History of the Volga Bulgaria. Volga Bulgaria. Tatars or Bulgars? Education of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is on everyone's lips. But few people know that another Bulgaria once existed, where instead of Orthodox churches towered minarets, and which could become the most important center of Europe.

Two Bulgaria

In the middle of the first millennium of our era, on a vast territory from China to the Balkans, Turkic nomadic states - kaganates - were formed, replacing each other. In this cauldron of medieval statehood at the turn of the 6th-7th centuries, on the territory of the North Caucasus, the state of Great Bulgaria arose. However, almost immediately they came under pressure from their strong neighbor, the Khazar Khaganate, which was formed in the same period. Under his pressure, Bulgarian society collapsed. Part moved to the West and founded the state of "Bulgaria", which exists to this day. The other half moved northeast to the Kama River. It was these Bulgarians, having mixed with the local population, that went down in history under the name of the Kama and Volga Bulgars. Fertile lands, forests full of game and a system of rivers contributed to the rapid settlement of nomads. In a relatively short period, within two centuries, a large state arose on this territory (the end of the 9th century).

Why Islam

The combination of Muslim architecture and the Central Russian plains puzzled many travelers. So the Flemish Franciscan monk, the famous missionary and traveler Guillaume de Rubruck, wrote in his memoirs: “I don’t know how the law of Muhammad went so far north.”

The Volga Bulgaria made its choice of faith in 922, although there were prerequisites even earlier. The contacts of the Bulgars with the Islamic world began to strengthen already in the 8th century, after the Khazar Khaganate was conquered by the Arab commander Mervan bin Mohammed.

This is connected with a local legend given in the book of the Bulgar historian Yakub Nugman. Allegedly, one Muslim merchant arrived in the capital of Bulgaria from Bukhara. He was an educated man, and was a perfect master of the art of medicine. And it so happened that the king and his wife fell ill at the same time with a serious illness. They were treated with all the medicines known then, but the disease only intensified. The merchant found out about this, and said that he could help in trouble, but on the condition that they accept his faith. They agreed and were healed, and "converted to Islam, and the people of their country accepted Islam."
In fact, the reason was more prosaic. The Bulgars needed help to resist the hated neighbor - the Khazar Khaganate. And such assistance could be provided by the then center of the Islamic world - the Baghdad Caliphate. At the beginning of the VIII century, they were given financial assistance to Bulgaria in the war. Relations with such a rich and developed ally significantly increased the authority of the Bulgars and provided protection, not to mention the economic recovery - the Arab countries were a profitable trade market.

Once having adopted Islam, the Bulgars no longer retreated from their faith. Subsequently, they tried to spread Islam further by offering Vladimir Svyatoslavich to accept their religion in 986. But two years later, Rus' was baptized, going the other way.

"The Kingdom of Rich Cities"

After Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Khaganate, to which the Bulgars were in vassal dependence, the latter quickly "rose", monopolizing the entire Volga trade route and trade with the Arab East and Iran. Moreover, following the usual rules of trade, they strictly ensured that Russian sellers of furs, a popular commodity in the East, did not meet with Arab merchants.

But the Volga Bulgaria lived not only through mediation. The products of their artisans were famous all over the world: ceramics, leatherwork. The best sorts of leather in the Arab countries were called Bulgar. Armament also did not lag behind in quality. The Bulgar army could afford the most modern weapons for those times. As an Arab author of the 10th century wrote: "The Bulgars ride, have chain mail and full armament." And Prince Vladimir, during his campaign against the Volga Bulgaria, completely doubted the possibility of confirming the agreements of his father and obtaining tribute from the Bulgars: “Bulgarians shod in boots will not give tribute: we must look for lapotniks”. After that, Kievan Rus concluded the "Eternal Peace" with Bulgaria.

Developed cities were not only the center of trade, but also played an important role in the military strategy of the Bulgars. Strongly fortified castles served as important outposts to expand the territory of the state. With the advent of the new lands, the Bulgarian prince set up a castle-fortification. It became the center of these lands, the main supplier of handicrafts products, under the protection of its high walls and ramparts, merchants could freely conduct trade operations. So, gradually, the whole life of local residents concentrated around the new city. The land became Bulgarian. This can explain that, despite the military defeats that the Bulgars suffered, their territories only expanded. It spread in the east - to the lands of modern Bashkiria, in the south - to present-day Saratov, in the west - to Nizhny Novgorod. In the North, there was no border as such, although the Volga Bulgars mastered the territory up to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. From here came the historical statement that "the Bulgars in the field are weak, but they hold the cities firmly."

Between the devil and the deep sea

The Great Volga Bulgaria was not just developed, it was a powerful state and, at times, even a dangerous neighbor of Kievan Rus. The area of ​​one of the largest cities of the Volga Bulgaria - Bilyar, was larger than medieval Kyiv, Vladimir and even Paris. Who knows where the center of modern Europe would be if it were not for the invasion of a powerful enemy from the East - the Mongols. Bulgaria was the first state to face their wild hordes. Even the well-fortified walls of the Bulgar cities did not save against the nomads. Already mentioned by us, Bilyar, in 1236, after a long siege, was taken and razed to the ground. According to eyewitnesses, "for several days the Mongols left nothing of the city except its name." So, Europe lost one of the largest, along with the then Constantinople, trade and craft center.

True, Bulgaria was saved from complete destruction by the rapid adoption of Islam by the Mongols. As a result, the culture and people of the Volga Bulgaria joined the Golden Horde and continued to exist in the new conditions. At least, the finds of the Mongolian period correspond in appearance to handicrafts made during the existence of the Volga Bulgaria. The new heyday continued until the middle of the XIV century, when the "Great Jail" or civil strife began in the Golden Horde, which led the state to collapse. Rising from its knees at that time, Rus' threatened not only the nomads, but also the Bulgars. As a result, Bulgaria lost its strategically important southern lands, which passed to Moscow. Independence was preserved only by the northern lands, with the center in Kazan. Thus began the formation of a new state in the Northern Volga region - the Kazan Khanate, with a new ethnic group of Kazan Tatars.

