«Птичий» язык дипломатического этикета народов Евразийской степи в XIII—XV вв.
“Bird” languageof diplomatic etiquette of nations Eurasian steppe in the XIII—XVII cc.

Summary/Abstract: A set of offerings in the diplomatic etiquette of the peoples of the nomadic steppe has an incomparable symbolic meaning and a declaration of political and economic relations. The ceremonial significance of such demonstrations is rooted in the traditional perception and description of the world of the peoples of the Eurasian steppe area. There is no direct evidence of the place and role of these gifts in the ritual of the embassy missions in Eastchoniki (except for their economic significance). Nevertheless, the fundamental issue of the requirement of “commemorations” in Russian-Crimean relations and their vivid and colorful material symbolic signs of power testify to an important political aspect in the ritual of embassy exchange in the XIII—XVII centuries. At the same time, indirect news allows us to get an idea of the symbolic meaning of a number of attributes of diplomatic gifts. Thus, hunting birds — gyrfalcons, falcons and hawks — of various colors and, in particular, white represented a demonstration of the subordinate position of the younger relative to the elder. Such subordination accompanied the recognition of defeat in the war and the loss of sovereignty of one nation in relation to another. That is why the presentation of white birds was acutely perceived during the exchange of embassy missions throughout the Eurasian space at the time under review. The components of the attributes of ambassadorial offerings make it possible to identify the subtleties of the diplomatic game at the time of the exchange of delegations and the development of declarations of reconciliation or their rejection in crisis moments of relations. However, understanding the details of such a game is the task of further research.

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