Volga Bulgaria
Encyclopedia
Volga Bulgaria, or Volga–Kama Bolghar, is a historic Bulgar
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
state that existed between the seventh and thirteenth centuries around the confluence of the Volga
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
and Kama
Kama River
Kama is a major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge; in fact, it is larger than the Volga before junction....
river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s in what is now Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Origin
Information from first-hand sources on Volga Bulgaria is rather sparse. As no authentic BulgarBulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
records have survived, most of our information comes
from contemporary Arabic, Persian
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n or Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n sources. Some information is provided by excavations.
It is thought that the territory of Volga Bulgaria was originally settled by Finno-Ugric peoples
Finno-Ugric peoples
The Finno-Ugric peoples are any of several peoples of Europe who speak languages of the proposed Finno-Ugric language family, such as the Finns, Estonians, Mordvins, and Hungarians...
, including Mari people. The Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
moved from the Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
region in about AD 660, commanded by Kotrag
Kotrag
Khan Kotrag was the founder of Volga Bulgaria. He was the son of Kubrat who left Great Bulgaria after the death of his father. His successors reached the lands of modern Tatarstan and established a state during 7-9 centuries and recognised Islam as the official religion in 922 AD during the visit...
, Kubrat
Kubrat
Kubrat or Kurt was a Bulgar ruler credited with establishing the confederation of Old Great Bulgaria in 632. He is said to have achieved this by conquering the Avars and uniting all the Bulgar tribes under one rule....
's son. They reached Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means Volga-Urals in the Tatar language. The frequently used Russian variant is Volgo-Uralye...
in the eighth century, where they became the dominant population at the end of the 9th century, uniting other tribes of different origin which lived in the area. Some Bulgar tribes, however, continued westward and eventually settled along the Danube River, in what is now known as Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
proper, where they created a confederation with the Slavs, adopting a South Slavic language
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
and the Eastern Orthodox faith.
Most scholars agree that the Volga Bulgars were subject to the great Khazarian Empire, until Khazaria's destruction and conquest by Sviatoslav in the late 10th century, after which Volga Bulgaria grew in size and power. Sometime in the late 9th century unification processes started, and the capital was established at Bolghar
Bolghar
Bolghar was intermittently capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 8th to the 15th centuries, along with Bilyar and Nur-Suvar. It was situated on the bank of the Volga River, about 30 km downstream from its confluence with the Kama River and some 130 km from modern Kazan...
(also spelled Bulgar) city, 160 km south from modern Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
. Most scholars doubt, however, that the state could assert independence from the Khazars until the latter were annihilated by Svyatoslav of Rus in 965.
Rise and conversion to Islam
IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
was adopted as the state religion in the early tenth century, under Almış
Almis
Almış iltäbär was the first Muslim ruler of Volga Bulgaria.Almış was a son of Şilki . He was a ruler of one of the Bulgar duchies, probably, the Bolghar Duchy. Initially, a vassal of the Khazars, he struggled for independence and unification of all Bulgar tribes and duchies. He sent ambassadors...
. Ibn Fadlan was dispatched by the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
al-Muqtadir
Al-Muqtadir
Al-Muqtadir was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 908 AD to 932 AD .After the previous Caliph, al-Muktafi, was confined for several months to his sick-bed, intrigue was made for some time as to his successor...
in 922/3 to establish relations and bring qadi
Qadi
Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...
s and teachers of Islamic law
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
to Volga Bulgaria, as well as help in building a fort and a mosque. The Volga Bulgarians attempted to convert Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir I of Kiev
Vladimir Sviatoslavich the Great Old East Slavic: Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь Old Norse as Valdamarr Sveinaldsson, , Vladimir, , Volodymyr, was a grand prince of Kiev, ruler of Kievan Rus' in .Vladimir's father was the prince Sviatoslav of the Rurik dynasty...
to Islam; however Vladimir rejected the notion of Russians giving up wine, which he declared was the "very joy of their lives".
