Khazar Research Articles

HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE STUDY OF STATE PRACTICES AND THE JUDICIARY OF SOUTHERN UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES: GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

For a long time, domestic historians of law and the state and other branch scientists, who were engaged in the study of the southern territories, were focused on the practices of the imperial period, and later – of the period of Soviet occupation. However, the approach to the analysis of the processes of development of the southern Ukrainian territories in the core branches of historical science has now been radically changed and deepened. Methodological approaches to conducting research in related scientific fields also need rethinking. The methodological basis of scientific research is the results of historiographical analysis, a step-by-step understanding of the achievements of each historical period. The object of the history of Ukrainian statehood, and therefore of historical and legal studies of this topic, given in the 9th–10th centuries. and geographically delineated by the north and west of modern Ukraine. On the other hand, the sources about the experience of statesmanship and the Ukrainian colonization of the southern territories are relatively limited and have important features. From the beginning of the annals, domestic authors adhered to pro-Ukrainian rhetoric in matters of the formation of the Kyiv state and its interaction with the Khazar Khaganate, which controlled the southern Ukrainian lands at that time, with the polities of the Pechenegs, Polovtsians, and other steppe peoples who lived there. For an objective analysis of the experience of state practices in southern Ukrainian territories and their impact on the formation of Ukrainian culture and the state, priority should be given to documentary sources and specific archaeological data. Not a small role in this context is currently assigned to the study of oriental sources, taking into account the historiographic achievements of the scientific field of oriental studies. It is important to rethink the position of domestic scientists who pointed to the close connection between the state practices of the Kyiv State and the Steppe, the influence of the steppe culture on the formation of Ukrainian culture and statehood. The analysis of the processes that took place during the period when the Ukrainian and Polovtsian troops were defeated by the Mongols was marked by similar historiographic features. Domestic sources and folklore of this period are full of traumatic experiences. Therefore, for a comprehensive analysis, one should take into account eastern sources, in particular chronicles, and historiographical monuments of other European states. This approach will serve to objectify the experience of the southern Ukrainian terrain. During the period of statelessness, the statist practices of the Lithuanian and Lithuanian-Polish states on the one hand and the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire on the other were widespread in the southern Ukrainian lands. Important historiographic sources for a comprehensive understanding of the experience of the southern territories in this period, as well as taking into account the modern vector on the pan-European context of Ukrainian history, are taking into account the provisions proposed by Lithuanian and Polish scientists, the Polish-Lithuanian historiography of Ukraine, documents of the Crimean Khanate, archives of the Ottoman Empire etc. In the course of conducting historical and legal studies of the southern territories, one cannot ignore the numerous domestic sources of the period of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate state, their content and significance for national state-building should be thoroughly reconsidered. Such a methodological approach to the expansion of historiographical horizons is predicted to contribute to the renewal of the subject of historical-legal and other branch studies, which until now has been focused on the study of state practices and judicial bodies of the imperial period, and later – the period of Soviet occupation; popularization of objective scientific knowledge about the history of the Ukrainian law, state and judiciary; the role of the experience of southern Ukrainian territories in their formation.

SALTOV POTTERY IN MOKHNACH P SETTLEMENT

The pottery of the Saltiv cultural-historical community period (8th — mid-10th centuries) found in Mokhnach-P settlement is analyzed in the paper. This settlement is the best researched one in the microregion of the hillfort Mokhnach, Chuhuiv district in Kharkiv region. The settlement was a part of the Khazar Khaganate forest-steppe territory at the late 1st millennium AD. All pottery found in the settlement was wheel-made. The traces of local ceramic manufacture, such as two pits for clay homogenization, pointed to this fact. However, it related to the production of the most popular ceramic categories (cooking pots) and was at the level of homemade manufacturing. High-quality imported pottery occupied a dominant position. It was supplied from the Northern Pontic region and neighboring pottery centers of the Khaganate’s forest-steppe. The tableware set was of high quality and diversity. Almost all of its groups and categories are mentioned here. Tare pottery are presented by amphorae, big tare pithoi, hydria, flasks and big ceremonial pithoi. Pots and jugs can be found among cooking ceramics. Tableware includes jars, mugs, kubyshkas, table pithoi, pots, and also a ceremonial vessel with two containers. Form and ornamentation of these vessels are traditional and have a lot of analogies to all territories of the Saltiv cultural-historical community. The peculiarity of the local ceramic complex is in the extremely small amount of remains of thick-walled tare pithoi made of chamotte clay for grain storage. Other features include a lot of high-quality ceremonial pithoi and separate rare ornaments on cooking pots. The volume of pots indicates the domination of a small couple family; it completely correlates with a tiny useful amount of the researched dwellings here. The only vessel with two containers belongs to an extremely limited category of ceremonial and cult ceramics, and has a very restricted range of analogies, mostly on Saltiv sites of the Siverskyi Donets. It reflects the traditions and culture of Iranian-speaking, Turkic and also Caucasian nations, beginning, at least, from the early Iron Age. These vessels could be used in a ritual of fraternity, inter-family reconciliation, and also could serve as an honorable drinking bowl for the most respected guest during a feast.

