Description: War Thunder is a next generation military MMO game dedicated to...
Tribe Meshchera
Meshchera (also Meshchera) is an ancient Finno-Ugric tribe that became part of the Old Russian state and dissolved in the Old Russian people. Settled along the middle course of the Oka (Meshcherskaya lowland). The language of the Finno-Permian group (more precisely, the Volga-Finnish) is Meshchersky.Archeology associates with this tribe burial grounds and settlements of the II-XII centuries, located along the middle course of the Oka.
The conclusions of A. Ivanov based on the materials of the Pustoshensky burial ground of the Meshchera:
According to the nature and composition of its inventory, the burial ground belongs to the type of burials, which, apparently, marks a special culture. The characteristic features of this type should be recognized: the presence of lamellar neck torcs with cylindrical pendants, lamellar moon-shaped earrings with the same pendants, neck torcs twisted from wire with cone-shaped spikes at the ends, a large number of cowrie shells and rather crude, but original wire imitations of various kurgan finds. , such as: neck hryvnias and a bracelet with tied ends, openwork pendants and pendants typical of chains in the form of cylinders and rhombuses. All things of the described type are attributed according to the Finnish or, in any case, to a foreign tribe that preceded the Slavic colonization of the region.
We find the first mention of the Meshcher at Jordanes: The latest publication of Jordanes' Getica presents the text of the list in the following form:
"thiudos: Inaunxis Vasinabroncas Merens Mordens Imniscaris Rogas Tadzans Athaul Nauego Bubegenas Coldas" [Jordan, 116]. It should be interpreted as a heavily corrupted fragment of the text in the Gothic language [Anfertiev 1994: 150-151], the original of which, in terms of the territories of interest to us from the Baltic to the middle Volga, can be restored approximately as “þiudos: in Aunxis Vas, in Abroncas Merens, Mordens in Miscaris, Ragos stadjans / stadins "and translate: '[conquered] the peoples: in Aunuks - all, in Abroncas (?) - I measure, Mordovians in Meshchera, [along] the Volga of the area [atul, navego, bubegens, kolds]'.
Mentions of Meshchera are also found in the Tolkova Paley - a monument ancient Russian literature XIII century and in Russian chronicles (for example, in connection with the campaign of Ivan IV to Kazan).
Meshchera as an area was first mentioned in historical documents in 1298 during the redistribution of power between Bakhmet Useinov, the son of Shirinsky, “who expelled Tsar Osan-Ulanov, the son of Krymskov, from Meshchera Makhmet.”
The second time Meshchera is mentioned in 1328 in the Russian chronicle in connection with the acquisition of land (simultaneously with other Oka cities - Tarusa, Murom, Nizhny Novgorod, located from the headwaters to the mouth of the Oka River), by Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich from the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh.
Prince Kurbsky wrote:
“And then Ivan the Terrible sent us with Three for ten thousand people through the Ryazan land and then through the Meshcherskaya, where there is the Mordovian language.”
Gradually, the Slavs also settled the Meshchersky region. The Meshchera tribe was partly assimilated, partly pushed back to the Volga. However, the name remained, and those places where the Finnish tribes once lived have been called the Meshchera region or simply Meshchera since time immemorial.
Meshchera language
The message of Prince Kurbsky says that the Meshchera has a "Mordovian" language. It should be noted that now the "Mordovian" language does not exist, but there are Moksha and Erzya languages. Kurbsky's report gives reason to believe that the Meshchera language was close enough to the Moksha and Erzya languages. The materials collected by L.P. Smolyakova on the territory of the former Parakhinsky volost in the mid-60s confirmed the observations of her predecessors and her own conclusions regarding foreign (Finnish) influence. The specificity of the Russian dialects of Tataria, used by the Russified or Russified Erzei speakers of the Erzya language, allowed the author to assume that it was the Erzya substratum (and not the dialect of Moksha) that was at the heart of the Meshchera dialects. A distinctive feature of the Meshchera is the so-called clatter, which is common in Poochie on the territory of the former settlement of the Meshchera.
material culture
The culture was close to the culture of the Erzyans, for example, the meshchera had a hip adornment, such as a pulagai.
In connection with the assumption that the ancient Slavs had a vertical weaving mill, N.I. Lebedeva gives information about the weaving of "pulagai" by the "Russian Meshchera" p. Melekhov, Ryazan region and s. Vyazemka of the Zemetchinsky district of the Penza region, which are "a woven strip with a very long red wool fringe". At the same time, she emphasizes that the territory “of the dwelling of the Meshchera coincides with the settlements of the Gorodetsky type, in which there was a vertical weaving mill.” One of the local variants of the South Great Russian type of clothing G.S. Maslova considers the costume of the Zaoksky part of the Ryazan and Tambov regions - the “Russian meshchera” - one of ancient groups South Great Russians. Very old features have been preserved here, dating back, according to the author of the article, to Vyatic clothing (poneva, a type of headdress) and features that bring the clothes of the Russian population closer to the clothes of the peoples of the Volga region (especially Mordovian) - the type of bast shoes, black braids, shells, fringed pulagai belt.
D.K. Zelenin notes such features in the clothes of the Meshchera:
among the Meshchera, ponevs without stitching, not sewn in front, horned kichki and black onuchi were common.
Black dovetails (they are onuchi) are also common among Erzi:
There have also been changes in the way we wear shoes. If small children, especially in summer, usually walked barefoot, then teenagers began to wear bast shoes, and on holidays, leather shoes - boots or leather boots. Moreover, girls had to wear onuchi, and among the Tengush Erzi girls, from the age of ten, they wore black seprakstat. It was a piece of woolen fabric 10.0& cm wide and up to 2.5& m long. The edges were trimmed with red woolen cord. They were tightly wrapped right around the shins. The same twists were common among some moksha groups. At Moksha and Shoksha, on holidays, girls also wore red windings - yaksteren karkst. The process of winding them up was very long, so it was usually done in the evening and the girls slept shod. If the holiday lasted several days, then the windings were not removed throughout its entire length.
Anthropology
The hypothesis about the genetic relationship of the Russian Meshchera and the Tatar-Mishars in the 1950s was tested by scientists from the Research Institute of Anthropology of Moscow State University. On the basis of anthropological materials, they spoke out “against the point of view asserting the unity of the origin of the Mishars and the so-called Russian Meshchera”, and pointed to the possibility of a genetic connection between the Russian Meshchera and local “Mordva-Erzya groups”.
Academician T.I. Alekseeva writes:
“Russians from the Muroma habitat are also very similar to the Meshchera. They have relatively light pigmentation, poor beard development, very narrow faces, predominantly straight noses, and so on. This fact can be interpreted as confirmation of the connection between the Meshchera and the Muroma, and taking into account the fact that other anthropological types appear in the population surrounding these groups - Valdai and East Great Russian - as confirmation of the genetic relationship of these relic East Finnish Prioksky groups.
“The localization of such a peculiar morphological complex in a relatively isolated territory allows us to raise the question of identifying a new anthropological type in the systematics of Eastern Europe. On the basis of similarity with the Ilmenian, it can be attributed to the Eastern European contact group of types of the North Caucasian or Baltic minor race (according to Cheboksarov). Consistently pursuing the geographical principle in the designation of racial types, it should be called Middle Oka.
“Comparison of the skulls of the Meshchera, Meri and Muroma with the East Slavic ones, on the one hand, and with the Finno-Ugric ones, on the other, speaks of their much greater similarity with the first. In this sense, we can talk about the genetic ties between the East Slavic and East Finnish peoples on the territory of the Volga-Oka basin, which arose long before their ethnic formation.
Pustoshensky burial ground
A. Ivanov
Excavations in the village of Pustoshi, Sudogodsky district Vladimir province 1924 Vladimir publishing house "Call" 1925 ()
The village of Pustoshi, in which the burial ground described by us is located, is located in the southwestern corner of the Sudogodsky district, bordering on the Egorevsky district, Ryazan province. This area is the most low-lying part of the sandy-swampy and plain, which covers half of the Sudogodsky district and then goes far into the borders of the neighboring Ryazan province. It is rare to find an elevated hill here. Over the space of many tens of miles stretch solid swamps covered with moss, inedible grasses or stunted woody vegetation. With a width of 1-10 in. and length up to 20 in. moreover, these swamps, one must think, represent the remains of a once vast water basin, as evidenced by the presence in them of powerful peat formations. The exception to the general picture are those few and insignificant areas where, even in a distant epoch, perhaps closest to the retreat of the last glacier, the sands left by the glaciers were processed by the wind and collected into either flat and rather wide, or narrow and more or less high hills, which are occasionally observed here and are, as it were, islands in the marshy plain. On one of these wide and flat islands, among a sea of swamps and forests, sheltered from the Wasteland.
The existence of a burial ground in this village was discovered quite by accident. In the autumn of 1923, a peasant of this village, S.F. Alekseev, while digging a hole for potatoes, opened an ancient burial on his estate, which, according to him, was located at a depth of about 0.6 m and consisted of a skeleton and with it bronze or copper things: neck hryvnias (14), temporal rings (5), hand bracelets (6), small spiral rings, sleeve patches and various pendants (3). In the summer of 1924, I made a trip to the place of discovery and took all the things to the Vladimir Historical Museum. By their nature, things turned out to be typical of the most ancient culture before the Slavic period (Finnish). When interviewing S. F. Alekseev and some other peasants, it turned out that similar finds had happened on this estate before. Indeed, in the Vladimir Historical Museum there are two tablets with the following things sewn on them:
1) neck torc, twisted from copper wires, with tied ends.
2) neck torc, twisted from copper wires, with cone-shaped spikes at the ends.
3) two bracelets twisted from wire with tied ends.
4) a bracelet soldered from four wire braids, with 20 rings strung on it, twisted from thin copper wires.
5) a large openwork pendant made of wires with paddle pendants on chains.
