The Tangut State in Russian Chronicles

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Abstract

The article discusses the problem of how the information about the death of Genghis Khan in the Tangut state appeared in the Russian chronicles. It is known that Genghis Khan did die in Xi Xia, although he was not killed there, as the Galician-Volyn Chronicle—which forms a part of the Hypatian Codex—informs us. This information is absolutely unique for medieval Russian historiography. Experts have made a number of assumptions about its appearance in Russia, but it is too early to declare that the problem has been solved. The author supports V.T. Poshuto’s hypothesis that the news of the events that followed the Battle of Kalka in 1223 were received as a result of Prince Daniel of Galicia’s visit to Batu’s headquarters in 1245–1246. It is based on the fact that the name “Kashin” for the Tangut state had been banned by the Mongols at some point before 1241. After 1241, that state was known in Russia under the name of “Tangut”. The words about Genghis Khan’s death at the hands of the Tangut and about the conquest of the Tangut land by deception suggest that the compiler of the Galician-Volyn Chronicle received that information from the opponents of the Mongols. It can be assumed that their source is directly related to Xi Xia, where various rumors discrediting Genghis Kan arose in the wake of its defeat by the Mongols.

About the authors

Yuliy I. Drobyshev

Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: altanus@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9318-4560

Cand. Sci. (History), Senior Research Fellow of the Department of Oriental History

