The meaning of the clan system of the Golden Horde. State system of the Golden Horde

Social and state system of the Golden Horde.

The Golden Horde was a feudal state. Its economic basis was feudal relations, a characteristic feature of which was feudal ownership of land, pastures and livestock. It was the so-called class property, in which ordinary nomads gave their master a certain part of the resulting product. Smaller feudal lords depended on larger ones, which determined the nature of the structure of the Golden Horde based on the hierarchy of nomadic land ownership. All the land was the property of the Golden Horde Khan, but each landowner, within the lands granted to him, disposed of the nomads of the people dependent on him, and distributed the best pastures at his own discretion. Feudal relations were combined with numerous remnants of the tribal system.

First group of feudal lords“White bone” - the top of the Golden Horde society - included the nomadic aristocracy. At the top of the social ladder were khan And princes(children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc.) from the house of Jochi - the first khan of the Golden Horde. Over time, the Jochi clan grew greatly. With the adoption of Islam, which allowed polygamy, the number of princes increased and the struggle for power between them intensified.

Second group were beki(Turkic title) and nayons(Mongolian title), who were the largest feudal lords. Each major feudal lord received huge incomes from his possessions - 100-200 thousand dinars per year.

Third group feudal lords was presented tarkhans– people of average income who held low positions in the government apparatus.

Fourth the ruling class group consisted nukers. Οʜᴎ were part of the master’s inner circle and were dependent on him. The number of nukers depended on the wealth and nobility of their leader.

An important role in the Golden Horde state was played by the church with a complex system of church institutions. The state religion was Islam. Religious tolerance was allowed in the Golden Horde, but with the adoption of Islam the role of the Muslim clergy increased. Its representatives occupied important positions in the state apparatus, and church organizations had large material resources.

The feudal-dependent population was called “black bone” and consisted of nomadic pastoralists, farmers, and city dwellers. The nomadic herders were called karach, lived ailami, ran individual households, owned livestock and grazed them on pastures that belonged to the landowner, to whom they regularly paid tribute.

They were also obliged to perform military service, support officials and military units, and provide them with horses and wagons for transportation. When dividing the spoils of war, they received a small part of it.

The peasant population in the settled agricultural regions of Central Asia was called sobanchi And urtakchi. Sobanchi – These are communal peasants, dependent on the landowner. They cultivated the master's land with their own implements, bore duties in the form of work in the vineyards, and paid duties on the irrigation ditches. Urtakchi- impoverished members of the peasant community, deprived of land and equipment. They worked on the master's land for a share of the products.

In the XIII - XIV centuries. in the Golden Horde there is a revival of urban planning. The Golden Horde cities arose as administrative and political settlements, determined by the needs of the state. Moreover, most of them were destroyed as a result of the campaigns of Khan Timur. After this, the urban planning culture of the Golden Horde was completely destroyed and was never revived.

The urban settlements of the Golden Horde consisted mainly of artisans, small traders, merchants and were quite numerous. A number of scientists believe that there were associations of artisans in cities. Officials also lived there. At the very bottom of the social ladder were slaves. Their number was very large. The source of slavery was captivity. The slave trade flourished. Slaves, as a rule, were turned into dependent peasants, shepherds and artisans. Thus, the son of a slave was most often attached to the ground as a sobanchi or urtakchi.

Genghis Khan divided the entire state of the Golden Horde into four ulus or inheritance, each of which was headed by one of his sons. At the head of the Golden Horde was a khan from the clan of Genghis, who had strong despotic power. The military structure, to which the administrative division of the country was adapted, permeated it from top to bottom and contributed to the strengthening of the power of the khan. The Khan had complete power over the entire Golden Horde. The khans were surrounded by the top of the nomadic aristocracy, which directed and controlled the activities of the khan’s associates. Kurultai- a congress of the Mongol-Tatar nobility - was convened to resolve the most important issues (choosing a khan, planning campaigns, conducting hunts, etc.). The convening of the kurultai was usually timed to coincide with religious holidays. The Kurultai was an advisory body. He made decisions pleasing to the khan. Moreover, in most cases, the khan resolved issues independently in a narrow circle of court nobility. Women (khatuni) from the ruling elite were present at the kurultai and took an active part in its work.

The central apparatus of the Golden Horde consisted of the head of state (khan), the court nobility, the administrative apparatus of various departments and the judicial apparatus. Industry management was in charge sofas(office). An important official was visor- second head of government after the khan.

Among the senior officials were also four ulus emirs (rulers). The eldest of the emirs was called beklyaribek(commander-in-chief of the troops).

In the central management system, position was of great importance bakola, who was in charge of supplying the troops. The Bakouls obeyed temniki(commanders of 10 thousand detachments), and to them - centurions and foremen. Other officials were customs officers, falconers, station guards, etc.

