German Fedorov-Davydov

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German Alexey Fedorov-Davydov (Герман Алексеевич Федоров-Давыдов) (1931 - 2000) was an oustanding historian, archeologist, numismatist and art historian, professor of Moscow State University. German Fedorov-Davydov was born in a family of highly educated, empoverished nobility, with centuries-old tradition of science; one of his ancestors, Davydov, in the 19th century was a rector of the Moscow University.

German Fedorov-Davydov graduated Moscow State University Historical division in 1954 majoring in archeology. In 1969 he became a professor in the Archeology Institute of the USSR Academy of Science, his post-graduate and doctoral monographs were "Altyn Orda coin hoards" (1957), and "East European Nomads from 10th to 14th centuries" (1966).

German Fedorov-Davydov was tireless field archeologist. From 1950 he constantly participated in archeological expeditions: Khoresm, Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Tunis, Mongolia, South Korea. From 1960 to 1990 G. Fedorov-Davydov headed the Volga regional archeological expedition of the Moscow University and Archeology Institute. In his publications German Fedorov-Davydov illumunated actual, very serious historical problems almost state-forbidden at that time. German Fedorov-Davydov was instrumental in organization of wide scale excavation of the capital Sarai (Sarai Berke and Sarai Djadid, New and Old Sarais), and other cities in the Volga region, achieving high scientific results. G. Fedorov-Davydov continued traditions of pre-revolutionary orientalists - numismatists (H.M.Fren, P.S.Savelyev, and others), immensly contributing to the wealth of knowledge in the field, including the birth and development of the Russian monetary system and terminology.

German Fedorov-Davydov is an author of about 230 scientific and popular-scientific works, including 26 books. His monographs "East European Nomads under rule of Altyn Orda Khans" (1966), "Social order of Golden Horde" (1973), "Art of nomads and Golden Horde" (1976) became classical for the period of Early Middle Age world of the Euroasian steppes. His books were published and republished in England, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, among them are "City Culture of the Golden Horde" (Oxford, 1984), "Stadte der Golden Horde an der unteren Wolga" (Munchen, 1984), "Le tresor de Saransk Les Monnaies de la Russie Moskovit 14 et 15 ieme Siecle" (Belgigue, 1985), "Le tresor de Saransk Les Monnaies de la Principaute de Nijegorod. 14-15 Siecles" (Belgigue, 1992). A famous work "Coins tell" ("World", 1986, republished again in 1990) was even published in Marathhi and Telugu Indian languages. German Fedorov-Davydov, in spite of him deliberately not being a ruling CPSU party member, was a member of Academy of Natural Sciences of the Russian Federation, and corresponding member of the German Archeological Institute.