Papers by Yuliy Drobyshev
Золотоордынское обозрение. Т. 12, № 1. С. 28–38., 2024
The article analyzes a new edition of the book by the famous Franciscan ambassador to the Mongols... more The article analyzes a new edition of the book by the famous Franciscan ambassador to the Mongols, John de Plano Carpini (1182–1252), who made a long journey from Lyon to Central Mongolia in 1245–1247 where he witnessed the enthronement of the khagan Guyuk (1246–1248). Following the results of his difficult and dangerous journey, he wrote a report “The History of the Mongols,” in which he described quite fully and accurately what he saw and heard. The work of Plano Carpini was published in Russian three times: in 1795, 1825 and 1911; the last translation, made by A.I. Malein, was then published more than once and gradually overgrown with comments. However, all these editions cannot be considered fully satisfying the requirements of publishing medieval
sources. The new edition in question here meets the standards of modern science. It includes an introductory part, a critical text of the source, its new translation into Russian and detailed comments made by professional medievalist historians. In the comments, various aspects of the Central Asian civilization of the XIII century, with which the Franciscan
mission had a chance to come into contact, are covered as fully as possible: material and spiritual culture of nomads, organization of their society, military affairs and many others. Despite the high level of preparation of this publication, some points in it do not exclude an alternative interpretation.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
The 12th International Congress of Mongolists “Pax Mongolica and Historical Experience” under the Auspices of the President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa (9-14 August 2023, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia): Summaries of Congress Papers. Ulaanbaatar: Munkhiin Useg, 2023
We assume that Genghis Khan gave his sons the last instructions before his death, which, given th... more We assume that Genghis Khan gave his sons the last instructions before his death, which, given the still weak spread of writing among the Mongolian elite, are equivalent to his last will in the usual sense of the word. In this oral testament, one can presumably distinguish four points, most likely actually sounded: 1) the appointment (or confirmation of appointment) Ogedei to the khan’s throne; 2) the requirement for the sons to obey the new khan and maintain unity; 3) the order to kill the Tangut emperor and cut out his long-resisting capital, and keep Genghis’ death a secret for the time being; 4) the order to end the Jin Empire and, possibly, specific recommendations for transfer of troops there. We see that all the listed orders have been executed.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Исторические, культурные, межнациональные, религиозные и политические связи Крыма со Средиземноморским регионом и странами Востока: Материалы VII Международной научной конференции. М.: ИВ РАН., 2023
The author proposes a hypothesis that the Mongols in the winter 1222/1223 went to Crimea via Kerc... more The author proposes a hypothesis that the Mongols in the winter 1222/1223 went to Crimea via Kerch strait.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Игра престолов на Востоке: Политический миф и реальность / Отв. ред. М.С. Круглова, Д.В. Дубровская. М.: ИВ РАН., 2023
The author shows that in XIII century terms "Mongol" and "Tatar" were polytonyms and not ethnonyms.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Народы и религии Евразии, 2023
The article systematizes and analyzes information about all the currently known finds of Old Turk... more The article systematizes and analyzes information about all the currently known finds of Old Turkic stone sculptures with the image of a bird, as well as the interpretations of researchers regard-ing the semantics of this image. Taking into account the extreme rarity of sculptures with a bird and attracting relevant ethnographic materials, the author comes to the assumption that in this case the bird does not symbolize the departing soul, as is usually thought, but the guide of the soul of the deceased. There is a hypothesis that such monuments were erected in honor of people who became famous during their lifetime as hunters with a bird of prey, since all the images of birds on Old Tur-kic statues are very similar to winged predators. The special, one might say mystical relationship that developed between the hunter and his bird suggests that it "accompanied" the soul of its owner to the Upper World, protecting it from various dangers of this journey. Since most of the bird sculp-tures discovered so far are localized in the Semirechye, in the contact zone of the nomadic Turkic and settled Sogdian worlds, it can be assumed that they were awarded to assimilated Sogdians ra-ther than Turks, otherwise they would have been much more numerous. The idea of a guide bird probably dates back to fravash of the Zoroastrian religion, which, it was believed, helped the soul of the deceased to get to heaven.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Nomadic Civilization: Historical Research, 2023
