Mokshan

Mokshan grew beside the river from which it took its name, in the country north of Penza. A fortress was founded here in 1679 as part of the network of defensive lines protecting the Russian state's southeastern border. These lines combined fortified towns with barriers across the approaches from the steppe, and their construction encouraged the settlement of the surrounding lands. The Moksha, one of the two principal Mordvin peoples, had long inhabited the wider region before the advance of Muscovite fortifications.