Even in the first year of the history department, the author came up with the idea to fill the gap in world history by writing the history of peoples who lived between cultural regions: Western Europe, the Levant (Middle East) and China ( Far East). The task turned out to be extremely difficult; it could not be solved without the help of geography, because the boundaries of the regions repeatedly moved over the historical period, the ethnic content of the Great Steppe and neighboring countries often changed both as a result of the processes of ethnogenesis, and because of the constant migrations of ethnic groups and the displacement of some worldviews by others. The physical and geographical situation did not remain stable either. In the place of forests, steppes and deserts arose both due to climatic fluctuations and because of the predatory impact of man on the natural environment. As a result, people had to change systems economic activity which, in turn, influenced the nature of social relationships and cultures. Yes, and cultural ties brought diversity to the worldview of the population of the Eurasian continent, in each era - specific.

All these components of the historical process are so closely interconnected that it is impossible to omit any of them, but if we add chronological, genealogical, sociological, etc. clarifications to them, it turns out that the book turns out to be a collection of various information and, informing the reader “what and who?” will not contain an answer to the questions: “how?”, “why?” and "what's what?", for the sake of which its mark was undertaken. Obviously, to solve the problem, it is necessary to apply suitable research methods.

To describe the events taking place in Eastern Eurasia, a three-level presentation technique was applied. The smallest details necessary to clarify the course of events were described in the article by traditional methods. historical research. These articles - historical, geographical and archaeological - had to be written more than a hundred.

The second level - generalization - gave life to special monographs (Hunnu. M., 1960; Huns in China. M., 1974; Ancient Turks. M., 1967; Searches for a fictitious kingdom. M., 1970; Discovery of Khazaria. M., 1966 ). All of them were also performed using traditional methods, with one exception - they were written not in academic language, but in a “funny Russian style”, which increased the comprehensibility of the text and expanded the circle of readers.

However the main objective was not achieved, because the question was left unanswered: where are the "beginnings and ends", that is, the boundaries, of historical and geographical phenomena? Therefore, it was necessary to specially analyze the theory of the origin and disappearance of ethnic groups against the backdrop of a changing natural environment. Only after this did it become possible to move from describing history to understanding it as a series of regular processes of the biosphere and the sociosphere. But since the biosphere, like the entire surface of the Earth, is mosaic, collisions of ethnogenesis with each other are inevitable. Then there was a need for another book, namely this very one, now offered to the reader. But is the task worth the amount of work required to solve it? It's worth it, and here's why.

In the history of mankind, not all epochs are illuminated equally. Where the processes of sociogenesis, ethnogenesis and noogenesis (development of culture) proceeded without disturbance from hostile neighbors, it was easy for historians. During clashes between ethnic groups or states, the tragic consequences were simply recorded and one of the parties was declared guilty of the disasters of the other. But where the entire outline of history took place in the zone of antagonistic contact, it is very difficult to catch a pattern; therefore, these sections of history have either remained unwritten or written extremely cursorily and superficially. It's a pity, because it was these eras that were important not only for their participants, but also for world history.

These include the period of IX-XII centuries. in South Eastern Europe. Here there were contacts between the Slavs and the Rus, nomads with settled people, Christians with pagans, Khazars with Jews. Everything was mixed up and confused until Vladimir Monomakh brought clarity with an armed hand, after which it finally became clear where they were and where they were strangers.

And here the philistine question constantly arises: why study processes that we cannot control? Is there any practical sense in this, justifying labor costs and material losses? Let's answer with examples! People do not know how to control earthquakes or the paths of cyclones, but seismography and meteorology help to escape from natural disasters and, conversely, to use favorable conditions with the greatest effect. After all, it is not all the same in a tsunami, which we cannot prevent, to go to a nearby mountain or let the ocean wave wash itself to the bottom. For the sake of one's own salvation, it is necessary to study volcanic activity, as spontaneous as ethnogenesis.

Formulation of the problem

The principle of ethnogenesis is the extinction of the impulse due to entropy, or, which is the same, the loss of the drive of the system due to resistance environment, ethnic and natural, - does not exhaust the variety of historical and geographical collisions. Of course, if ethnic groups, and even more so their complicated structures - superethnoi, live in their ecological niches - enclosing landscapes, then the ethnogenesis curve reflects their development quite fully. But if they happen major migrations associated with social, economic, political and ideological phenomena, and even with a different passionary tension of ethnic groups participating in events, then a special problem arises - a break or displacement of direct (orthogenic) directions of ethnogenesis, which is always fraught with surprises, usually unpleasant, and sometimes tragic.

If in such collisions the ethnos does not disappear, then the process is restored, but the exogenous impact always leaves scars on the body of the ethnos and the memory of losses, often irreparable. Superethnic contacts give rise to violations of regularity. They should always be taken into account as zigzags, the very presence of which is necessary. integral part ethnogenesis, because no one lives alone, and relations between neighbors are varied.

