Текст 1 About Myself

In the thirteenth century a large trade centre - Sarai Batu - the capital of the Golden Horde - rose up in the Lower Volga. It attracted the merchants from the most far-away countries and was famous for its palaces.

The city of Hadzhy-Tarkhan, the centre of the Astrakhan Khanate, which had detached from the Golden Horde, rose up on the right bank of the Volga. It was the historical predecessor of Astrakhan. In different years it had different names: Astrakhan, Gitorkhan, Tsitrokhan. Such a variety of names still has no exact historical explanation as well as the name of modern Astrakhan itself.

Originally Astrakhan was located on the right bank of the Volga, and only in the sixteenth century it was replaced onto the opposite bank, as the new place was much safer.