State administration of the peoples of the Crimean Khanate. Territories of the Crimean Khanate

The army of the Crimean Khanate was quite numerous. There was no regularly active army in the Crimean Khanate. Every Tatar man carried out military service. By order of the khan or bey, he had to go on a campaign.

From an early age, the Tatars learned to wield weapons and endure the hardships of camp life: hunger, cold and fatigue. The main striking force in the campaign was the cavalry. Tatar horses were short, but extremely hardy and unpretentious.

They were not afraid of cold and could cross rivers and swamps. The warrior's weapons have changed little since the campaigns of Genghis Khan. It consisted of a saber, a knife, a bow and a quiver of arrows.

A lasso and several ropes were still needed to bind the prisoners. Military equipment did not lie idle. Almost every year the army of the Crimean Khanate went on a campaign. And then main role It was not only the desire of the beys to enrich themselves through military spoils that played a role, but also the difficult relations of the Crimean Khanate with its neighbors.

Neighbors of the Crimean Khanate

To the northeast of Crimea lay the lands of Muscovy. Having freed itself from the power of the Golden Horde at the end of the 15th century, it began to gain strength and capture neighboring principalities into its orbit. In the middle of the 16th century, the interests of the Crimean Khan, behind whom stood the Turkish Sultan, and the Moscow Tsar collided.

The struggle flared up over two fragments of the Golden Horde - the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates. Even when Kazan and Astrakhan were annexed to the Muscovite kingdom, the strife did not stop. The Crimean khans regularly undertook more or less successful campaigns against the lands of their northeastern neighbor. In turn, the Moscow tsars sent envoys to Bakhchisarai, paid off with gifts and money, and at the same time did not abandon attempts to win access to the southern seas.

The northern neighbor of the Crimean Khanate was Poland. The ancient Russian lands along the banks of the Dnieper River, which were called Ukraine, went to this state. The border with the Crimean Khanate passed along the steppe, where the Nogai hordes, subject to the khan, roamed since the 16th century. The southern Ukrainian lands remained uninhabited for a long time, since the dangerous neighborhood did not promise a quiet life. The entire Dnieper region suffered from the raids of the Nogais and Tatars. Livestock and household utensils became spoils of war. But the main goal of the raid is to take away civilians.

They were the main source of profit. At the slave markets of Kafa and Gezleve, greedy merchants-slave traders were already waiting for the captives. They bought up unfortunate people, torn from their homeland, from their relatives and friends, and took them to Turkey and other countries. Since the Polish authorities could not protect the population of Ukraine, this task began to be solved by the Cossacks, free people who submitted to the authority of the elected leaders of the atamans. Cossack settlements grew on the banks of the Dnieper and Don. On the Dnieper, the center of the Cossacks became the Zaporozhye Sich, founded in the second half of the 16th century.

Dnieper, Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks did not limit their actions only to defense against attacks by the troops of the Crimean Khanate. They made campaigns against the possessions of the Crimean khans and Turkish sultans, captured cities and villages, and took away numerous captives. Usually the Cossacks got ready to go on a campaign at the beginning of summer.

They boarded “gulls” - high-speed boats that could accommodate 50–70 people. The armament consisted of several long-barreled cannons, as well as rifles and sabers. These ships reached the shores of Crimea within 24 hours. The campaigns of the Cossacks were distinguished by extreme audacity and desperate courage. Here's just one example. In 1629, the Cossacks decided to seize the treasury of the Crimean khans, which was under the guard of the Turks on Mangup. Under the cover of evening twilight, their “gulls” entered the bay, now called Sevastopol, and reached the then uninhabited fortress of Inkerman.

The Cossacks left the ships in the thickets of reeds, which covered the entire mouth of the Chernaya River, and through the Inkerman Valley the shortest route headed to Mangup. They knew that the gates of the fortress were closed only at night, they waited until the unsuspecting guards opened the locks, broke into the fortress and occupied it. With huge booty, the Cossacks set off on their way back. The enemy blocked their way. A fight ensued. Many Cossacks died, most of the treasures had to be abandoned.

Some historians, assessing military actions between the army of the Crimean Khanate and the Cossacks, strive to show their people as victims of attacks, and campaigns against neighbors as a forced response. However, we can say with confidence that it was primarily the civilian population who suffered. Tatars and Cossacks, by the will of fate, turned out to be neighbors.

It was not only wars that determined their relationship. Chumaks, enterprising carriers of salt, fish and other goods, left Ukraine for Crimea. With the permission of the khans, the Cossacks engaged in fishing in their domains in times of peace. , in turn, grazed livestock on Cossack lands. Neighbors adopted useful customs, styles of clothing, and individual words from each other. Friendly relations were established between them.

Bakhchisaray is a small town between Simferopol and Sevastopol. Capital of the Crimean Khanate. The name of the city is translated from Crimean Tatar as “garden-palace”.

The legend of the origin of Bakhchisarai
One day the son of Khan Mengli-Girey went hunting. He descended from the fortress into the valley. Immediately behind the fortress walls, dense forests full of game began. It turned out to be a good day for hunting; many foxes, hares and even three wild goats were hunted down by hounds and greyhounds. The khan's son wanted to be alone. He sent his servants with the loot to the fortress, climbed into the thicket himself, jumped off his horse and sat down on a stump near the Churuk-Su river. The tops of the trees, gilded by the setting Sun, were reflected in the streams of water. Only the sound of the river running over the stones broke the silence. Suddenly a rustling was heard on the other side of the Churuk-Su. A snake quickly crawled out of the coastal bushes. She was being pursued by another. Started mortal combat. Snakes entwined around each other sharp teeth They tore pieces of each other's bodies. The fight lasted a long time. One snake, all bitten and exhausted, stopped resisting and lowered its head lifelessly. And from the thicket, through the thick grass, a third snake hurried towards the battlefield. She attacked the winner and a new bloody battle began. Rings of snake bodies flashed in the grass, illuminated by the sun, it was impossible to keep track of where one was and where the other. In the excitement of the fight, the snakes crawled away from the shore and disappeared behind a wall of bushes. An angry hissing and cracking of branches could be heard from there. The Khan's son did not take his eyes off the defeated snake. He thought about his father, about his family. They are now like this half-dead snake. The same bitten ones fled to the fortress and are sitting in it, trembling for their lives. Somewhere there is a battle, and who will win in it: the Golden Horde - the Turks or the Turks - the Golden Horde? But he and his father, Mengli-Girey, will no longer rise like this snake... Some time passed. The young khan noticed that the snake began to move and was trying to raise its head. She succeeded with difficulty. Slowly she crawled towards the water. Using the rest of her strength, she approached the river and plunged into it. Wriggling faster and faster, the half-dead creature acquired flexibility in its movements. When she crawled ashore, there weren’t even any traces of her wounds left on her. Then the snake plunged into the water again, quickly swam across the river and, not far from the astonished man, disappeared into the bushes. The son of Mengli-Girey rejoiced. This is a lucky sign! They are destined to rise! They still live, like this snake... He jumped on his horse and rushed to the fortress. He told his father what he saw by the river. They began to wait for news from the battlefield. And the long-awaited news came: the Ottoman Porte defeated the Horde Khan Ahmed, who once exterminated all the warriors of Giray, and drove him into a fortress on a steep cliff. On the spot where two snakes fought in a mortal battle, the old khan ordered a palace to be built. This is how Bakhchisaray arose. The khan ordered two snakes intertwined in a fight to be carved on the palace coat of arms.

This small town has a rich history; the surrounding area is simply a treasure for archaeologists due to the large number of monuments from different eras.
Neanderthal sites have been discovered in Staroselye. There are Cro-Magnon sites about 40 thousand years old - Kachinsky canopy, Suren, etc. Monuments of the Copper-Stone Age (III millennium BC) include menhirs and anthropomorphic steles, rock paintings of Tash-Air. At the end of the last era, the Tauri lived in the mountains, and in the steppe there were several Scythian settlements that were part of the Late Scythian state. Under the onslaught of the Sarmatians, Goths, and then the Huns, it weakens and finally ceases to exist in the 3rd century AD. The Scythian population gradually leaves their settlements in the steppe and goes to mountainous Taurica, merging with the Taurians. Some of the Goths settled in the local mountains with the Sarmatians (Alans). The Romans were also here. Their small fortress on the site of the Late Scythian fortification of Alma-Kermen (village of Zavetnoye) appeared in the 2nd century. But it didn't last long.