With the interaction of two systems, the problem is easily solved by the opposition “we are our enemies”, but with three or more, it is difficult to get a solution. Namely, three ethnocultural traditions collided in Eastern Europe in the 9th–11th centuries, and only in the 12th century. the zigzag of history was overcome, after which a cultural flourishing began with a passionary decline, that is, the inertial phase of ethnogenesis. This is a unique variant of ethnic history, and that is why it is of interest in a number of aspects, which will be discussed below.

The evolutionary theory of Darwin and Lamarck was proposed to explain speciation, and ethnogenesis is an intraspecific and specific process. For this reason, the application of the principles of evolution to ethnic phenomena is unlawful.

Ethnic processes are discrete (discontinuous), and exceptions to this rule - persistent (solid, stable) - do not prolong their life, but stop it, as Faust stopped the moment; but then Mephistopheles grabbed him! This means that such a solution to the problem of immortality is contraindicated for a dynamic ethnos.

For a relic persistent ethnos, in addition to complete isolation, three ways are possible: 1) wait until the neighbors exterminate (elimination); 2) join the living superethnos during the change of phases and become stronger in it (incorporation); 3) crumble differently (dispersion). All three variants can be traced in just one century - XII. This century is, as it were, an intermission between the breaking of the world of Islam, the resuscitation of Byzantium and the childish rampage of "Christian" Europe, pompously called " crusades". Here it is easy to trace the variations in the ratio of Russia and the Steppe. The most remarkable historians of the 18th-19th centuries were engaged in this, as a result of which one should familiarize themselves with their ideas, but, of course, from the point of view of ethnology, because this new science She has already shown what she can do. And the main thesis of ethnology is dialectical: a new ethnos, young and creative, arises suddenly, breaking the dilapidated culture and soulless, that is, having lost the ability to create, the life of old ethnoi, whether they are relics or simply obscurants; in a thunderstorm and a storm, he asserts his right to a place under the sun, in blood and torment he finds his ideal of beauty and wisdom, and then, aging, he collects the remains of antiquities, which he once destroyed. This is called rebirth, although it is more correct to say "degeneration". And if a new impetus does not shake up the decrepit ethnic groups, then they are in danger of becoming relics. But the shocks are repeated, albeit randomly, and humanity exists in its diversity. This will be our conversation with the reader.

“History is the treasury of our deeds, a witness of the past, an example and lesson for the present, a warning for the future. ”- said the great Spanish writer and Renaissance humanist Miguel de Cervantes. And this statement fully reflects creative heritage Soviet and Russian scientist Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov (1912-1992), whose 100th anniversary we celebrated on October 1, 2012.

Gumilyov's works on history Ancient Russia, the Khazar Khaganate, the relations of the Russian state with Byzantium, the Polovtsian steppe and many others are included today in the golden fund of world scientific thought. In this article, I will focus on only one problem that the scientist raised - namely, the relationship of Russia with the steppe nomadic peoples.

Lev Nikolaevich Gumilyov. Russia and the Great Steppe

Coming into contact with the theoretical heritage of L.N. Gumilyov, one involuntarily gets the feeling that the history that we are being taught today is far from the truth. This is especially evident in the study of the emergence and formation of ancient Russian civilization. The events described in “The Tale of Bygone Years”, “The Tale of Igor's Campaign”, “Zadonshchina”, “History of the Russian State” by N.M. Karamzin, studies by S.M. Solovyova, N.I. Kostomarova, V.O. Klyuchevsky, many Soviet historians appear in a completely different light when reading the works of L.N. Gumilyov. The same can be said about the historians' assessment of the ancient Russian princes.

As for the relations of the Old Russian state with its neighbors, and above all, with the Khazar Khaganate and nomadic tribes, here too Gumilyov, with his characteristic scientific insight, criticizes the interpretations of events that have been established since the time of The Tale of Bygone Years. The same applies to the story of the Golden Horde yoke. Regarding the relationship of the Russian state with the Mongol-Tatars, researcher V. Demin in his book “Lev Gumilyov”, with reference to the works of the scientist himself, in particular, writes the following: “ As a result of the Tatar-Mongol invasion and the so-called 300-year-old “yoke” that followed, in fact, the formation of a symbiosis of two peoples - Tatar and Russian, was laid, which ultimately led to the formation of the Russian superethnos ". Thus, L.N. Gumilyov is already an innovator from this point of view, and his ideas provide not only food for thought, but are also the most important impetus for a true understanding of the significance of the Golden Horde yoke in the history of our country.

