily from Sarysa, a Turkic name. Samara, Kamyshin, Kazan, Urgench, and, of course, the cities of Crimea were also cities of the Horde.
In addition to what we are talking about, the legacy of the Golden Horde remains in the names of many famous people(in Russia). For example, Rachmaninov. His surname comes from Rahman, translated as "The Gracious". Derzhavin comes from Bogrim-Murza, who directly left the Golden Horde. And Karamzin's ancestors were called Kara-Murzins. Among Russian families, especially those of the nobility, there are a myriad of clans that at one time left the Golden Horde ...
The largest cities of the Horde were Sarai-Batu (not far from the current Astrakhan) and Sarai-Berke (not far from the present Volgograd, on the Akhtuba River). They were on the rivers. These were cities in which there were mosques, Orthodox churches. There was an Orthodox Bishop of Sarai Peter. There were Catholic churches and synagogues. Craftsmen, scribes-bureaucrats, and poets lived in the shed cities. These were trade and craft cities. For merchants there were incredibly good conditions. The Golden Horde khans observed their own laws very strictly. Protecting the roads and securing trade was one of the top priorities.
From there, “pits” appeared in Russia, that is, inns, from there coachmen. From there appeared (in Russia) regular mail. The merchant had to pay only three percent of the customs duty in order to pass through the entire territory of the Golden Horde, and this is from the Crimea, from Feodosia, to the Irtysh and Aral Sea. After payment, they received a paiza tablet - silver or copper, and no one else dared to take any requisitions from the merchant.
Horde cities were made of stone. When asked where these cities have gone? Until the 16th century, these cities were still dismantled and broken into bricks. Horde brick was the best, the so-called. "mama brick". Many Volga cities were built from this brick. Rachmaninoff's music... is a longing for the will, which is dissolved in the idea of this great state," the program said.
During the program, Ravil Bukharaev read several of his translations from Turkic love lyrics Golden Horde poets. It is interesting that military themes were not popular in the Golden Horde poetry, because. the Mongol army was usually, according to Ravil Bukharaev, always either on a campaign or in military camps, and was separated from the cities, not interested in poetry.
Golden Horde poetry included many ethnic Turkic poets who lived in the cities of Central Asia conquered by the Golden Horde. Ravil Bukharaev cites one of the poems of the Central Asian Turkic Golden Horde poet about the need to learn devotion to God from Catholic Christians. (It is interesting that after the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in Constantinople in 1261 and, accordingly, the defeat by the Byzantines of the Latin Empire, founded by the Crusaders in this city 57 years earlier, some Catholic knights remained to live in the Anatolia region - the suburbs of Constantinople, the border of Byzantium, It was no longer controlled by it, among the Seljuk Turks paying tribute to the Mongols. Note that thanks to the Mongols, Anatolia was freed from the influence of the Arab Caliphate, but the Mongols did not conquer the truncated Byzantium. The knights, at first, were in no hurry to return to Europe, but also to Byzantium also never returned, where for another two centuries, until the Ottoman conquest, the Byzantine rule historical dynasty Palaiologov - a dynasty that ruled from Thrace under the Latins - the border of present-day Bulgaria and Greece; the area known at the time of the loss of Constantinople by the Palaiologoi and as the Empire of Nicaea).
Also on this topic:
(The boss has arrived)
Moscow network community in last days excited by the discovery of the book of the Khakass scientist Tyundeshev "The Great Khan Batu - the founder of the Russian statehood." But the title of the book correctly reflects the essence - the management of Russia is still carried out according to the System laid down in the Golden Horde (from Confucian legality to the veneration of the Chief).
The fact that the remains of Kievan Rus and the Golden Horde existed in a kind of symbiosis is the basis of not only the Eurasian theory (which arose in the first third of the 20th century), but also the worldview system of many Russian historians. Therefore, Gennady Alexandrovich Tyundeshev (Kharamoos), Associate Professor of the Institute of History and Law of the Khakass state university them. N.F. Katanova, a candidate of legal sciences, only systematized these theories in her book.
The state created by Khan Batu still exists, although the state language is now Russian (a mixture of Slavic and Turkic), the language of the founder of the Russian Empire is reminded of the terms in the names of institutions of state power and law such as: treasury, customs, law, money, Boyar Duma, Yamskaya service, punishment, guard, etc. Thanks to Khan Batu, the warriors and shepherds of the steppes became residents of cities - officials, merchants, industrialists, artisans, land owners and farmers, builders of roads, caravanserais, hospitals and schools. In Russian, the following words remind us of this: book, pencil, teacher, scientist, hour, etc.
The Russian (Muscovite) proto-state was the same part of the Horde as the Crimean, Kazan, Astrakhan khanates, the Uzbek ulus, on the ruins of which the Nogai Horde arose, the Kazakh and Siberian on the Tobol, the Khiva khanates. De jure, Russia finally got out of the control of the Horde only in early XVIII century, when Peter I stopped paying tribute to the Crimean Khanate (the most powerful fragment of the Horde until that time). Those. from that moment on, Russia becomes the sole legal successor of the Horde.