Silk Road in the aftermath of Arab conquest: Trade routes traversing Azerbaijan

The article summarizes the outcomes of the clash between Khazar Turks and Muslim Arabs in wars for the South Caucasus. More than hundred years of permanent military struggle stabilized the border along Great Caucasus Range and inevitably resulted in a search for partnership options to resume mutually advantageous long-distance trade on Silk Roads. Located on the northern littoral lands of the Caspian the Khazar khaganate occupied important space on the juncture of nomadic Eurasian steppes and lands populated by various northern peoples, Finno-Ugrian and Slavic tribes. Starting from the end of VIII century Scandinavian merchants and warriors emerged in the region claiming for their share in international trade by swords and loads of commercial goods. The article describes the system of trade communications and control established by Khazar khaganate involving various nations to Silk Road trade, as well as analyses magisterial trade routes of the time of Arab-Khazar partnership in trade. Tracking of trade flows and description of trade structure and commodities allow to conclude that magisterial trade routes went traversing the territories of Arran (modern Azerbaijan republic) and the province of Azerbaijan in the north of contemporary Iran. Con­sequently, the gradual economic interconnection, human mobility, rise of local production to serve the interests of long-distance trade and to provide local commodities demanded in the markets of Silk Road geography, generated a start of gradual economic and cultural conve­rgence between two regions of international trade transit of the time considered herein in the publication.

Set Belts from the Catacomb No. 31 of the Early-Medieval Burial Ground near Verkhnii Saltiv Village

The materials of the catacomb burial no. 31 investigated in 1985 by the expedition of the Kharkiv Historical Museum under the leadership of V. H. Borodulina on the main site of the Early-Medieval burial ground in Verknii Saltiv village (VSM1) are introduced into the scientific circulation. The burial chamber, transverse to the dromos, contained the remains of two people (a man and a woman) with the traces of deliberate destruction committed in ancient times (fig. 1: 1). Inventory found with the buried people (fig. 2) allows dating this complex to the second — third quarters of the 9th century. The elements of the belt set found in the burial, represented by cast bronze plaques and a fragment of a bronze belt buckle (fig. 1: 2—6) are of interest. Two belt plaques with a fixed loop in the lower part of the shield are decorated with a lotus ornament (fig. 1: 6) typical for the 3rd chronological horizon of the Saltiv antiquities. Two square-shaped plaques with a rectangular hole that has a pointed top in the lower part of the shield (fig. 1: 3, 4) are distinctive among the Turkic antiquities of the 8th—10th centuries. Similar plaques of the Saltiv period are found in the assemblages of the Volga River middle region and the Southern Urals (Volga Bulgarians, Magyars, Mordovians, Mari), where they are part of the decorations of the Turk-Ural circle. Five more round plaques are decorated with floral ornament (fig. 1: 5), which finds analogies in the monuments of the “Magyar” circle of the 9th—10th centuries (Elizavetino-Mikhailovka, Kriukovo-Kuzhnovskii burial grounds in the Volga region, burial in the village of Nova Mykolaivka in the Dnipro Oblast). This belt set consists of three types of plaques that correspond to different traditions. Appearance of the set reflects existence of certain military fashion in the Saltiv society associated with the role played by the Magyars in the 830–890s, being in allied relations with the top of the Khazar Khaganate.