On the tablets it is noted that the aforementioned things came from the village of Pustoshi, Sudogodsky district. Unfortunately, I was not able to establish exactly when, by whom and under what conditions the aforementioned items were obtained, since there is no information about this either in the press or in the archives of the Museum. Most likely, they were mined by N.E. Makarenko in 1905 during his excavations in Sudogodsky and Melenkovsky counties, but no report of these excavations has been preserved anywhere. Taking into account the nature of the dug out things and reports of previous finds, one could think that there is a burial ground here. ancient culture significantly already disturbed by potato pits. Since the burial ground was in danger of further destruction, I requested permission from the Glavnauka of the NKP to carry out archaeological excavations. The excavations were carried out by me together with the archaeologist F. Ya. Seleznev at the end of September 1924. The burial ground we unearthed turned out to be quite significant in terms of the number of burials, but poor in inventory.
Description of the burial ground
The burial ground is located in the NE outskirts of the village of Pustoshi, on the last three peasant estates, behind the outbuildings. The center of the burial ground was located on the estate of the district of S. F. Alekseev, while the outskirts touched two neighboring peasant estates. The area where the burial ground is located is a sloping descent from the SWW to the NEE, which is limited to the SWW by rural buildings, to the NWW field, and to the NWW by a swampy valley. The entire descent is plowed up by peasants for potatoes and vegetable gardens. The area occupied by the burial ground is approximately 375 sq. meters and has a somewhat elongated shape with a direction from the SW to the NEE (25x15 m.) The boundaries were determined by side and trial trenches, which did not give any grave signs. A total of 22 trenches were carried out with a width of 2 m and a total length of 124 meters. 25 human burials were found in the open area. The safety of the skeletons turned out to be different: 1 burial had a skeleton of unusually good preservation, 3-satisfactory preservation, in 8 burials the skeletons were in the last degree of destruction, in 4 burials the skeletons were incomplete, in 3 only skulls were preserved and, finally, in the burials they turned out to be empty and only outlined grave spots with fairly regular outlines. Burials in 23 cases were definitely single. In one case, there were 2 skulls in the grave, and in one the skeleton of an adult and a child's skull. The depth of the graves varied. within 0.4-0.7 m. The grave spot was usually traced at a depth of 0.15 m. The subject inventory of the burial ground turned out to be rather poor. With the exception of a few pieces of woolen cloth and leather, 3 shards of pottery, the remains of an iron knife and a few cowrie shells (Cypraca moneta), it was all made up of bronze items that served as accessories for women's jewelry. One must think that several burials rich in inventory were destroyed and plundered in the past. The stories point to it. local residents about previous finds and traces of numerous old potato pits discovered at the site of the burial ground by excavations.
Excavation diary
The excavations began from the place where in the fall of 1923, Count S. F. Alekseev discovered a burial with a large number of bronze items. The surface of the ancient cultural layer, modern education burial ground, represented a straight horizontal line. This phenomenon allows us to think that there was no bulk mound or elevations above individual graves above the burial ground. From this we can conclude that the burial ground is a representative of the funeral rites of an older population compared to those who left us barrow cemeteries, so numerous in the Vladimir province. The appearance of the type of barrow burial within the Vladimir province dates back to the 10th century, and the widest distribution to the 11th-12th centuries. This type of burial is listed in the Suzdal Territory Western Slavs(Krivichi) during the initial mass colonization of the region by the Russian population. The form of burial rituals of the burial ground is also the most ancient, preceding in pagan times the cremation and burial in a sitting position. The dead in the burial ground are laid on their backs, stretched out, with their heads directed mainly to the southwest and northwest. The Slavic custom of positioning the head on 3 was met here only 2 times out of 25 cases. The inventory of the cemetery in general is of a sharply foreign character. The presence of temporal rings and pot shards with Slavic ornamentation indicates only an accidental and earliest contact with Slavic culture. In view of all this, the Lustoshensky burial ground should be attributed to a foreign culture and, moreover, of an earlier time than the related Zakolpinsky burial ground (XII - XIII centuries) and the burial mounds near Kasimov (Parakhinsky and Popovsky), Ryazan. lips. (XII century), in which the position of the skeletons was observed with a predominant direction of 3 and among the inventory of which there were things of a Christian nature (crosses and images). On the other hand, among the inventory of the Pustoshensky burial ground there was not a single thing that could be dated earlier than the 11th century. The objects of the burial ground have the closest analogy in the finds near the village. Zhabok, Egoryevsky district, Ryazan province, dated to the 11th century. The most reliable date for the Pustoshensky burial ground will also be the 11th century. According to the nature and composition of its inventory, the burial ground belongs to the type of burials, which, apparently, marks a special culture. The characteristic features of this type should be recognized: the presence of lamellar neck torcs with cylindrical pendants, lamellar moon-shaped earrings with the same pendants, neck torcs twisted from wire with cone-shaped spikes at the ends, a large number of cowrie shells and rather crude, but original wire imitations of various kurgan finds. , such as: neck hryvnias and a bracelet with tied ends, openwork pendants and pendants typical of chains in the form of cylinders and rhombuses. All things of the described type are attributed according to the Finnish or, in any case, to a foreign tribe that preceded the Slavic colonization of the region.
By the nature of its inventory, this burial ground belongs to the Maksimovsky type and marks the border of a new culture, which is represented in the Murom district by a whole series of burial grounds, some of which have already been surveyed, and some of which have just been discovered (Podbolotsky, Maksimovsky, Peremilovsky, Kornilovsky, Efanovsky, etc.). It is remarkable that in the inventory of these burial grounds we have absolutely no analogies with the Pustoshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds, with the exception of some similarities in the tube-shaped pendant with pendants. V. A. Gorodtsov considers it possible to single out the burial grounds of the Murom region in a special group and attribute them specifically to Murom, one of the historical Finnish tribes, partly agglomerated, partly ousted by the Slavs in the 11th century. Turning to the NE from the Pustoshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds, we have two burial grounds on our way: Novlensky, located in the SE corner of the Sudogodsky district and Kholuysky, Vyaznikovsky district. The first one adjoins in its culture entirely to the series of Murom cemeteries and, in particular, is of the same type as Maksimovsky. The second can be attributed to the type of the Ryazan-Oka burial grounds (Borkovsky, Kuzminsky, Kurmanovsky, Palnovsky, Tyrnovsky, etc.), identified archeol. science into a special group and representing a peculiar culture of a foreign tribe that lived in the Ryazan region along the banks of the Oka. Among the inventory of the Ryazan-Oka burial grounds there are some things similar to the items of the Pustoshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds. These include: spiral rings in several turns, a copper ring with a thickened middle, decorated with a ribbed notch, pendants in the form of a tube with a darling and clips along the edges and in the middle, and lobed pendants. But all these similarities are not completely identical and do not belong to the objects most characteristic of the Pustoshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds, and therefore cannot at all be recognized as evidence of the homogeneity of cultures. In the further direction to the NE, and then to the N, NW and 3, no burial grounds have been discovered so far. Here, outside the Sudogodsky district, the kurgan culture begins, left by the first Russian colonizers of the Vladimir-Suzdal Territory in the 10th-12th centuries.
Turning to Yu, we enter the limits of the Ryazan province, where we already meet a number of points ethnographically related to the Pustsshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds. So, near. Zhabok, Yegoryevsk district, a treasure was plowed out in 1871, which contained quite a lot of things completely identical with the objects of the Pustoshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds. In 1891, near the same village, in a different place, new things of the same types were found, along with bones. In 1893, A. Spitsyn carried out excavations here, which yielded new finds of the same type, but did not reveal a burial ground. The items are dated to the 11th century. The territorial distribution of the culture of the Pustoshensky burial ground can undoubtedly be traced in the southern part of the Sudogodsky and Melenkovsky counties, Vladimir province, and in the northern counties of Yegorievsk and Kasimovsky, Ryazan province. Geographically, this entire area, which occupies the basins of the Tsna, Pra, Poli, Gus and Kolpi rivers, is extremely monotonous: it is a swampy, wooded and barren lowland.
Some fragments that have survived in literature and, most importantly, folk legend, consider the special Finnish tribe "Meshchera" to be the ancient inhabitants of this area. Until now, the entire north- East End The Ryazan province and the southwestern parts of the Sudogodsky and Melenkovsky districts, the Vladimir province, are called the "Meshchera Territory". We do not yet dare to categorically attribute the Pustoshensky burial ground to the Meshchera tribe, since there is not enough historical and archaeological material for such a statement. But what about the nationality that inhabited in the XI century. the so-called "Meshchersky region" and left us, along with the other monuments mentioned above, the Pustoshensky burial ground, belonged to a special Finnish tribe - this can be considered very reliable. Proof of this is not only the originality of excavated items that signify a special culture, but also the originality of geographical names of foreign origin, such as: Tasa, Teserma, Narmoch, Ninuru, Danduru, Kikuru, Senturu, Sinuru, etc.
Tribal life and culture. The excavated material, which is rather poor in quantity and extremely uniform in quality, does not make it possible to restore a complete picture of the life and culture of the people who left the Pustoshensky and Zakolpinsky burial grounds and the Kasimov mounds. Based on it, we can only form fragmentary ideas about some aspects of the economic and spiritual life of the tribe that lived in the 11th-11th centuries. in the so-called Meshcherskaya side.
The first thing that catches your eye when considering the grave inventory is the absence of any weapons. None of the types of weapons known to us that were used in that era by the neighboring Finnish tribes turned out to be among the material finds. Iron knives found in small quantities are too small in size and should be classified as household items. By all indications, the ancient inhabitants of the Meshchera side were distinguished by a very peaceful character and did not care at all about providing themselves with military equipment. This should partly explain the rapid and almost complete disappearance of the culture we are describing, swept away by the flow of militant Slavic newcomers. The occupations of the tribe and, in general, its entire economic life took shape under the influence of the natural environment. The sandy, barren soil could not induce cultivation. No signs of agricultural activity were found in the grave inventory. Apparently, agriculture was introduced in this area already by the Slavs in later times. There were somewhat more favorable conditions for raising livestock. Indications of cattle breeding can be seen in the remains of woolen fabric and leather products, as well as in the finds of a horse tooth and fragments of cow bones.