The article is devoted to the characterization of the situation with the transformation of the tr... more The article is devoted to the characterization of the situation with the transformation of the traditional life support systems among the Turkic-Mongolian ethnic groups that developed in the Selenga River basin in the last century. The main feature of the economy of the indigenous population was a direct connection with nature and its biological resources. The author examines the main transformational processes that unfolded during this period in the structure of the traditional nature management of the peoples inhabiting the steppe landscapes of the region. The present study examines the problems and features of the
adaptation of ethnic groups to natural conditions, the knowledge and skills of rational nature management among the peoples of the region under consideration. The pastoral model of the past reflects the predominantly adaptive nature of nature management as a result of long-term adaptation to natural and socio-economic conditions. Important
sources of livelihood for the nomads were nomadic animal husbandry and agriculture due to established traditions and natural and climatic conditions. Fishing, hunting and forest management, related to side trades, in essence, also provided the vital needs of a person, since they provided food and medicinal raw materials to nomads. The article
shows in detail the widespread use of natural resources in the northern and southern parts of the Selenga basin by representatives of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples living in this area. In view of the objective dependence on environmental conditions, man sought to maintain a fragile ecological balance between himself and nature.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Письменные памятники Востока, 2023
The article discusses the problem of how the information about the death of Genghis Khan in the T... more The article discusses the problem of how the information about the death of Genghis Khan in the Tangut state appeared in the Russian chronicles. It is known that Genghis Khan did die in Xi Xia, although he was not killed there, as the Galician-Volyn Chronicle — which forms a part of the Hypatian Codex — informs us. This information is absolutely unique for medieval Russian historiography. Experts have made a number of assumptions about its appearance in Russia, but it is too early to declare that the problem has been solved. The author supports V.T. Poshuto’s hypothesis that the news of the events that followed the Battle of Kalka in 1223 were received as a result of Prince Daniel of Galicia’s visit to Batu’s headquarters in 1245–1246. It is based on the fact that the name “Kashin” for the Tangut state had been banned by the Mongols at some point before 1241. After 1241, that state was known in Russia under the name of “Tangut”. The words about Genghis Khan’s death at the hands of the Tangut and about the conquest of the Tangut land by deception suggest that the compiler of the Galician-Volyn Chronicle received that information from the opponents of the Mongols. It can be assumed that their source is directly related to Xi Xia, where various rumors discrediting Genghis Kan arose in the wake of its defeat by the Mongols.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Восток (Oriens), 2022
Based on the Persian treatise "Dastur al-Katib" by Muhammad Nahchivani, the article reveals pecul... more Based on the Persian treatise "Dastur al-Katib" by Muhammad Nahchivani, the article reveals peculiarities of interaction of Persian and Chinggisid chancellery traditions in the state of Jalaiyrs. The aim is to consider correlation of local Persian, Muslim traditions and office culture of Chinggisid and post-Chinggisid states in process of documenting power decisions. The objectives of the study are to determine the structure of the yarliq samples presented in "Dastur al-katib", compare them with the forms of Chinggisid act materials, and to determine a degree of influence of Chinggisid chancellery rules on Persian chancellery traditions. The source base consists of yarliqs samples and other materials from "Dastur al-Katib", other medieval sources about Mongol Iran and other Chinggisid states, including the writings of Rashid al-Din, etc., the materials of medieval Chinggisid chancelleries. The authors use source studies, diplomatic and comparative historical methods. The analysis of these materials indicates that the Hulaguids, thanks to their military and political power, managed to introduce into chancellery practice of Iran Chinggisid canons, which persisted even after the fall of the Ilkhans' power. Muhammad Hindushakh organically connects the Jalayirs with the Hulaguids and traces this connection to Chinggis Khan, which allows us to consider his work as one of the most recent monuments of Mongol imperial ideology. The authors conclude that in Iran in 13th-14th cc. the old Persian chancellery tradition and Chinggisid chancellery norms coexisted, and the latter symbolized the dominance of the ruling dynasty and adherence to political traditions laid down by Chinggis Khan.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Золотоордынское обозрение, 2022
