Feudal city, its origin and economic role. Medieval cities of the East: Arab, Indian, Chinese. Their differences from European cities. Economic prerequisites for the territorial organization of the population

Question 1. Medieval cities East: Arabic, Indian, Chinese.

Their differences from European cities 3

Question 2. Economic background territorial organization of the population. 6

Used literature 20


Abstract on the subject "Territorial organization of the population".

1. Medieval cities of the East: Arab, Indian, Chinese.

Their difference from European cities.

Unlike most of Europe, the countries of the East in the Middle Ages experienced several invasions of nomadic peoples who, over time, perceive urban culture, but this happens almost anew every time. Therefore, in the end, the development of urban settlement in the East is much slower, and the connection with the ancient cities is closer. This is manifested to the greatest extent in the formation of the network and principles of organization of Arab cities.

Arab conquests in the 7th-8th centuries. covered a vast territory from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indus Valley. At the same time, most of the ancient cities in this territory were destroyed, and nomad camps arose in their place, which later became cities (Cairo in Egypt, Rabat in Morocco, etc.). capital Arab state Medina was originally small town in the desert part of the Arabian Peninsula. Then the capital was moved closer to the main trade routes of that time - first to Damascus, and then to the city of Baghdad, specially built in 762 as the capital. Baghdad arose at the convergence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, that is, approximately in the same place where Babylon and other capitals of antiquity existed. Baghdad in its heyday had up to 2 million inhabitants and was the largest city in the world, but after the Mongol conquests of the XIII century. it has lost its meaning.

The building principles of Baghdad were repeated in other Arab cities. The hill in the center of the city was occupied by a fortress (shahristan or kasbah), in which the ruler of the given area (in Baghdad - the caliph) settled with his entourage, military squad and servants. The ruler's palace included a system of courtyards occupied by gardens, pools and fountains. Around the fortress there was a trade and craft part of the city (rabad), surrounded by an external defensive wall. In its center was a market square, and artisans lived in quarters on a professional basis, each of which was surrounded by a wall. In shakhristan and each quarter there was a mosque, which was the larger and more richly decorated, the richer the given quarter was. The mosque, as a rule, ended with a dome, and next to it there was a tower - a minaret (or several minarets). The houses of ordinary residents were flat-roofed, one-story, built of clay, facing the streets with a blank wall, with a courtyard. Important public buildings of the city were caravanserais (hotels), madrasahs (schools), baths located in the city center.

Muslim conquests reached India in the 13th century. In the XVI century. passed new wave conquests, as a result of which the Mughal Empire was created, which included almost the entire Hindustan peninsula. Wherein major capital cities, numbering hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, developed in the north of the country, from where the conquests came. At different periods they were the cities of Delhi and Agra. The urban planning principles of Indian cities of that time included both ancient Indian and Arabic elements. So, in Delhi, the Red Fort was built (composed of red sandstone), which was a fortress and a palace of emperors. Near Agra, the mausoleum of the Taj Mahal has been preserved - one of the most outstanding buildings medieval India, built according to the classical plan of the mosque and surrounded by specially created reservoirs.

China was first subjected to the Mongol and then the Manchurian invasion. At the same time, the capital of the country was also moved to the north - to Beijing. The center of Beijing was a complex of imperial palaces surrounded by gardens - the Purple (Forbidden) City. Around him was imperial city, in which the close associates of the emperor, his guards and servants lived. The Imperial city was surrounded by the Outer Tatar (barbarian) city, in which the Mongols and then the Manchus lived. Adjacent to it was the Outer Chinese city where the bulk of the population lived. Each of the parts was surrounded by its own walls. Some streets were also locked at night. outer city built up with wooden houses forming regular square blocks. Apparently, the authorities were afraid that the huge masses of people concentrated in the city could get out of obedience. Beijing since the 18th century. had more than 1 million inhabitants, being at that time the largest city in the world. The most outstanding buildings of Chinese cities were the palaces of rulers and temples (pagodas), which stood out sharply against the background of ordinary buildings in their size and design.

In general, we can say that in the cities of the East, the main functions in the Middle Ages remained administrative and military, although the majority of the population in them, as in Europe, were artisans and merchants. The eastern cities never received any autonomy, which hampered social progress and preserved the vestiges of feudal relations until the beginning of the 20th century. Constant external conquests by more backward peoples hampered the cultural and technical progress. Externally eastern cities still looked like a combination of magnificent palaces and temples - on the one hand, and the wretched shacks of the majority of the inhabitants - on the other, from which they began to leave the cities of Europe in the early Middle Ages. It is not surprising that in modern times the cities of the East began to develop under European influence and at present retain their originality only in the old parts.