IN period V-VI centuries Large settlements and fortresses arise here. Now they are known under the general name “cave cities”, because the above-ground buildings have largely collapsed, but the auxiliary buildings carved into the rocks (defensive, religious, economic) have been preserved. These fortified cities were built by local residents during the period of real threat of invasions of nomads (Huns, Turks) and served to protect and shelter the population from these raids. Byzantium, whose sphere of political interests included southwestern Taurica, was also interested in the construction of “cave cities.”
A little later (8th–9th centuries), icon worshipers who fled from Byzantium founded a number of cave monasteries here. During this period, almost the entire region was captured by the Khazars.
By the 11th century, Byzantine influence was restored here. By this time, in southwestern Taurica it had already formed from the descendants different nations united ethnic community, which adopted the Greek language, the Orthodox Christian faith, and adopted Byzantine culture. They were called Crimean Greeks. Here, individual Christian principalities began to gain strength. The largest of them were the Principality of Theodoro with its center in Mangup and the Kyrk-Orsk Principality with its center in Chufut-Kale.
In the 13th century, Tatars began to settle in Taurica, and from the beginning of the 14th century they gradually seized lands in the southwestern part of Crimea. The first Tatar settlement in the southwest of the peninsula was Eski-Yurt (the area of ​​the current railway station in Bakhchisarai).
By the middle of the 15th century, when the Golden Horde had weakened significantly, the Crimean Khanate was formed, the first khan of which was Hadji-Devlet-Girey, the grandson of Tokhtamysh. He became the founder of the Girey dynasty, which ruled Crimea for the next 350 years. At the beginning of the 16th century, Bakhchisarai became the capital of the Khanate. Here, in addition to the Khan's palace, mosques, durbes (mausoleums) of noble Tatars, residential buildings and other buildings were erected. The city became not only the administrative, but also the cultural and economic center of the Khanate. Up to 25 thousand people lived in it. In addition to the Tatars, Greeks, Karaites, and Armenians lived here.
After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, Bakhchisarai loses its importance and becomes a provincial town in Simferopol district. During the Great Patriotic War the forests of southwestern Crimea have become one of the centers partisan movement on the peninsula. After the liberation of Crimea, all Crimean Tatars were evicted to the eastern regions of the country. On the night of May 18, 1944, the deportation began and was completed in two days. On June 15, 1944, the fate of the Crimean Tatars was shared by the Crimean Greeks, Bulgarians and Armenians. Many villages in the Bakhchisarai region became depopulated. Only in the nineties of the last century did people begin to return to Bakhchisarai Crimean Tatars, giving the city a certain oriental flavor.
Now Bakhchisaray is a small town with an oriental flavor, narrow crooked streets, many Tatar cafes with ottomans and sofas. The city is home to Crimean Tatars, Russians, Karaites, and Armenians. Muslim ezans can be heard, and Russian flags immediately flutter over the houses.
The main historical monument and tourist attraction of Bakhchisarai is the palace of the Crimean khans - Khansaray. The Fountain of Tears in the Khan's Palace was glorified in A. S. Pushkin's romantic poem “The Bakhchisarai Fountain” (1822). There are many mosques in the city, among them Takhtali-Jami can be distinguished. Near the city there are also the Holy Dormition monastery and the medieval fortress of Chufut-Kale.

Crimean Khanate: history, territory, political structure

The Crimean Khanate arose in 1441. This event was preceded by unrest in the Golden Horde. In fact, a separatist then ascended the throne in Crimea - Hadji Giray, a distant relative of Janika Khanum, the wife of the Golden Horde khan Edigei. Khansha did not want to take the reins of government of the once powerful state into her own hands and went to Kyrk-Or, assisting in the promotion of Hadji Giray. Soon this city became the first capital of the Crimean Khanate, which occupied the territory from the Dnieper to the Danube, the Azov region, and almost the entire modern Krasnodar region.

The further history of the new political entity is a tireless struggle with representatives of other Golden Horde families who tried to conquer the possessions of the Gireys. As a result of a long confrontation, the Crimean Khanate managed to win a final victory, when in 1502 the last Horde ruler, Sheikh Ahmed, passed away. Mengli-Girey then stood at the head of the Crimean yurt. Having removed his political enemy, the khan appropriated his regalia, title and status, but all this did not save him from the constant raids of the steppe people, who continually infiltrated the Crimea. Modern historians are inclined to believe that the Crimean Khanate never intended to seize foreign territories. It is likely that all the actions taken by the Crimean khans were aimed at preserving and consolidating their power, and at fighting the influential Horde clan of the Namagans.

All this can be traced even in individual historical episodes. So, after the death of Khan Akhmat, the Crimean Khanate decided to improve relations with his sons and hospitably sheltered them. But the heirs to the Horde throne decided to leave the khan’s capital, for which Mengli-Girey took one of them prisoner. The second - Sheikh Ahmed - fled. The third son, Seid-Ahmed II, who at that time became the Horde khan, organized a campaign against the Crimea. Having freed Murtaza, Seyid-Ahmed II took Eski-Kyrym, and then went to Kefa.

At that time, Turkish heavy artillery was already stationed in the Cafe, which forced the Horde to flee without looking back. This is how the friendly gesture of the Crimean Khan served as a pretext for the next devastation of the peninsula, and the Turks showed that they could defend the territories that were under their influence. Then Mengli-Girey caught up with the offenders and took away the property and captives looted from the Khanate.

The relations between the Khanate and the Ottoman Empire occupy a special place in the history of Crimea. In the second half of the 15th century, Turkish troops occupied the Genoese possessions of the peninsula and the territory of the Principality of Theodoro. The Crimean Khanate also found itself in Turkish dependence, but from 1478 the khan became a vassal of the padishah and continued to rule the internal regions of the peninsula. At first, the Sultan did not interfere in issues of succession to the throne in the Crimean Khanate, but a century later everything changed: Crimean rulers were appointed directly in Istanbul.

It is interesting that a political regime specific to that time operated in the yurt. Something like democracy. On the peninsula there were elections for the khan, during which the votes of the local nobility were taken into account. However, there was one limitation - the future ruler of the Khanate could only belong to the Girey family. The second political figure after the khan was the kalga. Kalga, most often, was appointed as the brother of the ruler of the khanate. Representative power in the Khanate belonged to the Greater and Lesser Divans. The first included the Murzas and respected people of the area, the second included officials close to the khan. Legislative power was in the hands of the mufti, who ensured that all the laws of the khanate were in accordance with Sharia. The role of modern ministers in the Crimean Khanate was played by viziers; they were appointed by the khan.

Few people know that the Crimean Khanate contributed to the liberation of Rus' from the Golden Horde yoke. This happened under Sheikh-Ahmed's father. Then the Horde Khan Akhmat withdrew his troops without engaging in battle with the Russians, because he did not wait for Polish-Lithuanian reinforcements, which were held back by the Crimean Tatar warriors. Contrary to popular belief, relations between the Khan's Crimea and Moscow for a long time were of a friendly nature. Under Ivan III they had a common enemy - Sarai. The Crimean Khan helped Moscow get rid of the Horde yoke, and then began to call the tsar “his brother,” thereby recognizing him as an equal, instead of imposing tribute on the kingdom.

The rapprochement with Moscow shook the friendly relations of the Crimean Khanate with the Lithuanian-Polish principality. Kazimir found common language with the Horde khans, having quarreled with Crimea for a long time. Over time, Moscow began to move away from the Crimean Khanate: the struggle for the lands of the Caspian and Volga regions led to the tsar seeking support among those very Namagans with whom the Gireys could not share power for a long time. Under Ivan IV the Terrible, Devlet I Giray wanted to restore the independence of Kazan and the Caspian Sea, the Turks volunteered to help the khan, but he did not allow him to interfere in the sphere of influence of the Crimean Khanate. At the end of the spring of 1571, the Tatars burned Moscow, after which the Moscow sovereigns until the end of the 17th century. were forced to pay the Crimean Khan regular “wake” payments.

After the formation of the Ukrainian Hetman State, the Crimean Khanate collaborated with the rulers of the Cossack state. It is known that Khan Islam III Giray helped Bohdan Khmelnitsky during the liberation war with Poland, and after the battle of Poltava, Crimean troops went to Kyiv along with the people of Pylyp Orlik, Mazepa’s successor. In 1711, Peter I lost the battle with the Turkish-Tatar troops, after which the Russian Empire was forced to forget about the Black Sea region for several decades.

Between 1736 and 1738 The Crimean Khanate was swallowed up by the Russian-Turkish war. As a result of the fighting, many people died, some of whom were killed by a cholera epidemic. The Crimean Khanate sought revenge, and therefore contributed to the outbreak of a new war between Russia and Turkey, which began in 1768 and lasted until 1774. However, Russian troops again won and forced the Crimeans to submit, electing Sahib II Giray as khan. Soon, uprisings began on the peninsula; the local population did not want to come to terms with the new authorities. The last khan on the peninsula was Shahin Giray, but after he abdicated the throne, in 1783 Catherine II finally annexed the lands of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire.

Development of agriculture, crafts, trade in the Crimean Khanate

The Crimean Tatars, like their ancestors, greatly valued animal husbandry, which was a way of earning money and obtaining food. Among their domestic animals, horses were in first place. Some sources claim that the Tatars retained two different breeds, have long lived in the Northern Black Sea region, preventing their mixing. Others say that it was in the Crimean Khanate that a new type of horse was formed, which was distinguished by unprecedented endurance at that time. Horses, as a rule, grazed in the steppe, but they were always looked after by a herdsman, who was also a veterinarian and breeder. A professional approach was also evident in the breeding of sheep, which were a source of dairy products and rare Crimean smushkas. In addition to horses and sheep, the Crimean Tatars raised cattle, goats and camels.

The Crimean Tatars did not know settled agriculture even in the first half of the 16th century. For a long time, the inhabitants of the Crimean Khanate plowed the land in the steppe in order to leave there in the spring and return only in the fall, when it was time to harvest. In the process of transition to a sedentary lifestyle, a class of Crimean Tatar feudal lords emerged. Over time, territories began to be distributed for military merit. At the same time, the khan was the owner of all the lands of the Crimean Khanate.

The crafts of the Crimean Khanate were initially of a domestic nature, but closer to the beginning of the 18th century, the cities of the peninsula began to acquire the status of large craft centers. Among such settlements were Bakhchisaray, Karasubazar, Gezlev. In the last century of the Khanate's existence, craft workshops began to appear there. The specialists working in them united into 32 corporations, which were headed by the Usta-Bashi and his assistants. The latter monitored production and regulated prices.

Crimean artisans of that time made shoes and clothes, jewelry, copper utensils, felt, kilims (carpets) and much more. Among the craftsmen there were those who knew how to process wood. Thanks to their work, ships, beautiful houses, inlaid chests that can be called works of art, cradles, tables and other household items appeared in the Crimean Khanate. Among other things, the Crimean Tatars knew a lot about stone cutting. This is evidenced by the Durbe tombs and mosques that have partially survived to this day.