Russia began to pay tribute to the Sarai khans, for which it had a merchant fleet on the Volga, a religious residence in Sarai, and the release of the Russian Orthodox Church from all types of taxes. For its part, Russia had in the face of the metropolis, which was the Golden Horde for it, spiritual and military support in numerous wars with its northwestern neighbors, such as the Kingdom of Sweden and the German Teutonic Order, Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Hungary. Galician Rus, Volyn, Chernihiv and other principalities that were outside the patronage of the Golden Horde. Thus, the choice of Prince Alexander Nevsky, the winner of the Swedes and Teutons, the adopted son and favorite of Batu Khan, was apparently made on the basis of the theory of the least evil, in favor of symbiosis with the Golden Horde. And this choice was approved by the people and consecrated by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the canonization of Alexander Nevsky as an Orthodox saint is a clear confirmation of this.
Other prominent figures of Russia of the Golden Horde era of subsequent generations adhered to this choice, for example, the Moscow prince Ivan Kalita, which was duly appreciated by the Horde authorities when, after the suppression of the anti-Horde uprising in Tver, for active participation in this act, Kalita became the Grand Duke of All Russia by the will of the Golden Horde khan.
Today's Russia was not formed on the soil of Kievan Rus, which broke up into eight sovereign states back in the 12th century, a century before the appearance of the "Mongols", not in competition with the Horde, with whom Russians had no friction on religious or cultural grounds, and at the same time time there was mutual interest in connection with the need to protect the western borders. Russia arose on a completely new Moscow soil, which was an organic part of the Golden Horde statehood; it grew out of Muscovy's rivalry with the khanates that were previously part of the Golden Horde, for the right to inherit the decaying great state.
The traditions of the Golden Horde have long been rooted in the life of Russia. Many laws and elements of the culture of the Golden Horde were so strong that they existed not only in the era of the German tsars of Russia, but also survived to this day.
Here is what historian M.G. Khudyakov writes about this: “ State system introduced by the conquerors defeated country, represented the height of deliberation and discipline in comparison with the patriarchal way of life that existed in Russia before the Tatars. The "Asian" heritage was a matter of pride, not condemnation. It was an organic element of Russian life: the Russian language and culture are simply saturated with Turkic borrowings.
Moscow, as a center for the formation of Russian statehood, unlike Suzdal, Vladimir or Novgorod, emerged directly from the Golden Horde environment. And not so much due to the collection of taxes, but because she adopted many of the "Tatar" laws and political traditions.
The language of the Moscow bureaucracy was a certain meta-Turkic language - a transliterated copy of the Turko-Tatar formulas and forms. Apparently, the Moscow bureaucratic papers followed a certain Horde format, right down to their artistic design.
The clerical language of the Golden Horde was Turkic, written first in Uyghur script and then in Arabic script. Almost instantly, it became the language of interethnic communication throughout the Ulus of Jochi. Russian scribes knew both the Turkic language and Arabic script. This is confirmed by numerous finds of Arabic script on documents and objects of Russian life of those years, made by Russian craftsmen, and even a completely natural transition from Russian to Turkic in “Journey Beyond Three Seas” by the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin.
There was also a collegial body of popular representation in the Golden Horde - the so-called kurultai. The sons of the khan, his closest relatives (princes), widows of the khans, emirs, noyons, temniks, etc. took part in it. The will of the khan, his decision at the kurultai were final and indisputable. Today, its almost complete analogue is the State Duma.
Prince and historian N.S. Trubetskoy wrote in his writings that “the Russian tsar was the heir of the Mongol khan. "Overthrow Tatar yoke» came down to replacement Tatar Khan Orthodox tsar and to the transfer of the khan's headquarters to Moscow. The conclusion is unexpected from the point of view of textbooks familiar to us, but the events of subsequent Russian history directly indicate its validity.
We present an excerpt from Tyundeshev's book "The Great Khan Batu - the founder of Russian statehood", in which he describes the elements of the Horde statehood, which not only survived to Putin's "vertical of power" and "sovereign statehood", but also became their basis.
“From the reign of Khan Udegei, Chinese influence began on the system of government, the substitution of law by Confucianism.
The Turkic-Mongolian state began to be dominated by “the type of society that existed in China and was supported in every possible way for centuries, and corresponds to what Confucianism proposed. The cell of society is a family with a hierarchical organization and almost absolute power of the head of the family. The community and the state itself must conform to this model of the family and avoid any significant interference in the wide range of affairs assigned to it. The resident of the community was supposed to strictly follow the rites corresponding to the status that the resident has in the community. Compliance with rituals prescribed by custom replaced law-abiding in China.
In this static concept of society, the main principles were: filial love, submission to the highest in the hierarchy, the prohibition of any excesses and indignations. In the Chinese concept, the law plays a secondary role, mainly repressive. “In the 7th century, Emperor Kang Shi openly declared: “The number of lawsuits will increase unprecedentedly if people are not afraid to go to courts, hoping to easily find justice there ... Half of our subjects will not be enough to resolve the disputes of the other half. Therefore, I demand that those who apply to the courts be dealt with ruthlessly, so that they feel disgusted with the law and tremble with fear at the mere thought of being brought before a judge.