However, the main crafts of the inhabitants of the Meshchersky region were, undoubtedly, hunting, fishing and beekeeping. hunting and fishing were the main ones because virgin nature provided rich booty. As for beekeeping, this craft is extremely common in the Meshcherskaya side to this day. A resident of this region is still considered the best expert on the craft, so that the bee and the bee take first place with him even in religion. The whole world is divided by him into three bee-houses: light, white and dark. The light one is placed in heaven and the bees of its components are the stars, the white beekeeper is living people on earth, and the dark one consists of the dead and is placed underground. The circle of household crafts was limited, apparently, exclusively by the practical needs of the inhabitants themselves. The archaeological material makes it possible to single out, with a certain certainty, pottery, the production of fabrics and leather, and foundry. The samples of the aforementioned products found during excavations are distinguished by rather high technology. Some of the items of women's jewelry, such as a slotted copper bracelet, are not without original beauty. In general, judging by the situation of the burials, the economic life of the tribe that left the burial ground is drawn rather poor. Of the 26 opened graves, only 5 found the remains of wooden coffins. In all other cases, it turned out to be a cheap and modest lubok wrapper. Only 5 dead were also provided with inventory. All this undoubtedly testifies to the poor property situation of the ancient inhabitants of the region.
With regard to public and domestic life, it is difficult to say anything definite in the absence of positive data. The difference in the graves in terms of the number of inventory they contain can be taken as an indication of the division of the local population according to social status. But what lay at the basis of this division - the size of property, or class origin - we are not able to answer with determination. The custom of rewarding dead women and children with items of dyeing and household items testifies to their good position in the family. Apparently, women and children were not considered slaves and were not required to follow their husbands and parents to the afterlife. The peculiarities of the funeral rites and the insignificant remnants of feasts near the graves show that religious beliefs already took place in the life of the tribe we are describing. These beliefs have developed under the influence of the surrounding nature and have not yet had time to develop into a coherent system. Their basis was the belief in the afterlife, which seemed to be the same as the earthly one. From here, it is desirable for the living to provide their relatives with everything necessary, up to jewelry, before leaving for the afterlife. Undoubtedly, such a ceremony undermined the well-being of the people, but love for their dead was stronger than any calculations and benefits. It can be assumed that during this period, if there was no closed priestly caste, then there were already separate individuals who took upon themselves the duty of serving the gods. The annals preserved information about the Magi and magicians, who stubbornly opposed the spread of Christianity in our areas.
Very little can be said about the outward signs of the population that left the Pustoshansky burial ground, since the anthropological material obtained by excavations remains unexplored. By all indications, the population was of medium height, stocky, black-haired and distinguished by strength and health. When examining the skulls, we did not find a single case of damage to the teeth, even among the dead of a relatively old age.
In conclusion, it should be wished that historians of archaeological science pay more attention to the remote Meshchera region. With a thorough study of it, all the banks of large and small rivers, all barrows, burial grounds and settlements will turn into a living chronicle, and then a complete and vivid picture of the life and culture of an already disappeared people will unfold before us.
Ground burial ground Zhabkinsky
Toads. Ground burial, 11-13 centuries. According to A.A. Spitsyn 1893, located "at opposite ends" of the village, on the right bank of the river. Tsna (left tributary of the Oka River). At one end of the village, the remains, probably of one burial, were explored (A.A. Spitsyn), where with “fragments of painted in green color bones" were "copper jewelry", incl. two bracelets or temporal rings, bells, tube pendants, a thread with two clawed pendants, four spiral rings, a cowrie shell. The burial dates back to the 11th century. At the other end of the village, where in 1870 and 1871. a “treasure of copper things” was found, excavations by A.A. Spitsyn "no traces of the burial ground were found." In this regard, the researcher concludes: "We have to remain with the old opinion that this find has the character of a treasure." In the hoard, among the things “woven from copper wire”, there was a large pendant with schematized horse heads and noisy pendants, crescent-shaped plaques, buckles, and bracelets. According to A.A. Spitsyn, "these things can be attributed to approximately the 11th-12th centuries." The researcher also notes that although the places of the finds "lie at a considerable distance from each other, at opposite ends of the village, ... the objects themselves of both finds are quite identical." A.L. Mongait, who dates the monument to the 11th century, notes that in it we "see a vivid picture of the Slavicization of the ancient local population, probably the Meshchers, under the influence of the Krivichs who colonized this area." Col. in the GE, RIAM, Egorievsk Museum of Local Lore.
Archaeological map of Russia. Moscow region. Part 4
- Zakolpye (, Vladimir region). Ground burial ground Zakolpsky, 11-12 centuries. 2 km. southeast of the village, left bank of the river. Kolp. It occupies a ledge of the first floodplain terrace at a height of 0.5-2.0 m above the river. Investigated (A.P. Polikarpov, 1899; N.E. Makarenko, 1905) 21 burials, incl. 17 corpses and four cremations. Burials according to the rite of burial were made in shallow grave pits up to 2.1x0.8 m in size, up to 0.7 m deep, mainly with a western orientation. The position of the buried heads to the north, northeast, south-southwest is also noted. Carbonaceous inclusions were found in the filling of grave pits. In one case, two concentric annular grooves filled with ash were found around the grave. The finds come from female burials. Among them are temporal bracelet-shaped rings with tied ends and ring-shaped bent-ended ones, twisted neck torcs, parts of a lamellar rim with noisy pendants, cast crosses, an icon-medallion, a noisy arch-type pendant, glass zone beads of yellow, green and blue colors, cowrie shells, fragments of pottery. The cemetery is one of the few famous monuments Finno-Ugric tribe Meshchera, who experienced a strong Slavic influence.
Archaeological map of Russia. Vladimir region.
Archaeological finds relating to the Meshchera tribe in the Gus-Khrustalny region (burial grounds and bronze ornaments) were made at the very beginning of the 20th century. near the village of Zakolpye on the Kolp River. However, richer and more diverse cultural objects of this tribe were found in the Zhabkinsky burial ground (20 km south of the city of Egorievsk, Moscow Region). These and other finds made on the territory of the Klyazma-Oka interfluve indicate that the Meshchera culture flourished in this region in the 9th-12th centuries.
One of characteristic features the clothes of the Meshchera tribe were skillful decorations made of bronze and copper in the form of noisy pendants for women and breastplates for men. The chest plate is a copper decoration, a symbol of the sun, in addition to sacral functions, it was a distinctive sign of belonging to a certain ethnic group.
At the end of 2003, a researcher from the State Historical Museum Moscow Akhmedov I.R. Being one of the leading specialists in the archeology of the Volga Finns, he naturally became interested in the finds from the Zhabkinsky burial ground, stored in the museum. Seeing men's breastplates, he was struck by their similarity with the breastplates of numerous Ryazan-Oka burial grounds of the 3rd-4th centuries in the middle reaches of the Oka! Subsequent studies confirmed his hunch - these are objects of the same culture! ..
Seriously, this is a scientific sensation! If burials at the site of the current village of Zhabki in the Moscow region began as early as the era of the Ryazan-Oka culture of the 3rd-4th centuries. - the culture of the harsh warriors of the Middle Oka, then this solves the problem of the origin of the Meshchera!
At the beginning of the first millennium AD. on a vast territory from modern Kolomna near Moscow almost to Vladimir in the north and Mordovia in the east, well-armed tribes appear, the culture of which archaeologists very conditionally called the Ryazan-Oka. Their way of life and culture did not correspond much to the local Volga Finns of the Gorodets culture (ancestors of the Erzya and Moksha), who lived here from ancient times, peacefully mastering the floodplains, engaged in agriculture and pig breeding. The newcomers were distinguished by their ferocious disposition - they plundered and completely burned the Gorodets settlements, completely destroying their inhabitants.
Burial mounds of the Ryazan-Oktsy were discovered in the Gusevsky district near the village of Parakhino, as well as in Zakolpye .... According to the way of life, the Ryazan-Oktsy were warriors - cattle breeders, they knew blacksmithing and copper smelting well. The middle course of the Oka at that time was of great strategic importance. The ancient “Silver” Volga trade route passed here long before the well-known trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” appeared. Archaeologists believe that the Ryazan-Oktsy came to Meshchera from the Don steppes and were in alliance with the Eastern Goths. Armament, military armor, horse harness - everything was Western-style. The custom of this tribe included burial next to the deceased warrior, along with full military attire, chopped into pieces of a horse, which was placed at the feet of the deceased.
Cm.
Indo-European roots of the Meshchera tribe
Nikolai Skulov
City of Meshchera
As the city of Meshchera, it was first mentioned in 1393 in an annalistic report, where Khan Tokhtamysh granted the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich "the Novgorod principality (173) of Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Meshcher, Torso." (PSRL, vol. XI, St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 148; M. K. Lyubavsky. Formation of the main state territory of the Great Russian people, L., 1929, p. 92.). In the same sense, Meshchera is mentioned in the will of Ivan III, who passes on to his son "Meshcher with volosts and from the village and with everything that attracted her and with Koshkov." (SGGD, vol. 1, no. 144).This text repeats Grozny's testament, and Meshchera is here directly called the city "Yes, I give him the city of Meshchera with volosts and villages ..." (DAI, vol. 1, No. 222).
Apparently, Mr. Kasimov was standing not far from the city of Meshchera.
The last mention of the city of Meshchera is probably contained in the unsubscribe of the Ustyug residents to the Permians of 1609: “the sovereign boyars and governors Fedor Ivanovich Sheremetev and the comrades of the sovereign cities: Murom and Kasimov, Meshchera, Elatma, Kadoma, Volodimer and Suzdal were cleared.” (AAE, vol. 2, St. Petersburg, 1836, No. 104, II).
