<i>My bachmat, you know how to run…</i> – Mysterious Orientalism as Reflected in the Name of a Horse Breed in Old Russian and Old Polish Literature

In Old Polish texts as well as in later works written in the Old Polish style (e.g. in the Trilogy by H. Sienkiewicz), the name bachmat was used to describe a horse of the Tatar breed, characterized by its small size but incredible endurance. An analogous term (бахматъ) can be found in the literature of Old Rus’. There is no doubt that it is an orientalism, which entered into both the Old Russsian language and – through it or independently – the Polish language and here from one of the Tatar dialects. Among the explanations for its etymology, the most interesting seems one connecting it with the term Бохмитъ, i.e., a variant of Muhammad’s name, characteristic for the literature of Old Rus’. The article aims to determine when the term бахматъ could have entered the literature of Old Rus’, how widespread it was, in what contexts it appeared, and whether it is possible to show a connection between the studied word and the East Slavic form of Muhammad’s name (Бохмитъ)