Suvar

a city in Bulgaria on the Volga (seeBULGARIA ON THE VOLGA). Suvar was settled in the ninth century and was first mentioned in written sources in the tenth century. Its ruins are situated near the village of Kuznechikha, Tatar ASSR, on the upper Utka River, a left tributary of the Volga.

Suvar had a large suburb and was surrounded by defensive ditches and earthen banks fortified with timber. Excavations conducted between 1933 and 1937 under the direction of A. P. Smirnov uncovered pisé and log houses, a brick palace faced with green and blue tiles, and a granary with remnants of cereals, as well as pottery, tools, weapons, and ornaments. Crafts flourished in Suvar, and the city traded extensively with Iran, Khwarazm, Byzantium, Rus’, and Georgia. Coins were minted in Suvar in the tenth century. The inhabitants engaged in farming and livestock raising. Suvar flourished in the tenth, 11 th, and 12th centuries. The city later fell into a decline and by the late 14th century was virtually deserted.