The basis of the economy of the Crimean Khanate was trading activity. It is difficult to imagine this Muslim state without Kafa. The Kafin port received merchants from almost all over the world. People from Asia, Persia, Constantinople and other cities and powers regularly visited there. Traders came to Kef to buy slaves, bread, fish, caviar, wool, handicrafts and much more. They were attracted to Crimea, first of all, by cheap goods. It is known that wholesale markets were located in Eski-Kyrym and in the city of Karasubazar. The Khanate's internal trade also flourished. In Bakhchisarai alone there was a grain, vegetable and salt market. In the capital of the Crimean Khanate there were entire blocks reserved for trading shops.

Life, culture and religion of the Crimean Khanate

The Crimean Khanate is a state with a well-developed culture, represented mainly by examples of architecture and traditions. The largest city of the Crimean Khanate was Kafa. About 80,000 people lived there. Bakhchisarai was the capital and second largest settlement of the Khanate, where only 6,000 people lived. The capital differed from other cities in the presence of the Khan's palace, however, all Crimean Tatar settlements were built with soul. The architecture of the Crimean Khanate consists of amazing mosques, fountains, tombs... The houses of ordinary citizens, as a rule, were two-story, built of wood, clay and rubble.

Crimean Tatars wore clothes made of wool, leather, homespun and purchased overseas materials. The girls braided their hair, decorated their heads with a velvet cap with rich embroidery and coins, and put a marama (white scarf) on top of it. An equally common headdress was a scarf, which could be woolen, thin, or colored patterned. The Crimean Tatars had clothing long dresses, shirts below the knees, trousers and warm kaftans. Women of the Crimean Khanate were very fond of jewelry, especially rings and bracelets. The men wore black lambskin hats, fez or skullcaps on their heads. They tucked their shirts into trousers, wore sleeveless vest-like vests, jackets and caftans.

The main religion of the Crimean Khanate was Islam. Important government positions in Crimea belonged to Sunnis. However, Shiites and even Christians lived quite peacefully on the peninsula. Among the population of the Khanate there were people who were brought to the peninsula as Christian slaves and then converted to Islam. After a certain period of time - 5-6 years - they became free citizens, after which they could go to their native territories. But not everyone left the beautiful peninsula: often former slaves remained to live in Crimea. Boys kidnapped in Russian lands also became Muslims. Such youths were brought up in a special military school and within a few years they joined the ranks of the Khan's guard. Muslims prayed in mosques, near which there were cemeteries and mausoleums.

So, the Crimean Khanate was formed as a result of the split of the Golden Horde. This happened around the 40th year of the 15th century, possibly in 1441. Its first khan was Hadji Giray, he became the founder of the ruling dynasty. The end of the existence of the Crimean Khanate is associated with the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire in 1783.

The Khanate included lands that previously belonged to the Mongol-Tatars, including the principality of Kyrk-Or, conquered in the second half of the 14th century. Kyrk-Or was the first capital of the Gireys; later the khans lived in Bakhchisarai. Relations between the Crimean Khanate and the Genoese territories of the peninsula (then Turkish) can be described as friendly.

The khan either allied or fought with Moscow. The Russian-Crimean confrontation escalated after the arrival of the Ottomans. Since 1475, the Crimean Khan became a vassal of the Turkish Sultan. Since then, Istanbul has decided who will sit on the Crimean throne. According to the terms of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty of 1774, all Turkish possessions in Crimea, except for Kerch and Yeni-Kale, became part of the Crimean Khanate. The main religion of political education is Islam.

First appearance of Tatars in Crimea

In the 12th century. a new cultural force appears on the Black Sea - the Italians; Venetians and Genoese also establish trade on the northern coast of this sea. Emperor Manuel Komnenos in 1169 allowed the Genoese to enter all the ports of this coast, except Tamarakha (Taman) and Russia (undoubtedly the Bosporus), probably saving the fishing trade here for the Greeks. The trade of Chersonesus began to fall again. The capture of Constantinople in 1204 by the crusaders and the formation of the Latin Empire dealt a huge blow to it.

The Black Sea coast was now completely open to the Italians without any conditions or restrictions. The Kherson theme became part of the Trebizond Empire, where the Comneni transferred their throne. Chersonese and Klimaty did not lose their connection with Byzantium and paid an annual tribute to the emperor; but the Iconian sultans carried out devastating raids with impunity on the coast of Tauris and in particular on Chersonesos. The Turks have already begun to sail in the Black Sea.

At this time, the southern Russian steppes became the scene of new events of world significance. The invasion of the Tatars took place in 1223, who, having crushed the Alans and Polovtsians and defeated the Russians, penetrated into Taurida. The winner on Kalka, Subetai (Subudai), brought the tired hordes here to rest, devastated Sudak and its valley, but did not wait for the arrival of Khan Jochi and went back to Asia to help him in the fight against the Mongols. But soon (in 1239) the Tatars again appeared in Taurida and took its steppes into lasting possession, and subjected its coastal cities (Sudak, Kafa, Chersonesus) to new devastation. Little by little, however, the population of Taurida adapted to the new strength and power, especially since the Tatars, then still pagans, turned out to be tolerant and themselves accepted Christianity. The Alans (Ases) held in the steppe and western parts of the peninsula and owned Kyrkor (Chufut-Kale). Trade relations between Taurida and Russia continued, and its main point was Sugdeya (Sudak, Surozh), the commercial importance of which now even increased. In 1261, the Tatars, wandering beyond Perekop, separated from the Kramsky Tatars under the command of Nogai and formed an independent Nogai horde, divided into four tribes: Budzhak, Edisan, Yedishkul and Dzhambayluk.

Greek trade fell in Constantinople itself and passed into the hands of the Italians. It was also forbidden for Russians to travel to Constantinople, and Russian merchants brought goods only to the mouths of the Dnieper and to Kyiv, where the Italians bought them and took them to the capital. The Venetians gained dominance over the Dardanelles and the Bosporus, went deep into the Sea of ​​Azov and founded the colony of Tanu on the site of ancient Tanais, and on the Black Sea the main point of their trade was Sudak, where Turkish, Armenian and Russian merchants came. A stubborn struggle began between the Genoese and Venetians in Taurida, in which the Genoese were the winners.

Meanwhile, in 1261, Michael Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople from the Latins and restored the Greek empire. For the services rendered by the Genoese, they received the right to exclusive trade along the shores of the Black Sea, and in 1269 they firmly settled in Cafe, as Feodosia was now called. True, in 1298 Nogai plundered Kafa, but it soon recovered. At the same time, Kherson, Kyrkor, Kerch, Sugdeya and others were destroyed. Now only the Genoese were allowed to import goods from the west to their colonies in Taurida and exchange them for native products. The Genoese fortified Cafa, supposedly against their possible rivals, the Venetians, and surrounded it first with a ditch and rampart, and then with walls and towers.

With the strengthening of Kafa, Chersonese fell more and more, and the Genoese made every effort to prevent it from rising, and forced the emperor to promise not to send ships to Chersonese, and blocked the way for Chersonese merchants to the salt lakes of the peninsula and the fishermen of the Azov Sea. Chersonese lost all commercial importance, which passed to the Genoese, who finally defeated the Venetians. The Genoese began cultural work in Tauris. They were engaged in viticulture and gardening on a large scale, especially in the Sudak Valley, after they defeated Sudak, set up fish factories, taught the population how to extract and purify water, and opened new sources of income; They founded a school and a library in the Café. The population of Crimea then increased from several hundred to a million people. The welfare of Kafa increased, its influence spread to the entire Azov region, the Caucasus and reached the Caspian Sea, along which the Genoese traded on their ships. Large trade relations developed with Egypt. Then the Genoese captured Balaklava, where they founded their port, which became a significant trading point, took possession of Tana after a stubborn struggle with the Venetians and forced the empire to close the harbors on the Black and Azov Seas to the Venetians. The population of Kafa increased with the influx of Armenians to Crimea, with the consent of the Genoese, but they had been in Crimea before at the end of the 12th century. In 1338, the Armenian monastery of St. was built near Solkhat (Old Crimea). Cross. Many Armenian churches appeared in the area of ​​Kafa and Sudak. In 1438, some of the Armenians in the Caucasus and Tauris accepted the patronage of the pope and joined the Catholic Church. In the XIV century. A Catholic diocese was established in Cafe.

The cafe received from the republic a special charter, which strictly and down to the smallest detail determined its life, received a tariff, a coin, a coat of arms and self-government. The administration was headed by a council and a consul, appointed annually by Genoa. After him, the highest officials were two councilors, a notary, four judges, two treasurers, the chief of the city police, the chief of troops, the commandant of the fortress, the ruler of the mountainous region (Khazaria) and the rural ruler. The highest positions were given to the Genoese, the others half to the Genoese and Cafinians. All of them were selective for a short time - a year, six months, even three months. This charter of the Genoese colonies in Crimea in 1449 was replaced by a new, more detailed one.

In 1357 - 1836, Kafa was fortified with new walls, and according to treaties with the Tatars of 1380 and subsequent ones, it received ownership of the coast with 18 villages between Alushta and Kafa. The Genoese received the right to travel around the Khan's possessions for trading purposes, but they pledged to be loyal allies Tatars and allow the Khan's official to stay in the Cafe to collect duties on imported goods. In Sudak, the Genoese built an extensive castle with walls and towers, completed in 1414. This is the most remarkable monument of Genoese rule in Crimea.

The Bosporus was revived at this time and was a large and rich city. The governor of the Golden Horde Khan in Crimea lived in Solkhat (Old Crimea). It was a large and rich city with mosques, madrassas, caravanserais, palaces, baths, etc. The mosque built by Uzbek Khan in 1314 has still been preserved there. At that time, the Crimean ulus was constantly striving for separation from the Golden Horde.

The Grand Duke of Lithuania Olgerd, an ally of Khan Akhmat, defeated the Crimean Tatar hordes in 1363 near the mouth of the Dnieper, invaded Crimea, devastated Chersonesus and captured all valuable church objects here. His successor Vitovt went to the Crimea in 1397, reached Kafa, destroyed Chersonesus and took a significant number of Tatars to Lithuania, whose descendants now live in the Vilna and Grodno provinces. In 1399, he was defeated by Emir Timur-Kutluk on the banks of the Vorskla and made peace with Edigei.

