On the term “Tatar”/”Tatars” in Russian sources of the 15th–16th centuries

Research objectives: To study the use of the word “Tatar”/“Tatars” in Russian written sources of the 15th and 16th centuries. Research materials: This work is based on an analysis of embassy books, chronicles, church writings, and notes recorded by foreigners. The work also uses the observations of A.O. Amelkin and V.N. Rudakov on the strategies employed in describing the Mongol-Tatars by Russian scribes. Results and scientific novelty: The study revealed several chronological layers in the use of the term “Tatars”. Its very appearance was caused by understanding the tragedy of the invasion of an unknown people and the defeat of the Russian principalities. These events were interpreted in an eschatological way, and the peoples themselves, who came with Batu and were called “Tatars”, were perceived as punishment for the local people’s sins. Then the eschatological tension surrounding the term “Tatars” gradually decreased, and after the adoption of Islam by the Horde, its population began to be defined as “Besermen” and “Hagarites”. The latter term had a pronounced negative connotation. The term “Tatars” acquired a more neutral meaning and continued to be used in clerical practice. After gaining full state sovereignty, Russia’s intellectuals and employees of the Grand Ducal chancellery began to use it more as a term to describe peoples who spoke closely related Turkic languages. As a result, the term “Tatars” became a way of classifying with a generalization. It is noteworthy that the Nogai initially somewhat discouraged the Moscow chancellery in its usage. They did not immediately find a place in this classification. This was probably caused by the fact that they were a new player on the political map of the world at that time. Later, having identified the features that brought “Nogai” closer to “Tatars,” the officials began to extend the term “Tatars” to the “Nogai”.