Archaeological studies in the Khan’s capital city of Kasimov

In September 2024, the expedition of the Institute of Archaeology named after A.Kh. Khalikov of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences continued long-term research of the capital of the Qasim Khanate of Kasimov in the Ryazan region, started in 2008. The research was conducted under the state program of the Republic of Tatarstan “Preservation of the national identity of the Tatar people” with the assistance of representatives of the Tatar cultural and national autonomy of Kasimov.

The object of research was the Old Posad of Kasimov, where from the XIII to the middle of the XV century was located Gorodets Meshchyorsky, and from the middle of the XV to the middle of the XVI century the city of Kasimov or Khan-Kerman, the capital of the Qasim Khanate.

As a result of the studies, the boundaries of a medieval Muslim necropolis – the Old Posad Tatar cemetery – were determined. The necropolis was the burial place of Genghisids and noble Tatars not only in Kasimov and its district, but also in other cities where Tatar people lived, such as Romanov or Moscow. The necropolis probably contains mausoleums of other Kasimov khans, including the founder of the state, Qasim Khan. At the Old Posad Tatar cemetery 36 test pits were laid, its exact boundaries were determined, which will allow in the future to put it on the protection of the state authorities.

During the expedition, geophysical studies were carried out at the site of the alleged XVII century mausoleum of Kasimov Arslan Khan and his wife Fatima Sultan. Magnetometric studies at the site showed the two-part structure of the building and fixed the location of the entrance. A smaller rectangular object was recorded next to the mausoleum, which is probably another mausoleum.