Gumilyov in his writings sought to show the complexity of the relationship that inhabited Eurasia of nomadic and sedentary peoples, the mutual influence of their cultures and traditions. And he quite succeeded, although for a long time official science did not recognize the obvious merits of Gumilyov's theory. And only with the beginning of the process of democratization, the works of Gumilyov began to be published. And today we have the opportunity to get acquainted with the theoretical heritage of the scientist, whose works occupy a worthy place in modern science.

Already in the first, in fact, scientific work, Gumilyov began to refute the established canons, in relation to the history of the Turkic and other peoples of Eurasia. In his view, a completely different story loomed, especially about the relationship between the steppe, nomadic and sedentary peoples.

The problem raised by Gumilyov in his Ph.D. thesis was continued by him in subsequent works, about which we knew nothing for a long time. And only in recent times Thanks to the democratization of our society, we got the opportunity to come into contact with the theories and concepts that were under the ban. One of them is the concept of Eurasianism, the ideas of which are reflected in Gumilev's numerous works. It should be noted that Gumilyov not only reflected the ideas of Eurasianism, but also largely contributed to the enrichment of its conceptual content. And here, first of all, it is necessary to introduce such works of the scientist as “Ancient Russia and the Great Steppe”, “From Russia to Russia. Essays on Ethnic History”, “Khazaria and the Caspian”, as well as works on the history of the Turkic Khaganate and the Golden Horde.

In all these works, Gumilyov defended the idea that the history of the ancient peoples of the steppe has not been fully studied, but in the available sources, their historical path is reflected in a distorted form. Therefore, he said, it is necessary to study history not only from the socio-economic and political positions, but, above all, from the point of view of ethnogenesis. What did Gumilyov understand by this term? The scientist himself answered this question in fundamental work"Ethnogenesis and biosphere of the Earth". In his opinion, " Ethnogenesis is a natural process, therefore, independent of the situation, formed as a result of the formation of culture. It can start at any moment; and if on his way there is an obstacle from the acting - cultural integrity, he will break it or break it against it. If it begins when "the earth lies fallow", the emerging ethnos creates its own culture - as a way of its existence and development. In both cases, the impulse is a blind force of natural energy, not controlled by anyone's consciousness ”. In his subsequent works, Gumilyov preached the concept that the historical process is determined by the natural course of development of the peoples inhabiting our planet. And here Gumilyov comes to the fore time , space , ethnos , and most importantly - passionarity .

Speaking about space, Gumilyov wrote: “ space is the first parameter that characterizes historical events ” . As for time, Gumilyov believed that time is the second parameter in which the formation, development and decline of ethnic groups takes place. And from what these processes occur, Gumilyov explained as follows: “ ... we can also hypothetically connect the beginning of ethnogenesis with the mechanism of mutation, as a result of which an ethnic "push" occurs, leading then to the formation of new ethnic groups. The process of ethnogenesis is associated with a well-defined genetic trait. Here we introduce a new parameter of ethnic history - passionarity". So we have come to the main constituent principle of the historical process according to Gumilyov's theory - passionarity.All of Gumilyov's scientific activity was connected precisely with this concept. Through the prism of passionarity, he considered not only the history of ethnic groups, but also of states.

“Passionarity is a sign that arises as a result of a mutation (passionary impulse) and forms within a population a certain number of people with an increased craving for action. We will call such people passionaries”- this is how Gumilyov himself wrote, explaining the term he himself invented, introduced into scientific circulation, which today has become one of the fundamental in solving the problems of ethnogenesis.

But not only the problems of ethnogenesis and Eurasianism were of interest to Gumilyov. In his scientific activity Gumilyov did everything possible to get rid of the preconceived wrong opinion about the nomadic peoples, their connection with Russia. Gumilyov made a great contribution to rethinking the role and place of the Golden Horde in the history of medieval Eurasia. The idea, rooted in historiography, that the Golden Horde yoke threw back Russia many centuries ago, according to Gumilev, does not correspond to the truth. “ The alliance with the Tatars, wrote Gumilyov, turned out to be a boon for Russia, in terms of establishing order within the country”. Moreover, Gumilyov believed that only thanks to the Tatar army, Russia was able to maintain its independence and the opportunity to develop further, without falling under the yoke of the Western crusaders. In support of this opinion, we will quote one more quote from the same work of the scientist: “Twhere the Tatar troops entered the business, - said Gumilyov, - the crusading onslaught quickly stopped. Thus, for the tax that Alexander Nevsky undertook to pay to Sarai, the capital of the new state on the Volga, Russia received a reliable and strong army that defended not only Novgorod and Pskov. After all, in the same way, thanks to the Tatars in the 70s of the XIII century. retained the independence of Smolensk, which was under the threat of capture by the Lithuanians .... ”.

