Issues of the Medieval History of Kazakhstan in the Materials of the A.Kh. Margulan Archive

Research Article

Abstract

This article analyses documents from the personal collection of Academician A.Kh. Margulan, held at the National Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NA RK), focusing on one of the key areas of his multifaceted scholarly legacy – the history of medieval Kazakhstan and the Kazakh Khanate. The source base for the study consists of archival collections where files relating to A.H. Margulan’s scholarly activities were held. The main focus of the work is on a source-critical analysis of the collections in A.H. Margulan’s personal archive at the National Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan (NA RK). In addition, some materials held in the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan (CSA RK) have been utilised. The methodological tools employed included the principle of historicism, the method of retrospective analysis and the comparative-historical method. Based on an examination of archival files, this paper highlights the scholar’s research concerning historical biographies (Emir Yedige, Khan Tokhtamysh, Uraz-Muhammad, Kazakh khans and biis), the genealogy of the Chingizids, as well as epigraphy and architectural monuments (the mausoleums of Jochi Khan, Alasha Khan, Ayak-Kamyr, and the Botogai settlement). Particular emphasis is placed on the role of Academician A.Kh. Margulan in identifying manuscript sources, studying the legacy of Ch.Ch. Valikhanov, proving the existence of a sedentary, urban and agricultural culture amongst the ancestors of the Kazakhs, and re-examining the stages of the formation of Kazakh statehood and tribal confederations. Works of folk folklore, concentrated in the academic’s personal collection, have been identified as a source of information on prominent figures of the Golden Horde era (Yedige, Tokhtamysh); data on medieval urban architecture and funerary structures; information on Uraz-Muhammad’s library; and materials by Russian Orientalists on the history of the steppe peoples. The manuscripts and archival documents collected in A. Kh. Margulan’s personal collection constitute a valuable source on the history of medieval Kazakhstan, the full potential of which has not yet been explored in contemporary scholarship. The publication of materials from the collection of this eminent Kazakh scholar should contribute to a more in-depth study of the history of the Kazakh Khanate, its prominent figures, and the archaeological and cultural monuments of the medieval era. The issues raised by the scholar – ranging from the localisation of medieval towns to the dating of the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate – remain highly relevant to academic research and serve as a source-based foundation for contemporary historians. Furthermore, the materials from the academician’s personal archive provide sources for studying the history of the development of medieval studies in Kazakhstan; working with manuscripts, draft notes and lecture notes helps to understand the ‘historian’s laboratory’ – that is, they are significant for research into intellectual history and the history of historical science in Kazakhstan.