The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, whose possessions were in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and for a very long time was not disputed by anyone. The monarchs of even distant countries sought to establish friendly relations with her and maintain them with all their might. The most enterprising merchants traveled great distances to get to its capital, which was rightfully known as the largest trading base between East and West. Travelers and trade caravans carried true stories and incredible legends all over the world about the peoples who inhabited the Golden Horde, their peculiar customs 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 meet anyone for weeks. one man. True and fictional stories about the vast state of nomads continued to exist after his disappearance.
And today, interest in it has not weakened, and its history has long been studied in many countries. But until now, in the assessment of many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, there are the most opposite opinions. And besides, to date, there are a number of misconceptions or established stereotypes associated with the Golden Horde in scientific works and educational literature, and simply in the most common perception of history. 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 stamps about the Golden Horde originated in the last century, and their existence is connected solely with the neglect of the study of this largely peculiar state. The obvious and sharply negative role of the Golden Horde in the history of Russia is first of all evident when reading any source that reveals their relationship.
As a result, a situation was created in science when, for the most part, not so much the Golden Horde itself was studied, but its influence on Russia and their relationship. Moreover, even this side was often limited to a set of the most general judgments and declarative statements, always supported by well-known quotations from the works of K. Marx. But the emotionally deep and politically precise thoughts of Marx would have sounded even more prominent if they were supplemented by a variety of specific historical facts, events and figures. As for the study of the Golden Horde itself, the judgment about it as an oppressor state that did not deserve the attention of Soviet historians dominated here. The editors showed particular caution and vigilance when publishing stories on the Golden Horde themes.
Any positive fact in relation to the state of the Mongols seemed unthinkable and was questioned. It cannot be said that the Golden Horde has become a taboo topic in science, but it was clearly undesirable. The political situation also left an imprint on this, when in the 60s Mao Zedong attributed all the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. to the Chinese state, extending its western limits 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 in Russian pre-revolutionary, and then Soviet historical science. Without knowledge of the history and ways of development of a huge, powerful, in many respects 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 Russia, it is impossible to fully appreciate the course of events in European politics in the 13th century. 15th century
The Golden Horde did not have clearly defined boundaries. Its power extended not so much to the territory, but to the peoples and tribes that were at different stages of socio-economic and cultural development, professing different religions. The capital of this state was first Sarai-Batu, and then Sarai-Berke (in the lower reaches of the Volga). Gradually, the Mongols mixed with the Turkic peoples and tribes, and the Turkic language became official. The Mongols themselves among the conquered peoples received a double name - the Mongol-Tatars (from the name of one of the most numerous Mongolian tribes - the Tatars). Subsequently, some non-Mongolian peoples of Siberia, the Volga region, the Caucasus, and Crimea began to be called Tatars. It became their national name. Over time, the Mongol-Tatars converted to Islam.
Social system. The social structure of the Golden Horde was complex and reflected the motley class and national composition of this robber state. There was no clear class organization of society, similar to that which existed in Russia and in the Western European feudal states, and which was based on hierarchical feudal ownership of land. The status of a citizen of the Golden Horde depended on the origin, merit to the khan and his family, on the position in the military administrative apparatus. In the military-feudal hierarchy of the Golden Horde, the dominant position was occupied by the aristocratic family of the descendants of Genghis Khan and his son Jochi. This numerous family owned all the land of the state, it owned huge herds, palaces, many servants and slaves, innumerable riches, military booty, state treasury, etc. Subsequently, the Jochids and other descendants of Genghis Khan for whole centuries retained a privileged position in the Central Asian khanates and in Kazakhstan, secured for themselves the monopoly right to bear the title of sultan, to occupy the khan's throne. Khan had the richest and largest domain-type ulus. The Jochids had a preferential right to occupy the highest government posts. In Russian sources they were called princes. They were awarded state and military titles and ranks.
The next step in the military-feudal hierarchy of the Golden Horde was occupied by noyons (beks in eastern sources). Not being members of the Jochid clan, they nevertheless traced their genealogies from the associates of Genghis Khan and their sons. Noyons had many servants and dependent people, huge herds. Οʜᴎ were often appointed by khans to responsible military and state positions: darugs, temniks, thousanders, Baskaks, etc.
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Οʜᴎ were awarded tarkhan letters, freeing them from various duties and responsibilities. The signs of their power were labels and paizi.
A special place in the hierarchical structure of the Golden Horde was occupied by numerous nukers - combatants of large feudal lords. Οʜᴎ were either in the retinue of their seniors, or occupied middle and lower military-administrative positions - centurions, foremen, etc.
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These positions made it possible to extract significant income from the population of those territories where the corresponding military units were located or where they were sent, or where the nukers held administrative positions.
From among the nukers and other privileged people, a small layer of tarkhans advanced to the Golden Horde, who received tarkhan letters from the khan or his senior officials, in which their owners were granted various privileges.
The ruling classes also included numerous clergy, primarily Muslim, merchants and wealthy artisans, local feudal lords, tribal and tribal elders and leaders, large landowners in the settled agricultural regions of Central Asia, the Volga region, the Caucasus and the Crimea.
The peasantry of agricultural regions, urban artisans, servants were in varying degrees of dependence on the state and feudal lords. The bulk of the workers in the steppes and foothills of the Golden Horde were karach - nomadic cattle breeders. Οʜᴎ were part of the clans and tribes were forced to unquestioningly obey the tribal and tribal elders and leaders, as well as representatives of the military-administrative power of the Horde. Fulfilling all household duties, at the same time, Karachu had to serve in the army.
