Turks, Tatars and Russians in the 13th-16th Centuries

Setting and Scope

The setting for the studies collected here is the West-Eurasian steppe region, extending from present-day Kazakhstan through southern Russia, Ukraine and Moldavia to the Carpathian Basin.

Content Focus

The first articles deal with pre-Mongol, Turkic peoples of the region and their relations with the Byzantine Empire to the south, but the core of the volume is the history of the Golden Horde and its successor states, such as the Kazan and Crimean Khanates, whose Turco-Mongol overlords are often referred to as Tatars.

Historical Significance

These played a decisive role in the history of Western Central Asia and Eastern Europe in the 13th-16th centuries and had a fundamental influence on the rise of the Russian state.

Specific Topics

Particular articles look at Mongol institutions and terminology, others at the interaction of the medieval Tatar and Russian worlds.