The resettlement of the Bulgars took place at the end of the 9th and beginning of the 10th centuries. The reason for it was a powerful attack on the Khazar Khaganate by new nomads, primarily the Pechenegs, who came from the east.

On the Middle Volga, the early Bulgars at first led a traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle. In winter they lived in wooden houses, in summer they dispersed in felt yurts and were mainly engaged in pastoral cattle breeding. However, the harsh natural and climatic conditions of the region were by no means conducive to nomadism. Therefore, the early Bulgars gradually switched to a stable settled way of life.

Other tribes and contacts with them. The Bulgars occupied, of course, not empty lands. Local people have lived in the Middle Volga region for centuries. Finnish tribes ancestors of modern Mari, Udmurts and Mordovians. Here from the IV-VI centuries. small groups lived Turkic-speaking tribes that came to these lands during the advancement of the Huns and Turks of Istemi-Kagan to Europe. In addition, in the VII-VIII centuries. the wide Vol-go-Ural expanses were occupied by semi-nomadic Magyars(ancient Hungarians), whose ancestral home was also somewhere in the east, most likely in the South Siberian steppes. One of the population groups of "Great Hungary" owned a unique burial ground near the present village of Bolshiye Tigany, Alekseevsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan. In the ninth century from the regions of the Upper Kama region came to the territory of the Middle Volga region Finno-Ugric population.

The Bulgars came into close contact with all these tribes. Some of them, for example, the ancient Magyars were soon forced to leave the territory of the Volga-Kama. They went west and reached the banks of the Middle Danube, where they formed the Kingdom of Hungary. The remaining population, having adopted the common name of the Bulgars, created their own state Volga Bulgaria.

At the end of the 1st millennium AD. Bulgarian society was on the verge of the final disintegration of primitive tribal relations. This was largely facilitated by the development of the economy, primarily arable farming, handicrafts, domestic and foreign trade. Changes in the economy have accelerated the process of stratification of society into separate groups of people, differing in the degree of wealth.

The early Bulgars, having occupied the Volga-Kama forest-steppe regions, later used military-political force. In conditions when the process of "conquest of the motherland" was going on, military clashes with local tribes often occurred. This led to the strengthening of the military-tribal nobility. She has long stood out in a special privileged group and surrounded herself with a military squad from among the most courageous and devoted tribesmen. Vigilantes made military campaigns and raids on neighboring lands in order to enrich themselves.

The population was subject to regular duties and taxes. Thus, a source of funds appeared that went to the maintenance of the administrative apparatus, local princes and their squads.

The general result was the emergence of the state. It was called upon to keep the population of the country in obedience, to ensure the protection of its borders from external enemies, and to conduct domestic and foreign policy. The state of the Volga Bulgars finally took shape at the beginning of the 10th century. It is characteristic that at this time the Bulgar emir organized the minting of coins (902-908), the first steps were taken to establish diplomatic relations with the Baghdad Caliphate (921-922). At the same time, the Bulgars adopt a new religion - Islam, construction of cities and fortresses begins.

A real city is a large settlement, the territory of which is surrounded by strong fortifications, and the population is mainly engaged in crafts and trade. It is also the administrative and cultural center of a large district. The area of ​​such cities reached several tens or even hundreds of hectares. In the center of the city, the upper class usually lived, people who ruled the state, rich and noble citizens. Bazaars were noisy there, mosques and madrasahs were nearby. And the workshops of artisans, constituting a separate settlement, were located further from the center.

Near the village of Bilyarska, Alekseevsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan, in a picturesque area on the left bank of the Maly Cheremshan River, there are the ruins of a huge medieval city. It's famous Bilyar settlement. Bilyar was one of the largest cities of the medieval world civilization. No wonder in the ancient Russian chronicles it is called the Great City. The largest Russian cities of Kyiv, Chernigov, Pereyaslavl before the Mongol invasion occupied an area of ​​about 100 hectares within the fortifications. They were much inferior to Smolensk, Suzdal, Vladimir, Ryazan and Pskov. The largest cities in Western Europe, Paris, Milan, London, Naples, Cologne, had an area of ​​200 to 400 hectares. The area of ​​Bilyar was almost 800 hectares.

Defensive fortifications divided the territory of Bilyar into two parts interior And external city. Outside the city there was a vast Posad. Bilyar had wide international connections. This is evidenced by the finds of a large number of items from the countries of the Middle East and Central Asia, the Caucasus and Byzantium, Ancient Rus' and Scandinavia. Bilyar was the economic, political and cultural center of Volga Bulgaria. It was the capital of the state. Scientists, poets, writers, theologians lived in it. The great Bulgarian poet Kul Gali, the author of the ever-living poem "Kyyssai Yusuf" worked here.

Among the many large and small cities of Bulgaria, with its noisy bazaars, the loud voices of merchants who arrived from all over the world, stood out Bulgarian on the Volga. It was then a small city, but due to its location at the crossroads of trade routes, it had the significance of the largest international merchant center in the Middle Volga region.

Not far from Bolgar, at the Aga Bazaar, the main trading pier of the country operated. There were caravanserais and special rooms for storing goods. The city itself was inhabited mainly by artisans and people who served merchants. No large public buildings have yet been built in the Volgar, they lived in ground log houses with undergrounds.

The second largest city in the country after Bilyar was Suvar. The Muslim population of both cities reaches 10 thousand people. Their houses are built of wood. They live in them in the winter, and in the summer they move to felt yurts.”

The ruins of Suvar are located in the Spassky district of the republic, 4 kilometers from the village of Kuznechikha, on the Utka River. Suvar was completely destroyed during the Mongol campaigns in 1236. Subsequently, he could not be revived.