Feudally dependent peasants worked in the agricultural regions of the Horde. Some of them - sabanches - lived in rural communities and cultivated, in addition to the plots of land allocated for them by feudal lords, and carried other natural duties. Others - urtakchi (share sharecroppers) - bonded people cultivated the land of the state and local feudal lords for half the harvest, and carried other duties.
Artisans driven from the conquered countries worked in the cities. Many of them were in the position of slaves or dependent on the Khan and other rulers of the people. Small merchants, servants also depended on the arbitrariness of the authorities and their masters. Even wealthy merchants and independent artisans paid taxes to the city authorities and carried various duties.
Slavery was quite common in the Golden Horde. First of all, captives and inhabitants of the conquered lands became slaves. Slaves were used in handicraft production, construction, as servants of feudal lords. Many slaves were sold to the countries of the East. At the same time, most of the slaves, both in cities and in agriculture, after one or two generations became feudally dependent or received freedom.
Political system. The supreme, essentially despotic power in the state belonged to the khan, who was enthroned by the kurultai. As a rule, it was the eldest son of the previous khan or another closest relative of the Genghisids. Often the struggle for the khan's presto was of a fierce nature, accompanied by intrigues, secret or open assassinations of pretenders.
Khan, first of all, was the supreme owner and manager of all lands in the state, which he distributed to relatives and officials. He was the head of the armed forces, made appointments and removals of all senior officials. The khan himself or on his behalf carried out foreign policy actions, incl. declaration of war and conclusion of peace, He was the supreme judge, his will was considered law.
There was also a collegial body in the Golden Horde - kurultai, which was attended by the sons of the khan, his closest relatives (princes), widows of khans, emirs, noyons, temniks, etc.
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At the kurultai, the issue of war and peace, the most important disputes and feuds between representatives of the feudal elite were resolved, the boundaries of the uluses were revised, and the decisions of the khan on other issues were announced. The will of the khan, his decision at the kurultai were undeniable. Kurultai were convened episodically and were held in a solemn atmosphere.
In the Golden Horde, a peculiar system of central government gradually developed, many of whose features were borrowed from the eastern despotic states (China, Persia, the Central Asian khanates). So, at the end of the XIII century. Sofas (offices) appeared for doing business in various branches of government. Numerous secretaries and scribes (bitakchi) worked in them. The sofas were subordinate to the highest officials appointed by the khan, carried out their instructions, gave them various information about the state of affairs in any branch of government or in the field. There was no clear delimitation of the competence of sofas by branches of management.
The highest officials included, first of all, the vizier, who was in charge of the khan's treasury and the general management of state affairs on behalf and on behalf of the khan. The vizier appointed Basques, divan secretaries and other officials to positions. The military administration in the state was concentrated in the hands of the beklyari-bek, who directed the military activities of the emirs, temniks and thousanders. Beklyari-bek in the sources is often called the eldest, chief emir under the khan. At the same time, there were two more emirs in the capital, who carried out the orders of the khan and his vizier, and a bukkaul, who was in charge of supply, weapons, allowances for military units and garrisons, accounting for military booty, its delivery and distribution according to the instructions of the khan and senior officials.
Other officials and representatives of local authorities were constantly in the central office, who carried out the instructions of the center for registering the population, collecting taxes, suppressing the resistance of subjects and dependent peoples, organizing military campaigns, etc. Such positions included Darugs, Baskaks, temniks, centurions, etc.
The uluses were ruled by members of the khan's family, the Jochids-princes, the most authoritative noyons (they were often called emirs). Darugs, thousanders and centurions were appointed to certain regions, cities, settlements. Subordinate to all these rulers were many officials involved in the census, collecting taxes and taxes, attracting the population to perform various duties (supplying horses, vehicles, supplying officials and military units with various allowances , quartering troops, etc.). Each local ruler always relied on garrisons or mobile troops.
The military organization of the Golden Horde was the basis of its statehood. Many bearers of state power were the commanders of the corresponding military units. Numerous cavalry, consisting of Mongol-Tatars, Kipchaks and other nomadic tribes and peoples, formed the basis of the military power of the Golden Horde. In certain periods of its history, the Golden Horde could field 150 or more thousand cavalry. Built according to the decimal system, the mobile cavalry could quickly gather in a place indicated by the khan or his command into a huge army for offensive operations, or instantly disperse over vast spaces, transfer from one area to another, make sudden raids and raids, keeping the subjects of the Golden Age in constant fear. Hordes and subject peoples.
The highest command staff - temniks, thousanders - consisted of representatives of the genus of the Jochid princes and noble noyons. Nukers and other representatives of the tribal nobility were usually appointed centurions and foremen. All commanders were connected with each other by peculiar seigneur-vassal relations. For this reason, the transition from one darkness, a thousand or a hundred to another, was strictly forbidden. Such a transition was seen as a betrayal of their unit and its commander. The most severe discipline was maintained in the army. For any disobedience, failure to comply with the order, severe punishment threatened, up to the death penalty.
Even Genghis Khan, attaching exceptional importance to obtaining all kinds of information about the alleged enemy, organized an intelligence service. The khans of the Golden Horde - Batu, Berke and their successors obliged their military commanders to conduct reconnaissance through scouts, traitors, merchants, to obtain information about the number and weapons of the enemy, his commanders, moods, strife, etc. Subsequently, the secret service was established for their own the state apparatus has covered significant segments of the population, incl. feudal elite. All secret information was delivered to the beklyari-bek, the vizier and reported to the khan.
Judicial power in the Golden Horde, as in other states, was not separated from the administrative. Khan, other state bodies and officials themselves administered justice in all cases - criminal, civil, etc.
