Chuvash dragons differ from their Turkic counterparts (such as Zilant), as they are supposed to reflect the pre-Islamic mythology of Volga Bulgaria. This is the disambiguation page for the terms Turk, Turkey, Turkic, and Turkish. ... Coat of arms of Kazan guberniya (1730). ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the peaceful submission to the will of God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... ... Volga Bulgaria or Volga-Kama Bolghar, is a historic state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama rivers in what is now the Russian Federation. ...

Varieties

The best known Chuvash dragon is Věre Çělen (i.e., "fire snake") who assumes human form and visits men and women at night to have sexual intercourse with them and to produce progeny. Like Russian Gorynych, the creature has multiple heads and leaves fiery wake at flight. These dragons are said to be born from illegitimate babies killed by their mothers. Dobrynya Nikitch rescues Princess Zabava from Zmey Gorynych, by Ivan Bilibin. ...

Arçuri, a wood demon, often turns into snake, but more often he looks like Şüräle. The Iranian dragon, Ajdaha, is also mentioned from time to time, probably a loan from Iranian peoples formerly living to the south from Volga Bulgaria.

Legends

Satan Tower in Alabuga

According to one legend, when the Bulgars came to found the town of Bilär, they discovered a big snake living in the area. When they decided to kill it, the snake begged for peace and asked Allah to give her wings. Once she got wings, the snake flew away from Bilär. Bulgars (also Bolgars or proto-Bulgarians)—a people of Central Asia, originally Turkic but slavicized during time. ... Bilär (Bülär) – Medieval city in Volga Bulgaria in 10th – 13th centuries. ... The word is the Arabic term for God. In other languages, it is often used to refer specifically to the Islamic concept of God: see Usage below. ... Bilär (Bülär) – Medieval city in Volga Bulgaria in 10th – 13th centuries. ...

Another great snake, or dragon, was said to live in a pagan tower temple at Alabuga. Although the Bulgars adopted Islam as early as the tenth century, the snake allegedly survived until the time of Tamerlane's invasion. Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the peaceful submission to the will of God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... For the chess engine Tamerlane, see Tamerlane. ...

Ibn Fadlan, who visited Volga Bulgaria in the tenth century, referred to numerous snakes, especially on trees. Once he saw a big fallen tree, which was longer than hundred ells. Ibn Fadlan wrote that he'd seen a big snake at the trunk that had been almost as large as the tree itself. The Bulgars allayed his fears, assuring him that the snake was not dangerous. Ahmad ibn-al-Abbas ibn Rashid ibn-Hammad ibn-Fadlan (Aḥmad ʿibn alʿAbbās ʿibn Rasẖīd ʿibn ḥammād ʿibn Fadlān أحمد ابن العباس ابن رشيد ابن حماد ابن فضلان) was a tenth-century Arab scholar who wrote an account of his travels as a member of an embassy of the Caliph...