Local government authorities were in the hands of the Mongol-Tatar feudal nobility. The local managers were darugi And Baskaki, which had their own offices with a staff of officials.

The Golden Horde ruled the conquered peoples brutally. Thus, on the territory of Rus', a Baskak military-political organization was created, consisting of foremen, centurions, thousanders and temniks. The Baskaks kept order in the country, checked the payment of tribute and the fulfillment of other duties. Special military detachments from the local population were forcibly formed. They were commanded by the Mongol-Tatars. These military contingents were placed at the disposal of the Baskaks, who lived in the principalities and exercised control over them. The Baskaks submitted to the great or to the chief baskak, located in Vladimir.

The military organization of the Golden Horde had a decimal character.
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The entire population was divided into tens, hundreds, thousands, darkness (10 thousand). The nature of the Mongols' occupation (nomadic herders) also determined the main branch of their troops - numerous highly mobile cavalry, which was divided into light and heavy. Rams, movable siege towers, etc. were used as siege equipment.

Iron discipline, good organization and great mobility of cavalry, skillfully executed reconnaissance and surprise attacks, enormous combat experience and flexible tactics gave the mounted Tatar-Mongol troops an advantage over the sedentary militias of settled peoples and allowed them to win victories.

Social and state system of the Golden Horde. - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Social and state system of the Golden Horde." 2017, 2018.

As a result of a five-year struggle around the vacated throne, Ogedei's son, Guyuk Khan, became the great Mongol Khan. His reign lasted only two years. In 1248, after illness, he died. Now the grandson of Genghis Khan inherited from his youngest son, Munke. Under this khan, the Mongol power reached its greatest size. In the east, Mongol troops under the leadership of Mongke's brother Kublai, passing through Sichuan province, moved to Tibet and Indochina. Another brother of the great khan, Hulagu, expanded the empire's possessions in the west. His troops defeated the Abbasids and captured the capital of the Caliphate, Baghdad.

Munke Khan was the last emperor to rule the entire empire of Genghis Khan. After his death, the huge Mongol power disintegrates; Western uluses fall away from it. Vast spaces of Western Siberia and the Kazakh steppes were given to Batu’s brother Ichen, and the ulus served as the basis for the formation of the Siberian Khanate. Persia, the west of Central Asia, part of Asia Minor and Transcaucasia were received by Munke's brother Hulagu. Since 1256, this ulus received the name “Khulagid ulus”. The territory east of the Amu Darya to Xinjiang constituted the Chagatai ulus.

The most extensive of the uluses that emerged from the Mongol Empire was the Jochi ulus. Eastern sources call it the Blue Horde, Russian chronicles call it the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde occupied part of Central Asia, the North Caucasus, Crimea, North-Eastern Rus', the Black Sea steppes, the territory of the Kama Bulgarians, Western Siberia to the Irtysh. At the mouth of the Volga, not far from Astrakhan, the capital of the Golden Horde, called Sarai-Batu, was founded. In the capital they built the Khan's palace, a caravanserai for merchants, and the houses of the most noble people close to the Khan.

Later, under Khan Berke, the capital was moved slightly higher along the Volga, where a new city was built - Sarai-Berke, on one of the branches of the Volga - Akhtuba.

The Golden Horde captured territory inhabited by more cultured peoples than the conquerors themselves. And in Central Asia, and on the coast of Crimea, and in Kama Bulgaria, and on the banks of the Volga, ancient craft centers remained, cities such as Urgench, Bulgar, Suvar, Surozh, etc. In these cities, there were already guild organizations in which acute class struggle. Of course, these ancient centers of culture could not help but exert their influence on the culture and life of the conquerors. The Golden Horde feudal lords began to adopt the Turkic language and convert to Islam. In the first half of the 14th century, under Khan Uzbek, Islam became the state religion of the Golden Horde.

In the Golden Horde, the process of development of feudal relations continued among the nomadic population of the steppes, although vestiges of the tribal system also remained. The Mongol-Tatar population, in addition to various corvée works, brought their feudal khans, nayons (beks) quitrent in the form of kumis, horses, sheep; in Kama Bulgaria the population paid rent in bread. In addition to duties, the population also paid taxes to the state in favor of the feudal lords. The possessions of individual feudal lords were exempt from paying taxes to the state. Such feudal lords were called tarkhans. The Golden Horde feudal lords were interconnected by a system of vassalage.

In the barn under the khan there was a supreme council of the feudal aristocracy - the divan. The most important state affairs were discussed on the sofa - military, administrative, financial. The Divan sent his Basque officials to the conquered lands. Baskaks were in Rus', in Kama Bulgaria, in the Caucasus, in the Black Sea cities and in Central Asia.

