Atil , also Itil , was the capital of the Khazar Khaganate from the mid-8th century to the late 10th century. It is known historically to have been situated along the Silk Road , on the northern coast of the Caspian Sea , in the Volga Delta region of modern Southern Russia . Its precise location has long been unknown.
32-643: In 2008 a Russian archaeologist claimed to have discovered the remains of Atil in Samosdelka , a village in the Volga Delta approximately 30 km southwest of the city of Astrakhan . This claim has since been disproven. The historical Turkic peoples living on or near the Volga region called both the river and the Khazar capital city on the river Itil or Atil . Modern Turkic languages have retained
64-514: A pontoon bridge . According to Arab sources of the 10th century, one half of the city was referred to as Atil, while the other was named Khazaran . Atil was a multi-ethnic and religiously diverse city, inhabited by Jews , Christians , Muslims , Shamanists , and Pagans , many of them traders from foreign countries. All of the religious groups had their own places of worship in the city, and there were seven judges appointed to settle disputes (two Christian, two Jewish, and two Muslim judges, with
96-695: A single judge for all of the Shamanists and other Pagans). The numerous Christians of Atil were under the jurisdiction of their own bishop ; the minaret of the Friday mosque of the Muslims of Atil is said to have been higher than the castle. The city was a major trade center, and managed the Khazar slave trade , in which slaves bought for export were transported from the Khazar Khaganate to either
128-537: A spy. The Imperial Society comprised four departments: Physical Geography, Mathematical Geography, Ethnography, and Statistics. Nikolai Nadezhdin was involved in the foundation of the Ethnography department, when the RGO was originally set up. During the 1850s and 1860s the ethnographic division gathered and published material such as works of folklore and the byt or "way of life" which they regarded as reflecting
160-496: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Russian Geographic Society The Russian Geographical Society ( Russian : Ру́сское географи́ческое о́бщество (РГО) ), or RGO , is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg , Russia . It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection with research programs in fields including oceanography , ethnography , ecology and statistics . The society
192-640: The Black Sea slave trade in the West via the Black Sea port of Kerch , or East from the capital of Atil via the Caspian Sea to Central Asia and from there to slavery in the Abbasid Caliphate . Svyatoslav I of Kiev sacked Atil in 968 or 969 CE. Ibn Hawqal and al-Muqaddasi refer to Atil after 969, indicating that it may have been rebuilt. Al-Biruni (mid-11th century) reported that Atil
224-669: The Khazars in the Second Arab-Khazar War , Atil became the capital of Khazaria. Ibn Khordadbeh , writing in ca. 870, names Khamlij as the capital of the Khazars. This is presumably a rendition of Turkic khaganbaligh "city of the khan" and refers to the city later (in the 10th century) named as Atil in Arab historiography . At its height, the city was a major center of trade. It consisted of three parts separated by
256-706: The Russian Geographic Society concluded that Atil had not been found in Samosdelka, and announced that new excavations were underway at another site. Head archaeologist Dmitry Vasilyev of Astrakhan State University and his team began excavations at the site in 1999. The research was sponsored in part by the Simon Dubnow Higher Humanitarian School (called the "Jewish University in Moscow" until 2003) and by
288-526: The Russian Jewish Congress , a Russian nonprofit. In 2008 Vasilyev publicly announced that his team had unearthed the foundations of a triangular fortress of fired brick and had discovered the remains of yurt -like dwellings. Vasilyev claimed that the findings were the remains of Atil. A major indication that led him to his conclusion, Vasilyev said, was the presence of kiln -fired (as opposed to dried-mud ) bricks, as Khazar law restricted
320-555: The "essence" of the indigenous people of the Russian Empire. In 1909 Dmitry Nikolayevich Anuchin , Vladimir Bogdanov and Vsevolod Miller convened the ethnographic sub-section of the Twelfth Congress of Russian Natural Scientists and Physicians held in Moscow. Here they pushed for more professionalism to distinguish ethnographers from missionaries and amateurs. In 1917 David Zolotarev and Nikolai Mogilyansky of
352-654: The Board. Other board members included Russian oligarchs, politicians and Albert II, Prince of Monaco . The appointments of Shoigu and Putin resulted in the Society getting more subsidies from the Russian state. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine led to BP CEO Bernard Looney 's resignation as a trustee of the Society and membership of Russia within International Geographical Union (IGU)
