Purgaz (also Purgas; in the Erzya tradition, inyazor Purgaz) was a Mordovian prince of the first half of the 13th century, the ruler of a domain that Russian chronicles call Purgaz's volost.[1][2] He entered Nizhny Novgorod's history through his campaign of April 1229: a Mordovian force burned the posad and the surrounding villages of Nizhny Novgorod, but failed to take the fortress.[1][2] The Laurentian Chronicle is the only contemporary source for him, and the amount of reliable information it contains is small.[3]
Chronicle accounts
The name Purgaz appears in Russian chronicles in the context of the wars waged by the Vladimir princes against the Mordva in the second half of the 1220s.[1][2] In 1226, Grand Prince Yuri Vsevolodovich sent his brothers Svyatoslav and Ivan against the Mordva; in January 1228, the campaign was led by the prince's son Vsevolod and Fyodor Yaroslavich, and in the Laurentian Chronicle under the same year "Purgaz's volost" is recorded as having been devastated.[1][4][2]
In April 1229, Purgaz struck back against Nizhny Novgorod. The Kremlin could not be taken, but the posad and surrounding villages were burned.[1] Later that summer, the son of the Moksha prince Puresh, together with the Polovtsians, defeated Purgaz.[1][2]
That same summer, Grand Prince Gyurgi sent Svyatoslav and Ivan, his brothers, against the Mordva, and they defeated the Mordva
Chronicle of Events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1226 | campaign of Svyatoslav and Ivan Vsevolodovich against the Mordva[1] |
| January 1228 | campaign of Yuri Vsevolodovich together with Yaroslav, Vasilko, and Vsevolod Konstantinovich; Purgaz's volost was ravaged[1][2] |
| September 1228 | unsuccessful raid by Vasilko Konstantinovich and voivode Yeremey Glebovich[1] |
| April 1229 | Purgaz burned the posad and villages of Nizhny Novgorod; the fortress held[1][4][2] |
| Summer 1229 | the son of Puresh, together with the Polovtsians, defeated the army of Purgaz[1][2] |
| 1237–1238 | the invasion of Batu Khan; Mordva statehood ceases to exist[5] |
| 1253 | William of Rubruck passes through the Moksha lands and describes their devastation[5] |
Purgaz's Volost
Historians differ on the exact location of Purgaz's domain. Local historian V. Abramov placed it on the right bank of the Oka and Volga as far as the mouth of the Sura, along the middle reaches of the Sura and the Moksha, and on the right bank of the Alatyr, identifying Erzamazy — the future Arzamas — as its political center.[1] Other researchers place the core of the volost in the interfluve of the Tyosha and the Moksha, where fortified settlements and place names bearing this name are concentrated, including Purgasovo Gorodishche.[2]
Purgaz maintained an alliance with the Volga Bulgars: the Bulgar khan came to his aid but withdrew without battle upon learning that his own villages had been ravaged.[1][5] His rival was Puresh — the leader of the neighboring Puresheva Volost in the basin of the Tsna and the Vad — who in the 1220s became a vassal of Vladimir prince Yury and fought against his own kinsmen.[5]
After Batu's invasion, Purgaz's name vanishes from the sources: he is not among the rulers who traveled to the Horde to receive their charters.[1]
| Researcher | Localization |
|---|---|
| V. Abramov | the right bank of the Oka and Volga as far as the Sura, the middle course of the Sura and Moksha, the right bank of the Alatyr; center — Erzzemazy (Arzamas)[1] |
| Dmitry Batmanov | the left bank of the Tyosha south of Arzamas, the black-earth lands of the present-day Nizhny Novgorod Region[2] |
| Nikolay Morokhin | center — the village of Purgasovo near Kadom; lands in the Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Penza areas[2] |
| Efim Shtyr | the localization is unreliable: place names of the form "Purgasovo" also exist in Kostroma, Tver, and Tula Regions[3] |
A dispute over what is actually known
In 2019, the Saransk newspaper Stolitsa S published an analysis by Efim Shtyr titled "Was There Ever a Purgaz?!" The author argued that the romantic image of Purgaz as a commander and diplomat rests on no solid evidence: the sole source is the Laurentian Chronicle, and Purgaz does not appear in Mordva folklore at all.[3]
Doctor of Historical Sciences Eduard Bogatyrev agreed with the factual substance of the analysis but objected to its tone: given the scarcity of sources, romanticization is inevitable, and every people needs its own heroes.[3]
Indeed, little data exists about Purgaz, and the image created in the public consciousness is a romanticized one. The writer Kuzma Abramov played a major role in shaping it.
Legacy
The image of Purgaz was cemented by literature: the poem "Retribution" (1978) by V. F. Yegorov and the historical novel "Purgaz" (1988) by Erzya writer Kuzma Grigoryevich Abramov, which was translated into Russian.[6] Also well known is the mini-opera "Purgaz Tsoryane" ("Purgaz the Youth") by Aleksandr Kizayev.[6]
The name has also taken root in toponymy: Purgasovo Gorodishche is an archaeological monument known from documents dating to 1628 and 1630.[6] In the two-volume encyclopedia "Mordovia" (2004), Purgaz is named as an Erzya prince and ruler of an independent principality in the early 13th century.[6]
See also
- Purgasovo Gorodishche
- Founding of Nizhny Novgorod
- Yuri Vsevolodovich
- Mordva
- Erzya
- Nizhny Novgorod Principality
Sources
- zubova-poliana.narod.ru — Zubova Polyana — History of the Mordva: inyazor Purgaz (materials by V. Abramov) (archive)
- erzianj-jurnal.livejournal.com — Erzyan Journal — Purgasova Rus or volost (archive)
- stolica-s.su — Stolitsa S — Yefim Shtyr. But did Purgaz even exist?! (archive)
- Laurentian Chronicle — entries for 1226, 1228, and 1229 (Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles, vol. I)
- zubova-poliana.narod.ru — Zubova Polyana — History of the Mordva: the Mongol invasion and the fate of the Mordovian principalities (archive)
- erzianj-jurnal.livejournal.com — Erzyan Journal — Eryush Vezhay. How did the Erzya inyazor Purgaz become Russian? (archive)