Below the emir the lesser Bulgar towns had their own lords, whom the Rus' chronicles call princes.
Suvar had once been the seat of a rival Bulgar ruler in the 10th century; Juketau on the Kama was a great fur market; Kashan guarded the Kama above it; Oshel stood on the Volga below them. No name survives for any of them in 1200, and how far they obeyed the emir is not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- none named for 1200
- Title
- Princes (Rus' 'knyazi') or governors of the Bulgar towns
- Confidence
- high
The Rus' chronicles speak of Bulgar princes in the wars of 1220 and 1236; none is named for 1200. Juketau and Kashan appear as separate principalities only in the Golden Horde period (en.wikipedia Juketau).
Overlord
The emir of the Bulgars
What it holds
Allies and rivals
Under the emir.
How things stand that morning
Hold the lesser towns under the emir (names not pinned).
Places of note
- Suvar: town (approximate position)
- Juketau: Kama fur market
- Kashan: Kama town near Mamadysh
- Oshel: Volga town (position disputed)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Office inferred from later Rus' notices.
On the map: Markers only; each town has its own record.
Primary sources for Volga Bulgaria
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Laurentian Chronicle (the Suzdal continuation kept in the late 12th and 13th centuries; manuscript 1377). The court record of Vsevolod III of Vladimir. Read online
Sources and studies
- en.wikipedia: Juketau
- S. M. Shpilevsky, Drevnie goroda i drugie bulgarsko-tatarskie pamyatniki v Kazanskoi gubernii (Kazan 1877), archive.org
- en.wikipedia: Volga Bulgaria
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.