The stronghold of the Bulgars in the Caspian region was the city of Saxin, which is well known from the records of Abu Hamid al-Garnati. Until the Mongol conquest they preserved control of this land despite repeated changes of ethnic environment in the region. By the end of the tenth century Volga Bulgars had extended their influence on the lower lands of Volga, up to the Caspian Sea, after the fall of the Khazar Khanate and during the ensuing ethno-political turmoil. For one's part, we will add that there is certain historical background to this statement.
According to them, the city already existed in the times of Volga Bulgaria. Some researchers (among them, such authoritative ones as Bartold V.) have expressed doubts that Ukek was founded by the Mongols on a new, uninhabited site.
Vogla river etymology full#
However, it should be noted that the excavations dealt with a relatively small area of the town and it is now impossible to conduct full archaeological investigation because of the modern buildings. It is traditionally believed that the city of Ukek was founded in the Golden Horde period – primarily because no pre-Mongolian layers were found on the territory of these landmarks during archaeological excavations. In this case, however, it is possible that the placename sounded likewise among the Russian population of Ukek during the Horde period, the presence of which in the city was confirmed by the archaeological excavations.
Vogla river etymology plus#
The following pattern – “ancient nameplace plus hydronym” was common for the Horde, especially, in the Volga Bulgar toponymy what is more, the majority of the hydronyms were given by the later sedentary population. The name of the river was, apparently, given by the Russian population because of the ruins of the ancient city, which in those days could still be clearly seen. River Uvekovka flows in close vicinity of the settlement. In Marco Polo's records, for example, the word «Ukok» is used while Abu-l-Fedy’s notes contain the word “Ukak”. In some sources the spelling of the city name is different from the generally accepted one.
In this paper, we consider the etymology of the name of the Ukek city, which took the form of «Uvek» in the Russian-language variation.Īccording to the majority of written sources and numismatic materials, the original name of the city sounded like «Ukek». The main research base for the researcher of medieval toponymy of Middle Volga consists of settlement placenames, due to their frequent usage in different sources and because they are relatively better preserved in toponymic nomenclature of the region.
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