Information about the work «Medieval cities of the East: Arabic, Indian, Chinese. Their differences from European cities. Economic prerequisites for the territorial organization of the population"

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The eastern city developed differently than the European, western one. In fact, Eastern civilizations in the Middle Ages were much more urbanized than European ones. The urban population in the Eastern empires reached 10-20% by the end of the 16th century, compared with 5-7% in Western Europe.

In China, there were cities with millions of people, while in Europe the population of cities did not exceed several tens of thousands (with the exception of Milan, whose population had already reached 200 thousand inhabitants in the 13th century). But this does not mean that the qualitative side of urban life corresponded to the quantitative one.

IN Arab world the heyday of city life falls on the period when the Arab caliphate began to disintegrate. Apparently, with the release of pressure central government more enterprising and enterprising citizens become more active, science and culture, concentrated in cities, flourish. But even in the 10th-13th centuries, when elements of democracy appeared in Europe, there were no political freedoms or legal guarantees in the Arab East. The heads of numerous corporations were subordinate to the city administration, the governor-hakim, the mayor-rais, the overseer-mukhtasib, the head of the guard and the judge-qadi.

In the XV-XVI centuries. in the cities of Turkey and subject territories, a system of workshops arises, but, unlike in Europe, petty tutelage on the part of the authorities and the almost complete absence of self-government did not even lead to intentions to carry out something similar to communal revolutions. In addition, the majority of the urban population were non-Christians. Something similar to workshops was formed in other countries of the Middle East (asnafs), in Japan (dza), in China (khans). In India city ​​life organized by caste elders. But the city in most countries of the East remained the object of direct administration by the central government. The heads of workshops, guilds and castes were appointed either from above or in agreement with the authorities. And if, say, relatively independent trading corporations were formed in India in the early Middle Ages, then by the 16th century this independence not only did not develop, but, on the contrary, disappeared without a trace. The only relatively free city Japan - Sakai in the XVI century. loses its independence and begins to be controlled by government officials.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that under such conditions the urban life of the East, with the exception of Japan, experienced stagnation on the eve of colonial subjugation.

Architecture of Eastern Europe. Middle Ages

IN medieval architecture EasternEurope, Asia Minor and Transcaucasia for more thanthan a thousand years of its existencea number of national architecturalschools, which had a great variety,and features related to thembetween themselves. The first was duethe peculiarity of the tasks that set beforearchitecture of each country, its naturalconditions and influence of the nationalcultures of the past. Secondstemmed from the similarity between social andstate system and everyday lifedifferent countries on the samelevel of their development, and from closecultural and sometimes political tiesbetween them. Such features arethe entire architecture of these territories,distinguish it from Western architecture Europe.

Medieval cities as in the West,so in the East or developed from the old ones,retaining much of the legacyfrom antiquity a rectangular grid of streets,or arose at the site of former genericsettlements, usually acquiring radialcircular layout with a center in the formcastle. But in a number of cities in Eastern Europe,more susceptible to attack by enemies,than the western, fortified urbanthe center received the appearance of the Kremlin, which contained notonly the dwelling of the feudal lord and his servants, but alsothe dwellings of a number of his vassals, and sometimes the bishop,cathedral church, several otherschurches and monasteries and served as a refugefor citizens during the siege of the city. differedin the West and East and layoutsuch typical for the Middle Ages architecturalcomplexes, like monasteries, oftenwho had more freedom in the Eastplacement of buildings with standing insulatedin the middle main church and locatedaround, closer to the fence, residentialand commercial buildings. More closelysometimes touching each otherbuildings of some monasteries were locatedArmenia and Georgia, but not here eitherwas typical of Western monasteriescourtyard adjoining the church with arcades,dormitory and chapter hall.

The most obvious differences between the architectureChristian East and architectureWest affected the main publicbuildings of the Middle Ages - temples.The centric type dominated in the Easttemple, mostly cross-domed,with a number of different optionsthe number of naves, piers and domes,the presence or absence of chorus and locationthe latter, the composition of the altarparts and vestibules; was widespread there.and an earlier type of domed basilica.In such centric temples, of particular importancegot a vertical axis that coincidedwith the top of the dome, often standingon a high drum; she subjugated herselfclustered around part of the building.Therefore, here the volume of the building had morevalue than individual facades, oftenmore or less equivalent. Such"multi-façade" is anotherhallmark of Christiantemples of the medieval East.