Commanding the Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
in its middle course, the state controlled much of trade between Europe and Asia
Volga trade route
In the Middle Ages, the Volga trade route connected Northern Europe and Northwestern Russia with the Caspian Sea, via the Volga River. The Rus used this route to trade with Muslim countries on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, sometimes penetrating as far as Baghdad...
prior to the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
(which made other trade routes practicable). The capital, Bolghar
Bolghar
Bolghar was intermittently capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 8th to the 15th centuries, along with Bilyar and Nur-Suvar. It was situated on the bank of the Volga River, about 30 km downstream from its confluence with the Kama River and some 130 km from modern Kazan...
, was a thriving city, rivalling in size and wealth with the greatest centres of the Islamic world. Trade partners of Bolghar included from Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
s, Bjarmland, Yugra
Yugra
Yugra was the name of the lands between the Pechora River and Northern Urals in the Russian annals of the 12th–17th centuries, as well as the name of the Khanty and partly Mansi tribes inhabiting these territories, later known as VogulsThe Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug of Russia is also...
and Nenets
Nenets
Nenets may refer to:*Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a federal subject of Russia*Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a federal subject of Russia*Nenets people, a Samoyedic people...
in the north to Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
and Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in the south, from Western Europe to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the East. Other major cities included Bilär
Bilär
Bilär was a medieval city in Volga Bulgaria and its second capital before the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria. It was located on the left bank of the Small Cheremshan River in modern-day Alexeyevsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan.The city was founded by the indigenous Bilyar tribe of the...
, Suar
Suar
Suar was a medieval Volga Bulgarian city, the capital of Suar Duchy in 948-975.It was situated at Volga's left tributary Ütäk river's upper stream. In the 10th century it coined its own money. Suar was a political, economical and trade center of Volga Bulgaria...
(Suwar), Qaşan (Kashan) and Cükätaw
Cükätaw
Cükätaw or Juketau was a medieval Bolgar city during the 10th to 15th centuries CE. The city was situated on the right bank of Kama, near the modern city of Çístay . In the 10th to 13th centuries it was one of the most important furniture trade centres of Volga Bulgaria. The city was the capital...
(Juketau). Modern cities Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
and Yelabuga
Yelabuga
Yelabuga The history of the settlement dates back to the 11th century, when a Volga Bulgarian border castle was established. The castle was later abandoned, and its remains are now known as Şaytan qalası ....
were founded as Volga Bulgaria's border fortresses.
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
invasion.
The Russian principalities to the west posed the only tangible military threat. In the 11th century, the country was devastated by several Russian raids. Then, at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, the rulers of Vladimir
Vladimir
Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...
(notably Andrew the Pious and Vsevolod III), anxious to defend their eastern border, systematically pillaged Bulgarian cities. Under Russian
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
pressure from the west, the Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
had to move their capital from Bolghar
Bolghar
Bolghar was intermittently capital of Volga Bulgaria from the 8th to the 15th centuries, along with Bilyar and Nur-Suvar. It was situated on the bank of the Volga River, about 30 km downstream from its confluence with the Kama River and some 130 km from modern Kazan...
to Bilär
Bilär
Bilär was a medieval city in Volga Bulgaria and its second capital before the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria. It was located on the left bank of the Small Cheremshan River in modern-day Alexeyevsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan.The city was founded by the indigenous Bilyar tribe of the...
.
Demographics
A large part of the region's population included Turkic groups such as SuarsSuars
The Suars were a Turkic-speaking people, probably of Hunnish descent, who lived in Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages....
, Barsil, Bilars
Bilars
Bilars were medieval Turkic tribe's commonwealth in the Middle Volga. Bilars are known to found Bilär city. Since the 10th century they were a part of Volga Bulgaria. In the 11th-14th centuries their land was one of Bulgaria's emirates or duchies....
, Baranjars and part of Burtas
Burtas
Burtas were a tribe of uncertain ethnolinguistic affiliation inhabiting the steppe region north of the Caspian Sea in medieval times...