Russian Federation, Moscow

References

  1. Aristov, Vadim. “Ipat’evskaia letopis’ i novgorodskaia istoriografiia” [Hypatian Codex and Novgorod Historiography]. Ruthenica. Journal of East European History and Archeology, 2019, vol. 15, pp. 101–140 (in Russian).
  2. Astaykin, Andrei A. & Drobyshev, Yuliy I. “Upominaniia Chingiskhana v russkikh letopisiakh” [References to Genghis Khan in Russian Chronicles]. Vostok (Oriens), 2020, no. 4, pp. 49–59 (in Russian).
  3. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Konstantin N. O sostave russkikh letopisei do kontsa XIV veka [On the Composition of Russian Chronicles until the End of the 14th Century]. St. Petersburg: Tipogr. A. Transhelya, 1868 (in Russian).
  4. Bulanin, Dmitry M. “Povest’ o bitve na Kalke” [The Tale of the Battle of Kalka]. In: Slovar’ knizhnikov i knizhnosti Drevnei Rusi [A Dictionary of Scribes and Literacy in Ancient Russia]. Leningrad: Nauka, 1987, pp. 346–348 (in Russian).
  5. Polnoe sobranie ruskih letopisei. T. 2. Ipat’evskaia letopis’ [A Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. Vol. 2. Hypatian Codex]. Moscow: Yazyki Russkoi Kul’tury, 1998 (in Russian).
  6. Polnoe sobranie ruskih letopisei. T. 15. Letopisnyi sbornik, imenuemyi Tverskoi letopis’iu [A Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. Vol. 15. A Collection of Chronicles Called the Tver’ Chronicle]. St. Petersburg: Typogr. Leonid Demis, 1863 (in Russian).
  7. Polnoe sobranie ruskih letopisei. T. 23. Ermolinskaia letopis’ [A Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles. Vol. 23. Ermolinskaya Chronicle]. St. Petersburg: Typogr. M.A. Alexandrov, 1910 (in Russian).
  8. Cherepnin, Lev V. “Letopisets Daniila Galitskogo” [The Chronicler of Daniel Galitsky]. Historical Notes, 1941, vol. 12, pp. 228–253 (in Russian).
  9. Drobyshev, Yuliy I. “Tangutskii plen Chingis-khana” [Tangut Captivity of Genghis Khan]. Orientalistics, 2021, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 380–405 (in Russian).
  10. Galits’ko-Volins’kii lіtopis: tekstologіia [The Galician-Volyn Chronicle: Textology]. Ed. by O.P. Tolochko. Kyiv: Akademperiodika, 2020 (in Ukrainian).
  11. Galitsko-Volynskaia letopis’. Tekst. Kommentarii. Issledovanie [The Galician-Volyn Chronicle. Text. Commentaries. Research]. Comp. by N.F. Kotlyar, V.Yu. Franchuk, A.G. Plahonin. St. Petersburg: Aleteiia, 2005 (in Russian).
  12. Galperin, Charles. Tatarskoe igo: obraz mongolov v srednevekovoi Rossii [The Tatar Yoke: The Image of the Mongols in Medieval Russia]. Transl. by M.E. Kopylova; ed. by Yu.V. Seleznev. Voronezh, 2012 (in Russian).
  13. Gorovenko, Andrei V. “ ‘Galicko-Volynskaia letopis’ ’, proiskhozhdenie ee khronologizirovannoi redaktsii i ‘propavshyi’ rasskaz o kniazhenii Romana v Galiche” [“The Galician-Volyn Chronicle”, the Origin of Its Chronologized Edition and the ‘Missing’ Story about the Roman’s Reign in Galich]. In: Gorovenko, Andrei V. Mech Romana Galitskogo. Kniaz’ Roman Mstislavich v istorii, epose i legendakh [The Sword of Roman Galitsky. Prince Roman Mstislavich in History, Epic, and Legends]. St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin, 2011, pp. 191–208 (in Russian).
  14. Gorovenko, Andrei V. “Pochemu ne byl napisan rasskaz o kniazhenii Romana v Galiche (k voprosu ob etapakh formirovaniia sovremennoi struktury Ipat’evskoi letopisi)” [Why the Story of Roman’s Reign in Galich was not Written (On the Question of the Stages of Formation of Current Structure of the Hypatian Codex)]. In: Gorovenko, Andrei V. Mech Romana Galitskogo. Kniaz’ Roman Mstislavich v istorii, epose i legendakh [The Sword of Roman Galitsky. Prince Roman Mstislavich in History, Epic, and Legends]. St. Petersburg: Dmitry Bulanin, 2011, pp. 209–237 (in Russian).
  15. Juvaini, Ata-Malik. The History of the World-Conqueror. Transl. by J.A. Boyle. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997 (in English).