Excavations of the capital Sarai-Berke show that the Golden Horde outwardly adopted a high culture in the conquered states, especially in Central Asia. In the capital there were mosques made of marble, richly decorated, a luxurious palace of the khan himself with courtyards where fountains were installed, and the walls were decorated with white and green ornaments. All this was created by the hands of artisans exiled from conquered countries.

In Saray-Berke there was a caravanserai where eastern merchants traded; merchants from the Genoese colonies and Russian merchants came to the city. Excavations have shown that there was a water supply system in this capital, the clay pipes of which are kept in Moscow in the Historical Museum.

2. State system of the Golden Horde

Therefore, the system of state governance, established during his time, practically remained until the end of the existence of these states. Moreover, this tradition continued in the political and socio-economic life of those Tatar khanates that were formed after the fall of the Golden Horde. Naturally, some transformations and reforms were carried out, some new government and military positions appeared, but the entire state and social system as a whole remained stable.

Under the khan there was a divan - a state council, consisting of members of the royal dynasty (oglans-princes, brothers or other male relatives of the khan), large feudal princes, high clergy, and great military leaders. Large feudal princes are noyons for the early Mongol period of the times of Batu and Berke, and for the Muslim, Tatar-Kipchak era of Uzbek and his successors - emirs and beks. Later, by the end of the 14th century, very influential and powerful beks with the name “Karacha-bi” appeared from the largest families of Shirin, Baryn, Argyn, Kipchak (these noble families were also the highest feudal-princely elite of almost all Tatar khanates that arose after the collapse Golden Horde).

At the divan there was also the position of bitikchi (scribe), who was essentially a secretary of state who had significant power in the country. Even large feudal lords and military leaders treated him with respect.

All this high elite of government is known from Eastern, Russian and Western European historical sources, as well as from the labels of the Golden Horde khans. The same documents record the titles of a large number of other officials, various government officials, medium or small feudal lords. The latter included, for example, tarkhans, who were exempt from taxes and duties for one or another public service, receiving so-called tarkhan labels from the khan.

A label is a khan's charter or decree that gives the right to government in individual uluses of the Golden Horde or states subordinate to it (for example, labels for the reign of Russian princes), the right to conduct diplomatic missions, other important government affairs abroad and within the country and, of course , to the right of land ownership by feudal lords of various ranks. In the Golden Horde, and then in the Kazan, Crimean and other Tatar khanates, there was a system of soyurgals - military fief ownership of land. The person who received the soyurgal from the khan had the right to collect in his own favor those taxes that previously went to the state treasury. According to Soyurgal, land was considered hereditary. Naturally, such great privileges were not given just like that. The feudal lord, who received legal rights, had to provide the army with an appropriate amount of cavalry, weapons, horse-drawn transport, provisions, etc. in wartime.

In addition to labels, there was a system of issuing so-called paizov. Paiza is a gold, silver, bronze, cast iron, or even just a wooden tablet, also issued on behalf of the khan as a kind of mandate. The person who presented such a mandate locally was provided with the necessary services during his movements and trips - guides, horses, carts, premises, food. It goes without saying that a person with a higher position in society received a gold paizu, and a simpler person received a wooden one. There is information about the presence of paits in the Golden Horde in written sources; they are also known as archaeological finds from the excavations of Saray-Berke, one of the capitals of the Golden Horde.

In the Ulus of Jochi there was a special position of the military bukaul, which was responsible for the distribution of troops and the dispatch of detachments; He was also responsible for military maintenance and allowances. Even ulus emirs - in wartime temniks - were subordinate to Bukaul. In addition to the main bukaul, there were bukauls of individual regions.

The clergy and, in general, representatives of the clergy in the Golden Horde, according to the records of labels and Arab-Persian historical geography, were represented by the following persons: mufti - head of the clergy; sheikh - spiritual leader and mentor, elder; Sufi - a pious, pious person, free from bad deeds, or an ascetic; qadi is a judge who decides cases according to Sharia, that is, according to the code of Muslim laws.

Under the baskak or under the daruhach there was the position of tribute, i.e. their assistant in collecting tribute - yasak. He was a kind of bitikchi (secretary) for yasak affairs. In general, the position of bitikchi in the Ulus of Jochi was quite common and was considered responsible and respected. In addition to the main bitikchi under the khan's divan-council, there were bitikchi under the ulus divans, who enjoyed great power locally. They could, for example, be compared with the volost clerks of pre-revolutionary Russia, who performed almost all government work in the outback.