Therefore, these historical factors exacerbated the dislike of the law. In addition, there are other factors, “among them in the foreground is the poor (deliberately bad) organization of justice, which does not bother the authorities at all.
The official who is entrusted with administering justice is very far from the litigants, since, according to general rule, he is invited to this post from another province and therefore does not know local dialects and customs well. His employees, with whom the litigants deal directly, are corrupt. They deliberately delay the process, because they feed on it. The treatment of litigants is humiliating, and the outcome of the process is always doubtful. “Process won is money lost,” says the popular saying.
All this encourages the Chinese to bypass the courts and resolve disputes through out-of-court procedures.” In other words, for Chinese society, laws are not a normal means of resolving conflicts between people. “Laws, from the position of Confucianism, have no meaning for the improvement of society, the fewer of them, the better, the appeal to justice is immoral, and all these postulates are firmly entrenched in the public mind,” starting from the Golden Horde (Russia) and up to the modern Russian Federation .
“We highly appreciate, for example, the Russian revolutionary democrats of the 19th century (Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov, etc.), their critical judgments about the legal institutions of law tsarist Russia are fair. However, in their system of views, no positive role is assigned to law; they do not see it as an important factor in social transformations, the formation of democratic institutions. Accordingly, the influence that these authors had on public consciousness(and this influence was significant), did not contribute to understanding the value of law, its prestige, the development of legal consciousness.
This is where the fundamental difference between Russia and the West comes from. on Confucianism. Hence, Russians to this day among the people have a negative attitude towards the law, expressed in the proverb: “the law, whatever you breathe, wherever you blow, it went there” and disbelief in justice, christened “Basman justice”.
The roots of this attitude to law lead to the Golden Horde (Russia). After the death of Genghis Khan, there was a departure from what he proposed - "a society built on the law" (Great Yasa). Instead, legality was replaced by Confucianism, and in Russia it took root well and is still alive. The vitality of Confucianism, incorporated in the Golden Horde (Russia) and its adaptability in different historical periods was and is.
Here, as an example, we point out the Slavophilism that developed in the middle of the last century. So, “one of the active Slavophiles I. Aksakov Jr. wrote: “Look at the West. The peoples were carried away by vainglorious motives, they believed in the possibility of governmental perfection, they created republics, set up constitutions - and became impoverished in soul, ready to collapse at any moment. All this does not suit Russia.
The poet of the last century had every reason to depict the position of the Slavophiles with the following lines: “Russians are broad in nature. Our truth is the ideal. It does not fit into the forms of narrow legal principles. It so happened historically that Russian society and the state have long been distinguished by a lack of law and legal awareness. The ideology of Slavophilism is both a reflection and justification of this. The approaches characteristic of it are quite tenacious, and in one form or another they met more than once later.
Another example is the views of L.N. Tolstoy. His opposing formula “one must live not according to the law, but according to conscience” is not accidental. The dislike of law that marked Tolstoy the writer became even deeper in the late Tolstoy, the moralist, who called law "a vile deceit" and jurisprudence "talk about law."
If L. Tolstoy’s opposition of spiritual principles and conscience to law and law is accompanied by a frank “destruction” of these latter, then Russian philosophers of the early twentieth century (N. Berdyaev, P. Struve and others) do not have such open criticism, but the logic of reasoning leads to a very legally unattractive conclusions.
We emphasize once again that such an attitude to law in Russia still exists. This is one of the proofs that Batu Khan is the founder of the Russian state. From the very first days of his reign of the Golden Horde (Russia), Batu Khan began to strengthen the state from the inside. New postal and caravan roads were opened and old ones were restored. Cities destroyed during the war were rebuilt. Quite quickly for such a vast state, the administrative apparatus and its structure, with financial and tax systems, were formed.
"BUSINESS Online" continues to publish chapters from the new book by Rafael Khakimov "What is it like to be a Tatar?". Part 16
It is quite natural to consider Tatars as Tatar-speaking. But it was not there. There are different opinions in the scientific literature on this matter. Some experts consider the early Tatars to be Mongol-speaking, without any reason, the director of the Institute of History named after. Marjani Rafael Khakimov.
“I ASKED TO BRING ME DOCUMENTS IN MONGOLIAN. THEY DID NOT APPEAR. ALL DOCUMENTS ARE WRITTEN IN TATAR»
The truth should be presented as a coat is served, and not thrown in the face like a wet towel.
Mark Twain
One of the historiographical stereotypes claims that the Golden Horde had two state languages: Mongolian and one more... Here everyone stumbles, trying to find the right variant and not call it Tatar. Moreover, there is no doubt about the first language: since the empire is Mongolian, it means that the language is Mongolian. And with the second, amazing adventures begin, where the imagination of scientists works to its fullest.