This work is aimed at identifying in the works of prerevolutionary Russian historians issues rela... more This work is aimed at identifying in the works of prerevolutionary Russian historians issues related to various aspects of the existence of the Mongol Empire from its prehistory to the collapse, with special attention to the presentation of the ideology of its leaders. The main sources are the major works of fifteen famous Russian historians of the XIX – early XX centuries: N.A. Polevoy, M.P. Pogodin, N.G. Ustryalov, N.I. Kostomarov, S.M. Solovyov, K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, D.I. Ilovaisky, E.E. Golubinsky,
V.O. Klyuchevsky, A.V. Ekzemplyarsky, S.F. Platonov, M.K. Lyubavsky,
M.S. Grushevsky, M.N. Pokrovsky, and A.E. Presnyakov. Additional information was drawn from historiographical and Oriental literature. An analytical review of the pre-revolutionary Russian historiography showed a very different depth of penetration of historians into issues related to the Mongol Empire. For a number of specialists, the empire did not seem to
exist, and all historical Mongol-Russian conflicts were confined to the Jochid Ulus. Others, taking a contrary approach, demonstrate a good understanding of the internal structure of this colossal political organism and the processes that took place inside it. The amount of information about the Mongols and Mongol Empire in the works of Russian historians were not dependent on the number of available medieval eastern sources at one time or another, being determined rather naturally by the author’s position. Along with erroneous opinions, the Old Russian historiography gave rise to many insights and hypotheses that were ahead of their time.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Восток (Oriens), 2022
The article uses materials of Byzantine historical works of the 13–14 centuries to further develo... more The article uses materials of Byzantine historical works of the 13–14 centuries to further develop the author’s work on the Imperial ideology of the medieval Mongols. The special geopolitical position of Byzantium, as well as controversies among descendants of Genghis Khan, have caused peculiarities of its relations with the Mongol Empire, and later with the states of Juchids and Khulaguids, and allowed it to remain independent. Analysis of information provided by George Pachymeres, Nicephorus Gregoras, and other Byzantine intellectuals suggests that the Mongol leaders demonstrated considerable flexibility in their foreign policy and did not show any claims to world domination. The sources reproduce stories concerning the Mongols, which are also known from the Christian historiography of the South Caucasus and the Middle East, they speak out the idea of nomads who invaded the cultural lands as a “scourge of God”, but they are far from an eschatological interpretation of the Mongol invasion. They do not express thoughts about the need to submit to this inevitable evil. Byzantine authors describe quite accurately the goals of Mongol conquest campaigns and diplomatic activities of the Mongol leaders. The image of Genghis Khan drawn in the analyzed sources does not contain anything messianic or heroic; moreover, not all authors know who exactly was a founder of the Mongol Empire. Thus, the Mongol “imperialism” in the Byzantine sources is very poorly traced, which, however, does not detract from their value in reconstruction of the mental climate of the Mongol Empire and its successors.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Монгол улсын ерөнхийлөгч ухнаагийн хүрэлсүхийн ивээл дор их эзэн Чингис хааны мэндэлсний 860 жилийн ойд зориулан зохион байгуулж буй “Чингис хааны ертөнц ба монгол судлал” олон улсын эрдэм шинжилгээний хурал (Монгол улс, Улаанбаатар хот, 2022.VIII.05-10). Улаанбаатар: Соёмбо Принтинг., 2022
The article discusses the very few mentions in the Russian chronicles of Genghis Khan and his des... more The article discusses the very few mentions in the Russian chronicles of Genghis Khan and his descendants - the great khans of the Mongol Empire. Despite the rarity of such mentions, the chronicles contain valuable and sometimes unique information.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Исторические, культурные, межнациональные, религиозные и политические связи Крыма со Средиземноморским регионом и странами Востока: Материалы VI Международной научной конференции (Севастополь, 3–7 октября 2022 г.) / Отв. ред. В.В. Лебединский; ред.-сост. Н.В. Гинькут, Ю.А. Пронина. М.: ИВ РАН, 2022
