The Mokshas (also ''Mokshans'', ''Moksha people'', in ) comprise a
Mordvinian ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
belonging to the
Volgaic branch of the
Finno-Ugric peoples. They live in the
Russian Federation, mostly near the
Volga River and the
Moksha River
Moksha (, ) is a river in central Russia, a right tributary of the Oka. It flows through Penza Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Ryazan Oblast and the Republic of Mordovia, and joins the Oka near Pyatnitsky Yar, near the city of Kasimov.
It is i ...
, a tributary of the
Oka River
The Oka (russian: Ока́, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its ...
.
Their native language is
Mokshan
Mokshan (russian: Мокша́н) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Mokshansky District of Penza Oblast, Russia. Population: 10,710 (1900).
History
It was established in 1566 as a fort to protect the c ...
, one of the two surviving members of the
Mordvinic branch of the
Uralic language family. According to a
1994 Russian census, 49% of the autochthonal
Finnic population in
Mordovia identified themselves as Mokshas, totaling more than 180,000 people. Most Mokshas belong to the
Russian Orthodox Church; other religions practised by Mokshas include
Lutheranism
and
paganism
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
.
Name
William of Rubruck, the Franciscan friar whom King
Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
sent as an ambassador to the Mongols in the 1250s, called them "Moxel". The same term appears in the Persian/Arabic 14th-century
chronicle of
Rashid-al-Din. According to popular tradition the Russians first used the term "Mordva" to refer only to the
Erzya people but later used it for both the Erzyas and the Mokshas. The term "Moksha" ( ru , мокша) begins to appear in Russian sources in the 17th century.
Local
names for the Mokshas include:
*''Мокшет'' or ''Мокшень ломатть'' ("Moksha people") in
Moksha
*''Мокшане'' or ''Мордва-Мокша'' in
Russian
*''Muqşılar'' in
Tatar
*''Мăкшăсем'' in
Chuvash
*''Мокшот'' in
Erzya
History
Prehistory

The breakup of the Volga Finns into separate groups is believed to have begun around 1200 BC. The Moksha people cannot be traced earlier because they did not possess a distinctive burial tradition before that time. According to archeological data, bodies in early Mokshan burials were oriented with their heads to the south.
Herodotus mentions
Androphagi living in the forests between the upper waters of the Dnieper and Don, north of
Scythia; this people is believed to be identifiable with the Gorodets culture, and with the early Moksha, making Herodotus's report the first appearance of the Mokshas in written history. Herodotus also describes the Scythian-Persian war of 516-512 BC, which involved the entire population of the Middle Volga. During this war the
Sarmatians forced out the
Scythians and subdued some Moksha clans. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD,
Antes,
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
, Mokshas and Erzyas became the most numerous and powerful population in East Europe.
[Федорова М. В. Славяне, мордва и анты. Издательство Воронежского Университета, 1976] By the end of the 4th century, most Mokshas had joined the Hunnic tribal alliance, taken part in the defeat of the Ostrogothic Empire in 377, and subsequently moved eastward and settled in Pannonia. Evidence of the Hunnic connection includes Mokshan battle harnesses, especially the bits and psalia, which are identical to early Hunnic battle harnesses. Archeological data show that the boundaries of Moksha territory did not change between the fourth and 8th centuries. In 450, the Mokshas were in alliance with a people of the Middle Volga known as the
Burtas, who were possibly
Alans.
Middle Ages
During the
second Arab-Khazar War
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
in 737, Arab armies under the command of
Marwan ibn Muhammad
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم, Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of ...
reached the right bank of the Volga and came into conflict with the Burtas on their way to the left or "Khazar" bank of Volga. Circa 889–890, the
Khazars were at war with the Burtas, the
Oghuz and the
Pechenegs. In 913, after a war between the
Arsiyah and the Rus' at
Atil began, five thousand Rus' survivors escaped up the Volga where most of them were killed by the Burtas. In 932, the Khazar King Aaron formed a war alliance with the Oghuz. Circa 940, during the reign of
King Joseph, the Khazars entered into an alliance with the Burtas. Afterwards the Burtas Seliksa principality became a vassal of the Khazar khanate. In 965,
Sviatoslav I of Kiev
; (943 – 26 March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav, was Grand Prince of Kiev famous for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazars, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian E ...
“attacked the Khazars' allies, captured Sarkel and Bulgaria, and reached Semender” according to Ibn Haukal. Two years later, after the Great Flood, he seized and destroyed Atil. At the beginning of the 10th century
Almush (Almış) the king of
Volga Bulgaria took control of the "Khazar tribute". He converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
, formed an alliance with the caliph of
Baghdad Al-Muktafi, and founded a trading post at the mouth of the
Oka river
The Oka (russian: Ока́, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its ...
