Ocherk po istorii Starogo i Novogo Saraev – stolits Zolotoi Ordy (Japanese translation with notes)

Abstract

This paper is a Japanese translation of A.V. Pachkalov, “Ocherk po istorii Starogo i Novogo Saraev – stolits Zolotoi Ordy,” Azerbaidzhan i azerbaidzhantsy, 103/104(1/2), 2009, pp. 122–128. Regarding Sarai – the ‘capital’ of the Jochid Ulus – it is the established theory that Old Sarai was located at the Selitrennoe site, and New Sarai at the Tsarevskoe site, both on the Akhtuba river, a tributary of the Volga. However, new theories that disagree with this have emerged: these theories claim that there was only one Sarai (Selitrennoe), or that New Sarai was the Selitrennoe and Old Sarai was located at different places. Among them, Pachkalov is leading the new theories, according to which New Sarai was located at the Selitrennoe site, while Old Sarai at the Krasnoyarskoe / Krasny Yar site in the Volga Delta. The article translated here is the most concise survey of the author's theory, based on archaeological and numismatic findings. Another reason for selecting this article is that it is a concise but well-crafted summary of the historical sources on Sarai. In the translation, the article itself does not contain many notes on the historical sources, but where possible, these are supplemented with a ‘translator's note’. We hope that this will be of assistance in future research on Sarai.