In the article some fragments of so-called Great Yasa of Gengis khan are discussed, which were re... more In the article some fragments of so-called Great Yasa of Gengis khan are discussed, which were remained in the work of George Pachimer.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Reward for the loyalty, retribution for treachery: judicial practice of Chinggis Khan, 2022
The article is an analysis of judicial activity of Chinggis Khan towards persons who entered his ... more The article is an analysis of judicial activity of Chinggis Khan towards persons who entered his service under different circumstances. Analysis allows to state that Chinggis Khan not always used the same criteria taking his decision on the reward for loyalty and punishment for treachery. Authors attempt to explain the reasons of taking one or another decision by Chinggis Khan and clarify their correlation with political ideology formed by him during the establishing of the Mongol Empire. Besides, it seems that the analysis of specific cases could help trace the process of forming the system of khan’s court which foundation was laid by Chinggis Khan just during the period of the unification of Mongol tribes at the initial stage of creating of his empire. The source base for the research includes medieval historical works: “Secret history of Mongols”, “Sheng-wu qin-cheng-lu”, Compendium of chronicles” by Rashid ad-Din, “Yuan shih”, “Altan Tobchi” by Lubsan Danzan and some others. Positions of different
scholars on decisions of Chinggis Khan are also taken into account.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Вестник Института востоковедения РАН. № 4. С. 190–199, 2021
The article presents some observations on the most outstanding historical works of the era of Mon... more The article presents some observations on the most outstanding historical works of the era of Mongolian domination in Transcaucasia and Russia, which contain valuable information about the beginning and development of Georgian-Mongolian and Russian-Mongolian relations. Georgian sources of this period are represented by practically only one major monument of historiography that has survived to this day — the anonymous “Centennial Chronicle” or “Chronograph” (early 14th century), which is part of the “Kartlis Tskhovreba”. There are several editions and translations of this work; “Anonymous Georgian “Chronograph”” (2005) was used. Information about the Mongols is also contained in the works of late Georgian authors — Parsadan Gorgidzhanidze (1626 – ca. 1694) and Vakhushti Bagrationi (1696–1757), but due to the compilation nature of chapters devoted to the events of the 13th–14th centuries, they are practically not used by modern historians. Meanwhile, they can provide some assistance in reconstructing the policy of the Mongol rulers. Russian historiography has generated a relatively large number of chronicle vaults. Russian sources reflected a gradual change in the position of their authors in relation to the invaders. We do not consider this evolution here and limit ourselves to the earliest chronicle works — the Hypatian Codex, the Laurentian, and the Novgorod First, which are based on manuscripts of the 13th century. Even though all these works were created in a Christian cultural environment and emphasize the importance of God’s providence in the invasion of nomads, there are significant differences between them in assessment of the Mongolian power, stemming, among other things, from the peculiarities of position of the Georgian and Russian lands in relation to the Mongol Empire and later to its successors — the Ilkhanate and the Golden Horde. The author of the “Chronograph” demonstrates great awareness of the prehistory of the empire, he cites legends about the divine investiture of Genghis Khan, gives the Mongols a rather positive assessment, condemning only those of their rulers who allowed wrong actions to Christians. On the contrary, Russian chroniclers are very stingy about information about the Mongols and demonstrate an extremely negative attitude towards them.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Восток (Oriens). № 1. С. 19–30, 2021
The article continues the theme of reflection of the Mongol imperial ideology in medieval sources... more The article continues the theme of reflection of the Mongol imperial ideology in medieval sources of countries and regions faced with the Mongol invasion in the 13th century [Drobyshev, 2019, Drobyshev, 2020]. The peculiarities of mentality, cultural traditions, including those related to annals, the nature of the Mongol invasion and formation of the Mongol power in occupied lands determined the differences in the perception of this new formidable political force. Syrian historiography during the Mongol rule was firmly adhered to the tradition laid down by the Roman historian Eusebius of Caesarea (CA. 265–339/340) in his famous “Ecclesiastical history”. In view of the absence of a secular Syriac-speaking upper class, it was exclusively religious, addressed to educated priests and monks, therefore, all events were