History of the Tatars and the Tatar language (a brief historical excursus). Tatars origin of the people

General characteristics of the Tatar people and population

It is not for nothing that the people of the Tatars are considered the most mobile of all known peoples. Fleeing from crop failures in their native lands and in search of opportunities to establish trade, they quickly moved to the central regions of Russia, Siberia, the Far Eastern regions, the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Donbas steppes. In Soviet times, this migration was especially active. Today, Tatars live in Poland and Romania, China and Finland, the USA and Australia, as well as in Latin America and Arab countries. Despite such a territorial distribution, the Tatars in each country try to unite in communities, carefully preserving their cultural values, language and traditions. To date, the total number of the Tatar population is 6 million 790 thousand people, of which almost 5.5 million live on the territory of the Russian Federation.

The main language of the ethnic group is Tatar. It distinguishes three main dialectical directions - eastern (Siberian-Tatar), western (Mishar) and middle (Kazan-Tatar). The following sub-ethnic groups are also distinguished: Astrakhan, Siberian, Tatars-Mishars, Ksimovsky, Kryashens, Perm, Polish-Lithuanian, Chepetsky, Teptyars. Initially, the writing of the Tatar people was based on Arabic graphics. Over time, the Latin alphabet began to be used, and later - the Cyrillic alphabet. The vast majority of Tatars adhere to the Muslim faith, they are called Sunni Muslims. There is also a small number of Orthodox, who are called Kryashens.

Features and traditions of Tatar culture

The Tatar people, like any other, have their own special traditions. So, for example, the ceremony of marriage assumes that their parents have the right to agree on the wedding of boys and girls, and the young people are simply informed. Before the wedding, the size of the kalym, which the groom pays to the bride's family, is discussed. Celebrations and a feast in honor of the newlyweds, as a rule, take place without them. To this day, it is accepted that it is unacceptable for the groom to enter the bride's parental home for permanent residence.

Cultural traditions, and especially in terms of educating the younger generation from early childhood, are very strong among the Tatars. The decisive word and power in the family belongs to the father - the head of the family. That is why girls are taught to be submissive to their husbands, and boys are taught to be able to dominate, but at the same time treat their spouse very carefully and carefully. Patriarchal traditions in families are stable to this day. Women, in turn, are very fond of cooking and revere Tatar cuisine, sweets and all kinds of pastries. A richly laid table for guests is considered a sign of honor and respect. Tatars are known for their reverence and immense respect for their ancestors, as well as older people.

Famous representatives of the Tatar people

In modern life, there are quite a lot of people from this glorious people. For example, Rinat Akhmetov is a famous Ukrainian businessman, the richest Ukrainian citizen. In the world of show business, the legendary producer Bari Alibasov, Russian actors Renata Litvinova, Chulpan Khamatova and Marat Basharov, singer Alsou became famous. The famous poetess Bella Akhmadulina and rhythmic gymnast Alina Kabaeva also have Tatar roots on their father's side and are honored figures of the Russian Federation. It is impossible not to recall the first racket of the world - Marat Safin.

The Tatar people are a nation with their own traditions, national language and cultural values, which are closely connected with the history of others and not only. This is a nation with a special character and tolerance, which has never initiated conflicts on ethnic, religious or political grounds.

Tribes XI - XII centuries. They spoke the Mongolian language (the Mongolian language group of the Altaic language family). The term "Tatars" is first found in Chinese chronicles specifically to refer to the northern nomadic neighbors. Later it becomes the self-name of numerous nationalities speaking the languages of the Tyuk language group of the Altai language family.

2. Tatars (self-name - Tatars), an ethnic group that makes up the main population of Tataria (Tatarstan) (1765 thousand people, 1992). They also live in Bashkiria, the Mari Republic, Mordovia, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Penza and other regions of the Russian Federation. The Turkic-speaking communities of Siberia (Siberian Tatars), Crimea (Crimean Tatars), etc. are also called Tatars. The total number in the Russian Federation (excluding Crimean Tatars) is 5.52 million people (1992). The total number is 6.71 million people. Tatar language. Believing Tatars are Sunni Muslims.

Basic information

Auto-ethnonym (self-name)

Tatars: Tatar - the self-name of the Volga Tatars.

Main settlement area

The main ethnic territory of the Volga Tatars is the Republic of Tatarstan, where, according to the 1989 USSR census, 1,765 thousand people lived there. (53% of the population of the republic). A significant part of the Tatars live outside Tatarstan: in Bashkiria - 1121 thousand people, Udmurtia - 111 thousand people, Mordovia - 47 thousand people, as well as in other national-state formations and regions of the Russian Federation. Many Tatars live within the so-called. "near abroad": in Uzbekistan - 468 thousand people, Kazakhstan - 328 thousand people, in Ukraine - 87 thousand people. etc.

population

The dynamics of the number of the Tatar ethnic group according to the censuses of the country is as follows: 1897 -2228 thousand, (total number of Tatars), 1926 - 2914 thousand Tatars and 102 thousand Kryashens, 1937 - 3793 thousand, 1939 - 4314 thousand ., 1959 - 4968 thousand, 1970 - 5931 thousand, 1979 - 6318 thousand people. According to the 1989 census, the total number of Tatars was 6649 thousand people, of which 5522 thousand were in the Russian Federation.

Ethnic and ethnographic groups

There are several quite different ethno-territorial groups of Tatars, they are sometimes considered separate ethnic groups. The largest of them is the Volga-Urals, which in turn consists of the Tatars of Kazan, Kasimov, Mishars and Kryashens). Some researchers in the composition of the Volga-Ural Tatars highlight the Astrakhan Tatars, which in turn consist of such groups as the Yurt, Kundrov, etc.). Each group had its own tribal divisions, for example, the Volga-Urals - Meselman, Kazanly, Bulgarians, Misher, Tipter, Kereshen, Nogaybak and others. Astrakhan - Nugai, Karagash, Tatarlar yurt.
Other ethnoterritorial groups of Tatars are Siberian and Crimean Tatars.

