Golden Horde. E. tenishev the language of interethnic communication of the Golden Horde era - mtss Vassals and allies of the Golden Horde
Edhyam TENISHEV,
Chairman of the Russian Committee of Turkologists,
corresponding member RAS, honored worker of science of the Republic of Tatarstan,
Honorary Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
The language of interethnic communication of the Golden Horde era
(Report at the round table of the Tatar public " Golden Horde: historical parallels", organized by the Development Fund Muslim peoples 02.01.2000)
Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends!
My speech is dedicated to the language, or rather languages, in the state of the Golden Horde. But at the beginning of our round table, an interesting discussion ensued, and I have to go beyond linguistics and, not being a historian, touch on the history of the Tatars.
First of all, I must say that in the introductory speech of the head of the round table, Sh.F. Mukhammedyarov, the topic "Golden Horde" sounded like the main one - this is how the title of the round table "Golden Horde: Historical Parallels" obligated. In some speeches it was only about the Bulgar state. There were no historical parallels. The history of the Bulgar state is a special topic, and a separate seminar or round table can be devoted to it. The role of the Bulgar state in the history of the Tatars now, in my opinion, no one denies.
In the constructions of the Kazan historian Damir Iskhakov, for example, as it turns out from his last two publications, the place and role of the Bulgar state in the history of the Volga Tatars is quite definite and obvious.
In the section "basic principles" relating to the problems of creating the history of the Tatar people, D.M. Iskhakov formulates three approaches to the history of the Tatars. For us, the third approach is now important: "the national history of the Tatars must be considered, first of all, in the general context of the general Turkic history, since the Tatars are part of the Turkic - Islamic-Turkic civilization."
Further, in the same book, the author indicates a specific chain of historical stages up to the modern Tatars: Turkic Khaganate (551-603) - Khazar Khaganate (90s VI - 90s X and up to to XII c.) - Bulgar Khaganate (middle of VII - beginning of XIII c.c.) - Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde) (middle XIII - beginning XIV century) - Kazan Khanate (1438-1552).
You, Shamil Fattykhovich, had similar thoughts and constructions, in time earlier than the above point of view.
The significance of these stages in the history of the Tatars is unequal. It was especially great during the period of the Golden Horde - it was on the territory of the Golden Horde in the XIV - early XV centuries. it is possible for the first time "to state the existence of a single Tatar ethnos". Naturally, the Golden Horde attracts attention in the first place.
What does this ancient term mean in linguistic terms? The Tatar language uses the form Altyn Urda. The word altyn comes from the combination of two words al and tyn. The first word al means scarlet, and the second - tyn is borrowed from Chinese tun ~ tun (copper). Thus, the original form of the word was altun ~ altun (scarlet, red copper), which turned into altyn (gold). The Tatar Urda corresponds to the Bashkir Urza, but the Turkmen, Kumyk, Kipchak orda, Turkish ordu, in the old Turkic languages also - ordu.
The word horde ~ horde can be raised to the verb yell (to stand or camp). There are two possible ways of the origin of the word from the specified verb:
a) yell at the ortu horde
b) yell-a orta horde.
The meanings of the word are varied: "camp, camp"; "army"; "Sultan's tent"; "courtyard, residence of the ruler."
The question arises: why does the word urda carry the definition altyn? Obviously, it carries an additional function that clarifies the meaning of the main word. This is possible only with the figurative use of the word altyn (golden). Here are some figurative meanings of this word.
1. Wonderful, beautiful, majestic.
This meaning is present in the title of a book of Buddhist content that the ancient Uighurs had: altun onlug yaruk yartryklyk (shining with a golden sheen, i.e. majestic, beautiful [book]). The Mongolian equivalent of the named term - altan gerel (golden light, shine) - also retains a figurative meaning for altan (wonderful, beautiful).
The dictionary of D.N. Ushakov indicates several figurative meanings for the Russian word "golden":
2. happy, blissful, flourishing, brilliant - the golden age (in Greek mythology - the age of the blissful life of primitive people), golden time, golden time;
3. beautiful, precious, remarkable in merit, very valuable - golden worker, golden hands, golden guy, golden words, golden business;
4. dear, beloved beloved - my golden boy.
Of all the listed indirect meanings of the word altyn in the phrase Altyn Urda, the most appropriate is "majestic, beautiful, brilliant", i.e. in general, Altyn Urda should be understood as a "majestic (brilliant) state". It is curious that the concept and term should have come into the Russian language from the Volga-Tatar language. But then in Russian it would sound: "Golden Urda", however, in fact, this term is pronounced as "Golden Horde". It means that it was not received from the Tatars. Then from whom and at what time? The question is addressed, of course, to historians.
