Bolgar (Bulgar, Tat. Bolgar, Chuvash. Pӑlhar) is a city in Russia, in the southwestern part of the Republic of Tatarstan. The administrative center of the Spassky district. The town of Bolgar, together with the nearby village of Bolgary, forms the urban settlement of the town of Bolgar, which covers the territory of the ancient town of Bulgar - the capital of the medieval Volga Bulgaria and the Golden Horde.
The city is located on the left bank of the Volga, 83 km south of Kazan (175 km along the road).
Ancient times
On the territory of Bolgar, settlements of the
Neolithic, Bronze and Early Iron epochs were discovered, occupying
the geographically convenient coastal strip of the Volga (bedrock
and meadow terraces). The emergence of a fortified settlement (which
occupied the promontory part of the Koptelov Bugra) is associated
with the Imenkovo culture (IV-VII centuries AD).
Bulgar
period
The name of the city Bulgar is associated with the
ethnonym Bulgars. The earliest Bulgar settlements on the territory
of present-day Bolgar emerged at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries.
The earliest fortifications of the 10th century. were built at the
mouth of the Small Jerusalem ravine because of its proximity to the
Volga, as well as on the central plateau of the settlement.
The reason for the creation of a fortified Bulgar settlement on the
high bank of the Volga at its confluence with the Kama is seen in a
convenient location, which made it possible to control a significant
territory. Another impetus to its creation was the emergence of the
Aga-Bazar - the most important trading platform of the Volga
Bulgaria. According to Academician VL Yanin, "throughout the entire
eastern trade from the end of the 8th to the beginning of the 11th
century, the Bulgar was actually the only gate through which the
trade of Russia with the East went."
In 920, the Arab
geographer al-Balkhi first mentions the Bolgar. Kuri Wanter writes
that there were lakes Johan-Vasan and Sherpet near the city. The
ancient Arab sources also mention the Swan Lake (Akkosh kul). The
surrounding area was called the Land of Three Lakes.
In 922,
Volga Bulgaria, at the invitation of its ruler Almush, was visited
by the embassy of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muktadir, whose secretary
was Ahmad ibn Fadlan. He notes that the Bulgars converted to Islam.
At that time, Bulgar masters - jewelers, masons, tanners,
blacksmiths - enjoyed well-deserved fame. Bulgar jewelry, Bulgarian
leather, furs, honey, Bulgar chain mail were known in many countries
and were in great demand there. Bulgar merchants carried on
extensive trade with many countries of Europe and Asia. In turn,
traders from China, Baghdad, Damascus, Spain, Scandinavia came to
the annual world fair in Bulgar. Many foreign trade concessions had
their own settlements and streets in the city.
On the map of
the Arab geographer Idrisi in 1154, the Bulgar and Volga Bulgaria
are shown in great detail.
Before the Mongol conquest in
1236, the city was one of the centers of foreign trade of the Volga
Bulgaria. Arab writers of the 10th century wrote about it: “Outer
Bulgar is a small city that does not occupy a large space, and is
known only for the fact that it is the main trade point of this
state” (Al-Balkhi). “The Bulgar is a small city that does not have
many possessions, but it was known because it was the harbor of
these states” (Ibn Haukal).
Doctor of Historical Sciences,
Professor, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of the
Republic of Tatarstan F. Sh. Khuzin writes that the total area of
the Bulgar settlement of the X-XI centuries. taking into account
the territory of the settlement reached 12 hectares. and in the X -
first half of the XIII centuries. The Bulgar was economically
inferior to such cities as Bilyar or Suvar.
Mongol conquest
At the end of 1223 - beginning of 1224 (end of 620 A.D.) the Mongol
troops of Jebe and Subedei, passing through Iran, the Caucasus and
defeating the Russians and Polovtsians on Kalka, were defeated by
the Bulgars. However, in 1229, the Mongols undertook a new campaign,
captured the city of Saksin in the lower Volga region and attacked
the Bulgarian guard settlements on Yaik. In the same year, the
Bulgars extended the peace treaty with the Vladimir principality for
6 years.
The city was conquered and burned in 1236 during the
all-Mongol Western campaign, led by the second ruler of the ulus,
Juchi Batu.
Golden Horde period
Before the construction of
Saray-Batu, the headquarters of Batu was located in Bulgar. Under
the Muslim Berke, Bulgar became the center of the lands of the
former Volga Bulgaria. During this period, stone buildings were
built in the city, partially preserved to the present day.
