History of Science and Engineering Annotation << Back THE ROLE OF CIRCASSIANS IN THE BLACK SEA SLAVE TRADE (XIII–XV CC.) T.A. Dzughanov A.V. Gucheva M.F. Bukhurov B.N. Berezgov The article examines the main aspects related to the study of the history of the slave trade in the Circassians. An attempt a defi nition of the historical phenomenon as «Circassian slave» in XIII–XV centuries, its mechanisms and driving forces. It is established that formed in conventional science approach to this issue is wrong and not confi rmed by historical documents. It is noted that the current to the XIII century. Circassians institution of slavery had a pronounced patriarchal nature, similar in many respects to classical antiquity, and the economy Cherkessia, because of its natural character, not dependent on the use of slave labor. Itself the slave trade in the Black Sea region throughout the XIII–XV centuries. It was under the strict control of the mainly Venice and Genoa republics, and regulated by the legal norms of these countries. It concludes that, under slave Circassians should not be understood narrowly focused fi nancial transactions with the ultimate aim of a profi t, but a set of diverse socio-political and economic institutions, combining the active taking advantage of tools such as the slave market. At the same time, the established opinion about the science of hypertrophied scale Circassian slave, is the result of an incorrect interpretation of the sources and documents is not supported. Keywords: Black Sea traffi c; the Caucasus; Venice; Genoa; Egypt; Circassian slave trade; slaves; social elevator; Tatars. Contacts: E-mail: dzughanov@mail.ru Pp. 56-67.