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At the same time, in connection with the steady Islamization of the Golden Horde in the late XIII - early XIV centuries. Qadi Islamic courts were established, headed by the supreme qadi of the state. These courts dealt primarily with cases involving violations of the requirements of the Qur'an, ᴛ.ᴇ. religious and marriage and family. At the same time, special yarguchi judges were appointed in the cities to deal with civil cases. Qadis and Yarguchis levied official duties from the disputing parties, and also resorted to arbitrary requisitions.
The nomadic peoples of the Golden Horde had traditional courts of tribal elders-biys. Judicial and administrative arbitrariness, extrajudicial reprisals were characteristic features of the judicial system of the military-feudal state of the Golden Horde.
Relations with Russia. XIII-XIV centuries were a difficult period in the life of medieval Russia. After the devastating conquests of the khans of Batu and Berke, the Russian principalities fell into vassal dependence on the Golden Horde khan for a long time. The most severe Mongol yoke was established. The relations of vassalage were not fixed by any agreement, but were simply dictated by the conqueror. Russian princes had to be approved for reign in the Horde, receiving a label from the khan. The princes of Vladimir received a special label from the khan. The special commissioners of the Golden Horde Khan put on the throne of the Grand Duke. Receiving khan's labels in the Horde, as well as when summoning princes to the Horde, was necessarily accompanied by the presentation of rich gifts. One of the main vassal duties of the Russian principalities was the payment of tribute to the khan - a tenth of all income from the population of the principality. Only the Russian Orthodox Church was exempted from this exaction. At the same time, the population had to provide horses and carts, pay special trade and craft duties, provide food (food), satisfy the requirements of the Horde and its officials.
The Golden Horde ordered tributes and requisitions from the Russian principalities to be carried out by specially authorized darugs and Baskaks, who came to the principalities with a large retinue of counters, weighers and security cavalry detachments. In Vladimir there was the main Baskak, to whom the Baskaks of other principalities were subordinate - Ryazan, Murom, Smolensk, Tver, Kursk, etc.
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From time to time, the Darugs and Baskaks carried out a census of the population of the principality in order to fully ensure the collection of tribute. To intimidate the Russian population, as well as to further enrich the Horde, the Mongol-Tatars systematically raided the principalities. At the same time, many people were taken into captivity, cities and villages were ruined and burned.
The Russian people never put up with the Mongol-Tatar yoke and, together with other peoples, offered stubborn resistance to the invaders. With the rise of the Moscow principality, the Russian people, under the leadership of Grand Duke Dmitry, inflicted in 1380 ᴦ. the first crushing blow to the hordes of the Golden Horde in the great battle on the Kulikovo field. The Russian people achieved the final liberation from the invaders in the 15th century.
Right. The source of law in the Horde was, first of all, the Great Yasa of Genghis Khan, compiled in 1206 ᴦ. as an edification to his successors, consisting of 33 fragments and 13 sayings of the Khan himself. Yasa contained mainly the rules of the military organization of the Mongolian army and the norms of criminal law. It was distinguished by the unprecedented cruelty of punishments not only for crimes, but also for misdemeanors. The norms of customary law of nomadic peoples were also sources of law. With the Islamization of the Golden Horde, Sharia began to operate in it. It was used mainly in cities and areas with a settled population.
Oral and written orders and instructions of the khans were for subjects, incl. for the feudal nobility, the highest law, subject to immediate and unquestioning execution. Οʜᴎ were used in the practice of state bodies of the Golden Horde and the highest officials of the state.
The law of the Golden Horde is characterized by extreme cruelty, legalized arbitrariness of feudal lords and state officials, archaism and formal uncertainty. Even the Yasa of Genghis Khan became known to us not as a single written act, but from separate references and excerpts contained in various non-legal sources. Only the norms of Sharia were written and in this respect favorably differed from other legal sources.
Property relations in the Golden Horde were regulated by customary law and were very confused. This applies especially to land relations - the basis of feudal society. The right of ownership to the land, to the entire territory of the state belonged to the ruling khan family of the Jochids. In the conditions of a nomadic economy, the inheritance of land was difficult. For this reason, it took place mainly in agricultural areas. The owners of the estates, of course, had to bear various vassal duties to the khan or the local ruler appointed by him.
In the khan's family, power was a special object of inheritance, and political power was combined with the right to own land in the ulus. The youngest son was considered the heir. Under Mongolian law, the youngest son generally had priority in inheritance.
The family and marriage law of the Mongol-Tatars and the nomadic peoples subject to them was regulated by ancient customs and, to a lesser extent, Sharia. The head of the patriarchal polygamous family, which was part of the village, clan, was the father. He was the owner of all the property of the family, disposed of the fate of the family members subject to him. Thus, the father of an impoverished family had the right to give his children for debts into service and even sell them into slavery. The number of wives was not limited (Muslims could have no more than four legal wives). The children of wives and concubines were legally in an equal position, with some advantages of sons from older wives and legal wives among Muslims. After the death of the husband, the management of all family affairs passed into the hands of the eldest wife. This continued until the sons became adult warriors.
The power of a husband over his wife was established by marriage, one of the forms of which was the actual or ritual kidnapping of the bride. At the conclusion of marriage, the family or clan of the groom redeemed the bride from the family or clan of the latter. In turn, the bride's relatives were obliged to give her a dowry. The size of the ransom and dowry, the cost of marriage celebrations were determined by the social and property status of the relatives of the bride and groom.