Gumilyov also did not trivially assess the relations between Russia and the Golden Horde. Here is what they wrote about this relationship: Moreover, the Russian principalities that accepted an alliance with the Horde completely retained their ideological independence and political independence. For example, after the victory in the Horde of the Muslim party in the person of Berke, no one demanded that the Russians convert to Islam. This alone shows that Russia was not a province of the Mongol ulus, but a country allied to the Great Khan, paying some tax on the maintenance of the army, which she herself needed ”.

Summing up the results of the study of Gumilyov's scientific activity, I would like to say the following: Lev Nikolayevich was and remains an outstanding theorist, whose views, hypotheses and concepts have played and continue to play a key role in the study of the history of the Great Steppe, the Turkic Khaganate, Volga Bulgaria, the Golden Horde and the Russian state.

Today it is no longer possible to imagine history without the works of Gumilyov, they have long been included in the golden fund of scientific thought not only in Russia, but throughout the world. Gumilyov's works are now published in many languages ​​of the world and are included in the holdings of leading libraries and collections. At the same time, there are not so few controversial points in the presentation of the history of the scientist, and discussions around the theory of passionarity are still ongoing. This is another confirmation that Gumilyov's ideas are in demand by historical science.

Ancient Russia and the Great Steppe Gumilev Lev Nikolaevich

106. Friends and Enemies of the Great Steppe

The superethnos, conventionally called by us "Hunnish", included not only the Huns, Xianbeis, Tabgaches, Turkuts and Uighurs, but also many neighboring ethnic groups of a different origin and diverse cultures. The mosaic nature of the ethnic composition by no means prevented the existence of integrity, which opposed itself to other superethnoi: ancient China(IX century BC - V century AD) and early medieval China - the Tang Empire (618–907), Iran with Turan (250 BC - 651 AD). e.), the caliphate, i.e., the Arab-Persian superethnos, Byzantium (Greek-Armenian-Slavic integrity) and Romano-Germanic Western Europe; Tibet stood apart, which, in combination with Tangut and Nepal, should also be regarded as an independent superethnos, and not a periphery of China or India. All these superethnic entities interacted with the Great Steppe, but in different ways, which greatly influenced the nature of culture and variations in the ethnogenesis of both the steppe and neighboring superethnoi. What was the difference between these contacts? Solving the problem by traditional methods is simple, but useless. You can list all the wars and peace treaties, as well as tribal strife, which, by the way, has already been done, but this will be a description of ripples on the surface of the ocean. After all, states are at war, that is, social entities, and not ethnic groups, entities of natural origin, as a result of which they are more conservative. Wars often go on within the ethnic system, and a “bad peace” is maintained with strangers, which is not always better than a “good quarrel”. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a different path. Complimentarity is the mechanism on the basis of which the destinies of interacting ethnic systems, and sometimes even individuals, do not just pass, but are realized. Let's clarify this concept.

Positive complementarity is unaccountable sympathy, without attempts to restructure the structure of the partner; It's about accepting him for who he is. In this variant, symbioses and incorporations are possible. Negative - this is an unaccountable antipathy, with attempts to rebuild the structure of the object or destroy it; it is intolerance. With this option, chimeras are possible, and in extreme collisions - genocide. Neutral is tolerance caused by indifference: well, let it be, there would be only benefit, or at least there would be no harm. This means a consumer attitude towards a neighbor or ignoring him. This option is typical for low levels of passionary tension. Complementarity is a natural phenomenon that does not arise on the orders of a khan or a sultan and not for the sake of merchant profits. Both can, of course, correct the behavior of contacting persons guided by considerations of profit, but cannot change a sincere feeling, which, although at the personal level and is as diverse as individual tastes, but at the population level acquires a strictly defined meaning, because frequent deviations from norms are mutually compensated. Therefore, the establishment of mutual likes and dislikes between superethnoi is legitimate. It is easiest to get lost in the little things and lose the thread of Ariadne - the only thing that can lead you out of the labyrinth of conflicting information, variations and coincidences. This thread is a selection of political collisions and zigzags of worldviews at the personal level, because the sources were the authors, that is, people, and superethnoi - systems three orders of magnitude higher.

The ancient Chinese treated the Huns with undisguised hostility. This was especially clearly manifested in the 4th century, when the Huns, pressed by drought, settled in Ordos and Shanxi, on dried-up fields abandoned by farmers. The Chinese so mocked the steppe dwellers that they brought them to an uprising. The Chinese treated the Tibetans and Xianbeis in the same way; they did not spare the mestizos either, but since there were many of them, they survived near the ruins of the Great Wall, on the border of the steppe and Chinese superethnoi.

Passionary push of the VI century. exacerbated this hostility, turning it into enmity. The renewed Chinese of the Bei-Qi and Sui dynasties exterminated the last descendants of the steppes, and they raised the Tang dynasty to the shield and retained the old tribal name - Tabgachi, although they began to speak Chinese.

