Origin and creation of the state The origin of the early Bulgars remains a topic of scholarly debate, as their precise beginnings are still unclear, but most researchers believe their homeland was likely situated somewhere in the vast region stretching between modern-day
Kazakhstan and the
North Caucasian steppes. Interaction with the
Hunnic tribes, causing the migration, may have occurred there, and the
Pontic–Caspian steppe seems the most likely location. Some scholars propose that the Bulgars may have been a branch or offshoot of the Huns or perhaps Huns seem to have been absorbed by the Bulgars after
Dengizich's death. Others however, argue that the
Huns continued under Ernak, becoming the
Kutrigur and
Utigur Hunno-Bulgars. These conclusions remain a topic of ongoing debate and controversy among scholars. The
Bulgars were an
Oghuric people who settled north of the
Black Sea. During their westward migration across the
Eurasian steppe, they came under the overlordship of
Khazars, leading other ethnic groups, including
Finno-Ugric and
Iranic as well as other
Turkic peoples. In about 630 they founded
Old Great Bulgaria, which was destroyed by the
Khazars in 668.
Kotrag, following the death of his father, began to extend the influence of his Bulgars to the
Volga River. He is remembered as the founder of Volga Bulgaria. They reached the
Volga region in the eighth century, where they became the dominant population at the end of the 9th century. They assimilated tribes of different origin who lived in the area, notably the
Imenkovo culture that used to dominate the region. However, some Bulgar tribes under the leader Asparukh moved west from the Pontic-Caspian steppes and eventually settled along the Danube River, in what is now known as
Bulgaria proper, where they created a confederation with the
Slavs, adopting a
South Slavic language and the
Eastern Orthodox faith. However, Bulgars in the Volga region eventually gave birth to
Chuvash people. Unlike
Danube Bulgars, Volga Bulgars did not adopt any language. The
Chuvash language today is the only
Oghuric language that survived and is often considered to be an offshoot of the Volga Bulgar language. Most scholars generally agree that the Volga Bulgars, during their early historical period, were initially under the political and military dominance of the Khazar Khaganate. This fragmented Volga Bulgaria grew in size and power and gradually freed itself from the influence of the Khazars. Sometime in the late 9th century, unification processes started and the capital was established at
Bolghar (also spelled Bulgar) city, 160 km south of modern
Kazan. However, complete independence was reached after Khazaria's destruction and conquest by
Sviatoslav in the late 10th century; thus, Bulgars no longer paid tribute to it.
Abu al-Ghazi Bahadur named the Volga Bulgar people as
Ulak.
Conversion to Islam and further statehood Volga Bulgaria adopted
Islam as a state religion in 922 – 66 years before the
Christianization of Kievan Rus'. In 921
Almış sent an ambassador to the Caliph requesting religious instruction. The next year an embassy returned with
Ibn Fadlan as secretary. A significant number of Muslims already lived in the country. The Volga Bulgars attempted to convert
Vladimir I of Kiev to Islam; however Vladimir rejected the notion of
Rus' giving up wine, which he declared was the "very joy of their lives". Commanding the
Volga River in its middle course, the state controlled much of
trade between Europe and Asia prior to the
Crusades (which made other trade routes practicable).
