ABOUT DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE GOLDEN HORDE AZAK AND ITS DISTRICT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24852/2587-6112.2024.2.241.252Keywords:
archaeology, Golden Horde, Azak, nomads, demographics, urban density, reconstruction of the populationAbstract
The paper presents calculation of the population of the Golden Horde Azak and its district based on the analysis of the results of long-term excavations of the Golden Horde Azak. The most reliable data are available for the period around 1340, when the population of the city was 54 thousand inhabitants. To determine the dynamics of the city's development, calculations are also given for the periods around 1290 and 1395, when the city's population was about 3.0-3.5 and 12.5-13.5 thousand inhabitants. The number of nomads in territories economically gravitating towards Azak can be estimated at 250 thousand people, this number is rather an upper limit. The question of the size of the non-nomadic population of the Azak district remains unclear, since even the approximate number of sedentary settlements is unknown, therefore the estimate of more than 300 thousand inhabitants proposed in the article is speculative. Despite the approximate calculations, such studies are necessary for a proper understanding of the history of the Golden Horde. The data presented in this paper will be updated, but the order of the numbers will most likely not change. Based on data on the population of Azak, we can conclude that during its heyday it was one of the largest cities not only in Eastern Europe, but in Europe as a whole. Based on the data on the size of the city, it allows us to conclude that it acted not only as a center of intermediary transcontinental trade, but also as a trade and craft center of a large region. Research similar to that presented in this article should be carried out in the future for other regions of the Golden Horde.
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