Language

Tatar: There are three dialects in the Tatar language - western (Mishar), middle (Kazan-Tatar) and eastern (Siberian-Tatar). The earliest known literary monument in the Tatar language dates back to the 13th century; the formation of the modern Tatar national language was completed at the beginning of the 20th century.

writing

Until 1928, Tatar writing was based on the Arabic script, in the period 1928-1939. - in Latin, and then on the basis of Cyrillic.

Religion

Islam

Orthodoxy: Tatar believers are mostly Sunni Muslims, a group of Kryashens are Orthodox.

Ethnogenesis and ethnic history

The ethnonym "Tatars" began to spread among the Mongol and Turkic tribes of Central Asia and southern Siberia from the 6th century. In the 13th century During the conquests of Genghis Khan, and then Batu, the Tatars appear in Eastern Europe and make up a significant part of the population of the Golden Horde. As a result of complex ethnogenetic processes taking place in the 13th-14th centuries, the Turkic and Mongol tribes of the Golden Horde consolidated, including both the earlier Turkic aliens and the local Finno-speaking population. In the khanates that formed after the collapse of the Golden Horde, the top of society called themselves Tatars, after the entry of these khanates into Russia, the ethnonym "Tatars" began to pass to the common people. The Tatar ethnos was finally formed only at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1920, the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as part of the RSFSR, since 1991 it has been called the Republic of Tatarstan.

economy

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, the basis of the traditional economy of the Volga-Ural Tatars was arable farming with three fields in the forest and forest-steppe regions and a fallow-laying system in the steppe. The land was cultivated with a two-pronged plow and a heavy plow, a Saban, in the 19th century. they began to be replaced by more advanced plows. The main crops were winter rye and spring wheat, oats, barley, peas, lentils, etc. Animal husbandry in the northern regions of the Tatars played a subordinate role, here it had a stall-pasture character. They raised small cattle, chickens, horses, the meat of which was used as food, the Kryashens raised pigs. In the south, in the steppe zone, animal husbandry was not inferior in importance to agriculture, in some places it had an intensive semi-nomadic character - horses and sheep were grazed all year round. Poultry was also bred here. Horticulture among the Tatars played a secondary role, the main crop was potatoes. Beekeeping was developed, and melon growing in the steppe zone. Hunting as a trade was important only for the Ural Mishars, fishing was of an amateur nature, and only on the Ural and Volga rivers was it commercial. Among the crafts among the Tatars, woodworking played a significant role, leather processing, gold sewing were distinguished by a high level of skill, weaving, felting, felting, blacksmithing, jewelry and other crafts were developed.

traditional clothing

The traditional clothes of the Tatars were sewn from home-made or purchased fabrics. The underwear of men and women was a tunic-shaped shirt, men's almost knee-length, and women's almost floor-length with a wide ruffle along the hem and an embroidered bib, and trousers with a wide step. The women's shirt was more decorated. Outerwear was oar with a solid fitted back. It included a camisole, sleeveless or with a short sleeve, the female one was richly decorated, over the camisole the men wore a long spacious robe, plain or striped, it was girded with a sash. In cold weather, they wore quilted or fur beshmets, fur coats. On the road, they put on a straight-backed fur coat with a sash or a chekmen of the same cut, but cloth. The headdress of men was a skullcap of various shapes, over it in cold weather they put on a fur or quilted hat, and in summer a felt hat. Women's hats were very diverse - richly decorated hats of various types, bedspreads, towel-like hats. Women wore a lot of jewelry - earrings, pendants to braids, chest adornments, baldrics, bracelets, silver coins were widely used in the manufacture of jewelry. The traditional types of shoes were leather ichigi and shoes with soft and hard soles, often made of colored leather. Working shoes were Tatar-style bast shoes, which were worn with white cloth stockings, and Mishars with onuchs.

Traditional settlements and dwellings

Traditional Tatar villages (auls) were located along the river network and transport communications. In the forest zone, their layout was different - cumulus, nesting, disorderly, the villages were distinguished by crowded buildings, uneven and intricate streets, and the presence of numerous dead ends. The buildings were located inside the estate, and the street was formed by a continuous line of deaf fences. The settlements of the forest-steppe and steppe zones were distinguished by the orderliness of building. Mosques, shops, public grain barns, fire sheds, administrative buildings were located in the center of the settlement, families of wealthy peasants, clergy, and merchants lived here.
The estates were divided into two parts - the front yard with dwellings, storages and rooms for livestock and the back yard, where there was a garden, a threshing floor with current, a barn, chaff, a bathhouse. The buildings of the estate were located either randomly, or grouped U-, L-shaped, in two rows, etc. The buildings were built of wood with a predominance of log construction, but there were also buildings of clay, brick, stone, adobe, wattle construction. The dwelling was three-part - hut-canopy-hut or two-part - hut-canopy, the wealthy Tatars had five walls, crosses, two-, three-story houses with pantries and benches on the lower floor. The roofs were two- or four-pitched, they were covered with boards, shingles, straw, reeds, sometimes covered with clay. The interior layout of the northern-Central Russian type prevailed. The stove was located at the entrance, bunks were laid along the front wall with a place of honor “tour” in the middle, along the line of the stove, the dwelling was divided by a partition or curtain into two parts: the female part - the kitchen and the male part - the guest room. The stove was of the Russian type, sometimes with a cauldron, cast in or suspended. They rested, ate, worked, slept on bunks, in the northern regions they were shortened and supplemented with benches and tables. Sleeping places were fenced off with a curtain or canopy. Embroidered cloth products played an important role in interior design. In some areas, the exterior decoration of dwellings was abundant - carvings and polychrome paintings.