There were a number of other officials in the system of government officials who are known mainly by khan's labels. These are: “ilche” (envoy), “tamgachy” (customs officer), “tartanakchy” (tax collector or weigher), “totkaul” (outpost), “guard” (watch), “yamchy” (postal), “koshchy” (falconer), “barschy” (leopard keeper), “kimeche” (boatman or shipbuilder), “bazaar and torganl[n]ar” (guardians of order at the bazaar). These positions are known by the labels of Tokhtamysh in 1391 and Timur-Kutluk in 1398.

Most of these civil servants existed during the periods of the Kazan, Crimean and other Tatar khanates. It is also very noteworthy that the vast majority of these medieval terms and titles are literally understandable to any modern person who speaks the Tatar language - they are written like this in documents of the 14th and 16th centuries, and they still sound like this today.

The same can be said about the various types of duties that were levied on the nomadic and sedentary population, as well as about various border duties: “salyg” (poll tax), “kalan” (quitrent), “yasak” (tribute), “herazh” "("haraj" is an Arabic word meaning a 10 percent tax on Muslim peoples), "burych" (debt, arrears), "chygysh" (exit, expense), "yndyr haky" (payment for the threshing floor), "barn is small "(barn duty), "burla tamgasy" (residential tamga), "yul khaky" (road toll), "karaulyk" (fee for guard duty), "tartanak" (weight, as well as tax on import and export), "tamga "(there is a duty there).

Its essence was the right of nomadic feudal lords to receive from the khan himself or another large steppe aristocrat a certain inheritance - an ulus. For this, the owner of the ulus was obliged to field, if necessary, a certain number of fully armed soldiers (depending on the size of the ulus), as well as to perform various tax and economic duties.

This system was an exact copy of the structure of the Mongol army: the entire state - the Great Ulus - was divided in accordance with the rank of the owner (temnik, thousand-man, centurion, foreman) - into definite-sized destinies, and from each of them, in case of war, ten, hundred , a thousand or ten thousand armed warriors. At the same time, uluses were not hereditary possessions that could be transferred from father to son. Moreover, the khan could take away the ulus completely or replace it with another.

In the initial period of the existence of the Golden Horde, there were apparently no more than 15 large uluses, and rivers most often served as the borders between them. This shows a certain primitiveness of the administrative division of the state, rooted in old nomadic traditions.

Instead of dividing the territory into two wings, four uluses appeared, led by ulusbeks. One of the uluses was the personal domain of the khan. He occupied the steppes of the left bank of the Volga from its mouth to the Kama.

Each of these four uluses was divided into a certain number of “regions”, which were uluses of feudal lords of the next rank.

In total, the number of such “regions” in the Golden Horde in the 14th century. was about 70 in number of temniks. Simultaneously with the establishment of the administrative-territorial division, the formation of the state administration apparatus took place.

The Khan, who stood at the top of the pyramid of power, spent most of the year at his headquarters wandering across the steppes, surrounded by his wives and a huge number of courtiers. He spent only a short winter period in the capital. The moving khan's horde headquarters seemed to emphasize that the main power of the state continued to be based on a nomadic beginning. Naturally, it was quite difficult for the khan, who was in constant motion, to manage the affairs of the state himself. This is also emphasized by sources that directly report that the supreme ruler “pays attention only to the essence of affairs, without going into the details of the circumstances, and is content with what is reported to him, but does not seek out details regarding collection and expenditure.”

The entire Horde army was commanded by a military leader - beklyaribek, that is, the prince of princes, the grand duke. Beklyaribek usually exercised military power, often being the commander of the khan's army. Sometimes his influence exceeded the power of the khan, which often led to bloody civil strife. From time to time, the power of the Beklyaribeks, for example, Nogai, Mamai, Edigei, increased so much that they themselves appointed khans.

As statehood strengthened in the Golden Horde, the administrative apparatus grew, its rulers took as a model the administration of the Khorezmshah state conquered by the Mongols. According to this model, a vizier appeared under the khan, a kind of head of government who was responsible for all spheres of the non-military life of the state. The vizier and the diwan (state council) headed by him controlled finances, taxes, and trade. Foreign policy was in charge of the khan himself with his closest advisers, as well as the beklyaribek.

All this testifies to the well-coordinated state mechanism of the Golden Horde with all the attributes that are necessary for the existence and development of a large medieval state: central and local government bodies, a judicial and tax system, a customs service and a strong army.

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That written law did not have any priority over oral customs: they were recognized as equal in legal force. Legal monuments in general and labels of the khans of the Golden Horde in particular are a unique source on the history of state and law. At the same time, their value (like other legal monuments) increases due to the fact that, unlike narrative sources, they do not contain...

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Therefore, it can be said that knowledge of this period of Russian history, in turn, is of great importance for the student of the Mongol Empire in general and the Golden Horde in particular. 2. Golden Horde: myths and reality At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongol tribes, united by the power of Genghis Khan, began campaigns of conquest, the goal of which was to create a huge superpower. Already in the second half of 13...