Settlement "Big Town"
31. Muratovo (Melenkovsky district). Settlement B. Gorodok, r.zh.v., 3rd quarter. 1st millennium AD.
0.4 km. south southeast of the village, a narrow cape of the left root bank of the river. Oka between the ravines, ca. 0.3 km. from the riverbed, tract B. Gorodok. The site is oval in shape, elongated from the northeast to the southwest, its dimensions are 107x30 m, the height above the river is approx. 40 m., from the floor south-west side - a hill-shaped rampart approx. 3 m with a width at the base of up to 6 m. The ditch in front of the rampart is almost completely swollen. There is no cultural layer near the rampart. Modeled pottery, with mesh prints on the outer surface and smooth-walled, sometimes with burnishing, probably of the Gorodets culture, a fragment of a silver bracelet, clay and blue glass beads, bronze thread, animal bones, fish scales. The ancient settlement arose on the site of an earlier Bronze Age settlement (Fatyanovo culture).
Settlement "Okshovsky"
33. Okshovo. Settlement Okshovsky town, r.zh.v., 3rd quarter. 1st millennium AD.
1 km. to the east of the village, the borderland of the Vladimir and Ryazan regions, the cape of the left root bank of the river. Oka between two ravines, near the tract Popurino. The site is trapezoidal in plan, stretching from west to east, its dimensions are approx. 75x47-55 m., height above the river approx. 30 m., sloping surface to the east. On the floor western side, a 6-meter-high rampart with a gentle inner slope and a 1-meter-deep ditch in front of it, leaving the ends on the slopes of ravines, have been preserved. In the middle part of the ditch there is a lintel for entry, but there is no corresponding recess in the rampart. Investigated (A.E. Leontiev, 1989) 16 square meters. m. Stucco ceramics, with matting and mesh prints on the outer surface, as well as smooth-walled, incl. with pitted and dotted ornamentation, Gorodets culture, two-piece blue glass beads, melted eon or spherical blue bead, iron wedge, unidentified iron object. One of the pits on the mainland contained fragments of vessels with net prints on the outer surface. In several pits, round in plan, 0.3 m in diameter, and 0.20-0.35 m deep, single calcined bones and small fragments of pottery were found. Perhaps there are remains of cremations on the side.
34. Okshovo. Selishche Popurino, r.zh.v., 11-13 centuries.
1 km. east of the village, the left root bank of the river. Oka, to the west of the settlement Okshovsky town, directly behind its fortifications. Dimensions from 450-500x220 m to 100x80 m, height above the river 30-35 m. Modeled pottery, presumably of Gorodets culture, Old Russian pottery with linear ornament, clay sinker, animal bones.
“The village of Okshovo, by the river Oka, on the border of the Melenkovsky district with the Tambov province, is located 24 versts from the county town and 164 from the provincial one.”
In the salary books of the Ryazan diocese for 1676, Okshovo is listed as a village in the parish of the village of Sanchur; it then had a yard of landowners and 9 peasant yards.
The church was first built here in 1785 by the landowner M. Yazykov, but it was not built in the village itself, but at a distance of one and a half miles from it. In 1852 the peasants moved the church to the village itself.
“This church is wooden; there are two thrones in it: the main one in the name of the Nativity of Christ, in the chapel in the name of the Archangel Michael.
The clergy in the parish according to the state is supposed to be: a priest and a psalmist. Up to 250 rubles for the maintenance of them is obtained from services and corrections. in a year In addition, the peasants pledged from 1881 to issue a clergy every year for 8 quarters. rye and oats, but this obligation is carried out rather inaccurately. The priest has his own house on church land.
The parish consists of one village, Okshova, in which, according to the clerical records, there are 87 households, 317 husband souls. gender and 341 female.
/Historical and stratological description of churches and parishes of the Vladimir diocese. 1896 /
Settlement "Archangel"
3. Archangel (Melenkovsky district). Settlement, r.zh.v., 3rd quarter. 1st millennium AD, 11th-13th centuries.
Near the village, the cape of the left root bank of the river. Unzha at the confluence of the Veselovka stream into its valley. The platform is triangular in plan, approx. 60-70x35-40 m., elongated from west to east, height above the river 10-12 m., on the floor eastern side - the remains of a moat in the form of a small depression. Fragments of ancient Russian pottery vessels with a linear and wavy ornament of the 12th-13th centuries were found in its upper horizons, fragments of stucco vessels with textile imprints on the outer surface, as well as smooth-walled, sometimes with burnishing, Dyakovo or Gorodets culture were found in its lower horizons.
4. Archangel (Melenkovsky district). Settlement, 11-13 centuries.
The territory of the village, the left bank of the river. Unzha. Stretched along the coast from north to south, size approx. 210x60 m., height above the river 8-10 m. Ancient Russian pottery with linear and wavy ornaments, the bottom of the vessel with a brand, fragments of clay coating, iron nails, animal bones.
Archeology
Archeology associates with this tribe cemeteries and settlements -XII centuries, located along the middle course of the Oka.
The conclusions of A. Ivanov based on the materials of the Pustoshensky burial ground of the Meshchera:
According to the nature and composition of its inventory, the burial ground belongs to the type of burials, which, apparently, marks a special culture. The characteristic features of this type should be recognized: the presence of lamellar neck torcs with cylindrical pendants, lamellar moon-shaped earrings with the same pendants, neck torcs twisted from wire with cone-shaped spikes at the ends, a large number of cowrie shells and rather crude, but original wire imitations of various kurgan finds. , such as: neck hryvnias and a bracelet with tied ends, openwork pendants and pendants typical of chains in the form of cylinders and rhombuses. All things of the described type are attributed according to the Finnish or, in any case, to a foreign tribe that preceded the Slavic colonization of the region.
Story
The first mention of the Meshcher we [ ] we find at the Jordan: The latest publication of Jordan's Getica presents the text of the list as follows:
"thiudos: Inaunxis Vasinabroncas Merens Mordens Imniscaris Rogas Tadzans Athaul Nauego Bubegenas Coldas" [Jordan, 116]. It should be interpreted as a heavily corrupted fragment of a text in the Gothic language [Anfertiev 1994: 150-151], the original of which, in terms of the territories of interest to us from the Baltic to the middle Volga, can be restored approximately as “*þiudos: in Aunxis Vas, in Abroncas Merens, Mordens in Miscaris, Ragos stadjans / stadins "and translate: '[conquered] the peoples: in Aunuks - all, in Abroncas (?) - I measure, Mordovians in Meshchera, [along] the Volga area [atul, navego, bubegenov, koldov] '.
Mentions of Meshchera are also found in the Tolkovaya Paley - a monument of ancient Russian literature of the XIII century and in Russian chronicles (for example, in connection with the campaign of Ivan IV to Kazan). Meshchera as an area was first mentioned in historical documents in 1298 during the redistribution of power between Bakhmet Useinov, the son of Shirinsky, “who expelled Tsar Osan-Ulanov, the son of Krymskov, from Meshchera Makhmet.” The second time Meshchera was mentioned in 1392. in the Russian chronicle in connection with the acquisition of land (simultaneously with other Oka cities - Tarusa, Murom, Nizhny Novgorod, located from the headwaters to the mouth of the Oka River), by Grand Duke Vasily Dmitrievich from the Golden Horde Khan Tokhtamysh.
A distinctive feature of the meshchera is clatter. Until now, it can be found in the Meshchera villages of Syademka, Vyazemka and others. The distribution area of \u200b\u200bthe clatter is Poochye on the territory of the former settlement of the Meshchera, in the Zemetchinsky district of the Penza region.
material culture
The culture was close to the culture of the Erzyans, for example, a loincloth, such as a pulagai, was common among the Meshchera.
In connection with the assumption that the ancient Slavs had a vertical weaving mill, N. I. Lebedeva gives information about weaving "Pulagaev""Russian Meshcheroy" p. Melekhov, Ryazan region and s. Vyazemka of the Zemetchinsky district of the Penza region, which are "a woven strip with a very long red wool fringe". At the same time, she emphasizes that the territory “of the dwelling of the Meshchera coincides with the settlements of the Gorodetsky type, in which there was a vertical weaving mill.”
One of the local variants of the South Great Russian type of clothing G.S. Maslova considers the costume of the Zaoksky part of the Ryazan and Tambov regions - the “Russian meshchera” - one of the oldest groups of South Great Russians. Very old features have been preserved here, dating back, according to the author of the article, to Vyatic clothing (poneva, a type of headdress) and features that bring the clothes of the Russian population closer to the clothes of the peoples of the Volga region (especially Mordovian) - the type of bast shoes, black braids, shells, hooks, fringed pulagai belt.
Anthropology
The hypothesis about the genetic relationship of the Russian Meshchera and the Tatar-Mishars in the 1950s was tested by scientists from the Research Institute of Anthropology of Moscow State University. On the basis of anthropological materials, they spoke out “against the point of view asserting the unity of the origin of the Mishars and the so-called Russian Meshchera”, and pointed to the possibility of a genetic connection between the Russian Meshchera and local “Mordva-Erzya groups”.
Academician T. I. Alekseeva writes:
“Russians from the Muroma habitat are also very similar to the Meshchera. They have relatively light pigmentation, weakened beard development, a very narrow face, a predominantly straight nose, etc. This fact can be interpreted as confirmation of the connection between the Meshchera and the Muroma, and taking into account the fact that other anthropological patterns appear in the population surrounding these groups. types - Valdai and East Great Russian - as confirmation of the genetic relationship of these relic East Finnish Oka groups.
“The localization of such a peculiar morphological complex in a relatively isolated territory allows us to raise the question of identifying a new anthropological type in the systematics of Eastern Europe. On the basis of similarity with the Ilmenian, it can be attributed to the Eastern European contact group of types of the North Caucasian or Baltic minor race (according to Cheboksarov). Consistently pursuing the geographical principle in the designation of racial types, it should be called Middle Oka.
“Comparison of the skulls of the Meshchera, Meri and Muroma with the East Slavic ones, on the one hand, and with the Finno-Ugric ones, on the other, speaks of their much greater similarity with the first. In this sense, we can talk about the genetic ties between the East Slavic and East Finnic peoples on the territory of the Volga-Oka basin, which arose long before their ethnic formation.