Food

The basis of nutrition was meat, dairy and vegetable food - soups seasoned with pieces of dough, sour bread, cakes, pancakes. Wheat flour was used as a dressing for various dishes. Home-made noodles were popular, they were boiled in meat broth with the addition of butter, lard, sour milk. Baursak, dough balls boiled in lard or oil, belonged to the tasty dishes. Porridges made from lentils, peas, barley groats, millet, etc. were varied. Different meats were used - lamb, beef, poultry, horse meat was popular among the Mishars. For the future, they prepared tutyrma - sausage with meat, blood and cereals. Beleshi were made from dough with meat filling. Dairy products were varied: katyk - a special type of sour milk, sour cream, kort - cheese, etc. They ate few vegetables, but from the end of the 19th century. potatoes began to play a significant role in the nutrition of the Tatars. Drinks were tea, ayran - a mixture of katyk and water, a celebratory drink was shirbet - from fruits and honey dissolved in water. Islam stipulated food prohibitions on pork and alcoholic beverages.

social organization

Until the beginning of the 20th century for the social relations of some groups of Tatars, tribal division was characteristic. In the field of family relations, the predominance of a small family was noted, while there was a small percentage of large families that included 3-4 generations of relatives. There was an avoidance of men by women, female seclusion. The isolation of the male and female part of the youth was strictly observed, the status of a man was much higher than that of a woman. In accordance with the norms of Islam, there was a custom of polygamy, more characteristic of the wealthy elite.

Spiritual culture and traditional beliefs

For the wedding rituals of the Tatars, it was characteristic that the parents of the boy and girl agreed on marriage, the consent of the young was considered optional. During the preparation for the wedding, the relatives of the bride and groom discussed the amount of bride price paid by the groom's side. There was a custom of kidnapping the bride, which saved them from paying bride price and expensive wedding expenses. The main wedding ceremonies, including the festive feast, were held in the bride's house without the participation of the young. The young woman remained with her parents until the payment of bride price, and her move to her husband's house was sometimes delayed until the birth of her first child, who was also furnished with many rituals.
The festive culture of the Tatars was closely connected with the Muslim religion. The most significant of the holidays were Korban gaete - sacrifice, Uraza gaete - the end of the 30-day fast, Maulid - the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. At the same time, many holidays and rituals had a pre-Islamic character, for example, related to the cycle of agricultural work. Among the Kazan Tatars, the most significant of them was sabantuy (saban - "plow", tui - "wedding", "holiday") celebrated in the spring before sowing time. During it, competitions were held in running and jumping, the national wrestling keresh and horse racing, and collective treats of porridge were made. Among the baptized Tatars, traditional holidays were timed to coincide with the Christian calendar, but also contained many archaic elements.
There was a belief in various master spirits: waters - suanases, forests - shurale, lands - fat of anasa, brownie oyase, barn - abzar iyase, ideas about werewolves - ubyr. Prayers were made in the groves, which were called keremet, it was believed that an evil spirit with the same name lives in them. There were ideas about other evil spirits - genies and peri. For ritual help, they turned to yemchi - that was the name of healers and healers.
In the spiritual culture of the Tatars, folklore, song and dance art associated with the use of musical instruments - kurai (such as a flute), kubyz (mouth harp) were widely developed, and over time, the accordion became widespread.

Bibliography and sources

Bibliographies

Material culture of the Kazan Tatars (extensive bibliography). Kazan, 1930./Vorobiev N.I.

General works

Kazan Tatars. Kazan, 1953./Vorobiev N.I.
Tatars. Naberezhnye Chelny, 1993. / Iskhakov D.M.
Peoples of the European part of the USSR. T.II / Peoples of the world: Ethnographic essays. M., 1964. S.634-681.
The peoples of the Volga and Ural regions. Historical and ethnographic essays. M., 1985.
Tatars and Tatarstan: A Handbook. Kazan, 1993.
Tatars of the Middle Volga and Urals. M., 1967.
Tatars // Peoples of Russia: Encyclopedia. M., 1994. S. 320-331.

Selected aspects

Agriculture of the Tatars of the Middle Volga and Ural regions of the 19th-beginning of the 20th centuries. M., 1981./Khalikov N.A.
Origin of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1978./Khalikov A.Kh.
Tatar people and their ancestors. Kazan, 1989./Khalikov A.Kh.
Mongols, Tatars, Golden Horde and Bulgaria. Kazan, 1994./Khalikov A.Kh.
Ethnocultural zoning of the Tatars of the Middle Volga region. Kazan, 1991.
Modern rituals of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1984./Urazmanova R.K.
Ethnogenesis and the main milestones in the development of the Tatar-Bulgars // Problems of linguoethnohistory of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1995./Zakiev M.Z.
History of the Tatar ASSR (from ancient times to the present day). Kazan, 1968.
Settlement and number of Tatars in the Volga-Ural historical and ethnographic region in the 18-19 centuries. // Soviet ethnography, 1980, No. 4. / Iskhakov D.M.
Tatars: ethnos and ethnonym. Kazan, 1989./Karimullin A.G.
Handicrafts of the Kazan province. Issue. 1-2, 8-9. Kazan, 1901-1905./Kosolapov V.N.
Peoples of the Middle Volga and Southern Urals. An ethnogenetic view of history. M., 1992./Kuzeev R.G.
Terminology of kinship and properties among the Tatar-Mishars in the Mordovian ASSR // Materials on Tatar dialectology. 2. Kazan, 1962./Mukhamedova R.G.
Beliefs and rituals of the Kazan Tatars, formed without the influence of their Sunni Mohammedanism on the life // Western Russian Geographical Society. T. 6. 1880./Nasyrov A.K.
Origin of the Kazan Tatars. Kazan, 1948.
Tatarstan: national interests (Political essay). Kazan, 1995./Tagirov E.R.
Ethnogenesis of the Tatars of the Volga region in the light of anthropological data // Proceedings of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. New Ser. T.7 .M.-L., 1949./Trofimova T.A.
Tatars: problems of history and language (Collection of articles on problems of linguistic history, revival and development of the Tatar nation). Kazan, 1995./Zakiev M.Z.
Islam and the National Ideology of the Tatar People // Islamic-Christian Borderlands: Results and Prospects of Study. Kazan, 1994./Amirkhanov R.M.
Rural dwelling of the Tatar ASSR. Kazan, 1957./Bikchentaev A.G.
Artistic crafts of Tataria in the past and present. Kazan, 1957./Vorobiev N.I., Busygin E.P.
History of the Tatars. M., 1994./Gaziz G.

