The Far East in the Middle Age

Abstract

This chapter describes the history of the Russian Far East in the Middle Ages. This period begins with the spread of the Mohe tribes in Primorye and Amur region. The most important of them were Heishui (Amur) Mohe and Sumo Mohe. The Sumo Mohe created the Bohai state in 698. It was the first early state on this territory. The Bohais had towns, a developed culture. On the territory of Primorye, the most famous site is the Kraskino town. In 926, the Bohai were conquered by the Khitan, who created a subordinate territory as a vassal state. From the 10th century there where Jurchens appear. They created the Golden (Jin) Empire in 1115. The empire included almost all of Northern China, Primorye and Amur region. The Jurchens had a large culture, they built cities, and had their own written language. More than a hundred cities and fortresses existed on the territory of Primorye alone. At the beginning of the 13th century during the Mongol invasion of Jin, a buffer Jurchen of the Eastern Xia states (1215—1233) was created on the territory of Primorye. After the death of the Jin Empire, these lands gradually fell into desolation.