The possessions of the Golden Horde did not have clearly defined boundaries. This was largely due to the fact that her power extended over tribes and peoples rather than over territories. The Horde captured peoples professing different religions and being at different stages of cultural and socio-economic development. The Horde people themselves were called by the people they conquered by a double name (Mongol-Tatars).

The social structure of the Golden Horde reflected its diverse national and class composition. At the same time, there was no strict organization of society. The social status of a Horde subject directly depended on his origin, position in the military apparatus and his special services to the khan.

The next level in the military-feudal hierarchy were noyons. Although they were not descendants of Khan and Jochids, they had many dependent people, servants and large herds. This was due to the fact that they descended from the associates of Genghis Khan, as well as from their sons. Noyons were often appointed by khans to responsible government and military positions (baskaks, thousand officers, temniks, darugs, etc.). Their signs of power were paizi and labels, and they themselves very often received various tarhan letters, which freed them from various duties and obligations.

A special place in the hierarchy of the Horde was occupied by nukers, who were vigilantes of large feudal lords. Very often they were in the retinue of their masters or occupied military administrative positions such as foreman or centurion. These positions allowed the nukers to extract large incomes from the territories under their control.

The ruling class in the social system of the Golden Horde also included the Muslim clergy. In addition to him, the same position was occupied by merchants, large landowners, tribal leaders and elders, as well as wealthy landowners. Thus, servants, urban artisans, as well as the peasantry of agricultural regions found themselves in varying degrees of dependence on the feudal lords and the state.

Slavery: the population and captives of the territories conquered by the Horde. This lower class was used for menial work (servants, construction, artisanal auxiliary work, etc.). In addition, many slaves were sold annually to the countries of the East. But, as a rule, most slaves received freedom after a couple of generations, although they remained feudally dependent.

The Golden Horde was a feudal state of the developed Middle Ages. The highest power in the country belonged to the khan, and this title of head of state in the history of the entire Tatar people is associated mainly with the period of the Golden Horde. If the entire Mongol Empire was ruled by the dynasty of Genghis Khan (Genghisids), then the Golden Horde was ruled by the dynasty of his eldest son Jochi (Juchids). In the 60s of the 13th century, the empire was actually divided into independent states, but legally they were considered uluses of Genghis Khan. Therefore, the system of state governance, established during his time, practically remained until the end of the existence of these states. Moreover, this tradition continued in the political and socio-economic life of those Tatar khanates that were formed after the fall of the Golden Horde. Naturally, some transformations and reforms were carried out, some new government and military positions appeared, but the entire state and social system as a whole remained stable. Under the khan there was a divan - a state council, consisting of members of the royal dynasty (oglans-princes, brothers or other male relatives of the khan), large feudal princes, high clergy, and great military leaders. Large feudal princes are noyons for the early Mongol period of the times of Batu and Berke, and for the Muslim, Tatar-Kipchak era of Uzbek and his successors - emirs and beks. Later, by the end of the 14th century, very influential and powerful beks with the name “Karacha-bi” appeared from the largest families of Shirin, Baryn, Argyn, Kipchak (these noble families were also the highest feudal-princely elite of almost all Tatar khanates that arose after the collapse Golden Horde). At the divan there was also the position of bitikchi (scribe), who was essentially a secretary of state who had significant power in the country. Even large feudal lords and military leaders treated him with respect.

The bodies administering justice in the Mongol Empire were: the court of the Great Khan, the court of the kurultai - a congress of representatives of the ruling family and military leaders, the court of specially appointed persons - the dzarguchi judges. All these bodies operated in the Golden Horde. As in the Mongol Empire, the highest court was the rulers of the Golden Horde, who in the second half of the 13th century. received first actual and then official independence and accepted the title of khan. Justice as one of the functions of the khan's power was inherited by the Mongols from the ancient Turks: already in the Turkic Khaganate in the VI-IX centuries. Khagan is the highest court.

The central government in Mongolia recognized the right of the actual founder of the Golden Horde, Batu (Batu, ruled in 1227-1256) to try the noyons and officials subordinate to him, although with the proviso that “the judge of Batu is the kaan.” Subsequent khans of the Golden Horde also actively carried out judicial functions. It was under Mengu-Timur, the grandson of Batu, in 1269. The Golden Horde officially became an independent state, and its rulers became sovereign sovereigns, one of the integral signs of whose power was the exercise of the function of the supreme judge.