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#1732765679033384-508: The Caucasus (1850), Irkutsk (1851), Vilnius (1867), Orenburg (1868), Kiev (1873), Omsk (1877), and other cities. The Society organized and funded the expeditions of Richard Maack , Pyotr Kropotkin , Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Nikolai Przhevalsky , Nikolai Miklukho-Maklai , Pyotr Kozlov , Vladimir Obruchev , and Lev Berg . It helped set up the first polar stations in Russia and was one of
416-682: The Imperial Russian Geographical Society included: The Society's official presidents were Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia in 1845–1892 and Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia in 1892–1917, but it was actually run by the Vice-Presidents: Fyodor Litke (1845–1850, 1855–1857), Count Mikhail Muravyov (1850–1857), Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky (1873–1914), and Yuly Shokalsky (1914–1931). The Constantine Medal
448-400: The Khazars, "with their federated structure and peacefully coexisting religions," were to be understood as a "model for modern Russia." In a 2003 paper, Vasilyev remarked that the central portion of Samosdelka was situated on an island between dry riverbeds , and that historical documents locate Atil's castle on an island in the center of the city. He noted that the fortress at Samosdelka
480-938: The Medal was referred to as “The highest award of the Russian Geographical Society”. Recipients of the medal included: The Society changed its name to the State Geographical Society in 1926 and to the Geographical Society of the USSR in 1938. After Shokalsky its presidents were geneticist Nikolai Vavilov (1931–1940), zoologist Lev Berg (1940–1950), parasitologist Evgeny Pavlovsky (1952–1964), glaciologist Stanislav Kalesnik (1964–1977), and polar explorer Aleksei Treshnikov (1977–1991). The Society has convened numerous congresses and has awarded four types of medals,
512-629: The Society are in St. Petersburg. Since 2002 the society has sponsored an annual seasonal ice base in the Arctic, Camp Barneo . In 2009, the Minister of Defence of Russia Sergei Shoigu was elected the President of the Society. As of March 2022 , he is still in office. In 2010, the Board of Trustees of the Society was established. The president of Russia Vladimir Putin was appointed chairman of
544-418: The Volga Delta fishing village of Samosdelka announced their discovery of what they claimed were the remains of Atil. A 2020 assessment by the Russian Geographic Society concluded that Atil had not been found in Samosdelka, and announced that new excavations were underway at another site. The archaeological remains of a settlement from the Khazar period near the village of Semibugry (Russian: Семибугры) in
576-524: The Volga. The western part contained the administrative center of the city, with a court house and a large military garrison. The eastern part of the city was built later and acted as the commercial center of the Atil, and had many public baths and shops. Between them was an island on which stood the palaces of the Khazar Khagan and Bek . The island was connected to one of the other parts of the city by
608-503: The central part of the Volga Delta were discovered after Samosdelka and as of 2020 were being excavated in the hopes that the settlement was Atil. According to historian Alex Feldman, "it remains impossible to archaeologically prove" the location of Atil. Samosdelka Samosdelka ( Russian : Самосделка ) is a fishing village in the Astrakhan Oblast of southern Russia , approximately 40 km south-southwest of
640-570: The city of Astrakhan , in the Volga River delta area of the Caspian Depression marshlands . In September 2008, Russian archaeologists excavating in Samosdelka announced their discovery of what they claimed were the remains of Atil , the capital of the medieval Khazar kingdom. The claim was considered sensational and, owing to the absence of archaeological evidence, did not meet with widespread acceptance. A 2020 assessment by
672-588: The findings "be very important." Vasilyev's claim was labelled "premature" in a 2018 publication by Georgetown University Professor of Anthropology Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer. On its website dated July 2020, the Russian Geographical Society stated that while "many scholars" identified Samosdelka with Atil, artifacts of the Saltovo-Mayaki culture inherent to the Khazar Khaganate "were not found". The Society announced that it
