Strengths of the Golden Horde state. What was the state of the Golden Horde? Topic: Golden Horde: myths and reality

INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………3

TERRITORY AND BORDER OF THE STATE OF THE GOLDEN HORDE…………..4

MYTH ABOUT THE NAME OF THE STATE………………………………………………………..7

MYTH ABOUT CITIES………………………………………………………………………………9

MONGOLIAN CULTURE……………………………………………………………11

“MONGOLS” AND “TATARS”…………………………………………………...13

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………………………..15

REFERENCES………………………………………………………16

INTRODUCTION

The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, whose possessions were located in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and was not challenged by anyone for a very long time.

True and fictional stories about the huge state of nomads continued to exist even after its disappearance. And today interest in it has not waned, and its history has long been studied in many countries.

But still, in assessing many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, the most opposing opinions are encountered.

Russian history was dominated by the judgment of it as an oppressor state that did not deserve the attention of Soviet historians. But despite everything, the Golden Horde theme was and remains one of the traditional ones in Russian science.

Having conducted research on the monograph by V.L. Egorov, and based on his work, I will try to refute a number of misconceptions or established stereotypes associated with the Golden Horde:

its territory and state borders

name of state

presence of cities

cultural development

the relationship between the concepts “Mongols” and “Tatars”

It is these 5 myths that I will try to refute in my work and prove that most of the information found in history about this state is erroneous and is just established cliches of history.

TERRITORY AND BORDER OF THE STATE OF THE GOLDEN HORDE

The first misconception that is observed in Russian history is the attitude towards the territory of the Golden Horde.

Traditionally, the lands of the Golden Horde are associated with steppe expanses, entirely inhabited by nomads, and somewhere in the middle of the endless steppes is the capital of the state - the city of Saray.

This idea is indeed appropriate, but for a certain stage of development of a given state.

If we evaluate the total area, the Golden Horde was undoubtedly the largest state of the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian historians of the XIV-XV centuries. there were 3 versions (again misconceptions), according to the duration of the borders of the Golden Horde:

the length of the state extends for 8, and the width for 6 months of travel

up to 6 months of travel in length and 4 in width

relies on specific geographical landmarks - this country extends “from the Sea of ​​Constantinople to the Irtysh River, 800 farsakhs in length, and in width from Babelebvab (Derbent) to the city of Bolgar, that is, approximately 600 farsakhs.”

Although these figures are impressive, they give only the most general idea, covering precisely the belt of the European-Asian steppes and confirming the existing stereotype.

There is not enough material to clarify the exact border of the Golden Horde. But as the author notes, there are two main points:

the territory of the state did not remain stable, changing throughout the entire period of its existence; it either decreased or increased again

The specificity of the Golden Horde borders was that all the surrounding peoples tried to settle as far as possible from the areas inhabited by the Mongols out of complete concern for their own safety.

The total territory of the state in the 13th century. outlined by the following boundary lines.

The eastern borders of the Golden Horde included the regions of Siberia and Iberia with the border rivers Irtysh and Chulyman, which separated the possessions of the Jochids from the metropolis. The outlying areas here were the Barabinsky and Kulundinsky steppes. The northern border in the vastness of Siberia was in the middle reaches of the Ob River.

The southern border of the state began in the foothills of Altai and ran north of Lake Balkhash, then stretched west through the middle reaches of the Syr Darya, south of the Aral Sea, to the Khorezm ulus. This region of ancient agriculture constituted the southern ulus of the Golden Horde with its center in the city of Urgench. Khiva, located somewhat south of Urgench, no longer belonged to the possessions of the Golden Horde. Adjacent to Khorezm from the northwest, the Ustyurt plateau and the Mangyshlak peninsula were also a nomadic zone for the Golden Horde.

On the western shore of the Caspian Sea, the border city that belonged to the Jochids was Derbent, which the eastern chronicles called Iron Gate. From here the border stretched along the northern foothills - the Caucasus Range to the Taman Peninsula, which was completely part of the Golden Horde.

The Tauride Peninsula (Crimea) also formed part of the Golden Horde from the beginning of its existence. However, the Mongols themselves occupied in the XIII-XIV centuries. only the northern, steppe part of the peninsula.

To the west of the Black Sea, the border of the state stretched along the Danube, without crossing it, to the Hungarian fortress of Turnu Severin, which blocked the exit from the Lower Danube Lowland.

The northern borders of the state in this area were limited by the spurs of the Carpathians and included the steppe spaces of the Prut-Dniester interfluve. It was here that the border of the Golden Horde with the Russian principalities began. It passed approximately along the border between steppe and forest-steppe. The border between the Dniester and Dnieper stretched in the area of ​​modern Vinnitsa and Cherkasy regions. In the Dnieper basin, the possessions of the Russian princes ended somewhere between Kiev and Kanev. From here the border line went to the area of ​​modern Kharkov, Kursk and then went to the Ryazan borders along the left bank of the Don. To the east of the Ryazan principality, from the Moksha River to the Volga, there was a forest area inhabited by Mordovian tribes. The Mongols had little interest in territories covered with dense forests, but despite this, the entire Mordovian population was completely under the control of the Golden Horde and constituted one of its northern uluses. This is clearly evidenced by 14th-century sources.

In the Volga basin during the 13th century. the border passed north of the Sura River, and in the next century it gradually shifted to the mouth of the Sura and even south of it. The vast region of modern Chuvashia in the 13th century. was completely under Mongol rule. On the left bank of the Volga, the Golden Horde borderland stretched north of the Kama. Here were the former possessions of Volga Bulgaria, which became an integral part of the Golden Horde without any hint of autonomy.

The Bashkirs who lived in the middle and southern Urals also formed part of the Mongol state. They owned all the lands in this area south of the Belaya River.

Thus, the myth that the Golden Horde is only a steppe state is dispelled, since it occupied vast territories, including not only flat areas.

MYTH ABOUT THE NAME OF THE STATE

The second quite important point that arises when studying the Golden Horde is finding out the more precise name of the state.

As the author correctly notes, this name is not found in any modern Golden Horde chronicle. Three aspects of the problem can be distinguished: what the Mongols themselves called their state, what their neighbors called it, and what name was adopted for it after the collapse.

In all the Mongolian states that arose in the 13th century, ruling dynasties were established, descending from Genghis Khan. The head of each of them considered the territory allocated to him or the conquered territory not as a state, but as a family possession. The Kipchak steppes were given to Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, who became the founder of the large Jochid family that ruled here. In full accordance with this, each of the khans who ascended the throne of Sarai called their state simply “ulus,” that is, the people given as an inheritance, possession.

If we consider what the surrounding neighbors called this state, then there was complete discord here.

In Arab chronicles, it was most often called by the name of the khan who ruled at a certain moment, with the corresponding ethnic clarification: “Berke, the great Tatar king”, “Uzbek, ruler of the northern countries”, “King Tokta, owner of Sarai and the Kipchak lands”, “King Desht- i-Kypchak Tokta". Sometimes Arab and Persian chroniclers called the Golden Horde the ulus of Jochi, the ulus of Batu, the ulus of Berke, and the ulus of Uzbek.

European travelers P. Carpini and G. Rubruk, who traveled the entire Golden Horde, used to designate it the old terms “country of the Komans” (i.e., Polovtsians), “Comania”, or gave an overly general name - “power of the Tatars”.

In a letter from Pope Benedict XII, the Jochid state is called Northern Tartary.

In Russian chronicles, the new southern neighbor was first designated using an ethnic term. The princes go to the “Tatars to the Batyevs” and return “to the Tatars.” And only in the last decade of the 13th century. a new and only name “Horde” appears and is firmly established, which lasted until the complete collapse of the Jochid state.

As for the now familiar name “Golden Horde,” it began to be used at a time when not a trace remained of the state founded by Khan Batu. This phrase first appeared in the “Kazan Chronicler”, written in the second half of the 16th century, in the form “Golden Horde” and “Great Golden Horde”. Its origin is connected with the khan’s headquarters, or more precisely, with the khan’s ceremonial yurt, richly decorated with gold and expensive materials.

There is no doubt that the term “Golden Horde” was used colloquially in Rus' already in the 14th century, but it never appears in the chronicles of that period. Russian chroniclers proceeded from the emotional load of the word “golden,” which was used at that time as a synonym for everything good, bright and joyful, which could not be said about the oppressor state, and even populated by “filthy ones.” That is why the name “Golden Horde” appears only after time erased all the horrors of Mongol rule.

Thus, the name of the state is the second established stereotype, which has developed not only in Russian history, but also in the history of other countries. Therefore, the name Golden Horde is a stamp that Russian history has placed on this state.

MYTH ABOUT CITIES

One of the traditional ideas about the Golden Horde is that this state, without much thought, is classified as purely nomadic. In works on the history of the Golden Horde, the names of 15-20 cities were given, and now there are already 110 of them, and this number continues to increase.

First of all, you need to pay attention to the fact that before the start of the conquests and the formation of the huge empire of Genghis Khan, the Mongols had no cities at all, and they really were nomads, but this was not always the case. There is an opinion that the emergence of cities among the Mongols is due to the influence of their neighbors, but there is no evidence. Mongolian cities appeared in the center of the steppes far from the borders with their neighbors; therefore, the reasons for the appearance of cities lie in the depths of the nomadic society itself, in the changed political and economic structures of their life.

One of the most important reasons for the emergence of cities among the Mongols was the urgent need for administrative organization, the creation of stationary centers where the bureaucratic apparatus associated with the collection of taxes and tribute, receiving numerous ambassadors, conducting diplomatic correspondence, etc. would be concentrated. As a result, the Mongols have a specific stratum of bureaucrats, which settles for permanent residence around his stationary winter headquarters. This creates the core of a settled settlement, which is formed around the palace of the supreme ruler. It is precisely this scheme of the birth of the capital of the Golden Horde, the city of Sarai, that is evidenced by its name, which is translated by the word “palace”.

The concentration of wealthy officials and aristocracy attracted merchants, forming permanent bazaars and fairs, which increased the population of the new city. The growth of cities was facilitated by the adoption of a new religion - Islam (1312 by Uzbek Khan), as the construction of religious buildings and religious schools began.

Consequently, we can conclude that the emergence of cities among the Mongols was a consequence of the formation of the state and the formation of its internal political system. This means that the Golden Horde developed not under the influence of its neighbors, but as a result of the internal development of culture and statehood.

existing before the arrival of the Mongols, and then restored by them after the defeat. These include settlements on the Black Sea coast and Crimea, the North Caucasus, Khorezm, and Volga Bulgaria.

founded by the Mongols themselves in the XIII-XIV centuries. This group includes both capitals of the Golden Horde - Saray and Saray al-Jadid, as well as Saraichik on Yaik, Madzhar in the North Caucasus, Crimea on the Tauride Peninsula, Tyumen and others.

Thus, the myths that all the cities in the Golden Horde were already created before their conquests, as well as the emergence of cities under the influence of neighbors, are refuted.