The central city of the Bulgars, who lived on the right bank of the Volga, was Oshel. It was also one of the largest trade and craft centers of the state. Its remains have been preserved in the Tetyushsky district of the republic near the village of Bogdashkino. The city consisted of two parts, fortified with earth ramparts and wooden walls. Its total area reached almost 80 hectares. In 1220, Oshel was captured and burned by the retinue of the Russian prince.

On the banks of the Kama there was a city Juketau,(its ruins are located near the western outskirts of Chistopol). The central part of Dzhuketau, fortified with three rows of ramparts and ditches, occupied a high cape at the confluence of the Kilevka with the Kama. Opposite the fortified citadel, across the Kilevka River, on a wide flat area, there was a craft settlement. At the beginning of the XIII centuries. Dzhuketau was a relatively small city and was considered the center of the Nizhnekamsk group of Bulgars. Its heyday belongs to the later Golden Horde period. More recently, among the Bulgarian cities of the X-XIII centuries. not mentioned Kazan. The results of new archaeological excavations have enabled scientists to evaluate the most ancient periods in the history of our capital in a completely different way. It turned out that at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries, on a high cape, where the Kremlin is currently located, a heavily fortified Bulgarian settlement arose. Soon it turned into one of the major centers of international trade. Items brought from the countries of Western Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East, as well as Kievan Rus were found here. Among these finds, the Czech coin of Prince Wenceslas, minted in 929-930, is of particular interest. in Prague.

The well-known and large cities of the Volga Bulgaria also included Kashan on the right bank of the Kama; Yelabuga, where the corner tower from the mosque-fortress of the 11th-12th centuries is still preserved; Murom town on Samarskaya Luka, Yulovo in the Penza and Rozhdestvenskoye settlement in the Perm regions. Some of them were political and economic centers of separate territorial groups of Bulgars.

Thus, over time, the Bulgarian cities became the largest centers of crafts, trade and culture. They developed stone and brick architecture, represented by palaces of rulers, mosques, caravanserais and public baths. Archaeological studies of recent years testify to the bright flourishing of the urban culture of the Volga Bulgaria.

Volga Bulgaria was a state early feudal type. was at the head of the state emir or elteber (leader, head of the country). There is very little information about the Bulgarian rulers. The first emir was Almush, who, after the adoption of Islam, began to be called by the Muslim name Jagfar ibn Abdullah. His name is on the first Bulgarian coins of 902-908. During the reign of Almush in 922, the Baghdad embassy arrived in the country and the official adoption of Islam took place.

After Almush, his son Mikail ibn Jagfar, who also issued coins, sat on the throne. In the 940s, Abdullah ibn Mikail ruled; on coins of the 970-980s. the names of two emirs Mumin ibn Hassan and Mumin ibn Ahmed have been preserved. According to one Persian source, in 1024-1025. The "sovereign of Bulgar" was Emir Abu-Ishak Ibrahim ibn Mohammed.

The Bulgar emir was subject to the "kings of his land" the rulers of individual lands-regions. Before the formation of a centralized state, each Bulgar tribe had its own prince-leaders. Thus, the Suvar principality was completely subordinated to the Bulgar emir only in the 970s, and before that its rulers even minted their own coins.

The leaders of combat squads, beks, and representatives of the higher clergy also belonged to the ruling elite.

The main population of the country was the "common people": farmers, artisans, merchants. They performed various feudal duties in favor of the state, but were personally independent of secular and spiritual feudal lords. The rural (agricultural) community owned the land in common: “everyone who sows something takes it for himself. The king has no right to do so” (Ibn Fadlan).

Thus, in the Volga Bulgaria there was state form of exploitation population. It did not imply the mandatory deprivation of farmers of landed property and personal freedom. These features were inherent in many early feudal societies.

Bulgaria Volga-Kama, the state of the Bulgars of the Volga-Kama, Finno-Ugric peoples, etc. in the Middle Volga and Kama region in the 10-14 centuries. Capitals: Bulgar, from the 12th century. Bilyar city. Until 965, it depended on the Khazar Khaganate. Cities were built along the banks of the Volga and Kama - centers of crafts and trade. The basis of the economy was plow farming. In the 10th century adopted Islam. Trade developed with the Arab Caliphate, Byzantium, Eastern Slavs, etc. It competed with the Old Russian state, the Grand Duchy of Vladimir. Conquered by the Mongol-Tatars by 1241. In the 2nd half of the 13th century. the Bulgar and Zhukotinsky principalities were formed, in the 90s. 14th c. defeated by Timur, in the 15th century. entered the Kazan Khanate.

Territory

Written sources do not provide complete information about the territory of the Volga Bulgaria. Arab and Persian geographers considered the country of the Bulgars to be the northernmost in the world, inhabited by Muslims, and located it in the most extreme, seventh, climate of the Earth. Ibn-Ruste is the first to give information about its location in his encyclopedia "Dear Jewels", compiled around 903-913. He reports: “Bulgarian land is adjacent to the land of the Burtases. Bulgarians live on the banks of the river, which flows into the Khazar (Caspian) Sea and is nicknamed Itil (Volga) ... ". Al-Istarkhi and later authors give more specific information about the southeastern border of Bulgaria, defining it in the area of ​​Yaik. Reports about the western border of Bulgaria, as a rule, boil down to the fact that Bulgaria is located to the east of the lands inhabited by the Slavs. There is no exact information about the northern and southern borders of the country, some authors, for example, al-Kashgari, write that the Bulgars also live on the Lower Volga. According to medieval written sources, it is difficult to determine what the authors mean when describing the borders of the Volga Bulgaria. It is not clear whether the sources refer exclusively to the territory of the immediate residence of the Bulgars, or, defining the limits of the Bulgar land, the authors describe the territories of nomadism of the semi-sedentary part of the population or land that are within the sphere of economic and political influence of Bulgaria.

The location of archaeological sites allows us to present in general terms the territory of the Volga Bulgaria. Some Muslim geographers of the X-XI centuries place the western borders of the Volga Bulgaria to the east of the Slavic tribes. The southern and northern limits of the Volga Bulgaria as a whole are hardly perceptible according to written sources. Fakhrutdinov R. G. did a great deal of work in this direction, who in the 60-70s of the last century began to identify and map the archaeological sites of the Bulgar period. The main monuments of the Bulgar time are located on the territory of modern Tatarstan, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Penza regions and Chuvashia.

