Pages: 325-332 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.55086/sp255325332

The biography of Prince Oleg of Ryazan becomes particularly interesting when studied in the context of the history of the formation of relations of dependence between the Russian princes and the Mongolian khaans/Horde khans. A. V.  Kuzmin and L. V. Vorotyntsev, in their works, raised questions about episodes in the prince’s life when coordinating evidence of his trips to the Horde as found in the chronicles of the 15th—18th centuries. In turn, the interpretations formulated by these researchers were later refuted in a paper by F. N. Veselov. However, analyzing methodological approaches to finding information in accounts that are not synchronous with the events described in them shows that dogmatically devaluing the evidence of later chronicles seems unproductive. The identification of the independent origin of the accounts of various chronicles, the establishment of relevance to the realities of the 13th century, and the display of events in the indirect testimony (or lack of evidence) of their texts when they are coordinated, allows us to take into account the facts reported in the later chronicles as reliable information. It must be recognized that the epistemological potential of the accounts of the later chronicles is far from being exhausted.

Keywords: Oleg Ryazansky, Golden Horde, Russian chronicles, Batu, Khagan, Sarai, Karakorum

Information about author:

Yuriy Seleznev (Voronezh, Russian Federation). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Voronezh State University. Universitetskaya Sq., 1, Voronezh, 394006, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-8224-445X