Separate regional groups

Geography and culture of ethnographic groups of Tatars in the USSR. M., 1983.
Teptyari. The experience of ethno-statistical study // Soviet ethnography, 1979, No. 4. / Iskhakov D.M.
Mishari Tatars. Historical and ethnographic research. M., 1972./Mukhamedova R.G.
Chepetsk Tatars (Brief historical essay) // New in ethnographic studies of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1978./Mukhamedova R.G.
Kryashen Tatars. Historical and ethnographic study of material culture (mid-19th-early 20th centuries). M., 1977./Mukhametshin Yu.G.
To the history of the Tatar population of the Mordovian ASSR (about the Mishars) // Tr.NII YALIE. Issue 24 (ser. source). Saransk, 1963./Safgaliyeva M.G.
Bashkirs, Meshcheryaks and Teptyars // Izv. Russian Geographic Society.T.13, Issue. 2. 1877./Uyfalvi K.
Kasimov Tatars. Kazan, 1991./Sharifullina F.M.

Publication of sources

Sources on the history of Tatarstan (16-18 centuries). Book 1. Kazan, 1993.
Materials on the history of the Tatar people. Kazan, 1995.
Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and Council of People's Commissars on the formation of the Autonomous Tatar Soviet Socialist Republic // Collected. legalizations and orders of the workers' and peasants' government. No. 51. 1920.

Read further:

Karin Tatars- an ethnic group living in the village of Karino, Sloboda district, Kirov region. and nearby settlements. Believers are Muslims. Perhaps they have common roots with the Besermens (V.K. Semibratov) living in the territory of Udmurtia, but, unlike them (speaking Udmurt), they speak a dialect of the Tatar language.

Ivka Tatars- a mythical ethnic group, mentioned by D. M. Zakharov on the basis of folklore data.

We all know that our country is a multinational state. Of course, the main part of the population is Russian, but, as you know, the Tatars are the second largest ethnic group and the most numerous people of Muslim culture in Russia. Do not forget that the Tatar ethnic group was born in parallel with the Russian.

Today, Tatars make up slightly more than half of the population of their national republic, Tatarstan. At the same time, a considerable number of Tatars live outside the Republic of Tatarstan - in Bashkortostan - 1.12 million, in Udmurtia - 110.5 thousand, in Mordovia - 47.3 thousand, in Mari El - 43.8 thousand, Chuvashia - 35.7 thousand. In addition, the Tatars also live in the regions of the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia.

Where did the name of the ethnic group - "Tatars" come from? This issue is considered very relevant at the present time, since there are many different interpretations of this ethnonym. We present the most interesting ones.

Many historians and researchers believe that the name "Tatars" comes from the name of a large influential clan "Tata", from which many Turkic-speaking military leaders of the "Golden Horde" came from.

But the well-known Turkologist D.E. Eremov believes that the origin of the word "Tatars" is somehow connected with the ancient Turkic word and people. "Tat", according to the ancient Turkic chronicler Mahmud Kashgari, is the name of an ancient Iranian family. Kashgari said that the Turks called “tatam” those who speak Farsi, that is, the Iranian language. Thus, it turns out that the original meaning of the word "tat" was probably "Persian", but then this word in Rus' began to denote all the eastern and Asian peoples.

Despite their differences, historians agree on one thing - the ethnonym "Tatars", of course, is of ancient origin, however, as the name of modern Tatars, it was accepted only in the 19th century. The current Tatars (Kazan, Western, Siberian, Crimean) are not direct descendants of the ancient Tatars who came to Europe along with the troops of Genghis Khan. They formed into a single nation only after they were given the name "Tatars" by the European peoples.

Thus, it turns out that the complete decoding of the ethnonym "Tatars" is still waiting for its researcher. Who knows, maybe you will someday give an accurate explanation of the origin of this ethnonym. In the meantime, let's talk about the culture of the Tatars.

It is impossible to ignore the fact that the Tatar ethnos has an ancient and colorful history.
The original culture of the Tatars, no doubt, entered the treasury of world culture and civilization. Judge for yourself, we find traces of this culture in the traditions and language of Russians, Mordovians, Maris, Udmurts, Bashkirs, Chuvashs, and the national Tatar culture synthesizes all the best achievements of the Turkic, Finno-Ugric, Indo-Iranian peoples. How did it happen?

The thing is that the Tatars are one of the most mobile peoples. Lack of land, frequent crop failures in their homeland and the traditional craving for trade led to the fact that even before 1917 they began to move to various regions of the Russian Empire. During the years of Soviet rule, this migration process only intensified. That is why, at present, in Russia there is practically not a single subject of the federation, wherever representatives of the Tatar ethnic group live.

Tatar diasporas also formed in many countries around the world. In the pre-revolutionary period, Tatar national communities were formed in countries such as Finland, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, and China. After the collapse of the USSR, the Tatars who lived in the former Soviet republics also ended up abroad - in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and the Baltic countries. Later, in the middle of the 20th century, Tatar national diasporas were formed in the USA, Japan, Australia, and Sweden.

According to most historians, the Tatar people themselves with a single literary and practically common spoken language developed during the existence of such a Turkic state as the Golden Horde. The literary language in this state was the so-called "Idel Terkise", that is, Old Tatar, based on the Kypchak-Bulgar language and incorporating elements of the Central Asian literary languages. The modern literary language arose in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries on the basis of the middle dialect.

The development of writing among the Tatars was also gradual. Archaeological finds in the Urals and the Middle Volga indicate that in ancient times the Turkic ancestors of the Tatars used runic writing. From the moment the Volga-Kama Bulgars voluntarily adopted Islam, the Tatars used the Arabic script, later, in 1929-1939, the Latin script, and since 1939, they use the traditional Cyrillic alphabet with additional characters.

The modern Tatar language belongs to the Kypchak-Bulgar subgroup of the Kypchak group of the Turkic language family. It is divided into four main dialects: middle (Kazan Tatar), western (Mishar), eastern (the language of the Siberian Tatars) and Crimean (the language of the Crimean Tatars). Do not forget that almost every district, every village has its own special mini-dialect. Nevertheless, despite the dialectal and territorial differences, the Tatars are a single nation with a single literary language, a single culture - folklore, literature, music, religion, national spirit, traditions and rituals. It is noteworthy that the Tatar nation, in terms of literacy, even before the 1917 coup, occupied one of the leading places in the Russian Empire. I would like to believe that the traditional craving for knowledge has been preserved in the current generation.