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#1732765679033704-591: The first to publish detailed studies of the Russian folklore and Ukrainian fairs. The Society pioneered the systematic exploration of the Northern Urals in 1847–1850, of the farthest reaches of the Amur River in 1854–1863, of the vast areas of Kashgaria , Dzungaria , and Mongolia from the 1870s onward. By 1917 the RGO was composed of eleven subdivisions and 1,000 members. The founding members of
736-727: The historical name for the Volga. The Volga is known as İdel ( Идел) in Tatar , as Atăl (Атӑл) in Chuvash , as Iźelin in Bashkir , as Edıl in Kazakh , and as İdil in Turkish . The origin and meaning of the ancient Turkic form " Etil / Ertil " are uncertain. Atil was located along the Volga delta at the northwestern corner of the Caspian Sea . Following the defeat of
768-479: The medieval city of Saqsin , also in the Volga delta. Following Vasilyev's announcement, researcher Kevin Alan Brook wrote that he was "confident" that the team found Atil, even as he acknowledged that the site has yielded no Jewish artifacts. Dr. Simon Kraiz, an expert on Eastern European Jewry at Haifa University , was more cautious, remarking that only if the team has discovered Khazar writings would
800-475: The tri-annual Grand Gold Medal, three bi-annual medals named after Litke, Semyonov, and Przhevalsky, and also the bi-annual Semen Dezhnev prize. By 1970, it had published more than 2,000 volumes of geographical literature, including the annual Zapiski (since 1846) and Izvestiya (since 1865). The society reverted to its original name upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The main offices of
832-754: The use of fired bricks to the capital. In his announcement to the Associated Press (AP), Vasilyev heralded the "great significance" of his team's "discovery of the capital" of Khazaria. Vasilyev told the AP that "we should view [the purported discovery] as part of Russian history ," and that "in many ways, Russia is a successor of the Khazar state". Vasilyev claimed that the excavations conformed to written sources. In an item on Vasilyev's announcement, Hadassah Magazine reported that in an interview with Russian news agency RIA Novosti , Russian Jewish Congress spokesperson Evgeniy Satanovsky professed his view that
864-459: Was a gold medal worth 200 silver roubles and was the highest award of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. It was established and named after the Society’s first chairman, Great Duke Constantine and was awarded from 1849 to 1929 to explorers who had made a significant geographical discovery or to authors of outstanding publications in geography, ethnography or Russian statistics. From 1924 to 1929
896-421: Was again in ruins, and did not mention the later city of Saqsin which was built nearby, so it is possible that this new Atil was only destroyed in the middle of the 11th century. As of 2024, the archaeological remains of Atil have not been positively identified. An accepted hypothesis is that they were washed away by the rising level of the Caspian Sea . In September 2008, Russian archaeologists excavating in
928-622: Was founded in Saint Petersburg , Russia on 6 (18) August 1845. Prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917 , it was known as the Imperial Russian Geographical Society . The order to establish the society came directly from Emperor Nicholas I . The motive for the establishment was to encourage geographical research on domestic topics, which has later been described as a Russian nationalist political goal. The filial societies were established at
960-616: Was on "the threshold of the great discovery" of Atil, this time in the nearby village of Semibugry . Professor Alex Feldman of the University of Birmingham wrote that "textual and archaeological evidence provides some support" for identifying the site with Atil but noted some objections to the idea, including that none of the coins uncovered there date back "as early as the tenth century". 46°01′26″N 47°50′23″E / 46.02400°N 47.83975°E / 46.02400; 47.83975 This European history –related article
992-478: Was said to have a triangular shape and was made from " limestone bricks", and that written sources say that the Khazar khagan had a monopoly on brick buildings. Vasilyev said that traces of a widespread fire were found at Samosdelka in an Atil layer , and that the fire was probably set during the conquest of Atil by Kievan Rus' prince Sviatoslav I in 968 or 969 CE. Layers dated to the 11th-12th centuries have Oghuz artifacts; these layers are associated with
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1024-602: Was suspended as of 7 March 2022, pending a formal decision on its membership at the next IGU General Assembly in July 2022. Nevertheless, while suspending Russia’s formal membership, the IGU maintains an open door for continued engagement with colleagues in Russia. In October 2023 an investigation revealed that two people purporting to be employees of the RGS tried to recruit a Norwegian as
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