Jewellery of Pastyrske Circle among Materials of Saltiv Culture: Data Analysis

In the paper, jewellery from sites and assemblages of the Saltiv culture, which do not chronologically fit within the boundaries of its existence, are considered. In the article the jewellery characteristic of the Pastyrske hillfort is analysed (group II, subgroup 2). It is represented by two burial complexes and two hoards. Sukha Homilsha cemetery 1 was investigated by V. K. Mikhiev. Burial no. 29 (fig. 1) contained a medallion pendant similar to finds from Pastyrske hoard of 1949 and a number of other assemblages from the second half of the 7th to the first half of the 8th centuries. Burial date: late 8th — early 9th centuries. Staryi Saltiv cemetery was investigated by V. H. Borodulin and V. K. Mikheev. In catacomb no. 21 (fig. 3) in a female burial was found anthropozoomorphic fibula — type VI-D according to O. M. Prykhodniuk or type II.1 according to V. Rodinkova. The date of the burial is debatable: V. S. Aksionov dates it within the boundaries of 750—770, while O. V. Komar believes that it belongs to the Middle Saltiv horizon II, that is, from 790s. Varvarivka hoard discovered in 2017. The complex includes: tools associated with metalworking, handicraft products for general purposes and for the processing of organic raw materials, household items. Bronze items are divided into three groups: armour details (?), raw materials and jewellery. A fibula, similar to the find from catacomb no. 21 of the Staryi Saltiv cemetery, belongs to the items of the Pastyrske circle. Khorosheve hoard discovered in 2021. The asssemblage includes: implement for working with metal, raw materials and weapons. The rest of the items are bronze jewellery, most of which belong to the Pastyrske circle: one earring and three fibulae. All the considered monuments of the Saltiv culture with finds of jewellery from Pastyrske hillfort are concentrated in the Siverskyi Donets basin. The main stage of their existence is defined within the chronological boundaries of the Pastyrske hillfort existence — the middle of the 7th — the middle of the 8th centuries. Two hoards of the Pastyrske circle are known in this region — Zaitsiv and Korobovi Khutory. Archaeological finds of fibulae and an earring of this circle were also revealed in this region. These data indicate that the Slavic population with significant cultural and trade ties with Pastyrske hillfort lived in the Siverskyi Donets basin during the second half of the 7th — the first half of the 8th centuries. The chronology of burial no. 29 of the Sukha Homilsha cemetery differs from the chronology of the existence of the round pendant by at least half a century (table 1). The chronology of the hoards from Varvarivka and Khorosheve is embedded in the general boundaries of the Saltiv culture existence: from 740—750 — the first decades of the 10th century. The chronology of the female burial from catacomb no. 21 of the Staryi Saltiv cemetery is debatable: 750—770 or from the 790s. An analysis of items belonging to the Pastyrske circle from the sites and assemblages of the Saltiv culture indicates that these adornments could have been reused. They do not necessarily indicate the contacts of the Slavic population with the inhabitants of the Khazar Khaganate.

ДВЕ АЛАНСКИЕ КОМПОЗИЦИИ IX-X ВЕКОВ С АНТРОПОМОРФНЫМИ ИЗОБРАЖЕНИЯМИ ИЗ ИНГУШЕТИИ

Two subjects are considered in a series of anthropomorphic images of “mythological type” from the catacombs destroyed by robbers from 2011 to 2019 on the Chemulga River. The set of anthropomorphic characters here is unique for the territory of the Khazar Khaganate. In general, compositions with male characters were concentrated in sets of men’s belts of the 9th–10th cc. The costume and details of the iconography of images connect them with Sasanian Iran and Pre-Islamic Sogdia. The Alans’ choice of characters was explained by parallels with local mythology and epic, including foreign cultural compositions (the flight of Alexander the Great). That scene, as well as the image of an old man playing a lute and an eagle carrying off a man, may be related to the stories about the elder of Narts – Uryzmag in the Nart Epic of the Ossetians. A young man with lasso under a tree and a hare horseman hunter have parallels in important plots (the origin of the Alans-Narts and the ancient Sword God from marriages with the daughters of the Sea God). A winged and seated praying characters are, probably, zædtæ – spirits, patrons of groups of people etc. in the old Alanian religion. The plots were corresponded to the worldview of the Alanian warriors.

