Mordovian District of the Golden Horde City of Naruchad

Abstract

The nearest surroundings includes rural settlements located within a day's walk from the city, the information about which is known mainly from the materials of burials left by their inhabitants. Of the Mordovian settlements, only the Polyanki settlement has been excavated. Mordovian burial grounds also belong to the urban area: Kazbek, Abashevo, Akimovshchina, Panzha, Staraya Sotnya, where burials were made back in pre-Mongol times. The other sites, apparently, appeared on this area as a result of population displacement caused by the Mongol invasion, after the stabilisation of the internal political situation. The location for the city was probably chosen taking into account the density of the rural population in order to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food to the Horde administration and urban artisans. The emergence of the city did not have a significant impact on the population of the Mordovian district, which continued to widely cultivate domestic crafts and was rather poorly involved in commodity-money relations. The overwhelming majority of pottery and ironware were made by rural craftsmen, urban artisans supplied the village mainly with jewelry. Administrative functions were mainly concentrated in the city.

Keywords

• archaeology
• medieval town
• naruchad
• urban district
• golden horde
• the mordvins
• crafts
• commodity-money relations