The criminal law of the Golden Horde was characterized by exceptional cruelty. This stemmed from the very nature of the military-feudal system of the Golden Horde, the despotic power of Genghis Khan and his successors, the severity of the attitude of the low general culture inherent in the nomadic pastoral society in the very initial stage of feudalism. Cruelty, organized terror were one of the conditions for establishing and maintaining long-term domination over the conquered peoples. According to the Great Yasa, the death penalty was relied upon for treason, disobedience to the khan and other feudal lords and officials, unauthorized transfer from one military unit to another, failure to provide assistance in battle, compassion for the captive in the form of helping him with food and clothing, for advice and assistance one of the parties in a duel lies in front of elders in court, appropriation of someone else's slave or an escaped captive. She was also relied on in some cases for murder, property crimes, adultery, bestiality, spying on the behavior of others and especially the nobility and superiors, magic, slaughter of cattle unidentified way, urinating into the fire and ashes; even those who choked on a bone were executed. The death penalty, as a rule, was carried out publicly and in ways characteristic of a nomadic lifestyle - by strangling on a rope suspended from the neck of a camel or horse, dragging by horses.
Other types of punishments were also used, for example, for domestic murder, a ransom was allowed in favor of the relatives of the victim. The amount of the ransom was determined by the social status of the victim. Nomads were required to pay tenfold ransom for stealing horses and sheep. If the perpetrator was insolvent, he was obliged to sell his children and thus pay the ransom. At the same time, the thief, as a rule, was mercilessly beaten with whips.
Witnesses were involved in the criminal process during the interrogation, oaths were pronounced, cruel torture was used. In the military-feudal organization, the search for an undetected or hidden criminal was assigned to a dozen or a hundred, to which he belonged. Otherwise, all ten or one hundred were responsible.
4. FORMATION OF THE RUSSIAN CENTRALIZED STATE AND ITS LEGAL SYSTEM (XIV - BEGINNING OF XV! C.)
Golden Horde - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Golden Horde" 2017, 2018.
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 North Caucasus, Crimea, Desht-i-Kipchak. The Russian principalities were in vassal dependence from the Golden Horde. Capitals: Sarai-Batu, from the first half XIV in. - Shed-Berke (N. Volga region). AT XV in. disintegrated into 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 in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and for a very long time was not disputed by anyone. The most enterprising merchants traveled great distances to get to its capital, which was rightfully known as the largest trading base between East and West. Travelers and trade caravans carried true stories and incredible legends all over the world about the peoples who inhabited the Golden Horde, their peculiar 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 live for weeks. meet no one. True and fictional stories about the vast state of nomads continued to exist after his disappearance. And today, interest in it has not weakened, and its history and culture have long been studied in many countries. But until now, in the assessment of many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, there are the most opposite opinions.
The obvious and sharply negative role of the Golden Horde in the history of Russia is first of all evident when reading any source that reveals their relationship. As a result, a situation was created in science when, for the most part, not so much the Golden Horde itself was studied, but its influence on Russia and their relationship. Any positive fact in relation to the state of the Mongols seemed unthinkable and was questioned. But in spite of everything, the Golden Horde theme was and remained one of the traditional in Russian pre-revolutionary, and then Soviet historical science. Without knowledge of the history and ways of development of a huge, powerful, in many respects unusual and in the full sense of the word bloodthirsty state, one cannot understand many aspects of the formation and growth of medieval Russia, one cannot fully appreciate the course of events in European politics in the 13th-15th centuries.
Formation of the state of the Golden Horde
Thirty years before the appearance of nomadic hordes under the walls of Russian cities, in 1206. on the banks of the Central Asian river Onon, a kuriltai (congress), the steppe aristocracy, gathered. As is often the case in history, the issue that he had to decide was clear to everyone in the most categorical and unequivocal 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 Mongolian state. In a long, cruel, insidious and sophisticated struggle, Temujin managed to unite the scattered and warring Mongol nomadic tribes into a single state.
But not even five years had passed since the day of the kuriltai, who declared Temujin Genghis Khan, as Mongolian mothers saw 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 for many days of travel from them to the south and west. Before his death in August 1227, Genghis Khan managed to lay the territorial foundation for a new huge empire, which was made up not only by the peoples who lived in the immediate vicinity of Mongolia, but also by China, and Central Asia, and the steppes west of the Irtysh.
As a result, in the second half of the XIII century. vast expanses from the Pacific coast to the Danube were under the rule of the Chingizids. Naturally, the political and economic unity of all parts of such a giant was out of the question, although for some period they tried to maintain it from the Karakorum, the capital of Mongolia founded by Genghis Khan. But already in the 60s of the XIII century. the empire broke up into separate parts. Its capital was moved from Karakorum to Khanbalik, and the ruling dynasty itself became known as Yuan in the Chinese manner.
In territorial terms, the Golden Horde is usually associated with the 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, then the Golden Horde was undoubtedly the largest state of the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian historians of the XIV - XV centuries. in total they reported on its size in figures that struck the imagination of contemporaries. One of them noted that the length of the state extends for 8, and the width for 6 months of travel. Another somewhat 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 just the zone of the Euro-Asian steppes and confirming the prevailing stereotype. Detailing the boundaries of the Golden Horde is associated with a clear lack of information in written sources, and therefore the necessary data have to be collected literally bit by bit, also involving archeological materials.
The territory of the state did not remain stable, changing throughout the entire period of its existence. The specifics of the Golden Horde borders consisted in the fact that all the surrounding peoples tried to settle as far as possible from the Mongols' habitats because of their completely backward concern for their own security. As a result, “empty places” appeared along the perimeter of the Golden Horde nomad camps. In terms of landscape, they usually represented transitional forest-steppe regions. As a rule, they were used alternately by one or the other side for commercial 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 who was here, according to one of the articles of the yasa (law) of Genghis Khan, 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 Karakorum government was authorized to decide the most important economic and political issues.
