Bilär (

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

Volga Bulgaria Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic state wi ...

and its second capital before the

Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria The Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria lasted from 1223 to 1236. The Bulgar state, centered in lower Volga and Kama, was the center of the fur trade in Eurasia throughout most of its history. Before the Mongol conquest, Russians of Novgoro ...

. It was located on the left bank of the Small Cheremshan River in Alexeeyevsky District of the

Tatarstan The Republic of Tatarstan (russian: Республика Татарстан, Respublika Tatarstan, p=rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə tətɐrˈstan; tt-Cyrl, Татарстан Республикасы), or simply Tatarstan (russian: Татарстан, tt ...

. The distance to Bilyarsk is 50 km and 150 km to

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

History

The city was founded around 10th century by the indigenous Bilär tribe of the

Volga Bulgars Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgars, Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic ...

. In the

Rus Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...

chronicles, it was also known as "Great City" (''Великий город''), because its population reputedly was in excess of 100,000. Bilyar was one of the main trade centers in the Middle Volga, and alternatively with the

Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...

city and Nur-Suvar served as the capital of

in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1236, the city was sacked by the army of

Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...

. The city was later rebuilt, but it never regained its former size or power. The city's ruins (nearly 8 km²) were explored by Rychkov, Tatischev, Khalikov and Khuchin. Near old Bilyar in 1654 was founded a Russian border fort ''Bilyarsk'', which today is an ethnic Russian village. In 1930-1963 Bilyarsk was an administrative center of Bilyar District. By the 2000 census, its population was 2,270. It is a birthplace of chemist Alexander Arbuzov. Bilyar was the capital of the Volga-Kama-Bulgaria from the 10th century until the early 13th century. It was also one of the largest cities of medieval

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

. The end of the city in 1236 also resulted in the loss of its monumental architecture.

Bilyar Point

Bilyar Point Bilyar Point ( bg, text=нос Биляр, italic=yes, ‘Nos Bilyar’ \'nos bi-'lyar\) is a rounded ice-free point on Ivanov Beach in western Livingston Island, the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica projecting 350 m into Barclay Bay. Situa ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Bilär.Bilyar Point.

SCAR A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a na ...

Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about th ...

In popular culture

Bilyarsk was the home of a fictional

Soviet air force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

base in Craig Thomas' ''

Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and ...

'' novel and subsequent

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, about the fictional MiG-31 Firefox aircraft stolen by

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

pilot Mitchell Gant. In reality, Bilyarsk has no airport and the closest full-service airport is in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, northwest of Bilyarsk.

Gallery

File:Wikiexpedition to Bilyar 15.jpg, Bilyar Historical Archeological Museum File:Wikiexpedition to Bilyar 23.jpg, A piece of Bilyar mill File:Wikiexpedition to Bilyar 14.jpg, Old Bilyar map File:Wikiexpedition to Bilyar 10.jpg, Old pots from ancient Bilyar

References

Resources

* Fayaz Sharipovich Huzin , BILYAR - BULGARIAN GREAT CITY
Publisher "Zaman" Republic of Tatarstan
. Russian (Хузин Фаяз Шариповичь , Биляр - Великий Город Болгарский
Издательство «Заман» Республика Татарстан
)

External links

* ttp://www.bulgars.ru/english/volga.htm Where the Volga Bulgaria has disappeared?br>50th Anniversary of Bilyar Archaeological Expedition: results and issues of Great Town investigation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilar History of Tatarstan Volga Bulgaria Defunct towns in Russia Archaeological sites in Tatarstan Former populated places in Russia Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Tatarstan