Research objectives: This article, through the review of István Vásáry’s book, published in 2023 as part of the Variorum Collected Studies Series (digital) by Taylor & Francis, aims to explore the interactions among Turks, Tatars, and Russians within the Eurasian region, as well as their broader political, economic, and cultural influences. Research results and scientific novelty: The book that forms the basis of this article consists of a total of 21 articles by the Hungarian author published in different years, including the revised and translated English version of two articles previously published in Russian. This work of Vásáry, a veteran researcher in the field of Turkic, Mongolian, and Tatar history, as well as Turcology, explores the interaction among societies spanning vast territories from the Steppes to the Balkans and further across Eastern Europe. It exposes with great skill the political, military, administrative, social, economic, diplomatic, religious, linguistic, literary and cultural aspects of the interaction in question through specific case studies and facts. This view is a challenge to the general one that ignores the contributions of the people in the mentioned territories to world civilization. From this aspect, this book beckons scholars to reevaluate historical documents not merely as repositories of the past, but also as critical lenses through which to discern and interpret contemporary realities.
Objective: To study the features of the display, application, and meaning of variations of the term “Tatar” found in medieval Arabic writings of the 13th-15th centuries. Research materials: The main sources of this study are the works of Arabic-language authors of the 13th to 15th centuries: Ibn al-Athir, Ibn Abi Hadid, Ibn Abd az-Zahir, an-Nuwayri, Rukn ad-Din Baybars, Ibn Khaldun, al-Maqrizi, etc. Results and novelty of the study: The term “Tatar” was widely used in many medieval sources, as well as in medieval Arabic literature. However, no comprehensive study of the visualization of this term in medieval Arabic sources of the 13th-15th centuries has been conducted. Analysis of the works of Arab scholars of the 13th-15th centuries revealed that, when presenting the history of the Chingizids, the authors who wrote about them at the beginning of the 13th century, not being direct witnesses, let alone eyewitnesses of those events, almost entirely based their concepts on the material of the History of Ibn al-Athir. In the works of Ibn Abi Hadid and Abu Shama al-Maqdisi, the term “Tatar” was used consistently. Later authors, continuing the traditions of their predecessors, relied on their material and borrowed this term, subsequently using it in presenting the entire history of the Chingizids. Along with this, they (An-Nuwayri, Al-Omari, Ibn Khaldun) tried to determine the origin of the medieval Tatars. Beginning from the middle of the 13th century, Arab authors, focusing on the historical realities of their time, used the marker “Mongol” along with “Tatar” in their writings, mainly in relation to the Hulaguids and Jochids. However, the term “Tatar” was used quite widely until the 15th century.
Цель: Цель исследования - раскрыть историю изучения в Турции эпоса об Эдигее, одного из самых важных эпосов в турецком мире, представить опубликованные копии эпоса об Эдигее и определить, с каких точек зрения был исследован эпос и какие выводы были сделаны. Исследовательские материалы: Источником исследования являются копии эпоса, опубликованные в Турции, магистерские и докторские диссертации по эпосу, а также статьи, опубликованные в различных научных журналах Турции по данной теме.
Результаты и новизна исследования: В результате проведенного исследования было установлено, что в Турции были опубликованы татарская, башкирская, ногайская и казахская версии эпоса, по эпосу “Едигей” написаны две магистерские и две докторские диссертации, а также десятки статей. Хотя различные версии эпоса “Едигей”, опубликованные в Турции, приписываются разным народам, на самом деле сюжеты и герои всех этих публикаций одинаковы, и мы видим различия только в мотивах и культурных особенностях, характерных для этих народов. Как и во многих других областях, татарские интеллектуалы первыми начали изучать эпос в Турции. С другой стороны, в статьях, посвященных эпосу, он рассматривается с точки зрения истории, литературы и языка. Эти исследования в основном направлены на то, чтобы выявить, как в эпосе трактуется образ Едигея и Тимура, тема родины, оружия, степи и степной культуры, рождения-свадьбы-смерти и т.д. Кроме того, в некоторых статьях рассматриваются такие темы, как сверхъестественные силы, мифологические мотивы и функции животных в эпосе.