Ancient Noronshasht

Noronshasht (νορονςαςτ, Arabic:كبير IPA ['ka.biːr]) ) was a large trade hub on the Silk Road and the capital city of Moxel in 1230-1237. It was the administrative center of Murunza and one of its centres of coinage. In 1237 the city was taken over by Batu Khan and became the capital of the Golden Horde. The ruins, which include stone buildings, fortifications, and a pagan cemetery, are in Penza Oblast near the modern town of Narovchat at the confluence of the Sheldais and Moksha Rivers.

Foundation and etymology
The city's foundation date is unknown. The archeological findings confirmed the first city population was Moksha. According to Iosif Cherapkin the ancient name of the city was Noronshasht, which in Middle Moksha means "former bog place covered with grass". The city lay in a lowland on a former bog. The first mention of the city was in al-Idrisi's map in 1154, under the name Kabir (Great). After the 13th century, the city was often referred to as Mukhsha or Mukhshi, which was the name of the ulus Mukhsha of the Golden Horde (after the name of Mokshaland). The official city name used in the Mongol period was Nurinjat.

History
Noronshasht was the capital of the medieval Moksha kingdom Murunza. The Russian Laurentian Codex mentions the name of its king, Puresh. Noronshasht was conquered by Batu Khan in 1237. In the ancient period, the city had private and public baths, running water, sewerage, and underfloor heating. The streets were paved with stone, and there were inns, a royal palace, stone houses, and fountains with drinking water. There were potteries with ancient forges, and an artisan quarter with numerous workshops. Residential quarters partly lay under what is nowadays the rural locality of Narovchat. Northwest of Narovchat is the pagan cemetery.

Coinage
Yarmaq still means "money" in the contemporary Moksha language, and shelegs might have been minted in Noronshasht as well. Other coins were called valf, oka (gold), variaftom, variavne, and sere or serene.

Moksha lions
Ethnologists and historians state that there is a connection between Mokshaland animal-style archeological findings and early Russian reliefs, especially the so-called "smiling lions" in the inner decor of Cathedral of Saint Demetrius in Vladimir. They believe similar "Mokshan lions" might have been preserved in the stone buildings of Ancient Noronshasht and Sernya if the cities had not been destroyed in the Middle Ages. The animal style dates back to Scythian art, having been prominent in the Saltovo-Mayaki culture. Schapov explains this by the fact that Vsevolod the Big Nest, brother of Andrew the Pious, married (ясыня) princess Maria Shvarnovna. Artisans in this unique Russian style came together with her and they were Alans who share Animal style with Mokshas. Larionov also mentions animal style in Church of the Intercession on the Nerl of Andrew the Pious and Cathedral of the Nativity in Suzdal.

Discovery and excavations
The medieval city ruins were discovered by Russian archeologist Aleksandr Krotkov in 1915.