Chinggisid Law - The Ius Commune of Medieval Eurasia

The article seeks to characterize the legal system of the Mongol Empire, which continued to operate in its successor uluses (termed here provisionally as Chinggisid law), as the ius commune of medieval Eurasia. Chinggisid law originated as the legal framework for the largest steppe empire in history and retained its relevance even after the collapse of Chingis Khan's empire, continuing to be applied in states governed by his numerous descendants. Chinggisid law's sources, principles, and institutions remained in use in both the direct successors of the Mongol Empire (or its uluses) and former vassal states. In some cases, these legal elements endured even under rulers who explicitly distanced themselves from their Mongol forebears. The author highlights the core state and legal institutions of Chinggisid law, which underpinned a unified legal space in medieval Eurasia and allowed officials from different polities to interact using a common legal framework. These included consistent principles of law-making and of administrative and judicial practice, shared legal sources, and similar institutions for governance, taxation, etc. The role of Chinggisid law as the region's ius commune is further evidenced by the borrowing of some of its institutions by states that retained their own legal orders under Mongol rule — notably, Muscovite Rus'.

1. Abzalov LF, Gatin MS, Mustakimov IA, Pochekaev RYu. «Dastur al-katib» as a source on the history of the state, law and clerical culture of the Golden Horde (case study of iarlyk on the appointment of the emir of the ulus). Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie. 2022;10(4):770-798. (In Russ.).

2. Abzalov LF, Gatin MS, Mustakimov IA, Pochekaev RYu. On the status of judges in the Mongolian Empire and its Uluses in the 13th–14th centuries: The experience of interdisciplinary research, Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Istoriya [Tomsk State University Journal. History]. 2024;90:84-95. (In Russ.).

3. Anners E. The History of European Law. Transl. from Swedish. Moscow: Nauka Publ.; 1994. (In Russ.).

4. Antonova KA. Suyurgal in Akbar's India (on Land Ownership forms in Medieval India). Uchenye zapiski Tihookeanskogo instituta. Vol. 2. 1949. P. 149–176. (In Russ.).

5. Belenitsky A. On the history of feudal land ownership in Central Asia and Iran in the Timurid era (14th–15th centuries) (formation of the Institute «suyurgal»). Istorik-marksist. 1941;4:43-58. (In Russ.).

6. Biran M. Qaidu and the rise of the independent Mongol state in Central Asia. Richmond: Curzon Publ.; 1997.

7. Gaev AG. Genealogy and chronology of the Jochids. To clarify the genealogy of the numismatically recorded rulers of the Jochi Ulus. In: Antiquities of the Volga region and other regions. Iss. IV. Numismatic collection. Vol. 3. No. 4. P. 9–21. (In Russ.).

8. Grigoriev AP. Mongolian diplomacy of the 13th–15th centuries: Chinggisid charters. Leningrad: Publishing house of Leningrad University; 1978. (In Russ.).

9. Kadyrbaev ASh. The steppe law monuments Zhety-Jargy, Ikh Tsaz, and Caajin Bichik, and the cultural interrelations of the Oirats, Kalmyks, and Khalkhas with the Kazakhs during the Qing era. Mongolica. Iss. XVII. 2016. P. 30–34. (In Russ.).

10. Khudyakov MG. Essays on the history of the Kazan Khanate. In: Muslimov IB. At the junction of continents and civilizations: From the experience of the formation and collapse of empires of the 10th–16th centuries. Moscow: Insan Publ.; 1996. P. 527–758. (In Russ.).

11. Morgan DO. The «Great Yasa of Chingis Khan» and Mongol Law in the Ilkhanate. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 1986;XLIX(1):163-176.

12. Pang T. A Manchiu-Mongolian Diploma Given to the Wife of a Mongolian Nobleman. Written Monuments of the Orient. 2015;1:78-86.

13. Pochekaev RYu. Genghis Law: The legal legacy of the Mongol Empire in the Turko-Tatar Khanates and the States of Central Asia. 2nd ed., rev. and suppl. Kazan: Tatar Book Publishing House; 2022. (In Russ.).

14. Pochekaev RYu. The legal culture of the Golden Horde (historical and legal essays). Moscow: Yurlitinform Publ.; 2015. (In Russ.).

15. Semenov AA. An outline of the structure of the central administrative administration of the Bukhara Khanate of later times. In: Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the Tajik SSR. Vol. 24. Materials on the history of the Tajiks and Uzbeks of Central Asia. Iss. II. 1954. (In Russ.).

16. Semenov AA. Sheibani Khan and the Conquest of the Timurid Empire. In: Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the Tajik SSR. Vol. 12. Materials on the history of the Tajiks and Uzbeks of Central Asia. Iss. I. 1954. P. 39–83. (In Russ.).

17. Shaimardanova ZD. Letters from the Ilkhan Chancellery of the 13th century: Continuation of the scientific controversy. Otan tarikhy. 2014;1:91-100. (In Russ.).

18. Shapshal SM. On the question of tarkhan iarlyks. In: To Baskakov AN, (ed.). Academician V.A. Gordlevsky on his seventieth birthday. A collection of articles. Moscow: Izd-vo IGiP N SSSR; 1953. P. 304–316. (In Russ.).

19. Stepanov AP. Journey to Kyakhta from Krasnoyarsk. In: The Yenisei Almanac for 1828. Krasnoyarsk: Polikor Publ.; 2008. P. 17–41. (In Russ.).

20. Sultanov TI. Chingis Khan and the Chinggisids. Crowds and Power. St. Petersburg: Evrazia Publ.; 2017. (In Russ.).

21. Temirgaliev R. Kazakh Chinggisids on the throne of the Khiva Khanate. Proceedings of the international scientific and practical conference «Mangilik El» dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the Kazakh Khanate (September 11, 2015). Astana: Memleket tarikhy Institutes; 2016. P. 282–299. (In Russ.).

22. Trepavlov VV. Royal charters (iarlyks). The legacy of Mongol statehood in Muscovite Rus'. In: The contribution of nomads to the development of world civilization. In: Masanov LE, Zhanaev BT, (eds.). Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference, Almaty, November 21–23, 2007. Almaty: Daik-Press; 2008. P. 104–113. (In Russ.).

23. Usmanov MA. Charters of grant of the Ulus of Jochi, 14th–16th centuries. Kazan: Publishing house of Kazan University; 1979. (In Russ.).

24. Vladimirsky-Budanov MF. An overview of the history of Russian law. Moscow: Territoriya budushchego Publ.; 2005. (In Russ.).

25. Yudin VP. Hordes: White, Blue, Gray, Gold… Utemish-haji. Chingis-nama. Facsimile, translation, transcription, textual notes, and study by Yudin VP; comment. and index by. Abuseitova MKh. Alma Ata: Gylym Publ.; 1992. P. 14–56. (In Russ.).

26. Zograf IT. Mongolian-Chinese interference: The language of the Mongolian Chancellery in China. Moscow: Nauka Publ.; 1984. (In Russ.).