DATA ON KHAN BERKE IN THE HISTORICAL CHRONICLE «ZUBDAT AL-FIKRA FI TARIKH AL-HIJRA»: A SOURCE-CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive source-critical analysis of information on Berke Khan of the Golden Horde contained in the chronicle "Zubdat al-Fikra fi Tarikh al-Hijra" by the Mamluk historian Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Mansuri. Using the historical-comparative method, the study examines fragments concerning Berke Khan's conversion to Islam, his military conflict with Ilkhan Hulagu near the Terek River, and diplomatic relations and correspondence with the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. The source text is translated into Kazakh for the first time, and its content-related and chronological reliability is established. The article substantiates the scholarly significance of "Zubdat al-Fikra" as a primary source for studying the history of the Ulus of Jochi, particularly Berke Khan's domestic and foreign policy, his relations with the Hulaguid state, and the confessional-political alliance with the Mamluks of Egypt, aiming to incorporate the monument into the source base of national historical scholarship.