22 research outputs found
Review on the Book: Pochekaev R.Yu. The Golden Horde Law (Kazan, 2009. 260 p.) » 231
No full textThis paper contains a review of the R.Yu. Pochekaev’s book “The Golden Horde Law”. The reviewer points out that the Pochekaev’s book is a significant academic research in both the study of the Golden Horde history and the law system of the Eurasian Turkic-Mongol peoples. This book is published by the Center for Research on the Golden Horde Civilization at the Sh.Marjani Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tatarstan. For several years, the author of this book, R.Yu. Pochekaev, has been concerned with the the history of the Golden Horde State and its law system. He has published a number of works on this topic, the main conclusions of which are reflected in this generalizing work. The study is based on a wide range of sources (annals and chronicles, memoirs of contemporaries, bureaucratic and numismatic materials) and numerous studies including the works of foreign specialists in the original language. In his book, the author organically combines the latest achievements of research on both the Golden Horde history and theory and history of law. The book will be of interest to experts of the Golden Horde history and Orientalists, who are often faced with the legal aspects of the material under study
Pochekaev R.Yu. Chinggis Khan’s Great Yasa in the Mongol Empire and Chinggisid States of the 13th–14th centuries: Legal Code or Ideal “Law and Order”?
No full textResearch objective of the article is clarifying of the nature of the Greta Yasa of Chinggis Khan: was it legal code or set of specific edicts, regulations and principles?
Research materials include Arabian and Persian historical sources which already were used by another researchers of the Great Yasa (D. Ayalon, D.O. Morgan), as well as new sources on the history of the Mongol Empire, the Golden Horde, Yuan Empire, Chaghataid state recently introduced into scholarly circulation. Research results of the article consist in getting of arguments that the Great Yasa, in fact, was a set of specific principles and rules established by Chinggis Khan, and their observance provided a harmony in the Mongol Empire and the states of Chinggisids, i.e. the Great Yasa was a kind of “law and order” but not a legal code. Research novelty of the article is represented by analysis of the level of the legal development of the Mongols of the 13th–14th cc. when they didn’t need a special codification to regulate their legal relations, that’s why no one authentic source mentioned the Great Yasa as code of laws and it is characterized in this way only by representatives of the “written legal culture” (European, Caucasus, Arabian, etc.)
A New Book on the Law System of the Golden Horde: Pochekaev R.Yu. Legal Culture of the Golden Horde (Historical and Legal Essays) (Moscow: Yurlitinform, 2015. 312 p.)
No full textThis book is a study at the intersection of such academic disciplines as general history, history of state and law and source study.
The subcect of R.Yu. Pochevalev’s book appears very relevant since the interest of the scientific community and readership toward the Golden Horde and its role in the history of the Russian state remains traditionally high for several centuries. However, the author is trying to take a fresh look at this state and refute the stereotype of the Golden Horde as a some kind of bunch of nomads who lived only by plundering neighboring sedentary peoples. He succeeds in this by studying such an important part of the Golden Horde history as its law and legal culture.
The book examines a number of questions on the history of state and law of the Golden Horde, which have not previously been the subject of a special study (for example, possessions of the Golden Horde in other uluses, dualism of power in different states, relations between authorities and traders, etc.). On some other issues that have already been studied by experts, he proposes new interpretations in the framework of historical and legal approach (for example, the causes of intestine strife in the Golden Horde in the mid-14th century, yarliks of the Golden Horde khans granted to the Russian Chruch, relations of the Golden Horde rulers and Italian colonies in the Northern Black Sea region).
The author examines to a great extent the themes of state and legal regulation of economic relations: status of merchants in the Golden Horde and post-Golden Horde states, role of economic sanctions in the resolution of political conflicts. In other essays contained in the book, the author also emphasizes the role of the economic component of the political and legal relations. For example, R.Yu. Pochekaev convincingly shows that relations of the Golden Horde with other states of the Mongol Empire was based on the principle of mutual provision of possessions to the rulers of other states. The consequence of this was the acquisition of revenues: the Golden Horde khans received such incomes, for example, from China and Central Asia. Various taxation existed in nomadic and sedentary regions of the Golden Horde itself: thereby khans found a kind of compromise that allowed for the effective management of subjects with a different way of economy
“King” Godan: Status of the Ruling Chinggisid in Mongolian and Tibetan Sources
No full textResearch objectives: Analyzing characteristics of the legal status of Prince Godan, son of Ögedei Khan, who was often mentioned in different imperial, Tibetan, and late medieval Mongolian sources; clarifying the reasons why he was given the title of khan in some sources, though he never possessed this title. The author attempts to define the status, level of power, and real position of Godan among the Chinggisids and in the political structure of the Mongol Empire.