Bolghar, was a thriving city, rivalling in size and wealth the greatest centres of the Islamic world. Trade partners of Bolghar included from
Vikings,
Bjarmland,
Yugra and
Nenets in the north to
Baghdad and
Constantinople in the south, from Western Europe to
China in the East. Other major cities included
Bilär,
Suar (Suwar),
Qaşan (Kashan) and
Cükätaw (Juketau). Modern cities
Kazan and
Yelabuga were founded as Volga Bulgaria's border fortresses. Some of the Volga Bulgarian cities have still not been found, but they are mentioned in
old East Slavic sources. They were:
Ashli (Oshel), Tuxçin (Tukhchin), İbrahim (Bryakhimov), Taw İle. Some of them were ruined during and after the
Golden Horde invasion. Volga Bulgaria played a key role in the trade between Europe and the Muslim world. Between the eighth and tenth centuries, elite households in Byzantium and the Islamic world acquired slaves from Eastern Europe and the Baltic Sea region, who were traded along the Dnieper and Volga river systems, as well as through the Carolingian Empire and Venice. Furs and slaves were the main goods in this trade, and the
Volga Bulgarian slave trade played a significant role. People taken captive during the Viking raids in Eastern Europe could be sold to
Moorish Spain via the
Dublin slave trade or transported to
Hedeby or
Brännö in Scandinavia and from there via the
Volga trade route to Russia, where slaves and furs were sold to Muslim merchants in exchange for Arab silver
dirham and silk, which have been found in
Birka,
Wollin and
Dublin; initially this trade route between Europe and the Abbasid Caliphate passed
via the Khazar Kaghanate, but from the early 10th century onward it went via Volga Bulgaria and from there by caravan to
Khwarazm, to the
Samanid slave market in Central Asia and finally via Iran to
the Abbasid Caliphate. Slavic pagans were also enslaved by Vikings,
Magyars, and Volga Bulgars, who transported them to Volga Bulgaria, where they were sold to Muslim slave traders and continued to Khwarezm and the Samanids, with a minor part being exported
to the Byzantine Empire. This was a major trade; the Samanids were the main source of Arab silver to Europe via this route,
Decline From the beginning of the 13th century, the Volga Bulgars were subject to multiple raids from the East Slavic principalities as multiple skirmishes took place for control of the
Unzha River which was an important commercial route. In 1220, the Grand Duke
Yuri II of Vladimir captured
Ustiug and besieged the important Bulgar town of
Aşlı. The consequence of this was that
Vladimir-Suzdal gained access to Volga Bulgaria's northern trade routes and hindered the means of the Bulgars acquiring fur. The
Nikon Chronicle also details that following this, Yuri II began amassing a large force of Rus' for an even larger campaign against the Bulgars. The Bulgars would send entreaties and proposals for peace but these were all rejected. Yuri travelled with his army to
Omut where further entreaties for peace were received from the Bulgars however these were still rejected. However, by the time
Vasilko Konstantinovich of
Rostov arrived, Yuri accepted an offer of gifts and agreed to adhere to an earlier peace treaty with the Bulgars that was agreed under the rule of his father,
Vsevolod the Big Nest. In September 1223 near
Samara an advance guard of
Genghis Khan's army under the command of
Uran, son of
Subutai Bahadur, entered Volga Bulgaria but was defeated in the
Battle of Samara Bend. In 1236, the
Mongols returned and in five years had subjugated the whole country, which at that time was suffering from internal war . Henceforth Volga Bulgaria became a part of the Ulus
Jochi, later known as the
Golden Horde. It was divided into several principalities; each of them became a vassal of the Golden Horde and received some autonomy. By the 1430s, the
Khanate of Kazan was established as the most important of these principalities.
