The Emergence of Cities in Volga Bulgaria and the Bulgar Area of the Golden Horde (on the basis of archaeological data)

Specific features of the process of cities and urban culture formation in Volga Bulgaria at different stages of historical development of the region are discussed in the article. In the 9th to 10th centuries, the process of Bulgar cities formation was stimulated by the population numerical growth and a growing social need in handicraft products, as well as by considerations of defense. This process was facilitated by two phenomena: the expansion of the Bulgar trade and the formation of a system of relations between the settled population of Bulgaria and its nomadic neighbors. At the next stage of Bulgar urbanization (11th–12th c.) the cities acquired a predominantly craft and trade character; settlement structures around urban centers were under formation; state urban development planning was practiced; a special role was played by transcontinental trade and cultural ties. Following the Mongol conquest, in the 13th-14th centuries the cities became open, or unfortified. The role of the state in the foundation and construction of cities was growing. The Golden Horde formed a new hierarchy of relations between the center and the periphery, and in the new conditions Bulgar cities were rapidly turning provincial and nearly agrarian.