  16. Khrapachevskij, Roman P. Russko-tangutskie peresecheniia XIII v. (na sinhronnom materiale mongolo-kitaiskoi kantselyarii i russkih letopisei) [Russian-Tangut Contacts in the 13th Century (Based on the Synchronous Material of the Mongol-Chinese Chancery and Russian Chronicles). Eastern Europe in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Readings in Memory of the Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Vladimir Terentyevich Pashuto. Issue XXXIV. Interethnic Contacts in a Socio-Cultural Context. Ed. by E.A. Mel’nikova. M.: Institut vseobshchei istorii RAS, 2022. Pp. 266–269 (in Russian).
  17. Khristianskii mir i “Velikaia Mongol’skaia imperiia”. Materialy frantsiskanskoi missii 1245 goda [The Christian World and the “Great Mongol Empire”. Materials of the Franciscan Mission of 1245]. Lat. text and transl. by S.V. Aksenov and A.G. Yurchenko; exposition and research by A.G. Yurchenko. St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2002 (in Latin; in Russian).
  18. Khrustalev, Denis G. “Mongolskaia ‘diplomatiia’ nakanune nashestviia na Rus’, 1223–1237 gg.” [Mongolian “Diplomacy” on the Eve of the Invasion of Russia, 1223–1237]. Golden Horde Civilization. Kazan’: Folio, 2011, iss. 4. pp. 174–186 (in Russian).
  19. “Kitaiskaia dinastiinaia istoriia ‘Yuan’ shi’ (‘Ofitsial’naia istoriia [dinastii] Yuan’ ’)” [Chinese Dynastic History ‘Yuan shi’ (The Official History of the [Dynasty] Yuan)]. Transl. by R.P. Khrapachevsky. In: Zolotaia orda v istochnikakh. Т. III. Kitaiskie i mongol’skie istochniki [The Golden Horde in Sources. Vol. III. Chinese and Mongolian Sources]. Moscow, 2009, pp. 121–291 (in Russian).
  20. “Kniga Marko Polo” [The Book of Marco Polo]. In: Puteshestviia v vostochnye strany [Travels to the Eastern Countries]. Moscow: Mysl’, 1997, pp. 190–380 (in Russian).
  21. Kozin, Sergei A. Sokrovennoe skazanie. Mongol’skaia khronika 1240 g. [The Secret History. The Mongolian Chronicle of 1240]. Moscow–Leningrad: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1941 (in Mongolian; in Russian).
  22. Kronika Halicko-Wołynska (Kronika Romanowiczów). Pomniki dziejowe polski. Seria II. T. XVI / Wydali, wstepem i przypisami opatrzyli D. Dabrowski, A. Jusupovic przy współpracy I. Juriewej, A. Majorowa i T. Wiłkuł. Kraków–Warszawa: Instytut Historii im. Tadeusza Manteuffla, 2017 (in Polish).
  23. Kuchkin, Vladimir A. “Letopisnye rasskazy o bitve na r. Kalke” [Chronicled Stories of the Battle on the Kalka River]. In: Pis’mennye pamiatniki istorii Drevnei Rusi. Letopisi. Povesti. Hozhdeniia. Poucheniia. Zhitiia. Poslaniia. Annotirovannii katalog-spravochnik [Written Monuments of the History of Ancient Russia. Chronicles. Stories. Travels. Teachings. Lives. Messages. An Annotated Directory]. Ed. by Ya.N. Shchapov. St. Petersburg: Russian-Baltic Information Center “Blitz”, 2003, pp. 73–78 (in Russian).
  24. Lur’e, Yakob S. “Genealogicheskaia skhema letopisei XI–XVI vv., vkliuchennykh v ‘Slovar’ knizhnikov i knizhnosti Drevnei Rusi’ ” [A Genealogical Scheme of the Chronicles of the 11th–16th Centuries Included in the “Dictionary of Scribes and Literacy in Old Russia”]. In: Trudy Otdela drevnerusskoi literatury [Works of the Department of Old Russian Literature]. Leningrad: Nauka, 1985, vol. 40, pp. 190–205 (in Russian).
  25. Novgorodskaia pervaia letopis’ starshego i mladshego izvodov [The Novgorod First Chronicle of Early and Later Redactions]. Ed. by M.N. Tikhomirov; ed. and prefaced by A.N. Nasonov. Moscow–Leningrad: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1950 (in Russian).
  26. Pamiatniki literatury Drevnei Rusi. XIII vek [Monuments of Literature of Old Russia. 13th Century]. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaia Literatura, 1981 (in Russian).
