Volga Bulgaria. Disappeared state

Settlement of the territory that is currentlybelongs to the inhabitants of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Chuvash Republic, began about 100,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic era. At the end of the 9th century and at the beginning of the 10th century, the first feudal state emerged here - Volga Bulgaria. For quite a long time, it was the only developed state in the territory of the extreme East of Europe. Presumably, the Bulgars were the earliest Turkic group, which in the process of the Great Migration of Peoples was among the advanced to Europe.

Persian and Arabian geographers VolzhskayaBulgaria was considered the most northern Muslim country in the world. The date of the adoption of Islam in this country is considered to be the year 922. It was then that the Caliph of Baghdad sent a group of the future embassy to the city of Bolgar, which included the builders and preachers of Islam. Due to the fact that the mighty neighbor constantly pressured the state, the Khazar Kaganate, the king of Bulgaria, Almush, was forced to convert to Islam and become loyal to the Caliph Bogdad. Thus he was able to strengthen the protection of his country, becoming an ally of the Arab caliphate. But there were also such Bulgars who refused to accept Islam. This group, led by Prince Vyrag, separated. This gave impetus to the emergence of the Chuvash nation. In the future, the people adopted Christianity and became the only Orthodox Turkic people.

During the period of its development, Volga Bulgariaaccomplished a lot. According to a written source of that period, this state was called the country of thousands of cities. The largest cities were considered Bilyar and Bolgar, which by their area and population exceeded such cities of the time as London, Kiev, Paris, Novgorod. For example, Bolgar was three times more than Paris. In its central part stood the royal palace and the Cathedral Mosque. Already at that time in the city were built baths with tap water. The houses had heating and a sewer system. In addition to the above, the state was also called the land of reason. And these are not empty words. Here such sciences as medicine, history, astronomy, and mathematics have achieved great development.

The highest peak of the Volga Bulgaria reached inthe reign of Emir Gabdulla Chelbir. During this period, the Bulgars were quite strong in the art of war. This confirms the fact that the Volga Bulgars are the only people who were able to defeat the troops of Genghis Khan in 1223. After that, the Mongols for 13 years unsuccessfully stormed the Bulgarian state. Only in 1229, having collected all their forces at the Yaik (Ural) River, the Mongols were able to break the Bulgars and the Polovtsy and began to rapidly move through the territory of the state, and in 1936 it was completely destroyed. Part of the Bulgars fled and found protection from the Grand Prince of Vladimir.

Already in 1240, the Bulgarian state entered intocomposition of the Golden Horde. For a long time there were mass uprisings of the Bulgars. According to Khudyakov, MG, the plunder of the capital, the city of Bolgar, and the relocation of the cultural and political center to Kazan put an end to the hopes of returning the former state. Kazan Khanate is now firmly established in these lands. The remaining indigenous people had to adapt to the new authorities. Gradually, the creation of mixed families of Bulgars-Tatars, however, all newborn children were considered Tatars. There was, so to say, the “eradication” of such a nationality as the Bulgars, and the appearance of a new one — the Volga Tatars.

As for the Bulgarian language, it’s justhas died. Many scientists tried to find in the modern Tatar language at least a few words close to the Bulgar origin. However, it is necessary to take into account another nationality - the Chuvash. If you remember, this is exactly the part of the Turkic group that did not accept Islam and separated. It is they who speak the archaic Turkic language, which is not similar to any other language. And when comparing the ancient chronicles of the Volga Bulgars and the Chuvash language, one can find many identical words. In a word, the Chuvash language is as close as possible to the Bulgarian.