MONGOLIAN CULTURE

There is a fairly widespread opinion that the life of the population of the Golden Horde was unpretentious and primitive, since it reflected the simplest functions of nomadic life. As for the culture of the state, many here believed that its level was low and lacking originality. It is usually believed that the culture of the Mongols is syncretic, that is, mixed from numerous heterogeneous parts introduced by different peoples who made up the population of the state.

To study culture, you need to consider 3 main questions:

the degree of participation of the Mongols themselves in the creation of the culture of the state;

contribution to the culture of the Golden Horde of peoples enslaved by the Mongols;

the possibility of evolutionary development of the culture of the Golden Horde and the emergence of new, actually Golden Horde features.

In the cultural life of the Golden Horde there were 2 parts - nomadic and sedentary. But one did not interfere with the other; the interpenetration of these two parts occurred on the basis of spiritual culture (language, writing, folklore, religion).

In nomadic life, animal husbandry was of particular importance, supplying nomads with clothing and food. The basis of the Mongols' diet was milk, kumiss and meat (they stored it for future use, withering it in thin strips in the wind). The steppe aristocrats received grain, millet and flour from their own estates located in the southern parts of the country.

For the Mongolians, food was not just the satisfaction of a natural need, it was a specially written ritual.

The nomadic economy also left its mark on the clothing of the population of the Golden Horde. The clothes of men and women were practically no different. In winter, they usually wore two fur coats - one with the fur on the outside, the other on the inside. In summer, the entire population wore robes that fastened on the right side.

Throughout the history of the Golden Horde, its culture was not in a state of stagnation; it was replenished not only with ready-made forms created by other peoples. In the 14th century, cultural life was enriched with new elements based on the fusion of various achievements of many peoples. A synthesis of cultures is observed. A number of original crafts are developing, a new style of architecture is characteristic of the Golden Horde state, shifts are taking place in spiritual and religious ideas (burials in mosques, which is a great insult to pure Islam).

Thus, the culture of the Golden Horde was a synthesis of various cultures, which were based on nomadic traditions. The culture developed and had characteristics that were not characteristic of other cultures and religions. Therefore, the belief about the weak development and simplicity of the culture of the Golden Horde is incorrect.

"MONGOLS" AND "TATARS"

And finally, it is especially necessary to consider the question of the relationship between the names “Mongols” and “Tatars,” as well as the correctness of the now widely used name for the population of the Golden Horde “Mongol-Tatars.”

In order to understand the problem, you need to know who the Mongols were and who the Tatars were.

The ethnonym "Mongols" was widely known in ancient Central Asia. It was used as the self-name of several tribes united by Genghis Khan into a single state. Hence Genghis Khan and his heirs were called Tatars. This is due exclusively to the Chinese chronicle tradition, which since the 12th century has persistently called all Mongols, including Genghis Khan himself, Black Tatars. However, they had nothing to do with the Tatars, and called themselves exclusively Mongols, and their state Mongolian.

In the 12th and early 13th centuries, the Tatars lived along the northern border of China, guarding the approaches to the Great Wall of China from raids by nomads, including the Mongols. Chinese emperors paid them a set salary for their service in silver and various goods. The name “Tatars” in medieval Chinese historiography corresponded to the European concept of “barbarians”. However, the whites and blacks stood out. Whites are more cultural, involved in the achievements of Chinese civilization. Blacks were Mongols who lived in the steppes, forests and mountains.

The Tatars were never allies of the Mongols and never participated in their campaigns of conquest, but, on the contrary, were constantly at enmity with them.

Russian and Western European chronicles usually used the ethnonym “Tatars” in relation to the population of the Golden Horde.

In 1823, the geography teacher of the First St. Petersburg Gymnasium P. Naumov first introduced the phrase “Mongol-Tatars” into use. As a result of a historically erroneous and unsubstantiated explanation, the term “Mongol-Tatars” arose.

To summarize, we can say that the established and used term “Mongol-Tatars” is a historical mistake that is firmly embedded in Russian history and continues to exist to this day.

CONCLUSION

As a result of my work with V.L. Egorov’s monograph, I was able to refute 5 myths about the Mongolian state of the Golden Horde that have developed and entered into the history of different countries, providing real and verified evidence for each refutation.

Also proving that this state had exceptional originality, an interesting history and unusual cultural characteristics that are not characteristic of any other state.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

V.L. Egorov Golden Horde: myths and reality. – M.: Knowledge, 1990.- 64 p. – (New in life, science, technology. Series “History”; No. 9).

The Golden Horde, how many political processes in itself Orde, which began to experience... the yoke, however, on the Kulikovo field Gold Orde a crushing blow was dealt...

The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, whose possessions were located in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and was not challenged by anyone for a very long time. Monarchs of even distant countries sought to establish friendly relations with her and support them with all their might. The most enterprising merchants traveled vast distances to get to its capital, which was rightfully known as the largest trading base between East and West. Travelers and trade caravans spread all over the world, true stories and incredible legends about the peoples who inhabited the Golden Horde, their unique customs and nomadic life, the wealth and power of the khans who ruled here, countless herds of cattle and endless steppes, where you could not meet a single person for weeks. one man. True and fictional stories about the huge state of nomads continued to exist even after its disappearance.

And today interest in it has not waned, and its history has long been studied in many countries. But still, in assessing many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, the most opposing opinions are encountered. And besides, to this day it exists in scientific works And educational literature, and simply in the most common perception of history there is a whole series of misconceptions or established stereotypes associated with the Golden Horde. This applies to its territory and borders, the name of the state, the presence of cities, the development of culture, the relationship between the concepts of “Mongols” and “Tatars”, some moments of political history, etc. Most of the widespread clichés about the Golden Horde arose in the last century, and their existence is associated solely with neglect of the study of this largely unique state. The obvious and sharply negative role of the Golden Horde in the history of Rus' is what first strikes the eye when reading any source that reveals their relationship.

As a result, a situation was created in science where, for the most part, it was not so much the Golden Horde itself that was studied, but its influence on Rus' and their relationships. Moreover, even this side was often limited to a set of the most general judgments and declarative statements, always supported by well-known quotes from the works of K. Marx. But Marx’s emotionally deep and politically precise thoughts would sound even more vivid if they were supplemented by a variety of specific historical facts, events and figures. As for the study of the Golden Horde itself, the dominant view here was that it was an oppressor state that did not deserve the attention of Soviet historians. Editors showed particular caution and vigilance when publishing stories on Golden Horde themes.

Any positive fact in relation to the Mongol state seemed unthinkable and was questioned. It cannot be said that the Golden Horde became a taboo topic in science, but it was clearly undesirable. The political situation also left its mark on this, when in the 60s Mao Zedong attributed all the Mongol conquests to the 13th century. to the Chinese state, extending its western borders to the Danube, although China itself was conquered by Genghis Khan and his sons, and for many years was under the rule of the Mongols. But in spite of everything, the Golden Horde theme was and remained one of the traditional ones in Russian pre-revolutionary and then Soviet historical science. Without knowledge of the history and ways of development of a huge, powerful, in many ways unusual and, in the full sense of the word, bloodthirsty state (only a few years of its existence were peaceful!), it is impossible to understand many aspects of the formation and growth of medieval Rus', it is impossible to fully assess the course of events in European politics in the 13th century. XV centuries

Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation

Tver State Technical University

Department of History and Political Science

Topic: Golden Horde: myths and reality

Introduction

Chapter 1. Official version

1 Mongols

2 Western campaign

3 Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia

4 North-Eastern Rus'

5 Muscovy

6 Battle of Kulikovo

7 The death of the Golden Horde and the birth of the Muscovite kingdom

Chapter 2. Crooked mirrors. The view of the average person

2 Savage conquerors

3 Passionarity of Russians

4 Imperial Paradox

5 Stagnation and decline

6 Controversies in modern times

Chapter 3. Fomenko - Nosovsky. Rus' - Horde

1 Genetic code of the horde

Conclusion

Bibliography

Applications

Introduction

Mongol-Tatar yoke... Even just saying these words out loud you begin to feel some kind of discomfort, for me, a Russian person born in central Russia and educated in Soviet Russia, a Slav, as far as my ancestors are known, even if they are not filled with information, these words cause anxiety . All these words are alien to me and not entirely clear. What do I know about the Mongol? These are steppe people, nomads, for the most part poorly educated and leading a primitive lifestyle. They live very far away even for the current level of development of ground transport. I can’t say for sure whether it’s Buddhism or Islam. Tatars: - live in the Republic of Tatarstan no longer so far from Moscow, not reaching the Urals. Religion - Islam. Number - difficult to answer. Where they lived and what they did at that time is generally a dark matter. The yoke is some kind of terrible bondage, oppression, slavery! Once upon a time, at school, we studied this topic. And this is what I remember, in essence: evil, bloodthirsty, nomadic warriors came from the distant eastern steppes. They defeated the army of that time and imposed an exorbitant tribute on Russian cities and principalities. And those who did not want to pay tribute were killed and their homes were destroyed and burned. And all this lasted for no less than 300 years. Then the Khanate weakened due to internal problems and, having gathered its forces, united Russian army defended its right to independence. Starting to study the issue anew, one comes to understand that the information that was left over from school is not entirely correct, and sometimes is completely erroneous. And if you approach the issue more carefully than simply stating the official version, then you begin to stumble upon obvious flaws in this, one can say with certainty, theory. But the question may also arise about the meaning of these researches. Well, it was some kind of yoke, but it’s over. And what? In my opinion, this question is one of the most significant in the history of our country, and even more so of our state. After all, it was at this time that the formation of the Russian state as such took place. The unification of Russian peoples is taking place under the leadership single center, and awareness of oneself as a whole. An empire is emerging, which can no longer be ignored and which influences the processes taking place throughout the world. So let's see what the textbook tells us, and what we can and should pay special attention to.

Chapter 1. Official version

.1 Mongols

In the extreme east of the Great Steppe, pastoral peoples lived. Constantly moving with their herds, nomadic tribes collided, crowded, destroyed or absorbed each other. Sometimes they united around the most powerful clans and tribes, and their military alliances became a formidable force for all neighbors. At the beginning of the 13th century. In the Central Asian steppes, a relatively small but united and warlike ethnic group formed - the Mongols. They were united and led by a talented, cruel and successful leader, Temujin (having been elected supreme ruler by the Mongols, he received the name-title Genghis Khan). Many neighboring tribes joined the Mongols of Genghis Khan. They plundered Northern China and the Khorezm state. In these campaigns, the army was tempered and gained combat experience, which no one in the then Eurasia could fight on an equal footing with.