The main source of law in the Mongol Empire and the Chingizid states were the so-called yas (laws) of Genghis Khan (collectively called the Great Yasa) and his successors - the great khans. The Great Yasa of the founder of the empire and the yasa of his successors constituted the main source of law for all bodies administering justice, including the khan. Other sources should not contradict the jars. The Great Yasa of Genghis Khan, compiled in 1206 as an edification to his successors, consisted of 33 fragments and 13 sayings of the khan himself. The Yasa contained mainly the rules of the military organization of the Mongol army and the norms of criminal law. It was distinguished by the unprecedented cruelty of punishment not only for crimes, but also for misdeeds.

Another important source is the labels of the khans themselves. Shortcut was the name of any document issued on behalf of the supreme ruler - the khan and which had certain characteristics (had a certain structure, was equipped with a scarlet seal - tamga, was addressed to persons who were lower in position than the person who issued it, etc.). Oral and written orders and instructions of the khans were the highest law for their subjects, including the feudal nobility, subject to immediate and unquestioning execution. They were used in the practice of government bodies of the Golden Horde and senior state officials. Not all labels were sources of law that were used to guide the administration of justice. For example, yarlyk-messages, which were not legal, but diplomatic documents, could not serve as sources of law for khans (and lower ulus judges); Nor were labels - letters of protection and letters of protection, issued in large numbers to diplomats and private individuals - sources for the court.

In addition to labels, there was a system of issuing so-called paizov. Paiza- this is a gold, silver, bronze, cast iron, or even just a wooden tablet, also issued on behalf of the khan as a kind of mandate. The person who presented such a mandate locally was provided with the necessary services during his movements and trips - guides, horses, carts, premises, food. It goes without saying that a person with a higher position in society received a gold paizu, and a simpler person received a wooden one.

Khan, being the creator of law (he confirmed or repealed the decisions of his predecessors, issued his own labels and other normative and individual acts), was not bound by any norms. In making decisions, the khans were guided not only by their own will, but also by written documents - jars and labels of Genghis Khan and his successors.

The law of the Golden Horde is characterized by extreme cruelty, legalized arbitrariness of feudal lords and state officials, archaism and formal uncertainty.

Property relations in the Golden Horde were regulated by customary law and were very complicated. This especially applies to land relations - the basis of feudal society. Ownership of the land and the entire territory of the state belonged to the ruling khan family of the Jochids. In a nomadic economy, land inheritance was difficult. Therefore, it took place mainly in agricultural areas. The owners of the estates, naturally, had to bear various vassal duties to the khan or the local ruler appointed by him. In the khan family, power was a special object of inheritance, and political power was combined with the right of ownership of the land of the ulus. The youngest son was considered the heir. According to Mongolian law, the youngest son generally had priority in inheritance.

The family and marriage law of the Mongol-Tatars and the nomadic peoples subject to them were regulated by ancient customs and, to a lesser extent, by Sharia. The head of the patriarchal polygamous family, which formed part of the ail, clan, was the father. He was the owner of all the family property and controlled the fate of the family members under his control. Thus, the father of an impoverished family had the right to give his children into service for debts and even sell them into slavery. The number of wives was not limited (Muslims could have no more than four legal wives). Children of wives and concubines were legally in an equal position, with some advantages for sons from older wives and legal wives among Muslims. After the death of the husband, management of all family affairs passed into the hands of the eldest wife. This continued until the sons became adult warriors.

The criminal law of the Golden Horde was exceptionally cruel. This stemmed from the very nature of the military-feudal system of the Golden Horde, the despotic power of Genghis Khan and his successors, the severity of the attitude of low general culture inherent in a nomadic pastoral society located in the very initial stage of feudalism.

Cruelty and organized terror were one of the conditions for establishing and maintaining long-term domination over the conquered peoples. According to the Great Yasa, the death penalty was imposed for treason, disobedience to the khan and other feudal lords, and officials, unauthorized transfer from one military unit to another, failure to provide assistance in battle, compassion for a prisoner in the form of helping him with food and clothing, for advice and assistance from one of the parties in a duel lying to elders in court, appropriation of someone else's slave or escaped captive. It was also imposed in some cases for murder, property crimes, adultery, bestiality, spying on the behavior of others and especially the nobility and authorities, magic, slaughter of cattle in an unknown way, urinating in fire and ashes; They even executed those who choked on a bone during the feast. The death penalty, as a rule, was carried out publicly and in ways characteristic of a nomadic way of life - by strangulation on a rope suspended from the neck of a camel or horse, or by dragging by horses. Other types of punishment were also used, for example, for domestic murder, a ransom in favor of the victim’s relatives was allowed. The size of the ransom was determined by the social status of the murdered person. For the theft of horses and sheep, nomads demanded a tenfold ransom. If the culprit was insolvent, he was obliged to sell his children and thus pay a ransom. In this case, the thief, as a rule, was mercilessly beaten with whips. In criminal proceedings, during the investigation, witnesses were brought in, oaths were pronounced, and cruel torture was used. In a military-feudal organization, the search for an undetected or escaped criminal was entrusted to the dozen or hundreds to which he belonged. Otherwise, the entire ten or hundred were responsible.