(by ibn Rustah). Modern Chuvashes
Chuvash people
The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout all Russia.- Etymology :...
descent from Suars
Suars
The Suars were a Turkic-speaking people, probably of Hunnish descent, who lived in Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages....
and Kazan Tatar
Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
s descend from the Volga Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
. Another part comprised Finnic and Magyar (Asagel and Pascatir
Pascatir
Pascatir is a historical land, corresponding to modern Bashkortostan. Pascatirs were the ancestors of Bashkirs....
) tribes, from which Bisermäns probably descend. Ibn Fadlan refers to Volga Bulgaria as Sakaliba which is a general Arabic term for the people of Volga Bulgaria and it is probably related to ethnic name Scythian (or Saka in Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
).
Decline
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...
an advance guard of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's army under command of Uran, son of Subutai Bahadur
Subutai
Subutai was the primary military strategist and general of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan...
, entered Volga Bulgaria but was defeated in the battle of Samara Bend
Battle of Samara Bend
The Battle of Samara Bend or the Battle of Kernek was the first battle between Volga Bulgaria and the Mongols, probably one of the first major battles the Mongols lost. It took place in autumn 1223, at the southern border of Volga Bulgaria....
. In 1236, the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
returned
Siege of Bilär
The siege of Bilär was a battle for the capital city of the Volga Bulgaria between the Volga Bulgars and the Mongols. It took place in autumn 1236 and lasted for 45 days...
and in five years had subjugated the whole country, which at that time was suffering from internal war. Henceforth Volga Bulgaria became a part of the Ulus Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...
, later known as the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
. It was divided into several principalities; each of them became a vassal of the Golden Horde and received some autonomy. By the 1430s, the Khanate of Kazan
Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan was a medieval Tatar state which occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El,...
was established as the most important of these principalities.
According to some historians, over 80% of the country's population was killed during the invasion. The remaining population mostly relocated to the northern areas (territories of modern Chuvashia and Tatarstan). Some autonomous duchies appeared in those areas. The steppe areas of Volga Bulgaria were settled by nomadic Kipchaks and Mongols, and the agricultural development suffered a severe decline.
Over time, the cities of Volga Bulgaria were rebuilt and became trade and craft centers of the Golden Horde. Some Bulgarians, primarily masters and craftsmen, were forcibly moved to Sarai and other southern cities of the Golden Horde. Volga Bulgaria remained a center of agriculture and handicraft.
See also
- AtilAtilAtil , literally meaning "Big River", was the capital of Khazaria from the middle of the 8th century until the end of the 10th century. The word is also a Turkic name for the Volga River.-History:...
- Balymer
- BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
- Bulgarism
- BulgarsBulgarsThe Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
- Kingdom of BalharaKingdom of BalharaKingdom of Balhara is a controversial hypothesis of some Bulgarian scientists to have been the earliest known state of the ancient Bulgars, situated in the upper course of Oxus River , and the foothills and valleys of Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains...
- Chuvashia
- Khanate of KazanKhanate of KazanThe Khanate of Kazan was a medieval Tatar state which occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El,...
- Khazaria
- TatarstanTatarstanThe Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
- Qol GhaliQol GhaliQol Ghali was a famous Muslim Volga Bulgar poet, the founder of medieval Tatar literature. His most famous poem is Qíssai Yosıf , written in the Turki literary language, which is not mutually intelligible with the modern Tatar, Bashkir and Chuvash languages.It is believed that he was born in what...
- List of Sunni Muslim dynasties
- Battle of Samara BendBattle of Samara BendThe Battle of Samara Bend or the Battle of Kernek was the first battle between Volga Bulgaria and the Mongols, probably one of the first major battles the Mongols lost. It took place in autumn 1223, at the southern border of Volga Bulgaria....
- Volga TatarsVolga TatarsThe Volga Tatars are the largest subgroup of the Tatars, native to the Volga region.They account for roughly six out of seven million Tatars worldwide....
- TatarsTatarsTatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...
- Old Great BulgariaOld Great BulgariaOld Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria was а term used by Byzantine historians to refer to Onoguria during the reign of the Bulgar ruler Kubrat in the 7th century north of the Caucasus mountains in the steppe between the Dniester and Lower...