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Objective: The purpose of the article is an attempt to determine the appro­ximate boundaries of Baraq Khan’s nomads’ territories, to summarize information from various written sources and modern literature, and to determine how the name of this famous ruler should actually be written. Research materials: To achieve this goal, we used medieval Muslim written sources. Among these sources, we have identified four groups based on language. The first group is written in Arabic. It is represented by one source – the work of al-Aini “Iqd al-juman”. The second group is more plentiful: here we drew on the data of Samarkandi’s “Matla ‘as-sa’dain”, Hafiz-i Abru’s “Zubdat at-tavarih”, Mirkhond’s “Rauzat al-safa”, and also Ibn Ruzbihan’s “Mihaman name-yi Bukhara”. The third group includes works in the Turkic language, among them Ötemish Haji’s “Kara Tavarih”, Qyrymi’s “Umdet al-Akhbar”, and Qadyrgali’s “Jami at-tavarih”. Another group of sources is written in Russian; these are the data of the chronicles and materials of the Ambassadorial Department of the Russian state. In addition to these sources, we used numismatic data and that from the letter of the Golden Horde Khan, Ulugh-Muhammad, to the Turkish Sultan Murad I. Results and novelty of the research: According to al-Aini, the lands of Baraq Khan bordered on the lands of Amir Temir. The materials of the Ambassadorial Department drew a direct continuity between the ulus of Baraq Khan and the khanate of the Qazaqs. Persian chroniclers called Baraq Khan the ruler of the Uzbek Ulus whose territory was contingent with the Qazaq Ulus that arose later. Ötemish Haji and Qyrymi call Baraq Khan’s property the “Qazaq summer pasture”. The same lands were called Uzbekiya in the work of Qadyrgali. Coins of Baraq Khan do not clarify his main possessions but nevertheless indirectly refer to the fact that the main territory of his nomads was the steppes east of the Volga. All this information has led to several important conclusions. The main conclusion is that the Baraq Khan’s ulus was located in the eastern part of the Jochid Ulus, mainly in the left-bank area of the Volga region, on the Ural and Emba rivers, and in the northern Aral and Syr Darya regions. Baraq Khan did not pursue the goal of annexing these lands to his possessions. Geographically, the lands of his ulus were contingent with the lands of the future Qazaq Khanate, founded by his son, Zhanibek. Russian and Nogai contemporaries of the Qazaqs perceived them precisely as the heirs of Baraq Khan and his grandfather Urus Khan. That last fact testifies to the continuity of not only the dynasty, but also the territories. In conclusion, the etymology of the name Baraq, which is a common Turkic anthroponym, is considered while attempts to establish Arabic roots for it are ruled out as erroneous.

Research objectives: To analyze the main research trends of the last thirty years in the national historiography on the topic of the Black Death and major epidemic outbreaks of plague in the historical past. Research materials: The historiographic analysis was conducted based on both original domestic studies of the topic and those written in co-authorship with Western colleagues. To outline the main theoretical base of the topic, the author used major works on the historical theory, demography, climatology, paleogenetics, and phylogenetics of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis. Results and novelty of the research: The analysis showed that until the 1980s, the views of Russian historians on the epidemics of the historical past were based on the study of a major German epidemiologist in the second half of nineteenth century, H. Häser. At the same time, the main directions in the research of domestic historians on the topic were developed within the framework of an order from domestic biologists and epidemiologists. This situation began to change when, in the 1980s, Russian historical research took a course towards geographical determinism. From the second half of the 1990s to the 2000s, in connection with the publications of the American Turkologist U. Schamiloglu and French historians, new topics in the field of anthropology, cultural studies, and historical demography began to be addressed in the research of domestic authors. At the same time, all theoretical considerations continued to be formed within the framework of the Marxist theory of the “crisis of the Middle Ages”. Therefore, the “Black Death” was considered exclusively as a concomitant theme attached to the main events. Only in the 2010s, in the light of the growth of joint research with Western specialists in the field of archaeology, paleogenetics, and climatology was it possible to start moving towards the development of a new theoretical and methodological basis for research on the topic in Russian historiography. The result of this process was the publication of new studies which are likely to determine the predominant course of scientific research in the field of historical epidemiology in Russia in the coming years.

Research objectives: The study of all known Golden Horde coin finds in India and China. Research materials: All the known coin finds of the Golden Horde in India and China in the context of published coin finds (the research of Ch.J. Rodgers, M.A. Stein, and others). Results and novelty of the research: The author, for the first time ever, summarized the information about Golden Horde coin finds from these two countries. All Golden Horde coins from China and a portion of Golden Horde coins from India (Indian museum) were minted in Khwarazm. There is numismatic catalogue of Islamic coins from the Calcutta Museum where it is possible to find information about Golden Horde coins from the collection of the museum. Any information about finds of these coins is absent in this publication. However, it is most probable that these coins were found in India because the numismatic collections of such local museums were created practically only from local finds. The Golden Horde coins from the Calcutta Museum collection are mainly silver dirhams of the fourteenth century from Khwarazm, but there are also several coins from Lower Volga region. Probably, the Golden Horde coins went to India and China via Khwarazm. The materials published in the article gives archaeological evidence about close trade routes between Khwarazm on one end and India and Eastern Turkestan on the other end. The peak activity on these trade routes is dated to the second half of fourteenth century (mainly the coins of Uzbek and Janibek Khan of the Golden Horde). At the end of fourteenth century, the most important cities of the Golden Horde were in decline or ceased to exist as a result of Timur’s campaigns against it. The main trade routes between East and West shifted towards the south and stopped passing through the territory of the Ulus of Jochi. Not a single specimen of the finds is dated to the fifteenth century.