Currently, more than 2 thousand Bulgar monuments of the X-XIV centuries have been identified. Among them there are about 190 settlements and more than 900 settlements. Most belong to the pre-Mongolian time - 170 settlements and more than 700 settlements. The main part of the monuments of the Bulgar period is located on the territory of Tatarstan. In other regions, there are much fewer such monuments. In the Ulyanovsk region - about 200, in the Samara region - about 160, in the Penza region - about 70, in Chuvashia - about 70.

Based on written and archaeological sources, different authors define the boundaries of the Volga Bulgaria in different ways. It is traditionally believed that the territory of the Volga Bulgaria included part of the territories of the Middle Volga region: the Pre-Kama, Trans-Kama and Pre-Volga regions. Khalikov A.Kh. and Kazakov E.P. believe that the northern border of Bulgaria passed along the right bank of the Kama River, the western one - in the area of ​​the Sviyaga River basin, the eastern one along the Chistopol-Bilyarsk line or the Shishma River, the southern one in the area of ​​Samarskaya Luka. Khuzin F.Sh. defines the Kazanka River as the northern boundary, the Samarskaya Luka as the southern boundary, the Sura River as the western boundary, and the lower reaches of the Belaya and Ural rivers as the eastern and southeastern.

However, some researchers, such as M. Z. Zakiev, are of the opinion that the Volga Bulgaria was located on a much larger territory: the western borders in their view coincide with the borders of Ancient Russia, the eastern borders are located in the region of the Irtysh, Ob, Yenisei rivers, southern and south the eastern ones are determined by the northwestern and northern regions of Khorezm and the Caucasus Range, the northern ones go to the Kara Sea.

Population

Accurate data on the population of the Volga Bulgaria are not available. Only al-Balkhi mentions that the number of inhabitants of Bulgar and Suvar was 10 thousand people each. According to Alekseev's approximate and possibly overestimated calculations, the population of the Volga Bulgaria could reach 1.5-2 million people.

The basis of the population of the Volga Bulgaria was made up of Turkic-speaking tribes. The first information about such tribes is given by Ibn Ruste. He reports that “Bolgars are divided into three departments: one is called Bersula, the other is Esgel, and the third is Bulgarians.” These tribes are also mentioned by the author of "Hudud al-Alam": "Bakhdula, Ishkil and Bulgars". In the reports of Ibn Rust and other authors, information from the note of Ibn Fadlan, reporting on the baranjars and King Askal, is given and not quite correctly interpreted. In the second half of the X century. Of these ethnonyms, only "Bulgars" continue to appear.

History of Volga Bulgaria

One of the hordes, consisting mainly of the Kutrigur tribes, under the command of Kotraga moved from the territory of Great Bulgaria to the north and settled (VII-VIII centuries) in the region of the middle Volga and Kama, where the state of Volga Bulgaria was subsequently formed.

This legend is not supported by archaeological evidence. The Bulgars came from Khazaria at the end of the 8th century. The second big wave of migration from Khazaria took place at the beginning of the 10th century.

At the beginning of the 10th century, the Bulgarian Baltavar Almush converted to Hanifid Islam under the name of Jafar ibn Abdallah, as evidenced by silver coins minted in Bulgaria. Coins were issued in Bolgar and Suvar throughout the 10th century, the last of which dates back to the year 387 of the Muslim calendar (997/998).

In 922, the Baltavar, in search of military support against the Khazars, whose rulers professed Judaism, invites an embassy from Baghdad, officially declares the Islamic Hanifid persuasion as the state religion and takes the title of emir.

However, “people” (subordinate tribe, clan) Sawan (śśuvanä… “a title received by a person two steps below hakan = Turk. yabgu”), headed by “King Virag” (apparently, this is a Hungarian name (like Almush), means “flower”, common in Hungary) probably expressed dissatisfaction about this (“refused”), as a result, the aristocracy of the Bulgarians was divided into two parties (the second was headed by “King Askal”). After threats from Almush (to hit with a sword), the first party also obeyed. Obviously, "King" Virag with the title of Shroud was the second person (the second step below the Khakan) in Volga Bulgaria after the Baltavar Almush (the first step below the Khakan). In addition, it is known that "King Almush" with his tribe had "four subordinate kings" with his subordinate tribes, which corresponds to the structure of the state and the name of Bulgara - "five tribes".

These events and facts were described in the notes of Ahmed Ibn Fadlan, a member of the Baghdad embassy to the Volga.

After Almush, his son Mikail ibn Jagfar ruled, and then his grandson Abdullah ibn Mikail.

In 965, after the fall of the Khazar Khaganate, Bulgaria, previously vassal to him, became completely independent, but it also became a victim of the eastern campaign of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav Igorevich in those years (964-969).

In 985, Prince Vladimir of Kiev, in alliance with the Torques, led a military campaign against Bulgaria and concluded a peace treaty with it:

“Ide Volodymyr to the Bolgars with Dobrynya, eat with our own, in the boats, and bring the torch along the coast to the horses. And so defeat the Bulgarians. And Dobrynya said to Volodymyr: “Look at the convict, and the essence of everything is in boots. Do not pay tribute to us, having gone to look for a lapotnik. And Volodymyr made peace from the Bulgarians, and the company entered between them, and decided to the Bulgarians: “Toli do not wake the world between us, or else the stone will begin to float, and the hops will become dirty.” And Vladimir came to Kyiv.

In 986, an embassy from the Volga Bulgaria visited Kyiv with a proposal that the people of Kiev, headed by Prince Vladimir, accept the Muslim faith from the Bulgars.

In 1006, a trade agreement was concluded between Russia and Volga Bulgaria: Bulgarian merchants could freely trade on the Volga and Oka, and merchants of Rus' - in Bulgaria.

