Savelev, Pavel

Savel’ev, Pavel Stepanovich 

Born June 23 (July 5), 1814, in St. Petersburg; died there May 19 (31), 1859. Russian Orientalist and Arabist, archaeologist, and numismatist. One of the founders of the Russian Archaeological Society (1846).

Savel’ev graduated from the University of St. Petersburg. He became widely known for his Islamic Numismatics in Relation to Russian History (1847), which drew on numismatic and archaeological materials and Arabic written sources. This work gave the first overall picture of the extensive trade between the countries of the Middle East and Eastern Europe during the seventh through 11th centuries. It also brought to light many new facts concerning the history of the peoples of these regions. His Coins of the Jochi, Jagatai, Jalairs, and Others of the Golden Horde in the Era of Tokhtamish (1857–58) revealed much new information about the coins of the Golden Horde.

Savel’ev conducted excavations in the provinces of Yaroslavl, Vladimir, and Ekaterinoslav, investigating antiquities of the Slavs, the Meria, and the Scythians. In 1850 he became secretary of the Archaeological Society and editor of the society’s journals Zapiski, Trudy, and Izvestiia. Savel’ev supported the Norman theory of the origin of the state of ancient Rus’.

REFERENCES

Grigor’ev, V. V. Zhizn’ i trudy P. S. Savel’eva. St. Petersburg, 1861.
Krachkovskii, I. Iu. Ocherki po istorii russkoi arabistiki: Izbrannye soch., vol. 5. Moscow-Leningrad, 1958. (See Index of Names.)
Matveev, V. V. Iz istorii russkogo vostokovedeniia. Leningrad, 1955. (Dissertation.)

V. V. MATVEEV