  27. Pashuto, Vladimir T. “Kievskaia letopis’ 1238 goda” [The Kiev Chronicle of 1238]. Historical Notes, 1947, vol. 26, pp. 273–305 (in Russian).
  28. Pashuto, Vladimir T. Vneshniaia politika Drevnei Rusi [Foreign Policy of Ancient Russia]. Moscow: Nauka, 1968 (in Russian).
  29. Plano Karpini. “Istoriia mongalov” [The History of Mongols]. In: Puteshestviia v vostochnye strany [Travels to the Eastern Countries]. Moscow: Mysl’, 1997, pp. 29–85 (in Russian).
  30. Prokhorov, Gelian M. “Povest’ o Batyevom nashestvii v Lavrent’evskoi letopisi” [The Tale of Batu’s Invasion in the Laurentian Chronicle]. In: Trudy Otdela drevnerusskoi literatury [Works of the Department of Old Russian Literature]. Leningrad: Nauka, 1974, vol. 28, pp. 77–98 (in Russian).
  31. Rashid ad-Din. Sbornik letopisei. T. I. Kniga 1 [Collection of Chronicles. Vol. I. Book 1]. Transl. by L.A. Khetagurov. Moscow–Leningrad: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1952 (in Russian).
  32. Rashid ad-Din. Sbornik letopisei. T. II [Collection of Chronicles. Vol. II]. Transl. by Yu.P. Verkhovsky. Moscow–Leningrad: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1960 (in Russian).
  33. Romanov, Valerij K. “Stat’ia 1224 g. o bitve pri Kalke Ipat’evskoi letopisi” [Article 1224 about the Battle of Kalka of the Hypatian Codex]. In: Letopisi i khroniki [Annals and Chronicles]. 1980. Moscow: Nauka, 1981, pp. 79–103 (in Russian).
  34. Seleznev, Yurii V. “Galitsko-Volynskaia letopis’ kak istochnik po istorii Dzhuchieva ulusa” [The Galician-Volyn Chronicle as a Source on the History of Juchiev Ulus]. Zolotoordinskaia tsivilizatsyia [The Golden Horde Civilization], 2016, no. 9, pp. 123–130 (in Russian).
  35. Seleznev, Yurii V. Kartiny ordynskogo iga [Depictions of the Horde Yoke]. Voronezh: Izdatel’skiy Dom VSU, 2017 (in Russian).
  36. Seleznev, Yurii. Russkie kniaz’ia pri dvore khanov Zolotoi Ordy [Russian Princes at the Court of the Golden Horde Khans]. Moscow: Lomonosov, 2017 (in Russian).
  37. Seleznev, Yurii V. & Tokmakova, Svetlana E. Russkie letopisi o Zolotoi Orde (izvlecheniia iz Lavrent’evskoi, Ipat’evskoi i Novgorodskoi letopisei) [Russian Chronicles on the Golden Horde (Extracts from the Laurentian, Hypatian, and Novgorod Chronicles)]. Voronezh: Nauchnaya kniga, 2020 (in Russian).
  38. Smolenskie gramoty XIII–XIV vekov [Smolensk Charters of the 13th–14th Centuries]. Prepared for print by T.A. Sumnikova and V.V. Lopatin; ed. by R.I. Avanesov. Moscow: Izd-vo AN SSSR, 1963 (in Russian).
  39. Sverdlov, Mikhail B. “K voprosu o letopisnykh istochnikakh ‘Povesti o bitve na Kalke’ ” [On the Question of Chronicle Sources of “The Tale of the Battle on the Kalka”]. Bulletin of LSU, 1963, no. 2 (iss. 1), pp. 139–144 (in Russian).
  40. Uzhankov, Alexander N. “ ‘Letopisets Daniila Galitskogo’: redaktsii, vremia sozdaniia” [“The Chronicler of Daniel Galitsky”: Different Versions, Time of Creation]. In: Germenevtika drevnerusskoi literatury. Sbornik 1. XI–XVI veka [Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature. Collection 1. The 11th–16th Centuries]. Moscow: Institut Mirovoi Literatury, 1989, pp. 247–283 (in Russian).
  41. Yurchenko, Alexander G. Imperiia i kosmos. Real’naia i fantasticheskaia istoriia pokhodov Chingiskhana po materialam frantsiskanskoi missii 1245 goda [The Empire and the Cosmos. The Real and Fantastic History of Genghis Khan’s Campaigns Based on the Materials of the Franciscan Mission of 1245]. St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2002 (in Russian).
  42. Zholtaia istoriia (Shara tudzhi) [The Yellow History (Shara tudzhi)]. Transl., translit., introduction and comment. by A.D. Tsendina. Moscow: Nauka–Vostochnaуa literatura, 2017 (in Mongolian; in Russian).
  43. Zlygostev, Valerii A. Geroi “Sokrovennogo skazaniia” [The Heroes of the “Secret History”]. Ufa: Al’fa-reklama, 2018 (in Russian).

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.