It was said above that the first invasions of the Tatars into Crimea date back to 1223 and 1239, and then the whole of Crimea southern part the peninsula became their possession. But their devastating invasions continued afterwards. In 1298, Emir Nogai defeated Kafa and Sudak for the murder by the Genoese of his grandson, sent to collect tribute, and in 1308 for the sale of Tatar children into captivity by the Genoese. During the reign of Uzbek Khan, invasions of his emirs took place in 1322, 1327 and 1338. Relations between the Tatars and Italians were uncertain: sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile. Agreements gave way to quarrels. The Genoese paid import and export duties to the Tatars, for the collection of which Tatar bailiffs were stationed in the main cities, who were also in charge of the affairs of the khan’s subjects. The relationship of the Tatars to the Greek population of Crimea at that time was also vague and therefore unclear to us.

The rulers of the Crimean peninsula or Dashti-Kipchak were the khans of the Golden Horde, and their governors or emirs (beys, tuduns) ruled in Crimea. Such rulers were: Nogai, who unsuccessfully tried to found his own dynasty in Crimea, Mamai, Edigei. The first formally recognized ruler in Crimea is considered to be Oran-Timur, Batu's nephew, who received this region from Mengu-Timur. The main city of Crimea was Solkhat, renamed in the 15th century. to Crimea, and this name, which, according to V.D., meant Smirnov, a large and deep ditch, located near the city of Solkhat, gradually spread to the entire peninsula. BUT it was not the capital of an independent state, but the main city of the region. The valley adjacent to Chufut-Kale and Bakhchisarai became the second center of Crimea. The first Tatar settlement here was Eski-Yurt, where the graves of the Crimean khans and governors until the 17th century are located.

The Golden Horde khans rarely visited Crimea, and then only as fugitives from their opponents during civil strife. Only Khan Uzbek, who was especially favorable towards Crimea, the patron and instiller of Islam here in the 14th century, lived in Crimea for quite a long time. But the power and importance of the emirs were great. The political history of Crimea was entirely part of the historical destinies of the Golden Horde and was their reflection.

Weakening of the Golden Horde, growing independence of Crimea

The gradual weakening of the Golden Horde gave rise to a desire for independence in Crimea, especially with the death of Khan Birdibek. Neither Mamai, nor Tokhtamysh, who was defeated by Tamerlane and found refuge with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas, nor Pulakh Timur, nor Edigei, nor Shadibek, nor Tashtimur, the ancestor of Hadji-Girey, who also went to Lithuania after the defeat of Tokhtamysh by Tamerlane, could raise it. The Crimean ulus has already become very isolated from the Golden Horde and has become noticeably stronger. It included almost all mountainous region Crimea and the southern coast. Edigei's death in 1420 ended the Golden Horde period of Crimea. In the Golden Horde and Crimea, unrest began and parties fought for power. The Crimean beys became stronger and sought to create their own state out of Crimea. The title of khan began to designate the supreme ruler. The tamga (coat of arms) of the Crimean ulus (trident or crest) separated from the Kipchak (stirrup). Crimea acquired everything greater value in the course of general Tatar affairs.

The contender for the khan's throne was Hadji Giray, who put great pressure on the Kafinians, whom he imposed tribute on. He clearly sought to take possession of the entire Crimea and, very likely, concluded a formal agreement with the Turks, according to which he ceded Kafa and Gothia to them. Both in the Golden Horde period and at that time, during the era of the formation of the independent Crimean Khanate, the events of the history of Crimea are unclear. The history of the Crimean Khanate becomes reliable only from the beginning of close relations with Turkey. The identity of the founder of the dynasty, even his origin, is also unclear. It is only clear that power did not come to him easily, after a stubborn struggle with opponents, in which he discovered a subtle political mind, energy and cunning. Having spent his youth in Lithuania as a fugitive, he received the throne, thanks to the support of the Polish-Lithuanian state in 1428, but soon lost it and seized power for the second time in 1434 and reigned until his death in 1466. His own national name was Devlet, Muslim Birdi, and he adopted the nicknames Haji and Giray during the second occupation of the throne due to the circumstances of his childhood. The nickname Girey was subsequently adopted by his son Mengli and became the dynastic nickname of the Crimean khans. Hadji Devlet Giray pursued an ambivalent policy towards the Moscow State and the Genoese and helped the Lithuanians and Poles in their fight against the Golden Horde.

With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Turks became complete owners of the Black Sea. The possessions of Genoa on its coast passed to the Bank of St. George. The Pope declared against the Turks crusade, but Mohammed II with incredible energy captured the southern coast of the Black Sea with Trebizond, Sinop and other cities, then Kerch and rushed to Kafa. Genoa could not provide her with significant help; the Kafinians at this time started troubles and squabbles, and the Tatars found themselves on the side of the Turks. On June 1, 1475, the Turkish fleet appeared in sight of Kafa, and the Tatars approached it from land. The walls of Kafa could not withstand the artillery, panic developed in the city, and on the fourth day Kafa surrendered to the Turks, who imposed a huge ransom on it. The Italian population was killed in huge numbers, and the Greek population suffered greatly; noble and rich people were sent to Constantinople. Then the Turks captured other Italian colonies in Taurida. The last to surrender was Sudak, taken by hunger. In 1492, Mangup fell, previously hostile, and then allied with the Kafinians, the possession of independent Greek princes related to the Komnenos, who had shortly before established relations with Ivan III of Moscow. With the fall of Kafa, the flourishing cultural center in Tauris perished, and with the fall of Mangup, the last political support of the Greek population in it.

The beginning of the Crimean Khanate. Crimea in the XVI-XVII centuries.

The Crimean Khanate, as Professor V.D. rightly says. Smirnov, never lived a completely independent life, which would be an expression of some fundamental traits national character the dominant population of Crimea. At first, the Khanate depended on the Golden Horde and was ruled by the governors of the Golden Horde khans, then it became a vassal state of Turkey, and the political life of the Khanate was almost exclusively a reflection of the policy of the Ottoman Porte, its interests and plans. The Turks captured the Crimea, defeating the Genoese, and the entire country that was once ceded by the Tatars to the Genoese - the southern coast and part of the mountainous Crimea to the river. Kachi - were annexed to their power as victors. These possessions were divided into three Kadylyks (districts) - Mangupsky, Sugdeysky and Kefaisky. The Tatars retained the steppe space and foothills in their power and recognized the supremacy of the Sultan, who undertook to appoint khans from the Girey clan, descendants of Genghis. Türkiye surrounded Crimea with an iron ring of its fortresses, restricting any manifestation of political initiative in it; its own style of state life could not be developed in it. The strong influence of Turkey had a strong effect even on internal, domestic life, the structure of internal institutions, religion, language, literature, art and taste, although here, of course, national features were also manifested to some extent. Turkish fortresses in Crimea were: Kafa, Gezlev (Evpatoria), Or (Perekop), Rabat (Arabat), Yagud-Kalesi (Mangup). Beyler Bey (Pasha) lived in Kafa and there was a strong Turkish garrison. The northern border of Crimea was uncertain. The steppes beyond Perekop were occupied by restless Nogai hordes, who did not recognize dependence on the khans, although, if necessary and beneficial, they helped them on campaigns.

As for the Greek population of Crimea, despite the difficulty of relations with Constantinople after its capture by the Turks and the formation of the Crimean Khanate, it remained religiously dependent on the Patriarch of Constantinople, retained its language, faith and national identity, but was very poor. There were still four dioceses governed by metropolitans, who often quarreled among themselves over borders and villages. With the transfer of the capital to Bakhchisarai in 1428, the Tatars became direct neighbors of the Greeks in Gothia. At this time, they probably captured Kirkor, which became a fortress and sometimes the seat of the khans. This city was given over to the Karaites, who began to appear in Crimea in the 7th century, and in the 13th century they migrated from Transcaucasia en masse and settled in Mangup and Chufut-Kale.

The Christian Greek population still led a peaceful life in Crimea under the rule of the Turkish pashas and in direct relations with the Tatars. This cohabitation was peaceful. The Tatars, imposing increased taxes on non-believers and not giving them the rights enjoyed by Muslims, were tolerant and allowed the repair of old, dilapidated churches and the construction of new ones. But gradually the Greeks mastered the Tatar language, and their native language became only the language of religion and church. In the 15th century Chersonesus and Sugdea were already in ruins, cave settlements, and in the 16th century. the fortresses of Inkerman and Mangup looked like abandoned and uninhabited places. Gradually the dioceses of Bosporus, Sugdea and Chersonesos fell, and the Gothic metropolitan became the head of all Orthodox Christians in Tauris.

After the death of Haji Devlet Giray, strife occurred between his sons. He defeated the fourth of them, Mengli, and became khan with the help of the Kafinians, and two years later he firmly sat on the throne after the capture of Kafa by the Turks and his captivity, when he was confirmed by the Turkish Sultan. Opposition to the independence of the Crimean Khanate by the khans of the Golden Horde was unsuccessful, and in 1479 Crimea was recognized as an independent state. Mengli was friends with V. book Ivan III and acted with him in concert against Lithuania, wanting with his help to take possession of the lands of the Golden Horde himself. Thus, he contributed to the liberation of Rus' from the Mongol yoke. But at the end of the life of Ivan III, Mengli changed his policy regarding the Moscow state and began to be friends with Lithuania, and with Vasily III and Mengli’s successor Muhammed Giray I, a long and continuous struggle of the Crimean Khanate with Moscow and Lithuania began, depending on when one or the other was to him more profitable. The devastating raids of the Tatars on Russian borders were especially frequent in the 16th century. There were more than 20 of them, an average of one every five years, not counting small, almost annual invasions, “hunts for people,” as Prof. calls them. M.N. Berezhkov. Both Russians and Poles had to pay off the Tatars with money and other “wake”, in essence, tribute. Usually the Crimeans on these campaigns reached the river. Oka, but sometimes they reached Moscow itself and returned home with rich booty and a huge number of prisoners. The Russian state, for its part, defended itself by building fortresses and gradually moving south, and sometimes by retaliatory campaigns against the Crimea. To ensure direct succession to the throne for Crimea, Mengli Giray established the rank of kalgi, deputy khan, but in essence it was only an honorary title, and the throne was replaced by the choice of the Turkish Sultan and the Porte and with the possible observance of family seniority.

