Investigating International Trade in the Golden Horde: Imported Glazed Ceramics from Majar

The article deals with imported glazed ceramics discovered in the town of Majar during archeological excavations of various years. The first classification of Majar-discovered glazed ceramics was made in the 1970s by O. Dudko who analyzed materials of V. Gorodtsov’s excavations (1907) and those of the 1955 North-Caucasian Expedition. The researcher discovered both local glazed pottery and ones imported from Middle Asia, Transcaucasia and the Volga Region. The late 20th and early 21st centuries have witnessed a significant increase in numbers of imported glazed ceramics from Majar, so the paper seeks to re-address the issue since the newly collected extensive data require proper description, analysis and systematization. Sources and Methods. The study examines imported glazed ceramics collected in Majar during various years. It employs a number of methods, such as the visual-and-descriptive, statistic, typological, technological ones, those of comparative analysis and analogy. Results. The work reveals residents of Majar maintained wide trade relations vividly illustrated by findings of imported glazed ceramics that played somewhat major role there. The latter cluster into categories as follows: kashi pottery from the Volga Region, Iran, Middle Asia (Khwarazm), red-clay glazed ceramics from the Lower Volga Region, Azaq (Azov), Eastern Crimea, supposedly from the Black Sea Region, Mediterranean and Balkans; Shirvan ceramics, Cizhou ceramics (China), Chinese celadon, Chinese white-blue porcelain (Qinghua), Byzantine ceramics. Conclusions. The analysis of morphological and technological features of imported glazed ceramics of Madjar reveals the following groups: glazed red-clay, kashi, Cizhou, Qinghua, Shirvan, and Byzantine ceramics. The bulk of the samples are dated to the 14th century AD. Proportions between the groups indicate that Majar maintained most intensive trade relations with China, capital cities of the Golden Horde, and eastern Crimea. Contacts with Azaq, Khwarazm, Shirvan, Persia, Mediterranean cities and the Balkans were far weaker.

1. Bocharov S. G. [Report on 2016 Archeological Excavations: Budyonnvovsky District, Bude­novsk City, Federal Monument ‘Town of Majar’ (site XII, pit 2)]. In 2 vols. At: Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Khalikov Institute of Archaeology, Museum of Archaeology, Scientific Archive. Fond 4. Ser.1 Vol. 1. Kazan, 2017. 202 p. (In Russ.)

2. Bocharov S. G. [Report on 2017 Archeological Excavations: Budyonnvovsky District, Bude­novsk City, Federal Monument ‘Town of Majar’ (site XII, pit XIII)]. In 2 vols. At: Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Khalikov Institute of Archaeology, Museum of Archaeology, Scientific Archive. Fond 4. Ser. 1 Vol. 1. Kazan, 2018. 242 p. (In Russ.)

3. Valiev R. R. [Report on 2015 Archeological Ex­cavations: Budyonnvovsky District, Budenovsk City, Federal Monument ‘Town of Majar’ (site XI, pit 1)]. At: Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, Khalikov Institute of Archaeology, Museum of Archaeology, Scientific Archive. Fond 4. Ser. 1. Kazan, 2016. 68 p. 139 pic. (In Russ.)

4. Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad Al-Bīrūnī. [Gems — Geology Manual of Minerals and Gems]. A. Belenitsky (transl., comm.), G. Lemmlein (comm.). Moscow: USSR Academy of Sciences, 1963. 521 p. (In Russ.)

5. Arapova T. B., Rapoport I. V. Revisiting cultural ties between Iran and China: 16th – early 18th centuries (a case study of ceramics manufacture). In: [Arts and Archaeology of Iran]. Conf. proc. (1969). Moscow, 1971. Pp. 19–34. (In Russ.)

6. Bulatov N. M. [Classification of Glazed Ceramics from Golden Horde Cities of the Lower Volga Region and North Caucasus]. A Cand. Sc. (history) thesis abstract. Moscow: Moscow State University, 1969. 14 p. (In Russ.)

7. Dudko O. A. Glazed ceramics of the Golden Horde: a case study of materials from the town of Majar. In: [6th and 7th All-Union Student Conferences: Collected Reports]. Moscow: Moscow State University, 1963. Pp. 106–118. (In Russ.)

8. Evtyukhova L. A. Ceramics of Karakorum. In: [Ancient Mongolian Cities]. Moscow: Nauka, 1965. Pp. 274–296. (In Russ.)

9. Fedorov-Davydov G. A. [Golden Horde Cities of the Lower Volga Region]. Moscow: Moscow State University, 1994. 228 p. (In Russ.)

10. Grazhdankina N. S., Rtveladze E. V. Influence of Khwarazm on ceramics manufacture in the Golden Horde town of Majar. Sovetskaya arkheologiya. 1971. No. 1. Pp. 127–139. (In Russ.)

11. Maslovsky A. N. Ceramics of Azaq: brief charac­teristics. In: [Historical and Archaeological Investigations in the Azov and Lower Don Re­gions: 2004]. Vol. 21. Azov: Azov Local Lore and History Museum, 2006. Pp. 308–473. (In Russ.)

12. Obukhov Yu. D., Volkov I. V. Chinese ceramics from Majar. In: [Glazed Ceramics of Eastern Europe, the Black Sea and Mediterranean: 10th – 18th Centuries]. Conf. proc. (Yalta; November 19–23, 2007). Yalta: Crimean Branch of Institute of Archaeology, NANU, 2007. Pp. 20–25. (In Russ.)

13. Poluboyarinova M. D. Chinese celadon from Bolgar. Rossiyskaya arkheologiya. 2003. No. 2. Pp. 155–164. (In Russ.)

14. Tiflisi Abu-l-Fazl Khubaish. [Description of Crafts (Bayan as-sana-at)]. G. Mikhalevich (transl., etc.). Moscow: Nauka, 1976. 256 p. (In Russ.)

15. Vandiver P., Kingery W. The technology of celadon glazes. Ceramics Monthly. 1987. Vol. 35, No. 7. Рp. 55–56. (In Russ.)

16. Venevtseva N. V. Cyprus-manufactured medieval glazed ceramics housed by the State Her­mitage Museum. In: [Monuments of An­tiquity: Concepts, Discoveries, Versions. Commemo­rating Prof. V. D. Beletsky (1919–1997)]. Vol. 1. St. Petersburg; Pskov, 1997. Pp. 133–140. (In Russ.)

17. Volkov I. V. [Ceramics of Azov: 14th – 18th Centu­ries]. A Cand.Sc. (history) thesis abstract. Moscow, 1992. 26 p. (In Russ.)

18. Volkov I. V. Imported Shirvan ceramics in Golden Horde cities. In: [Middle Asia: History, Archa­eology, Culture]. Conf. proc. Moscow: State Museum of Oriental Art, 2001. Pp. 45–50. (In Russ.)

19. Volkov I. V. The Golden Horde town of Majar: ceramics. In: [Archaeology of the Eurasian Steppes]. Vol. 23. Proc. of the Archaeological Forum ‘Pyatigorsk–Budennovsk–2012’. Kazan, 2016. Pp. 139–222. (In Russ.)

20. Zhushchikhovskaya I. S. The traditional pottery of China. Vestnik of the far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 2002. No. 1. Pp. 85–98. (In Russ.)