A Kazár Kaganátus egy népe: a burtászok - A Tribe of the Khazar Khaganate: the Burtas

Abstract

If we consider the written sources about the Burtas, it can be concluded that the Muslim writers provide the most detailed and precise descriptions. The origin of the Burtas is widely disputed; some researchers suggest that they are Turkish, while others support the theory of their Iranian origin. However, the majority of international scientists consider the Burtas as the ancestors of a Finno-Ugric people, the Mordvins, drawing this conclusion from the Burtas’ name. According to the popular explanation, Burtas and Merdas ethnic names occurring in different written sources denote the same people, since the localization and lifestyles are identical in the descriptions. Written accounts also report thatthe Burtas used a complex farming system involving both agriculture and large-scale livestock breeding. They dwelled west from the Volga and their territory may have stretched to the river Don. Thus, it is a fact that they lived on the wooded steppe. If we compare Latin, Hebrew and Russian sources with the Muslims, it becomes obvious that the Burtas tribe is not identical with the Mordvins, meaning that the Burtas/Merdas identification is false as well. The endonym of the Mordvins supports this hypothesis. The Mordvins do not use the name Mordvin for themselves; it is a Russian loanword. They call themselves Moksa and Erä. Consequently, the term Burtas cannot be connected to the endonym of the Mordvins. Moreover, I have newly discovered a Russian source, a list of the taxpayers of Vladimir prince of the Rus where the Burtas and Mordvins are handled as separate ethnic groups. This means that the Burtas were an independent tribe living in the region between the Middle Volga and the Don; their neighbourswere the Khazars in the South and the Volga Bulgars in the North. The Burtas were subjected firstly by the Khazars until the end of the 10th century, then by the Volga Bulgars and later by the Rus. After the Mongolian attack in 1230s, they became dependent of the Mongolians and gradually disappeared from the written sources.