Bulgaro-Tatar and Tatar-Mongolian points of view on the ethnogenesis of the Tatars

It should be noted that in addition to the linguistic and cultural community, as well as common anthropological features, historians give a significant role to the origin of statehood. So, for example, the beginning of Russian history is considered not by the archaeological cultures of the pre-Slavic period, and not even by the tribal unions of the Eastern Slavs who migrated in the 3rd-4th centuries, but by Kievan Rus, which had developed by the 8th century. For some reason, a significant role in the formation of culture is given to the spread (official adoption) of the monotheistic religion, which happened in Kievan Rus in 988, and in Volga Bulgaria in 922. Probably, the Bulgaro-Tatar theory originated from such prerequisites.

The Bulgaro-Tatar theory is based on the position that the ethnic basis of the Tatar people was the Bulgar ethnos, which had developed in the Middle Volga and Ural regions since the 8th century. n. e. (Recently, some supporters of this theory began to attribute the appearance of the Turkic-Bulgarian tribes in the region to the VIII-VII centuries BC and earlier). The most important provisions of this concept are formulated as follows. The main ethno-cultural traditions and features of the modern Tatar (Bulgaro-Tatar) people were formed during the period of Volga Bulgaria (X-XIII centuries), and in subsequent times (Golden Horde, Kazan-Khan and Russian periods) they underwent only minor changes in language and culture. The principalities (sultanates) of the Volga Bulgars, being part of the Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde), enjoyed significant political and cultural autonomy, and the influence of the Horde ethno-political system of power and culture (in particular, literature, art and architecture) was in the nature of a purely external influence that did not significant influence on the Bulgarian society. The most important consequence of the rule of Ulus Jochi was the disintegration of the united state of Volga Bulgaria into a number of possessions, and the single Bulgar people into two ethnoterritorial groups (“Bulgaro-Burtases” of the Mukhsha ulus and “Bulgars” of the Volga-Kama Bulgar principalities). During the period of the Kazan Khanate, the Bulgar ("Bulgaro-Kazan") ethnos strengthened the early pre-Mongol ethno-cultural features, which continued to be traditionally preserved (including the self-name "Bulgars") until the 1920s, when it was forcibly imposed on it by the Tatar bourgeois nationalists and the Soviet authorities ethnonym "Tatars".

Let's take a closer look. First, the migration of tribes from the foothills of the North Caucasus after the collapse of the state of Great Bulgaria. Why at the present time the Bulgarians - the Bulgars, assimilated by the Slavs, have become a Slavic people, and the Volga Bulgars - a Turkic-speaking people, having absorbed the population that lived before them in this area? Is it possible that there were much more alien Bulgars than local tribes? In this case, the postulate that the Turkic-speaking tribes penetrated this territory long before the appearance of the Bulgars here - in the time of the Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Huns, Khazars, looks much more logical. The history of the Volga Bulgaria begins not with the fact that the newcomer tribes founded the state, but with the unification of the door towns - the capitals of tribal unions - Bulgar, Bilyar and Suvar. The traditions of statehood also did not necessarily come from newcomer tribes, since local tribes coexisted with powerful ancient states - for example, the Scythian kingdom. In addition, the position that the Bulgars assimilated the local tribes contradicts the position that the Bulgars themselves were not assimilated by the Tatar-Mongols. As a result, the Bulgaro-Tatar theory breaks down that the Chuvash language is much closer to the Old Bulgarian than the Tatar. And the Tatars today speak the Turkic-Kipchak dialect.

However, the theory is not without merit. For example, the anthropological type of Kazan Tatars, especially men, makes them related to the peoples of the North Caucasus and indicates the origin of facial features - a hooked nose, Caucasoid type - in mountainous areas, and not in the steppe.

Until the beginning of the 90s of the XX century, the Bulgaro-Tatar theory of the ethnogenesis of the Tatar people was actively developed by a whole galaxy of scientists, including A.P. Smirnov, H.G. Gimadi, N.F. Kalinin, L.Z. Zalyai, G.V. Yusupov, T. A. Trofimova, A. Kh. Khalikov, M. Z. Zakiev, A. G. Karimullin, S. Kh. Alishev.

The theory of the Tatar-Mongolian origin of the Tatar people is based on the fact of the resettlement of nomadic Tatar-Mongolian (Central Asian) ethnic groups to Europe, which, having mixed with the Kipchaks and adopted Islam during the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde), created the basis of the culture of modern Tatars. The origins of the theory of the Tatar-Mongolian origin of the Tatars should be sought in medieval chronicles, as well as in folk legends and epics. The greatness of the powers founded by the Mongol and Golden Horde khans is mentioned in the legends about Genghis Khan, Aksak-Timur, the epic about Idegei.

Supporters of this theory deny or downplay the importance of the Volga Bulgaria and its culture in the history of the Kazan Tatars, believing that Bulgaria was an underdeveloped state, without an urban culture and with a superficially Islamized population.

During the Ulus of Jochi, the local Bulgar population was partially exterminated or, having retained paganism, moved to the outskirts, and the main part was assimilated by the newcomer Muslim groups, who brought the urban culture and language of the Kipchak type.

Here again, it should be noted that, according to many historians, the Kipchaks were irreconcilable enemies with the Tatar-Mongols. That both campaigns of the Tatar-Mongolian troops - under the leadership of Subedei and Batu - were aimed at defeating and destroying the Kipchak tribes. In other words, the Kipchak tribes during the period of the Tatar-Mongol invasion were exterminated or driven out to the outskirts.

In the first case, the exterminated Kipchaks, in principle, could not cause the formation of a nationality within the Volga Bulgaria, in the second case, it is illogical to call the theory Tatar-Mongol, since the Kipchaks did not belong to the Tatar-Mongols and were a completely different tribe, albeit a Turkic-speaking one.