Датировка скальных виноградодавилен Юго-Западной Таврики в современной историографии

In the south-western area of Taurica, there are more than 230 stationary rock-cut wine-presses. From the moment when F. Dubois de Montpereux discovered them in the early 1830s, they became the subject of particular research. These production facilities for the primary processing of grapes testify to the agricultural specialization of the local population in the early Middle Ages. In the 1970s, the Soviet scholarship developed the “Khazar” interpretation of the origins and dating of the said wine-making complexes (from the eighth and ninth or ninth and tenth centuries). The evidence base for this attribution is presented by E. V. Veimarn’s publications. Hypothetically, the flourishing of local winemaking was associated with the conquest of the Crimean Peninsula by the Khazars, in result of which safe trade routes towards the Khazar khanate developed to make the latter the main outlet for the Crimean wine, which was exported in locally produced Black Sea amphorae. In the future, the said interpretation gained support from V. N. Danilenko, A. I. Aibabin, A. G. Gertsen, and other researchers. The modern historiography, such as the articles of A. G. Gertsen, V. E. Naumenko, and other scholars, hypothesized a narrower dating of the Crimean wineries from the second half of the ninth to the first half of the tenth century (“Byzantine” version). The publication of the materials from the backfill of winery no. 10 at Mangup and carved-in-bedrock pits in the vicinity of the Eski-Kermen wine-presses, which were covered during the construction of new quarter I, clearly defined the chronology when typologically closed wine-presses ceased to exist as the second half of the tenth century. The researchers have explained the beginning of their construction as the purposeful policy of the Byzantine empire for the development of this region following the establishment of the theme of Klimata in 841. This is indicated by the similarity of the Crimean rock-cut wine-presses and similar complexes discovered in Byzantine Anatolia. Local viticulture and winemaking corresponded to common Byzantine traditions. There is no direct connection between the dates when the production of the Black Sea amphorae started in the Crimea and the functioning of the rock-cut wineries. Presumably, the manufacture of grooved amphorae (A. L. Iakobson’s variant 2 or class 36 of the Chersonese classification of 1995) was related to the production of wine in the South-Western Taurica. From the finds of the said amphorae both on the sites of the Saltovo-Maiaki culture and on the territory of the coastal Byzantine cities and towns there are reasons to reconstruct a more extensive trading network in Crimean wine than it was considered before.

Jewellery of the Martynivka Circle among Materials of Saltiv Culture: Data Analysis

In the paper jewellery from sites and complexes of the Saltiv culture, which do not chronologically fit within the boundaries of its existence, is considered. The studied jewellery is typical for the hoards of Martynivka circle (group II, subgroup 1). It is represented by four burial complexes and one hoard. Dmytriivka cemetery was investigated by S. Pletneva. Two trapezoidal pendants ornamented with punched rows of dots on the edge from catacombs no. 151 and no. 154 (fig. 1A: 1). Items from the Khatskivskyi hoard, the Kovrai locality, and three finds from the Luchistoye burial ground are known with such an ornamentation system. In general, such pendants can be dated by the 5th—7th centuries (fig. 1). Sukha Homilsha cemetery 1 was investigated by V. Mikheev. Burial no. 54 contained a vorvorka (fig. 2). Burial date: late 8th—early 9th centuries. Analogies in size are presented in several hoards, in ornamentation — from the settlement of Kryvets 4. In general, these items are typical for the hoards of Martynivka circle, the second half of the 6th— the middle third quarter of the 7th centuries. Bochkove cemetery has been studied by O. Laptev since 2014. Grave no. 2 (fig. 3; 4) contained two trapezoidal pendants ornamented with four spherical protrusions and two rows of pressed dots along the edge (fig. 5; 6). Similar pendants are associated with the Penkivka monuments and hoards of the Martynivka circle. Myrna Dolyna hoard discovered in 2019. The complex includes: 1) blacksmith tools and several iron items (fig. 7: 1—11); 2) four screams (fig. 7: 12—15); 3) fragments of a bronze cauldron and a pair of phaleras (fig. 8); 4) heraldic belt decorations, including matrices and semi-finished products (fig. 9; 10); 5) Roman coins (fig. 11). Only six heraldic decorations (fig. 9: 1-3; 10: 1—3) are known among Slavic antiquities at the level of broad analogies. All the considered sites of the Saltiv culture with finds of jewellery from the Martynivka circle are concentrated in the Siverskyi Donets basin. Both individual finds and treasures are known here. In the upper reaches of the river, monuments of the Kolochyn culture are known, and below — of the Penkivka culture. The chronology of the complexes of the Dmytriivka cemetery and the Myrna Dolyna hoard can be determined within the general framework of the existence of culture. However, the chronology of burial no. 54 of the Sukha Homilsha-1, burial no. 2 of the Bochkove cemetery and the chronology of the Martynivka circle decorations differ by almost a century (table 1). Consequently, such adornments could be found by the inhabitants of the Khazar Khaganate and reused in everyday life or attire.