The lands of the Golden Horde stretched from the Danube to the Irtysh. In the west, part of the Horde was called Ak Urda, in the east - Kok Urda. The adjectives "ak" and "kok" denoted in this case not color, but geographic location. Ak Urda played an important role in the history of a number of peoples, including the Turkic ones. It covered a huge territory - the Black Sea, the Caspian, the Volga region, Kazakhstan. It can be assumed that there were not very many Mongols - mainly the military, administrative, class hierarchy, some aristocratic families and estates. The main ethical component belonged to various Turkic peoples. The most prominent of them are the ancestors of the modern Volga, Crimean, Lithuanian-Polish-Belarusian Tatars, Nogais, Kazakhs and Uzbeks. The languages of these peoples, despite, of course, historical differences, are quite identical with theirs. modern languages. As for the number of named Turkic peoples in the Golden Horde, it can be assumed that their proportions have been preserved in the modern world. In other words, Tatars, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Nogais had the largest population. Hence, it can be assumed that one state language there was no Turkic family in the Golden Horde, trade and administrative affairs were serviced in various parts Ulus Jochi in Tatar, Uzbek, Nogai and Kazakh languages, other needs and lively communication went through more languages and not only Turkic. In addition to the living Turkic languages with the main role of oral communication, the Golden Horde also had written and bookish languages in which works of art were created - a whole literature that was named in science as "Khorezm-Turkic" or "Golden Horde" (there were other names less used in comparison with those mentioned above). It received the name "Khorezm-Turkic" by the name of the literary centers (Khorezm and oases along the lower reaches of the Syr-Darya River), in which, from the 12th century. literature began to develop.
The language of the Golden Horde monuments is based on the prestigious language of the previous period of Turkic literature - the Karakhanid-Uighur language. The old Turkic literary languages were created as a single chain. The relay race for the transmission of the written tradition began with the runic pore. The language of the monuments of runic writing was assimilated and laid the foundation for the ancient Uyghur language. The ancient Uyghur language, in turn, formed the basis of the Karakhanid-Uyghur language. The latter was adapted in the works of the Khorezm cycle, where it was enriched with Oguz and Kipchak elements and turned into one of the medieval Turkic literary languages. The poems "Khosrov and Shirin" by Kutba (1338), "Muhabbat-name" by Khorezmi (1353), "Gulistan bi-t-Turki" by Satri Sarai (1391), the prose theological and didactic work "Nakhj al faradis" were created on it Mahmud al-Bulgari (1358).
Subsequently, these works as a spiritual heritage were assimilated and acted in the early period of literature among the Tatars, Nogais, Uzbeks and Kazakhs.
A few illustrations from the works mentioned above:
Ulyg Tenri-nintatyn yad kogldim, / With the name of the great Tengri on his lips
Muhabbat-name-ni bunyad kogladym, / I created muhabbat-name,
Iki yaktu gevher alem-ga bergen, / He gave the world two bright pearls
Muhebbet genjini edem-ge bergen. / He endowed man with the treasure of love.
Mahbub-ler zulfi / Beloved's curls
Akl ayagy-nyn zenzhiri, / Are the chain of the feet of the mind
Dagi zirek kush-lar-nyn / And another network
Tuzagy Durur / Vigilant Birds.
Senin ezgy gadetteleren bar, / You have many good habits
Yak-yavukny seversen, / You love your loved ones,
Yalgan sozlemessen / Do not deceive,
Kishilernen emgegani kuterrursen, teky / You suffer along with people,
Konuklarny agyrlarsen, / Honor the guests,
Miskinlerge yary birursen. / You help the poor.
The Golden Horde (in Turkish - Altyn Ordu), also known as the Kipchak Khanate or the Ulus of Yuchi, was a Mongol state created in some parts modern Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan after the collapse Mongol Empire in the 1240s. It lasted until 1440.
During its heyday, it was a strong commercial and trading state, providing stability in large areas of Russia.
Origin of the name "Golden Horde"
The name "Golden Horde" is a relatively late toponym. It arose in imitation of the "Blue Horde" and "White Horde", and these names, in turn, denoted, depending on the situation, either independent states or Mongolian armies.
It is believed that the name "Golden Horde" came from the steppe system of designating the main directions with colors: black = north, blue = east, red = south, white = west and yellow (or gold) = center.
According to another version, the name came from the magnificent golden tent that Batu Khan set up to mark the place of his future capital on the Volga. Although accepted as true in the nineteenth century, this theory is now considered apocryphal.