The Tatar-Mongol theory can be called, given that the Volga Bulgaria was conquered, and then inhabited precisely by the Tatar and Mongol tribes who came from the empire of Genghis Khan.

It should also be noted that the Tatar-Mongols during the period of conquest were predominantly pagans, and not Muslims, which usually explains the tolerance of the Tatar-Mongols to other religions.

Therefore, rather, the Bulgar population, who learned about Islam in the 10th century, contributed to the Islamization of the Jochi Ulus, and not vice versa.

Archaeological data supplement the factual side of the issue: on the territory of Tatarstan there is evidence of the presence of nomadic (Kipchak or Tatar-Mongolian) tribes, but the resettlement of such tribes is observed in the southern part of the Tatar region.

However, it cannot be denied that the Kazan Khanate, which arose on the ruins of the Golden Horde, crowned the formation of the ethnic group of Tatars.

It is strong and already unequivocally Islamic, which was of great importance for the Middle Ages, the state contributed to the development, and during the period of being under Russian rule, the preservation of the Tatar culture.

There is also an argument in favor of the kinship of the Kazan Tatars with the Kipchaks - the linguistic dialect belongs to the Turkic-Kipchak group by linguists. Another argument is the name and self-name of the people - "Tatars". Presumably from the Chinese "yes-tribute", as Chinese historians called part of the Mongol (or neighbors with the Mongols) tribes in northern China

The Tatar-Mongolian theory arose at the beginning of the 20th century. (N. I. Ashmarin, V. F. Smolin) and actively developed in the works of the Tatar (Z. Validi, R. Rakhmati, M. I. Akhmetzyanov, more recently R. G. Fakhrutdinov), Chuvash (V. F. Kakhovsky, V.D. Dimitriev, N.I. Egorov, M.R. Fedotov) and Bashkir (N.A. Mazhitov) historians, archaeologists and linguists.

Turko-Tatar theory of the ethnogenesis of the Tatars and a number of alternative points of view

The Turkic-Tatar theory of the origin of the Tatar ethnos emphasizes the Turkic-Tatar origins of modern Tatars, notes the important role in their ethnogenesis of the ethno-political tradition of the Turkic Khaganate, Great Bulgaria and the Khazar Khaganate, Volga Bulgaria, the Kypchak-Kimak and Tatar-Mongolian ethnic groups of the steppes of Eurasia.

The Turko-Tatar concept of the origin of the Tatars is developed in the works of G. S. Gubaidullin, A. N. Kurat, N. A. Baskakov, Sh. F. Mukhamedyarov, R. G. Kuzeev, M. A. Usmanov, R. G. Fakhrutdinov , A. G. Mukhamadiev, N. Davleta, D. M. Iskhakov, Yu. combines the best achievements of other theories. In addition, there is an opinion that one of the first to point out the complex nature of ethnogenesis, not reducible to one ancestor, was M. G. Safargaliev in 1951. After the late 1980s. the tacit ban on the publication of works that go beyond the decisions of the session of the USSR Academy of Sciences in 1946 has lost its relevance, and accusations of “non-Marxism” of a multicomponent approach to ethnogenesis have also ceased to be used, this theory has been supplemented by many domestic publications. Proponents of the theory identify several stages in the formation of an ethnos.

The stage of formation of the main ethnic components. (mid-VI - mid-XIII centuries). The important role of the Volga Bulgaria, the Khazar Kaganate and the Kipchak-Kimak state associations in the ethnogenesis of the Tatar people is noted. At this stage, the main components were formed, which were combined at the next stage. The role of the Volga Bulgaria is great, which laid down the Islamic tradition, urban culture and writing based on Arabic graphics (after the 10th century), replacing the most ancient writing - the Turkic runic. At this stage, the Bulgars tied themselves to the territory - to the land on which they settled. The territory of settlement was the main criterion for identifying a person with a people.

The Stage of the Medieval Tatar Ethnopolitical Community (mid-13th - first quarter of the 15th centuries). At this time, the components that formed at the first stage were consolidated in a single state - Ulus Jochi (Golden Horde); medieval Tatars, based on the traditions of the peoples united in one state, not only created their own state, but also developed their own ethno-political ideology, culture and symbols of their community. All this led to the ethno-cultural consolidation of the Golden Horde aristocracy, military service classes, Muslim clergy and the formation of the Tatar ethno-political community in the 14th century. The stage is characterized by the fact that in the Golden Horde, on the basis of the Oguz-Kypchak language, the norms of the literary language (the literary Old Tatar language) were being approved. The earliest surviving literary monument on it (Kul Gali's poem "Kyisa-i Yosyf") was written in the 13th century. The stage ended with the collapse of the Golden Horde (XV century) as a result of feudal fragmentation. In the formed Tatar khanates, the formation of new ethnic communities began, which had local self-names: Astrakhan, Kazan, Kasimov, Crimean, Siberian, Temnikovsky Tatars, etc. Orda, Nogai Horde), most of the governors on the outskirts sought to occupy this main throne, or had close ties with the central horde.

After the middle of the 16th century and until the 18th century, the stage of consolidation of local ethnic groups within the Russian state is singled out. After the annexation of the Volga region, the Urals and Siberia to the Russian state, the processes of Tatar migration intensified (as mass migrations from the Oka to the Zakamskaya and Samara-Orenburg lines are known, from the Kuban to the Astrakhan and Orenburg provinces) and the interaction between its various ethno-territorial groups, which contributed to their linguistic and cultural rapprochement. This was facilitated by the presence of a single literary language, a common cultural and religious-educational field. To a certain extent, the attitude of the Russian state and the Russian population, which did not distinguish between ethnic groups, was also unifying. The general confessional self-consciousness - "Muslims" is noted. Part of the local ethnic groups that entered other states at that time (primarily the Crimean Tatars) further developed independently.

