Bolgar (castle wall)
| Bolgar Castle | ||
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| Alternative name (s): | Bolghar, Bulghar | |
| Creation time : | (9th to 10th century) | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | Castle ramparts, towers and remains of walls | |
| Standing position : | Main castle of the Volga Bulgarians | |
| Place: | Spassk Raion , Russia - Bolgar | |
| Geographical location | 54 ° 58 '27 " N , 49 ° 1' 51" E | |
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Bolgar (also Bolghar, Bulghar; Russian Болгар ; Tatar Болгар / Bolgar), now a castle wall on the banks of the Volga in Rajon Spassk the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia , was the tribal alliance of the 10th century the main castle Volga Bulgaria go, the beginnings of the castle probably back to the 9th century. The entire historical and archaeological complex has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014 .
location
Remains of the castle complex, today's ramparts , are in the village of Bolgar , which lies on the Volga around 30 kilometers south of the mouth of the Kama .
history
Bolgar was the main castle of the tribal union of the Volga Bulgarians since the 10th century . The Volga Bulgarians, also called Kamabulgars, who, as the eponymous group of Turkic-Tatar origin, joined together with Finnish and East Slavic groups to form a tribal union, are documented in Arabic sources from the 10th century.
Bolgar Castle probably dates back to the 9th century, but this assumption is controversial in archaeological research. The complex of the 10th to 12th centuries was much smaller than today's castle wall suggests. Above all, the triangular rampart from the 13th to 14th centuries yielded rich finds. According to Klaus Zernack, "monumental buildings, larger handicraft production facilities and residential buildings" have been documented from this period . However, as early as the 10th century, research assumes Bolgar, due to its favorable location, as a place with strong commercial and industrial activity, which is very different from the semi-nomadic life of the surrounding area. Contemporary Arabic sources, for example, report on trade in Bolgar, and finds have also been found in long-distance trade relations across the Volga to the Orient, Byzantium and the Rus.
The princes of Bolgar's own coins are evidence of Bolgar's trading strength. There is evidence that imitations of the Arabic dirhem were brought into circulation in Bolgar on behalf of various princes in the 10th century. These coins are often found in Scandinavian coin finds from the Viking Age ; 40 Swedish treasure finds, including Kastlösa , Ksp. Kastlösa, Öland with 16-20 copies, indicated.
Russian merchants came to the main castle of the Volga Bulgarians to trade; there was probably a Rus trading colony in Bolgar. All attempts by the Slavs to subdue the Volga Bulgarians during the 11th, 12th and early 13th centuries, however, have failed. The country of the Volga Bulgarians retained its independence until the Tartar storm. The invasion of the Tartars was less of a disadvantage for the Volga Bulgarians. Bolgar experienced its heyday - in contrast to the neighboring cities of the Rus - only during the rule of the Golden Horde in the 13th and 14th centuries.
investment
Today's village of Bolgar stands within the largely preserved ramparts of the old Bolgar of the Volga Bulgarians. The towers and remains of the walls of the former main castle have been preserved.
literature
- Peter Berghaus , Klaus Zernack : Bolgar. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 3, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1978, ISBN 3-11-006512-6 , pp. 212-213. ( online ).
- Werner Berthold : Bolgar. In: Encyclopedia of Islam . Volume 2. Leiden / Leipzig 1913, pp. 819–825.
- George Vernadsky : Ancient Russia. Yale University Press, New Haven 1946, (English).
- Alekseĭ Petrovich Smirnov: Volzhskie Bolgary. Moscow 1951, (Russian).
- Alekseĭ Petrovich Smirnov (Ed.): Trudy kujbysevskoj archeologiceskoj ekspedicii. In: Materialy i issledovanija po archeologii. 42. 1954, (Russian).
- Ulla S. Linder Welin: Volgabulghariska furstar i svenska silverskatter. In: Numismatiska studier tillägnade Willy Schwabacher. Copenhagen 1967, pp. 26-28, (Danish).
Remarks
- ↑ a b c Klaus Zernack : Bolgar. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 3, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1978, ISBN 3-11-006512-6 , p. 212.
- ↑ See Lutz llisch: Münzwesen, Islamisches. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 20, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2001, ISBN 3-11-017164-3 , pp. 360–364.
- ↑ See Peter Berghaus : Bolgar. In: Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (RGA). 2nd Edition. Volume 3, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1978, ISBN 3-11-006512-6 , pp. 212-213.
Web links
Heritage: Historic Center of Saint Petersburg (1990) | Churches of Kizhi Pogost on the island of Kizhi in Lake Onega (1990) | Kremlin and Red Square in Moscow (1990) | Architectural monuments of Novgorod and the surrounding area (1990) | Historical and cultural monuments on the Solovetsky Islands on the White Sea (1992) | White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal (1992) | Fortified Monastery of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius in Sergiev Posad (1993) | Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye (1994) | Kazan Kremlin (2000) | Ferapontow Monastery (2000) | Curonian Spit (2000) | Citadel, old town and fortifications of Derbent (2003) | Novodevichy Monastery (2004) | Yaroslavl Old Town (2005) | Struve Arch (2005) | Historical center and archaeological sites of Bolgar (2014) | Assumption Cathedral of the island city of Svyazhsk (2017) | Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture (2019)
Natural Heritage: Komi Primeval Forests (1995) | Lake Baikal (1996) | Volcanic region of Kamchatka with the Klyuchevskoy Nature Park (1996) | Golden Mountains of the Altai in Southern Siberia (1998) | Western Caucasus (1999) | Central Sichote-Alin Nature Reserve (2001) | Uws Nuur Basin (2003) | Wrangel Island Nature Reserve (2004) | Putorana Mountains (2010) | Lenafelsen Nature Park (2012) | Daurian Landscapes (2017)