The Issue of the Formation of Urban Culture in Volga Bolgaria

Abstract

The paper addresses the origins of the urbanism of the Volga Bolgars. The issue is closely related to the settlement process of nomadic and semi-nomadic Bolgars. Examining the early stable settlements of the Bolgars in the 8th–10th centuries based on archaeological and written sources, one can see that these settlements were formed in different regions where they were inhabited (Khazar Khaganate, Early Bolgaria). The origins of the urbanization culture of the Volga Bolgars are connected with the Xiongnu, Turkic and Khazar Khaganate periods. The first stable settlements of the Bolgars emerged in the 8th–9th centuries, and fortified urban-type settlements – not later than at the turn of the 9th–10th centuries.

Keywords

• archaeology
• volga bolgars
• urban culture
• stable settlements
• xiongnu
• turkic khaganate
• khazar khaganate