In
1361, Prince Bulat-Timur burned the Bulgar, which, however, was
reborn again. After the battle on Kondurcha (1395) Bulgar, like
other Bulgar cities, was destroyed by the troops of Emir Timur. Then
it was restored.
In 1399 (according to other chronicles, in
1395), Yuri Dmitrievich made a successful campaign against the
Middle Volga region (under his command were the troops of his
brother Vasily I) - the first campaign in which the Russians ravaged
quite vast Tatar lands, defeating 14 cities (including Bulgar,
Zhukotin, Kazan, Kermenchuk), bringing huge booty to Russia. This is
mentioned in the Tatar epic "Idige", known in the late edition of
the 16th century, where the "prince-Urus" is endowed with the
features of Tokhtamysh, Tamerlane and Ivan the Terrible.
In 1431 the city was finally destroyed by the voivode of the
Grand Duke Vasily II Fyodor Paletsky, which, according to some
historians, put an end to the hopes for the restoration of the
former Bulgaria. Subsequently, the Bulgars actually restored their
state with the last capital in Isk-Kazan. In the 15th century, Kazan
became the unified cultural and political center of the Volga
Bulgars and the transferred capital, and the state began to be
called the Kazan Khanate. The Bulgars, who converted to Islam in 922
under Khan Almysh, mixed with the local Finno-Ugric and Kipchak
population, became the main component in the ethnogenesis of the
Kazan Tatars. The Savirs and part of the Bulgars, who preserved
paganism, as a result of consolidation with the Finno-Ugric, first
of all, the Mari population, formed the Chuvash ethnos.
As
part of Russia
Since 1552, after the conquest of the Kazan
Khanate, the city became part of the Russian state.
In the
17th century, the Orthodox Assumption Monastery was founded on the
site of Bolgar. The ruins of the Bolgar were specially visited by
Tsar Peter I and Empress Catherine II.
Since 1781 - the
district town of Spassk of the Kazan governorate (since 1796 - the
Kazan province). In the 19th century, Spassk served as a
transshipment point for agricultural goods for neighboring cities.
In 1856, the city had 1 church, 246 houses, 5 shops.
In
1926-1935 the city was called Spassk on all maps, but to distinguish
it from other cities with the same name, it was sometimes called
Spassk-Tatarsky. The city of Spassk was renamed in 1935 into
Kuibyshev (in memory of V.V. Kuibyshev, who died in 1935) and
existed under this name until 1957.
In 1957, as a result of
the filling of the Kuibyshev reservoir, the city was flooded. Spassk
coordinates 55 ° 02′48 ″ s. sh. 49 ° 22'23 "in. HGЯO.
In
1957, a new city was founded with the name Kuibyshev, 23 km
southwest of the flooded city, 2 km west of the village of Bolgar.
As a result of development, the city almost absorbed the village of
Bolgar.
In 1969 the Bulgarian state was created. historical
and architectural reserve (since 2000 a museum-reserve), in addition
to excavations leading the conservation and restoration of monuments
of monumental construction.
In 1991, the city was renamed
Bolgar after the village he had absorbed, on the territory of which
there are the remains of the ancient city of Bolgar, Volga Bulgaria
(Bulgarian Historical and Archaeological Complex), the settlement
(ruins) of which is located near the city.
Since 2010, on the
initiative and under the patronage of the first president of
Tatarstan M. Sh. Shaimiev, the implementation of the complex project
"Cultural Heritage: the Island-City of Sviyazhsk and Ancient Bolgar"
has begun in Bolgar, including the restoration of architectural
monuments on the territory of the settlement and the development of
tourist infrastructure. As part of the implementation of a
comprehensive project in 2010-2017:
the Small Minaret, the
Cathedral Mosque, the Khan's Tomb, the Eastern Mausoleum, the
Northern Mausoleum, the Black Chamber, the Eastern Chamber, the
Assumption Church have been restored;
the ruins of the Khan's
palace, Bath No. 2, pottery forges were preserved;
the River
Station with the Museum of Bulgarian Civilization, the Memorial Sign
dedicated to the adoption of Islam in the Volga Bulgaria, the White
Mosque, the House of the Healer and craft workshops, the
International Center for Archaeological Research, the International
Archaeological School, the Museum of Bread were built;
an
open-air exposition "History of the Türko-Tatar writing" and an
exposition "Medieval craft of the city of Bolgar" were created;
several houses on Nazarov and Mukhamedyar streets were restored and
adapted for modern use;
the embankment of the Volga River from
the River Station to the well of St. Gabrakhman was improved.