Sarashen on the Volga

Sarashen on the Volga (на ПРОЗА.РУ)

Saksin at Minorsky. Sargysh at Gardizi. Barish at al-Bekri. Hemlig by Ibn Khordadbeh. Yellow or White city in russian translation, depending on which part of the city Itil travelers had in mind when describing it.

Arab authors note two parts of the capital of the khazars. According to Ibn Ruste, one of them is called Sarashen, and the other they named Khabnella. At Gardizi one part of this city bears the name of Sargysh and the second is called Halyg or Khanbalik. Al Bekri two parts called Barish and Htslg, and Ibn Khordadbeh called only one part of Hamlige.

Which bank of the Volga was occupied by Sarashen and Khanbalyk can only be concluded from indirect data.

It is assumed that the Eastern part was called Sarashen, and the Western was called Khanbalik. In Khanbalyk, in the greater part of Itil, there lived a Princess. This part of the city was called the First city by King Joseph, the last King of Khazaria.

The name of the city comes from an ancient root common to the indo-aryan and indo-european vocabulary «sar», which meant the peoples of this vocabulary King, Khan, Head of state.

Al-Bekri states that most of the city of Itil was on the western side of the river, but he does not specify what it was called.

Ibn Haukal claimed that the part of the city that lay on the west bank was larger, and the eastern part was called Hazaran. The left-bank part, Sarashen, was half the size of the right-bank part, but it had many suburbs, in addition it had bazaars, warehouses, private and public baths. The houses had a temporary character, as if they was going on a hike tomorrow. These were yurts, tents, and semi-dugouts.

Apparently, over time, the size of Itil changed due to changes in its parts, which were inhabited by citizens belonging to different elites of Khazaria.

Based on indirect data, we can only say that the areas located on the east bank were mostly commercial, those on the west bank were handicrafts, and the central part, the island, was administrative, it almost did not change, the size of the island did not allow.

Khanbalyk should be referred to as the Khan's city by its name, it is the western part of the city of Itil.

Naming Sarashen belonged more often to Khazaran, which was located on the east bank of the Volga. It was more often called the Yellow city in russian for the color of the main part of its walls, which were built from local clay. The arabs called this part al-Beida, in russian it colled as White city, for some special qualities of its population, most likely it was there that arab merchants and traders were located.

Jews, tengrians, muslims, christians of the eastern religion and slavs of the old russian culture got along together in all Itil since the middle of the 8th century quite peacefully. The authorities were able to ensure justice and security for the peoples of different cultures and religions.

This was an economic necessity, as merchants from all over the World came to the city. This is especially true Sarashen, which provided the Capital of the Khazaria shopping duty.

Al-Bekri reported that Khazaria, in its name al-Khazar, had a main city on the river, and it consisted of 2 parts located on the western and eastern banks of the Itil river. One part he calls Barysh, in the russian interpretation Sarashin, the other part he calls Htslg, Khanbalyk in russian translation. Most of the city al-Bekri calls its western part, the one that is in the direction of the Don.

Analyzing the letter of King Joseph, as well as the reports of arab geographers and writers, we can conclude that the names Sarashen and Khanbalyk are one and a half hundred years older than Itil and Khazaran. They existed as trading platforms from the first years of Khazaria's existence, and became part of the country's capital only after the King and Khagan moved there, that is, after 737, when the arab commander Maslama attacked Khazaria.

In 968, Svyatoslav Igorevich came here with his army. War was not, as Svyatoslav gathered local merchants from Sarashen and invited them to trade with Kievan Rus.

After the departure of Svyatoslav, the Royal court of Khazaria was able to return, but most of the merchants of Sarashen, who received a license to trade in Kievan Rus, left after Svyatoslav and settled in the Kievan Principalities. The artisans followed them. For some time the city existed, even calling itself the capital, although history does not mention the name of the new King of Khazaria.

But soon there was a new disaster, from the upper Volga came a large water that flooded the famous city. The chronicles tell no more about Itil. Biruni reported that Itil was still visible in the 11th century, but it was in ruins.

Lev Gumilyov studied in the late thirties of the 20th century the area where the eastern part of Itil, Sarashen, was supposedly located. He came to the conclusion that the water level here rose by several meters, reaching as far as the city of Saray-Baty. There was nothing left of Sarashen, and city was not full of large buildings, since it was mostly inhabited by merchants who did not live here, they came only during the trading season.

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