Notes
- Borovkov E. Mordva, Muroma and Meshchera - the ancient population of the Upper Volga region (indefinite) . Historicus.ru.
- Ivanov A. Excavations in the village of Pustoshi, Sudogodsky district of the Vladimir province 1924 Vladimir publishing house "Call" 1925
- Napolskikh V.V. The Bulgar era in the history of the Finno-Ugric peoples of the Volga and Cis-Urals Archival copy of August 29, 2014 on the Wayback Machine // History of the Tatars from ancient times in seven volumes. Volume 2
- Orlov A. M. Nizhny Novgorod Tatars ethnic roots and historical fate. Lower Novgorod, 2001.
- Meshchera (indefinite) (unavailable link). Retrieved June 22, 2014. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014.
- Russian traditional culture of the late XIX-early XX centuries.
- The language of the Russian village
- Alymov S. S. On the way to " ancient history peoples of the USSR. Little known pages scientific biography S. P. Tolstova // Ethnographic Review, 2007, No. 5. P.129.
- Zelenin D.K. Great Russian dialects with inorganic and intransitive mitigation of back-palatal consonants in connection with the currents of the later Great Russian colonization. 1913.
- Zubova glade
- Orlov A. M.
In our article we want to talk about the Meshchera land. It was these regions that he described in his famous story "Meshcherskaya Side". Why is she so remarkable?
Where is Meshchersky Krai located?
The Meshchersky lands are located not far from Moscow, between Ryazan and Vladimir. They form a kind of triangle with a total area of about 25 thousand square kilometers.
Here the whole land is completely covered with forests. This is one of those few islands of green massifs that have survived and survived to our times, which used to be part of a single great belt. coniferous trees. Once it stretched from the Urals to Polissya.
Many millennia ago, the Meshchersky region was covered by a glacier. When he descended, he left behind a lowland, now called the Meshcherskaya Depression. It is in its depths that the Meshchera forests are located - wild and reserved places. Here prevail conifers. There are a huge number of peat bogs and lakes.
Rivers and lakes of the region
In these parts, the lakes and rivers Pra and Buzha formed a large water system, which stretches from north to south for more than 270 kilometers. Spring floods turn all reservoirs into one huge lake. During the spring flood, more than 60% of the land of the inner Meshchera is covered with water.
The shores of lakes and rivers are covered with birch and fern, juniper and heather, centuries-old fir trees and oaks. Meshchera forests are primarily spruce, peat, cranberries, mushrooms and swamps.
Meshchera forests have become a real home for white hares, squirrels and foxes. There are a large number of them here.
protected areas
Of course, Meshchera has been subjected to human influence, but there are still places that have not suffered much from human activity, or even completely retained their original appearance. Such sites are presented for study, and therefore require close protection. If we preserve the forests of Meshchera, then we will have a piece of pristine and wild nature, which is home to many rare birds and animals.
Currently, there are already more than 20 sanctuaries in this area. There is even one natural monument. You will be surprised, but these are three-hundred-year-old pines. They are of great value and interest, and also require a special security regime.
The protected areas of the region make up an area of more than 40 hectares, and this is a significant figure for the region. It must be remembered that most of the territories are lakes, swamps and rivers. This means that most of the reserves are connected with water. This is what played a decisive role in their names: “Holy Lake”, “Polya River Valley”, “Blue Backwater”, “White Lake”.
All reserves are scattered throughout the territory and have a different area. All of them can be, purely conditionally, divided into 3 types (according to the purpose of creation): zoological, botanical, complex. There are reserves that were created specifically for the protection of a certain type of animals and plants, such as Lake Beloe, for example. And there are those in which they comprehensively approach the protection of all flora and fauna.
In the reserve "Ozero Beloe" they are engaged in the study and conservation of such a plant as the lake half-grass. It is notable for the fact that it is able to create entire meadows in shallow water, and real forests at depth. And in the "Polya River Valley" beavers are guarded and bred. Due to this, their population has increased and now this animal has become a common (not disappearing) inhabitant of the forest rivers of the region.
Skiing in Meshchersky Park
However, the Meshchera forest is interesting not only in summer. Skiing - this is what this region can be more interesting in winter. The fact is that five routes have been developed in Meshchersky Park. Two of them are tourist destinations and three are sports destinations. The entire park area is dotted with ski routes.
The longest sports track is the ring, the length of which is more than 5 kilometers. Two more sports directions are a little shorter: 1.3 kilometers and 4 kilometers.
As for tourist routes, two routes are provided, their length is 2.6 and 1.8 kilometers.
All of them are designed as supporters classical style, and for lovers They are supported in a very good condition because there are competitions. Do not worry if you still do not know how to ski, you will be taught the basics of this art here. For those who are just starting to ride, they conduct special group classes with professionals.
I would like to note that all these entertainments are offered to visitors by the Meshchersky park, which is located in the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region. It should not be confused with the National Park "Meshchersky", which is located on the territory of the Ryazan region, and its activities are aimed solely at preserving the natural, historical and cultural wealth of the country. The Meshchersky National Park was created in 1992. Imagine that its total area is 105,000 hectares. There are 28 lakes alone on the territory.
Entertainment in Meshchersky Park
In general, the Meshchersky park (in the Moscow region) can offer you cycling around the territory, children's entertainment (slides, tunnels, labyrinths, rock climbing and much more), tracks for sports jogging, a professional football field that meets FIFA requirements, a children's "Panda- park", roller track. And keep in mind that no matter what type of recreation you choose, you will be surrounded by the Meshchersky forest all day long. The location of the park itself is convenient because it is quite close to Moscow. And at the same time, you find yourself in a land of completely wild nature. Trust that you will be satisfied with the time you spend here. Moreover, there is something to do here for any person - both a lover of outdoor activities and a supporter of a more calm and measured rhythm. But for children here is just a real fairy tale, a lot of entertainment and nature around.
You can get to the park by your own car from Moscow along the highway to Kasimov (the distance is approximately 185 kilometers).
Instead of an afterword
If you want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis and its crazy rhythm, visit the Meshchersky forests. Here you will find impenetrable wild jungle, mushrooms, berries, animals and birds that you will not see in other places.
You can visit the Meshchersky park. It is visited by thousands of tourists every year. Where else can you have such a wonderful time with the whole family, if not here? Here you will find a lot of activities, ranging from skiing to cycling and canoeing. I must say that here everyone will find something new and interesting for themselves. In the bosom of nature, a wide range of entertainment is presented. Although the very environment of forests and lakes already makes the rest unforgettable. You will be amazed by the local beauty, and you will become a fan of recreation in Meshchera at any time of the year. Tourists who have chosen these places give the best reviews. So, you should also get out there for the weekend.
HISTORY OF MESHERA
Most of all poetic words are written about Meshcher as one of the most beautiful
corners of the center of Russia. It is the least studied historically, although Meshchera occupies a special place in the ethnic history of Russia. Dozens and hundreds of articles and books have been written about the Meshchera, both by pre-revolutionary historical figures and modern historians and local historians. But until now, Meshchera remains a mystery, which no one has yet been able to solve.
"Meshchera" is currently understood as the territory of the Meshchera lowland, located in the interfluve of the Oka and Klyazma rivers. Geographically, the Meshcherskaya lowland is located within the Moscow, Vladimir and Ryazan regions. But historically, this name denoted a much more extensive territory. Chronicles of the 15th-16th centuries, without giving precise indications for determining the position of the Meshchera region, combine it together or place it in the southern neighborhood of the Mordovian settlement area in the Middle Volga region, between the lower reaches of the Oka and the Sura (Proceedings of the eighth archaeological congress in Moscow. 1890. M 1897, p. 65).
The historian Yu.V. Gauthier defines the boundaries of Meshchera in this way; "" Under Meshchera in the XVI - XVIII centuries. meaning the land once inhabited by the tribe bearing this name. He occupied vast areas on the Oka, Moksha and Tsna, within the current Ryazan, Tambov and Penza provinces. From Kasimov, then called Gorodets Meshchersky, to Kadom and Temnikov "", "" Meshcheroy in the administrative language of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was called the Shatsky district "" which included three camps: Podlesny, Borisoglebovsky and Zamokshsky. The latter was the most extensive camp. It stretched along the Moksha River from its mouth almost from the current city of Krasnoslobodsk, embracing the territory of the entire former Temnikovsky district and parts of Elatomsky and Krasnoslobodsky. (Yu.V. Gautier. Tens according to Vladimir and Meshchera, 1590 and 1615, 1911, books 1-2, pp. 55-56)
By the end of the XVI century. with the development of Russian colonization, the borders of Meshchera expanded due to the annexation of southern lands along Tsna and Moksha. In 1553, the center of Meshchera moved to Shatsk - it became the administrative center of the entire Meshchera, with the exception of the insignificant district of the city of Kasimov. Later, Elatomsky, Shatsky and Kadomsky stand out from Meshchera, then Temnikovsky, Krasnoslobodsky, Troitsky, Spassky counties of the Tambov province, Kerensky, Chembarsky - Penza
provinces. Meshchera also included part of the Narovchatsky district. "The data provided indicate that the Meshchera land does not coincide with the boundaries of the Meshchera plain. (Chekalin F.F. Meshchera and the Burtases according to the monuments that have been preserved about them.)
In the book of Orlov A.M. "" Meshchera, Meshcheryaki, Mishari "", various opinions about Meshchera are described in sufficient detail and fully, borrowing a bit of historical material from there, adding information from other sources, let's try to briefly talk about the main famous moments in the history of the Meshchersky region.
To understand what Meshchera, Meshcheryaki is, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of this term, since "Meshchera" is used in several meanings:
1) Meshchera as a geographical concept;
2) Meshchera as a principality, region, land;
3) Meshchera as a derivative of the city, town;
4) Meshchera as an ethnic group, that is, a people.
