Nomads of the Golden Horde in the Perception of Modern Historians

Abstract

Objectives: To show how modern historians perceive and interpret the history of nomads of the Golden Horde regarding whom the main sources of information are archaeological sources. Materials of the research: This article is based on the results of a critical discourse analysis of the publications by contemporary source-study researchers. Their work expounds to some extent the history of the Mongol conquest of the nomads of Dasht-i-Kipchak and highlights their role and place in the administrative and political system of the Golden Horde (Ulus of Jochi). Results and novelty of the research: A paradoxical situation has developed in the modern historiography of the Golden Horde. The history of the Golden Horde is studied by historians and archaeologists – representatives of two related disciplines that study the same theme, that is the history of human society. However, they study this theme using different methods and based on different sources. The absence of a mutual correlation between the results obtained and conclusions based on them leads to the fact that in parallel historical and archaeological studies of the Golden Horde, parallel images of this state are often created, often contradicting each other. This is particularly evident in the publications dedicated to the nomads of Dasht-i-Kipchak, who, firstly, became one of the first targets of the Mongol conquest in Eurasia; secondly, they also became the main population of the Golden Horde. The mechanistic reading of medieval narratives without source criticism leads to a situation in historical studies which sees the geography of the dwelling area of nomads (the Örberli, the Kuns, the Kangli) and the direction of the Mongol invasion of Dasht-i-Kipchak scattered in space. Insufficient correlation of archaeological and historical data (extracted from narratives) deprives the existing historical reconstructions of objectivity and denies the interested reader of an adequate understanding.