In the 60s of the XIII century. around the Karakorum throne, an internecine struggle broke out between Khubilai and Arig-Buga. The victorious Khubilai transferred the capital from Karakorum to the territory of conquered China in Khanbalik (present-day Beijing). Mengu-Timur, who ruled at that time in the Golden Horde, hastened to take advantage of the opportunity that presented itself and did not recognize the right of the supreme ruler of the entire empire for Khubilai, since he left the capital of its founder and abandoned the indigenous yurt of all Genghisides - Mongolia to the mercy of fate. From that moment on, the Golden Horde gained complete independence in resolving all issues of a foreign and domestic 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 of the acquisition of full political sovereignty in the Golden Horde, of course, there already existed its own intrastate structure, moreover, it was sufficiently established and developed.
In accordance with the division of the army, the entire state was divided into right and left wings. In the ulus of Jochi, the right wing constituted 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 thirteenth century they have evolved from administrative to purely military concepts.
Further development of statehood, the emergence of cities, the introduction of Islam, a closer acquaintance with the Arab and Persian traditions of government led to various complications in the possessions of the Jochids with the simultaneous death of Central Asian customs dating back to the time of Genghis Khan. Instead of dividing the territory into two wings, four uluses appeared, headed by ulusbeks. Simultaneously with the establishment of the administrative-territorial division, the formation of the state administration apparatus took place. The period of the 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, a capital was founded, a yam connection was organized between all uluses, 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 stole. In the Golden Horde, kuriltai, so characteristic of Mongolia, were not practiced at all, at which all representatives of the Genghisides family resolved the most important state issues. The changes that have taken place in the administrative and state structure have brought to naught the role of this traditional nomadic institution. Having a government in the stationary capital, the khan no longer needed kuriltai. As for such an important prerogative as the approval of the heir, now it has become the exclusive competence of the khan.
Cities of the Golden Horde
There were about 150 cities of various sizes in the Golden Horde, many of which arose where the boundless Polovtsian steppes with pastures had recently stretched. Their names are as poetic as the East itself: Gulstan (Land of Flowers), Sarai (Palace), Saraichik (Small Palace), Ak-Saray (White Palace), Ak-Kirmen (White Fortress), Ak-Mosque (White Mosque ), Ulug-Mosque (Great Mosque), Argamakly-Saray (Palace of swift-footed horses).
Information about the Golden Horde cities was collected by scientists as a result of many years of archaeological research, as well as by studying 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 in the main territory of the Golden Horde, i.e. on the former Desht-i-Kipchak, began in the 50s of the XIII century. If Plano Carpini, having traveled 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 after only six years, saw a magnificent city just rebuilt by Batu Khan Barn. At the same time, his son Sartak was engaged in the construction of cities and towns. Through Saray and some other settlements, caravan routes from east to west with crossings on the Volga and Don already passed.
A special flowering of urban culture in the Golden Horde falls on the period of the power of this state under the rule of Uzbek and Dzhanibek. It was during this period that monumental architecture reached unprecedented heights of development.
Monument is a Latin word and means a large monument. In relation to architecture, it should be understood as large-scale structures, entire architectural ensembles.
In the Golden Horde, the former nomadic and new urban cultures met and peacefully existed. 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 in size and population far exceeded, for example, Western European ones. For comparison: Rome in the XIII century had 35 thousand inhabitants, Paris in the XIV century - 58 thousand, Saray, the capital of the Golden Horde, in the same XIV century - more than 100 thousand.
There were two cities with the name Saray. The first of them - Sarai-Batu - is the first capital of the Golden Horde. Under Uzbek Khan, the capital was transferred to another city - Saray-Berke.
Sarai-Batu was truly a giant city, occupying a huge area of 36 square meters for those times. km. Archaeological data testify to the great well-being of the city. It had heating, plumbing and sewerage systems. Palaces and other public buildings were erected from baked bricks with lime mortar, the houses of ordinary people - from raw, that is, unbaked bricks, as well as from wood. Excavations revealed the remains of two large palaces with richly decorated front halls and living rooms. One of the palaces had a pool of running water in the center, behind which an elevation was made for the throne under a canopy - an elegant ceremonial canopy. Undoubtedly, it was the Khan's palace. On the territory of the city, workshops for the manufacture of glazed ceramics, various architectural details, jewelry, etc. were also explored.
Sarai-Berke, the second capital of the Golden Horde, was located up 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 Saray. Al-Omari writes that “the city of Sarai was built by Berke Khan on the banks of the Turan River. It lies on saline soil, without any walls. The seat of the king is there a large palace, on top of which is the golden new moon. The palace is surrounded by walls, towers and houses in which its emirs live. This palace is their winter quarters. Shed, 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. So the ancient Iranians called these lands.
Sarai-Berke was completely destroyed in 1395 as a result of the last campaign against the Golden Horde by Tamerlane, the ruler of the Timurid state in Central Asia. At present, on its territory, as well as on Saray-Batu, there are no ground architectural monuments. Their foundations, as well as a huge number of other remnants of material culture, have been excavated.
Both Sarai-Batu and Sarai-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 get acquainted with its powerful khans, collect information about the numerous peoples that inhabited this state, see its large cities with rich bazaars and magnificent oriental architecture. They were struck by the beauty of hitherto unseen khan's palaces and mosques, madrasahs and mausoleums, public baths and caravanserais, and other majestic structures. These buildings were truly amazing: decorated with white and blue tiles, covered with glass glaze, and gold leaf. Floral and geometric ornaments on them alternated with elegant inscriptions that conveyed passages from the Koran and oriental poetry. The inner 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 ceremonial halls were complemented by rest rooms, bathrooms, and in the courtyard - gardens, where fountains beat. All this was and this is reliably evidenced by archaeological materials, supplemented by reports from written sources.