Meshchera as a region, the land is mentioned in connection with the history of the Meshchera princes, in the Genealogical Book, where it is reported that “in the summer of 6706 (1298) the prince
Shirinsky Bakhmet, Usein's son, came from the Great Horde to Meshchera, and Meshchera fought and settled it ... ".
As the city of Meshchera, it was first mentioned in 1393 in an annalistic report, where Khan Tokhtamysh granted the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily Dmitrievich the “Novgorod Principality (173) of Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Meshcher, Torso”. (PSRL, vol. XI, St. Petersburg, 1897, p. 148; M. K. Lyubavsky. Formation of the main state territory of the Great Russian people, L., 1929, p. 92.). In the same sense, Meshchera is mentioned in the will of Ivan III, who passes on to his son "Meshcher with volosts and from the village and with everything that attracted her and with Koshkov." (SGGD, vol. 1, no. 144).
This text repeats the testament of Grozny, and Meshchera is here directly called the city “Yes, I give him the city of Meshchera with volosts and villages ...” (DAI, vol. 1, No. 222).
At the same time, sources mention Gorodok Meshchersky. So, in 1508, an instruction was given to the ambassador to the Crimea that if the Crimean prince Akh-Kurt asked the sovereign Kazan, Meshchersky Gorodok or Andreev Gorodok, give the following answer: “Kazan Tsar Mahmet Amen is now our friend and brother, and in Meshchersky Gorodok Yanai Prince, and those places are both empty, and it’s unsuitable for us to give him both of those places ... Andreev’s town to the town after Yanai Tsarevich: it’s unsuitable for our sovereign to give ”(Sb. RIO vol. 95, St. Petersburg, 1895, p. 14-15 For Andreev Gorodok, see M.I. Smirnov On the Meshchersky princes of the 13th-15th centuries, Proceedings of the Ryazan Scientific Archival Commission, Ryazan, 1903, vol. XVIII, issue 2, p. 196, etc.) In this message we are talking about Mr. Kasimov, who in the XVI century. more often it was called "Gorodok", less often - "Tsar's Town" and "Kasimov". The latter name was fully established behind him in the 17th century (“Gorodkom”, Kasimov calls, along with Meshchera, “The oldest bit book”. P. N. Milyukov. The oldest bit book of the official edition. “Readings of the OIDR”, book I, M., 1902 , pp. 116 and 141). Apparently, the city of Kasimov was built near the city of Meshchera.
The last mention of the city of Meshchera is probably contained in the Ustyug residents’ unsubscribe to the Permians dated 1609: “the sovereign boyars and governors Fedor Ivanovich Sheremetev and comrades sovereign cities: Murom and Kasimov, Meshchera, Elatma, Kadoma, Volodimer and Suzdal were cleared. (AAE, vol. 2, St. Petersburg, 1836, No. 104, II).
One of the first in Russian writing, the ethnonym Meshchera is mentioned by "Explanatory Paley" (1350)
Historical information about the Meshchera tribe is very contradictory. The interpretation of this information is not unambiguous. There are opinions that there were no Meshchers as a nationality. Others believe that there were Meshchera tribes, but they assimilated: partly with the Russians, partly with the Tatars. Still others believe that the Meshchera moved to the Cheremis and merged with it, since the Meshchera, like the Cheremis, belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of peoples. The ethnogenesis of Meshchera has not been clarified, the mass of venerable historians interpret it in different ways, sometimes expressing anti-polar opinions. Two main versions prevail - this is a dispute between the Fino-Ugric and Turkic roots of the ancient cave. Also, indisputable facts tell us about the existence of the Russian Meshchera.
Most historians and ethnographers believe, with various variations, that the ancient Meshchera is one of the tribes of the Chud (Chud in pre-revolutionary Russia, the collective name of the Finno-Ugric peoples) who lived, according to Russian chronicles, between the Muroma and the Mordovians. Modern onomastics includes this name in one group with the self-name of the Hungarians "Magyars", as well as with the name of ethnographic groups consisting of two Turkic peoples of the Tatars-Mishars and Bashkirs-Mozhars. Sometimes "meshcheryak" in Russian documents of the 15th century is designated as "mochyarin", which makes the above names even closer in sound. In other words, it is assumed that the ancestors of the Magyars, Meshchers, Mishars and Mozhars constituted an ethnic community. The territory of this tribe, "Great Hungary" according to the definition of L.N. Gumilyov, is localized in the Middle Volga region, within the boundaries of modern Bashkiria. Then the ancestors of the Hungarians went to Pannonia, establishing their own state there, which exists to this day. The Meshcheryaks ended up on the Middle Oka and were completely assimilated by the Russians. Part of the tribes that remained on the Volga participated in the genesis of the Volga Turkic peoples, forming the corresponding groups in their composition. Meshchera as an ethnic entity is mentioned in Russian sources until the end of the 15th century. True, the nickname "meshcheryak" is found in Russian documents of individuals and two centuries later. Whether this nickname was given on an ethnic or geographical basis, it is impossible to say for sure.
P.P. Semenov, believes that the Meshcheryaks or Meshchers are the descendants of the Tatarized, partly Russified Finnish tribe, who have now survived only in the Orenburg, Perm, Penza and Saratov provinces. In former times, they lived in the so-called Meshchera region. Meshchera was divided into two parts - the eastern part was under the power and influence of the Tatars, the western - under the influence of the Russians, retaining only the clatter from their ancestors.
On the other hand, adherents of the hypothesis of the Turkic (Tatar) origin of Meshchera oppose the genealogy of the Meshchersky princes, probably created at the end of the 17th century: Meshchera as a region, the land was first mentioned in connection with the history of the Meshchera princes. (1298) Prince Shirinsky Bakhmet, Usein's son, came from the Great Horde to Meshchera, and Meshchera fought and settled in it ... "It is also known that his son Beklemish was baptized, was named Michael, in Andreev town he built a temple in the name Transfiguration of the Lord and baptized many people with him. “Prince Mikhail has a son, Prince Fedor, Fedor has Yuri, and Prince Yuri was on the Don, he came from Meshchera to Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich with his regiment. Yuria has a son, Prince Alexander. There is information that Prince Yuri fell in the Battle of Kulikovo and that, in addition to the Bakhmet family, there were other rulers - Meshchera princes who took part in the battle with Mamai.
Other arguments are given in support of the Turkic hypothesis, for example, A. I. Cherepnin, who studied the Meshchera burial grounds of the 9th - 11th centuries, concludes, “during the formation of the Ryazan-Oka burial grounds, this part of the population (we are talking about East Finnish tribes) was no longer dominant in the valley of the middle Oka - the population of Finnish origin has already lost its independence and was forced to give way to the supremacy of the newcomer warlike equestrian tribe, which during the formation of the burial grounds constituted a significant and higher part of the local population, which differed in character from the indigenous population Ryazan region. The alien conquerors, in many ways, belonged to the steppe nomads of the Turkic people.
Some researchers believe that the name of Meshchera was transferred to the princes of Turkic origin, who became the owners of land along the river. Tsna and in the lower reaches of the river. Moksha. There is also an opposite hypothesis. In particular, P. N. Petrov casts doubt on the widespread assertion that the founder of the Meshchersky princes, Huseyya Shirinsky, came from the Great Horde, who allegedly came to Meshchera in 1298 and began to spread Mohammedanism here. He substantiates his self-doubt by the fact that by that time the Golden Horde was not yet Muslim. Petrov sees in him "a local native who accepted the teachings of Mohammed in Bulgar and, having come to his homeland, began to convert it with fire and sword" .
Finally, a very original hypothesis regarding the origin of the Volga Tatars, including the Mishars (supposedly descendants of the Meshchera), recent times historian and philosopher M. S. Glukhov. It significantly expands the chronology and geographical space of the search for the ethnogenetic roots of the Tatars, linking them with the history of many tribes and peoples of both Turkic and Finno-Ugric and Indo-European origin. These roots, claims M. S. Glukhov, are quite clearly traced from the beginning of a new era, and in the places of the current habitat of the Volga Tatars, their ancestors appeared already in the middle of the 2nd century. Iranian-speaking at their core, it was then, according to M. S. Glukhov, that they absorbed a powerful Turkic-Ugric substrate, and a little later, "caught up by the wave of the great migration of peoples, in the 4th-5th centuries they included a significant Slavic-Baltic component. In Among the tribes and peoples who participated in the formation of the modern appearance of the Volga Tatars, the author of this work names the Huns (Sary-Uigurs and Kerchins), Proto-Russian, ancient Balts, Magyars, Meryu "Burtases, Bulgars, Polovtsy, and already during the Golden Horde - Kereites ( Nogais).
Opponents of the theory of the Tatar origin of Meshchera motivate the inconsistency of recording the genealogy of the princes Meshchersky as follows: Firstly, the Great Horde appeared on the ruins of the Golden Horde only almost a century after the indicated date. Secondly, the noble Tatar family Murz Shirin was not Chingizid, and it is unlikely that his representative could independently conquer such vast territories on the borders of Russia. The Shirinsky princes (Murzas) came to Meshchera later, in the retinue of one of the first Kasimov princes. Thirdly, the genealogical painting does not mention the only Meshchera prince whose existence is documented - Alexander Ukovich, who lived in the 30s of the XIV century. The patronymic of this prince has no analogues either among Russians or among Tatar names, which suggests the presence of an aboriginal family of rulers in Meshchera.
And from here arise the following, even somewhat exotic theories of the origin of Meshchera, for example: In the period of the early Middle Ages, the name "Meshchera" meant, first of all, the Meshchera principality. It is difficult to say what kind of princely family ruled there. Initially, this could be the lot of the split Muromo-Ryazan principality. In this case, the Meshchera princes are an unknown branch of the Rurikovich. This assumption is supported by the spread of the spiritual administration of the medieval Muromo-Ryazan diocese on the territory of Meshchera. (Internet site History of the origin of the Meshchera, Yegoryevsk.)