1.2 Western campaign

Pursuing the remnants of the Khorezmian troops, Genghis Khan's army invaded India and devastated Iran. One of its large detachments broke through the Caucasian gorges and reached the Polovtsian steppes. Here the combined forces of the Polovtsians and several Russian princes stood in the way of the Mongols, but they were defeated in the battle on the Kalka River (1223). The winners launched an offensive up the Volga, but ran into staunch resistance from the Bulgarians, after which the remnants of the Mongol detachment turned their horses to the east. Thirteen years after these events, nothing was heard about the Tatars who came from nowhere in these parts.

The conquests of the Mongol khans in South Asia continued. After the death of Genghis Khan (1227), his sons distributed control of the already huge empire among themselves. In 1236, after careful preparation, the grandiose campaign against Europe planned by Genghis Khan began. It was led by the grandson of the great conqueror, Batu. By the fall of 1237, the Polovtsians and Alans were defeated, Volga Bulgaria, the lands of the Burtases, Mokshas and Mordovians, who lived on the right bank of the middle Volga, were conquered. In the late autumn of 1237, the Mongol Empire began an attack on Russian lands. The total number of troops who took part in the aggression against Rus' was, according to rough estimates, 120 - 140 thousand people. Northern and Southern Rus' could field about 100 thousand soldiers together, but the Russian principalities almost one by one resisted the united Mongol forces. Having defeated and destroyed Ryazan on December 21, 1237, Mongol-Tatar troops invaded the Grand Duchy of Vladimir.

At the beginning of January 1238, Batu defeated an army led by the son of the Grand Duke Vsevolod Yuryevich near Kolomna. Then moving along frozen rivers, the Mongols captured Moscow, Suzdal and a number of other cities. On February 7, Vladimir fell. March 4, 1238 on the river. City, a battle took place between the main military forces of North-Eastern Rus', led by Prince Yuri. The Russians suffered a crushing defeat, Prince Yuri was killed. After this the Tatars entered Novgorod land, but fearing the spring thaw, before reaching Novgorod, they turned southeast to the Polovtsian steppes. On the way they took Kursk and Kozelsk.

It took Batu 1239 to strengthen his position in the North Black Sea steppe. In the North-East of Rus', only Gorokhovets and Murom were captured, in the south - Pereyaslavl South and Chernigov. All the princes of North-Eastern Rus' recognized the suzerainty of the Mongols in 1239. In the fall of 1240, troops under the leadership of Batu moved to Europe through Southern Rus'. On December 6, 1240, after stubborn fighting, Kyiv fell. In December - January 1240-1241. Almost all the cities of Southern Rus' were captured. The Mongols then invaded Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, where they won a number of major victories but suffered heavy losses. Without receiving reinforcements, in 1242 Batu withdrew his troops from European countries west of Rus'. In 1242-1243 in the lower reaches of the Volga he created the state of the Golden Horde with its capital in Sarai-Batu, and then in the more northern Sarai-Berke. The relatively easy conquest of Rus' by the Mongol-Tatars is explained by the fragmentation and disunity of the Russian principalities, as well as the superiority martial art Mongols. In terms of the scale of destruction, the Mongol conquest differed from the endless internecine wars of the Russian princes and the raids of nomads only in that it was carried out simultaneously throughout the entire country. For 35 years after 1238, Vladimir Rus' not only was not subject to major Tatar invasions, but there were no internecine wars there either. These 35 years were enough to restore the economy. A similar situation existed in Southern Rus'. A serious innovation in the life of Rus' was the establishment of a “exit” (tribute) to the Horde. In the 40s, the collection of tribute was not fixed either in time or in size. It was carried out by tax farmers, who often simply robbed the population. This practice caused serious discontent in Rus' and did not satisfy the Golden Horde rulers. Therefore, in 1257, the Khan of the Golden Horde established the amount of tribute. To control the collection and sending of tribute to the Horde, special commissioners - Baskaks - were appointed in Rus', but they did not interfere in the internal political life of the principalities. At the end of the 13th century, the institution of Baskatism practically ceased to exist. From that moment on, the only means of influencing the situation in Rus' was to issue labels for reigns and provide military support to one or another prince in the internecine struggle. However, another source says the following: “Very soon, not having time to recover from defeat, the Russian princes resumed their previous feuds: they again went on campaigns against each other, trying to take possession of devastated Kiev, etc. But everyone understood that the former independence of the Russian principalities had come to an end. The first to go to Batu's headquarters was the Vladimir Grand Duke with gifts. The Khan greeted him graciously and, as the chronicle writes, released him with the words: “Yaroslav, may you be the oldest prince in the Russian language.” Thus, in 1243, the title of Grand Duke was received not according to the customs of Rus', but was granted by the Mongol Khan. Soon other princes came with gifts to Sarai - to ask and buy permission to preserve their estates. One way or another, open resistance to the Horde was out of the question - the strength of individual princes was clearly not enough for this. There were two ways out of this difficult and humiliating situation: either look for allies to fight back, or completely forget about former independence and integrate into the Mongol empire. Finding themselves at this crossroads of history, the Russian princes Daniil Galitsky and Alexander Nevsky chose different roads and thereby largely predetermined the different destinies of the North-East and South-West of Rus'.

1.3 Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia

As soon as Daniil Galitsky defeated the squad of the Vladimir Grand Duke and took possession of his father's inheritance, he was immediately summoned to the Volga headquarters for admonition. However, for the first time he got away with excessive independence. Daniel was forced to recognize the khan's power over himself, but was not deprived of his possessions. “Tatar honor is worse than evil,” - this is how Prince Daniil spoke about his relatively successful visit to the Horde. He turned to the Pope for help, convincing the Catholic high priest to raise European knights on a crusade against the Mongols. For this, the Orthodox prince was ready to pay a high price, making serious concessions to the Latins. But Daniel was disappointed - in Catholic Europe there were no people willing to fight the Mongol army (the royal crown sent by the pope was little consolation). He tried to act independently and captured Kiev, but a large punitive detachment of the Horde invaded the lands of Daniel, who went into the steppe only after the Volynians and Galicians themselves dismantled the walls of their fortresses and cities. After this lesson, Daniel began to act more carefully, establishing relations with his western neighbors. At the end of his long reign, he was perhaps the most authoritative and influential monarch in Western Europe. His sons and grandsons continued the same policy - to fence themselves off from the Horde in every possible way and actively - sometimes by force, sometimes by diplomacy, sometimes by dynastic marriages - to act in the West. A few decades after Batu’s invasion, civil strife within the Horde began to undermine its strength, and the khans were no longer able to keep the outskirts of their state under control. Their power in the western part of the former Kievan Rus by the beginning of the 14th century became purely nominal. At the same time, it became clear that the Western Russian princes - the unifiers - were not able to completely overcome the traditionally strong and influential boyars, and the political map of this region again began to look like a patchwork quilt - as in pre-Mongol times.

Western Russian lands bordered the territory of Lithuanian tribes from the north. The Lithuanians were pagans; They did not intend to impose the faith of their fathers on other peoples. The leaders of the Baltic tribes were warlike and seasoned in battles with the crusaders, and therefore they were willingly invited to reign by the Orthodox Western Russian cities and boyars. Soon the Lithuanians occupied most of the princely tables of Western and Southwestern Rus'. The state that arose from the union of Lithuanians and Russians received the name Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia. Military campaigns of Russian-Lithuanian armies in the young borders of the former Kievan Rus turned the grand duchy into the largest state of the then Europe. The Lithuanian rulers did not encroach on the patrimonial estates of the boyars and the liberties of the city. And it is unlikely that the Lithuanian princes were able to impose their own orders - Orthodox Russians made up 9/10 of the state's population. The language of the majority of the population also became the official, state language of the grand duchy. Many Lithuanian princes converted to Orthodoxy or baptized their sons according to the Eastern rite. The Lithuanian-Russian state claimed the inheritance of Kievan Rus. The rulers tried to unite all Russian principalities and cities within their borders. Moving south, to the Kiev Dnieper region, the Russian-Lithuanian army encountered the Horde. In 1362, in the great battle of Blue Waters, the Tatar forces were defeated, after which the borders of the grand duchy extended to the Black Sea coast. The fight against the crusaders in the north was also successful. In 1410, the united Polish-Lithuanian-Russian army in the famous Battle of Grunwald destroyed the flower of Teutonic chivalry; It was difficult for the order to recover from such a defeat. The movement to the east, to the Russian principalities that recognized the power of the Horde, was also successful at first. However, having moved its borders almost to Moscow itself (the border for a long time passed near Mozhaisk), the Grand Duchy seemed to have encountered an invisible wall and was unable to advance further. Here, around the Moscow princes, the core of a new viable state had already emerged.

1.4 Northeastern Rus'

If in the east the Tatar invasions were more like punitive expeditions, then in the west there were intense hostilities. Here Rus' resisted Lithuanian, German and Swedish expansion and itself took offensive actions against them. In 1239, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich restored his supreme power over Smolensk, winning it from Lithuania. In 1239, his son Alexander defeated the Swedes on the Neva. In 1241-1242, having secured the support of the Horde, he expelled the Germans from Koporye and their supporters from Pskov. April 5, 1242 he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Germans at the Battle of Lake Peipsi near Pskov (Battle of the Ice). After him, the Livonian Order for 10 years did not dare to take offensive actions against Rus'. In 1242, the Novgorodians, led by Alexander, defeated the invading Lithuanians. In the second half of the 12th century, Novgorod and Pskov waged constant wars with Lithuania and the Livonian Order, the Swedes, and the Danes.

When the news arrived about the death of Grand Duke Yaroslav in Mongolia, a struggle for power began, as a result of which Alexander’s younger brother, Andrei, ascended the Vladimir throne (“out of turn”). Similar “measures” often occurred in the past, but previously they were internal problems of the princely dynasty, squads and cities. Now those bypassed during the division of power have a new arbiter - the Tatars. The brothers set off on a long journey, and Karakorum, and there Andrei’s seizure of power was recognized as legal. However, after some time, relations between the Mongol Great Khan and Batu deteriorated. Alexander decided to take advantage of this favorable situation for him: he went to “stay” with the Sarai Khan, after which a Tatar punitive detachment invaded the Vladimir land. Andrei's squad was defeated (he himself fled to Sweden); The Tatars ravaged and plundered the principality and, having taken away a large load, returned to the steppe, and Alexander - already the Grand Duke - solemnly entered Vladimir. This was the first time that Horde troops were used in Russian civil strife. Alexander actively and consistently built the lands under his control into state system Mongol Empire. On this path, he had to radically break the freedom-loving habits of his subjects. Ten years after the Battle of the Ice, the winner of the knights and defender of Novgorod again came to the city - this time his squad guarded Tatar officials conducting a census (to organize the collection of tribute). A similar census took place in the Vladimir-Suzdal principality: its entire population was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands, and at the head of each such group a person was placed responsible for the correctness of payments and the fulfillment of duties. The most hated was the “blood tax” - the obligation to supply Russian soldiers to the Khan’s troops, who continued the conquest and pacification of rebels throughout Asia (Russian squads took part in the Tatar punitive expeditions in the North Caucasus and even in the defeat of South China). The transformation of North-Eastern Rus' into a Horde ulus was very painful. In 1262 there was a spontaneous outbreak of protest against the Horde tribute collectors; they were all killed. Alexander hastily went to Sarai to “pray his people.” His authority in the Horde was high, and the khan’s repressions did not follow. On the way back to his homeland, Alexander Yaroslavovich died. When the news of his death reached Vladimir, the Metropolitan exclaimed loudly: “The sun has set on the land of Suzdal.” During the same period, Russian expansion to the north and northeast developed quite widely. In 1292 Novgorod organized a large military expedition against the Finnish tribes. The lands in the northeast were actively colonized by the Russians with little resistance from local tribes. A characteristic feature of this period for North-Eastern Rus' was increased fragmentation. The appanage principalities acquired real independence, their political significance began to be determined predominantly not by family ties with the Grand Duke, but military force the principality itself. The Grand Duchy began to be seen not as a goal itself, but as one of effective means strengthening their appanage principalities. The Mongol khans contributed to increasing fragmentation, often passing the label of grand reign from one prince to another, but all the great princes were descendants of Yaroslav. At the turn of the 13th-14th centuries, new centers appeared in Vladimir Rus' against the background of general fragmentation. Moscow and Tver, formerly small cities, and then appanage principalities. Appanage Prince of Tver, Mikhail, nephew of Alexander Nevsky, from 1304. was a Grand Duke. In Moscow in 1280, Daniil, the son of Alexander Nevsky, became the first appanage prince Yaroslavich.