In the interiors of these temples, the mainwas the middle part, the highestand brightly illuminated by the light pouring fromdrum windows. Another distinctivea feature of most Eastern Christiantemples had little use in their externaland interior decoration of sculpturalimages and the special meaning thathad painting in it. This is where the medievalart has developed characteristicfor him, the methods of synthesis of architectureand monumental painting, based onsubordination of the placement and composition of lifeinscribed images to the axes of the internalbuilding space and relativeflatness of these images, which did not havelinear and aerial perspective,visually "destroying" the surface of the walls and vaults.

The centric type of the temple is associated withsuch advances in construction technologymedieval East, like a dome on girtharches and sails, overlappingsquare in terms of the room, and the dome onlight drum. Wide application andthe development of vaulted ceilings usednot only in cult, but often inresidential buildings, was also characteristicfeature of medieval architecturethese places, based on experience not onlyancient Rome, but also Syria, Mesopotamia,Sassanid Iran - countries where vaultsused for a long time, in various formsand large scale.

Inherited from ancient architecturethe order has changed due to the fact that the columnscarried no longer straight architraves,but the arches, which changed the proportions of the columns,and the shape of their capitals. The proportions of the columnsused as decorationwalls, often emphasized their decorativeappointment, and the wall was no longer interpretedlike padding between columns, buthad a form that corresponded to its meaningbearing part of the building. The most masonry - mixedfrom alternating rows of stone andbrick, brick and stone - usedas a means of enhancing artisticexpressiveness of buildings. outdoorthe decoration of such walls was made of thosethe same materials; in brick and mixedbuildings, it was a patternedmasonry that worked together with the arraywalls. Often in decorative wall treatmentthe motif of the arch was used in the form of large deafarches on the facades, or smaller arches,formed belts, or eyebrows above the windows,or semicircles surrounding the basedomes and crowned drums.Such decorative details were repeatedoutlines of structural elements of buildings -arok and zakomar, just asniches on the facades repeated the outlineswindow openings. All this, plus matchingshapes and sizes of decorative elementsproperties and dimensions of buildingmaterials is observed in both stone andin brick and mixed buildings.

On Balkan Peninsula, in Transcaucasiaand, especially, in Rus' as the mainbuilding material foundwide application and wood. Whereinwalls and ceilings were built from horizontallystacked logs that in the medievalWestern and Central Europepracticed only in residential and commercialbuildings of Scandinavian and West Slavic countries.

In Transcaucasia, such a constructivereception led to the emergence of peculiartypes of floors used in stonebuildings, and in Rus' it also influencedplanning of residential buildings, which builders,being connected by the length of the log, made upfrom a number of log cabins, adjoiningdirectly or relatedtransitions, and such a reception of themcompositions later moved to stone the buildings.

Such compositional, constructiveAnd artistic features were in thator otherwise inherent in the architecturevarious countries of Eastern Europe, MalayaAsia and Transcaucasia. Distinctive featureseach national architecturehave been described above, in the respectivechapters, and they were noted inthose countries where architecture developed inlargely based on localtraditions dating back to late antiquity,and in younger countries wherearchitecture came first from the Byzantinesamples, and then, in accordance withlocal tasks and opportunities, developedits national character.It should also be noted here that there are commonfeatures in the architecture of geographically closecountries, which was also due to culturalconnections between them, and the similarity of socialAnd natural conditions, and generalityexternal influences.

In the architecture of Armenia and Georgia, wherestone construction was knownbefore the addition of feudalism, the first stonebuildings of the feudal era, and in particularChristian temples, reveal similaritieswith buildings not of Byzantium, but of Centraland southern Syria, with which Transcaucasiawas connected not only with the Syrianthe origin of the first preachersChristianity, but also by the similarity of local naturalbuilding materials. In progressfurther development in architectureArmenia and Georgia soon had their ownfeatures that distinguish it from architectureother countries of the Christian East. These aretemple plans based on non-equilateral"Greek" and not "Latin"with an elongated western branch, a cross, but a crosswith short transverse and long,equal longitudinal branches.Such is the peculiar method of inscribingcomplex in composition internalspace, sometimes with an abundance of curvilinearplanes, in a simple and concisevolume where even apses andjust crashing into a smooth surfacewalls dihedral niches mark the boundarybetween them. Characteristic for both Armenian,and for Georgian temples straight slopesroofs over vaults and conicaldome covers. At the same time, the presencethese common for the Armenian and Georgianthe architecture of the devil does not deprive everyoneof them of great national identity.