The khan's power in Crimea became a reflection of the power of the sultan, although the conditions of the khans' dependence on the sultans were never formulated by any act or written treaty and were based more on custom. Under Mengli, the sultan's investiture was also determined, consisting of vestments (robe), honorary saber and sultan (sealing wax) with a turban. The newly named khan was always accompanied to the Crimea by an honorary convoy of Turkish troops, who usually behaved rudely and impudently. More energetic khans tried, if possible, to weaken their dependence on Turkey, did not submit to the demands of the Porte, but they rarely succeeded: at the slightest disobedience there was always a threat of removal from the throne and replacement by another person from among the several dozen representatives of the Girey family, usually located in Istanbul as if in the form of hostages. Hence the duality of the Crimean policy - on the one hand, national-Tatar aspirations, on the other - extraneous, external demands - both in domestic life and in international politics. The Sultan styled himself “padishah of Deshti-Kipchak, Kafa, Crimea and Dagestan,” and on the part of the khan, in response to external honor and favor, servility and unconditional execution of the Sultan’s orders were required. The khans called themselves “slaves of the throne of His Majesty the Lord of the Age,” his humble servants, etc. During the Friday khutba (prayer), first a prayer was said for the Sultan, and then for the Khan. The power of the khan was weakened by the beys (karacheis), descendants of the ancient ancestors, who had enormous influence on the internal affairs of the khanate and the rule of the khan. These were the Shirins, Baryns, Argins, Yashlavs (Suleshevs) and Mansurs.

The successor of Muhammad I, Saadet I (1523-32), wanted to make the Crimean Tatars a settled people, but they reacted to this with obvious insympathy and even contempt. He ruled benevolently and fairly, but not for long. After him, Khan Sakhyb I (1532-50) conceived some transformations - the development of agriculture and settled life. He also established a staff of kapas - kullu (kapas - halkas), in the likeness of the Turkish Janissaries, and seimens - mercenary troops, as opposed to the Tatar militia, which went to war “out of love for God.” He treated his neighbors with arrogance and self-confidence, but his campaign against Moscow was unsuccessful. He is credited with digging a ditch across the Perekop Isthmus. He also increased the number of noble families in Crimea by joining them with the Sijuets and Mansurs. The next Khan Devlet I (1551-77) dreamed of restoring the greatness of the Tatars with his own efforts and waged constant wars with Ivan the Terrible, in vain seeking the return of Kazan and Astrakhan. To achieve this goal, he readily accepted Turkey's proposal to connect the Volga and Don with a canal. He did not achieve his goal, but with the invasion of Russia and the capture of Moscow, which killed up to 800,000 people and captured 50,000, he forced Ivan IV to give an obligation, following the example of Poland, to pay tribute (funerals, duties, salaries) annually at a certain time. To the Crimean Khan with money, furs, fur coats, etc., according to a list of members of the Khan’s family and his nobles sent in advance. But after him, the power of Crimea began to decline. These khans took care of attracting new nomads to the Crimea and settling them here, thus the Sivash region and the steppes north of the isthmus were populated.

After Muhammad II the Fat (Semiz), who established the title of nureddin, as if the second heir of the khanate and Islam II, who ordered, for the sake of the Turks, to pronounce his name at the khutba (Friday prayer) after the name of the sultan, which had not happened before and which humiliated the dignity of the khan from of the following khans, Gazi II, nicknamed Bora (Storm) (1588 - 1608), stood out as an intelligent, talented man, poet and musician. What remains from him is a collection of poems “Gel-ve-bul-bul” (Rose and Nightingale). He also sang in verse about wine and coffee. But all this did not prevent him from being a very cruel person, which was reflected in the murder of Khan Feth-Girey and the extermination of his entire family. And he tried to support the independence of the Khanate by introducing direct succession to the throne, which the Porte did not agree to and established the position of bash-aga, like a grand vizier or a nearby boyar.

At the beginning of the 17th century. The reign of Dzhanybek (1610-22, 27-35), a capable man, but lazy, completely devoted to the will of Turkey and a submissive fulfiller of the desires of the Karachians, was colorless and sad. All of this took place in wars with Russia and the Cossacks, who devastated Crimea under the leadership of Hetman Sagaidachny. His rival was Mohammed II (1577-84), this khan elevated Choban-Girey, the son of Feth-Girey from a captured Polish woman, allegedly Pototskaya, to nureddyn, but she did not recognize her as her son. From him came the line of Choban-Gireys or Girey-shepherds, one of whose representatives Aadil was on the khan’s throne (1665-70).

In the half of the 17th century. The Crimeans had great difficulties and struggle with the Nogais, whose leader Kantemir sought to strengthen his influence in the Crimea and did not obey the khan. Of the khans at this time, Islam III (1644 - 1654) stood out, whose reign was one of the best. He behaved independently in relation to Turkey, and was decisive and persistent in foreign policy. But this khan also followed the principle of “giving the people remedies against the infidels.”

At this time, the Little Russian question came to the fore in full force. Before the annexation of Little Russia to the Moscow state, Bogdan Khmelnitsky turned to the Crimean Khan and the Ottoman Porte for help against the Poles, was with his son Timothy in Bakhchisarai and at an audience with the khan, made a speech in Tatar in which he promised the alliance and friendship of the Cossacks for help against Poland. Islam agreed to this help, but his friendship with Bogdan was short-lived; The Tatars raided the Moscow Ukraine, and the Cossacks also suffered, and the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks descended into the sea and devastated the Tatar and Turkish lands. Finally, the khan got ready to march on Poland. Türkiye was weak, and the Sultan could not prevent the Khan from making campaigns against Poland, with which he was in an alliance. The war with Poland was at first happy, and then unhappy for Bogdan Khmelnitsky, forcing him to turn to Moscow. The Tatars, helping him, caused great devastation in Poland and Little Russia, and Islyam, in the interests of Crimea, maintained political balance and did not allow either the Poles or the Russians to gain strength. After the annexation of Little Russia to the Moscow state, he became an ally of Poland, as did his successor Muhammad IV (1642-44, 54-65), who treated Russia rudely and caused her many troubles. This hostile attitude towards Russia is explained (to a large extent) by Khmelnitsky’s crafty policies, the attacks on the Crimea by the Cossacks, and the struggle between Moscow and Poland.

Khmelnitsky's successor, Vygovsky, was a supporter of Poland and started relations with the khan, directed against Moscow and ending in open betrayal of him and Yuri Khmelnitsky, Bogdan's son. In the battles of Konotop and Chudnov there was a terrible defeat for the Russians. Voivode V.B. Sheremetyev was captured by the Tatars, where he remained for 20 years, languishing in Chufut-Kale. In 1667, the Truce of Andrusovo was concluded for 13.5 years. In 1675, Ataman Serko attacked Crimea and brought 7,000 Christians out of it.

Subsequently, the fourfold reign of Khan Selim I (1670-77, 84-98, 1702, 1703-4) in Crimea aroused great interest. He was the most remarkable of the Crimean khans, an intelligent ruler, a good, not power-hungry, lenient and practical person. In 1677, the war between Russia and Turkey began, glorious for Russia and very confusing to Selim, who was afraid of its power. Hetman Doroshenko, despite the help of Turkey and Crimea, was defeated and surrendered the Chigirin fortress, but Selim's successor, Khan Murad (1677-83) notified the Porte that the Russians were plotting a new war, which began in 1682 and led to the defeat of the Turks near Vienna Polish King Jan Sobieski. Khan Murad was recognized as the culprit of this defeat, and he was overthrown. He was a good khan, who did not like military affairs and did a lot of internal affairs Khanate, among other things, the development of agriculture in Crimea. He maintained peaceful relations with Russia and behaved independently in relation to Turkey.

Selim sat on the khan's throne for the second time. A difficult time has come for Crimea. Russia was becoming stronger and its sense of national dignity and honor was growing. Western Europe encouraged her to take her away from the Port of Crimea, her right hand and Selim reported to Turkey that Russia was striving for Crimea. Jan Sobieski gave Kyiv to her, but reprimanded for this an alliance in the war against the Turks and Tatars, in fulfillment of which two campaigns to the Crimea took place. V.V. Golitsyn, in 1687 and 1689 Both of them were unsuccessful, but they distracted the Tatars from helping the Turks in Hungary. Only after happily getting rid of the Russians and receiving the good booty they left at Perekop, Selim went to the aid of the Turks, defeated the Austrians, took a lot of booty and prisoners, for which he received great honors from the Porte and was at the height of his glory. The Tatars demanded his return to Crimea for protection from the Russians and Poles, but Selim asked the Porte to relieve him of the throne due to his old age. His request was respected, but not for long. Having visited Mecca during the second break of his reign and received the nickname Elhadj, he again sat on the throne in 1692, but was not seduced by this honor, knowing well the situation of Turkey, which itself needed the support of the Crimea. Having taken part in the war with Austria, Selim arrived in Crimea, but was ordered to go back to the theater of military operations. The Crimeans protested against the Khan's departure, fearing a new Russian attack, and sent only a ten-thousandth auxiliary detachment.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of 1695, Peter the Great moved to Azov; Russian ships appeared on the Sea of ​​Azov, and the Tatars were afraid of the Russian invasion of Crimea. The siege of Azov by the Russians began, and the Crimeans began to strengthen Perekop. The entire population of Crimea rose to its feet. At the request of the Crimeans, Selim returned from the Turkish theater of military operations, and sent his sons, who had returned from Azov, in the defense of which the Tatars took part, to the Turkish camp. The Tatars begged for help to the Port and asked for it in Persia as well. Finally, Azov fell, the khan and his sons returned to Crimea, which at that time began to be attacked by Kalmyks and Nogais. The war with Turkey ended in peace in Karlovitsy in 1698, at the conclusion of which the Russians, who had already stopped paying funerals to the khan, demanded that the Tatars undertake to stop raids on Russian lands, for which they themselves undertook not to restore the fortresses of Azov (lost by Russia after the unsuccessful Prut campaign of Peter V.) and not to build new fortresses near it. But the Tatars did not comply with the agreement, which is why the Russians considered themselves entitled to strengthen Azov and established a fleet here, which was a big blow to Turkish dominance in the Black Sea. Selim asked for resignation and received it. But immediately after this, civil strife began between his sons and after the short reign of one of them (Devlet II), Selim sat on the throne for the fourth time in 1703 and, with the help of the Turks, built the Yenikale fortress to protect the Kerch Strait. This was his last work for Crimea. In 1704 he died at the age of 73.