The clergy and, in general, representatives of the clergy in the Golden Horde, according to the records of labels and Arab-Persian historical geography, were represented by the following persons: the mufti - the head of the clergy; sheikh - spiritual leader and mentor, elder; Sufi - a pious, pious person, free from bad deeds, or an ascetic; qadi - a judge who decides cases according to Sharia, that is, according to the code of Muslim laws.

The Baskaks and Darukhachi (Darukha) played a major role in the political and social life of the Golden Horde state. The first of them were military representatives of the authorities, military guards, the second were civilians with the duties of a governor or manager, one of whose main functions was control over the collection of tribute. The position of baskak was abolished at the beginning of the 14th century, and darukhachi, as governors of the central government or heads of administrations of darug regions, existed even during the period of the Kazan Khanate. In the Ulus of Jochi there was a special position of the military bukaul, which was responsible for the distribution of troops and the dispatch of detachments; He was also responsible for military maintenance and allowances. Even ulus emirs - in wartime temniks - were subordinate to Bukaul. In addition to the main bukaul, there were bukauls of individual regions.

There were a number of other officials in the system of government officials who are known mainly by khan's labels. These are: "ilche" (envoy), "tamgachy" (customs officer), "tartanakchy" (tax collector or weigher), "totkaul" (outpost), "guard" (watch), "yamchy" (postal), "koshchy" (falconer), "barschy" (leopard keeper), "kimeche" (boatman or shipbuilder), "bazaar and torganl[n]ar" (guardians of order at the bazaar). These positions are known by the labels of Tokhtamysh in 1391 and Timur-Kutluk in 1398.

Various types of duties that were levied on nomadic and sedentary populations, as well as various border duties: “salyg” (poll tax), “kalan” (quitrent), “yasak” (tribute), “herazh” ("haraj" - an Arabic word meaning a 10 percent tax on Muslim peoples), “burych” (debt, arrears), “chygysh” (exit, expense), “yndyr khaky” (payment for the threshing floor), “ambar mali” (barn duty), “burla tamgasy” (living tamga), “yul khaky” (road toll), “karaulyk” (payment for guard duty), “tartanak” (weight, as well as import and export tax), “tamga” (tamga duty).

In the most general form, he described the administrative system of the Golden Horde back in the 13th century. G. Rubruk, who traveled the entire state from west to east. His sketch of the traveler contains the basis of the administrative-territorial division of the Golden Horde, defined by the concept of “ulus system”. Its essence was the right of nomadic feudal lords to receive from the khan himself or another large steppe aristocrat a certain inheritance - an ulus. For this, the owner of the ulus was obliged to field, if necessary, a certain number of fully armed soldiers (depending on the size of the ulus), as well as to perform various tax and economic duties. This system was an exact copy of the structure of the Mongol army: the entire state - the Great Ulus - was divided in accordance with the rank of the owner (temnik, thousand-man, centurion, foreman) - into definite-sized destinies, and from each of them, in case of war, ten, hundred , a thousand or ten thousand armed warriors. At the same time, uluses were not hereditary possessions that could be transferred from father to son. Moreover, the khan could take away the ulus completely or replace it with another.

The further development of statehood, the emergence of cities, the introduction of Islam, and closer acquaintance with Arab and Persian traditions of governance led to various complications in the domains of the Jochids, with the simultaneous withering away of Central Asian customs dating back to the time of Genghis Khan. Instead of dividing the territory into two wings, four uluses appeared, led by ulusbeks. One of the uluses was the personal domain of the khan. He occupied the steppes of the left bank of the Volga from its mouth to the Kama. Each of these four uluses was divided into a certain number of “regions”, which were uluses of feudal lords of the next rank. In total, the number of such “regions” in the Golden Horde in the 14th century. was about 70 in number of temniks. Simultaneously with the establishment of the administrative-territorial division, the formation of the state administration apparatus took place.

The rights of the Great Khan as head of state included military, legislative and administrative powers. The idea of unity of supreme power in the first decades of the empire's existence was reflected in coinage. Coins issued in the cities of various uluses, including Central Asian ones, were, as a rule, anonymous; much less often the name and personal tamga of the Great Khan were placed on them.

The heyday of the Horde state was marked by the highest level and quality of life in Europe at that time. The rise occurred almost during the reign of one ruler - Uzbek (1312 - 1342). The state took upon itself the responsibility to protect the lives of its citizens, administer justice, and organize social, cultural and economic life. All this testifies to the well-coordinated state mechanism of the Golden Horde with all the attributes that are necessary for the existence and development of a large medieval state: central and local government bodies, a judicial and tax system, a customs service and a strong army.

