The Buzhans () were one of the

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

unions of

Early Slavs The early Slavs were a diverse group of tribal societies who lived during the Migration Period and the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to the 10th centuries AD) in Central and Eastern Europe and established the foundations for the Sl ...

, which supposedly formed

East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert ...

in Southern Russia and Volga region. They are mentioned as ''Buzhane'' in the Rus' Primary Chronicle. Several localities in Russia are claimed to be connected to the Buzhans, like for example

Sredniy Buzhan Sredny Ostrov is a small island ('ostrov') and a military airfield in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located in the northern Kara Sea, off the archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya and almost 900 km north of Khatanga which in turn is on the Siberian ...

in the

Orenburg Oblast Orenburg Oblast (russian: Оренбургская область, ''Orenburgskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name ''Chkalov Oblast'' () ...

, Buzan and the Buzan river in the

Astrakhan Oblast Astrakhan Oblast (russian: Астраха́нская о́бласть, ''Astrakhanskaya oblast'', , ''Astrakhan oblysy'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southern Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Astrakhan. ...

. Some theories say that the name of the tribes could be connected to

Western Bug uk, Західний Буг be, Захо́дні Буг , name_etymology = , image = Wyszkow_Bug.jpg , image_size = 250 , image_caption = Bug River in the vicinity of Wyszków, Poland , map = V ...

, in Ukraine, where they actually originated. According to the

Bavarian Geographer The epithet "Bavarian Geographer" ( la, Geographus Bavarus) is the conventional name for the anonymous author of a short Latin medieval text containing a list of the tribes in Central- Eastern Europe, headed (). The name "Bavarian Geographer" was ...

, the Buzhans had 230 "cities" ( fortresses). Some historians believe that the Buzhans and the

Volhynians The Volhynians ( uk , Волиняни, Volyniany, pl , Wołynianie) were an East Slavic tribe of the Early Middle Ages and the Principality of Volhynia in 987–1199. Historiography Russian Perspective Russian historiography on regions ...

used to be called the

Dulebes The Dulebes, Dulebs, Dudlebi or Dulibyh ( uk, Дуліби) were one of the tribal unions of Early Slavs between the 6th and the 10th centuries. According to medieval sources they lived in Western Volhynia, as well as southern parts of the Duch ...

. There are even theories connecting the name of the river, region and country of Bosnia to the Buzhans. These theories are mostly promoted by the

Joachim Lelewel Joachim Lelewel (22 March 1786 – 29 May 1861) was a Polish historian, geographer, bibliographer, polyglot and politician. Life Born in Warsaw to a Polonized German family, Lelewel was educated at the Imperial University of Vilna, where in 181 ...

and Muhamed Hadžijahić.

References

Slavic tribes {{Ethno-group-stub

See also

References