Kazan History
Kazan is the capital and largest city of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an area of 425.3 square kilometres (164.2 square miles), with a population of over 1.3 million residents, and up to nearly 2 million residents in the greater metropolitan area. Kazan is the fifth-largest city in Russia, being the most populous city on the Volga and within the Volga Federal District.
Middle Ages
According to the official version adopted today, the city was founded more than 1,000 years ago. The estimated date of the urban settlement on the site of Kazan is 1004–1005 AD. The reason for this dating was found during excavations in the Kazan Kremlin – a Czech coin, dated by the Board of St. Wenceslaus (presumably, coinage 929–930 years) and the earliest Czech coin, the remains of masonry and wooden city fence, handicrafts and utensils (Hungarian type lining, women’s beads, etc.), as well as other artefacts with less obvious dating. According to official statements, experts from 20 cities of Russia and 22 countries of the world were involved in the study of findings related to the age of Kazan.
Kazan was a border post between Volga Bulgaria and two Finno-Ugric peoples—the Mari and Udmurt. Another question is where the citadel was built originally. Archaeological explorations have produced evidence of urban settlement in three parts of the modern city: in the Kremlin; in Bişbalta at the site of the modern Zilantaw monastery; and near the Kaban Lakes. The oldest of these seems to be the Kremlin.
The earliest chronicle mention of the first (old) Kazan is contained in the Rogozhsky Chronicle under 1391 in the description of the campaign of the ushkuiniks (Novgorodian pirates) who plundered and burned Žuketau and Kazan. It stood empty for 40 years. The new Kazan was founded at its mouth on the hill. This information is repeated in the Simeon Chronicle and the Moscow Code of 1479. The new Kazan was founded in 1438 as the capital of the Kazan Khanate by Ulugh Muhammad. Sources say that Kazan was founded by Perekop refugees (Tatars) from Crimea.
In 1438, the Bulgar fortress Kazan (Iske-Kazan) was captured by the ousted Golden Horde Khan Ulugh Muhammad, who killed the local Prince Swan and moved the fortress to a modern place (according to Russian Chronicles). The city became the capital of the Khanate of Kazan. The city Bazaar, Taş Ayaq (stone foot) has become the most important shopping centre in the region, especially for furniture. Handicraft production also flourished, as the city gained a reputation for its leather and gold products, as well as the wealth of its palaces and mosques.
Kazan had trade relations with Moscow, Crimea, Turkey, and other regions.