In 1088, the Kama Bulgars briefly captured Mur.

In 1107, the Volga Bulgars besieged and took Suzdal.

In 1120, Yuri Dolgoruky organized a military campaign against the Volga Bulgaria. In the summer of 1164, Andrei Bogolyubsky, together with Prince Yuri Vladimirovich of Murom, went to Bulgaria: the city of Bryakhimov was captured. In 1172 Bogolyubsky went to the Kama Bulgars. In 1184 Vsevolod the Big Nest and the Grand Duke of Kiev Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich fought against the Volga Bulgars. In 1186 Vsevolod the Big Nest again sent troops to the Kama Bulgars.

In 1217-1219 the Bulgars captured Unzha and Ustyug. In response, the Rostov, Suzdal and Murom regiments under the command of the brother of Vladimir Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich took, plundered and burned the large city of Oshel. In 1221, a truce was signed between the Vladimir principality and Volga Bulgaria in 1221 in Gorodets for six years, in 1229 in Korenev for another six years.

In 1223, after the Battle of Kalka, the Mongol troops went east through the lands of the Volga Bulgars and were utterly defeated by the Bulgar troops. This defeat, together with the battle at Pervan in 1221, are exceptions against the backdrop of the successes of the Mongol army during the period of conquest until the defeat at Ain Jalut in 1260. In 1229, the Bulgars and Polovtsians were defeated by the Mongols near the Yaik (Ural) River. In 1232, the Mongols reached the place where the Zhukot River flows into the Kama. Finally, in 1236, the Mongol army led by Subedei ravaged the entire Volga-Kama Bulgaria. Some Bulgars fled under the protection of the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yuri Vsevolodovich. In 1239, the Mongols invaded the Volga Bulgaria for the second time and conquered it.

In 1240, after two uprisings in a row, the territory of the Volga Bulgaria became part of the Golden Horde, although unrest in the region continued for a long time, and the Mongol-Tatars more than once had to pacify the recalcitrant Bulgars.

According to M. G. Khudyakov, the end of hopes for the restoration of the former Bulgaria was brought about by the sacking of the city of Bulgar by Russian ushkuiniki - Novgorod detachments engaged in robberies. Subsequently, Kazan became the unified cultural and political center of the Volga Bulgars. Thus, the new name of the former state, the Kazan Khanate, was finally strengthened.

After the formation of the Golden Horde, the Volga Bulgarians (Bulgars) became one of the main components in the ethnogenesis of the modern Kazan Tatars and Chuvashs.

Volga-Bulgar language

The Volga-Bulgarian language is known from the epitaphs of the 13th-14th centuries written in Arabic script. in the former territory of the Volga Bulgaria. Their analysis shows that two different languages ​​(z- and p-types) simultaneously functioned in Volga Bulgaria. Tombstones of the 1st style are written in the Z-dialect, close to the Karakhanid language. The most numerous tombstones of the 2nd style (90%) are written in the r-dialect, which is similar to the Chuvash language. The earliest known stone gravestone (1271) belongs to the monuments of the 1st style and is written in the 3rd dialect.

Administrative device

The first capital of the state was the city of Bulgar (Bolgar the Great), 140 km south of Kazan, the current city of Bolgar.

Other large cities are Bilyar (where the capital was moved in the 12th century due to the raids and robberies of Bulgar from the Russian lands), Suvar, Dzhuketau (“Linden Mountain”), Oshel (Ashly), Kashan, Kermenchuk, Murom town, etc. .

Economy

In the pre-Mongol period, Bulgaria had a diversified economy, the basis of which was primarily agriculture with agriculture and animal husbandry quite developed for that period, handicraft production, trade, hunting and fishing.

Agriculture

The most important in the agriculture of the Volga Bulgaria was agriculture. The climate of the Volga-Kama region also contributed to this. The great role of agriculture is also noted in the written sources of that time.

Agriculture made it possible to satisfy the internal needs of the state in grain, and also created a significant potential for export. The Bulgars traded bread with Russia, this is also evidenced by the "Tale of Bygone Years", which says that from Suzdal during the famine of 1024 they went to "Bulgarians and brought zhit and tacos ozhish".

Heritage of the Volga Bulgaria

In the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, various Tatar socio-political movements, primarily representatives of the Vaisov movement, promoted the ideas of the “revival of the Bulgarian identity” of the Tatar people and the Bulgarian statehood.

The first exponent of the ideas of Bulgarism among the Kazan Tatars is B. Vaisov (1810-1893), who called himself a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and the rulers of the Volga Bulgaria.

At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, the ideology, called "Bulgarism", again began to spread among the Tatars thanks to the activities of the "neo-Bulgarists", as well as modern discoveries, indicating a close connection between the Volga-Kama Bulgars and modern Tatars.

Literature

• Kovalevsky A.P. On the degree of reliability of Ibn Fadlan // Historical Notes. Volume 35. 1950.

Links

• Bolgar: the green alternative
• Bulgarian State Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve
• Publications about Suvar
• Volga Bulgaria
• Golubovsky P.V. Bulgarians and Khazars, Rus''s eastern neighbors under St. Vladimir
• Davletshin G. Bulgarian-Tatar tombstones
• Ibn Fadlan. "Note" about a trip to the Volga
• Kuchkin V. A. On the routes of campaigns of ancient Russian princes against the state of the Volga Bulgarians in the 12th - the first third of the 13th centuries.
• Article about Volga Bulgaria on the website of Kazan State University
• Khakimzyanov F., Mustafina D. Epigraphic monuments of the city of Bulgar
• Yusupov G.V. Introduction to the Bulgaro-Tatar epigraphy

The territories of the Volga region, where the Volga Bulgaria was founded, were inhabited by Turkic-speaking tribes no later than the 8th - 9th centuries. Then the Turkic tribes of the Bulgarians came to the lands of the Volga and Kama regions. Prior to that, they lived in the Black Sea region on the Taman Peninsula and between the Kuban and Don rivers.