In many ancient chronicles and later documents there is a mention of the Russian Meshchera. Since Meshchera as the name of the people is introduced into the text of the old lists of the Chronicle of the Tale of Bygone Years, the researcher points out the inappropriate use of the term "Meshcheriki" in relation to the Russian Meshchera. Let's try to understand this term. In my opinion, the following assumptions deserve special attention:
Firstly, there is a hypothesis that the Russian people of the Moscow and Ryazan principalities, dissatisfied with their lives, fled in search of liberties to the dense forests and impenetrable swamps of Meshchera, carrying their culture, religion and way of life. Mixed marriages with the aboriginal population are likely, as a result of which rather large Russian-speaking settlements arose.
Secondly, A. N. Nasonov sees wanderers in "Rus Purgasovaya", i.e., a semi-nomadic population who left their habitat on the Don under the influence of the Polovtsian raids and moved to the Muromo-Ryazan land (most of the Ryazan land was part of Meshchera) , including in the parish of Purgas on the river. Moksha. (A. N. Nasonov. Russian land and the formation of the territory ancient Russian state, M., 1951, p. 204.)
Thirdly, it should be borne in mind that the Russian population among the Moksha and Tsensky Mordovians appeared much earlier than the Polovtsian raids on Ryazan Ukraine. Already Borkovsky and Kuzminsky burial grounds of the VIII-IX centuries. have 10% of cremations - a funeral ritual characteristic of the Slavs. At the same time, the Krivichi penetrate the lower Oka, into the territory of Meshchera and Murom. In 988, Vladimir of Kyiv gave the inheritance of Murom to his son Gleb. In the XI century. noticeably enhanced advancement of the Vyatichi on the river. Tsnu, and Krivichi on the river. Moksha. So the Tsnin burial grounds of Kryukovsko-Kuzhnovsky and Elizavet-Mikhailovsky X-XI centuries. already contain 16-17% of cremations (“Materials and Research on Archeology of the USSR”, No. 28, M, 1952, ed. of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, p. 154.)
So, the Penza historian V.I. Lebedev, who supports the views of Kuftin, Bakhilina and many others, in his theses at a scientific conference: "" Questions of the ethnic history of the Volga - Donya "" declares that: the Penza Russian Meshchera is an ancient Russian tribe, "" marinated "" in a remote corner of the "" wild field "" for 300 years and therefore retained its ancient accent and costume.
For centuries, year after year, Russian princes have been increasing their presence in Meshchera.
At the end of the XI century. Polovtsy and Russians clashed in Meshchera. The Polovtsians pushed the scattered Meshchera to the north. Russian princes are based on the Oka in the place where it
reached its greatest southwest bend. The Russians cut down an ordinary prison and
began to collect yasak from the natives. During these years, a small Christian community was created here, which was opposed by pagans and Muslims. The struggle between the Ryazanians and the Polovtsy continued uninterruptedly until the very appearance of the Tatar-Mongols.
At the same time, cooperation between the Russian princes and the Polovtsian khans is observed.
The princes became friends with the khans, entered into kinship with them, sought refuge with them and
troops in case of their failures. On the other hand, the Ryazan princes with their caress
attracted many children and brothers from the Polovtsian khans and turned them into
Christianity. The Bulgars also lived within Meshchera in pre-Mongolian times. We learn about the Bulgar population of the region from the history of Russian colonization and distribution there. Christian religion. Also, the presence of the Bulgars in Meshchera is evidenced by frequent clashes between them and the Russians of Meshchera, which took place at the end of the 12th century. So, in 1183 Matvey Andreevich, a Ryazan thousand, defeated the Bulgars near Kadoma, and in 1209 he was killed here.
In the era of the Golden Horde, Besermens, Burtases, Madjars, Crimean Tatars,
Nogais. In the north-east of Meshchera, the Tatar principality of Bakhmet arises. Bakhmet Usinov's son here is under the strong influence and influence of the Russian princes, for the son Beklemish born to him was baptized and was named Mikhail. He builds a church in Andreev town and baptizes many of his people. His grandson - Mikhail Yuri Fedorovich in 1380, together with his regiment in the army of Dmitry Donskoy, opposes Mamai, where he died on the battlefield as a distinguished warrior.
The almost complete occupation of Meshchera by the Russians dates back to the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th centuries, when Tamerlane transferred Meshchera to the Russian princes, and the sale of Meshchera lands began. Having bought the lands of the Meshchera princes, the Moscow sovereigns send their governors and service people here.
In 1382, the Grand Dukes of Moscow and Ryazan conclude an agreement on the ownership of Meshchera ^ "And that the purchase of Prince Great Meshchera, as was the case under Alexander Ukovich, then Prince Great Dmitry, and Prince Great Oleg, do not intercede on that siding.
The Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich occupied Tula with the Tatar and Mordovian lands. The Grand Duke of Ryazan did the same. “And that the Tatar places were taken by Prince. great Dmitry Ivanovich for himself from the Tatars to this to our end, those places of the book. great Dmitry. And what about the book. the great Oleg took the Tatar from the Tatars until now, otherwise the book. those places to the great Oleg "" 1. After the Battle of Kulikovo, Meshchera de facto came under the protectorate of the Moscow principality. Since then, Slavic villages have appeared near Kadom, Temnikov, Elatma.
Somewhat earlier, the Suzdal-Nizhny Novgorod principality began to implement the policy of expanding borders in the east. His territorial claims are evidenced by the title appropriated by the Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinov himself (1367): "Prince the Great Novgorod Nizhneva Nova of the city and Suzdal and Gorodets-Coy and Kurmysh, and Sarsk, and Bulgarian, and Bolshets-Coy, and Podolsk and all Ponizovsky land Zavolsky yurt and Severnova sovereign Dmitry Konstantinovich"2. He soon occupied the Mordovian lands along the Volga, Oka and Kud-ma and extended the limits of his principality to the river. Drunk, Teshi and Vada and began to settle Russian people here. Mordva is actively fighting to return to their old places, making an attempt to solve this problem with the help of the Tatars, as evidenced by the well-known battle on Pyan (1377). In order to consolidate these lands, Kurmysh was built (1372), which became one of the first cities that were put forward far from military centers. At the same time (perhaps even earlier) the town of Kysh was founded, located south of Kurmysh, on the left bank of the Sura, 20 versts above the mouth of the Pyana. Apparently, it was the residence of the boyar Parfeniy Fedorovich. The town was burned, the boyar himself was killed, his people were captured by one of Mamai's detachments (1375).
In 1393, the areas around Kurmysh and Kysh were assigned to monasteries. In particular, the land, lakes, rivers around Kurmysh were transferred to the Spassky (Annunciation) Monastery.
In 1426, it is said about the right of Russian service people to use the cities of Elatma and Kadom. Vasily Vasilyevich Dark (1425-1462) in 1462, on April 20, bestows a special letter on a certain Ivan Grigorievich Rosla with his son Konon in the Meshchera cities of Elatma and Kadom in local feeding. (Legal acts, d. 161.) Almost at the same time (1483 .) in the spiritual charter of the Grand Dukes of Moscow and Ryazan, in the list of black people of Meshchera, besermen, Mordovians, mochars are given. But for some reason, Meshchers and Cheremis are not found in the charter.
By the end of the 16th century, the Ryazan principality was completely part of the Moscow principality. In 1508, on May 20, the Moscow Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich (1505 -1533), favors Protasyev Protasy Akinfovich with trade duties from all over Meshchera and the county. No. 73.) The expansion of the lands, in turn, required the involvement of forces from the feudal environment, reliance on the feudal aristocracy of non-Russian peoples. Princes and murzas of the lands adjacent to Russia already in the middle of the 14th century. go to serve in Moscow. This was facilitated by the fact that the Mordovian-Meshchera places of Zapyanye and the Prisursky region were in stable economic and political ties with the lands of North-Eastern Russia. Meshchersky princes appear until the 15th century. As you know, in the Battle of Kulikovo, the Russians participated with their regiments and Andrei Serkizovich and Yuri Meshchersky died. Even then, other Tatar feudal lords were on the side of the Russians in the battle against Mamai. The chronicle speaks with praise of the courage of the former Tatar Murza Melik, who commanded the Russian guard regiment 2. There are known facts of cooperation between the Moscow grand dukes and the Meshchera princes in the future. So, squads from Meshchera, as part of the troops of Grand Duke Dmitry, are participating in a campaign against Novgorod, committed because the Novgorodians plundered Kostroma and Nizhny. As Moscow servants or assistants, the Meshchera princes carried out the same outlying guard service that the Kasimovites later did. The policy of the Russian princes was that in Moscow they willingly accepted people from various Tatar hordes and provided them with extensive estates in the southeastern outskirts of the state.
So, on the lands granted by the Great Prince of Moscow Vasily the Dark (1425 - 1505), who fled to Moscow because of the civil strife that arose in the Kazan Khanate, to Tsarevich Kasim, the lands under Ivan III (1462 - 1505) was formed "Kasimov kingdom", which lasted more than 200 years. K. Marx wrote: ""He killed some Tatars with the help of other Tatars"". Apparently, initially Kasim and Yakub were given Zvenigorod. This is indirectly indicated by the performance in 1449 of Kasim from Zvenigorod against the Tatars of Seid-Akhmet. Zvenigorod and subsequently passed to the feeding of the Tatar princes. V. Velyaminov-Zernov, in a study on the Kasimov tsars and princes, came to the conclusion that around 1452 Kasim received the Meshchersky town on the Oka, which later became known under his name. By the way, Mr. Kasimov was a "blacksmith", where the tsars were preparing to occupy the Khan's throne in Kazan. Since the 16th century, the Meshchersky region has been intensively populated by Tatar princes and murzas. The Moscow princes were well aware of the benefits that the Tatar princes' stay on Russian lands would bring them, and used them as a tool in solving their foreign policy tasks.