Crimea in the 18th century. Annexation of Crimea to Russia

With the death of Selim, the 200-year period of the life of Crimea ended, which, as V.D. says, passed. Smirnov, in continuous wars for the sake of Turkey and raids for himself, but without benefit for the cultural development of the country. The oblivion of the policies of Mengli Giray and friendship with Poland, whose political life was declining, did not bring benefits to the Crimean Khanate. And when the increasingly stronger Russia reached a degree of power, neither Poland nor Crimea were able to resist it. Financial situation Crimea was also very miserable. The Girays also did nothing for their country in this regard. The dominant population was not inclined towards a peaceful life, and the lack of unity with the Nogais weakened its strength and significance. The personal properties of almost all representatives of the Girey dynasty were insignificant.

In the 18th century The Crimean Khanate lost its terrifying significance, the patronage of the Porte became imaginary, the time had come to act not with weapons, but with peaceful negotiations and agreements. The political independence of Crimea was supported only by Russia's wait-and-see policy. Despite the failures of Peter V. in the war with Turkey, the alliance of Crimea with Mazepa and Sweden did not bring him any benefits, and the restless nature of the Nogais reached complete unbridledness.

Khan Mengli II (1724 - 1730), an adherent of peaceful politics, did something for the internal well-being of Crimea, eased taxes and duties, established a postal service, assigned monetary salaries to the ulema - but he could not stay on the throne. His successor Kaplan (1707, 13-16, 30-36) was forced to take part in the war between Turkey and Persia. Promoting the installation of Stanislav Leszczynski on the Polish throne, he led Tatar troops through the Russian steppes, despite the protest of the Russian authorities, which caused a war with Russia and campaigns on the Crimea by Minich and Lassi (1735-38), which led to the defeat and devastation of everything Crimea with its capital Bakhchisarai. The Tatars responded to these invasions with raids on Russian lands, but their successes were small. The Tatars, unfortunately, did not even appreciate khans who pursued a peaceful policy, such as, for example, Arsalan (1748-56, 67), a reasonable man who cared about the internal well-being of the country. His brother Crimea (1758-64, 68-69) was elected in his place, dreaming of forcing the Russians to continue paying tribute to the Tatars and threatening to hang his whip on the walls of St. Petersburg. He intervened in issues of international politics, in relations between Russia and Poland, even in the Seven Years' War, and offered his alliance and assistance to Frederick the Great. But, despite excessive self-confidence and major mistakes, he was still an outstanding khan. However, he was rejected by the Porte for his independent policies, heavy taxes that burdened the population and cruelty. During his second reign (1768-69), he attacked the Russian lands, new Serbia - this was the last invasion of the Crimean Tatars, devastating, but fruitless. He died soon after. Monuments in Bakhchisarai are associated with his name - the turbe (mausoleum) of his favorite Georgian Dilyara Bikech and the semi-collapsed Eshil-Jami mosque. His grave monument is the best in the Khan's cemetery.

Crimea Giray dragged Turkey into a war with Russia, which led to the fall of the Crimean Khanate. It was very successful for Russia. The victories of Rumyantsev at Larga and Kagul, and A. Orlov at Chesma glorified Catherine throughout Europe. Russia received reason to bring to the fore the question of the existence of the Crimean Khanate, which Rumyantsev, an astute man who understood the state of affairs better than others, insisted on, but, at the request of Catherine, the fate of Crimea was so far expressed in the form of its rejection of direct dependence on the Porte. Unrest began in Crimea, negotiations with the khan did not lead to anything definite, but the Nogais and Kalmyks came under Russian rule. Prince V.M., who commanded the second Russian army. Dolgorukov entered Crimea, defeated Khan Selim II (1764-67, 70-71) in two battles and within a month captured the entire Crimea, and captured a Turkish seraskir in Kafe. Khan Selim fled to Constantinople. The Tatars surrendered their weapons, bowed to the side of Russia and presented Dolgorukov with a sworn letter with signatures of the Crimean nobility and notification of the election of Sakhyb Girey to khan, and his brother Shagin to kalgi.

Arrived last period existence of the Crimean Khanate - under the tutelage of Russia. In fact, Crimea was already in its power; it still lacked formal recognition of this fact, which took 10 years. Russia needed Turkey to recognize the independence of Crimea and the freedom of navigation of Russian ships in the Black Sea. But Turkey did not give this recognition, and the Russians did not withdraw their troops from the Crimean fortresses and from the coast, which they protected from the Turkish landings. The Tatars did not clearly understand the state of affairs and sought independence from the Russians. Sakhyb (1772-75) did not want to ask for and accept Russian guards for Tatar liberties. Negotiations between Russia and Turkey were sluggish and indecisive. Finally, Russian patronage was recognized, but in Crimea the Turkish party again began to strengthen, led by the former Khan Devlet III (1769-70, 75-83), who negotiated the landing of Turkish troops in Crimea.

Finally, on July 10, 1774, the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was concluded, very beneficial for Russia, but also saving for Turkey. Crimea was not annexed to Russia and was recognized as independent from any outside power. In addition, the Sultan was recognized as the Supreme Caliph, and this circumstance caused difficulties and bickering between Russia and Turkey, since among Muslims, religious-ceremonial and civil-legal life are interconnected, which is why the Sultan was given the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Crimea, for example, by appointing Qadians . Turkey, according to the agreement, recognized Kinburn, Kerch and Yenikale as Russian possessions, as well as its freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.

Meanwhile, the Crimean Tatars expressed a persistent desire to remain under Turkish rule, and the Russian pretender to the khan's throne, Shagin, turned out to be a limited man, a troublemaker and unusually ambitious. While the Russian troops were stationed in the Crimea, the state of affairs was, in general, although tense, but not threatening complications; but when, according to the agreement, Dolgorukov withdrew his troops too hastily and carelessly, leaving small detachments here and there on the coast, things changed. In Crimea there was a widespread uprising of the Tatars, clearly prepared by the Turks. Turkish troops landed in Alushta; The Russian resident in Crimea, Veselitsky, was captured by Khan Sakhyb and handed over to the Turkish commander-in-chief, and the security convoy that was with him was killed. There were attacks on Russian troops in Alushta, Yalta and other places. But Sakhyb’s treacherous actions led him to abandon the throne - the Tatars elected Devlet as khan. At this time, the text of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Treaty was received from Constantinople. The Tatars were embarrassed, Veselitsky was released, the Turks were defeated at the Great Patriotic War. Shuma and Demerdzhi, near Alushta, the Turkish fleet left, with the consent of Dolgorukov, to Feodosia. But the Tatars even now did not want to accept independence and cede the above cities in Crimea to the Russians, and the Porte considered it necessary to enter into new negotiations with Russia. Devlet behaved duplicitously towards Russia, causing troubles in the Kuban in order to complicate its ruler and the chief of the Nogais, Shagin, who was committed to Russia and aspired to the throne. Türkiye also raised its head in view of Russia's difficulties with Poland and Sweden and plotted to return Crimea. Dolgorukov's successor, Prince. Prozorovsky negotiated with the khan in the most conciliatory tone, but the Murzas and ordinary Tatars did not hide their sympathies for Turkey. Shagin had no supporters. The Russian party in Crimea was small. But in the Kuban he was proclaimed khan, and in 1776 he finally became khan of the Crimea and entered Bakhchisarai. The Tatars swore allegiance to him.

It was difficult for Russia to force the Porte to accept Shagin as khan and establish hereditary succession to the throne in Crimea; she stood on Devlet and Sakhyb. In addition, Shagin behaved extremely tactlessly and frivolously. He imagined himself as a sovereign European sovereign, was inaccessible, extremely despotic and cruel, imposed a tithe tax on bread, livestock and other items on the population, started an unnecessary pomp, built a palace, etc. In Bakhchisarai, a rebellion finally broke out against him, the reason for which was the establishment of a permanent army with European uniforms. The uprising also turned against the Russians; the Tatars violently attacked Russian troops, killing up to 900 people. Russians, and plundered the palace. Shagin was embarrassed and made various promises, but the Tatars made Selim III khan. Türkiye was preparing to send a fleet to the shores of Crimea and start a new war. The Tatar uprising was pacified, but, not accepting Prozorovsky’s advice to be generous, Shagin mercilessly punished his opponents. Suvorov was appointed Prozorovsky's successor due to his mistakes, but Shagin treated him coldly, and the resident Konstantinov was completely disdainful, especially after the eviction of Christians (30,000 people) to the Azov region, Greeks to Mariupol, and Armenians to Nakhichevan in 1779 .