The Tang Empire is similar to the kingdom of Alexander the Great, but not in the phase of ethnogenesis, but in idea. Just as Alexander wanted to unite the Hellenic and Persian cultures and create a single ethnic group from them, so Taizong Li Shimin tried to combine the "Celestial Empire", that is, China, the Great Steppe and Sogdiana, relying on the charm of humane power and enlightened Buddhism. It would seem that this grandiose experiment should have succeeded, since the Uighurs, Turks and Sogdians, who were pressed by the Arabs, were ready to sincerely support the empire. But Chinese loyalty was hypocritical, as a result of which the Tang dynasty fell in 907, and the Tabgach ethnic group was exterminated in less than one century (X century).

But the traditions survived the people. The baton of the "third force", equally alien to both China and the Steppe, was picked up in the east by the Khitans, and in the west, more precisely, in the Ordos, by the Tanguts. Both of them repeatedly smashed China and fought fiercely in the north: the Khitan - with the Zubu (Tatars), the Tanguts - with the Uighurs, "so that the blood flowed like a murmuring stream."

However, when the passionary push of the XII century. elevated the Mongols over Asia, the conquered Tanguts, Khitans and Jurchens survived and became subjects of the Mongol khans, and the Uighurs and Tibetans received privileges and became rich. When the Chinese of the Ming dynasty won, the Tanguts were gone, and the Western Mongols - the Oirats - barely fought back in the 15th-16th centuries.

But you can not consider the Chinese villains! They considered their historical mission to be civilizing, accepting into their superethnos those who were willing to become Chinese. But in the case of stubborn resistance, complementarity became negative. The Turks and Mongols had to choose between losing their lives and losing their souls.

The Iranian group of ethnic groups - Persians, Parthians, Chionites, Alans, Ephthalites - constantly fought with the Huns and Turks, which, of course, did not dispose them to each other. The exception was the enemies of the Sarmatians - the Scythians, from whom, as the discoveries of P.K. Kozlov and S.I. Rudenko showed, the Huns borrowed the famous animal style - the image of predatory animals hunting for herbivores. But, alas, the details of the story are so ancient period unknown.

In the VI century. the Khazars became allies and true friends of the Turkuts, but the fall of the Western Turkut Khaganate and the coup in Khazaria did not allow the Khazars to realize the favorable opportunity and develop a victory over the Persians and Chionites, thanks to which both of them managed to recover.

Nevertheless, the influence of Persian culture on the Great Steppe took place. Zoroastrianism is not a proselytizing religion, it is only for noble Persians and Parthians. But Manichaeism, persecuted in Iran, the Roman and Chinese empires and in the early Christian communities, found shelter among the nomadic Uighurs and left traces in the Altai and Transbaikalia. The supreme deity retained its name - Hormusta (by no means Aguramazda), which, in combination with other details, indicates the congeniality of the ancient Iranians and the ancient Turks. The victory of the Muslim Arabs changed the color of time, but until the 11th century. Iranian ethnic groups - Daylemites, Saks and Sogdians - defended their culture and traditions in the fight against the Turks. They died heroically, without tarnishing their ancient glory: the Arabs and the Turks retained deep respect for the Persians, so there is no reason or reason to consider the Turkic-Persian complimentary as negative.

The relations of the Turks with the Arabs in the Middle East were somewhat different. Muslims demanded a change of faith: in those days, this meant that Kok-Tengri (Blue Sky) had to be called Allah (the Only One). The Turks willingly accepted such a replacement, after which they occupied important positions if they were ghulam slaves, or received pastures for sheep if they remained free pastoralists. In the latter case, a symbiosis arose, with mutual tolerance and even respect, although the cultured Persians found the Turks "rude".

Acute collisions arose only in extreme cases, for example, during the suppression of uprisings of the Zinjs or Karmats, during wars with the Daylemites and during palace coups. But even here, many Arabs and even Persians preferred the Turks to sectarians and robbers. And when the Seljuk Turkmens drove the Greeks beyond the Bosporus, and the Mamluk Cumans threw the crusaders into the Mediterranean, mutual understanding was restored, and the renewed superethnos found the strength to assert itself.

Byzantium interacted with the nomads in two ways: in their homeland, the Greeks used the help of the Turks in the 7th century, the Pechenegs - in the 10th century, the Polovtsy - in the 11th-13th centuries, in a foreign land, where the Nestorians who emigrated from Byzantium converted many Mongolian and Turkic tribes to Christianity , part of the settled Uighurs and part of the Khorezmians, and Orthodox missionaries baptized Bulgaria, Serbia and Russia, there was no longer a restrained symbiosis, but incorporation: the baptized Turks were accepted as their own. The last Cumans, betrayed by the Hungarians, found refuge from the Mongols in the Empire of Nicaea.