Kazan Khanate After the destruction of the Volga Bulgaria by the troops of the Tatar-Mongol army in the 13th century, 2/3 of the population was destroyed, mainly the urban elite was killed, the surviving village Bulgars crossed to the right bank of the
Volga to the
Sviyaga River, where at that time some Bulgar tribes lived, and to the right bank of the
Kama to the
Kazanka River, where they founded an area called in the chronicles as "
Sainov yurt", which included several cities: Kashan, Kermenchuk, Chally, etc. Later in the
Kazan Khanate it was renamed "
Zureiskaya Daruga". In the 15th century,
Yuri Dmitrievich, Prince of
Moscow, raided the Bulgar region (Sainov Yurt), ravaged and burned the cities of
Old Kazan, Kremenchuk, Zhukotin and New Bolgar, and killed the Tsar and Tsarina, as the chronicles report. For about 40 years,
Old Kazan and its adjacent territories stood half-empty, until the fugitive
Ulug-Muhammad moved the capital to
New Kazan at the mouth of the
Kazanka River, on an elevated, well-defended hill. People from all its outskirts began to gather in the new Kazan, as the chronicles report:
Muslims,
Cheremis,
Votyaks,
Bulgars. Quote from the Kazan History, compiled in 1564-1566:And he went through the surrounding field and climbed over the Volga, and sat down in empty Kazan, Sainov Yurt. There were few living in the city. And the
Sratsyn and
Cheremis, who somehow lived in the Kazan
voloses, gathered together and came to his aid. And with the poor
Bulgarians who remained from captivity, the Kazanians prayed to him to be an intercessor for troubles, who were from the violence and war of the
Russians, and an assistant, and a builder of the kingdom, so that they would not be completely desolate. And they obeyed him. Original (Old Russian): И шед полемъ округь и перелѣз Волгу, и засяде Казань пустую, Саиновъ юртъ. Мало было во граде живущих. И собирающися
срацыне и
черемиса, которые по
волостямъ казанскимъ нѣкако живяху, и ради ему бывше. И со оставшимися от плѣна
худыя болгаре казанцы и молиша его заступника быти бѣдам, иже от насилиа и воевания
рускаго, и помощника, и царству строителя, да не до конца запустѣют. И повинушася ему.At the same time, the collapse of the
Golden Horde began, which allowed the Kazan Khanate to emerge, into whose vassal possessions and protectorate the Bulgarian lands also fell. In the
Kazan Khanate, the controlled and dependent lands were called
Darugas.
The Russian siege of Kazan The first contacts of
Ivan the Terrible with the subjects of the Kazan Khanate began in 1546, he diplomatically agreed with the mountain people (Right high bank of the
Volga) and with the princes of the
Arsk and
Zyurei Daruga (Left bank of the
Volga) about an alliance against Khan
Safa Giray who sat on the Kazan throne. Mountain people are the population of the Mountain side of the Volga of the Kazan Khanate (right high bank), including the
Mountain Cheremis (modern Mari) and the Upper (Mountain)
Chuvashes. These peoples were under the rule of
Kazan, but their relations with the Khanate were complicated due to tax oppression and military conflicts. People of the
Arsk Daruga are the population of
Arsk controlled by the
Udmurts. People of the
Zyurei Daruga are the population of
Zyuri controlled by the Lower (Meadow)
Chuvashes. According to Russian chronicles, the key moment came in 1551, when
Ivan the Terrible agreed to build the fortress of
Sviyazhsk on the territory of the Mountain Side, inhabited by the upper
Chuvash and mountain
Cheremis.
Sviyazhsk was built to create a bridgehead for the siege of
Kazan, and its construction became an important factor in the subjugation of the local peoples. It is known that
Andrei Kurbsky mentioned it when describing the Russian campaign against Kazan:When they crossed the
Sura River, then the
Mountain Cheremis (
Kozmodemyansk), and those who call themselves
Chuvash, they have a special language, began to meet five hundred and a thousand people, because they rejoiced at the arrival of the
Moscow Tsar: because this city,
Sviyazhsk, was built in their land. Original Old Russian: Егдажъ преплавишася Суру рѣку, тогда и Черемиса Горняя, а по ихъ, Чуваша зовомые, языкъ особливый, начаша встрѣчати по пяти сотъ и по тысящѣ ихъ, аки бы радующеся цареву пришествію: понеже въ ихъ землѣ поставленъ оный предреченный градъ на Свіягѣ. — Tales of Prince Kurbsky.The troops of
Andrey Krubsky mistakenly perceived the phrase "We are Chuvash" (translated as "We are peaceful residents") as the self-designation of the people, which is why the ethnonym
Bulgar disappears and the ethnonym
Chuvash (peaceful resident) first appears in the 16th century. The term “yasak Chuvasha” recorded class affiliation: the name “Chyuvasha” (šüäš), according to the authoritative conclusion of the linguist R. G. Akhmetyanov, meant “plowman, farmer”. However, the peace between them did not last long. In April 1551, the Sviyazhsk governors reported that "the mountain people were rebelling, many had united with the Kazan people again, and there was little truth in them, and great disobedience in them." Soon after, the mountain people "changed everything and betrayed the Russians, and came to the Sviyazhsk city to drive them out." Anti-Moscow rebellions began on the Mountain and Lugovaya sides, in which the Chuvash and Cheremis participated. These uprisings continued until 1557. The Russian government responded with repression: in 1553, for example, 74 Civilian Chuvash, accused of rebellion, were hanged in
Sviyazhsk, and their property was handed over to informers. By 1557, after the suppression of resistance, the Chuvash and Mountain Cheremis, who lived on both sides of the Volga, finally became part of the
Grand Principality of Moscow.Translate: The Kazan, former Tatar, Kingdom received its name from its capital city, and it from the name of the
river Kazanka (Kasanska), flowing around it with its winding bed. Kazan was built by
Perekop refugees from
Taurida, during the reign of
Vasily II Vasilyevich in Russia.