The period from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century is defined by the supporters of the theory as the formation of the Tatar nation. Just the same period, which is mentioned in the introduction to this work. The following stages of the formation of a nation are distinguished: 1) From the 18th to the middle of the 19th century - the stage of the "Muslim" nation, in which religion acted as a unifying factor. 2) From the middle of the XIX century until 1905 - the stage of the "ethno-cultural" nation. 3) From 1905 to the end of 1920. - the stage of the "political" nation.

At the first stage, the attempts of various rulers to carry out Christianization played for the good. The policy of Christianization, instead of a real transfer of the population of the Kazan province from one confession to another, by its ill-conceivedness contributed to the cementing of Islam in the minds of the local population.

At the second stage, after the reforms of the 1860s, the development of bourgeois relations began, which contributed to the rapid development of culture. In turn, its components (education system, literary language, book publishing and periodicals) completed the assertion in the self-consciousness of all the main ethno-territorial and ethno-class groups of the Tatars of the idea of belonging to a single Tatar nation. It is to this stage that the Tatar people owe the appearance of the History of Tatarstan. During the specified period of time, the Tatar culture managed not only to recover, but also made some progress.

From the second half of the 19th century, the modern Tatar literary language began to form, which by the 1910s had completely supplanted the Old Tatar. The consolidation of the Tatar nation was strongly influenced by the high migration activity of the Tatars from the Volga-Ural region.

The third stage from 1905 to the end of 1920 - this is the stage of the "political" nation. The first manifestation was the demands for cultural and national autonomy, expressed during the revolution of 1905-1907. Later there were ideas of the State of Idel-Ural, the Tatar-Bashkir SR, the creation of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. After the 1926 census, the remnants of ethno-class self-determination disappear, that is, the social stratum of the “Tatar nobility” disappears.

Note that the Turkic-Tatar theory is the most extensive and structured of the theories considered. It really covers many aspects of the formation of the ethnos in general and the Tatar ethnos in particular.

In addition to the main theories of the ethnogenesis of the Tatars, there are also alternative ones. One of the most interesting is the Chuvash theory of the origin of the Kazan Tatars.

Most historians and ethnographers, as well as the authors of the theories discussed above, are looking for the ancestors of the Kazan Tatars not where this people currently lives, but somewhere far beyond the territory of present-day Tatarstan. In the same way, their emergence and formation as an original nationality are attributed not to the historical era when this took place, but to more ancient times. In reality, there is every reason to believe that the cradle of the Kazan Tatars is their real homeland, that is, the region of the Tatar Republic on the left bank of the Volga between the Kazanka and Kama rivers.

There are also convincing arguments in favor of the fact that the Kazan Tatars arose, took shape as an original nationality and multiplied over a historical period, the duration of which covers the era from the founding of the Kazan Tatar kingdom by the Khan of the Golden Horde Ulu-Mohammed in 1437 and up to the Revolution of 1917. Moreover, their ancestors were not newcomers "Tatars", but local peoples: Chuvashs (they are also Volga Bulgars), Udmurts, Maris, and possibly also not preserved to this day, but living in those parts, representatives of other tribes, including those who spoke the language close to the language of the Kazan Tatars.
All these nationalities and tribes apparently lived in those wooded lands from time immemorial, and partially possibly also moved from Zakamye, after the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol and the defeat of the Volga Bulgaria. In terms of the nature and level of culture, as well as the way of life, this heterogeneous mass of people, before the emergence of the Kazan Khanate, in any case, did not differ much from each other. In the same way, their religions were similar and consisted in the veneration of various spirits and sacred groves - kiremetii - places of prayer with sacrifices. This is confirmed by the fact that until the revolution of 1917, they were preserved in the same Tatar Republic, for example, near the village. Kukmor, a settlement of Udmurts and Maris, who were not touched by either Christianity or Islam, where until recently people lived according to the ancient customs of their tribe. In addition, in the Apastovsky region of the Tatar Republic, at the junction with the Chuvash ASSR, there are nine Kryashen villages, including the villages of Surinskoye and the village of Star. Tyaberdino, where part of the inhabitants, even before the Revolution of 1917, were "unbaptized" Kryashens, thus having survived until the Revolution outside both the Christian and Muslim religions. And the Chuvash, Mari, Udmurts and Kryashens who converted to Christianity were only formally listed in it, but continued to live according to ancient times until recently.

In passing, we note that the existence of “unbaptized” Kryashens almost in our time casts doubt on the very common point of view that the Kryashens arose as a result of the forced Christianization of Muslim Tatars.

The above considerations allow us to assume that in the Bulgar state, the Golden Horde and, to a large extent, the Kazan Khanate, Islam was the religion of the ruling classes and privileged estates, and the common people, or most of them: the Chuvashs, Maris, Udmurts, etc., lived according to the old grandfather customs.
Now let's see how, under those historical conditions, the people of Kazan Tatars, as we know them at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, could arise and multiply.

In the middle of the 15th century, as already mentioned, on the left bank of the Volga, Khan Ulu-Mohammed, deposed from the throne and fled from the Golden Horde, appeared on the left bank of the Volga with a relatively small detachment of his Tatars. He conquered and subjugated the local Chuvash tribe and created the feudal-serf Kazan Khanate, in which the winners, Muslim Tatars, were the privileged class, and the conquered Chuvashs were the serfs of the common people.

In the latest edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, in more detail about the internal structure of the state in its final period, we read the following: “Kazan Khanate, a feudal state in the Middle Volga region (1438-1552), formed as a result of the collapse of the Golden Horde on the territory of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria. The founder of the dynasty of Kazan khans was Ulu-Muhammed.

The supreme state power belonged to the khan, but was directed by the council of large feudal lords (sofa). The top of the feudal nobility were Karachi, representatives of the four most noble families. Next came the sultans, emirs, below them - murzas, uhlans and warriors. The Muslim clergy, who owned vast waqf lands, played an important role. The bulk of the population consisted of "black people": free peasants who paid yasak and other taxes to the state, feudal dependent peasants, serfs from prisoners of war and slaves. The Tatar nobles (emirs, beks, murzas, etc.) were hardly very merciful to their serfs, to the same foreign and heterodox. Voluntarily or pursuing goals related to some kind of benefit, but over time, ordinary people began to adopt their religion from the privileged class, which was associated with the rejection of their national identity and with a complete change in life and way of life, according to the requirements of the new "Tatar" faith is Islam. This transition of the Chuvash to Mohammedanism was the beginning of the formation of the Kazan Tatars.