Research materials: The basis for research comprises three groups of historical sources – Mongolian imperial historiography (works of Juwayni and Rashid al-Din, “Yuan shih”, etc.), Tibetan historical works (“The Blue Annals”, “Pagsam-jonsan”, “Debter-chjamtso”), and late medieval Mongolian chronicles created under the influence of Tibetan Buddhist historiography (“Golden Tale”, “Crystal Mirror”, “Yellow History”, “White History”, “Jewel beads”, etc.). The author also used the works of specialists on Mongolian and Tibetan historiography (such as Sh. Bira, R.E. Pubaev, Yu.N. Rerikh, A.D. Tsendina) as well as the works of researchers of political and religious history of the Mongol Empire (such as V.L. Uspenskiy, H. Franke, C.P. Atwood, etc.).
The novelty of the study: It offers a systematization of historical sources of different origins to clarify some aspects of the political biography of Prince Godan, identifying his legal status as a Chinggisid and the ruler of an ulus. At the same time, the author tries to not refute sources with contradicting statements but to clarify the reasons behind such contradictions and to find information which could clarify and complement the data of other sources.
Research results: The author tries to systematize different sources on the status of Prince Godan as one of the key political figures in the history of the Mongol Empire from the 1240s to the beginning of the 1250s and the ruler of a large ulus with substantial level of power, which could be compared with that of rulers of the Golden Horde, the Chaghadaid Ulus, etc. Also, the reasons behind the brief existence of Godan’s ulus and loss of his status already by the time of his direct descendants are analyzed
Tamgha and the Struggle against It: On the History of Medieval Turkic-mongol Taxation System
No full textThe paper deals with the Turkic-Mongol taxation institute of tamgha widely used in the Mongol Empire since the first half of the 13th century. Author characterizes the etymology of this term, its meanings, legal regulation of levy and rates, evolution of the tax in different states – successors of the Mongol Empire (the Golden Horde, Ilkhanate, etc.) as well as in these states even after fall of Chinggisid dynasties (such as Iran under Safavids, Central Asia under Timurids).
As the author supposes, the long-term use of tamgha allows us to talk about the vitality and effectiveness of Chinggisid legal tradition, which survived after the end of “Chinggisid age”. Even the rulers and dynasties, which positioned themselves as rivals of Chinggisids, used tamgha in their taxation system. This tax was also borrowed by the Russians and was used for a long time becoming a base for custom system in Russia.
Other subjects of the research are the struggle of Islamic theologians and jurists against tamgha in different countries of Inner Asia and reasons for this struggle. The author attempts to clarify reasons of this struggle, strict position of clergy against tamgha and measures of rulers who did not want to be in trouble with clergy, but at the same time tried to save tamgha as effective and profitable tax
How the Warriors of Prester John Transformed into Demons from Tartarus. Review of the book: Hautala R. From “David, King of the Indies” to “Detestable Plebs of Satan”: An Anthology of Early Latin Information about the Tatar-Mongols. (Kazan: Sh.Marjani Institute of History of AS RT, 2015. 496 p.)
No full textThis paper is a review of recently published book of Finnish researcher Roman Hautala devoted to publication and study of Latin sources on the Mongols of the 13th century. The book is of great importance as it is a compilations of the very valuable sources which demonstrate evolution of the attitude of European authorities and contemporaries towards the Mongols – from potential allies to the most dangerous enemy. Analysis of these sources helps to understand the further policy of Western European monarchs in the Eastern Europe, Ancient Rus’, Mongol Empire and its successors – Golden Horde, Ilkhanate, etc. At the same time, R. Hautala pays substantial attention to a fate of another nomads of Eurasia connected with the Mongol invasion – especially Kumans (Kipchaks) in Hungary.
The book contains author’s preface, Latin texts and Russian translations of sources as well as very valuable comments of author. Each part could be considered as independent part of this complex research. The main importance of book is put into use of Russian-speaking scientific society of a huge number of sources, most part of which was not accessible for home historians because of lack of knowledge of Latin. The structure of the book completely corresponds to its goals and objectives.