In architecture Slavic countries and closelyculturally associatedMoldova and Wallachia, along with the nationalthe uniqueness of each of them,it is possible to find some unifyingtheir features to each other. Yes, Bulgariantemples of the era of the Second Bulgariankingdoms, single-nave, with a square plantower over the narthex, find an analogy insome Serbian churches in Moravianschools, and patterned stone-brick decorativethe decoration of the facades is similar in churches14th century in Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria.Three-conch plans of four-pillarsor single-nave churches of Serbia and MacedoniaXIV - the first half of the XV century. spreadfrom the end of the 14th century. in Moldavia and Wallachia,where they were applied and lateralong with some decorative motifs,related to Bulgarian. Finally,stepped composition of the transition from the mainthe volume of temples to the drums of their domescharacteristic of some Russian buildings,and Serbian churches of Kosovo-Metohijaand Moravian schools, and Moldovanchurches of the XV-XVII centuries, although in each countrysuch a transition had its constructivebase and appearance.

The similarity of the overall composition of the Slavicand Byzantine churches is easily explainedsuccession of the former with the latter,served at an early stage in the development of architectureSlavic peoples samplesfor their architects. A number of constructive techniquesand forms also passed from Byzantium toSlavic countries, where the stone monumentalarchitecture was born at the timewhen Byzantine had already reached its peak.But late Byzantine architectureexperienced some influencearchitecture of the Slavs: the influence of Russian architectureappearance can be explainedin some Greek churches of the XIII-XV centuries.completion of the walls with zakomars and pozakomarscoatings, and in rare cases, the likestepped arrangement of zakomar.Patterned masonry adorning the facades of Bulgarian,Macedonian and Serbian buildings,gave rise to similar decorationson the facades not only of Greek churches, butand the palaces of Constantinople. Even earlieron Byzantine architecture startedaffect the connection with the architecture of Transcaucasia,in which, for example, beforeanywhere else, high drums appeared domes.

Architecture selected countries EasternEurope, Asia Minor and Transcaucasia, not onlydeveloped in close connection with architectureneighboring lands, but also had pointscontact with Western architectureEurope, Iran, Arab and Turkic peoples.On connections with Romanesque architectureWest says a number of details of the facade decorationSerbian buildings of the Raska school,where these ties were carried out through a single-tribeSerbia Dalmatia; about the samesays the presence of towers at the western facadessome of these buildings as well asat some temples ancient Rus'. About relationship withRomanesque architecture testifies andapplication in some Russian churchesXI - early XIII century. semi-cylindricalvaults and single apses, as well as decorativeprocessing of facades of brick templesDnieper region XII - early XIII century. Andstone temples of Galicia and Vladimir lands.

In the architecture of Moldova, ledge buttresses and lancet arches and platbandswindows and doors are related to Gothic, withwhich Moldovan architecture touchedthrough Tran, adjacent to Moldovasylvania. Some Romanesque and Gothicforms appeared in separate buildingsGreek school of Byzantine architectureXIII-XV centuries, in the era of dominationover part of her "Latins". Conical Coatingsdomes of Armenian and Georgian churchessimilar to conical and polyhedralcoverings of some structures of Azerbaijan,Iran and Central Asia, and in laterbuildings of Christian Transcaucasiasometimes there are four-centeredlancet arches and niches covered stalactites.

palaces of the same compositionwere built in the XVI-XVII centuries. In areareligious architecture by this type of building,later developed in othercountries, there was a centric temple with a domeon a light drum abovesquare in plan middle part. It was appliedeven for temples of other religions,and if the domed mosques of Iran and Arabcountries can also be associated with domedstructures of the same Iran from the time of SasAnides, then the predominant influence of the Byzantinesamples, and in particular SophiaConstantinople, Turkish mosquesXVI-XVII centuries is beyond doubt.