considered by its authors as the unfolding of the plan for the salvation of mankind by God. Based on this premise, the Syrian authors chose the facts of political or military history, placing in place every person who acted according to the will of Divine Providence, including, of course, the Mongols – from the great khans to ordinary soldiers. This peculiarity of Syrian historiography opens a new frontier in our understanding of the Mongols’ aggressive plans, the claims of their khans to universal rule, and the methods of justifying these claims for the conquered peoples. The author focuses on the anonymous “History of Mar Yahballaha III and Rabban Sauma” and “The General History” by Abu’l-Faraj, and also draws on a number of other, less widely known sources. It is shown that in line with the Syrian historiography, which obviously continues an ancient regional tradition, there are differences in denomination of the Mongol rulers (khan/khagan), and the universality of the local Mongol power is exaggerated, however, there is no information about the Mongols’ plans to conquer “the whole world”. Indeed, the focus of Syrian historians is on rulers of the Ilkhanate, who determined policy in the Middle East in those years and had a significant influence on religious climate of the region, often favoring Christians.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Ориенталистика. Т. 4. № 5. С. 1125–1144., 2021
The article discusses the relationships of the Mongols with Tibet in the short period between the... more The article discusses the relationships of the Mongols with Tibet in the short period between the first Mongol campaign against the Tangut state of Western Xia (Xi Xia) in 1205 and the Great Kurultai of 1235 to resolve the issue of the intentions of the two first Mongol khans to subjugate Tibet. Tibetan and late Mongolian historiographies are full of reports about an invasion of Tibet by Genghis Khan himself and about his successfully implemented plans to annex this country, as well as about his adoption of Buddhism; however, this information is legendary. An analysis of the whole set of sources at our disposal as well as the experts’ opinions reveals the following. Most likely, during the lifetime of Genghis Khan and Ogedei, the Mongols had no plans to seize Tibet, and all reports concerning Mongol military operations in this country refer only to the border areas in Eastern Tibet, through which nomads encompassed the hostile states of Jin and later – Southern Song from the right flank. The results fully confirm the conclusions already made by some scholars: the vast, desolate, remote from trade routes and poor lands of Tibet were not of primary interest to the Mongols. Despite the decision taken in 1235 to conquer most of the countries known to the Mongols, the first reconnaissance recorded in the literature took place only in 1240, and the real inclusion of the “Land of Snows” into the Mongol Empire dates back even later.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Монголия – Россия: век независимости – век сотрудничества / Сост. и отв. ред. И.В. Кульганек, Т.И. Юсупова. СПб.: ООО ИД «Петрополис». С. 170-180, 2021
Based on European sources, the article examines the ideas of educated Europeans of the XIII centu... more Based on European sources, the article examines the ideas of educated Europeans of the XIII century about limits that were reached by the Mongols during their wars of that era. It is shown that real and mental boundaries of the Mongolian expansion did not coincide with each other. This was due to a number of factors: paucity of geographical knowledge of the Westerners, religious and mythological stereotypes that distorted the image of world, difficulties in translating concepts from the language of steppe culture to the language of Christian civilization, and deliberate distortions. European materials confirm the regularity according to which peoples not conquered by the Mongols, in contrast to the conquered ones, were not inclined to regard the power of nomads as “universal”. An analysis of the Mongol military operations in Europe in 1241-1242 suggests that they did not have a goal to conquer the West.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Монголия – Россия: век независимости – век сотрудничества / Сост. и отв. ред. И.В. Кульганек, Т.И. Юсупова. СПб.: ООО ИД «Петрополис». С. 156-169, 2021
The article analyzes the thoughts of six early Russian historians, from A. I. Lyzlov to N. M. Kar... more The article analyzes the thoughts of six early Russian historians, from A. I. Lyzlov to N. M. Karamzin, about the Mongol Empire and its ideological foundations, which were revealed in their fundamental works. None of these historians paid special attention to the imperial aspect of Mongol power, but in solving the tasks they faced, they affected it to some extent. The historiography of this period suffers from excessive trust in chronicles and other reports and uncritically retells legends and folklore stories. It is characterized by the narrowness of the source base about the Mongols; not all the authors used the few available Eastern sources, and it is often not necessary to talk about a critical approach to them at all. It is shown that, on the one hand, the judgments of the historians were not free from errors, some of which were also very tenacious. On the other hand, they contain many correct observations and guesses, confirmed by the next generations of scientists.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Всеобщая история. Т. 13. № 4. С. 398–419., 2021