I am a physicist by education, and the traditions of historiography do not touch me much, at least they do not determine approaches to the study of history. Therefore, I asked our specialists to bring me documents in Mongolian. They did not appear. All documents are written in Tatar. And how do you like it?
The question arises, because scientists are serious people, they had to rely on something in their conclusions about the Mongolian language. Indeed, in 1930, on the left bank of the Volga near the village of Ternovka, a manuscript was found on birch bark dating from the beginning of the 14th century. It is written in the Uyghur alphabet mostly in Mongolian, less in Uyghur. Some put an end to this, others still continue. The birch bark scroll contains lyrical verses. This single case, for some, serves as an argument in favor of the prevalence of the Mongolian language among the Tatars, including the Khan's administration. Agree, this is not a document, but poetry, moreover, on birch bark. The khan's office had both paper and parchment.
Photo: archive.gov.tatarstan.ru
It turned out that everyone refers to the same author - A.P. Grigorieva, which builds everything on a single quote from the message Plano Carpini: “... We brought a letter and asked to give us interpreters who could translate it. They were given to us ... And together with them we carefully transferred the letter to the Russian and Saracen scripts and to the Tatar scripts; this translation was presented to Batu, and he read it and carefully noted it." This quote is followed by the following statement: “So, during the time of the first Golden Horde Khan Batu (1227–1255), the Golden Horde office conducted office work in the Mongolian language.” Such a conclusion is drawn from the arbitrary identification of the Tatars with the Mongols, although nothing prevents us from assuming that Batu read Tatar, because Carpini explicitly says that the text was translated into Tatar. To suggest that Batu could read in the Tatar language did not occur to any of the historians. Since Batu allegedly read in Mongolian, it means that the language of the Horde was Mongolian. This statement has become generally accepted, scientists simply refer to Grigoriev as an authoritative researcher of the Golden Horde documents. This is how false history is made.
Of the entire cohort of reputable scientists, the exception wasMirkasym Usmanov, who did not see any reason to consider the early court documents of the Jochids as Mongol-speaking, especially their language cannot be judged from Russian translations, as Grigoriev does. How can you guess in a Russian document that it was translated from Mongolian? According to supposedly "Mongolian" terminology? But after all, the Mongolian language was under the strongest influence of the Tatar language. It was not the Tatars who borrowed the terminology from the Mongols, but, on the contrary, it migrated from the Tatar to the Mongolian language, which is proven by linguists.
No less interesting is the situation with the Tatar language in the Golden Horde. It would seem that it is quite natural to consider the Tatars as Tatar-speaking, but that was not the case. There are different opinions in the scientific literature on this matter. Some experts consider the early Tatars to be Mongol-speaking, without any reason.
Prev the position on the Mongol-speaking Tatars is based on the opinion that the Mongols, of course, spoke only Mongolian, but it is necessary, they say, to deal with the Tatars. Why not assume otherwise? It is impossible to exclude the knowledge of the Tatar language by the medieval Mongols. Thus, according to the text of the Secret History, it is clear that Genghis Khan freely communicates with representatives of the obviously Turkic-speaking Onguts (“White Tatars”), Karluks, and Uighurs. This does not mean that everyone around spoke Mongolian, it is logical to assume that Genghis Khan, being from the "black Tatars", knew his native language.
Some researchers claim the existence of a mixed Tatar-Mongolian pidgin in the Middle Ages, although there is no information about this.
An extensive literature arose around the language of the Golden Horde, trying to find influence on the Tatars not only of the Mongolian, but also of the Uyghur, Kypchak, Karakhanid, Karluk, Chagatai dialects, called official language Oguz-Kypchak, Khorezm-Volga, Volga-Golden Horde, Turks or Turkic.
In books, writers and artists always draw Tatars slanted, and in films they speak Kazakh for some reason, and the Tatars and Mongols of the Golden Horde are not at all like modern Mongols.Lev Gumilyovwrites: “The ancient Mongols were, according to the testimony of chroniclers and finds of frescoes in Manchuria, a tall, bearded, fair-haired and blue-eyed people ... Temujin is tall and majestic in stature, with a broad forehead and a long beard. The personality is militant and strong. That's what makes him different from others." Despite the testimony of the chroniclers, in all the portraits Genghis Khan is depicted as a typical Mongoloid, with rare exceptions. In the Chinese drawing of the 13th - 14th centuries, which depicts Genghis Khan during a falconry, he is clearly not canonical.
"THE DESIRE TO CALL THE LANGUAGE OF THE HORDE CHAGATAI, TURKIC CAN BE EXPLAINED BY ONLY ONE REASON..."
The transformation of Tatars into Mongols has become a historiographical tradition. At the same time, all sources unanimously speak of the Tatar language, which was written in the Golden Horde. In the "Letter on the way of life of the Tatars" by the Dominican missionary Juliana(1238) there is the following evidence of the message of the Khan of the Golden Horde to the King of Hungary: "The message is written in a pagan script, but in the Tatar language." We are talking about a runic letter, which was used in the Golden Horde.
