AZAQ AND ITS OUTSKIRTS IN THE FIRST DECADES OF EXISTENCE. ISSUES OF ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH OF GOLDEN HORDE TOWNS

Abstract

The article considers the materials obtained during the study of Azaq and his outskirts possibly dating back to the 3rd quarter of the 13th – the 1st quarter of the 14th centuries. The authors distinguish three chronological phases, with each of them characterized on the basis of materials from closed archaeological complexes. At the fi rst stage, in the middle of the 13th century, the growth of Azaq was surpassed by the development of a rural settlement network in the lower reaches of the Don. Some of them were comparable or even greater than Azaq in terms of area at the early stage of development. Most of the settlements emerged as early as in the beginning of the 14th century. The authors conclude that the most rapid growth of the town occurred during the reign of Khan Tokhta. The town developed less rapidly in the initial period of Uzbek’s rule. The structure of urban districts and a street network developed by 1325. In terms of methodology, of great importance is that the development of the city was signifi cantly ahead of the development of monetary circulation, particularly its coin variation. Coins are absent in most of the complexes, or represented by single fi ndings. Even in thoroughly studied Azaq, traces of the fi rst period of existence vanish due to the numerous materials corresponding to the period of Uzbek’s and Janibek’s reign. The growth phase is insuffi ciently documented due to the fact that most of the materials are deposited in the periods of architectural replanning, and intensive deposition of findings in the layer begins with the onset of crisis phenomena.