Oshibki i fal'sifikacii uchenyh v ocenke roli hazar v istorii vostochnyh slavyan

Based on the analysis of the works of authoritative representatives of pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern science (including emigrant and foreign), the inconsistency of their idea of the beneficial effect of the Khazar Khaganate on the life and fate of the Eastern Slavs is shown. At the same time, attention is particularly focused on the fact that the enthusiasm for this idea led D.S. Likhachev to falsify the Povest Vremennih Let, “forced" archaeologists (for example, S.A. Pletneva) to attribute the highly developed Saltovo-Mayatskaya archaeological culture associated with the Alans to the antiquities of the Khazar circle. In this connection, researchers began to perceive the Khazar Khaganate as the most powerful state of Eastern Europe of the 8th 9th centuries, which occupied a huge territory from the Lower Volga to the Dnieper, and in a distorted light to illuminate its relationship with Russia.

Етнічний склад юдейської прозелітської громади в Хозарському каганатi

Етнічний склад юдейської прозелітської громади в Хозарському каганатi

The Golden Age of Trade Around the Caspian Sea (8th-10th Centuries)

During the period between the 8th and 10th centuries, the Khazar Region was one of the economic and trade centers that played a key role in the world. The Northern Silk Road route, which is an important branch of the Silk Road route, passed through the Khazar Region, extended to the Black Sea via the Caucasus, and reached India via the eastern countries. In this period, the Silk Road route passed through the lands under the administration of various Turkish tribes, and the security of the trade routes was provided by the Turks. The geography where the Khazar Khanate was founded was located at the intersection of the most important trade routes of the period. The Northern Silk Road route was taken under control during the Khazar Khaganate; its control was ensured, and a safe trade atmosphere was created. The Khazar Khaganate provided equal opportunities to all merchants, protecting their lives and property regardless of the said merchant's race or religion. The Khaganate applied commercial law systems and a policy of tolerance specific to each religion.This study examines the economic activities of the countries and people around the Caspian Sea between the 8th and 10th centuries and the role and contribution of the Turks, especially the Khazar Khaganate, in the enormous trade environment that occurred in the Khazar Region during this period.

DNA Phenotyping of Remains from Elite Burials of the Khazar Period of Southern Russia

Ancient DNA analyses help to solve the problems related to the genogeographic origin and migration patterns of populations. The Khazar Khaganate is a subject of controversy among researchers. Its complex historical development, lack of a sufficient number of artistic and written sources, the disappearance of representatives of Khazar culture leaves open the question of the appearance of the Khazars. DNA phenotyping of bone remains from elite burials of the Khazar period of Southern Russia was carried out with respect to eye color, hair color, skin color, and AB0 blood groups. Eight out of 10 individuals had brown eyes, dark hair (to varying degrees), and a predominantly dark skin during their lifetime. Individuals from two burials had gray-blue eyes, and one individual had blond hair. The most probable AB0 blood group was identified in eight people, of which five blood group 0 (I) group, four had blood group A (II), and one had blood group B (III). The allele frequency distribution was assessed for ten population-specific autosomal markers and suggested high heterogeneity for the ethnogeographic origin of the Khazars examined. The results are evidence for ethnocultural, genetic, and phenotypic diversity of the Khazar Khaganate.