The new state that arose on the Volga lasted only about a hundred years, during which raids on the outskirts of the Muscovite state almost did not stop. In the internal state life, frequent palace coups took place and proteges appeared on the khan's throne: either Turkey (Crimea), then Moscow, then the Nogai Horde, etc.
The process of formation of the Kazan Tatars in the way mentioned above from the Chuvash, and partly from other peoples of the Volga region took place throughout the entire period of the existence of the Kazan Khanate, did not stop after the annexation of Kazan to the Muscovite state and continued until the beginning of the 20th century, i.e. almost to our time. Kazan Tatars grew in number not so much as a result of natural growth, but as a result of the Tatarization of other nationalities of the region.

Here is another rather interesting argument in favor of the Chuvash origin of the Kazan Tatars. It turns out that the Meadow Mari are now called the Tatars "suas". Meadow Mari from time immemorial closely coexisted with that part of the Chuvash people who lived on the left bank of the Volga and were the first to Tatar, so that in those places there was not a single Chuvash village left for a long time, although according to historical information and scribe records of the Muscovite state, they were there a lot of. The Mari did not notice, especially at the beginning, any changes in their neighbors as a result of the appearance of another god, Allah, and forever preserved their former name in their language. But for the distant neighbors - the Russians, from the very beginning of the formation of the Kazan kingdom there was no doubt that the Kazan Tatars were the same, the Tatar-Mongols who left a sad memory of themselves among the Russians.

During the entire relatively short history of this "khanate", continuous raids by "Tatars" on the outskirts of the Muscovite state continued, and the first Khan Ulu-Mohammed spent the rest of his life in these raids. These raids were accompanied by the devastation of the region, robberies of the civilian population and their hijacking "in full", i.e. everything happened in the style of the Tatar-Mongols.

Introduction

Chapter 1. Bulgaro-Tatar and Tatar-Mongolian points of view on the ethnogenesis of Tatars

Chapter 2

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. in the world and in the Russian Empire, a social phenomenon developed - nationalism. Which carried the idea that it is very important for a person to rank himself as a member of a certain social group - a nation (nationality). The nation was understood as the commonality of the territory of settlement, culture (especially, a single literary language), anthropological features (body structure, facial features). Against the background of this idea, in each of the social groups there was a struggle for the preservation of culture. The nascent and developing bourgeoisie became the herald of the ideas of nationalism. At that time, a similar struggle was also waged on the territory of Tatarstan - world social processes did not bypass our region.

In contrast to the revolutionary cries of the first quarter of the 20th century. and the last decade of the 20th century, which used very emotional terms - nation, nationality, people, in modern science it is customary to use a more cautious term - ethnic group, ethnos. This term carries the same commonality of language and culture, like the people, and the nation, and nationality, but does not need to clarify the nature or size of the social group. However, belonging to any ethnic group is still an important social aspect for a person.

If you ask a passer-by in Russia what nationality he is, then, as a rule, the passer-by will proudly answer that he is Russian or Chuvash. And, of course, from those who are proud of their ethnic origin, there will be a Tatar. But what will this word - "Tatar" - mean in the mouth of the speaker. In Tatarstan, not everyone who considers himself a Tatar speaks and reads the Tatar language. Not everyone looks like a Tatar from the generally accepted point of view - a mixture of features of the Caucasian, Mongolian and Finno-Ugric anthropological types, for example. Among the Tatars there are Christians, and many atheists, and not everyone who considers himself a Muslim has read the Koran. But all this does not prevent the Tatar ethnic group from persisting, developing and being one of the most distinctive in the world.

The development of national culture entails the development of the history of the nation, especially if the study of this history has been hindered for a long time. As a result, the unspoken, and sometimes open, ban on studying the region led to a particularly stormy surge in Tatar historical science, which is observed to this day. Pluralism of opinions and the lack of factual material have led to the folding of several theories, trying to combine the largest number of known facts. Not just historical doctrines have been formed, but several historical schools that are conducting a scientific dispute among themselves. At first, historians and publicists were divided into “Bulgarists”, who considered the Tatars descended from the Volga Bulgars, and “Tatarists”, who considered the period of the formation of the Tatar nation the period of the existence of the Kazan Khanate and denied participation in the formation of the Bulgar nation. Subsequently, another theory appeared, on the one hand, contradicting the first two, and on the other, combining all the best of the available theories. She was called "Turkic-Tatar".

As a result, based on the key points outlined above, we can formulate the purpose of this work: to reflect the widest range of points of view on the origin of the Tatars.

The tasks can be divided according to the considered points of view:

Consider the Bulgaro-Tatar and Tatar-Mongolian points of view on the ethnogenesis of the Tatars;

Consider the Turkic-Tatar point of view on the ethnogenesis of the Tatars and a number of alternative points of view.

The titles of the chapters will correspond to the designated tasks.

point of view ethnogenesis of the Tatars

Chapter 1. Bulgaro-Tatar and Tatar-Mongolian points of view on the ethnogenesis of Tatars

The theory of the Tatar-Mongolian origin of the Tatar people is based on the fact of the migration to Europe of nomadic Tatar-Mongolian (Central Asian) ethnic groups, who, having mixed with the Kipchaks and adopted Islam during the Ulus of Jochi (Golden Horde), created the basis of the culture of modern Tatars. The origins of the theory of the Tatar-Mongolian origin of the Tatars should be sought in medieval chronicles, as well as in folk legends and epics. The greatness of the powers founded by the Mongol and Golden Horde khans is mentioned in the legends about Genghis Khan, Aksak-Timur, the epic about Idegei.

In the first case, the exterminated Kipchaks, in principle, could not cause the formation of a nationality within the Volga Bulgaria, in the second case, it is illogical to call the theory Tatar-Mongolian, since the Kipchaks did not belong to the Tatar-Mongols and were a completely different tribe, albeit Turkic-speaking.