The same should be said about the new typetemple, which became widespread in Italyin the Renaissance, also centricand with a dome on a light drum,girth arches and sails supportedon four pylons or on the corners of the pillarlesspremises. This type of temple, which passedthen to baroque and classicism architectureand spread throughout Europefurther development of Eastern Europeancross-domed church. in templesItalian Renaissance composition createdin medieval Eastern Europe,acquired a new character, imbued with non-medievalspiritualism, but humanisticthe spirit of the new age. Something similarnew types of buildings characteristic of its timeand corresponding to the development of constructiontechniques constructive techniques, butand new artistic images, revealingopportunities in newtypes and designs of buildings and reflectingworldview and ideology of the feudalera. At the same time, she made a significantcontribution to the architecture of the subsequenttime, endowing it with a number of constructiveAnd compositional techniques, suitable andto solve new problems.

The genesis of the city in the Middle Ages. Page 4-6

Russian cities. Pages 7-12

Cities of Western Europe. Pages 13-17

Similarities and differences between the cities of Rus' and Western Europe. Pages 18-19

Conclusion. Page 20

Bibliography. Page 21

INTRODUCTION

My work is dedicated to medieval cities.

In the modern city, contacts of various peoples are actively developing. And in the past, in the era of feudalism, the city was the center of ethno-cultural processes, an active participant in the formation folk culture in all its diversity. There was, perhaps, not a single significant area of ​​\u200b\u200bfolk culture to which the townspeople would not have made a contribution. But if the role of the city and the urban population in the development of the spiritual culture of the people has long been recognized by researchers, then material culture townspeople until recently has not yet been studied by ethnographers to such an extent that such generalizations could be made in this area. At the same time, the material culture of the city is an integral part of folk culture.

At work, I set several tasks:

1. Determine the place of the city in feudal society, its essence.

2. Determine the prerequisites for the formation of a feudal city.

3. To study the development of the city in the Middle Ages, its role in economic, social and political processes.

This work is intended to reveal a broader understanding of the population, appearance and features of the medieval city, on the basis of which there are cities and megacities familiar to us. As an example, the cities of Rus' and Western Europe are considered.

THE GENESIS OF THE CITY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

Exist common features all cities of all times:

1. Multifunctionality: (trade and craft center, Cultural Center, spiritual and religious center, fortress).

2. There is no agricultural production in cities.

3. Concentration of two types of activity (craft and trade).

4. Administrative center.

A feudal city is a specific settlement with a relatively high population density, a fortified settlement with special rights, legal privileges, concentrating not agricultural production, but social functions associated with small-scale production and the market.

Features of the feudal city :

1. Corporate organization of production.

2. Corporate social structure (rights, duties, privileges).

3. Regulation of production.

4. Small production.

5. A certain system of privileges (the rights of residents or freedom), the right to have an army in the city, self-government bodies.

6. Close connection with the land, land ownership, seigneury (especially at the first stage - the city arises on the land of the feudal lord).

7. Certain duties, taxes.

8. Part of the population is made up of feudal lords who own landed property.

9. The top of the city acquires land in the district.

Medieval city- a higher level of development of settlements in comparison with the previous stages of pre-medieval eras.

Prerequisites and factors for the formation of a medieval city:

The prerequisites for the formation of a medieval city were progress in agriculture: productivity, specialization, and the release of part of the population from agricultural activities. Demographic factors in the formation of the city: raw material base, the growing need of the agricultural population in the goods of artisans.

The formation of a feudal estate provides:

1. labor intensification

2. organization of work

3. promotes specialization

4. the development of handicraft production - the outflow of the population.

Formation of the social and political structure of the feudal society:

Development of the state (management apparatus).

The formation of a class of feudal lords interested in the city (organization of labor, weapons, luxury goods, blacksmithing, shipbuilding, trade, fleet, money circulation).

Conditions for the emergence of cities:

social division of labor.

Development of commodity circulation.

The stimulating factor is the presence of urban centers that have survived from the previous time: an ancient or barbarian city.

The level of development of crafts and trade (the emergence of professional artisans working for the market; the development of near and far trade, the creation of corporations of merchants (guilds)).

Formation of the city.

How does it arise? The question is moot. In the history of mankind there have been various forms of city formation. There are different theories different countries about the founding of cities:

Romanesque theory (based on ancient cities) - Italy.

Burg theory (castles) - Germany.

patrimonial theory - Germany.

· Market theory – Germany, England.