His brothers chased the title of grand duke and hoped mainly for the khan's favor, but at the same time they cared little about strengthening the basis of their own power - about their hereditary possession. Daniel was the first of the heirs of Alexander Nevsky to understand that ultimately a lasting victory would be achieved by the prince who was able to expand, strengthen, unite and transfer to his children lands for the possession of which it was not necessary to seek permission from the Horde. Daniel's Moscow estate was small and not rich, but this prince was not tempted by illusory titles that entirely depended on the khans, but began to methodically and persistently build up his own forces: he strengthened his small capital and surrounding towns, gradually expanded neighboring territories, rallied the faithful and dependents around him only from the prince of the boyars, attracted influential hierarchs of the Orthodox Church to his side. Daniel's heirs continued his work. The only institution ensuring the unity of North-Eastern Rus' of that period was the church. The Mongol-Tatar conquest did not affect its status at all. Following their policy of non-interference in the religious affairs of the conquered countries, the Tatars not only subjected the monasteries to less destruction, but also provided them with certain privileges: in the first years after the conquest, they did not take tribute or other payments from the monastic lands. The transfer of the center of the ancient Russian state to the northeast also determined the move of Metropolitan of All Rus' Maxim in 1299 from Kyiv to Vladimir. Almost all segments of the Russian population had “freedom” of movement. Together with the princes, their boyars and squads moved. Moreover, they could move both with their princes and from one prince to another, taking their court, squad and dependent people, and often the lands from which they fed. In the northeast, this practice was seen as common and natural. The princes fought to attract the largest possible number of boyars from other principalities. In Southern Rus', in particular in the Galician principality, Daniil and his successors actively and successfully fought against the boyar “freemen”. Daniel was able to really gain power only by suppressing the resistance of the boyars.

1.5 Muscovy

From the beginning of the 14th century, the tendency towards centralization of Rus' began to manifest itself more clearly. Between Moscow and Tver, and especially in the first half, the struggle to become the new center of Rus' intensified. Although there were significant contradictions between the Moscow and Tver princes, as well as other princes, they rarely resulted in open internecine wars and clashes. From 1310-1390 There were 19 internecine wars, but only during 10 of them did battles and the capture of cities take place. The number and strength of Tatar attacks on Rus' continued to decrease. Repeatedly Russian squads prevailed over Tatar detachments. In addition to the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, another important Russian victory was the battle on the river. Vozhe in 1378. In the first third of the 14th century, the most intense struggle for the great Vladimir table took place between Moscow and Tver. After the establishment of Mikhail of Tver in the Grand Duchy of Vladimir in 1304, Yuri of Moscow, the son of Daniil, achieved the conviction and murder of Mikhail in the Horde in 1318. But in the same year, Dmitry, the son of Mikhail, proved in the Horde that Yuri was appropriating the “exit” I got the label myself. In 1324, Dmitry at the headquarters of Khan Uzbek killed Yuri, but was executed by the khan in 1325. The label for the great reign was transferred to Dmitry's brother Alexander, and Yuri's brother Ivan Daniilovich (Kalita) became the prince of Moscow. The possessions of his boyars appear far beyond the borders of the Moscow principality; Lands and cities are being bought up. Kalita actively uses the Horde to achieve her goals: Rostov rebelled against the Tatars - Kalita asks for the rebellious city for herself, appoints her governors as governors, expels the local boyars and divides their estates with Moscow confidants; refuses to obey the Horde Tver (1327) the Tatar ambassador Cholkhan was killed, cousin Uzbek Khan Kalita goes together with the Moscow army and the Tatar army to punish disobedient people (the reward is the title of Grand Duke); The Khan forgives his Tver rivals; Kalita goes to the Horde with a denunciation, as a result of which the Tver prince and his son are executed in Sarai by a cruel death. And upon his return, the Grand Duke collects double tribute from Rus', defeating and ruining all the principalities of North-Eastern Rus'. At the end of the 14th century, the Moscow princes began to consider the great reign as their natural privilege.

1.6 Battle of Kulikovo

As long as Kalita was alive and the Sarai khans were strong, the Horde could be confident in its power over the “Russian ulus.” But Kalita’s grandson, Dmitry, took advantage of his grandfather’s inheritance to try for the first time to get rid of Horde dependence. Acting decisively and harshly, Dmitry subjugated most of the Russian princes and broke many of Moscow's rivals. By this time, the “Batu” Horde had split in two; the border passed along the Volga. In its western schism, the “great turmoil” began; the murders of khans and coups took place one after another, and Sarai had no time for Rus' for a long time. Dmitry decided to openly clash with a significant Horde force. Firstly, the Horde rulers, along with the majority of their nomadic subjects, converted to Islam, and therefore the fight against them took on a religious connotation. Secondly, the military leader Mamai declared himself khan in the Horde, who, according to Mongolian customs, did not have the right to do so (he was not Genghisid - a descendant of Genghis Khan). For Dmitry, this turned out to be a good excuse to refuse to recognize the power of Mamai over himself and to stop paying the Horde tribute. On the other hand, the strengthening of Moscow, especially after the Volga victory, could not but cause concern in the Golden Horde. Therefore, Mamai decided to repeat Batu’s invasion and make Rus' again completely dependent on the Horde. Not having enough strength, he hired soldiers from various countries and entered into an agreement with the Lithuanian Prince Jagiello on joint actions against Moscow. In August 1380, Dmitry gathered about 150 thousand soldiers in Kolomna, among whom were regiments from all Russian principalities (except Ryazan and Novgorod). On September 8, 1380, Russian troops entered the battle on the Kulikovo field beyond the Don, where Mamai suffered a crushing defeat, fled and was killed by his rival Chingizid Tokhtamysh, who seized power in the Golden Horde. The Russian regiments also suffered heavy losses. Tokhtamysh, in his message to Dmitry Donskoy, pretended that the legitimate khan was grateful to his vassal for his help in the fight against the impostor. But in order to force Muscovite Rus' to resume paying tribute “in the old way,” the new khan had to invade Dmitry’s possessions and burn his capital. Rus' again recognized itself as the Horde ulus, but Moscow already understood that gaining independence from the Horde was only a matter of time and circumstances. A few years after the Battle of Kulikovo, the Lithuanian princes, discarding long hesitations, decided to baptize pagan Lithuanians according to the Catholic rite. The Lithuanian Grand Duke Jagiello married the young Polish Queen Jadwiga. As a result, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Russia formed a union under the rule of one monarch. Thus, the Lithuanian princes recognized the futility of their efforts to unite all the lands of the former Kievan Rus and decided to join the European world. An important factor that contributed to the consolidation of Rus' under the leadership of Moscow was the activity of the church. Since 1326, the metropolitans lived permanently in Moscow. Moscow received the advantages of the religious center of Rus'.

1.7 The death of the Golden Horde and the birth of the Muscovite kingdom

A few years after the pacification of the “Russian ulus,” the Horde was subjected to a foreign invasion. A new famous conqueror, the Central Asian ruler Timur (Tamerlane, the Iron Lame), invaded the possessions of the Chingizids with a huge army. For four years in a row, the diverse hordes of the Samarkand emir tore to pieces the Horde; one day they headed north. Timur's warriors had already reached the approaches to Moscow, but suddenly turned their horses and went back to the steppes, and then completely left the Volga region, going far to the east to conquer China. Numerous rich trading cities of the Horde lay in ruins. Previously, nomadic hordes subject to the Sarai khans began to create their own states. But Dmitry Donskoy did not take advantage of the opportunity to free himself from dependence, and for a long time for the Russian princes the Sarai Khan continued to remain the king, the supreme overlord. Another hundred years after the Battle of Kulikovo before the official acquisition of state independence by Moscow Russia were filled with turbulent events to the limit. The 15th century was the time when Rus' actually turned into a single state. In reality, neither the Tver nor other appanage princes could resist Moscow, which had become the center of the state. Gradually, the appanage principalities lost their independence and became subordinate to the Moscow prince. After the death of Dmitry, his eldest son Vasily not only received most of the Principality of Moscow, but also the Grand Duchy of Vladimir by will (the first case in the history of Rus'), the Golden Horde Khan sanctioned a similar precedent by sending a label. Vasily became so strong that he did not go to the Horde for a label. After his death in 1425, power passed to his young son Vasily, who was succeeded by his son Ivan III in 1462. Ivan Vasilyevich died in 1505 and his son Vasily took his place. In the period from 1454 - 1489. The following were annexed to Moscow: Mozhaisk, Serpukhov Principality, Suzdal, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Rostov, Tver, residents of Novgorod Vyatka. After two unequal treaties between Moscow and Ryazan in 1456 and 1483, Ryazan actually became a protectorate of Moscow. The most persistent struggle against subordination to Moscow was waged by Novgorod, which had large material and financial resources. In 1456, as a result of the successful campaign of Vasily II, the Yazhelbitsky Peace was concluded; according to which the Novgorodians recognized the supreme power of the Moscow prince. Novgorod's attempt to become part of the Rech Pospalita caused the war of 1471, which ended with the victory of Moscow weapons on the river. Sheloni and the Korostyn Treaty of the same year. After Moscow's successful campaign against Novgorod in 1477, Novgorod finally became a protectorate of Moscow. As a symbol of the fall of Novgorod's independence, the veche bell was removed from it in 1478. While the entire 15th century was characterized by the progressive strengthening of the Moscow principality, the internecine struggle between the descendants of Dmitry Donskoy almost led to its decline. Already in the first year of Vasily Dmitrievich's reign, a quarrel broke out with his uncle Vladimir, but it did not result in open war. His uncles and their heirs spoke out against his son Vasily (Dark). The wars continued for 29 years, until 1454. Vasily was repeatedly defeated, captured, imprisoned in a monastery and even blinded, but in the end he won. Ivan III no longer faced such serious opposition from his uncles and brothers. The main foreign policy opponents of the Moscow state in the 15th century. There were Rech Pospalitaya and the Golden Horde. During this period, semi-independent khanates began to emerge from the Golden Horde, for example, Kazan in 1445, Astrakhan in 1459-1460. The Horde no longer had any opportunity to interfere not only in the internal affairs of Rus', but also to influence its foreign policy orientation. The actual value of the tribute paid by Russia was constantly decreasing. In 1478, Ivan III completely refused to pay tribute, this led to a confrontation between the troops of Khan Akhmat and the troops of Ivan III on the Ugra River in October - November 1480 and ended with the departure of the Tatars without a fight, which marked their recognition of the complete independence of Rus'. Shortly before standing on the Ugra, Ivan III married the niece of the Byzantine emperor Sophia. After this marriage, the Grand Duke of Moscow decided that he had the right to call himself “Tsar” (the title Tsar is higher than the grand ducal and royal ones and is equal to the imperial one). Feeling like the heir of the Ramey rulers, Ivan introduced many Byzantine customs (including kissing his hand) to the Moscow court. The Moscow and other princes, Novgorod and Pskov fought with Lithuania 17 times, with the largest number of warriors (13) occurring at the turn of the 14th - 15th centuries, when Lithuania took active offensive actions. In the middle of the 15th century, there was a long struggle between Moscow and Lithuania for the capture of Novgorod. The struggle for the annexation of the western and southwestern lands of Ancient Rus' to the Moscow state led to the protracted Lithuanian-Moscow war of 1487 - 1494. According to the treaty of 1494, Moscow received the Vyazma principality and territory in the upper Oka basin. Throughout the century, small-scale military clashes and mutual invasions of Novgorodians and Pskovians, on the one hand, and Swedes, Livonian Germans, and Norwegians, on the other, constantly took place on the western borders. The Pskovites fought with the Germans ten times, the Novgorodians fought with the Swedes about five times, and the Norwegians - two. In the second half of the 15th century, an expansionist movement of the Moscow state to the east began to take place, and increasingly large military expeditions began to be carried out against the Tatar khanates, primarily Kazan.

