15
acted as translators.
31
Bartold has also indicated that Russians might have
examined the Eastern languages for practical causes on some occasions.
32
In the 10
th
century, the conversion of Volga Bulgarians into Islam and
the Abbasid support compelled the pagan Russians to seek alliances against
both Volga Bulgarians and Jewish Khazar State. Yemelianova underlines this
factor and argues that with the conversion of Vladimir into Orthodox
Christianity Kievan Russia would guarantee the support of Byzantine.
33
After the conversion of Russians into Orthodox Christianity travels for
the purpose of pilgrimage, known as Hozhdeniya had started.
34
So, interests
based on commercial and geographical factors were directed towards the
Holy Lands under the influence of religion. These journeys to the East in
general and Middle East in particular by sea route from Istanbul make up
the first Russian journeys to be found in Russian records.
35
These travelers
of pilgrimage were called Palomniks due to the palm tree leaves they
31
Frye, Richard N. "Oriental Studies in Russia." Russia and Asia: Essays on the
Influence of Russia on the Asian Peoples. Ed. Wayne S. Vucinich, Stanford: Hoover
Institution Press, 1972, p. 31.
32
Bartold, op. cit., in note 4, p. 363.
33
Yemelianova, op. cit., in note 25, p. 8.
34
B. M Dantsig. Blizhniy Vostok Ve Russkoy Nauke i Literature (Dooktyabrskiy
Period. Moskva: Glavnaya Redaktsiya Vostochnoy Literatury, 1973, pp. 6-10.
35
Bartold, op. cit., in note 4, p. 361.
16
brought with them.
36
First Palomnik priest depicting Hozhdeniya, Priest
Daniel, gives important information about the journey to candidate
Palomniks, however does not provide any information on the political
situation or the life styles of the people of the lands he stayed for 16
months.
37
This may be due to the decision of the Church to discourage these
journeys. Priest Daniel had also undertaken this duty and in order to avoid
people going on these journeys, he described holy places with extreme
detail. He had stressed in his book that it would suffice to read his book in
order to have extensive knowledge about the holy places rather than taking
an extremely hard journey to Palestine.
38
After conversion into Christianity, the Russians were also able to learn
about the antique Eastern culture and traditions through Christian and
Byzantine sources. The works of history and mythology, memoirs relating to
antique East, the lives of priests in Egypt and Syria had been translated and
copied. However, the aim of the people who were translating and copying
these works is far from studying the East.
39
For instance, in the book copies
made by the Russians before the Mongolian invasion, the Eastern lands were
depicted by means of exotic animals and birds.
In addition, among the works
36
Dantsig, op. cit., in note 34, p. 7., and Ayşe Pamir Dietrich. Rus Edebiyatı (XI. -
XVII. Yüzyıl). stanbul: Multilingual, 2003, p. 50.
37
Bartold, op. cit., in note 4, p. 361.
38
Dietrich, op. cit., in note 36, p. 50.
39
Kim & Shastitko, op. cit., in note 16, pp.10 – 13.
17
of this period, in the book Vladimir Monomah: Instruction to His Children,
there is statement that Vsevolod, the father of Vladimir, knew five
languages.
40
However, it is not clear how Vsevolod learnt these languages
at home. While Bartold indicated that this may be possible through small
booklets but he himself is doubtful about language education in Russia at
the time.
41
2.2 The Mongol Invasion and the Russian Military Confrontation
The invasion of Mongols into Russian lands marks the beginning of a
new era as well as debates that are still valid today. How has the Mongolian
invasion affected the history of Russia? While some scholars argue that the
Mongolian invasion tore Russia off from Europe, reoriented it towards the
East and became backward; some other Orientalists including Bartold argue
that under the Mongolian rule there was political revival in Russia and the
seeds of Russian culture were planted. These scholars argue that the period
after the death of Yaroslav (1054) until the Mongolian invasion was a period
of continuous break up, internal warfare and insecurity in terms of
conducting trade. Furthermore, in contrast to the popular view, Bartold
40
Zenkovsky, op. cit., in note 29, p.98., and Olga Gladkova. Povesti Drevnyey Rusi.
Moskva: Izdatelstvo Baluyev, 2002, p. 243. “Chto umeyete khoroshego, to ne
zabyvayte, a chgo ne umeyete, tomu uchites – kak otets moy, doma sidya, znal
pyat yazykov, ottogo i chest ot drugikh stran.” “Forget not what useful knowledge
you possess, and acquire that with which you are not acquainted, even as my
father, though he remained at home in his own country, stil understood five
languages.”
41
Bartold, op. cit., in note 4, pp. 362 – 363.
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