The issues of interaction between the Cossacks and the Tatar world were reflected in the works of I.O. Tyumentseva, S.A. Kozlova, A.P. Skorika, I.L. Omelchenko and many others. The researchers came to the conclusion that the first Cossack communities began to form during the crisis of the Golden Horde on its borders, and subsequently some of them formed a group of serving Tatars in Russia, the Nogai Horde and the Crimean Khanate. the local population of new territories (Mordovians, Chuvashs, Cheremis, Burtas) to serve in the villages, on the lines, in local troops. In Meshchera, such a form of cooperation between Russians and Tatars arises as the service of urban Cossacks. (Orlov The Meshchera Cossacks were divided into two components, into free Cossacks and into service Cossacks who entered the service of Russian princes and sovereigns. To this it should be added that the Russian-speaking population of the border area formed the core of the Cossack community, eventually creating from it a stronghold of Orthodoxy and autocracy.An important role in the formation of the Cossacks was played by the ancestors of the Meshchera Cossacks, who knew the tributaries of the Volga and the northern rivers well, and therefore were guides along these rivers.They also guarded the crossings and controlled the passage ships along the Volga and the Caspian since ancient times.Later, they carried out sentinel border service with the Russian princes, being a natural barrier between Russia and the steppe.In 1487, Ivan III evicted part of the Kasimov and Meshchersky Cossacks "to the Don to many Cossacks living there ..." "The first city was where the Donskoy Monastery was, 25 versts from Boguchar." (Memorable I am a book for the inhabitants of the Voronezh province for 1893. V. 1893.S. 125-157). Vasily III and his advisers created favorable conditions for the Cossacks who were hired to serve them, and sought to use any conflict between the Tatars and the Cossacks to win the latter over to their side. Along with the protection of Russian borders, the Cossacks began to conduct deep reconnaissance in the Wild Field. In 1518, the service Cossacks caught up with the Kazan Khan Shigalei on the Volga and brought him to Moscow. The following year, 1519, the Grand Duke's Cossacks served in the steppe and defeated a detachment of Crimean Tatars. Meshchersky Cossacks attacked the Nogai uluses and drove away the horses. Araslan-Murza, whose nomad camps bordered on the Meshchersky region, repeatedly asked the sovereign to "pacify" the Meshcherians. In the Nogai books for 1551-1556. there are reports of Cossack attacks on merchant ships on the Volga. Sources give the names of the chieftains who led the Volga Cossacks: Vasily Meshchersky and Pichuga Putivlets. The ways of the Lord of the free Volga Cossacks are inscrutable, their fates are interesting, and sometimes tragic - so against a number of Volga atamans who disobeyed the sovereign order and defeated Russian embassy, who burned the Nogai letters, thereby violating the course of the Russian-Nogai negotiations, tough measures were taken. One of the participants in this operation, the Cossack detachments led by Mitya Britous, was defeated, and the ataman himself was executed in Moscow in the presence of Nogai ambassadors. Other instigators of the attack - Ivan Koltso and Bogdan Barabosha - decided to take part in Yermak's Siberian campaign and thereby earn the king's forgiveness. The rest of the Volga Cossacks, such as Matvey Meshcheryak, continued to smash the Nogai uluses with the blessing of the Russian government. So, in 1585. he, with a detachment of 500 Cossacks, recaptured 3,000 horses from the Nogais on Yaik and took a large full. The fates of these Volga atamans developed in different ways: Matvey Meshcheryak returned to the Volga and was again mentioned in the sources in the late 80s, and Ivan Koltso, along with his Cossacks, tragically died in the Siberian campaign.
In 1720, when the border moved a hundred and sometimes more kilometers to Tsaritsin, the border fortifications of the Meshchera land lost their fortification value. The wild field ceased to be a Russian outskirts, turning into an inner region of the state. The bulk of the serving Meshchersky Cossacks was transferred to other garrisons of the Ukrainian borders of the vast Russian state "" for eternal life "", and free "" Meshcheryak "" has long begun to merge with other large Cossack communities of Russian Ukraine.
By the way, based on the place of birth and the nickname of the epic hero-Cossack Ilya Muromets, he can be safely ranked among the Meshchersky Cossacks.
Creating a buffer between Moscow and the Steppe from Meshchera, the Moscow princes and tsars fortified it with cities, fences, and faces. Meshchera had importance in maintaining trade and economic relations. Even in the old days, trade routes passed through Meshchera. Moscow, Tver, Suzdal and other principalities supported them trade relations with the Steppe, Asia. They ran through the cities of Temnikov, Koshkov, Kadom, Kasimov. One of these roads was called Posolskaya because it connected Vladimir with the Tatar centers of the Golden Horde. On this way, pits were made in the city of Kasimov and with. Azeev. The Ordo-bazaar road also passed through Meshchera, connecting Vladimir with Astrakhan and Khoper. Somewhat to the south, the Vadovskaya and Idovskaya roads1 ran. It is in Meshchera that the pit service originates. She accepted the steppes who wished to go to the service of the Russian principalities. Meshchera was a base for an attack on the Steppe, a natural barrier to protect against the invasion of nomads.
Since 1571, the entire service for the protection of new lands was streamlined, the service of security guards was organized, and steppe patrols were created. Fortified cities are divided into 2 categories. The cities of the first category included Alatyr, Temnikov, Kadom, Shatsk, Arzamas, etc. They were located on the border, provided the stanitsa and guard lines. The second line of fortified cities was Nizhny Novgorod, Murom, Kasimov and others. They sent their people to the front line. Each of these cities had its own governors and siege heads with detachments of service people. Garrison service was carried out by archers, who were rarely sent to the steppes and notches. On the front line, the main load was carried by boyar children and Cossacks, along with service people. The servicemen consisted not only of Kazan and Meshchera Tatars, but also of Mordovians, Chuvashs. There were many Tatars, especially Meshcheryaks, among the Cossacks. They alternately went to the steppe for patrols and guards, receiving a special salary for this. In addition, a patrol service is being introduced in the steppe. Meshchersky watchmen made patrols along the Don, to the Volga perevolok and stood at the key points of the border. So, between the Don and the Volga under the Tileormansky (Wild) forest, they were supposed to stand on patrols "" on the field of the head with villages "" with the aim of "" saving "", i.e., detection and timely notification "" about the arrival of military people " ". So, according to the paintings of the Meshchera watchmen in 1571 and 1568, it is clear that there were five of them. The second and third watchmen rode the steppe along the Shuksha River, the left tributary of the Sura, between the large Sura and Moksha forests. The fourth guard was located on the left tributary of the Moksha - on the river on Lamova, where the Shustrui flows into it. The fifth (Vadovskaya) stood in the upper reaches of the Lamovaya, Vada and Burtasa rivers ”(Lebedev V.I. Legend or true story. In the footsteps of the guards. Saratov, 1986, p. 15.). Thus, the line between the river Barysh, the right tributary of the Sura and the Tsna, the left tributary of the Moksha, is called the line of the Meshchersky watchmen. It was a very dangerous and difficult service. People who carried out guard service were ordered to stand on patrol "without eating from horses, without changing, and ride around the tracts, changing to the right, to the left ... do not make camps, but put the lights in more than one place, if you cook porridge and then fire in one place do not put it twice, but in some place someone spent noon and did not spend the night in that place, and in the forests they were not set ... "Report about movements to those cities that are closer, go by sak-mam ... Do not leave the guard without permission ... Stay from spring for almost weeks, in autumn - for a month "!.
The auxiliary service of the Tatars and Mordovians was not limited to this. Some of them were made into archers and Cossacks, and they merged with service people of Russian origin. The main part of them served temporarily, making up a special militia during the war and at the end of it they went home. They did not mix with service people of Russian origin and at the same time did not carry, except for service, any taxes and did not send any duties, receiving food from the government. In the estate of serving Tatars, princes and murzas, immigrants from the Tatar khanates and Nogai hordes, who belonged to the top of these social formations, stood out. There were tarkhans who occupied a middle place between servicemen and yasak foreigners. Significant masses were service Tatars who did not belong to the aristocracy of the former Tatar kingdoms.
During the campaigns, serving foreigners made up special detachments in the army, and the militia, recruited from among the draft and yasak peasants, joined them. "Leadership over them was always entrusted to Russian heads. And in peacetime they were not freed from their influence .. The head kept lists of the weak Tatars" in order to
yurts were all obvious"; he "knew them in everything and had to take care of them tightly so that they would not offend the Tatars from anyone and violence and sale and dishonor and losses; and whoever hurts a Yurt Tartar, he had to talk about that governor with his comrades.
"" Meshchera occupies a special place in the ethnic history of Russia, since here all three main groups of the peoples of our country entered into relations - Slavic, Turkic and Finno-Ugric tribes and peoples. Murom, Merya, Krivichi, Mordovians, Besermens, Madjars, Bulgars, Burtases, Kipchaks, Nogais, Tatars, Russians, Bashkirs - this is not a complete list of peoples who declared themselves here and lived nearby for many centuries. Only fragments of some of these peoples have survived outside Meshchera - these are the Besermen in Udmurtia, the Mordovians-Karatai in Tataria, the rest merged with larger peoples. We can safely say that a miniature model of the future multinational Russia was born in Meshchera. From here, this model, increasing in volume, spread to other regions - to the east, southeast, throughout the Volga region, the Urals, involving all new peoples in its sphere. (Orlov A.M. "" Meshchera, Meshcheryaki, Mishary "". Kazan., 1992.)
I would like to end this chapter, not with a historical archival document, but with an excerpt from Pyotr Sharganov's story "Meshchera":
"" Grandfather lit the cradle, put me on his knees, shook his gray forelock and began his tale:
That was a long time ago. Countless years have passed.
Tribes and clans have sunk into oblivion, their customs and customs have been forgotten. Matushka covered the earth with mourning grass, windbreaks and rot, hillocks of churchyards and conflagrations of villages.
Few people now remember their fathers and grandfathers. Especially you, Cossack children. And you, know in advance: Zaporizhzhya Sich is your fatherland, and Meshchera is your grandfather.
Meshchera forests, impenetrable thickets, meandering turbulent rivers, ominous swamps - they contain the soul of our family, its long past ... "".
