The Mongol Conquests and Their Reflection in Material Culture of the Peoples of the Middle Volga and Kama Regions (the 13th – early 14th centuries) (according to the archaeological data)

The article considers the beginning of the Mongol invasion of Europe, a key moment in the history of Europe. Written sources contain little information about these events. Therefore, the main sources are the archaeological materials. Archaeological findings help us to reconstruct the process of the conquest of Volga Bulgaria. It was the first State that the Mongols conquered during the Western campaign. We can find out the nature of the changes in the Bulgar region of the Golden Horde, which occurred during the second half of the 13th century, both by exploring materials of such major Bulgarian cities as Bilyar, Bolghar, Juketau, Iski-Kazan (which became later the Golden Horde urban centers) as well as by studying the materials of rural settlements. If the hillforts’ materials indicate both the preservation of pre-Mongol traditions and significant innovations, then the materials of rural settlements are different and very individual. Insufficient research of the Golden Horde settlements does not allow us to make generalizations and detailed analysis. But we can identify a number of leading directions in the different periods of the Golden Horde history on the basis of the excavation of some settlements in the Western Trans-Kama region.