Bilär
Medieval Volga Bulgarian city in Alexeevsky District, Tatarstan, Russia
title: "Bilär" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["history-of-tatarstan", "volga-bulgaria", "former-cities-in-russia", "archaeological-sites-in-tatarstan", "cultural-heritage-monuments-of-federal-significance-in-tatarstan", "razed-cities", "populated-places-in-the-golden-horde"] description: "Medieval Volga Bulgarian city in Alexeevsky District, Tatarstan, Russia" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilär" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Medieval Volga Bulgarian city in Alexeevsky District, Tatarstan, Russia ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox ancient site"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| map_type | Russia Tatarstan#Russia |
| location | Alexeyevsky District, Tatarstan, Russia |
| region | Russia |
| part_of | Tatarstan |
| built | 10th century |
| archaeologists | Fayaz Huzin |
| Albert Khalikov | |
| condition | Semi-ruined |
| ownership | Public |
| public_access | Yes |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
|name= |native_name= |native_name_lang= |alternate_name= |image= |alt= |caption= |map_type=Russia Tatarstan#Russia |map_alt= |location=Alexeyevsky District, Tatarstan, Russia |region=Russia |type= |part_of=Tatarstan |length= |width= |area= |height= |builder= |material= |built=10th century |abandoned= |epochs= |cultures= |dependency_of= |occupants= |event= |excavations= |archaeologists=Fayaz Huzin Albert Khalikov |condition=Semi-ruined |ownership=Public |management= |public_access=Yes |website= |notes= |coordinates=
Bilär or Bilyarsk (; ) was a medieval city in Volga Bulgaria and its second capital before the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria. It was located on the left bank of the Small Cheremshan River in Alexeeyevsky District of the Tatarstan. Its erstwhile location is 50 km from the current village of the same name and 150 km from Kazan.
History
The city was founded around 10th century by the indigenous Bilär tribe of the Volga Bulgars. In Russian chronicles, it was also known as the "Great City" (), 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 city and Nur-Suvar, served as the capital of Volga Bulgaria in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1236, the city was sacked by the army of Batu 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.
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. The end of the city in 1236 also resulted in the loss of its monumental architecture.
In 1654, near the site of Bilyar, a Russian border fort called Bilär was founded.
Bilyar Point on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Bilär.
In popular culture
Bilyarsk was the home of a fictional Soviet air force base in Craig Thomas' Firefox novel and subsequent film, about the fictional MiG-31 Firefox aircraft stolen by United States Air Force pilot Mitchell Gant. In reality, Bilyarsk has no airport and the closest full-service airport is in Kazan, Tatarstan in Russia, 61 mi northwest of Bilyarsk.
Notable people
- Alexander Arbuzov (1877–1968), chemist
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))
References
- Khalikov A.Kh., ''"Tatar people and its anscestors"'', Kazan, Tatar Book Publishing, 1989, p.93 (Халиков А. Х., Татарский народ и его предки, Казань, Татарское кн. изд-во, 1989, С.93, ''In Russian''
- (3 June 2014). "Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons". Routledge.
- SCAR]] [[Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica]]
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::