Apparently, a similar positive complementarity should have taken place in Ancient Russia. And so it was, as we shall soon see.

Unlike Eastern Christians, Western Christians - Catholics - treated the Eurasian steppes in a completely different way. In this they resemble the Chinese rather than the Persians, Greeks and Slavs. At the same time, it is important that political conflicts between both superethnoi were episodic and much less significant than the wars of the Guelphs with the Ghibellines. There was simply a belief that the Huns and Mongols are dirty savages, and if the Greeks are friends with them, then the Eastern Christians are "such heretics that God himself is sick." But the European knights constantly fought with the Spanish Arabs and Berbers in Sicily, but treated them with full respect, although the Africans deserved it no more than the Asians. It turns out that the heart is stronger than the mind.

And finally Tibet. In this mountain country there were two attitudes: the ancient Aryan cult of Mithra - bon - and various forms of Buddhism - Kashmiri (Tantrism), Chinese (chan-Buddhism of contemplation) and Indian: Hinayana and Mahayana. All religions were proselytizing and spread in the oases of the Tarim Basin and in Transbaikalia. In Yarkend and Khotan, the Mahayana, quickly supplanted by Islam, was established, in Kucha, Karashahr and Turfan, the Hinayana, peacefully coexisting with Nestorianism, and in Transbaikalia, Bon, the religion of the ancestors and descendants of Genghis, gained sympathy. Bon got on well with Christianity, but the Mongols and Tibetans did not accept Chinese teachings, even Chan Buddhism. This cannot be accidental, so the complementarity of the steppes with Tibet was positive.

As you can see, the manifestation of complementarity does not depend on state expediency, economic conjuncture, or the nature of the ideological system, because complex dogma is inaccessible to the understanding of most neophytes. And yet, the phenomenon of complementarity exists and plays in ethnic history, if not a decisive, then a very significant role. How to explain it? The hypothesis of biofields with different rhythms, that is, frequencies of oscillation, suggests itself. Some coincide and create a symphony, others - a cacophony: this is clearly a natural phenomenon, and not the work of human hands.

Of course, one can ignore ethnic likes or dislikes, but is it advisable? After all, here lies the key to the theory of ethnic contacts and conflicts, and not only in the III-XII centuries.

The Turko-Mongols were friends with the Orthodox world: Byzantium and its satellites - the Slavs. They quarreled with the Chinese nationalists and helped the Tang Empire, or, which is the same, the Tabgach ethnic group, to the best of their ability, except for those cases when Chinese literati took over at the imperial court in Chang'an.

The Turks got along with the Muslims, although this led to the formation of chimeric sultanates, more among the Iranians than among the Arabs. On the other hand, the Turks stopped the aggression of Catholic Romano-Germanic Europe, for which they still suffer criticism.

On these invisible threads, the international situation around the shores of the Caspian Sea was built before the Mongols' attack. But even after Mongolian campaigns the constellation has changed only in details, by no means fundamental, which can be verified by any reader familiar with elementary universal history.

This text is an introductory piece. From the book Ancient Russia and the Great Steppe author Gumilyov Lev Nikolaevich

106. Friends and Enemies of the Great Steppe The superethnos, conventionally called by us "Hunnish", included not only the Huns, Syanbeis, Tabgaches, Turkuts and Uigurs, but also many neighboring ethnic groups of a different origin and diverse cultures. The mosaic nature of the ethnic composition is by no means

From the book Ancient Russia and the Great Steppe author Gumilyov Lev Nikolaevich

129. Friends and Enemies When Toghrul, Khan of the Keraites, learned that the Mongols had elected Temujin, the son of his anda and, in this sense, his nephew, as Khan, he showed complete pleasure. To the envoys who notified him of the election of Temujin, he said: “It is fair that they put him in the khanate

From the book Aryan Russia [Heritage of ancestors. Forgotten gods of the Slavs] author Belov Alexander Ivanovich

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From the book In Search of a Fictional Kingdom [L / F] author Gumilyov Lev Nikolaevich

Map 1. Tribes of the Great Steppe from the 8th to the 10th centuries. General remark. In the 8th century dominance over the Great Steppe passed from the Turks to the Uighurs (747) and then to the Kyrgyz (847), but the boundaries of the kaganates are omitted on the map (see L. N. Gumilev, Ancient Turks. M., 1967). Attention paid to location

From the book Millennium around the Caspian [L/F] author Gumilyov Lev Nikolaevich

84. Friends and Enemies of the Great Steppe The superethnos, conventionally called by us "Hunnish", included not only the Huns, Syanbeis, Tabgaches, Turkuts and Uighurs, but also many neighboring ethnic groups of a different origin and diverse cultures. The mosaic nature of the ethnic composition is by no means

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THE WORLD OF THE GREAT STEPPE

From book The World History: in 6 volumes. Volume 2: Medieval Civilizations of the West and East author Team of authors

NOMADERS OF THE GREAT STEPPE AND THE GREAT MIGRATION OF PEOPLES The so-called era of the Great Migration of Peoples became a conditional boundary between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In relation to Europe, it is customary to talk about it in connection with the invasions of the Roman Empire by barbarian tribes.