The middle of the XIII century – the apogee of power of the unified Mongol Empire. In 1241-1242, ... more The middle of the XIII century – the apogee of power of the unified Mongol Empire. In 1241-1242, the first, bloodiest and most destructive Mongol invasion into Europe took place. Certainly, it was vital for the Europeans to find an answer to the question: what did the invaders want, what goals did they pursue? In this article, the author shows that, due to the abundance of contradictory information and the acute lack of an objective understanding of the new enemy at first, European political and ecclesiastical figures attributed many goals to the Mongols (at least eighteen!), of which only three were fully confirmed – an attack on Russia, Poland, and Hungary, and the rest were either not realized for some reason, or arose in minds of the Europeans themselves. All these “goals”, identified in various official and unofficial European sources, mainly dating from the middle of the XIII century, are discussed here taking into account information from synchronous Eastern sources. Despite well-known ideas of a “world-building monarchy”, perhaps actually hatched by the Mongol khans, events in Europe suggest that their main goal there was to punish the Hungarian king Bela IV, who refused to hand over the Polovtsians hiding in Hungary to the Mongols.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Вопросы этногенеза и этнической истории народов Средней Азии. Вып. 6. Lampert Academic Publishing. С. 55-80., 2021
The article deals with various aspects of the Mongol imperial ideology, imprinted in Tibetan medi... more The article deals with various aspects of the Mongol imperial ideology, imprinted in Tibetan medieval sources. Like sources created in other countries and regions that faced the Mongol invasion in the XIII century, Tibetan literature has preserved images of Genghis Khan and his descendants, descriptions of their deeds, their statements and other information that makes it possible to reconstruct universal claims of the Mongols. However, it is markedly different in that it portrays the highest Mongolian elite as emanations of Buddhist Bodhisattvas and in a certain sense justifies the conquests of the Mongols, since they contribute to the further spread of Buddhism. The consideration of political events through a religious prism gives the Tibetan sources a peculiar character: the Mongols turn from enslavers into patrons of various Buddhist schools, which at that time shared power in the “Land of Snows”. As a result, the information contained in them not only and not so much demonstrates the Mongolian imperial ideology as such, but is a product of the synthesis of Mongolian and Tibetan ideas.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Yuliy Drobyshev
sources. The new edition in question here meets the standards of modern science. It includes an introductory part, a critical text of the source, its new translation into Russian and detailed comments made by professional medievalist historians. In the comments, various aspects of the Central Asian civilization of the XIII century, with which the Franciscan
mission had a chance to come into contact, are covered as fully as possible: material and spiritual culture of nomads, organization of their society, military affairs and many others. Despite the high level of preparation of this publication, some points in it do not exclude an alternative interpretation.
adaptation of ethnic groups to natural conditions, the knowledge and skills of rational nature management among the peoples of the region under consideration. The pastoral model of the past reflects the predominantly adaptive nature of nature management as a result of long-term adaptation to natural and socio-economic conditions. Important
sources of livelihood for the nomads were nomadic animal husbandry and agriculture due to established traditions and natural and climatic conditions. Fishing, hunting and forest management, related to side trades, in essence, also provided the vital needs of a person, since they provided food and medicinal raw materials to nomads. The article
shows in detail the widespread use of natural resources in the northern and southern parts of the Selenga basin by representatives of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples living in this area. In view of the objective dependence on environmental conditions, man sought to maintain a fragile ecological balance between himself and nature.
