On the Function of the Tula Basqaqs in the Northeastern Part of the Chernigov Principality in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

• Main Author: Mayorov A.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: State Institution «Sh.Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences» 2020-03-01
• Series: Zolotoordynskoe Obozrenie
• Subjects: golden horde; northeast of the chernigov principality; administration of territories; basqaqs; tula basqaqship; don trade route; commodity craft production; gol­den horde’s time of troubles
• Online Access: http://goldhorde.ru/en/stati2020-1-4/

Research objectives: Identification of the set of reasons that led to the emergence, function, and disappearance of the Golden Horde’s administrative structures not related to the ruling princely dynasty in the northeastern territories of the Chernigov principality in the second half of the thirteenth and first half of the fourteenth century. Research materials: Medieval Rus’ian chronicles; namely, the Laurentian, Hypathian, Resurrection, Nikonian, and Rogozhskii Chronicles. Contractual charters of Rus’ian prin­ces, yarliqs of the Golden Horde khans, the results of archaeological research, and memoirs of European travelers. Results and novelty of the research: An analysis of the collected and systematized materials shows that initially the Golden Horde administrative structures that were not connected with the ruling princely dynasty (“Taydula’s basqaqship”) arose because of the need to preserve the administration in the lands directly adjacent to the Don trade route. To a certain extent, the continuation of their further functioning was due to the local organization of a number of commodity handicraft industries which were necessary for conducting commercial activities using the Don trade route. The consequence of the disappearance of the “basqaqship” was, among other things, an almost complete depopulation of the region. Along with the Time of Troubles in the Golden Horde in the second half of the fourteenth century, the disappearance of the “basqaqship” could have been caused both by indirect consequences of the plague epidemic (Black Death), which had a negative impact on business contacts, and the military aggression of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.