Great Bulgaria

There, in the 7th century, nomadic tribes of Turkic-speaking Bulgarians founded their first state, which was called Great Bulgaria. It arose as a result of the unification of heterogeneous, predominantly, Turkic tribes that were previously part of the Ogur tribal union. The very name "Bulgarians" can be translated from the ancient Turkic as "breakaways", "rebels", probably meaning that at one time they separated from the Ogur tribal union. Thus, the Bulgarians are part of a tribal association, which was first part of the Ogur tribal union, and then separated from it.

Before the foundation of a separate state in 635, many Bulgarians were recruited as soldiers in the Byzantine Empire. It is known that it was the Bulgarians who in 480 saved Byzantium from the Ostrogoth invasion. In 619, the nephew of the Bulgarian leader Organa, Kubrat (later the founder of Great Bulgaria) was baptized. Kubrat lived for quite a long time at the Byzantine court and was friends with the future emperor of Byzantium Heraclius.

In 635, Kubrat, having united the Bulgarian tribes, made a campaign against the Avars ruling in the Black Sea region. The Avar power was crushed and Kubrat was able to create a state of Great Bulgaria allied with Byzantium, with the capital in Phanagoria, of which he became the head. However, this state could exist only until 660, when Khan Kubrat died.

Exodus

His sons, having divided the lands of their father, lost their cohesion, as a result of which they could not hold back the Khazar onslaught. Most Bulgarians were forced to submit to the Khazars. Another part of the Bulgarians, led by Khan Asparukh, went to the Danube, where, having subjugated the Slavic tribes, a state, Danubian Bulgaria, was created.

Another part of the Bulgarians, who left towards the Volga River, created a new state of the Bulgarians, Volga Bulgaria (the state of the Volga Bulgarians is usually called Bulgaria, and the inhabitants are Bulgars, so as not to be confused with the Danube Bulgarians-Slavs). The state was founded on the territory of the Middle Volga and Kama regions. Before the arrival of the Bulgars in the Volga region, Finno-Ugric tribes lived there, whom the Bulgars were able to subjugate.

The early history of the Volga Bulgars is little known, but it is known that the Bulgarians ended up on the Volga no later than the 8th - 9th centuries. and until the middle of the 10th century they continued to be dependent on the Khazar Khaganate, which is also confirmed by the Turkic title of the ruler of the Volga Bulgaria “elteber”, that is, dependent on the khan. The tribal composition of the inhabitants of the Volga Bulgaria, in addition to the Bulgars themselves, also included equal Turkic-speaking tribes: Suvar, Esegel, Barsil, Baranjar, as well as Finno-Ugric peoples who lived on the Volga before the arrival of the Bulgars.

Volga Bulgaria

Initially, the inhabitants of the Volga Bulgaria professed mainly paganism, but in 921 the Bulgarian Elteber (ruler) Almush, having concluded an alliance with the Baghdad Caliphate, asked the Caliph of Baghdad al-Muktadir to send a learned preacher to Bulgaria. Soon, in 922, an entire embassy arrived from Baghdad, with his secretary Ibn Fadlan, who kept records and detailed the history of this embassy in his notes. After the official reading of the letter of the Arab ruler, the Bulgarian Elteber Almush called on his people to convert to Islam.

In 922 Islam became the official religion of the Bulgarian state. Islam was an extremely important factor for the unification of various Turkic and indigenous Finno-Ugric tribes living on the territory of the Volga Bulgaria into a single state. It was Islam that was able to turn disparate tribes into a single nation, thanks to the reliance on Muslim values.

In many ways, the adoption of Islam was also a political step, since thanks to it the Bulgars got the opportunity to become part of the Arab-Muslim world not only in the religious, but also in the trade and economic sense. At the same time, a number of Turkic and Finno-Ugric tribes, who did not want to accept a new religion, continued to maintain their pagan traditions. There really was a possibility of their preservation, since the Bulgarian state was distinguished by religious tolerance and multi-confessionalism.

Religions

If Islam in the Bulgar State consolidated different ethnic groups into one, that is, with the Bulgar (Turkic-speaking) language and Bulgar culture, then the tribes that retained paganism were largely able to avoid assimilation, continuing to preserve the archaic elements of the Turkic, Finno-Ugric culture and their local self-names.

Islam was able to fulfill the function of a religion, which in many respects was able to consolidate disparate peoples and establish good ties between the Bulgars and the East. In the second half of the 960s, after the victory of the Kyiv prince Svyatoslav over the Khazar Khaganate, the dependence of the Bulgars on the Khazars completely ceased, and the Volga Bulgaria became the first independent state of the Middle Volga region.

First independent state

The largest cities of the Volga Bulgaria were the capital of the state, the city of Bulgar, the large urban center of Bilyar and such large political, economic and cultural centers as the cities of Suvar, Oshel and Dzhuketau.

The heyday of the city of Bulgar could be called the XI - XII centuries. At that time it was the largest merchant center of Bulgaria and the capital of the state. Its favorable location made the city not only the largest merchant center of the Volga Bulgaria, but also the center of international trade. The city was inhabited mainly by merchants and artisans. The city of Bulgar was opposed by another major center of the Volga Bulgaria and the medieval civilization as a whole - the city of Bilyar.

For a long time, these two cities were in opposition, and in the XII century, it was decided to transfer the capital of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria to the city of Bilyar. The second heyday of Bulgar fell only on the Golden Horde time (XII-XIV centuries). And from the XII century Bilyar began to be called the "Great City", that is, the capital of the entire Bulgarian state.

Economy of Bulgaria

The basis of the economy of the rural inhabitants of Bulgaria was large-scale agriculture and cattle breeding. Sowed mainly wheat, rye, oats, millet, barley, spelt, peas and hemp. The inhabitants of Bulgaria preferred to breed horses, cattle, sheep, goats, the Bulgars also kept camels.