Suvorov's energy overcame all obstacles, the Turkish landing did not take place. Foreign powers, who were intriguing against Russia, now advised the Porte not to break the peace with her. Russia, on the other hand, pursued a wait-and-see policy, not allowing aggressive actions itself. Only now Shagin turned to the Sultan as the caliph, for a letter of blessing, and the Porte recognized him as khan, subject to the withdrawal of Russian troops from Crimea. Meanwhile, Shagin caused a new revolt of the population and had to flee to Yenikale, and from there to Kuban. Bogadyr-Girey, who was not recognized by Russia, was elected khan. This and Turkey’s actions in the Caucasus prompted new Russian intervention, which, thanks to Potemkin’s restraint, led to the bloodless annexation of Crimea to Russia. At the beginning of 1783, Shagin abdicated the throne, and he was asked to choose a city in Russia to live in, and a sum was allocated for his relocation with a small retinue and maintenance. He lived first. In Voronezh, and then in Kaluga, from where, at his request and with the consent of the Porte, he was released to Turkey and settled on the island of Rhodes, where he was deprived of his life.

On April 8, 1783, Catherine issued a manifesto according to which Crimea, Taman and Kuban became Russian regions. The population retained its former rights and was ensured a peaceful life and justice. A new era began for Crimea - an era of peaceful cultural development of economic well-being, and it became “the paradise of Russia,” as one of the travelers described it. But this period of the history of Crimea is not included in the scope of this essay.

References

1. Russian antiquities, ed. I.I. Tolstoy and N.P. Kondakov. Vol. I - IV.

2. Kulakovsky Yu.A. past of Taurida. Kyiv 1906 and 1913

3. Latyshev V.V. History of the Bosporan Kingdom. Izv. Taurus Uch. Arch. Com. No. 17 and the collection “Pontica”.

4. Latyshev. News of ancient Greek and Latin writers about Scythia and the Caucasus. T. I and II.

5. Rostovtsev M.M. Antique painting in the south of Russia. St. Petersburg 1914 with atlas.

6. Ivanov E.E. Chersonese Tauride. Izv. Taurus Uch. Arch. Com. No. 46.

7. Shestakov S.P. Essays on the history of Chersonesus in the 6th - 10th centuries. according to RH. Ed. Moscow Arch. General M. 1908.

8. Berthier-Delagarde A.L. Remains of ancient structures in the vicinity of Sevastopol and cave cities of Crimea (West. Od. General. Ist. And Other vol. XIV).

9. Berthier-Delagarde, Excavations of Chersonese. Materials on the archeology of Russia 1893

10. Kulakovsky Yu.A. Alans according to classical and Byzantine writers. Kyiv 1899

11. Ainalov D.V. Monuments of Christian Chersonesos Ed. Moscow Archaeol. General M. 1905

12. Keppen P.I. Crimean collection. St. Petersburg 1837

13. Brun F.F. Black Sea region. Collection. T. I and II Ed. 1870

14. Berthier-Delagarde A.L. Calamita and Theodoro. Izv. Taurus Uch. Arch. Com. No. 55.

15. Berthier-Delagarde A.L. Puzzling questions of the Middle Ages in Tauris. Izv. Taurus Uch. Arch. Com No. 57.

16. Murzakevich. History of Genoese settlements in Crimea.

17. Gade V. Italian colonies on the northern shore of the Black Sea. Per. L. Colley. Izv. Tavrich. Uch. Arch com. No. 52.

18. Smirnov V.D. Crimean Khanate under the rule of the Ottoman Porte. St. Petersburg 1887

19. Smirnov. Crimean Khanate under the rule of the Ottoman Porte in the 18th century. (Zap. Od. General. Ist. And Other T. XV).

20. Hartakhai F. Historical fate of the Crimean Tatars. Vestn. Heb. 1866, book. 2 and 6.

21. Lashkov F.F. Historical sketch of Crimean Tatar land ownership. Symph. 1897. Izv. Taurus Uch. Arch. Com.

22. Bashkirov A.S. A brief outline of the history of Crimea (a guide to Crimea. Publ. General. Natural and loving nature). 1814

23. Notes of the Odessa Society of History and Antiquities. Vol. I - XXXIII.

24. News of Taurus. Scientific Archival Commission No. 1 - 57.

Crimean Khanate in 1676-1769

In the description of Baron Tott and the beginning of the war

I consider it appropriate to preface the story about the beginning of hostilities in 1769 with the authentic testimony of a French diplomat, with the rank of resident Ottoman Empire Baron Tott.

He was sent by the French government to Crimea, and then to Constantinople as an observer and military adviser, first to the Crimean Khan, and then to the Turkish Sultan.

He left written memoirs about his stay from 1768-1774 on the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

The study, which gives us, say, in contrast to the study of the works of Russian historians, a true picture of those historical events, and because of this is more valuable evidence in our research.

From the text of the memoirs, we will be primarily interested in the descriptions of the Crimean Khanate, its rulers, orders and laws.

Well, of course, an accurate description of the last military campaign of the Tatars in Ukraine in 1769. For after this, a steady process began of the disintegration of the Crimean Khanate and its absorption by the Russian Empire, until its subsequent liquidation as a state entity.

And if so, then I give the floor to Baron Tott....

“After spending the night in Kilburn, we set off further before dawn and the next morning we reached Perekop.

A fortress was also built on this pass. Not particularly strong in itself, it is almost impregnable, thanks to local conditions, and especially the impossibility of getting water and provisions here for an army that would want to besiege it.

This is what happened in 1736 and 1737, when Minikh tried to take this fortress and penetrate into Crimea.

True, during the last war, the Russians entered Crimea through the Strelka, but this was a consequence of the carelessness of the Tatars, since the slightest resistance would have made the road impassable for the Russians.

(here it must be said that not only the Tatars, but also the Russians themselves showed carelessness, but already in 1919, when the troops of the so-called Red Army, through Sivash and the Arbat Spit, again freely penetrated into Crimea and put an end to the last fragment of the Russian Empire by shooting or by drowning on barges in the Black Sea all those descendants of the Russian nobles who in 1769 began to conquer the Crimea... and the Perekop Wall fortified by the Whites turned out to be a useless undertaking...)

“On the way, I noticed,” he says, a whitish powder, which, when we examined it more closely, turned out to be salt.

Crimea trades salt primarily with the Russians; Its transports travel this road and leave similar traces.

This trade is in the hands of Jews and Armenians, and the inability to conduct it wisely is most noticeable.

No buildings are being built here for the salt that has already been collected; it just piles up in a heap and then often disappears completely from the rain.

The buyer usually pays for the cart and then tries to put on his cart as much as his camels or oxen can pull - this is why so much salt is scattered along the road, which, of course, does not benefit either the buyer or the seller.

By nightfall we arrived in a valley where several Tatar huts had been built. The compression we saw in this valley proved a change in the structure of the soil.

Indeed, leaving the valley the next day, we noticed in the distance a mountainous area, which we soon had to pass through.

Before sunset we were already in Bakhchisarai, the capital of the Crimean Khanate.

The vizier was immediately informed of my arrival, who sent Maksud-Girey, who was then khan, to ascertain the disposition towards me.

The next day, the master of ceremonies of the khan's court came to me with a detachment of guards to escort me to the khan.

On the stairs of the palace I was met by the vizier. He led me into the reception hall, where the khan was sitting on the sofa, awaiting my arrival. The audience did not last long. After the usual greetings on my part and presenting him with my credentials, the khan, expressing a desire to see me more often, released me.

I spent the first days visiting other high-ranking officials. I wanted to get closer to this society in order to better study the governance, morals and customs of the Tatars. Of the people I met, I especially liked the mufti, a very intelligent man and, in his own way, highly joyful. I soon became friends with him and, thanks to him, I learned a lot.

In a few days Maksud-Girey invited me to his place for the evening. The evening began after sunset and continued until midnight.

At the khan's place I met several Murzas - his favorites. Mansud-Girey himself seemed to me somewhat secretive, distrustful and hot-tempered, although this temper quickly passed.

Khan was quite educated, loved literature and willingly talked about it.

Sultan Nuradin,(a sultan in Tataria generally refers to any member of the khan’s family, that is, a prince of the blood), brought up by the Circassians, spoke little, and if he did, it was only about the Circassians.

Kadi Leske On the contrary, he talked a lot about everything; very narrow-minded, but cheerful and lively, he inspired our society.

Kaya- Murza, from the surname Shirip, loved to report all the news he knew and, of course, news from the East, and I took upon myself the responsibility of reporting news from Europe.

The etiquette of this court allowed very few persons to sit in the presence of the khan. The sultans, or princes of the blood, enjoyed this right by birth, but the children of the khan himself could not sit in the presence of their father.

This right was also given to ministers - members of the divan and foreign envoys.

Dinner was served on two round tables. Her Majesty, the khan's wife, dined at one, and no one else, with the exception of the khan himself, had the right to sit at this table.

After another, all those invited had dinner. Almost at midnight the khan released us.

The Khan's Palace is located at one of the ends of the city and is surrounded by high cliffs and a luxurious garden.

However, due to the fact that the palace stands relatively low, there is no good view from it, and in order to admire the surroundings, you need to climb one of the nearby rocks, which Maksud-Girey often does. The nature in this part of Crimea is such that it is really worth admiring.

It is reminiscent of Italy in many ways. The same clear, dark blue sky; the same semi-tropical, luxurious vegetation, and often even the same types of trees. One might be surprised at the latter if it were not known that the Genoese once owned Crimea. The palace is guarded by a small detachment of guards, but there are no troops in the city and almost no police.

This depends on the fact that crime here is extremely rare, probably because it is difficult for a criminal to hide in this small and almost completely enclosed peninsula.

Maksud-Girey is distinguished by his justice and strictly punishes criminals, without paying any attention to religion, that is, without excusing the crime if the victim was not a Mohammedan, as is usually the case in Turkey. The only major drawback for which the khan can be blamed is his exorbitant greed for money.