2. State system of the Golden Horde

The social structure of the Golden Horde was complex and reflected the variegated class and national composition of this predatory state. There was no clear class organization of society, similar to that which existed in Rus' and in Western European feudal states and which was based on hierarchical feudal ownership of land.

The status of a subject of the Golden Horde depended on his origin, services to the khan and his family, and his position in the military-administrative apparatus.

In the military-feudal hierarchy of the Golden Horde, the dominant position was occupied by the aristocratic family of the descendants of Genghis Khan and his son Jochi. This numerous family owned all the land of the state, it owned huge herds, palaces, many servants and slaves, innumerable wealth, military booty, the state treasury, etc.

Subsequently, the Jochids and other descendants of Genghis Khan retained a privileged position in the Central Asian khanates and in Kazakhstan for centuries, securing the monopoly right to bear the title of sultan and occupy the khan's throne.

The Khan had the richest and largest ulus type domain. The Jochids had a preferential right to occupy the highest government posts. In Russian sources they were called princes. They were awarded state and military titles and ranks. The next level in the military-feudal hierarchy of the Golden Horde was occupied by noyons (in eastern sources - beks). Not being members of the Jochid clan, they nevertheless traced their genealogy back to the associates of Genghis Khan and their sons. The Noyons had many servants and dependent people, huge herds. They were often appointed by khans to responsible military and government positions: darugs, temniks, thousand officers, baskaks, etc. They were awarded tarkhan letters, which exempted them from various duties and responsibilities. The signs of their power were labels and paizi. A special place in the hierarchical structure of the Golden Horde was occupied by numerous nukers - warriors of large feudal lords. They were either in the retinue of their lords, or occupied middle and lower military administrative positions - centurions, foremen, etc. These positions made it possible to extract significant income from the population of those territories where the corresponding military units were stationed or where they were sent, or where nukers occupied administrative positions . From among the nukers and other privileged people, a small layer of tarkhans advanced to the Golden Horde, who received tarkhan letters from the khan or his senior officials, in which their owners were granted various privileges.

The ruling classes also included numerous clergy, primarily Muslim, merchants and rich artisans, local feudal lords, clan and tribal elders and leaders, large landowners in the settled agricultural regions of Central Asia, the Volga region, the Caucasus and Crimea.

The peasantry of agricultural regions, urban artisans, and servants were in varying degrees of dependence on the state and feudal lords. The bulk of the workers in the steppes and foothills of the Golden Horde were Karacha - nomadic cattle breeders. They were part of clans and tribes and were forced to unquestioningly obey clan and tribal elders and leaders, as well as representatives of the military-administrative power of the Horde. Carrying out all the economic duties, the Karachus at the same time had to serve in the army.

In the agricultural regions of the Horde, feudal dependent peasants worked. Some of them - Sabanchi - lived in rural communities and, in addition to the plots of feudal land allocated for them, worked and carried out other duties in kind. Others - urtakchi (sharecroppers) - bonded people worked the land of the state and local feudal lords for half the harvest, and carried out other duties.

Artisans driven from conquered countries worked in the cities. Many of them were in the position of slaves or people dependent on the khan and other rulers. Small traders and servants also depended on the arbitrariness of the authorities and their masters. Even wealthy merchants and independent artisans paid taxes to the city authorities and carried out various duties.

Slavery was a fairly common phenomenon in the Golden Horde. First of all, captives and residents of conquered lands became slaves. Slaves were used in craft production, construction, and as servants of feudal lords. Many slaves were sold to the countries of the East. However, most slaves, both in cities and in agriculture, after one or two generations became feudal dependents or received freedom.

The Golden Horde did not remain unchanged, borrowing a lot from the Muslim East: crafts, architecture, bathhouses, tiles, ornamental decor, painted dishes, Persian poetry, Arabic geometry and astrolabes, morals and tastes more sophisticated than those of simple nomads.

Having extensive connections with Anatolia, Syria and Egypt, the Horde replenished the army of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt with Turkic and Caucasian slaves, and the Horde culture acquired a certain Muslim-Mediterranean imprint. Islam became the state religion in the Golden Horde by 1320, but, unlike other Islamic states, this did not lead to the total Islamization of its society, state and legal institutions. A feature of the judicial system of the Golden Horde, firstly, was the above-mentioned coexistence of the institutions of traditional Mongolian justice - the dzargu courts and the Muslim kadi court; At the same time, there was no conflict between seemingly incompatible legal systems: representatives of each of them considered cases within their exclusive jurisdiction.