Majolica is characterized by bright painting (in eastern 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. Blue and ultramarine colors prevailed in the Golden Horde majolica, and there were also many tiles with turquoise glaze and black underglaze painting. The ornament was distinguished by a special grace, ease of perception.
The remains of material culture testify to a truly high level of development of crafts and arts in the cities of the Golden Horde: construction and architecture, jewelry, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, leather, pottery, bone-carving, glassmaking, stone carving, etc.
Here are just a few finds from the ruins of Sarai-Berke: the remains of large elegant oil lamps and vessels in the form of a decanter or a vase made of thick, almost colorless glass with a pleasant background, with artistically executed multi-color painting of blue, red, white, yellow, pistachio colors, a bronze door ring a handle, a bronze barbecue for hot coals, a large golden vessel in the shape of a deep bowl with two vertical handles in the form of fantastic animals with the body of a fish and the head of a dragon; saber of Uzbek Khan himself with a golden inscription on the hilt. These are just a few of the most remarkable finds, not to mention various bronze lamps, inlaid iron battle axes, and a gilded iron helmet. In general, the products of gold and silver craftsmen of the Golden Horde Eurasia met the world standards of jewelry art of the developed Middle Ages.
Of considerable interest as objects of decoration and everyday life and as works of art are round metal mirrors. Their reverse sides had relief decorations in the form of images of various animals. In the manufacture of mirrors, geometric and floral patterns were successfully used. 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 arts and crafts of the Golden Horde of the XIII-XIV centuries testify to the high standard of living and the artistic and aesthetic demands of its population.
Spiritual Culture
The elements of the spiritual culture of the Golden Horde are connected by their origin with the ethno-cultural world that preceded the emergence of this state. This world consisted of two main components: the local Turkic-speaking and the alien Central Asian - also Turkic, Tatar.
The spiritual world of the Central Asian Turks was most vividly reflected in the stone sculptures of people. Early Turkic statues of the 6th-7th centuries in Altai, Mongolia and adjacent areas depicted a male warrior who died in battle with enemies. Cult ceremonies were performed before such a statue. The deceased warrior, as it were, was present at his commemoration with a bowl in his hand. Western, Kipchak-Polovtsian sculptures are somewhat different from eastern, early Turkic ones. They are more realistic, there are already quite a few female statues.
The works of the great sages and poets of the East were very popular among the Tatars of both later times and the period of the Golden Horde. Moreover, they inspired the Tatar poets to create their own Golden Horde literature, which was highly developed in the XIV century - in the era of the power of the Ulus Jochi.
All works testify to the high level of development of written literature and, in general, spiritual life in this state, being the most valuable monuments of medieval oriental poetry and philosophy. Many of them were well known to the Tatar reader even in later times: they were copied and passed from hand to hand.
In addition to their artistic value, these works are also the 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 crowded cities, camel caravans and white tents of its endless feather grass steppes, a culture of Persian and Tatar poems full of subtle lyrics and deep philosophy, Eastern wisdom and Muslim scholarly spirituality. , the culture of bizarre arabesques and elegant calligraphy, ancient stone sculptures and the monumental religious buildings that replaced them, the culture of noisy oriental bazaars and the new moon night silence after evening prayers.
The fall of the Golden Horde, once powerful and united under Batu, Berk, Mengu-Timur, Uzbek and Dzhanibek khans, occurred as a result of a number of very serious objective and subjective reasons. Among these reasons, which led to the final collapse of the once powerful and flourishing Golden Horde state, are indisputable: two major natural disasters that claimed a huge number of the population; the terrible conquests of Tamerlane with the destruction of a mass of productive forces, the destruction of the largest cities and other richest centers of culture, as a result of which more than one million people died and were taken prisoner; the strengthening of Russia with its frequent interference in the affairs of the Golden Horde (the Battle of Kulikovo and other political acts); and, finally, unjustified turmoil, an unnecessary struggle for power and a completely absurd feudal civil strife.
The Golden Horde was not a state that grew up on the basis of the normal development of any one people. The Golden Horde is an artificial state formation that has developed through the forcible seizure of foreign land.
Thus, the Golden Horde did not remain unchanged, borrowing a lot from the Muslim East: crafts, architecture, a bathhouse, tiles, ornamental decor, painted dishes, Persian verses, Arabic geometry and astrolabes, customs and tastes more sophisticated than those of ordinary nomads. Having extensive ties with Anatolia, Syria and Egypt, the Horde replenished the army of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt with Turkic and Caucasian slaves, the Horde culture acquired a certain Muslim-Mediterranean imprint.
Bibliography
1. Batysh-Kamensky D.N. History of Russia, M.: Nauka, 2004, -370s.
2. Grekov B. D. The Golden Horde: myths and reality, M .: Knowledge, 2004, -452 p.
3. Ermakov M.Yu. Golden Horde and its fall, M.: Thought, 2006, -390s.
4. Makarevich V.M. The World History. Encyclopedic Dictionary, M .: Bustard, 2000, -650s.
5. Electronic encyclopedia. Cyril and Methodius, Moscow, 2005
Scientists have long disagreed in the interpretation of the influence of the Tatar-Mongol yoke on the history of Ancient Russia. Some scientists sincerely believe that there really was 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 carried out the protection and patronage of Russian lands, preventing the invasion of other nomads and the development of wars.
One way or another, but in 1480 the Tatar-Mongol rule in Russia came to an end. It is necessary to characterize the role of the yoke in the history of the state in the most detailed way, paying attention to both positive and negative aspects.