· Trade concept (foreign trade) - the Netherlands.

The city did not appear suddenly. The process of city formation is a long process. transformation early city the medieval takes place mainly in Europe in the 11th century .

The cities had a complex social composition: both feudal lords, and "slaves", and the clergy (churches), free trade population, artisans - a complex complex of both free and dependent, and those who have not yet received freedom.

Gradually everything urban population turned into a single estate - Burgeuses - residents of the city.

CITIES OF Rus'.

City formation.

The result of the success of the eastern trade of the Slavs, which began in the 7th century, was the emergence of the most ancient trading cities in Rus'. "The Tale of Bygone Years" does not remember the beginning of the Russian land, when these cities arose: Kyiv, Lyubech, Chernigov, Novgorod, Rostov. At the moment from which she begins her story about Rus', most of these cities, if not all of them, apparently, were already significant settlements. A cursory glance at the geographical distribution of these cities is enough to see that they were created by the success of Rus''s foreign trade. Most of them stretched out in a long chain along the main river route "from the Varangians to the Greeks" (Volkhov-Dnepr). Only some cities: Pereyaslavl on the Trubezh, Chernigov on the Desna, Rostov in the region upper Volga, moved to the east from this, as it were, the operational basis of Russian trade, indicating its flank direction to the Azov and Caspian Seas.

The emergence of these large trading cities was the completion of a complex economic process that began among the Slavs in new places of residence. Eastern Slavs settled along the Dnieper in lonely fortified courtyards. With the development of trade in these one-yards, prefabricated trading posts arose, places of industrial exchange, where trappers and beekeepers converged for trade. Such collection points were called graveyards. From these large markets our ancient cities in Greek-Varangian trade route. These cities served shopping malls and the main storage points for the industrial districts formed around.

The Tale of Bygone Years indicates the first local political form that formed in Rus' around the middle of the 9th century: it is a city region, that is, a trading district, controlled by a fortified city, which at the same time served as an industrial center for this district. The formation of this first political form in Rus' was accompanied in other places by the appearance of another, secondary and also local form, the Varangian principality. From the combination of the Varangian principalities and the city regions that retained their independence, a third form emerged, which began in Rus': that was the Grand Duchy of Kiev. Kyiv served mainly as a defensive outpost of the country against the steppe and as the central trading post of Russian trade.

A city like Novgorod was formed from several settlements or settlements, which at first were independent, and then merged into one large urban community.

Medieval settlements can be divided according to the occupation of the inhabitants into rural-type settlements, mainly associated with agriculture, and urban-type settlements, mainly handicraft and trade. But the names of the types of settlements did not correspond to modern ones: villages with defensive fortifications were called cities, and unfortified villages had other names. Settlements of a rural type prevailed - peasant villages along with rural estates of feudal lords. The land of the peasant community extended for many tens of miles. Administrative, commercial and religious and religious center community was a graveyard - a village in which retail space estates of representatives of the communal administration, a church with courtyards of the clergy and a cemetery were grouped, but there were few estates of ordinary peasants who mainly lived in villages.

Center, north European Russia there was a different process: from the 15th - 16th centuries. small craft and trading settlements arose without fortifications (on the Novgorod lands - "rows"). In the XVII century. the process continued, settlements of this kind were called unplowed settlements, as they grew, they were renamed into settlements, but they were not called cities.

Population.

The main part of the population of the old cities were "townspeople" engaged in crafts and petty trade, various kinds of military - "service people". IN big cities, especially in Moscow, prominent groups were merchants of various categories, the clergy and others. Secular and ecclesiastical feudal lords had estates in the cities, and often the central estates of monasteries were also located here.

The quantitative ratios between the main groups of the urban population were different in different cities. For example, in Moscow there were relatively more representatives of the feudal estates and various civil servants than in other cities. Foreigners living in Moscow were predominantly of Western European origin, there were about 600 thousand inhabitants. In addition to Russians, many Greeks, Persians, Germans, Turks lived, but there were no Jews at all, because they were not tolerated throughout the state.

In general, foreigners have noticed that the population in cities is much less than what could be expected, judging by the number of buildings. This came from the importance of the city in the Muscovite state: it was, first of all, a fenced place in which the surrounding population sought refuge during an enemy invasion. In order to satisfy this need, which so often arose due to the circumstances in which the state was formed, cities had to have big sizes than what was needed to accommodate their permanent population.