Handicraft life in the economy of Bulgaria also played an important role. Carefully crafted Bulgari leather was popular outside the country. One of the leading branches of the craft was metalworking, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy. Numerous bracelets, rings and jewelry testify to highly developed jewelry craftsmanship. And the Bulgarian potters were famous for their beautiful vessels.

Volga Bulgaria was economically and politically closely connected with the Arab Caliphate, Central Asia and Ancient Russia. Slavs and Bulgars were in strong influence from each other, many Russian merchants came to the Bulgar states to trade.

But at the same time, military clashes broke out between the Bulgars and the Slavs. From the annals it is known that when the Prince of Kiev Vladimir made a decision to accept the true faith, Islamic preachers from the Bulgar lands came to him. But, not wanting to compromise the ancient Russian customs, Prince Vladimir was embarrassed by the Islamic ban on the impossibility of drinking alcoholic beverages, so the Islamic religion was rejected.

Volga Bulgaria is a classic example of a feudal state. The position of a person was determined by the amount of his possession of landed property. Until 965, the head of state was Elteber, a figure formally subordinate to the Khazar ruler. After the year 965 (Victory over the Khazar Kaganate by Prince Svyatoslav), the Bulgar ruler - Emir gained complete independence. The Bulgarian throne was passed from father to son, and only in exceptional cases to the closest relatives.

Arabic culture

Before the adoption of Islam, the Bulgars professed common Turkic paganism, but after the adoption of Islam, the Bulgars began to approach the Arab culture more closely. The Turkic runic writing that existed before was replaced by Arabic script, and Turkic names began to intersperse with numerous Arabic names. With the adoption of Islam, the well-known works of Arab scientists also came to the Bulgars. The Bulgars managed to create a high unique culture. In Bulgaria there were scientists: physicians, historians, philosophers, astronomers, mathematicians, geographers. The Bulgarian cities were excellent examples of high-quality architectural creativity. The largest Bulgarian cities had their own water pipelines, high-rise buildings, and gardens.

After the formation of the power of Genghis Khan at the end of the 12th - beginning of the 13th century, the Mongols conquered numerous lands of Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The Bulgars understood that the seizure of their lands could also become an inevitable reality, therefore they tried in every possible way to resist the Mongols, including entering into an alliance with the Russian troops. But, despite all the efforts of the Bulgars to avoid the Mongol invasion of their territory, they did not succeed. In 1236, the Volga Bulgaria was captured by the Mongol troops led by Batu. The invaders plundered, burned and destroyed many cities and villages of the Bulgars, some of the civilians were taken into slavery. After this moment, a new era began in the history of the Bulgars - the era of Bulgaria already as part of the Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde), and then the Kazan Khanate.

Mongols

Before the capture of Bulgaria by the Mongols, it was at the zenith of its heyday. In the Volga Bulgaria, Islam was considered the official religion, but this state was distinguished by its religious tolerance. In addition to Muslims, Jews, Christians and pagans lived there. The language of the Volga Bulgaria was the Turkic Bulgar language, although other languages ​​and dialects acted along with it.

Together with the arrival of the Mongols, numerous immigrants from the South came to the territory of Bulgaria - the tribes of the Kipchaks (Polovtsians). They began to settle in Bulgaria and exert a significant influence on it even before the invasion of the Mongols, but together with the arrival of the Mongols, they were able to settle in the Bulgarian lands already completely unhindered and in fairly large numbers.

The Kipchak ethnos began, as it were, to merge into the Bulgarian one, through the adoption of Islam by the Kipchaks, but at the same time, for a certain time in the Bulgarian state there was bilingualism (Bulgarian and Kipchak languages). Over time, due to the numerical predominance of the Kipchaks in relation to the Bulgars, the language of the Bulgars was completely supplanted by the language of the Cuman-Kipchaks and lost forever.

But this was not a problem, since the unification of such different, albeit Turkic, tribes was due to Islam. Thus, the Kipchaks were able to assimilate with the Bulgars due to the adoption of Islam.

Kazan Tatars

It is customary to see the modern descendants of the Bulgars in the Kazan Tatars, however, this nation is already a mixture of the Bulgars and the Kipchaks, and the modern Tatar language belongs to the Kipchat subgroup of the Turkic language, but where did the Bulgar language disappear to? This language, like many others, suffered the fate of assimilation, it simply died, and although even in the modern Tatar language there are separate words of probably Bulgar origin, in general, the language still remains Turko-Kipchak.

However, another interesting people lives in the modern Volga region - these are the Chuvash. The Chuvash speak an archaic Turkic language, the likes of which are nowhere else, and when comparing the ancient Bulgarian texts and the Chuvash language, it turned out that it was in it that the maximum number of words close to Bulgar remained.

Thus, it was concluded that the modern Chuvash language remains the only surviving language from the Bulgar subgroup of the Turkic languages. At the same time, it cannot be argued that modern Chuvash is a direct descendant of the Bulgar language. The fact is that the Chuvashs themselves belong to the descendants of the Suvar (Suvaz, Suvar, Savir - Chuvash) tribes who came as part of the Bulgars to the Volga.

But a significant part of the Suvars did not accept Islam, and therefore, unlike others, they did not enter the Bulgar assimilation process, but continued to preserve their pagan rites and remain native speakers of their language. When the Kipchaks arrived, who were able to assimilate, including in terms of language, the Bulgars themselves, the Suvars, turned out to be the last speakers of the remnants of the language belonging to the Bulgar subgroup. This happened precisely because they did not enter the Islamic assimilation process.

Today, the descendants of these Suvars are the Chuvash, who for the most part always professed paganism, and only, over time, through the efforts of Russian missionaries, they converted to Christianity, and that part of the Suvars that converted to Islam always otari.

The same thing happened with all other peoples accepting Islam, they entered, as it were, into this melting pot. So, it included all those who converted to Islam. So in the end it turned out that the descendants of the inhabitants of Bulgaria who did not accept Islam became the only native speakers of the language of the Turkic-Bulgarian subgroup.