The positive and negative impact of the Tatar-Mongol yoke
The sphere of life of society and the state | The positive impact of the yoke | Negative aspects of the influence of the Mongol yoke |
Cultural sphere of life |
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The political sphere of the life of the state. |
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The economic sphere of the life of the state | There are no positive aspects of the influence of the yoke on the economy. |
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Impact on public consciousness | Scholars are divided into two camps on this issue. Klyuchevsky and Solovyov 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 Russia, 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 the representatives of the Tatar-Mongol yoke tried to change the state according to their own model. At that time, the Mongols even dreamed of imposing their religious system on the inhabitants of Ancient Russia, but they actively resisted this, preferring only 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 Russia.
After liberation from the yoke in 1480, the country found itself in a deep economic crisis, from which it got out only decades later. Ahead of the state were the Troubles, imposture, a change in the ruling dynasty and the flowering of autocracy.
GOLDEN HORDE
The Golden Horde was one of the largest states of the Middle Ages, whose possessions were in Europe and Asia. Its military power constantly kept all its neighbors in suspense and for a very long time was not disputed by anyone. The monarchs of even distant countries sought to establish friendly relations with her and maintain them with all their might. The most enterprising merchants traveled great distances to get to its capital, which was rightfully known as the largest trading base between East and West. Travelers and trade caravans carried true stories and incredible legends all over the world about the peoples who inhabited the Golden Horde, their peculiar customs 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 meet anyone for weeks. one man. True and fictional stories about the vast state of nomads continued to exist after his disappearance. And today, interest in it has not weakened, and its history has long been studied in many countries. But until now, in the assessment of many political and everyday aspects of the life and history of the Golden Horde, there are the most opposite opinions. And besides, to date, there are a number of misconceptions or established stereotypes associated with the Golden Horde in scientific works and educational literature, and simply in the most common perception of history. 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 stamps about the Golden Horde originated in the last century, and their existence is connected solely with the neglect of the study of this largely peculiar state. The obvious and sharply negative role of the Golden Horde in the history of Russia is first of all evident when reading any source that reveals their relationship. As a result, a situation was created in science when, for the most part, not so much the Golden Horde itself was studied, but its influence on Russia and their relationship. Moreover, even this side was often limited to a set of the most general judgments and declarative statements, always supported by well-known quotations from the works of K. Marx. But the emotionally deep and politically precise thoughts of Marx would have sounded even more prominent if they were supplemented by a variety of specific historical facts, events and figures. As for the study of the Golden Horde itself, the judgment about it as an oppressor state that did not deserve the attention of Soviet historians dominated here. The editors showed particular caution and vigilance when publishing stories on the Golden Horde themes. Any positive fact in relation to the state of the Mongols seemed unthinkable and was questioned. It cannot be said that the Golden Horde has become a taboo topic in science, but it was clearly undesirable. The political situation also left an imprint on this, when in the 60s Mao Zedong attributed all the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. to the Chinese state, extending its western limits 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 in Russian pre-revolutionary, and then Soviet historical science. Without knowledge of the history and ways of development of a huge, powerful, in many respects 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 Russia, it is impossible to fully appreciate the course of events in European politics in the 13th century. -XV centuries.
FORMATION OF THE GOLDEN HORDE
Thirty years before the appearance of nomadic hordes under the walls of Russian cities, in 1206. on the banks of the Central Asian river Onon, a kuriltai (congress), the steppe aristocracy, gathered. As is often the case in history, the question that he had to decide was clear to everyone in the most categorical and unequivocal 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 Mongolian state. In a long, cruel, insidious and sophisticated struggle, Temujin managed to unite the scattered and warring Mongol nomadic tribes into a single state. And in the eyes of the entire steppe, freed from exhausting bloody intertribal and tribal clashes, it was Temujin who was rightfully worthy of the title of supreme ruler. The most noble noyons (princes) of the steppe put him on a snow-white felt, lifted him to the eternal blue sky and with a common word approved the title, unheard of in the steppes - Genghis Khan. The first lord of a united Mongolia created a hitherto unprecedented ten thousandth personal guard; he divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing his devoted servants as rulers over them. Steppe internecine strife, robberies of trade caravans, cattle thefts from neighbors and the sale of fellow tribesmen into slavery have ceased. All those living behind the felt walls of the yurts breathed a sigh of relief and began to habitually manage the cycle of their lives from the summer foothill pasture to the winter valley, sheltered from the winds. But not even five years had passed since the day of the kuriltai, who declared Temujin Genghis Khan, as Mongolian mothers saw 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 for many days of travel from them to the south and west. Before his death in August 1227, Genghis Khan managed to lay the territorial foundation for a new huge empire, which was made up not only by the peoples who lived in the immediate vicinity of Mongolia, but also by China, and Central Asia, and the steppes west of the Irtysh. The death of the newly appeared pretender to the possession of the whole world did not change the policy of his heirs. They tried with all their might to fulfill the will of the founder of the dynasty - to extend their power wherever the hooves of the Mongolian horses would go. As a result, in the second half of the XIII century. vast expanses from the Pacific coast to the Danube were under the rule of the Chingizids. Naturally, the political and economic unity of all parts of such a giant was out of the question, although for some period they tried to maintain it from the Karakorum, the capital of Mongolia founded by Genghis Khan. But already in the 60s of the XIII century. the empire broke up into separate parts (uluses). Its capital was moved from Karakorum to Khanbalik (present-day Beijing), and the ruling dynasty itself, in the Chinese manner, became known as Yuan. In the steppes to the