Pages: 135-140

The author discusses features of the Middle Volga region historical development in the second half of the 14th to first half of 15th c., in the Golden Horde decline period. The specificity of the three climatic zones of the Middle Volga region, which determined the economic structure and the originality of the population’s material culture, is taken into account. Following the economic boom and the growing number of urban and rural settlements in the first half of the 14th century, a decline and urban life degradation are traced later, as well as the population migration to the north due to military conflicts and climatic changes. On the other hand, new settlements, cities included, emerged in the Middle Volga in the late 14th to first half of the 15th century as a result of the influx of the Golden Horde servicemen, the Volga Finns and the Russians. In the first half of the 15th century, independent Tatar fiefdoms, or beilyaks are established here, and simultaneously prerequisites for the emergence of independent states — Kasimov and Kazan Khanates — are formed.

Keywords: Middle Volga region, Golden Horde, administrative division, urban centers, climatic zones

Information about author:

Ayrat G. Sitdikov. Doctor of Historical Sciences. Kazan (Volga region) Federal University; Institute of Archaeology named after A. Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Addresses: Kremlyovskaya St., 18, Kazan, 420008, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation; Kremlin, entrance 5, Kazan, 420014, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]