Historiography of the history of Zaraysk (from the foundation to the end of the XVII century): XX - XXI centuries

Rodionov Alexander Viktorovich

Zaraysk (Moscow region) concerns to the most ancient towns in the Central Russia. Its origin and formation is associated with the cult of the famous miracle-working icon of Nikola Zaraisk, it was taken there in 1225 according to the legend. There are many controversial issues in the early history of Zaraisk. The first mention of the town on the Osetr banks dates to 1146, the town had the same name as the river – Osetr. This date is considered to be the date of Foundation by the authorities and the public. However, archaeological researches on the territory of the Zaraisk Kremlin show that the settlement appeared in the XVI century. Only after the construction of the Kremlin in 1531 Zaraysk became a town. The article contains a synthesis and analysis of materials published on the history of the Moscow region town of Zaraysk and devoted to the issues of its Foundation and development until the end of the XVII century. The researchers’ most interesting problems are the date of the city's foundation (sources about it and the question of their reliability), the historicity of the cycle of stories about Nikola Zarazskiy (literary history and textual history), Zaraysk in the time of Troubles, the topography of the XVII century (Zaraysk was repeatedly rebuilt after fires.

Keywords:Zaraysk, Nikola Zaraisky, Osetr, a series of Stories about Nikola Zarazsky, local history, historiography, archaeology.