Chapter 2. Crooked mirrors. The view of the average person

Having studied the issue, it becomes obvious that this period is indeed very important. Firstly, this is after all three centuries. During this period, there is a violent struggle for power over a vast territory, a type of state power. All this, of course, is directly related to our present, and what assessments we give to this past will all affect our future. Therefore, I think it is very important to have reliable and complete information. And after reading what the textbook offers us, questions immediately arise that in the 10th grade, for a number of understandable reasons, generally do not exist.

.1 Tatars

“Tatars in Rus' were the name given to the mixed-tribal troops of Genghis Khan and his heirs, led, as a rule, by Mongol khans and generals. The origin of this name is unclear. The Tatar tribe in Central Asia roamed in the neighborhood of the Mongols, but even before Genghis’s conquests it was either exterminated by the Mongols or dissolved among other nomads. Modern Tatars - descendants of the Volga Bulgars, Cumans and Finno-Ugric tribes - have no direct relationship to their Central Asian namesakes.” If these are not the same Tatars, then perhaps the Mongols are not the same, or their role in these events had a different quality.

2.2 Savage conquerors

Wild pastoral scattered tribes, without writing, uneducated, leading a primitive way of life, united and defeated Northern China, the Khorezm state, India, Iran!? Personally, this already sounds absurd to me. I don’t know anything about the development of the Khorezm state and Iran, but even Alexander the Great, who 300 BC, could not conquer India. e. already had an army seasoned in battles and certainly able to fight better than a wild tribe. And China, with its military traditions going back centuries, systems of defensive structures, population size and level of development, could not be defeated and, most likely, was an ally or “big brother”. Moreover, one cannot ignore the fact that gunpowder began to be used more or less systematically in China in the 7th century for firing mortars. It can be argued that it was from the 7th century that gunpowder ceased to be invented specifically for each individual application. The Chinese, Arabs and Byzantines could do it. The military advantage was obvious. And even if they had captured China, why didn’t they adopt such a formidable weapon?

The attack on Rus' came from the lower reaches of the Volga, apparently from the territory of Kazakhstan or Kalmykia. But how they ended up here with an army of 120-140 thousand horsemen is not entirely clear. It is not clear how this huge horde moved across the territory of what was then Rus'. Without maps, on roads unsuitable for such a horde, in late autumn, when there is no pasture for the horses, when the snow and frosts were apparently several times higher than today. I can’t imagine how you can quickly set up a camp for the night, for 100 thousand people and horses, waist-deep in snow, warm up and eat. What kind of field kitchen was this? And when they approached the middle zone, how did these children of the steppes navigate and break through the forests and bolts? And returning to the question of maps, without knowing how to read or write, how did they know exactly where to go?

2.3 Passionarity of Russians

According to the official version, the Mongols led by Batu did not reach Novgorod. Why then, Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, recognized the overlord of the “Tatars”? And his son and later ruler of the Novgorod lands, the notorious Alexander Nevsky, not only did not fight them, but on the contrary, contributed in every possible way to their stay: collected tribute, carried out a census, used soldiers to repel attacks from European states? And in general, why did the Russian principalities independently conquer their lands and repel the attacks of the Lithuanians, Germans, Norwegians, Finns, Danes, Poles... After all, if you pay tribute to your “sovereign,” then he must defend his estates with his troops! There is not a single case known to refute this state of affairs. Moreover, when the “aggression” came from Lithuania, which at that time consisted of 9/10 Russians? So isn’t it better to join them and not depend on hated strangers!?

2.4 Imperial paradox

It is also incomprehensible that the expansion of the “Great Tartary” (as the maps of that time say) did not occur according to the laws of development of the empire. The process of the emergence of a strong state begins with the formation of cities, territories subject to these cities, the development of civilization, the development of culture and science, trade, the accumulation of wealth, and only then expansion to neighboring borders with subsequent annexation to itself. The development of the Moscow principality clearly demonstrates this. And it was like that everywhere and at all times! There was no talk of local armed forces in the conquered territory, much less recruitment of recruits into one’s own army (tax in blood); in self-government, caretakers were appointed from among their confidants. Even if we calculate very roughly: the population of the North of Rus' at that time was 7 million people, half of them were women, half were unfit for service, 10% of the remaining would amount to 170 thousand recruits! An order of magnitude larger than the Mongol army! In the story of the Mongols, everything is exactly the opposite.

2.5 Stagnation and decline

The decline in the economic and social environment during the yoke is also not visible. This is what the textbook “says”: the Mongol-Tatar conquest and rule had practically no impact on the internal social processes in Rus', much less threw it back in any serious way. From the beginning of the 14th century there was a new rise in culture in the Russian lands. In almost all large cities, such as Moscow, Novgorod, Tver, Rostov, Pskov, Nizhny Novgorod, etc., monastery schools and colleges were expanded and restored; in the monasteries, the correspondence of old books continued and the creation of new books, of which there were more and more. The rise of Russian culture found vivid expression in the architectural creativity of that period. Russian applied art has achieved great development. Outstanding examples of jewelry, wood and stone carvings, wooden sculpture, and silk embroidery have been preserved. In the 15th century The Russian economy is developing rapidly. The changes affected craft production, construction, and agriculture. The basis for progress in agriculture was the almost universal transition to three-field farming. The use of organic fertilizers has become a necessary component of agricultural work. Increased productivity in agriculture led to an increase in the urban population, which in turn contributed to the growth of crafts and trade. Any new technologies in Rus' in the 15th century. did not appear, except for the production of firearms. Throughout the century, there was both quantitative and qualitative growth in craft production, specialization deepened, and the number of craft settlements and cities increased.” It doesn't look like a yoke. And nowhere is it said about events related to the great trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. How did these events affect the main trade artery of that time?

2.6 Controversies in modern times

If we turn to the authoritative, in our time, information portal - Wikipedia, then this is what we find in the very first lines: “The term “yoke,” meaning the power of the Golden Horde over Russia, does not appear in Russian chronicles. It appeared at the turn of the 15th - 16th centuries in Polish historical literature. The first to use it were the chronicler Jan Dlugosz (“iugum barbarum”, “iugum servitutis”) in 1479 and the professor at the University of Krakow Matvey Miechowski in 1517. In 1575, the term “jugo Tartarico” was used in Daniel Prince’s record of his diplomatic mission to Moscow. In Russian sources, the phrase “Tatar yoke” first appears in the 1660s. in the insert (interpolation) in one of the copies of the Legend of the Massacre of Mamaev. The form “Mongol-Tatar yoke” was first used in 1817 by H. Kruse, whose book was translated into Russian and published in St. Petersburg in the mid-19th century.” The next chapter will present the opinion formulated and presented in the book “The Tatar-Mongol Yoke: Who Conquered Whom,” edited by Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko and Gleb Vladimirovich Nosovsky.

Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko (March 13, 1945, Stalino) - Soviet and Russian mathematician, specialist in the field of multidimensional calculus of variations, differential geometry and topology, theory of groups and Lie algebras, symplectic and computer geometry, theory of Hamiltonian dynamic systems. Full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1994), Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the International Academy of Sciences high school. Gleb Vladimirovich Nosovsky (b. January 26, 1958, Moscow) is a Russian mathematician. Known mainly as a co-author of books by A. T. Fomenko.

Although these people are not authoritative historians, they are certainly not people of weak minds and certainly not dreamers; with their characteristic mathematical precision, relying primarily on facts, they created a theory that, in my opinion, is the most viable and reliable today. Many other versions are rather additions to this work and, in essence, do not contradict its main idea. Therefore, I decided to dwell in more detail on this version.

Chapter 3. Fomenko - Nosovsky. Rus' - Horde

Today, almost everyone knows about the Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus'. From school we are told about the enslavement of the Russian people by steppe nomads who had neither culture nor writing. It is believed that this invasion led to enormous casualties among the Russian people, to the destruction and plunder of their material and spiritual values. From early childhood we are taught that as a result of foreign yoke, the economic and cultural development of Rus', in comparison with Europe, was allegedly thrown back three centuries. They persistently explain to us that Rus' was mired in the darkness of poverty, ignorance, cruelty and violence for almost three centuries, falling into economic and political dependence on its enslavers - the Mongol Khans and Rulers of the Golden Horde. This is written in the official books on the history of Russia. But was it really so? The historical facts and evidence that have reached us tell a completely different story. Modern history believes that Europe was never conquered by the Mongols. That the forces of the invaders were exhausted due to the heroic resistance of the Russian people, and thus Rus' saved Europe from enslavement. Meanwhile, historians admit that in 1241. As a result of the so-called Western Campaign, the Mongols defeated the army of Henry of Seleska near Rodslov, invaded Poland, and then Hungary, Maravia and Selesia. Europe tried to resist, but the united troops under the command of the Hungarian king were defeated by Batu Khan. During the 6 days of retreat, most of the troops were destroyed and the Mongols took the capital of Hungary - Pawn. By 1242, the troops of Batu Khan had already reached the shores of the Adriatic Sea. L. Gumilyov in his book “Ancient Rus' and the Great Steppe” provides the following evidence: Western Europe was in panic, fear gripped not only Germany, but also France, Burgundy and Spain, and led to a complete stagnation of England’s trade with the continent. So who were the Mongol hordes that frightened Europe so much?

