Where Was Sarai, the “Capital” of the Jochid Ulus? Some Perspectives for Research on Sarai

Abstract

Regarding Sarai – the “capital” of the Jochid ulus (Golden Horde) and the “metropolis of the Qipchaq Steppe” – it is the established theory that Old Sarai was located at the Selitrennoe site, and New Sarai at the Tsarevskoe site, both on the Akhtuba River. However, new theories that disagree with this have emerged: these theories claim that there was only one Sarai, or that Sarai was located at different places. First, I examine these new theories, and show that, indeed, there may have been two Sarais, old and new. Next, I argue the following possibilities: the lower Volga valley between Sarai–Hajji Tarkhan as winter camp and Ukek–Bulgar as summer camp was the “capital region” of the early Jochid ulus; Saraijuq has been discussed as being the khans’ burial grounds (qoruq), however, from archaeological surveys and the “[dynasty] table” (jadwal) in the Paris manuscript of Muntakhab al-Tawārīkh-i Muʿīnī, Sarai (and its suburbs) also assumed that role.