Each language has its own native speaker - a certain people. The spoken Tatar language of the Middle Ages differed from the clerical and literary ones, and the spoken language in its details could also differ from territory to territory. Nevertheless, the language is tied to the people and their state, unless, of course, it is a dead language like Latin. The desire to call the language of the Horde Chagatai, Turkic, etc. can be explained by only one reason - the desire not to call it Tatar. There are proposals to call the official language of the Golden Horde Old Tatar or, as a compromise, Turko-Tatar. There is no need for this, because it can be unmistakably called the Tatar language of office work!
Who has a country, he has a language.
Tatar proverb
"GARVARD UNIVERSITY PROPOSED US TO HOLD A FORUM WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF MINTIMER SHAIMIEV»
It's great that America was discovered, but it would be much more wonderful if Columbus sailed by.
Mark Twain
In 1994, after the signing of the famous Treaty between Moscow and Kazan, the reputation of Tatarstan began to grow, although some newspapers like The Washington Post called us the island of "communism." Then Harvard University suggested that we hold a forum withMintimer Shaimiev. Presidents of many countries, famous politicians spoke at this forum. Quite a prestigious event where university professors and numerous journalists can ask any questions, while there is a live broadcast on cable television. Of course, there were those in our presidential staff who dissuaded Shaimiev from going, they say, not on your level, but in the end, Mintimer Sharipovich decided and we flew to Boston.
I have already written about the political side of this event. Let me tell you about the historical part: the forum was opened by the famous American SlavistEdward Kinnan. He is a notorious historian, hated by many Russian scientists, since he wrote for many years that The Tale of Igor's Campaign was a forgery of the 18th century, falsified by a Czech linguist.Yosef Dobrovsky. I remember that his thick and solid book, which was still in print, had critical articles in Russia even before it was published.
Kinnan wrote his doctoral thesis on the Kazan Khanate and the relationship between Kazan and Moscow. Opening the forum, he said that he was faced with a difficult task - to tell about the 500-year history of the Tatars in five minutes. There we met. Later, while in Washington, I went to see him at the old Dumbarton Oaks mansion in the suburbs of the American capital, Georgetown. It is known as the largest center of Byzantine studies. There is a park adjacent to it. The estate, along with a park and museum of Byzantine art and pre-Columbian civilization, is managed by a trustee of Harvard University. Kinnan, as a trustee, sat in the historic office where the Charter of the League of Nations (UN) was drafted and adopted.
I had to talk about his doctoral dissertation for publication in Kazan and about the concept of the IV volume of "History of the Tatars from ancient times." We walked around the park and talked about various topics. By the way, he was aware of all the affairs in Tatarstan, said latest news from the Internet. His Russian was simply brilliant, without the slightest accent.
He did not dare to publish his doctoral dissertation in Russian, explaining that at one time he lacked many of the materials that are now in circulation: Russian is not allowed. Nevertheless, his idea of the clan structure of the Tatar khanates became an accepted story. He once noted in an interview that the clan system has not yet been eliminated in Russia.
To a greater extent, I was worried about the "History of the Tatars ...", especially Volume IV, dedicated to the Tatar khanates. There was no clarity with the boundaries of this period. He asked:
What year do you want to complete the fourth volume?
I replied:
Naturally, in 1552.
Will not work.
Why?
The Tatar factor disappears from the world stage only with the fall of the Crimean Khanate.
But that where we get into Russian history.
Where are you going...
So he summed up our conversation and explained that the post-Golden Horde period was a time of fragile alliances between Moscow, Kazan and Crimea. All three players fought for the Horde heritage.
All Russian historiography, which is trying to prove that the Russians fought the Golden Horde, is a lie: the Russians were loyal to the existing government and did not think about secession, but they dreamed of moving the capital from Saray to Moscow. And in this, the Russians were helped by a part of the Tatars who settled in Moscow back in the time of Daniel. Moscow was originally semi-Tatar. It was constantly replenished with Tatars looking for a better life, career growth, or simply adventurers.
There was absolutely no need for us to get the Tatars into Russian history (and even with criticism), this would inevitably create an unhealthy political situation. But, fortunately for us, there were enough Moscow objective authors. They wrote the most complex pages in Russian-Tatar relations. In addition, Russian historians had problems in their ranks, such concepts appeared in the historical field that the Tatars had no time for.
We did the same with Khazar Khaganate. Moscow specialists wrote about the Khazars. After the release of the first volume, where a lot was said about the Khazars, a representative of the Jewish community of Kazan approached me and expressed his opinion:
We have read the first volume. Yes. Everything is written about the Khazars correctly.
So yours also wrote ...
Thank you.
Listen to someone else's advice, but live with your own mind.
One of the hallmarks of a great nation is its ability to rise to its feet after a fall. No matter how hard his humiliation may be, but the appointed hour will strike, he will gather his confused moral forces and embody them in one great person or several great people, who will lead him to the straight historical path he has temporarily abandoned.