Nevertheless, the author of review points that the book has several insignificant weaknesses, which could be kept in mind and removed in the future works of R. Hautala
The Golden Horde and Rus’: A Turkish View. Review of the Book: Kamalov I.H. The Golden Horde and the Russian Ulus (the Tatar Influence on Russia)
No full textThis review contains an assessment of Ilyas Kh. Kamalov’s book on the relationship between the Jochid ulus and Russian principalities, as well as the subsequent influence of the Golden Horde’s civilization on the development of the Russian state. The book is analyzed within the context of the present state of research on the Golden Horde and its relations with Rus’. This inevitably leads to a comparison of the level of scientific value of the reviewed book with other contemporary publications on the history of the Jochid ulus. The review evaluates the structure of the book, the thoroughness of the analysis, highlights its strengths and weaknesses, and draws attention to a number of controversial elements.
The author of review finds that the book of I.Kh. Kamalov, despite several drawbacks, could likely attract the interest of various reading audiences and stimulate further research and discussions on the history of the Golden Horde and its relations with the Russian principalities
Frontier and Communication in the Relations of Russia, Crimean Khanate, and Ottoman Empire. Book Review: Sen’ D. Russian-Crimean-Ottoman Borderland: Areas, Phenomena, People (end of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries): Selected Works
No full textThe article contains a review of the new book by Dmitry V. Sen’, a famous historian specialized on history of Cossacks and Russian-Crimean relations. The research object of the book are problems in the relations of Russia, Crimean Khanate, and the Ottoman Empire from the end of seventeenth to second half of eighteenth centuries. The author calls his book “selected works” but, in fact, it is fundamentally a monograph with a study of important aspects in the relations of mentioned states. The novelty of the book is in author’s approach which combines source study with the frontier theory and analysis of communication instruments on the basis of the activity of specific persons, including statesmen as well as other representatives of the three states. The review contains the basic survey of structure and content of the book, characteristics of its strengths and disputable questions, as well as possible perspectives for further research
Who could be and who could not be judged by Girays: on court and trial in the Khanate of Crimea
No full textThe article is an analysis of the judicial functions of khans of the Crimea since 15th to 18th c. Basic levels and directions of the khan’s justice as the supreme court of the khanate are clarified. Besides that khans are also characterized as organizers of the court of divan, beys’ courts and courts of qadis in accordance with Shariat. Author attempts to answer the question why the justice of Crimean khans was substantially limited in comparison with monarchs of the Mongol Empire and the Golden Horde. At that specific feature of political statement of the Crimean Khanate (as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire and a state with unstable political situation), religious situation in the Crimean Peninsula are taken into account. The sources for the study are official documents of the Crimean Khanate such as khans’ yarliks, court registers, historical chronicles and notes of foreign travelers who visited Crimea in 16th — 18th cc. Author finds that khans of Crimea de-jure saved Chinggisid traditions (as supreme judges in the khanate), but were substantially limited in their court power de-facto because of feudal aristocracy and courts of qadis. Nevertheless, several kinds of cases as before remained in their competence. Also khans had wide potentialities in the field of organization of the court system of khanate
Crimean Traders vs. Venice: Historical, Legal and Procedural Aspects of Lawsuits of the 1350s
No full textObjective: A study of the Golden Horde historical sources of the mid-fourteenth century containing information on the history of law and trials in the Golden Horde, providing a comparison of the actions of the Golden Horde authorities with similar actions taken in other countries of that time. This includes a general assessment of the standards of the Golden Horde proceedings in the period under study.
Research materials: The Golden Horde historical sources, namely, legal documents from the so-called “Venetian collection”, along with other sources from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries related to the proceedings of damages at the international level, including acts of the Venetian colonies of the Black Sea and medieval Rus’ian charters.
Novelty of the research: This study is the first attempt both at a historical and legal analysis of the Golden Horde sources containing information about trials, as well as a comparative analysis of the actions of the judiciary at different stages of civil litigation which included international participation in the Golden Horde and contemporary states.
Research results: The author reconstructed the main stages of the civil process in the Golden Horde (from filing a lawsuit to a court decision) and revealed the specifics of a particular case in connection with the participation of a foreign element, in addition to its public and legal nature (the lawsuit was not against private individuals, but against the state, i.e. the Venetian Republic). The author established that all procedural actions performed by the Golden Horde authorities in the course of the proceedings, as well as those to ensure the enforcement of the decision, had analogues in the procedural practice of other states that had interests in the Black Sea in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Accordingly, the author concluded there existed a high level of judicial practice in the Golden Horde, including elements which derived from foreign experience