Bulgaria is on everyone's lips. But few people know that another Bulgaria once existed, where instead of Orthodox churches towered minarets, and which could become the most important center of Europe.

Two Bulgaria

In the middle of the first millennium of our era, on a vast territory from China to the Balkans, Turkic nomadic states, kaganates, were formed, replacing each other. In this cauldron of medieval statehood at the turn of the 6th-7th centuries, the state of Great Bulgaria arose on the territory of the North Caucasus. However, almost immediately she came under pressure from her strong neighbor, the Khazar Khaganate, which was formed in the same period. Under his pressure, Bulgarian society collapsed. Part moved to the West and founded the state of "Bulgaria", which exists to this day. The other half went northeast to the Kama River. It was these Bulgarians, having mixed with the local population, that went down in history under the name of the Kama and Volga Bulgars. Fertile lands, forests full of game and a system of rivers contributed to the rapid settlement of nomads. In a relatively short period, within two centuries, a large state arose on this territory (the end of the 9th century).

Why Islam

The combination of Muslim architecture and the Central Russian plains puzzled many travelers. So the Flemish Franciscan monk, the famous missionary and traveler Guillaume de Rubruck, wrote in his memoirs: “I don’t know how the law of Muhammad went so far north.”

The Volga Bulgaria made its choice of faith in 922, although there were prerequisites even earlier. The contacts of the Bulgars with the Islamic world began to strengthen already in the 8th century, after the Khazar Khaganate was conquered by the Arab commander Mervan bin Mohammed.

This is connected with a local legend given in the book of the Bulgar historian Yakub Nugman. Allegedly, one Muslim merchant arrived in the capital of Bulgaria from Bukhara. He was an educated man and mastered the art of medicine. It so happened that the king and his wife fell ill at the same time. They were treated with all the medicines known then, but the disease only intensified. The merchant found out about this, and said that he could help in trouble, but on the condition that they accept his faith. They agreed and were healed, and "converted to Islam, and the people of their country accepted Islam."
In fact, the reason was more prosaic.

The Bulgars needed help to resist the hated neighbor - the Khazar Khaganate.

Such assistance could be provided by the then center of the Islamic world - the Baghdad Caliphate. At the beginning of the VIII century, they were given financial assistance to Bulgaria in the war. Relations with such a rich and developed ally significantly increased the authority of the Bulgars and provided protection, not to mention the economic recovery - the Arab countries were a profitable trade market.

Once accepting Islam, the Bulgars never backed down from their faith. Subsequently, they tried to spread Islam further by offering Vladimir Svyatoslavich to accept their religion in 986. But two years later, Rus' was baptized, going the other way.

"The Kingdom of Rich Cities"

After Svyatoslav defeated the Khazar Khaganate, to which the Bulgars were in vassal dependence, the latter quickly "rose", monopolizing the entire Volga trade route and trade with the Arab East and Iran. Moreover, following the usual rules of trade, they strictly ensured that Russian sellers of furs - a popular commodity in the East - did not meet with Arab merchants.

But the Volga Bulgaria lived not only through mediation.

The products of their artisans were famous all over the world: ceramics, leatherwork. The best sorts of leather in the Arab countries were called Bulgar.

Armament also did not lag behind in quality. The Bulgar army could afford the most modern weapons for those times. As an Arab author of the 10th century wrote: "The Bulgars ride, have chain mail and full armament." And Prince Vladimir, during his campaign against the Volga Bulgaria, completely doubted the possibility of confirming the agreements of his father and obtaining tribute from the Bulgars: “Bulgarians shod in boots will not give tribute: we must look for lapotniks”. After that, Kievan Rus concluded the "Eternal Peace" with Bulgaria.

Developed cities were not only the center of trade, but also played an important role in the military strategy of the Bulgars. Strongly fortified castles served as important outposts to expand the territory of the state. With the advent of the new lands, the Bulgarian prince set up a castle-fortification. It became the center of these lands, the main supplier of handicrafts products, under the protection of its high walls and ramparts, merchants could freely conduct trade operations. So, gradually, the whole life of local residents concentrated around the new city. The land became Bulgarian. This can explain that, despite the military defeats that the Bulgars suffered, their territories only expanded. It spread in the east - to the lands of modern Bashkiria, in the south - to present-day Saratov, in the west - to Nizhny Novgorod. In the North, there was no border as such, although the Volga Bulgars mastered the territory up to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. From here came the historical statement that "the Bulgars in the field are weak, but they hold the cities firmly."

Between the devil and the deep sea

The Great Volga Bulgaria was not just developed, it was a powerful state and, at times, even a dangerous neighbor of Kievan Rus. The area of ​​one of the largest cities of the Volga Bulgaria - Bilyar, was larger than medieval Kyiv, Vladimir and even Paris. Who knows where the center of modern Europe would be if it were not for the invasion of a powerful enemy from the East - the Mongols. Bulgaria was the first state to face their wild hordes. Even the well-fortified walls of the Bulgar cities did not save against the nomads. Already mentioned by us, Bilyar, in 1236, after a long siege, was taken and razed to the ground. According to eyewitnesses, "for several days the Mongols left nothing of the city except its name." So, Europe lost one of the largest, along with the then Constantinople, trade and craft center.

Bulgaria was saved from complete destruction by the rapid adoption of Islam by the Mongols.

The culture and people of the Volga Bulgaria joined the Golden Horde and continued to exist in the new conditions. At least, the finds of the Mongolian period correspond in appearance to handicrafts produced during the existence of the Volga Bulgaria. The new heyday continued until the middle of the XIV century, when the "Great Jail" or civil strife began in the Golden Horde, which led the state to collapse. Rus', rising from its knees at that time, threatened not only the nomads, but also the Bulgars. As a result, Bulgaria lost its strategically important southern lands, which passed to Moscow. Independence was preserved only by the northern lands, with the center in Kazan. Thus began the formation of a new state in the Northern Volga region - the Kazan Khanate, with a new ethnic group of Kazan Tatars.