. The Kievan prince Vladimir seized
Bolghar in 985. King Almush and Prince Vladimir signed a peace and trade treaty in 1006 which was the beginning of an "eternal peace" that lasted for 80 years. War for domination of the
Oka River
The Oka (russian: Ока́, ) is a river in central Russia, the largest right tributary of the Volga. It flows through the regions of Oryol, Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, Ryazan, Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod and is navigable over a large part of its ...
and the Erzyan fortress Obran Osh started again in 1120. Prince
Yury of the city of
Vladimir seized
Oshel in 1220 and demanded a reduction of Bulgarian influence over the Erzyan kingdom (Purgas Rus). The latter was allied with Volga Bulgaria. Vladimirian princes captured and destroyed Obran Osh in 1221 and founded
Nizhny Novgorod on the site. The Erzyan King
Purgaz and the Mokshan King
Puresh were at war and while Purgaz was allied with Volga Bulgaria, Puresh was an ally of Prince Yury. In 1230 Purgaz laid siege to Nizhny Novgorod but was defeated. After that Puresh's son Prince Atämaz with his
Polovtsi
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many sough ...
allies raided into Purgaz's lands and completely destroyed his kingdom.
As recorded by
Rashid-al-Din in his
Jami al-Tawarikh, 4 September 1236 was the date on which the sons of
Jochi -
Batu,
Orda, and
Berke
Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; , tt-Cyrl, Бәркә хан) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde ( division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue ...
,
Ugedei's son
Kadan,
Chagatai's grandson
Büri
Büri ( -, , , d.1252) was a son of Mutukan and a grandson of Chagatai Khan.
Life
Under Ögedei
According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Büri's mother was a wife of Chagatai Khan's slave. She was a beauty and Mutukan was attracted by her while ...
, and
Genghis Khan's son Kulkan declared war on the Mokshas, Burtas and Erzyas. This war ended on 23 August 1237 with a crucial victory for the Mongols at the Black Forest close to the border of the
Principality of Ryazan.
King Puresh of the Mokshans submitted to
Batu Khan and was required personally to lead his army as a vassal in Mongol-Tartar military campaigns.
At the beginning of 1241 the Mongol army seized
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, then crossed the
Carpathian mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...
and invaded
Poland.
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...
in his
Opus Majus writes that the Mokshas were in the vanguard of the Mongol army and took part in the capture of
Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
and
Zawichost
Zawichost is a small town (ca. 1,800 inhabitants ) in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland. It is located by the Vistula River in Lesser Poland, near Sandomierz. It is first mentioned in historical documents from around 1148. I ...
in
Poland. Benedict Polone reports that the Mokshan army suffered serious losses during the capture of
Sandomierz in February and
Krakow in March of the same year. On 9 April 1241 the Mongol army defeated the allied Polish and German armies at the
Battle of Legnica
The Battle of Legnica ( pl, bitwa pod Legnicą), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz (german: Schlacht von Liegnitz) or Battle of Wahlstatt (german: Schlacht bei Wahlstatt), was a battle between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces t ...
. It is believed King Puresh was slain in that battle. Shortly after that battle the Mokshan army declared to Batu that they refused to fight against Germans. According to reports by William Rubruck and Roger Bacon, the Mokshas had previously negotiated with the Germans and Bohemians regarding the possibility of joining their side in order to escape from their forced vassalage to Batu. It is known that
Subutai
Subutai (Classical Mongolian: ''Sübügätäi'' or ''Sübü'ätäi''; Modern Mongolian: Сүбээдэй, ''Sübeedei''. ; ; c. 1175–1248) was a Mongol general and the primary military strategist of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He directed m ...
ordered the punishment of the conspirators; thousands of Mokshas were put to death, but approximately a third escaped and returned to their homeland. Another third remained in the vanguard of the Mongol army and marched into Hungary through the
Verecke Pass
Veretskyi Pass or Verecke Pass ( uk, Вере́цький перевал, translit=Veretskyi pereval, more formally: uk, перевал Середньоверецький, translit=pereval Serednoveretskyi, label=none, also known as: uk, В� ...
in March 1242, according to the Hungarian bishop Stephan II and Matthew of Paris.
[Paris, Matthew; Roger, of Wendover; H. R. Luard (editor). Chronica majora in Rerum Britannicarum Medii Aevi Scriptores; or, Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland During the Middle Ages (London: Great Britain Public Record Office, 1858-1911). 57.]