There were no written monuments created before the 17th century (they were destroyed) that would mention such a state as the Golden Horde. In earlier documents, the state Ulus Jochi (Juchiev ulus) appears.
Some scholars prefer to use a different name - the Kipchak Khanate, because various derivatives of the Kipchak people were also found in medieval documents describing this state.
Mongolian origins of the Golden Horde
Until his death in 1227, Genghis Khan bequeathed to divide between his four sons, including the eldest Jochi, who died before Genghis Khan.
The part that Jochi received - the westernmost lands where the hooves of the Mongol horses could step, and then the south of Russia were divided between the sons of Jochi - the lord of the Blue Horde Batu (west) and Khan Orda, the lord of the White Horde (east).
Subsequently, Batu established control over the territories subject to the Horde, and also subjugated the northern coastal zone of the Black Sea, including the indigenous Turkic peoples in his army.
In the late 1230s and early 1240s, he conducted brilliant campaigns against the Volga Bulgaria and against the successor states, multiplying the military glory of his ancestors many times over.
The Blue Horde of Batu Khan annexed lands in the west, raiding Poland and Hungary after the battles of Legnica and Mukha.
But in 1241, the great Khan Udegei died in Mongolia, and Batu broke off the siege of Vienna to take part in a dispute over the succession. From then on, the Mongol armies never marched west again.
In 1242, Batu set up his capital at Saray, in his possessions on the lower reaches of the Volga. Shortly before this, the Blue Horde split - Batu's younger brother Shiban left Batu's army to create his own Horde east of the Ural Mountains along the Ob and Irtysh rivers.
Having achieved stable independence and created the state that today we call the Golden Horde, the Mongols gradually lost their ethnic identity.
While the descendants of the Mongols-warriors of Batu constituted the upper class of society, most of the population of the Horde consisted of Kipchaks, Bulgar Tatars, Kirghiz, Khorezmians and other Turkic peoples.
The supreme ruler of the Horde was a khan, elected by a kurultai (a cathedral of the Mongol nobility) among the descendants of Batu Khan. The post of prime minister was also held by an ethnic Mongol, known as the “prince of princes” or beklerbek (bek over beks). Ministers were called viziers. Local governors or Baskaks were responsible for collecting tribute and repaying popular discontent. Ranks, as a rule, were not divided into military and civilian.
The Horde developed as a sedentary rather than a nomadic culture, and Saray eventually becomes a populous and prosperous city. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the capital moved to Sarai-Berke, located much upstream, and became one of the largest cities medieval world with a population estimated by the Encyclopædia Britannica at 600,000.
Despite Rus' efforts to convert the people of Sarai, the Mongols stuck to their traditional pagan beliefs until Khan Uzbek (1312-1341) adopted Islam as the state religion. Russian rulers - Mikhail of Chernigov and Mikhail of Tverskoy - were reportedly killed in Sarai for their refusal to worship pagan idols, but the khans were generally tolerant and even exempted the Russian Orthodox Church from taxes.
Vassals and allies of the Golden Horde
The Horde collected tribute from its subordinate peoples - Russians, Armenians, Georgians and Crimean Greeks. The territories of the Christians were considered peripheral areas and were of no interest as long as they continued to pay tribute. These dependent states were never part of the Horde, and the Russian rulers quite soon even received the privilege of traveling around the principalities and collecting tribute for the khans. In order to maintain control over Russia, Tatar commanders carried out regular punitive raids on Russian principalities (the most dangerous in 1252, 1293 and 1382).
There is a point of view, widely spread by Lev Gumilyov, that the Horde and the Russians entered into an alliance for defense against fanatical Teutonic knights and pagan Lithuanians. Researchers point out that Russian princes often appeared at the Mongol court, in particular, Fedor Cherny, Prince of Yaroslavl, who boasted of his ulus near Sarai, and Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod, brother of Batu's predecessor, Sartak Khan. Although Novgorod never recognized the dominance of the Horde, the Mongols supported the Novgorodians in the Battle of the Ice.
Saray was actively trading with the shopping centers of Genoa on the Black Sea coast - Surozh (Soldaya or Sudak), Kaffa and Tana (Azak or Azov). Also, the Mamluks of Egypt were the Khan's longtime trading partners and allies in the Mediterranean.
After the death of Batu in 1255, the prosperity of his empire continued for a whole century, until the assassination of Janibek in 1357. The White Horde and the Blue Horde were actually united into a single state by Batu's brother Berke. In the 1280s, power was usurped by Nogai, a khan who pursued a policy of Christian unions. The military influence of the Horde reached its peak during the reign of Uzbek Khan (1312-1341), whose army exceeded 300,000 warriors.