Vasily III Ivanovich forced it (Kazan) to take
Tsars for itself, from it (the
Kasimov Tatars). And then, when it (Kazan) began to rebel, he squeezed it with threats of a dangerous war, but did not subdue it. But in 7061 (from the Creation of the World), or in
1552 (from the Nativity of Christ), his son,
Ivan IV the Terrible, took Kazan, after a six-month siege, along with it and
Cheremis (Ceremissis), forced them to submit to the rule of Moscow. However, as a reward for the insult, he subjugated to it (Kazan) and to himself the neighboring
Chuvash Bulgaria (Bulgariam), which he could not stand for its frequent rebellions, so that this country, not accustomed to obedience, would learn to bear foreign rule (
colonization), and he decorated Kazan by establishing in it the
Metropolitanate and the seat of the Chief Metropolitan. — Journey to Muscovy of Baron
Augustin Meyerberg and
Horace Wilhelm Calvucci, ambassadors of the August Roman Emperor Leopold to the Tsar and Grand Duke
Alexei Mikhailovich in 1661, described by Baron Mayerberg himself. Original: Казанское, бывшее нѣкогда Татарское Царство, получило названіе отъ своего столичнаго города, а этотъ отъ рѣки Казанки (Kasanska), обтекающей его своимъ извилистымъ русломъ. Казань построена Перекопскими бѣглецами изъ Тавриды, въ княженіе Василія Васильевича въ Московій. Василій Ивановичь заставить ее брать от него Царей себѣ. А потомъ, когда она возмутилась было, онъ стѣенить ее лишеніями опасной войны, однако ж не покорилъ. Но въ 7061 году, отъ С. М., въ 1552 отъ Р. Х., сынъ его, Иванъ, взялъ Казань, послѣ шестимѣсячной осады вместѣ съ ея Черемисами (Ceremissis), заставилъ смириться подъ властью Москвы. Однако жь, въ видѣ вознагражденія за обиду подчинить ей сосѣднюю себѣ Болгарію (Bulgariam), которой терпѣть не мог за частые мятежи, чтобы эта страна, не привыкшая къ покорности, научилась носить чужое иго, и украсиль Казань учрежденіемъ въ ней Митрополіи и мѣстопребыванія Митрополита.Text "Kazan Chronicler" (1560-1565): "And after the capture of
Kazan,
Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich ordered his commanders to go to
neighboring Bulgaria, because of the insult to them, which constantly organized uprisings, and together with them he subjugated the
Cheremis, because they rose up against his power. And so he conquered them, and burned their cities, and peace was granted to them only under the subordination of his state." Original Old Russia: «И по взятии Казани царь Иванъ Василіевичь повелѣ воеводамъ своимъ ити на съсѣднюю Болгарію, иже обиду восстаніи чиниша, и съ ними черемисы подъчинити, иже противу власти его сташа. И тако воеваша ихъ, и грады ихъ пожгоша, и миръ имъ дарованъ бысть подъ ярмомъ его державы».Neighboring
Bulgaria is subordinated separately from the
