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Sarai (city)
Encyclopedia
Sarai was the name of two cities, which were successively capital cities of the Golden Horde
, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries. They were among the largest cities of the medieval world, with a population estimated by the 2005 Britannica at 600,000.
Sarai is Persian
for "palace". There is also a variation meaning home (Saraa), similar to Sarajevo
in the Balkan peninsula.
ruler Batu Khan
in the mid-1240s, on a site east of the Akhtuba river, near to the modern village of Selitrennoye.
This site was most probably located on the Akhtuba River
, a channel of the lower Volga River
, near the contemporary village of Selitrennoye in Kharabali District, Astrakhan Oblast
, Russia
, about 120 km north from Astrakhan
.
Sarai was the seat of Batu and his successor Berke
. Under them Sarai was the capital of a great empire. The various Rus' princes came to Sarai to pledge allegiance to the Khan and receive his patent of authority (yarlyk).
New Sarai (called Sarai-al-Jadid on coins) was at modern Kolobovka, formerly Tsarev, an archeological site also on the Akhtuba channel 85 km east of Volgograd
, and about 180 km northwest of Old Sarai or, maybe on the site of Saqsin (which may have itself been built on the site of the Khazar capital, Atil). The bishops of Krutitsy
resided in Tsarev from 1261 to 1454. It had probably succeeded Sarai Batu as the capital of the Golden Horde by the mid 1300s.
Both cities were sacked several times. Timur
sacked New Sarai around 1395, and Meñli I Giray
of the Crimean Khanate
sacked New Sarai around 1502. Sarai was finally destroyed after 1556 when Ivan IV of Russia
conquered the Astrakhan Khanate
.
In 1623-1624, a Russian merchant, Fedor Afanasyevich Kotov, travelled to Persia via the lower Volga. He described the site of Sarai: Here by the river Akhtuba stands the Golden Horde. The khan's court, palaces, and courts, and mosques are all made of stone. But now all these buildings are being dismantled and the stone is being taken to Astrakhan. Since Old Sarai lies at 120 km from Astrakhan and New Sarai at 300 km, it is difficult to decide to which of these two cities this description applies.
After the destruction of New Sarai, Russia established the fortress city of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd
) to control the area.
. It is often conflated with the other Sarais in historical and modern accounts. This town was the main city of the Nogai Horde
, one of the successors of the Golden Horde. Although sacked by the Ural Cossacks in 1580, it was later used as the headquarters by some Kazakh
khans.
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries. They were among the largest cities of the medieval world, with a population estimated by the 2005 Britannica at 600,000.
Sarai is Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
for "palace". There is also a variation meaning home (Saraa), similar to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
in the Balkan peninsula.
Old Sarai
"Old Sarai", or "Sarai Batu", "Sarai Berke" or "Sarai-al-Maqrus" (al-Maqrus is Arabic for "the blessed") was established by MongolMongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
ruler Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
in the mid-1240s, on a site east of the Akhtuba river, near to the modern village of Selitrennoye.
This site was most probably located on the Akhtuba River
Akhtuba River
The Akhtuba River ; also transliterated Achtuba on some maps)is a left distributary of the Volga River.The Akhtuba splits off the Volga above the city Volgograd , and flows towardthe Volga Delta and Caspian Sea....
, a channel of the lower Volga River
Volga River
The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including the capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage...
, near the contemporary village of Selitrennoye in Kharabali District, Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan.-Demographics:Population: Ethnic groups...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, about 120 km north from Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
.
Sarai was the seat of Batu and his successor Berke
Berke
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...
. Under them Sarai was the capital of a great empire. The various Rus' princes came to Sarai to pledge allegiance to the Khan and receive his patent of authority (yarlyk).
New Sarai
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
, and about 180 km northwest of Old Sarai or, maybe on the site of Saqsin (which may have itself been built on the site of the Khazar capital, Atil). The bishops of Krutitsy
Krutitsy
Krutitsy Metochion , full name: Krutitsy Patriarchal Metochion is an operating ecclesiastical estate of Russian Orthodox Church, located in Tagansky District of Moscow, Russia, 3 kilometers south-east from the Kremlin. The name Krutitsy , i.e. steep river banks, originally meant the hills...
resided in Tsarev from 1261 to 1454. It had probably succeeded Sarai Batu as the capital of the Golden Horde by the mid 1300s.
Both cities were sacked several times. Timur
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
sacked New Sarai around 1395, and Meñli I Giray
Meñli I Giray
Meñli I Giray , also spelled as Mengli I Giray, was a khan of the Crimean Khanate and the sixth son of the khanate founder Haci I Giray....
of the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
sacked New Sarai around 1502. Sarai was finally destroyed after 1556 when Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...
conquered the Astrakhan Khanate
Astrakhan Khanate
The Khanate of Astrakhan was a Tatar feudal state that appeared after the collapse of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, where the contemporary city of Astrakhan/Hajji Tarkhan is now located...
.
In 1623-1624, a Russian merchant, Fedor Afanasyevich Kotov, travelled to Persia via the lower Volga. He described the site of Sarai: Here by the river Akhtuba stands the Golden Horde. The khan's court, palaces, and courts, and mosques are all made of stone. But now all these buildings are being dismantled and the stone is being taken to Astrakhan. Since Old Sarai lies at 120 km from Astrakhan and New Sarai at 300 km, it is difficult to decide to which of these two cities this description applies.
After the destruction of New Sarai, Russia established the fortress city of Tsaritsyn (now Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
) to control the area.
Little Sarai
Sarai Juk (Little Sarai) was a city on the Ural RiverUral River
The Ural or Jayıq/Zhayyq , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea. Its total length is 1,511 mi making it the third longest river in Europe after the Volga and the Danube...
. It is often conflated with the other Sarais in historical and modern accounts. This town was the main city of the Nogai Horde
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...
, one of the successors of the Golden Horde. Although sacked by the Ural Cossacks in 1580, it was later used as the headquarters by some Kazakh
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
khans.