V.O. Klyuchevsky, A.V. Ekzemplyarsky, S.F. Platonov, M.K. Lyubavsky,
M.S. Grushevsky, M.N. Pokrovsky, and A.E. Presnyakov. Additional information was drawn from historiographical and Oriental literature. An analytical review of the pre-revolutionary Russian historiography showed a very different depth of penetration of historians into issues related to the Mongol Empire. For a number of specialists, the empire did not seem to
exist, and all historical Mongol-Russian conflicts were confined to the Jochid Ulus. Others, taking a contrary approach, demonstrate a good understanding of the internal structure of this colossal political organism and the processes that took place inside it. The amount of information about the Mongols and Mongol Empire in the works of Russian historians were not dependent on the number of available medieval eastern sources at one time or another, being determined rather naturally by the author’s position. Along with erroneous opinions, the Old Russian historiography gave rise to many insights and hypotheses that were ahead of their time.
scholars on decisions of Chinggis Khan are also taken into account.
sources. The new edition in question here meets the standards of modern science. It includes an introductory part, a critical text of the source, its new translation into Russian and detailed comments made by professional medievalist historians. In the comments, various aspects of the Central Asian civilization of the XIII century, with which the Franciscan
mission had a chance to come into contact, are covered as fully as possible: material and spiritual culture of nomads, organization of their society, military affairs and many others. Despite the high level of preparation of this publication, some points in it do not exclude an alternative interpretation.
adaptation of ethnic groups to natural conditions, the knowledge and skills of rational nature management among the peoples of the region under consideration. The pastoral model of the past reflects the predominantly adaptive nature of nature management as a result of long-term adaptation to natural and socio-economic conditions. Important
sources of livelihood for the nomads were nomadic animal husbandry and agriculture due to established traditions and natural and climatic conditions. Fishing, hunting and forest management, related to side trades, in essence, also provided the vital needs of a person, since they provided food and medicinal raw materials to nomads. The article
shows in detail the widespread use of natural resources in the northern and southern parts of the Selenga basin by representatives of the Turkic and Mongolian peoples living in this area. In view of the objective dependence on environmental conditions, man sought to maintain a fragile ecological balance between himself and nature.
V.O. Klyuchevsky, A.V. Ekzemplyarsky, S.F. Platonov, M.K. Lyubavsky,
M.S. Grushevsky, M.N. Pokrovsky, and A.E. Presnyakov. Additional information was drawn from historiographical and Oriental literature. An analytical review of the pre-revolutionary Russian historiography showed a very different depth of penetration of historians into issues related to the Mongol Empire. For a number of specialists, the empire did not seem to
exist, and all historical Mongol-Russian conflicts were confined to the Jochid Ulus. Others, taking a contrary approach, demonstrate a good understanding of the internal structure of this colossal political organism and the processes that took place inside it. The amount of information about the Mongols and Mongol Empire in the works of Russian historians were not dependent on the number of available medieval eastern sources at one time or another, being determined rather naturally by the author’s position. Along with erroneous opinions, the Old Russian historiography gave rise to many insights and hypotheses that were ahead of their time.
scholars on decisions of Chinggis Khan are also taken into account.
Исследование нацелено на малоизученные как в отечественной, так и в мировой науке вопросы адаптации материальной и духовной культуры кочевых народов к сложным природно-климатическим условиям. Рассмотрение проблемы с двух методологических платформ – гуманитарной и естественнонаучной – позволило существенно расширить спектр исследуемых вопросов и найти ряд новых решений. На большом фактическом материале показана специфика кочевого скотоводства как основы жизнеобеспечения номадов. Освещены охота, земледелие и градостроительство кочевников. Обсуждается роль религиозного фактора в природопользовании и отношении людей к природе, много внимания уделяется идеологическим аспектам кочевых
государств.
Книга рассчитана как на специалистов – кочевниковедов,
историков, этнологов, так и на широкую читательскую аудито-
рию, интересующуюся историей кочевников Центральной Азии.