Research objectives: The goal of this article is to examine recent English-language publications about Rus’ relations with the Tatars of the Jochid ulus in order to correct factual errors and analyze dubious conclusions. Research materials: The primary materials utilized in this study are three books. The first is Timothy May’s new monograph synthesizing the history of the Mongol Empire. The second two are collective works by an international group of recognized specialists. The Golden Horde in World History. A Multi-Authored Monograph is a translation of an anthology originally published in Russian. The Cambridge History of Inner Asia. Volume 2: The Chinggisid Age continues a multi-volume series. Results and novelty of the research: Recent English-language studies of Rus’–Tatar relations sometimes idealize Rus’–Tatar cooperation. The Rus’–Tatar relationship rested upon destructive conquest and often destructive rule. Much Russian-language scholarship on Rus’–Tatar relations exaggerated the importance of Rus’ in the Jochid ulus. In fact the Kipchaks played a far more important role than the Rus’. Some conclusions in recent English-language studies rely upon propagandistic Russian sources, often of later provenance. English-language authors do not always agree with each other, for example, on the level of medieval Rus’ culture or the extent of Russian efforts to convert conquered Tatars. Discussions of Noghay’s status and offices are very confused. Only a Chinggisid could have issued coinage, so Noghay must have been a Chinggisid. If he was a Chinggisid, he could not have been an emir or ulus beg, offices held by “black bone” commoners.

Abstract: This study discusses the history of the Golden Horde and the political status of the Jochid ulus from the perspective of the Yuan Dynasty. According to traditional narratives, the rulers of the Jochid ulus were largely antagonistic and apathetic towards the Yuan Court. However, Chinese sources present a somewhat different picture and shed new light on several issues, including the status of Jochid rulers in the eyes of Yuan historians, the importance of Jochid apanages in China, local dual-administrative structures, and local officials of the Great Khan. The importance of Berke’s conversion to Islam and how this influenced the conflict between the Jochids and Toluids is also touched upon. The contribution ends with a discussion of the relationship between the Golden Horde and the Yuan Dynasty in the post-Berke period.

Abstract: Khan Özbek’s rise to power was a pivotal moment in the Islamisation of the Golden Horde nomads. Recently, Russian researchers have shown an increased interest in Özbek’s religious policy and the degree to which Golden Horde nomads were Islamised during his reign. Several researchers argue that Özbek succeeded in completely Islamising his domain at the beginning of his reign. However, this interpretation is largely based on written Islamic sources that should not be taken at face value. Franciscan sources written within the Golden Horde suggest that Islam was not uniformly adopted in the Jochid ulus. A comparison with the neighbouring Ilkhanate at the end of the 13th c. shows that the Mongol rulers achieved relatively limited success in their attempts to forcibly impose Islam on their nomadic subjects.

Abstract: The article discusses the Qonggirad migration to the Jochid ulus in the aftermath of the Mongol conquests as well as the roles the Qonggirad elite played in the Jochid and Khwārazmian political history in the late 13th – early 15th centuries. Based on genealogical and numismatic analyses, this paper, on the one hand, provides insights into the formation and developments of the autonomous Qonggirad power in Khwārazm in the second half of the 14th century and, on the other hand, stresses the importance of the Islamisation for the Mongol tribal elite’s accustomisation to the regional and geopolitical historical setting during the troubled period of 1359-1380s in the Jochid ulus.

The article is dedicated to basic directions and mechanisms of incorporation of Islamic administrative and legal institutions into the Jochid Ulus. As this state included regions with well developed Islamic traditions, individual manifestations of influence of Islam on political and legal realities of the Golden Horde took place since the first stage of existing of this state. However, only after official conversion of the Jochid ulus to Islam during the reign of Uzbek Khan (in the 1320s) Islamic political and juridical institutions became an integral part of state and legal structure of the Golden Horde. Their role substantially increased in the time of crisis of imperial state and legal system after disintegration of the Mongol Empire and then of its successors, the Chinggisid states. Influence of Islamic institutions on political and legal relations of the Golden Horde and post-Golden Horde states became apparent in different aspects. At first, it was participation of representatives of Islamic administration in executive power including tax collection: such functions of them are confirmed by yarliks of khans of the Golden Horde, as well as of the Crimean and Kazan khanates. Secondly, Islamic judges, the qadis were integrated into court system of the Golden Horde and later, within the post-Golden Horde states, they even ousted imperial judges, the jarguchis. Third, powerful representatives of Islamic clergy became participants of qurultays, where the khans were elected, and the ceremony of enthronement was supplemented by the oath of a new khan on Koran under their influence. At last, Islamic clergymen participated actively in diplomatic activity of the post-Golden Horde states and acted as mediators between rivals who pretended for the throne in the Jochid states. No doubts, the rise of influence of Islam and Islamic clergy in political and legal life of the later Golden Horde and post-Golden Horde states could be explained, from one side, by the crisis of the Mongol state and legal system. Besides that, some of the post-Golden Horde states arose on territories with well-developed urban (i.e. Islamic) culture, and their representatives, who were well-educated and had indisputable authority over local population, not only acquired the political influence in the Jochid states but also got an opportunity to integrate Islamic institutions into the state and legal system of these states.

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Copyright of Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Méditerrannée is the property of Edisud and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)