Аннотации:
Introduction. The article examines the institution of bukaul in Chinggisid states and their
successors. Special attention is given to functions implemented by the official in the uluses of Hulagu,
Jochi and Chagatai — and the former’s evolution throughout centuries. It is also explained why the
functions tended to vary in different Turko-Mongol states. Goals. The study seeks to characterize
the status of bukaul in Chinggisid and post-Chinggisid states. To facilitate this, the paper introduces
a Russian translation and an interdisciplinary analysis of one legislative act — yarliq (decree) —
appointing an army bukaul, and compares it to other sources for specific features of this official
in Turko-Mongol states. Materials and methods. The paper examines Dastur al-Katib fi Tayin alMaratib (A Scribe’s Guide to Determining Ranks) compiled in the mid-fourteenth century by Persian
official Muhammad ibn Hindushah Nakhchivani, and other historical sources on Turko-Mongol states
— from the empire of Genghis Khan and to Central Asian khanates of the eighteenth–nineteenth
centuries. The work employs a series of historical and legal research methods, such as those of source
criticism, diplomatic analysis, comparative historical research, formal legal approach, historical legal
and comparative legal analyses. Results. Bukauls are often mentioned by medieval Asian historians
but the messages tend to vary, which gives rise to different opinions as to their status and functions. The
paper introduces the yarliq appointing a bukaul from Dastur al-Katib into Russian-language scientific
discourse and supplements it with a detailed interdisciplinary analysis. Our comparative insights into
other sources attest to that functions of bukaul in different Chinggisid states were as different and
diverse, which resulted from the latter’s specific sociopolitical and economic development conditions.
Conclusions. Depending on correlations between Mongol imperial and regional traditions of power,
administrative and socioeconomic patterns, bukaul could serve as distributor of material benefits in the
army (Mongol Iran), as executive of administrative and law-enforcement structures (Ulus of Jochi),
and even as courtier in charge of khans’ cuisine (Chagatai Ulus). At the same time in Chinggisid and
post-Chinggisid states, bukauls were usually ethnic Turko-Mongols of noble origin with militaryoriented minds and corresponding training, which resulted in that they could be actively involved into
military endeavors regardless of their official positions and functions.