Kazan Khanate (Kazan Chronicler). The uprisings continued later: • First Cheremis War (1552-1557) • Second Cheremis War (1571-1574) • Third Cheremis War (1581-1585) • Dzhan-Gali Uprising (1613-1618) • Stepan Razin Uprising (1667-1671) • Pugachev Uprising (1773-1775) As we see, there is a clear division both by Ivan the Terrible and by various chroniclers that the Kazan lands and the Bulgarian lands are different territorial possessions, since it is directly stated that after the capture of Kazan, Moscow separately subjugated neighboring Bulgaria and separately the Cheremis lands. This is also evidenced by the "Great State Seal of Tsar Ivan the Terrible (16th century)", where the possessions have separate coats of arms: "Seal of the Kingdom of Kazan" and "Seal of Bulgarian". These were different administrative lands. During the peace negotiations in the summer between Ivan the Terrible, in which representatives of the Chuvash and Mari also participated, the tsar refused to return the Mountain Side, citing that he "took it with a saber before their petition." The first person to state in writing that the Chuvash originated from the Bulgars was
Adam Olearius (Germany, 17th century), who visited Russia in the 1630s and wrote down his observations about the Chuvash, linking them to the Bulgars based on local legends and stories. The first edition of the book was published in Schleswig, 1647, "Beschreibung der muscowitischen und persischen Reise"("Description of a Journey to Muscovy and Persia"), p. 192 (German edition):“The Chuvash, who now live along the Volga, are the remnants of the ancient Bulgarians, who once had a powerful kingdom, but are now under the rule of Moscow” Original: «Die Tschuwaschen, so jetzt an der Wolga wohnen, sollen die Überbleibsel der alten Bulgaren seyn, welche sonst ein mächtig Königreich gehabt»The second person to assert that the Chuvashes "call themselves Bulgars, just as the Russians call them" was
V.N. Tatishchev, who personally traveled all over the Volga region and founded the city of Stavropol (now Tolyatti), wrote in his work "Russian History from the Most Ancient Times": Book 1, Part 1, p. 156 (in the new edition p. 234):“The Chuvash, as they call themselves and the Russians, are ancient Bulgarians who had their dwellings up and down the Volga, but then many of them moved to other places.” Original: «Чуваши, яко
сами себя и от россиян тако
зовут, суть болгары древние, иже по Волге вниз и вверх жилища свои имели, но потом многие из них в иные места переселились»The next person to connect the Chuvash with the Bulgars was
Johann Georg Gmelin (Germany/Russia, 18th century) "Reise durch Sibirien von dem Jahr 1733 bis 1743" ("Travel through Siberia from 1733 to 1743"), volume 2, Göttingen, 1752, p. 87:“The Chuvash, whom I met in the Kazan region, are the descendants of the ancient Volga Bulgars, who have preserved their language” (Travel across Russia, 1733–1743, volume 2). Original: «Die Tschuwaschen, die ich im Kazanschen Lande angetroffen, sind Nachkommen der alten Wolga-Bulgaren, welche ihre Sprache erhalten haben»Context: Gmelin, a German scholar in Russian service, conducted expeditions along the Volga region and left records about the Chuvash, based on their language and traditions. Later in 1863, Khusain Faizkhanov, after unsuccessful attempts to translate the epitaphs of the "Volga Bulgars" from the Tatar language, however, paying attention to the Russian assertion about the Bulgar origin of the Chuvash, read the inscriptions based on the data of the Chuvash language, after which he published his work: Three Bulgar gravestone inscriptions. News of the Imperial Archaeological Society. - St. Petersburg, 1863. - Vol. IV. - pp. 396–404, table III ==Language==