Great Perm, or simply
Perm, in Latin ''Permia'', was a medieval historical region in what is now the
Perm Krai
Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ''Perem lador'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 re ...
of the
Russian Federation
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
Cherdyn is said to have been its capital.
The origin of the name ''Perm'' is uncertain. Most common explanation derives the name "Perm" from "parma" ("forested highlands" in Komi language). While the city of
Perm is a modern foundation named for Permia, the town of
Cherdyn was reportedly itself known as the capital of "Great Perm" in the past. Cherdyn acted as a central market town, and it is sometimes suggested that ''perm'' was simply a term for "merchants" or "market" in a
local language
*
A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area.
Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority ...
, but there have been other suggestions. The same name is likely reflected in the toponym
Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland (also spelt ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia''; Latin: ''Biarmia''; Old English: ''Beormaland,'' Komi: Биармия ''Biarmia,'' Old Permic: 𐍑𐍙𐍐𐍒𐍜𐍙𐍐) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas since the Vikin ...
in
Norse sagas. The general region of Great Perm was known as ''wisu'' (وِيسُو ''wīsū'') in medieval
Arab ethnography
Medieval Islamic geography and cartography refer to the study of geography and cartography in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (variously dated between the 8th century and 16th century). Muslim scholars made advances to the map-m ...
, so referred to in the works of
Ahmad ibn Fadlan
Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Rāšid ibn Ḥammād, ( ar, أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد; ) commonly known as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Muslim traveler, famous for his account of hi ...
,
Al-Gharnati
Abū Ḥayyān Athīr ad-Dīn al-Gharnāṭī ( ar, أَبُو حَيَّان أَثِير ٱلدِّين ٱلْغَرْنَاطِيّ, November 1256 – July 1344 CE / 654 - 745 AH), whose full name is Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf bin ‘Alī ibn Yūsuf ...
,
Zakariya al-Qazwini
Zakariyya' al-Qazwini ( , ar, أبو يحيى زكرياء بن محمد بن محمود القزويني), also known as Qazvini ( fa, قزوینی), born in Qazvin (Iran) and died 1283, was a Persian cosmographer and geographer of Arab anc ...
and
Yaqut al-Hamawi (in his ''
Dictionary of Countries''). The term is perhaps derived from the name of the ''
Ves''' people who settled around
Lake Ladoga
Lake Ladoga (; rus, Ла́дожское о́зеро, r=Ladozhskoye ozero, p=ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə or rus, Ла́дога, r=Ladoga, p=ˈladəɡə, fi, Laatokka arlier in Finnish ''Nevajärvi'' ; vep, Ladog, Ladoganjärv) is a fresh ...
and the upper
Sukhona River.
Principality of Great Perm
The Principality of Great Perm (russian: Великопермское княжество, ''Velikopermskoye knyazhestvo''; koi, Ыджыт Перем öксуму, Чердін öксуму) emerged as a separate
Komi-Permyak feudal entity in the 14th-15th centuries owing to the easing of the
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
. The principality retained a degree of autonomy under the
Muscovite rule, but was eventually absorbed into it in 1505.
The principality was located in the
Upper Kama area and maintained close connections with nearby Perm of
Vychegda (alternatively known as Perm the Minor). Both Perm states had paid tribute to the
Novgorod Republic
The Novgorod Republic was a medieval state that existed from the 12th to 15th centuries, stretching from the Gulf of Finland in the west to the northern Ural Mountains in the east, including the city of Novgorod and the Lake Ladoga regions of mod ...
since the 9th or 10th centuries. Perm of
Vychegda was Christianised by
Stephen of Perm in the fourteenth century and subsequently subdued by
Muscovy. In 1451 a House of Princes of Perm gained control of both territories as vassals of Moscow, with the titles of princes
Vymsky, and princes
Velikopermsky. In fact even though having been Christianised soon after Perm of
Vychegda, Great Perm enjoyed greater independence, positioned between three powers: Moscow, the
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...
, and
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzan is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and t ...
. Finally in 1472 an army of vassals of Moscow with the princes Vymsky among them conquered Great Perm and captured their brother Prince Mikhail Velikopermsky. Nevertheless, the latter soon came back again from Moscow as governor and ruled his domain for life. His son Matthew Velikopermsky was finally deposed by the Grand Prince of Moscow in 1505.
Article on Great Perm at heritage.perm.ru
.
Up to the early 18th century, the name Great Perm was officially used of the Upper Kama area, a southern part of which was governed by the Stroganov family.
The name was borrowed (as the 'Permian
The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Paleo ...
' period) by the nineteenth century geologist Sir Roderick Murchison
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigating and ...
to refer to rocks of a certain age, following extensive studies which he conducted in the region.
See also
*Bjarmaland
Bjarmaland (also spelt ''Bjarmland'' and ''Bjarmia''; Latin: ''Biarmia''; Old English: ''Beormaland,'' Komi: Биармия ''Biarmia,'' Old Permic: 𐍑𐍙𐍐𐍒𐍜𐍙𐍐) was a territory mentioned in Norse sagas since the Vikin ...
* Permians
*Chud
Chud or Chude ( orv, чудь, in Finnic languages: tšuudi, čuđit) is a term historically applied in the early East Slavic annals to several Finnic peoples in the area of what is now Estonia, Karelia and Northwestern Russia.
Arguably, th ...
References
Further reading
* V. Oborin. ''The Settlement and Developing of Ural in Late Eleventh – Early Seventeenth Centuries''. University of Irkutsk, 1990.
External links
Е.Вершинин. Пермь Великая. Как Москва пришла на Урал
Энциклопедия Пермского края
ПЕРМЬ ВЕЛИКАЯ - Культурное наследие Прикамья
{{DEFAULTSORT:Principality Of Great Perm
1505 disestablishments
Perm Krai
Medieval Russia
Permians
Novgorod Republic
Historical regions in Russia