Geographic distribution
Mokshas live mostly in the central and western parts of the
Republic of Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia (russian: Респу́блика Мордо́вия, r=Respublika Mordoviya, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə mɐrˈdovʲɪjə; mdf, Мордовия Республиксь, ''Mordovija Respublikś''; myv, Мордовия Рес ...
, and neighbouring areas of
Tambov Oblast and in the western and central parts of
Penza Oblast. Populations of Mokshas also live in
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'' () ...
,
Bashkortostan,
Tatarstan,
Altai Krai
Altai Krai (russian: Алта́йский край, r=Altaysky kray, p=ɐlˈtajskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai). It borders clockwise from the west, Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan Region and Pavlodar ...
, as well as in diaspora communities in
Estonia,
Kazakhstan, the
United States, and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Culture
Language
Mokshas speak the
Moksha language, which is a member of the
Mordvinic branch of the
Uralic languages.
Mythology
In traditional Mokshan mythology the world was created by ''Ińe Narmon'' (Great Bird), referred to in folklore as ''Akša Loksti'' (White Swan). The first thing ''Ińe Narmon'' created was water. ''Yakśarga'' (Duck) brought sand from the bottom of the sea and ''Ińe Narmon'' took the sand and with it formed the earth with ''Ińe Šufta'' (The Great Tree) on it. ''Ińe Narmon'' made its nest on ''Ińe Šufta'', which is usually referred to as ''Kelu'' (birch) in folklore. ''Akša Kal'' (White Sturgeon) carried the earth with the roots of ''Ińe Šufta'' on its back. ''Ińe Narmon'' had three nestlings: ''Tsofks'' (Nightingale), ''Kuku'' (Cuckoo), and ''Ožarga'' (Skylark). ''Tsofks'' chose bushes and willows for his home, ''Kuku'' settled in the forest, and ''Ožarga'' went to the meadows. Another of the old deities mentioned in Mokshan folklore was ''Mešavane'' (Mother Bee). Since the Christianization of the Mokshans the Mokshan Supreme God has usually been called ''Värden Škai'' (Supreme Creator).
According to later legends the creation of the world went through several stages: first the ''Idemevs'' (Devil) was asked by the God to bring sand from the bottom of the great sea. ''Idemevs'' hid some sand in his mouth. When ''Värden Škai'' started creating the earth, this hidden sand started to grow in the mouth of ''Idemevs''. He had to spit it out and thus chasms and mountains appeared on the previously level and beautiful earth. The first humans created by ''Värden Škai'' could live for 700–800 years and were giants 99
arshins (yards) tall. The underworld in Mokshan mythology was ruled by ''Mastoratia''. The souls of heroes, clan elders and warriors slain in battle travelled after death to the emerald green isle of ''Usiya'', where they sat at a long table together with the great
King Ťušťen drinking pure mead.
Famous people of Moksha descent
*
Vasily Shukshin, Soviet writer, actor and film director
*
Evgeny Chichvarkin
Evgeny Aleksandrovich Chichvarkin (russian: link=no, Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Чичва́ркин; born on the 10th of September 1974 in Leningrad, RSFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian entrepreneur who founded the largest Ru ...
, Russian businessman
*
Alexander Ovechkin, Russian ice hockey player
*
Oleg Maskayev
Oleg Alexandrovich Maskayev (russian: Олег Александрович Маскаев; also Maskaev; born 2 March 1969) is a Russian-American former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2013, and held the WBC heavyweight title from 2 ...
, Russian boxer
Sources
*Финно-угры и балты в эпоху средневековья (Археология СССР). М., 1987. С. 398-404
*Кулаков В И. Древности пруссов VI-XIII вв. САИ. Вып. Г1-9 М., 1990
*Финно-угры и балты... С. 411-419
*Jaskanis J. Jacwiez w badaniach archeologicznych. Stan i perspektywy badawce // Rocznik biatostocki. T. XIV. Biatystok. 1981. S. 49–67.
*Nowakowski W. Osiedia Kultury bogaczcwskiej - proba podsumowania stanu badart // WA. LI-1. 1986–1990.
*Таутавичюс А.3. Балтские племена на территории Литвы в I тысячелетии н.э. // Из древнейшей истории балтских народов (по данным археологии и антропологии). Рига, 1980. С. 81, 82
*Kevin Alan Brook. The Jews of Khazaria. 2nd ed. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2010.
References
External links
Webpage of the Zubu district of Mordovia, with historical and cultural information on the Moksha people in Russian, English and FrenchMokshen Pravda newspaperMoksha - English - Moksha online dictionaryNews in MokshaMokshan folkloreMokshan namesMoksha portal - Mokshan history, music and video
{{authority control
Moksha people
Finnic peoples
Indigenous peoples of Europe
Ethnic groups in Russia