Khazar khaganate in the realms of soviet academia: from m. I. Artamonov to l. N. Gumilev and russian nationalists

Khazar khaganate in the realms of soviet academia: from m. I. Artamonov to l. N. Gumilev and russian nationalists

The Problem of the Origination of Statehood in the North-Eastern Caucasus in the Epoch of Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

The North-Eastern Caucasus, which includes the territories of the modern Chechen Republic and the Republic of Dagestan, is one of the oldest centers of the manufacturing economy in the Old World. The development of productive forces and production relations over several millennia, expressed in vivid monuments of material culture, starting from the Kura-Araxes Eneolithic culture, inevitably led to the socio-political evolution of society, the emergence of early forms of statehood or the inclusion of these societies in various kinds of military-political alliances. Numerous Nakh (ancestors of modern Chechens, Ingush and Batsbi) and Dagestan tribes were actively involved in such unions, and the territory of their settlement was partly or completely included at different times in the early state associations that arose in adjacent territories. Such early polities include the Ancient Georgian Kingdom (Iberia) and Caucasian Albania of the late antiquity, the Alanian Kingdom and the Khazar Khaganate of the early Middle Ages, known from written sources.

EARLY MEDIEVAL MATERIAL FROM THE SITE 6 ON MOKHNACH HILLFORT (based on the rescue investigations)

The Early Medieval material that occurred during the rescue excavation on the site 6 on Mokhnach hillfort is analyzed in the paper. The site is located in the eponymous village of Slobidska gromada in Chuhuiv region; it occupies one of the capes on Siverskij Donets right bank (fig. 1). The cultural layer of the Early Middle Age (fig. 2) left by the population of the Romny culture in the mid-10th — early 11th centuries was researched (fig. 3). The remains of the defensive structures, remnants of two household complexes and numerous artifacts of the mentioned historical and archaeological period have been discovered there (fig. 4). A significant part of the site is damaged by the cemetery of the 17th—19th centuries (fig. 6) which in a certain way complicated the excavation.
 The fortifications under research were the remains of a ground rampart and a wide but shallow moat in front of it that was damaged by a trench in World War 2. One of the household complexes («A») was the remains of a trash pit, while another one («Б») was the remains of a small household building that turned into a pit for domestic waste over time (fig. 5).
 The discovered artifacts are mainly the fragments of pottery (fig. 7; 8). The Romny culture ceramics are presented by the fragments of handmade vessels; beside sand, small and average fireclay pieces were widely used in its composition. These are the fragments of cooking pots. However, there are also separate remnants of frying pans and remains of the furnace. The ornamentation is traditional: a serrated stamp or a wooden stick with a wrapped rope was made on the shoulder of a vessel. Also, it could be non cross-cutting deepenings made by an end face of a stick. The top edge was decorated by similar prints of serrated stamp, inclined lines or by a finger. The Saltiv culture ceramics differ in top quality of pottery clay and great firing. Tare cookware is presented by amphorae fragments, kitchenware — by pieces of pots with traditional horizontally drawn lines. Tableware (remnants of jugs, mugs and hydrias) is more extensively decorated with flutes and various polished ornaments.
 Obtained materials indicate the coexistence of the Slavs-Siverians sites (the Romny archeological culture) and the ones of the population represented cultural and technological traditions of the Khazar Khaganate (the Saltiv cultural and historical community). This is confirmed by the analysis of the findings of our predecessors (fig. 9).

Chaganat chazarski a Skandynawowie w Europie Wschodniej – kontakty i ich charakter w IX–X wieku

