Volga Bulgaria - the lost country

Volga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is a historic state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now the Russian Federation. Today, Republics of Tatarstan and Chuvashia are considered to be descendants of Volga Bulgaria in terms of territory and ethnicity.

Origin

The map of Volga Bulgaria

First-hand information on Volga Bulgaria is rather sparse. As no authentic Bulgar records have survived, most of our information comes from contemporary Arabic, Persian, Indian or Russian sources. Some information is provided by excavations.

It is thought that the territory of Volga Bulgaria was originally settled by the Finno-Ugric peoples. The Bulgars moved into the area in about 660 AD, commanded by Kotrag Khan, Kubrat's son. Some Bulgar tribes, however, continued westward and after many adventures settled along the Danube River, in what is now known as Bulgaria proper, where they merged with or were assimilated by the Slavs, adopting a South Slavic tongue and a Eastern Orthodox faith.

Most scholars agree that the Volga Bulgarians were subject to the great Khazarian Empire. Sometime in the late 9th century unification processes started, and the capital was established at Bolğar (also spelled Bulgar) city, 160 km south from modern Kazan. Most scholars doubt, however, that the state could assert independence from the Khazars until the latter were annihilated by Svyatoslav of Rus in 965.

The Big Minaret in Bolghar

In order to promote unity among warring tribes and to obtain a powerful ally in his struggle with the Khazars, Almas Khan of Volga Bulgaria wrote a letter to the Khalif asking him for learned men and priests who could read Qur'an and build mosques. On May 11, 922 the khan welcomed the Baghdad missionary Ahmad ibn Fadlan, and four days later a tribal assembly proclaimed Islam the official religion of the state.

Heyday

A large part of the region's population was Turkic and included Suars, Barsil, Bilars, Baranjars and part of Burtas (by ibn Rustah). Modern Chuvashes and Kazan Tatars descend from the Volga Bulgars, although linguistic evidence suggests that the Chuvashes represent an earlier Turkic ethnos, which may be connected to the Huns. Another part comprised Finnic and Magyaric (Asagel and Pascatir) tribes, from which Biserm�ns and Tatars probably descend.

The head of Volga Bulgaria was ilt�b�r (sometimes elteber). After the Islamization his title became sheikh. The known eltebers are: Almış (Almas), Mikail bine C�ğf�r (Mikaul ibn Jafar), M�'mim bine �xm�d (Mumin ibn Ahmad), M�'min bine �l-X�s�n (Mumin ibn al-Hasan), Talib bine �xm�d (Talib ibn Ahmad).

Commanding the Volga River in its middle course, the state controlled much of trade between Europe and Asia prior to the Crusades (which made other trade routes practicable). The capital, Bulgar, was a thriving city, rivalling in size and wealth the greatest centres of Islamic world. Trade partners of Bolghar included from Viking, Bjarmland, Yugra and Nenets at the north to Baghdad and Constantinople an the south, from Western Europe to China at the East. Other major cities included Bil�r, Suar (Suwar), Qaşan (Kashan) and C�k�taw (Juketaw). Modern cities Kazan and Yelabuga were founded as Volga Bulgaria's border fortresses.

The Black Chamber in Bolghar.

Some of the Volga Bulgarian cities still haven't been found, but they are mentioned in Russian sources. They are: Aşlı (Oshel), Tux�in (Tukhchin), İbrahim (Bryakhimov), Taw İle. Some of them were ruined after and during the Mongol invasion.

The Russian principalities to the west posed the only tangible military threat. In the 11th century, the country was devastated by several Russian raids. Then, at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, the rulers of Vladimir (notably Andrew the Pious and Vsevolod III), anxious to defend their eastern border, systematically pillaged Bulgarian cities. Under Slavic pressure from the west, the Bulgars had to move their capital from Bolghar to Bil�r.

Decline

In September 1223 near Samara an advance guard of Genghis Khan's army under command of Uran, son of Subedei Bagatur, entered Volga Bulgaria but was defeated by the Gabdula Chelbir khan. In 1236, the Mongols returned but it took them five years to subjugate the whole country which in that time was in internal war. Henceforth Volga Bulgaria became a part of the Ulus Jochi, later known as the Golden Horde. It was divided into several principalities; each of them became a vassal of the Golden Horde and received some autonomy. By the 1430s, the Khanate of Kazan was established as the most important of these principalities.