Mongolia emerged as an independent state only in the 20th century. and even now is at a low level of development. Including from the point of view of military art. Perhaps this once powerful empire later somehow degenerated? Such examples are known in history. But there is another point of view: “At present, neither ordinary Mongols nor the intelligentsia know anything about such an extremely important event for their country as the conquest of Russia and Europe. They learned all this data from external sources; there were no customs, no culture, no writing left. They developed writing in the 20th century.” (Nikolai Gromov, Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences).

Quite a few historical documents have survived that contradict what we are taught in school today. The medieval article list of the embassy to England, nobleman Grigory Mikulin and clerk Ivan Zinoviev, gives a detailed account of the embassy of Tsar Boris Godunov to England in 1601. in particular, it contains the following conversation between the Russian ambassador Grigory Mikulin and the Scottish ambassador in London. The ambassador asked Gregory:

How are things with your great Tatar sovereign today?

And Gregory said to the ambassador:

Which Tatars are you asking about?

Many Basurman kings and princes serve our great sovereign, his royal majesty. And many Tatars, people of the kingdoms of Kazan and Astrakhan and Siberia, and Cossack, and Kalmyk hordes and many other hordes.

As can be seen from the text, the Russian ambassador Gregory does not understand the question of the Scottish ambassador. For him, the Tatars are not conquerors of Rus', but warriors in the service of the Russian Tsar. When medieval Western chroniclers spoke about Rus', they wrote like this: “such and such a Moscow sovereign set out with the Tatars on such and such a military campaign.” Here is a quote from the book of the Habsburg ambassador to Russia, Baron Sigesmund Hirberstein, “Notes on Muscovite Affairs”: in 1527. They (Muscovites) again fought with the Tatars, after which the famous Battle of Kamen took place.” Similar representations of the Tatars as warriors of the Russian Tsar, and not conquerors, are found in other medieval documents. In 1252, from Constantinople to the headquarters of Khan Batu, the ambassador of King Louis 9, William Rubrukus, traveled with his retinue, who wrote about this in his travel notes: Settlements of Rus are scattered everywhere among the Tatars, the Rus mixed with the Tatars and adopted their customs, as well as clothing and image life. All routes of travel in the vast country are serviced by the Russians. It is noteworthy that Rubrukus traveled through Rus' only 15 years after the start of the yoke. Did assimilation happen too quickly? He goes on to describe the clothing of men and women, which is no different from Western European clothing.

And here is what the Arab chronicler and traveler Ibn Batuta wrote about the Golden Horde in his notes in 1333. There were many Russians in Sarai-Berk. The bulk of the armed and service forces of the Golden Horde were Russian people. On a miniature from the front chronicle of the 14th century depicting the battle of the Russians with the Tatars. It is impossible to distinguish Russians and Tatars here; both have the same helmets, battle armor, sabers, shields and battle banners. Only one of the governors has a Byzantine imperial crown on his head, and the other has a fur Russian princely hat. However, in other medieval miniatures dedicated to this topic, Russians and Tatars cannot be distinguished either. In all these miniatures, the “Mongolian” khans are depicted with crowns on their heads, and the chroniclers call them not khans, but kings. In the miniature of the same chronicle of the 14th century, entitled “Batu’s Invasion of the Russian Lands,” Batu Khan is fair-haired, with Slavic facial features, a crown on his head, and the two squires accompanying him are typical Zaporozhye Cossacks. The rest of Batu’s warriors are no different from Russian warriors. The icon “The Life of St. Sergius of Radonezh” depicts the famous Battle of Kulikovo in the lower part. However, Russians and Tatars cannot be distinguished in this icon either. From the chronicles of the Trans-Don region and the tales of Mamai’s massacre by medieval authors, it becomes clear that: Tsar Mamai’s horde was called a squad in which esauls, princes, boyars and governors fought. And the army of Dmitry Donskoy is the Horde of the Forest. We can learn about the composition of the troops of Khan Batu from the letter of the Hungarian king Bela IV to the Pope, written by him in 1241: “When the state of Hungary, from the Mongol invasion, as a result of the plague, for the most part was turned into a desert, and how the sheepfold was surrounded by various tribes of infidels namely Russians, wanderers from the east, Bulgarians and other heretics from the south.” In the miniature for the letter of the Hungarian king, which is his illustration, the Mongols look like medieval knights with heavy swords and tightly battened metal helmets. “To provide for an army of many thousands of Mongols, a huge amount of metal is needed for weapons, armor and horse shoes. As before, and today in Mongolia there is no ore, no metal, no metal specialists” (Nikolai Gromov, Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences). The Mongols did not leave behind a single written monument, but many documents of that time written in Russian, including labels, have been preserved.

The exact location of the capital of the Golden Horde, Sarai, has not been reliably determined even by archaeological excavations; the chronicles of those years also do not determine the location. There is also evidence from Russian and European chronicles that the Mongols were Christians. Until the 17th century in Rus', in addition to godparents, other names and nicknames were given; they were used both in everyday life and in official documents. And many of them would sound like Tatar to the ear modern man. However, in the Middle Ages they were worn by purely Russian people. The famous study of the historian Pyotr Evgenievich Kornovich “family nicknames and titles in Russia” in 1886. says that: “Christian names in Moscow were very often replaced not only by other Christian but also Tatar ones, for example: mulatto, murat, akhmat. So, from such false names, semi-patronymic names were derived, which later turned into family nicknames for people of purely Russian origin.”

There is written confirmation of this from earlier sources with an exact indication of the time of interest to us. Speaking about the position of the church during this period, it is fashionable to turn to Russian historians of the 19th century. “During the Mongol-Tatar invasion, in the Khan’s army from the first days of the formation of the Golden Horde, an Orthodox temple was built. With the formation of military settlements within the horde, Orthodox churches began to be built everywhere, the clergy were called upon, and the church hierarchy was established. Metropolitan Kirill moved from Novgorod to Kyiv. Where he restored the metropolis of All Rus'. The Metropolitan enjoyed significant benefits from the Mongol authorities. His power, compared to that of the prince, was extensive. And Karamzin writes about this in “Istria of the Russian State”: one of the consequences of Tatar domination was the rise of our clergy, the proliferation of monks and church estates. Church possessions, free from Horde and princely taxes, prospered. Very few of the current Russian monasteries were founded before or after the Tatars. All others remain monuments of this time. In the handwritten text of the famous Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin, “Walking across Three Seas,” the author from time to time freely switches from Russian to Turkic or even Arabic, then just as smoothly returns to Russian. Obviously, he, like his fellow tribesmen, was fluent in these languages. But this is not the main thing.

The main thing is that Afanasy uses Arabic to write Orthodox-Muslim prayers, in which he switches to Turkic and Arabic right in the middle of the prayer, but writes them in Russian letters. In particular, instead of - god, he writes - ollo, i.e. Allah and so on. Also on the ceremonial damask helmet of the Moscow kings, the so-called Jericho cap, along with the Orthodox cross, words from the Koran are written in Arabic script (1628). From all of the above, we can draw a logical conclusion: there was no Mongol-Tatar yoke in Rus'. There was a specific period of the process of internal unification of Russian lands and strengthening of the Tsar's power in the country. The entire population of Rus' was divided into civilians ruled by princes and a permanent regular army, called a horde, under the command of governors who could be Russians, Tatars, Turks or people of another nationality. At the head of the army - the horde, stood the king, or khan. He owned the supreme power in the country. “Medieval Mongolia or Mongolia was a multinational state spread over vast expanses of Eurasia. No foreigners have ever conquered it. It was inhabited by peoples originally living on their land: Russians, Tatars, etc. And the word itself - Mongolia most likely comes from Russian a lot, I can. Or maybe, as Morozov believed, from the Greek word “megalio” i.e. great. In Russian historical sources the word “Mongolia” is not used, but “Great Rus'” is found. Foreigners called it Mongolia, i.e. great - Great Rus'" (Gleb Vladimirovich Nosovsky).

3.1 Genetic code of the horde

In Kazan State University At the Department of Biochemistry, they conducted a study of the ancient burial of Tatar-Mongol warriors. 90% of the samples are Caucasian. Another interesting video recording (#"justify"> Conclusion

At the end of such a study, it becomes absolutely clear that this issue needs to be studied anew. After all, if we imagine that academicians Fomenko and Nosovsky are right in their assessments of the events that took place at that time, then this will help in cultivating the spirit of patriotism for their homeland, in overcoming racial prejudices, in overcoming religious prejudices. Which cannot but have a positive impact on the development of our undoubtedly great Motherland. To finally recognize ourselves as a single people, with a dozen ethnic groups that can and should coexist in brotherhood and set a worthy example to the rest of humanity. This is another example of a large, strong, rich empire falling apart under the weight of internecine wars. If we take the official version as a basis, then we can trace the process of formation of a single strong state, after the unification of disparate Russian lands under the rule of a single center, after overcoming discord. Building a clear vertical of power by infringing on the freedoms of the nobility. Which leads to liberation from the oppression of foreign invaders and the gradual expansion of the state. One thing is absolutely clear: it is impossible to give a correct assessment of events without reliable information. And an incorrect assessment can lead to dire consequences. Who and why this state of affairs may need can be found out only after the truth has been established. But objective evidence and the development of science and technology tell us that the issue is far from resolved!

Bibliography

horde principality of kulikovo battle

1.History of Russia from antiquity to the present day: A guide for applicants to universities / M.M. Gorinov, A.A. Gorsky, V.O. Daines et al.: Higher. school - 1995.

.Russia in the history of world civilization. IX - XX centuries: Textbook for secondary special and general educational institutions / S.T. Zhukovsky, I.G. Zhukovskaya: School press - 2000.

.History of Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. Berdinskikh V.A. - Kirov: Constant; M.: Academic Project, 2005.

.Russia in the world community of civilization: / Semenikova L.I.: Textbook for universities: Ed. 4th. Bryansk: “Kursiv”, 2000.

.The Tatar-Mongol yoke: who conquered whom / Fomenko A.T., Nosovsky G.V. - 2008.