V. Klyuchevsky
In September 1980, the Soviet people celebrated the 600th anniversary with great pomp. Not a single magazine or newspaper remained aloof from this event, which was important for Russian history. But, before starting a story about the events of the Kulikovo field, it is necessary to make a few observations, because the battle of 1380 is the result of a large historical process that took place over several centuries.
If we take a general look at the medieval history of Eastern Europe, we will first have to pay attention to the complex and contradictory relations and the struggle between two superethnoi - the Turks and the Slavs.
First, after the collapse Great Bulgaria Kubrat Khan in the steppes of Eastern Europe there is only one state created by the Turks. This is the Khazar Khaganate. The struggle between the Khazar Khaganate and Kievan Rus ends with the victory of Prince Svyatoslav in 965.
Secondly, from the end of the 10th century (since 990), a desperate struggle began between Kievan Rus and the union of the Pechenegs, who penetrated the steppes of Eastern Europe. But soon this struggle stops. The fact is that at the beginning of the 11th century, the Kypchaks, having separated from the Kimak Kaganate, were heading west. They penetrate the steppes, where the Pechenegs ruled. The fight for a place under the sun begins. Strong and numerous Kipchak tribes are driving the Pechenegs out of the Eastern European steppes and forcing them to retreat to the west - to the Danube steppes.
Thirdly, the Kipchaks who took the place of the Pechenegs, in turn, begin to fight against Kievan Rus (in 1061, Prince Vsevolod was defeated by the Kipchaks). The struggle continues for quite a long time, and only during the reign of a strong prince (he died in 1125), the activity of the Kypchak tribes subsides somewhat.
Russian princes in the internecine struggle often attract the Kipchak tribes and deftly use them in their own interests. They marry their sons to the daughters of high-ranking Kypchaks - this is how family relationships are established and nepotism appears. Despite this, tense relations remain between the Turks - the Kipchaks and the Russians. (For example, the campaigns of the Russian princes against the Kypchaks in 1168, 1182, 1184, 1202, 1205 speak just about this). Such an unceasing struggle is explained by the fact that the Kipchaks of the steppe make constant attacks and unexpected attacks on the Russian princes. The Kypchaks live unorganized. They take the side of one or the other prince and participate in many clashes.
If at this time the Russian princes are competing to occupy the “golden Kyiv table”, that is, to ascend the main throne in the glorious city of Kyiv, then among the Kipchaks there is no idea of uniting, accumulating forces and on this basis organizing something like their own statehood. Therefore, the Kipchaks, who broke into the steppes of Eastern Europe with all their might in the middle of the 11th century, do not have a common idea that would serve as a unifying principle for them.
They fight with anyone, serve anyone, and each khan cares only about his own interests. And naturally, in such an environment, their original powerful energy is wasted for nothing and without benefit to themselves. It must be said that during this period in the steppes of Eastern Europe the Turkic massif increased much, and this circumstance would still play a positive role during the formation of the Golden Horde.
In 1223, the Mongol army breaks into the steppes of Eastern Europe, and from that time on, the ethnic groups living here are experiencing great trials and changes. In the first battle on the Kalka River, the united Russian-Kypchak army came out against the enemy. But the Mongols win the battle. According to the historian Rizaetdin Fakhretdin, “Jochi Khan (the son of Genghis Khan) broke through the Derbent passage to the Eastern European steppes in order to enter into an alliance with the Kypchak Turks.
But because of the instigation of the Russian princes, the Kypchaks and mountaineers opposed the army of Jochi Khan (1223,). I must say, at the most crucial moment, the Russian regiments left the battlefield, and for this reason the Kipchaks were defeated, and their tribal union broke up ”(Fakhretdin R. Khans of the Golden Horde. - Kazan, 1996. - P. 75-76).
Indeed, this seems to be true, because before the start of the battle, the Mongols, having sent a man to the Kipchaks, tried to persuade them not to join the battle, citing the fact that the Mongols and Kipchaks are blood brothers. This is also reflected in the sources.
Returning from the Kalkin battle, the Mongol army also enters the lands located somewhat away from the steppe, but here it was defeated by the Bulgars; about four thousand people fled. And thirteen years later, a large Mongol army, having crossed the Yaik River, began to conquer the states of Eastern Europe.
So, in 1236 the Volga Bulgaria was conquered, in 1237 - Ryazan, Moscow and the Vladimir principality. Two years later, the city of Kyiv, glorious with its gilded domes, falls into the hands of the Mongols, then the Mongol army captures Galicia, Volhynia, Poland, Silesia, Moravia, Hungary, and in 1242 even reaches the walls of Vienna.
After formidable campaigns in 1243, the Dzhuchiev ulus was formed in the steppe Volga region, later called the Golden Horde.
Turks and Mongols
In the army that came from the east, along with the Mongol element, the lion's share was made up of the Turks. Of course, the khans were of Mongolian origin, they were all Genghisides. But in the army, representatives of the Turkic tribes were in the majority, and this gives us the right to call the campaigns Mongol-Turkic. True, in Russian historical science few people pay attention to this, the expression “Mongols” or “Tatar-Mongols” is accepted there.
