Carnelian Seal from Mausoleum 1 near Settlement of Krasny in the Bobrov District, Voronezh Region

Abstract

In 1948 V.P. Levasheva excavated the mausoleum 1 near settlement of Krasny in the Bobrov district, Voronezh oblast. A carnelian seal with an Arabic inscription was found in one of the burials, studied in the mausoleum. Looking through the excavation report allows us to concretize the context of this rare find. The carnelian seal of reddish-pink colour had a rectangular shape, its size is 2,4×1,7×0,4cm. The reading of the inscription, which is a quotation from the 13th ayat of the 61st surah of the Quran (as-Saff = the Rows), has been clarified. Hadiths and interpreters of the Quran associate the Surah with the ideology of jihad, which may be evidence of the high military status of the owner of the seal. This artifact is of considerable interest studying of the spread of Islam on the periphery of the Golden Horde in the Middle Don region.

Keywords

• archaeology
• golden horde
• mausoleum
• carnelian seal
• islam
• middle don region
• islamic epigraphy