Adyghe feudal elite in the 14th- 15th centuries according to archeological data (markers of the nobility in the funeral rite and accompanying things)

The study discusses the requisites of archeological data for reconstructing the social structure of medieval societies, for example, the population of the Western and Central Ciscaucasia of the 14th-15th centuries. It is necessary to look at the history of elites and explore the graves of the late medieval Adyghe nobles. The author reveals several problems in studying the history of the region in the 8th-15th centuries and recommends historians to use an integrated archeological and ethnological approach. The researcher compares and contrasts the materials of the Adyghe monuments of the Khazar (the 8th-9th centuries), post-Khazar and pre-Mongolian (the 10th-13th centuries), and Golden Horde times (the 13th-15th centuries). The paper considers the data on historical and archeological sites related to the personality and activities of the legendary Prince Inal the Great. The study analyzes the creation of the Inal dynasty in the 14th-15th centuries and describes the social rank structure of the Belorechensk archeological culture. The markers of elites are determined in the funeral rite and accompanying things of the 14th-15th centuries.