But the truth is more precious. In addition, after the formation of the Golden Horde, the Mongols in the Turkic environment became Turkic in two generations. This is an established fact. So the campaigns that gave the world new incentives that contributed to the mixing of blood are not an accidental phenomenon. The activities of great commanders, such as Genghis Khan or Alexander the Great and others, would hardly have been possible without the sanction of heaven. There are clear indications of this in esoteric sources.
The formation of the Golden Horde unites within the framework of one state the scattered ethnic groups living in the steppes and for many centuries sedentary peoples have been arguing with each other. If we evaluate objectively, this is, without a doubt, a manifestation of progress. Of course, a lot of blood is shed in wars, spiritual and material values are destroyed. But doesn't the creation of the new, the rise to a new stage of development, take place through the rejection of the old, which has become obsolete? This is the basic law of evolution.
In the book of N.K. Roerich "The Power of Light" there is an interesting idea about this. He writes: “The great migrations of peoples are not an accident. There can be no accidents in world constant phenomena. This feature tempers the most vital forces of peoples. In contact with new neighbors, consciousness expands and the forms of new races are forged. Therefore, living mobility is one of the signs of wisdom ”(Roerich N.K. Power of Light. - New York, 1931. - P. 155).
Development and regression of the Mongol horde
But another researcher, close in spirit to Roerich, writes about nomads: “Nomads broke into the Eurasian expanses when the ancient civilizations of settled farmers were already dying. Like ocean waves, they swept across the Planet, carrying in themselves the energy that then nourished countless generations of various peoples ”(Shaposhnikova L.V. Decrees of the Cosmos. - M., 1996. - P. 43).
What is the meaning of the Mongol-Turkic campaigns? To answer this question, first of all, it is necessary to find out what this phenomenon gives evolutionary development. Let's imagine Eastern Europe at that time. What is the state of the Russian principalities at this time? I must say, at this time they are waging internecine wars among themselves - development has stopped, everyone is passionate about the struggle for power. And the Mongol-Turkic campaigns bring unprecedented movement and fresh winds to this musty world. Having joined the Golden Horde, Russians get acquainted with a new state structure, new laws, a new military system, learn new methods of administration, tax collection, discover new ways of communication between parts of the state (pits). New trade routes appear, and so on.
Aren't all these innovations a move forward, a new round of progress? If so, then the great movement of peoples, the great campaigns, as a result of which the Golden Horde was formed, must be considered as a result of the influence of external forces, because the cosmos is constantly working to advance humanity along the path of evolution, but never interferes unnecessarily in the affairs of the earth, everything made by human hands. Therefore, people do not feel it, they think that it happened by itself.
We have already said that even before the Mongol-Turkic campaigns in the steppes of Eastern Europe, an array of Kypchak tribes intensified, that they became the main rivals of the Slavs in this region. And with the formation of the Golden Horde, these steppes generally turned into the Kypchak steppe, and it went down in history under the name Deshti Kypchak. Thus, the Kipchaks become the main ethnic group here, and the Mongols, as already mentioned, are assimilated. The Turks are turning into not only the ruling, but also the state-forming people. Of course, the Volga Bulgaria also did not remain aloof from this process. It can be considered that the "Tatarization" of the Bulgars began precisely in this period.
Finally, I met a source that clarifies this question to some extent. In No. 7, 8 of the Miras (Heritage) magazine for 1996, Ibn al-Athir's work entitled "Excellence in the Compilation of Chronicles" was published. At source we are talking about the reign of Berke Khan, the arrival of ambassadors from Egypt and their reception in the Khan's yurt are described. “Berke Khan sits on the throne, next to him is his eldest wife, then 50-60 emirs are seated on the benches. When the envoys entered the khan, Berke Khan ordered the viziers to read out the letter... The senior Qadi standing next to Berke Khan translated the letter and gave the list to the Khan (what kind of list is unclear. - S.Sh.). The letter began to be read to the people of Berke Khan in Turkic. The Tatars were very happy about this ... ”(Miras. - 1996. - No. 7-8. - P. 189).
I must say that the last sentence contains very valuable information. This means that from the very beginning of the formation of the Golden Horde (the first Khan Batu died in 1255), the Turkic Tatars took an active part in the government of the state. Of course, we cannot say exactly how many of those emirs who participated in the reception of the ambassadors were from the Turko-Tatars. However, attention is drawn to the fact that the letter that arrived with the ambassador was specially translated for the Turkic Tatars, which made them very happy. This fact suggests that the Genghis Khans of the Golden Horde also relied on the Turkic Tatars in governing the state, so the transformation of the Turkic language into the official language of the state in a short time was a natural phenomenon.
Thus, the Turks who became part of the Golden Horde, living in a continuous Kypchak language environment, are drawn into a single center in socio-political, economic and cultural relations and create mutual language, culture and literature.