From the book Secrets of Great Scythia. Historical Pathfinder's Notes author Kolomiytsev Igor Pavlovich

Mirages of the Great Steppe For the time being, we will mentally move from the west of the Great Steppe to its center. More precisely - to the Urals. It was here, on the eastern slopes of these mountains in 1985 archaeological expedition under the guidance of the Chelyabinsk historian Gennady Zdanovich discovered

From the book World History: in 6 volumes. Volume 3: The World in Early Modern Times author Team of authors

CHINESE GREATNESS, ITS CRITICISM AND THE FATE OF THE GREAT STEPPE Under Emperor Kangxi, whose reign can be compared with his older contemporary Louis XIV, China began to recover from the horrors of the civil war and the Manchu conquest.

From the book In Search of a Fictional Kingdom [Yofikation] author Gumilyov Lev Nikolaevich

Map 1. Tribes of the Great Steppe from the 8th to the 10th centuries. General remark. In the 8th century dominance over the Great Steppe passed from the Turks to the Uighurs (747) and then to the Kyrgyz (847), but the boundaries of the kaganates are omitted on the map (see L.N. Gumilyov, Ancient Turks. M., 1967). Attention paid to location

From the book Empire of the Turks. great civilization author Rakhmanaliev Rustan

Religions of the Great Steppe Let us trace the process of penetration of religions into the Great Steppe in the time period from the III century. and, looking ahead, to the 11th century. At all times, every single person, being lonely, felt defenseless. Belonging to a family or

author

Chapter I Early Nomads of the Great Steppe Ancient history The Great Steppe is, first of all, the history of the horse-breeding tribes that mastered the steppes in the III-II millennium BC. e. The ethnic composition of the population of the steppes has changed over the course of many thousands of years of history, and below we will trace the dynamics

From the book States and peoples of the Eurasian steppes: from antiquity to modern times author Klyashtorny Sergey Grigorievich

The ethnolinguistic situation in the Great Steppe at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD e. During the I millennium BC. e. - the first half of the 1st millennium AD e. the settled population and nomadic tribes in the strip of steppes and mountains between the Lower Volga region and Altai were predominantly speakers of Indo-European languages.

From the book Studies and Articles author Nikitin Andrey Leonidovich

"Swans" of the Great Steppe All textbooks of Russian history mention the Polovtsy as something self-evident and well-known. They can be found on the pages historical novels and on the stage of opera houses. And it always turns out that the Polovtsians are the fiends of hell, the worst enemies

From the book History of the Turks by Aji Murad

Kipchaks. The Steppe is our Homelandand the Altai is our cradleIntroductionMany people, in fact billions of them around the Earth, speak Turkic languages ​​today, and have done so since the beginnings of history, from snow-swept Yakutia in Northeast Asia to temperate Central Europe, from chilly Siberia to torrid India, and even in a

From the book Wormwood my way [compilation] by Aji Murad

The World of the Great Steppe The earliest runic inscriptions found in Europe and classified as Gothic: a spearhead from an ovel (Volhynia, 4th century) and a gold ring from Pietroassa dated to 375. An attempt to read them in ancient Turkic shows a very specific one: “Win,

History and SID

Russia and the Steppe: a system of mutual influences and ambiguity of interpretations Directions of Byzantine influence: Byzantium helped Russia become an Orthodox state. The adoption of Christianity in Russia dramatically increased the influence of Byzantine culture. The baptism of Russia according to the Orthodox rite introduced Kyiv prince into the circle of European monarchs and made it possible to use the method of fixing dip, typical of the Middle Ages. The baptism of Russia also gave us the Slavic alphabet and introduced us to the European cultural tradition.

Russia and Byzantium. Russia and the Steppe:system of mutual influences and ambiguity of interpretations

Directions of Byzantine influence:

1. Byzantium helped Russia become an Orthodox state. Constantinople sent its priests to Russia, appointed a metropolitan for the Russian church, and sent icons there. The adoption of Christianity in Russia dramatically increased the influence of Byzantine culture. The baptism of Russia according to the Orthodox rite introduced the prince of Kyiv into the circle of European monarchs and made it possible to use the method of securing a dip, typical of the Middle Ages. alliances through dynastic marriages. The baptism of Russia also gave us the Slavic alphabet and introduced us to the European cultural tradition.
2. Russian state ceremonial, rituals were borrowed (for example, a wedding to the kingdom, etc.)
3. The world of Byzantium, the world of Christianity brought new building, artistic experience and traditions to Russia.The Russians built temples according to the Greek model. Our ancestors received Orthodox icons from Byzantium. Thanks to Byzantine influence, Russia greatly elevated itself culturally and religiously. Byzantine art played an important role in this regard.
4. Economically, Byzantium was the leading power in Europe, therefore, to achieve profitable trading privileges for its merchants was desirable for any state of that time, and for Russia too, and all campaigns of Russia against Byzantium ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty, essentially a commercial one, regulating foreign trade between the two countries. The fact of concluding a trade agreement between the two countries was in fact an act of recognition by Byzantium of the independent statehood of Russia.