Their policy towards Russia was to constantly renegotiate alliances in order to keep Russia weak and divided. In the fourteenth century, the rise of Lithuania in northeastern Europe challenged Tatar control over Rus'. Thus, Uzbek Khan began to support Moscow as the main Russian state. Ivan I Kalita was given the title of Grand Duke and given the right to collect taxes from other Russian powers.
The "Black Death" - the bubonic plague pandemic of the 1340s - was a major contributing factor to the eventual downfall of the Golden Horde. After the assassination of Janibek, the empire was drawn into a long civil war that lasted for the next decade, with an average of one new khan a year in power. By the 1380s, Khorezm, Astrakhan and Muscovy tried to escape from the power of the Horde, and the lower part of the Dnieper was annexed by Lithuania and Poland.
Who was not formally on the throne, tried to restore Tatar power over Russia. His army was defeated by Dmitry Donskoy at the battle of Kulikov in the second victory over the Tatars. Mamai soon lost power, and in 1378 Tokhtamysh, a descendant of the Horde Khan and the ruler of the White Horde, invaded and annexed the territory of the Blue Horde, briefly establishing the dominance of the Golden Horde in these lands. In 1382 he punished Moscow for disobedience.
The mortal blow to the horde was dealt by Tamerlane, who in 1391 destroyed the army of Tokhtamysh, destroyed the capital, plundered the Crimean trade centers and took the most skilled craftsmen to his capital in Samarkand.
In the first decades of the fifteenth century, power was held by Idegei, the vizier who defeated Vytautas of Lithuania in great battle under Vorskla and turned the Nogai Horde into his personal mission.
In the 1440s, the Horde was again destroyed by a civil war. This time it broke up into eight separate khanates: the Siberian Khanate, the Kasim Khanate, the Kazakh Khanate, the Uzbek Khanate and the Crimean Khanate, which divided the last remnant of the Golden Horde.
None of these new khanates was stronger than Muscovy, which by 1480 finally freed itself from Tatar control. The Russians eventually took over all of these khanates, starting with Kazan and Astrakhan in the 1550s. By the end of the century it was also part of Russia, and the descendants of its ruling khans entered the Russian service.
In 1475, the Crimean Khanate submitted, and by 1502 the same fate befell what was left of Great Horde. The Crimean Tatars wreaked havoc in the south of Russia during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, but they could neither defeat her nor take Moscow. The Crimean Khanate was under Ottoman protection until Catherine the Great annexed it on April 8, 1783. It lasted longer than all the successor states of the Golden Horde.
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 medieval history Eastern Europe, we will first have to pay attention to the complex and contradictory relations and the struggle between two superethnoi - Turks and Slavs.
Firstly, after the collapse of Great Bulgaria Kubrat Khan, only one state, created by the Turks, remains in the steppes of Eastern Europe. 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 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 Kipchak 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 Kipchak steppe dwellers 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 Kiev table”, that is, to ascend the main throne in the glorious city of Kiev, 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 Kiev, 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, we must first find out what gives evolutionary development this phenomenon. 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 become part of the Golden Horde, the Russians get acquainted with the new state system, new laws, new military system, learn new methods of management, 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 government. 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 relied on the Turkic Tatars in governing the state, so the transformation of the Turkic language into official language state was a natural phenomenon.
Thus, the Turks who became part of the Golden Horde, living in a continuous Kypchak linguistic environment, are drawn into a single center in socio-political, economic and cultural relations and create a common 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, his political influence, high level life, a well-established economy and a 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 paid attention to this feature. different countries. 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 themselves 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).
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 encountered 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. There 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, 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 Mongols who took Baghdad put an end to the Caliphate in 1258. After that, the Turks, in particular, the Ottomans, were always 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 the 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 they also never returned, where for two whole centuries, until the very Ottoman conquest, the Byzantine historical dynasty of the Palaiologos ruled - a dynasty that ruled from Thrace under the Latins - the border of present-day Bulgaria and Greece; the area known during the period of the loss of Constantinople by the Paleologs and as the Empire of Nicaea) .
Also on this topic:
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, 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 an administrative unit in the great and it 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 Crimea. In terms of area, public education can be compared with 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 to his side Arab artisans and merchants from Central Asia and Volga Bulgars.
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 of 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, the Central Power 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 Lower Volga. 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 at 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 the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the center of all Russian lands 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 what the Golden Horde is in terms of political system, then there is no clear answer. At first it was a semi-military and semi-nomadic union of the Mongolian tribes. Very quickly - within one or two generations - impact force the troops of the conquerors 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.