Mukhshi (, was the administrative center of

Mukhsha Ulus Mukhsha Ulus (), or Naruchat Duchy (), was a subdivision of Golden Horde located in modern-day Mordovia, Penza Oblast and Tambov Oblast of Russia. It existed from the 13th to 15th centuries with its capital in Mukhsha. The bulk of its territory w ...

and one of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

centres of coinage. In the 15th century the city lost its importance and declined. The ruins (buildings of bricks, stone baths, Muslim graves) are situated in

Penza Oblast Penza Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Penza. As of the Russian Census (2010), 2010 Census, its population was ...

near the modern town of Narovchat in the upper stream of Moksha River.

History

Foundation and name

The city foundation date is unknown. The archeological findings confirmed the first city population was

Moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

. The city is often referred to as Mukhsha or Mukhshi which in fact was the name of the ''ulus'' Mukhsha, the official city name used in the Mongol period was Nurinjat .

Mukhsha Ulus

Mukhsha became the administrative center of

and residence of

Öz Beg Khan Öz is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Doğan Öz (1934–1978), Turkish prosecutor assassinated during his investigation of the Turkish deep state * Emanuel Öz (born 1979), Swedish politician * Mehmet Öz, Turkis ...

in 1313–1342. In 1313-1367 the city minted dangs,

dirham The dirham, dirhem or drahm is a unit of currency and of mass. It is the name of the currencies of Moroccan dirham, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates dirham, United Arab Emirates and Armenian dram, Armenia, and is the name of a currency subdivisi ...

s and pūls. Destroyed by

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

1395 Year 1395 ( MCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1395th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 395th year of the 2nd millennium, the 95th yea ...

. In 16th century in Nurindzhat attested private and public baths, running water, sewerage, underfloor heating. The streets were paved with stones, there were fountains with drinking water, cathedral mosque, tavern (teahouse), inns, caravanserai, palace, houses and mausoleums of stone, Muslim cemetery. There were 3 potteries with ancient forges and a brick factory. Every brick made in Mukhshi had a special tamga. There was an artisan quarter with numerous workshops. Residential quarters partly lay nowadays under the rural locality Narovchat. Northwest of Narovchat lays another gravefield (old cemetery), divided into Muslim ( named so by later Russian population due to round foundations of mausoluems ruins) and presumably "Pagan" areas. 4 mausoleums and probably a mosque and a minaret ruins were found in the "Mosque field" The Medieval city ruins were discovered by Russian archeologist Aleksandr Krotkov in

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

Volga Trade Route

In 14th century, Mukhshi played an important role on trade route from Don to Black sea (

Principality of Theodoro The Principality of Theodoro (), also known as Gothia () or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern part of Crimea, specifically on the foothills of the Crimean Mountains. It represented one of the final rump ...

and Genoese Gazaria colonies in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

)

Literature

*Making Mongol History: Rashid al-Din and the Jamiʿ al-Tawarikh (Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture) by Stefan Kamola, Edinburgh University Press; 1st edition (August 14, 2019), *Golubev O.V. Mokhshi Coinage. Penza, 2020 *

References

Notes

Footnotes

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

The Golden Horde coinage
Medieval history of Russia History of Penza Oblast Defunct towns in Russia Geography of Penza Oblast Populated places in the Golden Horde Former populated places in Russia Narovchatsky District {{Penza-geo-stub