From its emergence in the 7th century until its fall in 965, the Khazar Khaganate played a decisive role among the tribes and peoples settled in Eastern Europe. The Pax Khazarica contributed to the stabilization of ethnic and political relations in the region, which in turn gave the khaganate a high status in contacts with the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate. The Khazars benefited from the favorable geographic location and the benefits they gained from participating in long-distance trade. With the arrival of Scandinavian newcomers and the development of their settlement in the northern and north-eastern part of the Ruthenian lands (the area around Lake Ladoga and the upper Volga basin), contacts with them played an increasingly important role in the history of the Chaganate in the 9th-10th centuries. Oleg’s taking of power in Kiev and the territorial development of the Ruthenian state was a crucial moment. Although the Khazars maintained a strong position among the peoples and tribes of Eastern Europe during the first half of the 10th century, it was not without difficulties. The reason was the growing activity of the Scandinavians not only among the Slavs who settled in the basin of the Dnieper, Oka and the upper Volga, but also in the lands that were the immediate hinterland of the khaganate (Black Sea region, the mouth of the Volga and the Caspian region). In addition to merchant expeditions, the Varangians organized - with great panache and range - raids of a looting nature (e.g. Prince Igor’s campaigns). It cannot be ruled out that they inuenced the nature of the relationship between the Khazars and their dependent tribes in Eastern Europe. The collapse of the Khaganate, which took place as a result of the war campaigns undertaken by Prince Sviatoslav (965, 969), may indicate a more significant (than previously assumed) internal weakening of the Khazar state. Undoubtedly, it was related to the change in the current system of political and ethnic relations in Eastern Europe, and the actions of the Kiev princes played a decisive role. Another reason was the change in the course of the existing long-distance trade routes, and thus the reduction of the influence that the Khazars obtained from their control. Despite the progress in research on the history of the khaganate, little is known about its relations with the Scandinavians settled in Eastern Europe, as well as with Slavic tribes, including those remaining outside the Khazar sphere of influence, and the consequences of the fall of Khazar domination for the region’s economy. The research conducted so far shows that the influence of the Khazars, although not confirmed in all spheres, was more intense, as evidenced by the reception of the kagan title in relation to the Ruthenian rulers in the 10th-11th centuries.

“NOTE” (“RISALA”) BY IBN FADLAN AND FEATURES OF THE EARLY STAGE OF THE VOLGA BULGARS FORMATION (X century)

The tribes mentioned in Ibn Fadlan’s “Note” before their migration to the Middle Volga lived on the territory of the Khazar Khaganate (the North Caucasus, the Volga-Don steppes). It was there that they began to move to a settled life, as well as to converge in language and culture. The main part of the tribes genetically belonged to the Turkic-Ogurs, the ancestors of the Bersils were Persian-speaking, and the Esegels were Ugrians. Consequently, their ethnonyms were constructed in a completely different form. During the formation of the state of the Volga Bulgars, the term as-Sakaliba meant not only a specific ethnic group, but a political unification of various northern tribes. From the 10th century its place was taken by the polytonym Bolgars (Bulgars), known in the Byzantine world since the end of the 5th century and meaning the Oghur-speaking heirs of the Huns. The process of interaction between the intraethnic groups of the Volga Bulgars of that time was based on the traditions, on the one hand, of migrants from the North Caucasus and, on the other, of the Bulgar ethnic groups from the Volga-Don steppes. The main leaders of these intraethnic groups in 922 were, as Ibn Fadlan described, Emir Almysh and a certain “imposter” from the Suvars, nicknamed “thief, robber, bandit” (Vărăh). The main reason for the public unrest was the official acceptance of the religion of Islam by the Bulgarian king, which was followed by oblivion of the traditions of the ancestors. The society was divided into two groups: traditionalists and passionaries. The cult of Muslim saints of the Volga Bulgars developed through the development of early genealogical traditions of the Oguro-Bulgar tribes. Over time, they merged with images from the Judeo-Muslim literature. The new ethnic consciousness of the Volga Bulgars since the 10th century began to function in a two-level mode. At the interstate level, the exoethnonym Bulgar is approved, and at the level of the region and the Bulgar ethnos – the endoethnonym Bulyar.