Being a living organism, a changing system, the Golden Horde is also going through different times. But this state reaches the greatest power and great authority in the world in (1312-1342). At this time, its political influence, high standard of living, well-established economy and developed culture reach such heights that it becomes a role model for neighboring states. It was during this period that Islam became the official religion. From various points of the Muslim world, religious figures, famous scientists and writers flock to Saray.
The well-known Muslim traveler Ibn Batutta, who passed through the lands of the Golden Horde during these years, notes peace and prosperity in the state, the safety of roads, the presence of many caravanserais and khanakas along the way, in which Sufis and dervishes live. On the way, the traveler meets with a huge procession with hundreds of yurts, walking, filling half of the steppe. As it turns out later, it was a procession accompanying one of the wives of Uzbek Khan. Such luxury and breadth surprised him greatly.
However, it was during the reign of Uzbek Khan that prosperity, untold wealth flowing to the center of the state, high authority and diplomatic successes caused dizziness and calmness. People begin to live for their own pleasure, receiving only pleasure from life and not thinking about anything. Naturally, such behavior does not lead to good. It is known that if you think that you have achieved everything, and calmed down on this, know that you are lost. This means that development has stopped.
Uzbek Khan also granted many privileges to the Russian principalities subject to him. At one time, Rizaetdin Fakhretdin also drew attention to this. Assessing the activities of this khan, he simultaneously points out his mistakes. He writes: “Undoubtedly, Uzbek Khan was an outstanding ruler, under whom the Golden Horde reached unprecedented prosperity and power in politics. It lies in the fact that, by reinforcing Muscovy and without realizing it, he gradually prepared a serious enemy against the Golden Horde. Uzbek Khan eliminated the constantly warring small principalities and brought them together. For this reason, the Russians felt their strength ”(Fakhretdin R. Khans of the Golden Horde. - Kazan, 1996. - P. 95). Moreover, Uzbek Khan gives the Metropolitan of Russia Peter, the Orthodox religion, unlimited liberties, frees the monastery lands from paying an annual tribute (yasak). According to the same R. Fakhretdin, in the label of the khan, given in defense of the Orthodox religion, there were the following words: “If anyone defames the Christian religion, utters insulting words against churches, monasteries and chapels, that person will be executed.”
Of course, every nation has every right to profess its religion, adhere to its customs and rules of life. In this regard, there was unlimited freedom of religion and tolerance in the Golden Horde, each religion had equal rights, was not oppressed in any way, which turned the state into one of the most advanced. Visiting guests and ambassadors from different countries paid attention to this feature. They were extremely surprised by such freedom in the choice of faith, which in their own countries they could not even dream of. All this suggests that, apparently, in the Golden Horde there was no proper understanding that religion is one of the strongest types of ideological weapons.
Let's turn to the Orthodox religion. If the khans saw this religion as a strong ideological weapon directed against the Muslim Tatars, if they understood that this religion contributes to the unification of the Russian people and at the same time is in the hands of the clergy a strong means of instilling hostility towards Muslims among the people, they would hardly have given it so many freedoms. The Russian people perked up precisely thanks to their religious leaders, gradually got stronger, believed in himself and eventually turned into a force that took up arms against Saray. So the Golden Horde, with its rash policy, brought up a strong enemy against itself.
Here's what's interesting: Uzbek Khan, having taken the throne, immediately begins a merciless struggle against, which still existed among the Mongols, makes a lot of efforts to eradicate this religion in his state. For this reason, it is at odds with the Mongols. But he grants broad rights to Orthodoxy, not thinking that such a policy could create serious problems for the state in the future.
Under Uzbek Khan and his son Dzhanibek Khan, the Golden Horde is still flourishing, but after the assassination of Birdebek Khan, who ascended the throne (1359), internal turmoil and a struggle for power begin in the state.
In 1360-1361 the state was divided into right and left wings. If the lands lying to the east of the Volga represent the left wing, the eastern ones are included in the right wing. The Volga is a natural border between two parts of the state. If on one side with the center in Saray there is a constant change of khans, on the other side there is an energetic one, striving to put his khan on the throne. Thus, a civil war actually begins in the country, which will last for twenty years and turn into a factor that destroys the state from the inside. The Moscow principality deftly uses this instability to its advantage, and over the years it has been strengthening quite strongly. If this “great jam” had not arisen in the Golden Horde, then in 1380 the Russians would not have even thought of attacking the Tatars on the Kulikovo field.
Internal unrest in the Tatar state ends with a battle on the Kulikovo field. After that, who begins to strengthen the country, collecting uluses into a single center.
However, it must be said that it was not the forces of the central government that fought against the united Russian army on the Kulikovo field, but only, therefore, we strongly reject the opinion that the forces of the Golden Horde were defeated on the Kulikovo field. In this battle, the Russians fought only with Mamai Murza, who himself fought against the central government with its center in Sarai.
Two years after this battle, everything returns to normal. In 1382, Tokhtamysh Khan captured Moscow, and, having received the title of Donskoy for the Battle of Kulikovo, as in previous years, he began to pay the so-called "Horde output" (i.e. yasak).