north of Lake Balkhash and the Aral Sea from the Irtysh to Yaik (Urals), the ulus of the eldest son of Genghis Khan Dzhuchn was spread. His heirs constantly made attempts to expand their father's possessions, but they did not achieve much success, apparently due to a lack of strength. The situation changed dramatically in 1235, when it was decided in the Kuriltai to provide powerful support to the sons of Jochi, Orda-Ichen and Batu, in the conquest of Eastern Europe. Their troops were reinforced by detachments of several more Mongol princes and the best commander of Genghis Khan, Subedei, who defeated the Russian-Polovtsian forces on the Kalka River in 1223. The whole campaign was led by the second son of Jochi Batu, who was called Batu in Russian chronicles. From the autumn of 1236, this huge army devastated and bled the Volga Bulgaria, Russia, the Polovtsian nomads, Taurica, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and in the spring of 1242 reached the Adriatic coast, which caused panic at the courts of the Pope and even the French king. However, here the Mongols suddenly stopped and began to slowly retreat to the east. By the end of 1242, all their troops settled down for the winter in the Black Sea and Caspian steppes, known to Eastern chroniclers as Desht-i-Kypchak. It was this territory that became the core of the future state, known to us as the Golden Horde. The countdown of its political history can be started from the very beginning of 1243, when the Ipatiev Chronicle reported that Batu "came back to eat from Ougor" (Hungary) and when Grand Duke Yaroslav was the first of the Russian rulers to arrive at the headquarters of the Mongol Khan for a label to reign. In territorial terms, the Golden Horde is usually associated with the 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 view is only partly true and for a certain time. If we evaluate the total area, then the Golden Horde was undoubtedly the largest state of the Middle Ages. Arab and Persian historians of the XIV-XV centuries. in total they reported on its size in figures that struck the imagination of contemporaries. One of them noted that the length of the state extends for 8, and the width for 6 months of travel. Another somewhat 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 just the zone of the Euro-Asian steppes and confirming the prevailing stereotype. Detailing the boundaries of the Golden Horde is associated with a clear lack of information in written sources, and therefore the necessary data have to be collected literally bit by bit, also involving archeological materials. But first, two important points need to be made. Firstly, the territory of the state did not remain stable, changing throughout the entire period of its existence; it then decreased, then increased again. Secondly, the specifics of the Golden Horde borders consisted in the fact that all the surrounding peoples tried to settle as far as possible from the Mongols' habitats because of their completely backward concern for their own security. As a result, "empty places" appeared along the perimeter of the Golden Horde nomad camps, or, using the modern term, neutral zones. In terms of landscape, they usually represented transitional forest-steppe regions. As a rule, they were used alternately by one or the other side for commercial purposes. For example, if in the summer the gold Horde grazed cattle here, in the winter the Russians were engaged in hunting. True, it should be noted that such neutral zones are especially characteristic only of the 13th century. - the period of the greatest military aggressiveness of the Mongols. In the XIV century. they are gradually beginning to be settled by the settled peoples surrounding the Golden Horde. The total territory of the state in the XIII century. outlined by the following boundary lines. The eastern limits of the Golden Horde included the regions of Siberia and Ibir with the border rivers Irtysh and Chulyman, which separated the possessions of the Jochids from the metropolis. Outlying areas here were the Baraba and Kulunda steppes. The northern border in the expanses of Siberia was located in the middle reaches of the Ob River. Sources do not report on the specific reference points of this line, and one can only assume that it coincided with a natural vegetation zone that allowed cattle to graze. The southern border of the state began in the foothills of Altai and passed north of Lake Balkhash, then stretched westward through the middle course of the Syr Darya, south of the Aral Sea, to the ulus of Khorezm. This area of ancient agriculture was the southern ulus of the Golden Horde with the center in the city of Urgench. Khiva, located somewhat south of Urgench, no longer belonged to the possessions of the Golden Horde. The Ustyurt plateau and the Mangyshlak peninsula adjoining Khorezm from the north-west were also the nomadic zone of the Golden Horde. On the western shore of the Caspian Sea, Derbent was a frontier town belonging to the Jochids, which the eastern annals called the Iron Gates. From here, the border stretched along the northern foothills - the Caucasus Range to the Taman Peninsula, which was completely part of the Golden Horde. During the XIII century. the Caucasian border was one of the most turbulent, since the local peoples (Circassians, Alans, Lezgins) were not yet completely subordinate to the Mongols and offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors. The Tauride Peninsula also formed part of the Golden Horde from the beginning of its existence. It was after being included in the territory of this state that it received a new name - Crimea, after the name of the main city of this ulus. However, the Mongols themselves occupied in the XIII-XIV centuries. only the northern, steppe, part of the peninsula. At that time, its coast and mountainous regions represented a whole series of small feudal estates semi-dependent on the Mongols. The most important and famous among them were the Italian colonial cities of Kafa (Feodosia), Soldaya (Sudak), Cembalo (Balaklava). In the mountains of the southwest there was a small principality of Theodoro, the capital of which was the well-fortified city of Mangup. Relations with the Mongols of Italians and local feudal lords were maintained thanks to brisk trade. But this did not in the least prevent the Saray khans from attacking their trade partners from time to time and treating them as their own tributaries. 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 closed the exit from the Lower Danube Lowland. "The northern limits of the state in this region 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. Cherkasy region.In the Dnieper basin, the possessions of the Russian princes ended somewhere between Kyiv and Kanev.From here, the border line went to the region of modern Kharkov, Kursk, and then went to the Ryazan limits along the left bank of the Don.East of the Ryazan principality, a forest stretched from the Moksha River to the Volga , 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 the sources of the XIV century. In the Volga basin during the XIII century the border passed and north of the Sura River, and in the next century it gradually shifted to the mouth of the Sura and even to the south of it. The vast area of modern Chuvashia in the XIII century. completely under the control of the Mongols. 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 turned into 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 state of the Mongols. They owned all the lands in this area south of the Belaya River.