Applications

Batu's invasion of Rus'

Illustration for a letter from the Hungarian king. Battle of the Mongols with the Hungarians

The prince receives news of the horde's invasion

Scientists have long differed in their interpretation of the influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke on the history of Ancient Rus'. Some scientists sincerely believe that there was actually no invasion, and the Russian princes simply turned to the nomads for protection. At that time, the country was weak and not ready for serious wars with Lithuania or Sweden. The Tatar-Mongol yoke protected and protected Russian lands, preventing invasions of other nomads and the development of wars.

One way or another, in 1480 the Tatar-Mongol rule in Rus' came to an end. It is necessary to characterize in the most detailed way the role of the yoke in the history of the state, paying attention to both positive and negative aspects.

Positive and negative influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

Sphere of life of society and state	Positive influence of the yoke	Negative aspects of the influence of the Mongol yoke
Cultural sphere of life	The vocabulary expanded, because Russian people began to use foreign words from the Tatar language in everyday life. The Mongols also changed the perception of the culture itself, introducing traditional aspects into it. During the reign of the Tatar-Mongol yoke in Ancient Rus', the number of monasteries and Orthodox churches increased.	culture developed much more slowly than before, and literacy fell to the lowest levels in the history of Ancient Rus'. the architectural and urban development of the state was hampered. Literacy problems became increasingly common, and chronicles were kept unstable.
The political sphere of state life.	the Mongol yoke protected the territories of Ancient Rus', preventing wars with other states. Despite the labeling system used, the Mongols allowed the Russian princes to maintain the hereditary nature of the transfer of power.	The veche traditions that existed in Novgorod and testified to the development of democracy were destroyed. The country chose to follow the Mongolian way of organizing power, leaning towards its centralization. During the control of the Tatar-Mongol yoke over the territory of Ancient Rus', it was never possible to achieve the identification of a single ruling dynasty. the Mongols artificially maintained fragmentation, and Ancient Rus' stalled in political development, lagging behind other states by several decades.
Economic sphere of state life	There are no positive aspects of the impact of the yoke on the economy.	The hardest hit to the country's economy was the need to pay regular tribute. After the invasion and the establishment of the power of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, 49 cities were devastated, and 14 of them could not be restored. The development of many crafts stalled, as did the development of international trade.
Influence on public consciousness	Scientists are divided into two camps on this issue. Klyuchevsky and Soloviev believe that the Mongols did not have a significant impact on public consciousness. All economic and political processes, in their opinion, followed from the trends of previous periods	Karamzin, on the contrary, believed that the Mongol yoke had a huge impact on Ancient Rus', achieving complete economic and social inhibition in the development of the state.

Conclusions on the topic

Of course, it was impossible to deny the impact of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. The Mongols were feared and hated by the people, largely due to the fact that representatives of the Tatar-Mongol yoke tried to change the state according to their own image. At that time, the Mongols even dreamed of imposing their religious system on the inhabitants of Ancient Rus', but they actively resisted this, giving preference only to Orthodoxy.

In addition, the influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke also affected the establishment of the future system of power. Gradually, power in the country became centralized, and the beginnings of democracy were completely destroyed. Thus, the despotic, eastern model of government flourished on the territory of Rus'.

After liberation from the yoke in 1480, the country found itself in a deep economic crisis, from which it emerged only decades later. Ahead of the state lay Troubles, imposture, a change of the ruling dynasty and the rise of autocracy.

Introduction

The purpose of this essay is to study the culture of the monoglo-Tatar state - the Golden Horde.

Golden Horde - Mongol-Tatar state, founded in the early 40s XIII century by Batu Khan. The Golden Horde included Western Siberia, Northern Khorezm, Volga Bulgaria, the Northern Caucasus, Crimea, Desht-i-Kipchak. The Russian principalities were vassals of the Golden Horde. Capitals: Saray-Batu, from the first half XIV V. - Sarai-Berke (N. Volga region). IN XV V. broke up into the Siberian, Kazan, Crimean, Astrakhan and other khanates.

The study of the Golden Horde is one of the traditional topics of Russian and Soviet historical science. Interest in its history is associated with the solution of a number of specific problems concerning not only the ways of development of the nomadic society itself, but also its interaction with the surrounding settled peoples. For a long time, the Golden Horde played a special, extremely reactionary role in the political, social and cultural development of the diverse and numerous population of a vast historical and geographical region.

The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, whose possessions were located in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and was not challenged by anyone for a very long time. The most enterprising merchants traveled vast distances to get to its capital, which was rightfully known as the largest trading base between East and West. Travelers and trade caravans spread all over the world, true stories and incredible legends about the peoples who inhabited the Golden Horde, their unique customs, culture and nomadic life, about the wealth and power of the khans who ruled here, countless herds of cattle and endless steppes, where one could not walk for weeks. meet not a single person. True and fictional stories about the huge state of nomads continued to exist even after its disappearance. And today interest in it has not waned, and its history and culture have long been studied in many countries. But still, in assessing many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, the most opposing opinions are encountered.

The obvious and sharply negative role of the Golden Horde in the history of Rus' is what first strikes the eye when reading any source that reveals their relationship. As a result, a situation was created in science where, for the most part, it was not so much the Golden Horde itself that was studied, but its influence on Rus' and their relationships. Any positive fact in relation to the Mongol state seemed unthinkable and was questioned. But despite everything, the Golden Horde theme was and remained one of the traditional ones in Russian pre-revolutionary and then Soviet historical science. Without knowledge of the history and ways of development of a huge, powerful, in many ways unusual and, in the full sense of the word, bloodthirsty state, it is impossible to understand many aspects of the formation and growth of medieval Rus', it is impossible to fully assess the course of events in European politics in the 13th-15th centuries.

Formation of the Golden Horde state

Thirty years before the appearance of nomadic hordes under the walls of Russian cities, in 1206. On the banks of the Central Asian Onon River, the kuriltai (congress), the steppe aristocracy, gathered. As often happens in history, the question that he had to solve had long been clear to everyone in the most categorical and unambiguous way. And there was only one candidate - Temujin. All that was required was to carry out a formal legal act of approving the kaan (supreme ruler) of the new Mongol state. In a long, cruel, treacherous and sophisticated struggle, Temujin managed to unite the disparate and warring Mongol nomadic tribes into a single state.

But not even five years had passed since the day of the Kuriltai, which declared Temujin Genghis Khan, when Mongolian mothers escorted their sons from the thresholds of the yurts, calling on the eternal blue sky to save their lives. Now Mongol blood was shed for the glory of the kaan not at the native shores of Onon and Kerulen, but many days' journey away from them to the south and west. Before his death in August 1227, Genghis Khan was able to lay the territorial foundation of a huge new empire, which included not only the peoples living in the immediate vicinity of Mongolia, but also China, Central Asia, and the steppes west of the Irtysh.

As a result, in the second half of the 13th century. vast expanses from the shore Pacific Ocean to the Danube were under the rule of the Genghisids. Naturally, there could be no talk of political and economic unity of all parts of such a giant, although for some period they tried to support it from the capital of Mongolia, Karakorum, founded by Genghis Khan. But already in the 60s of the 13th century. the empire fell into separate parts. Its capital was moved from Karakorum to Khanbalik, and the ruling dynasty itself, in the Chinese manner, began to be called Yuan.

In territorial terms, the Golden Horde is usually associated with steppe expanses, entirely inhabited by nomads, and somewhere in the middle of the endless steppes is the capital of the state - the city of Saray. If we evaluate the total area, the Golden Horde was undoubtedly the largest state of the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian historians of the 14th - 15th centuries. summed up its size in figures that amazed the imagination of contemporaries. One of them noted that the length of the state extends to 8, and the width to 6 months of travel. Another slightly reduced the size: up to 6 months of travel in length and 4 in width. The third relied on specific geographical landmarks and reported that this country extends “from the Sea of ​​Constantinople to the Irtysh River, 800 farsakhs in length, and in width from Babelebvab (Derbent) to the city of Bolgar, that is, approximately 600 farsakhs.” Although these figures are impressive, they give only the most general idea, covering precisely the belt of the European-Asian steppes and confirming the existing stereotype. The detailing of the borders of the Golden Horde is associated with a clear lack of information in written sources and therefore the necessary data has to be collected literally bit by bit, also drawing on archaeological materials.

The territory of the state did not remain stable, changing throughout the entire period of its existence. The specificity of the Golden Horde borders was that all the surrounding peoples tried to settle as far as possible from the areas inhabited by the Mongols out of complete concern for their own safety. As a result, “empty places” appeared along the perimeter of the Golden Horde nomads. In landscape terms, they usually represented transitional forest-steppe areas. As a rule, they were used alternately by one side or the other for economic and fishing purposes.

State structure of the Golden Horde

From the first year of its existence, the Golden Horde was not a sovereign state, and the khan who led it was also not considered an independent ruler. The kaan located here, according to one of the articles of Genghis Khan’s yasa (law), had the right to a certain part of the income from all the territories conquered by the Mongols. Moreover, he had possessions in these areas that belonged to him personally. The creation of such a system of close interweaving and interpenetration was associated with an attempt to prevent the inevitable disintegration of a huge empire into separate independent parts. Only the central Karakoram government had the authority to decide the most important economic and political issues.

In the 60s of the 13th century. An internecine struggle broke out around the Karakoram throne between Kublai Kublai and Arig-Buga. The victorious Kublai moved the capital from Karakorum to the territory of conquered China in Khan Balik (present-day Beijing). Mengu-Timur, who ruled the Golden Horde at that time, hastened to take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself and did not recognize Kublai’s rights as the supreme ruler of the entire empire, since he left the capital of its founder and abandoned the native yurt of all Genghisids - Mongolia - to the mercy of fate. From that moment on, the Golden Horde gained complete independence in resolving all issues of foreign policy and internal nature, and the so carefully guarded unity of the empire founded by Genghis Khan suddenly exploded, and it fell to pieces. However, by the time the Golden Horde acquired full political sovereignty, naturally, it already had its own internal state structure, and it was sufficiently established and developed.

In accordance with the army division, the entire state was divided into right and left wings. In the Jochi ulus, the right wing formed the possessions of Khan Batu, stretching from the Danube to the Irtysh. The left wing was under the rule of his elder brother Khan of the Horde.

In the initial period of the existence of the Golden Horde, the wings corresponded to the largest administrative units of the state. But by the end of the 13th century. they turned from administrative into purely army concepts.

