The “Internal” Ethnic Communities in Khazaria 247
35 large and 28 smaller earthen fortifications (the largest Bulgarian vallum is
located in today’s Romania and is 300 km long). Earthen fortifications can also
be found along the main traffic route of Danube Bulgaria in the north-south
direction. They served as camps for military garrisons and were built at the will
and with the resources of the state authorities. This tradition was abandoned
in Bulgaria in the ninth century. At that time fortresses of rough stone and
irregular shape began to appear, built with the funds and on the initiative of
the local population.101
In the Khazar Khaganate, earthen fortifications were built in Dagestan, in
the steppe zone of the North Caucasus and in the areas of the steppe zone in
the Don Region that were inhabited by Bulgars. The Alans also erected forti-
fications with ramparts and moats in the plain area of the North Caucasus.102
One of the prominent examples in the area of the Terek-Sulak Interfluve is the
Andrei-Aul hillfort, which had an oval form. The steppe zone of Dagestan con-
tains many fortresses with an oval or rectangular shape, fortified with bricks
or ramparts and moats.103 Square earthen fortifications can also be found near
Sarkel and the Tsimliansk hillfort (as well as the Kamyshin hillfort, excavated
quiet recently, during the 1990s, and probably built from hewn stone blocks),
and in the vicinity of the Semikarakorsk hillfort. These fortifications remained
inhabited even after the hillfort’s abandonment, which occurred in the early
tenth century, at the very latest.104
Quite interesting is also a group of eight fortifications, six of which lined
in a row, all situated along the middle reaches of the Severski Donets, in the
area, inhabited by Bulgars. The most prominent ones among them (such as the
Maiaki-Tsarino and the Sidorovo fortifications on the right bank of the river
and the Kirovsk and Novoselovka ones—on the left one) are fortified with
a rampart and a moat. The distance between the hillforts is not more than
4–6 km.105 Large in size fortifications, built with a rampart and a moat, can also
be found in Volga Bulgaria; such is for example the Murom Township.106
If we leave out the row of fortresses along the upper reaches of the Severski
Donets, which are situated in the Alan-populated zone at a distance of 20 km
101 Rashev 1982; Rashev 2006, 301–310; Rashev 2008, 140–142; Stanilov 1984, 100–105; Evstatiev
2007; Rabovianov 2007.
102 Kovalevskaia 1981a, 83 and 1984, 146.
103 Magomedov 1983, 143–145 and 179.
104 Liapushkin 1958b, 264; Pletneva 1996, 143; Pletneva 1999, 100–109 and 115; Flerov 2002 and
1996b, 9.
105 Mikheev 1985, 12–22; Kravchenko 2004 and 2007.
106 Matveeva and Kochkina 2005, 16–18.