Russia and the Steppe:

The formation of Kievan Rus as a state, the formation of the ancient Russian people took place in conditions of constant confrontation and interaction with nomads of Eastern Europe late 9th - early 13th centuries: Pechenegs, Guzes, Polovtsians.

The nomadic periphery played an important role in the historical processes of that time. And the point is not only that their struggle as a whole strengthened social and political ties in Old Russian state, despite the frequent use of nomadic mercenaries in princely strife (the constant struggle with the steppe supported the courage and enterprise of the Russian princes and their squads a lot. She especially imposed a harsh, warlike imprint on the inhabitants of the southern and south-eastern outskirts, where close proximity to the barbarians introduced a lot of rudeness into Russian customs). The inhabitants of Ancient Russia also contacted the nomads at the level of trade exchange; there were many joint settlements in the border regions. Under the influence of the Slavic farmers, nomadic tribes settled, which sometimes ended in assimilation. The family ties of the khans with our princes paved the way for the influence of Russian citizenship, which slowly but irresistibly led to a softening of barbarism. Becoming part of the ancient Russian people, the nomads brought not only an anthropological type, but some cultural traditions and customs. All these factors make necessary study nomadic peoples the southern Russian steppes not only as an external and hostile force.

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Another important direction foreign policy Kyiv princes had a "steppe policy" - the protection of the borders of Russia from nomads. The Pechenegs became a serious opponent. The first mention of them in the chronicles refers to the years of Igor's reign.

In 969, the Pechenegs besieged Kyiv. Svyatoslav, who fought in the Balkans, made a swift transition and defeated them. In the 90s of the X century. there is a new onslaught of the Pechenegs. It is known that in order to fight them, Vladimir I (980_1015) followed the army to Veliky Novgorod. It was then that the prince erected fortifications in the south of the country, along the rivers Desna, Ostr, Trubezh, Sula, Stugna. The German missionary Brun, who was with the Pechenegs in 1007, recalled that Vladimir accompanied him to the very borders of Kievan Rus, "which he protected from the Pechenegs with the largest palisade over a very large area." Under 1036, the chronicles place the last message about the Pechenegs' raid on Kyiv. Yaroslav (who was in Novgorod) came with a strong army, there was an "evil slash". According to legend, on the site where Yaroslav defeated the Pechenegs, St. Sophia Cathedral was built.

After the battle, the attacks of the Pechenegs on Russia cease. The remnants of the Pechenegs migrated to the southwest. To the south of Kyiv, nomadic Turks (Torks, Berendeys, Pechenegs) began to settle, recognizing themselves as subjects of the Kyiv prince. "Black hoods" (as they were called in Russia) became a kind of "watchmen" in the south.

But since 1037, Russia has been threatened by new Turkic nomadic tribal associations - the Polovtsy. In the fight against the Polovtsians, Kyiv no longer played a leading role. She goes to the Prince of Pereyaslavl South - Vladimir Monomakh. From 1061 to 1210, Russia endured 46 large raids of the Polovtsy. 34 times the Polovtsy participated in the internecine wars of the Russian princes. Every year 1/15 Russian lands were ruined. The most successful campaigns against the Polovtsy were those in which the united squads of Russian princes participated (1109-1110 - "Don campaign" - Prince Svyatopolk, Vladimir Monomakh, Davyd - "the Polovtsy were defeated in the depths of their steppes"). At the beginning of the XIII century. Polovtsian forces were exhausted. But new enemies will approach the borders of Russia.

Russia and Europe

During the time of Kievan Rus, trade, cultural, diplomatic ties were established with European countries - Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Germany, England, etc. Marriages were also concluded between representatives of the Kyiv princely house and European dynasties, which reflected the growth of political power and international authority of Russia. So, the daughter of Yaroslav the Wise Anna was married to the French king Henry I, Elizabeth - to the Norwegian king Harald, Anastasia - to the Hungarian king Andrew.

At the court of Yaroslav the Wise lived the sons of the English King Edmund. Yaroslav's grandson, Vladimir Monomakh, was married to the daughter of the last Anglo-Saxon king Harald, Gita.