The further development of statehood, the emergence of cities, the introduction of Islam, and closer acquaintance with Arab and Persian traditions of governance led to various complications in the domains of the Jochids, with the simultaneous withering away of Central Asian customs dating back to the time of Genghis Khan. Instead of dividing the territory into two wings, four uluses appeared, led by ulusbeks. Simultaneously with the establishment of the administrative-territorial division, the formation of the state administration apparatus took place. The period of reign of the khans Batu and Berke can rightfully be called organizational in the history of the Golden Horde. The feudal estates of the aristocracy were formalized, an apparatus of officials appeared, the capital was founded, the Yamsk connection between all uluses was organized, taxes and duties were approved and distributed. The reign of Batu and Berke is characterized by the absolute power of the khans, whose authority was associated in the minds of their subjects with the amount of wealth they looted. In the Golden Horde, the kuriltai, so characteristic of Mongolia, at which all representatives of the Chingizid clan decided on the most important state issues, were not practiced at all. Changes in the administrative and government structure have reduced the role of this traditional nomadic institution to nothing. Having a government in the stationary capital, the khan no longer needed the kuriltai. As for such an important prerogative as approving an heir, it has now become the exclusive competence of the khan.

Cities of the Golden Horde

There were about 150 cities in the Golden Horde various sizes, many of which arose where the endless Polovtsian steppes with nomadic camps recently stretched. Their names are as poetic as the East itself: Gulstan (Country of Flowers), Sarai (Palace), Saraichik (Small Palace), Ak-Saray (White Palace), Ak-Kirmen (White Fortress), Ak-Mosque (White Mosque) ), Ulug-Mosque (Great Mosque), Argamakli-Saray (Palace of Swift Horses).

Information about the Golden Horde cities was collected by scientists as a result of many years of archaeological research, as well as through the study of numismatic material, i.e. coins minted in a number of cities. Very interesting, sometimes detailed information about cities is contained in written sources: works of Arab-Persian historical geography, Russian chronicles, notes of Western European travelers, Tatar historical sources, as well as works of folk epic. The most valuable sources on the history of the Golden Horde cities are also medieval geographical maps, compiled mainly by Italian travelers of the 14th - mid-15th centuries.

Urban planning on the main territory of the Golden Horde, i.e. on the former Desht-i-Kipchak, began in the 50s of the 13th century. If Plano Carpini, having traveled through the entire Ulus of Jochi from west to east and back in 1245 - 1247, did not meet a single city there, then Rubruk, who traveled almost in his footsteps just six years later, saw the magnificent city just rebuilt by Batu Khan Barn. At the same time, his son Sartak was also engaged in the construction of cities and towns. Caravan routes from east to west with crossings on the Volga and Don already passed through Sarai and some other settlements.

A special flourishing of urban culture in the Golden Horde occurred during the period of the power of this state under the reigns of Uzbek and Janibek. It was during this period that monumental architecture reached unprecedented heights of development.

Monument is a Latin word and means a monument of large size. In relation to architecture, it must be understood as large-scale structures, entire architectural ensembles.

In the Golden Horde, the former nomadic and new urban cultures met and existed peacefully. If anyone imagines this state as a continuous nomadic world, with countless herds of animals and “wild” nomads, then he is deeply mistaken. The Golden Horde, while maintaining the traditions of semi-nomadic life in the summer, is a country of cities, a world of high urban culture.

Some cities were much larger in size and population than, for example, Western European ones. For comparison: Rome in the 13th century had 35 thousand inhabitants, Paris in the 14th century - 58 thousand, Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde, in the same 14th century - more than 100 thousand.

There were two cities named Saray. The first of them, Sarai-Batu, is the first capital of the Golden Horde. Under Uzbek Khan, the capital was moved to another city - Saray-Berke.

Sarai-Batu was truly a giant city, occupying a huge area of ​​36 square meters for those times. km. Data from archaeological research indicate that the city was highly livable. It had heating, water supply and sewerage systems. Palaces and others public buildings were built from baked bricks with lime mortar, the houses of ordinary people were built from adobe, that is, unburnt brick, and also from wood. Excavations have revealed the remains of two large palaces with richly decorated state halls and living rooms. One of the palaces had a pool with running water in the center, behind which there was a raised platform for the throne under a canopy - an elegant ceremonial canopy. Undoubtedly, this was the Khan's palace. Workshops for the production of glazed ceramics, various architectural details, jewelry, etc. were also explored on the territory of the city.

Saray-Berke, the second capital of the Golden Horde, was located higher along the Akhtuba, also on the left bank. The surviving information from written sources about the capital of the Golden Horde in the 14th century refers specifically to this Sarai. Al-Omari writes that “the city of Sarai was built by Berke Khan on the banks of the Turan River. It lies on salt marsh land, without any walls. The king's residence there is a large palace, on the top of which there is a golden new moon. The palace is surrounded by walls, towers and houses in which its emirs live. This palace is their winter quarters. Sarai, a great city containing markets, baths and institutions of piety, a place where goods are sent..."

The Turan River means the river of the Turks, i.e. a river flowing through the land of the Turkic peoples. This is what the ancient Iranians called these lands.

Saray-Berke was completely destroyed in 1395 as a result of the last campaign against the Golden Horde of Tamerlane, the ruler of the Timurid state in Central Asia. Currently, on its territory, like on Sarai-Batu, there are no above-ground architectural monuments. Their foundations, as well as a huge number of other remains of material culture, have been excavated.

Both Saray-Batu and Saray-Berke were no less important centers of international transit trade between East and West, between Europe and Asia in the literal sense of the word.

Material Culture

Curious travelers and wealthy merchants, skillful diplomats and wise politicians from many countries came to the Horde to meet its powerful khans, collect information about the numerous peoples who inhabited this state, and see its large cities with rich bazaars and lush oriental architecture. They were amazed by the beauty of the previously unseen khan's palaces and mosques, madrassas and mausoleums, public baths and caravanserais, and other majestic buildings. These structures were truly amazing: decorated with white and blue tiles, covered with glass glaze, and gold leaf. Floral and geometric patterns on them alternated with elegant inscriptions conveying passages from the Koran and oriental poetry. The interior halls were amazing in their own way: the walls were decorated with mosaic and majolica panels with gilding alternating with arabesques, the floors were also covered with tiled bricks of various shades. The main halls were complemented by rest rooms, bathrooms, and in the courtyard there were gardens with fountains. All this happened and this is reliably evidenced by archaeological materials when supplemented with messages from written sources.

Majolica is characterized by bright painting (in oriental architecture - mainly arabesques, that is, a complex ornament based on a beautiful interweaving of geometric and floral patterns, often including an Arabic inscription) under a transparent glaze. The Golden Horde majolica was dominated by blue and ultramarine colors, and there were also many tiles with turquoise glaze and black underglaze painting. The ornament was distinguished by its special grace and ease of perception.

The remains of material culture testify to a truly high level of development of crafts and art in the Golden Horde cities: construction and architecture, jewelry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, leather, pottery, bone carving, glass making, stone carving, etc.

Here are just a few finds from the ruins of Saray-Berke: the remains of large elegant oil lamps and vessels in the form of a decanter or vase made of thick, almost colorless glass with a pleasant background, with artistically executed multicolor painting in blue, red, white, yellow, pistachio colors, a bronze door ring a handle, a bronze brazier for hot coals, a large golden vessel in the shape of a deep bowl with two vertical handles in the form of fantastic beasts with the body of a fish and the head of a dragon; the saber of Uzbek Khan himself with a gold inscription on the hilt. These are just a few of the most notable finds, not to mention various bronze lamps, inlaid iron battle axes, and a gilded iron helmet. In general, the products of gold and silversmiths of the Golden Horde Eurasia met the world standards of jewelry art of the developed Middle Ages.

Round metal mirrors are of considerable interest as objects of decoration and everyday life and as works of art. Their reverse sides had relief decorations in the form of images of various animals. Geometric and floral patterns were successfully used in the manufacture of mirrors. Golden Horde mirrors, being a product of urban handicraft production. Coins were also minted in the Golden Horde cities. These were mainly silver Jochid dirhems and, in part, especially in the 13th century, copper pools.

In general, the briefly listed types of material culture and decorative and applied art of the Golden Horde of the 13th – 14th centuries indicate a high standard of living and the artistic and aesthetic needs of its population.

Spiritual Culture

Elements of the spiritual culture of the Golden Horde are connected in their origin with the ethnocultural world that preceded the emergence of this state. This world consisted of two main components: local Turkic-speaking and alien Central Asian - also Turkic, Tatar.

The spiritual world of the Central Asian Turks was most clearly reflected in the stone sculptures of people. Early Turkic statues of the 6th–7th centuries in Altai, Mongolia and surrounding areas depicted a male warrior who died in battle with enemies. Religious rituals were performed in front of such a statue. The deceased warrior seemed to be present at his funeral with a cup in his hand. Western, Kipchak-Polovtsian sculptures are somewhat different from eastern, early Turkic ones. They are more realistic, and there are quite a few female statues.

The works of the great sages and poets of the East were extremely popular among the Tatars of both later times and the period of the Golden Horde. Moreover, they inspired Tatar poets to create their own Golden Horde literature, which was highly developed in the 14th century - during the era of the power of the Ulus of Jochi.

All works testify to the high level of development of written literature and spiritual life in general in this state, being the most valuable monuments of medieval eastern poetry and philosophy. Many of them were well known to the Tatar reader in later times: they were copied and passed from hand to hand.

In addition to artistic value, these works are also a most valuable source for studying the history of the Golden Horde and the life of its population.

Conclusion

The culture of the Golden Horde can be called a vibrant urban and steppe medieval culture, a culture of mosaic and majolica architecture of its populous cities, camel caravans and white tents of its endless feather grass steppes, a culture of Persian and Tatar poetry, full of subtle lyricism and deep philosophy, Eastern wisdom and Muslim scientific spirituality , a culture of fancy arabesques and elegant calligraphy, ancient stone sculptures and the monumental religious buildings that replaced them, a culture of noisy oriental bazaars and new moon night silence after evening prayer.

The fall of the Golden Horde, once powerful and united under Batu, Berk, Mengu-Timur, Uzbek and Janibek khans, occurred as a result of a number of very serious objective and subjective reasons. Among these reasons that led to the final collapse of the once powerful and flourishing Golden Horde state are indisputable: two major natural disasters that took away a huge number of the population; the terrible conquests of Tamerlane with the destruction of the mass of productive forces, the destruction of the largest cities and other rich centers of culture, as a result of which more than one million people died and were taken into captivity; the strengthening of Rus' with its frequent interventions in the affairs of the Golden Horde (Battle of Kulikovo and other political acts); and, finally, unjustified unrest, unnecessary struggle for power and completely ridiculous feudal civil strife.

The Golden Horde was not a state that grew out of the normal development of any one people. The Golden Horde is an artificial state formation that was formed through the forcible seizure of foreign land.

Thus, the Golden Horde did not remain unchanged, borrowing a lot from the Muslim East: crafts, architecture, bathhouses, tiles, ornamental decor, painted dishes, Persian poetry, Arabic geometry and astrolabes, morals and tastes more sophisticated than those of simple nomads. Having extensive connections with Anatolia, Syria and Egypt, the Horde replenished the army of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt with Turkic and Caucasian slaves, and the Horde culture acquired a certain Muslim-Mediterranean imprint.

Bibliography

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5. Electronic encyclopedia. Cyril and Methodius, Moscow, 2005.