THE HEAT UNIT TYPES AND THE FIRING TEMPERATURE IN THE PEOPLE OF ROMNY CULTURE

The paper deals with the firing process of Romny culture ceramics. One of the key operations in the manufacture of pottery is the thermal effect on it. Firing is the last stage in pottery production when ceramics acquire the necessary physical properties and become suitable for use in various household needs.
 Analysis of the source and the results of interdisciplinary research allows us to identify the thermal facilities used for this process. It is also possible to determine the firing temperature of handmade pottery.
 It can be argued that Siverians handmade pottery burned mainly in fires and kilns. Ordinary household stoves were not used for this purpose. The firing was carried out mainly without temperature exposure, for a short time, at low temperatures. This assumption is supported by the color of the shard at the break, as well as the presence of organic matter traces or unmelted prints of organic on ceramic. Despite the fact that clay products were burned at relatively low temperatures during the period under study they were used in everyday life. The firing temperature of Romny culture ceramics had limits between 450 and 550 °С, in some cases reaching 600—800 °С.
 The use of pottery kilns had to be followed by a special firing regime. The time of their appearance probably lies within the 9th century, but this date needs to be clarified. Somewhat later, in the 10th century two-chamber kiln structures appeared on the Siverians settlements. The spread of such kilns is associated with the influence of the Khazar Khaganate population. The appearance of special kilns indicates a certain increase in economic and production potential, which leads to the beginning of the allocation of pottery in a separate branch of the craft.

Changes in the Level of the Caspian Sea and its Infl uence on Historical Processes in the Lower Reaches of the Volga in the Middle Ages (analysis of materials of hydrology and archaeology)

The author analyzes the materials of hydrological and archaeological research and examines the historical processes that took place in the Volga River delta in the Middle Ages. Modern data on the hydrology of the Caspian Sea, changes in its water level, the area of the water mirror and land are presented. A detailed schedule of changes in the level of the Caspian Sea in the time interval of the 7th– 15th centuries is given, which allows us to identify favorable periods for human economic activity. There are three natural favorable periods corresponding to three historical epochs – the Khazar Khaganate, the Saksin region and the Golden Horde. For each epoch, a physical and geographical characteristic and a list of known archaeological sites corresponding to the time are proposed. The dependence of changes in the areas of the Volga delta developed by man on fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea is shown. Catastrophic sea level rises that occurred in the X century and throughout the 13th century, which influenced the further development of the Lower Volga territories, are noted. In the Golden Horde epoch, a natural favorable period stands out, falling during the reign of the khans of Uzbek and Janibek – the peak of the economic and cultural flourishing of the Ulus of Jochi. On the basis of the hydrological forecast, prospects are outlined in the search, discovery and study of archaeological sites currently located under the waters of the Caspian Sea.

THE CURRENT STATE OF THE STUDY OF VOLYNTSEVO CULTURE SITES

The presented publication of the manuscript of Oleg Sukhobokov (1937—2008), a famous Ukrainian archaeologist-Slavist, Doctor of historical sciences, Chief Research Fellow of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is an important contribution to the historiography of Volyntsevo sites. Relying on his own extensive experience in scientific and field research of Slavic sites of the Left Bank of Ukraine, the author presents his vision of the most important and debatable problems of the study of Volyntsevo sites: the origin and ethnic attribution, dating and chronology, their place in the cultural-stratigraphic column of a sites of the Dnieper Left Bank of the middle to the late 1st millennium. During the more than 40-year period of field archaeological work, the scholar discovered and studied a number of important archaeological sires of the Dnieper Left Bank, in particular, the unique early Siveryans settlement Bytytsia on the Psel River (1984—1991, 1993).
 The Bytytsia hill-fort takes a special place among the Volyntsevo settlements: its topography (on a cape), considerable size (ca. 11 ha), wood and earth fortifications, a large number (up to 60 %) of pottery, together with an unprecedented number for early Slavic sites of agricultural implements, craft tools and weapons, two hoards, etc. All of this allowed Dr. Sukhobokov to raise issues on the social and ethnocultural content of this site, which is different from that of most Volyntsevo sites, to consider the Bytytsia hill-fort the administrative, trade and craft center of the Siverians tribal union.
 In the presented material the considerable attention is paid to the substantiated, based on a wide source base refutation of the hypothesis by V. V. Sedov that the population of the Imenkovo culture of the Middle Volga region became the substratum of the Volyntsevo culture of the Middle Dnieper region. At the same time, the author emphasizes the influence of the «alien cultural impulse» from the Turkic or Iranian-speaking peoples who were the part of the Khazar Khaganate and were quickly assimilated by the Slavic (Severians) environment, which manifested itself in the originality of the ceramic complex of the Volyntsevo people, who considered by Dr. Sukhobokov as early stage of the chronicled Siverians.