Saqsin: Difference between revisions

'''Saqsin''', also known (akaas '''Saksin''', and '''Saksin-Bolgar'''), was a medieval city that flourished from the eleventh to the thirteenth centuries. It was situated in the [[Volga Delta]] (modern-day [[Astrakhan Oblast]]), or in the [[Lower Volga region]], and was known in pre-Mongol times as Saksin-Bolgar, which in Mongol times became [[Sarai (city)|Sarai Batu]].

It was mentioned by the [[Arab]] geographer [[Editing Abu Hamid al-Gharnati|al-Gharnati]] and the [[Persian people|Persian]] [[Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī|Qazwini]], among others, and recorded as "the land of the Saksins" in the report of Friar [[BenedyktBenedict of PolakPoland]] about the 1246 trip of [[Giovanni da Pian del Carpine]] through the camp of Mongol prince [[Batu Khan]] on the shores of the Volga. S.A. Pletneva locates Saksin between present [[Volgograd]] and [[Akhtubinsk]].

[[Benedict of Poland|Friar BenedyktBenedict]] apparently misunderstood the name as somehow connected with the [[Saxons]] of Germany, stating incorrectly that the inhabitants were Christians and "believed to be Goths" related to those of [[Crimea]]. In actuality, they were probably [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Muslim]].

''Saqsin'' may be an Arabized version of ''Sarighsin'', Turkic for "Yellow City" or "White city". The identity of its inhabitants is unclear, though Carpine reports that Saksin province was inhabited by [[Cumans|Kuman]]s. It was situated near the ruins of [[Atil]], the old [[Khazar]] capital, but there is no indication that it was part of any [[Khazars#Late references to the Khazars|latter-day Khazar polity]]. It was situated in [[Kipchak people|Kipchak]] territory and may have been the center for one of their principalities. Some sources claim that it was under the influence of the [[Volga Bulgars]].

Beginning in 2003 Dmitry Vasilyev of [[Astrakhan State University]] led a series of excavations at the [[Samosdelka|Samosdelskoye site]] near the village of Samosdelka ({{lang-langx|ru|Самосделка}}) in the Volga Delta. Vasilyev connected artifacts from the middle strata with Khazar, [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz]] and [[Bulgars|Bulgar]] culture, leading him to believe that he had discovered the site of Saqsin. The matter is still unresolved.

* [http://www.lechaim.ru/ARHIV/174/VZR/a02.htm D.Vasilyev (Д. Васильев), "The Itil Dream (at the excavation site of the ancient center of the Khazar Khaganate)" (Итиль-мечта (на раскопках древнего центра Хазарского каганата))] {{ruin iconlang|ru}}