“The lands of Little Tataria or the Crimean Khanate,” he says, include: the Crimean peninsula, Kuban, part of the lands inhabited by Circassians and all the lands that separate Russia from the Black Sea.

The belt of these lands continues from Moldova to Taganrog. It has from 120 to 160 (30 to 40 miles) versts in width and up to 800 versts in length and includes from east to west: Etichekule, Dzhambuluk, Edesan and Bssarabia.

The Crimean peninsula, just like Bessarabia, otherwise called Budzhak, is inhabited by settled Tatars. The inhabitants of the remaining provinces live in felt tents, which they take with them during their migrations.

However, the inhabitants of these, known as Nogais, cannot be considered completely nomadic people. In the valleys that cut the plain they inhabit from north to south, they pitch their tents and, on rare occasions, move them to another place.

The population figure, in the absence of a census, is not precisely known; if we pay attention to the fact that the khan can field up to 200 thousand troops at a time, and in case of extremes he can even double this number without stopping ordinary economic work, then in terms of the amount of land and population the Crimean Khanate can be compared with France

To form an army of 200 tons of horsemen, Krim-Girey demanded one horseman from every four families.

If we assume, as is usually believed, that the number of each family is four souls, then the population of the Crimean Khanate was three million 200 thousand.

The administration of the Crimean Khanate is completely based on feudal principles. They have the same laws that govern France, the same prejudices that prevail among us.

If we recall the migrations of peoples from Asia to northern Europe and from there to us, then perhaps in this way we will be able to explain to ourselves the origin of many of our most ancient customs.

Members of the khan's family consider themselves direct descendants of Genghis Khan. Five other families consider themselves descendants of the other five khans who once voluntarily submitted to Genghis Khan. These surnames are as follows: Shirin, Mansur, Sejud, Argin and Barun.

Members of the surname of Genghis Khan always occupy the throne of the Khan-sovereign, the other five represent the great vassals of this state (Tott conveys a tradition that existed among the Tatars about the origin of the name Gireyev, added to the name of the khan.

Once upon a time, one of the great vassals of the Khanate, whose name has not been preserved, planned to seize the khan's throne.

Having prepared a conspiracy, he ordered the death of the reigning khan, his entire shadow and all the princes - the descendants of Genghis Khan.

But one faithful servant, taking advantage of the turmoil created by this, saved one of the khan’s sons, the little prince, who was still in the cradle, from the murderers, and entrusted the child and the secret of his origin to one shepherd, known for his honesty, named Girey.

The young descendant of Genghis Khan was raised under the name of the son of this Giray, shepherded herds with him and did not know that the heritage of his ancestors was in the power of a tyrant who killed his father, mother and entire family.

But old Giray vigilantly monitored the state of affairs and waited only for the moment when popular hatred against the usurper would allow him to reveal his secret. This time came when the young prince turned 20 years old.

Then an outbreak of popular hatred followed; Giray revealed his secret and so inspired the people that he overthrew the tyrant, killed him and installed the rightful heir to the throne.

Called to the throne in order to receive a reward for such a service, the old man Giray refused all the honors that were offered to him and only wished that all khans would add his name, Giray, to their name, in order to perpetuate the memory of his deed, – he himself returned to his herds.

From that time on, all persons who occupied the khan's throne added the nickname Girey to their name)

Each family of these vassals has its own representative in the person of the eldest of the family, bearing the title of bey.

These Murza Beys constitute the highest aristocracy of the country.

Surnames that received the rights of great vassals much later should not be confused with it.

Similar surnames are all united under one common name Kapikuli, that is, the slaves of Khan and all of them are represented by one bey, who, however, enjoys all the rights assigned to the first 5 beys.

These six beys, chaired by the khan, make up the senate, the highest government institution of the Crimean Khanate.

Beys are carried out by the khan only in the most important cases. But if, with the intention of expanding his power, the Khan did not want to call the beys, then the main one of them - the bey of the Shirin family - has the right to take the place of the khan and convene the Senate. This right of vassals constitutes an important counterbalance to the power of the khan - the overlord.

The political basis for the balance between the power of the overlord and vassals is the distribution of lands between them.

All lands of the Crimean peninsula and Budzhak are divided into fiefs belonging to the aristocracy and fiefs belonging to the crown.

These fiefs and estates, in turn, are divided into small plots, which are used by the common people who cultivate them.

Lenas are always hereditary in the families of the highest aristocracy - vassals, the estates of the crown partly belong to well-known positions, and the income from them is considered something like a salary, and partly they are distributed by the Khan simply at his personal discretion.

Lenas, which after the death of vassals remain without a direct heir to the 7th generation, again become the personal property of the khan. In the same way, every small plot, under the same conditions, goes to the murza - the owner of the fief.

Everyone, both large, aristocratic landowners and small ones, are obliged to perform military service if necessary for the use of land. The latter also owe corvée

Only Christians and Jews who have fiefs are not required to bear any military service, no corvée; they are subject to exclusively direct taxes.

The Nogais, the inhabitants of the remaining provinces of the Crimean Khanate, do not know such a division of territory.

They roam the plains freely with their herds, keeping only to the approximate boundaries of their horde. But if the Nogai Murzas share with their small vassals - simple Nogais - a common soil and do not even consider it humiliating for themselves to engage in agriculture, then they are still no less powerful than the Murzas of settled Tatars.

Being in the winter in the valley, where their horde has a permanent residence, they collect something like a tax from the Nogais with livestock and grain bread. When spring comes, part of the horde, with its Murza at its head, goes to places convenient for farming; there the Murza distributes land among the Nogais; they sow it, and when the grain is ripe, harvested and threshed, they return back to the valley and thus supply their horde with food for the winter.

By frequently changing the places of their crops, the Nogais achieve that they have both excellent pastures and excellent harvests. Corvee, which is established in the Crimean peninsula and Budzhak, is unknown to the Nogais. They pay only tithes to the governor of the province.

The first position in the Crimean Khanate is the position of kalga.

To this position, the khan usually appoints his heir or the one from his family whom he trusts most. Kalga rules the country in the event of the death of a khan before the accession to the throne of another.

He is the main commander of the army, unless the khan personally goes to war. He, as overlord, inherits the estates of all the Murzas who died without heirs.

His residence is in Akhmechet, a city located four leagues (16 ver.) from Bakhchisarai. There he enjoys all the attributes supreme power. He has his own ministers who carry out his orders. Under his direct control is the area up to Kafa itself.

The second most important position is nuradina, usually also occupied by a member of the khan’s family.

Like the Kalga, Nuradin enjoys the right to have his own ministers; but both the ministers and Nuradin himself receive real power only when the khan entrusts him with command of the army.

The third position is the chief or prince of Perekopsky. This position is also occupied by either a member of the khan's family, or a member of the Shirin family, married to a person of khan's blood.

In the border regions: Budzhak, Edesap and Kuban, the younger sons or nephews of the khan with the title “Sultan Serasker” are usually appointed as commanders of the permanent detachments of troops stationed there.

In Dzhambuluk, the head of similar detachments was a kaymakan or lieutenant of the khan.

He sent the post of serasker to other provinces and brought, if necessary, detachments of troops into the army, but immediately had to hand over the command over them to the main commander of the army, and he himself returned to Dzhambuluk to guard the plain located at the entrance to the Crimea.

In addition to these positions, there were two more female positions: alabey and ulukani, which usually belonged to the mother, sisters or daughters of the khan.

Because of this, they owned several villages, in which, through their managers, they carried out justice and reprisals and used the income from them.

The positions of the mufti, vizier and other ministers are completely similar to the same positions in Turkey.

The Khan's income extends to 150 thousand rubles. (600 thousand livres). This income cannot but be called very moderate, especially since many Murzas live, according to custom, at the expense of the khan, until some escheat estate, which the khan allocates to such Murzas, gives him the opportunity to free himself from them.

The khan has the right of court throughout his entire state, just as every peasant has this right in his fief.

Education among the Tatars, even in the upper classes of society, is limited to learning to read and write.

The Murzas, however, are distinguished by refined politeness and delicacy, which, I think, Tott says, is a consequence of the joint life of men and women in the family.

Despite such a low level of education, however, there was a family in Bakhchisarai whose ancestors laid the foundation for keeping historical records.

Residents of the Crimean Peninsula are engaged partly in cattle breeding and more in agriculture, which, given the fertility of the soil and the relatively warm climate of Crimea, requires very little labor from farmers.

Having somehow furrowed his field with a plow, he throws it on. grains of bread or a mixture of grains of melons and watermelons with peas and beans and, without even bothering to cover them with earth, leaves the field to the mercy of fate until the harvest.

In their gardens, the Tatars cultivate many types of fruit trees, among which nuts are especially numerous. Grapes are also grown in Crimea, but the way they are processed is such that it is difficult to hope for great development of winemaking.

A small hole is usually dug and a grapevine is planted in it.

The inclined sides of the pit serve as a support for the vine, which, having filled it all with its leaves, thus protects the grape clusters from the sun and allows moisture to be retained longer. Frequent rains fill the pit with water and the soil under the grapes almost never dries out. A month before the grape harvest, the leaves are cut off from the vine, and when harvesting, the vine is cut off almost at the root.

No matter how great the abundance of water in Crimea, however, due to the proximity of the mountains to seashore, there is not a single decent river here. There are countless springs that do not dry up even in summer. Near these sources. Italian poplars, brought here by the Genoese, usually grow.

Both internal and external trade of the Crimean Peninsula are insignificant. The latter is exclusively in the hands of Armenians and Jews and its main item is salt.

The city of Kafa is now, as under the Genoese, the center of Crimean trade.

The port of Balaclava, judging by the ancient ruins that fill it, was probably also a large trading market during the reign of the Genoese, but is now one of the most insignificant towns.

(Here, especially for Russian patriots, I remind you that the Tatar Balaklava, as of 1768, is your glorious and truly Russian “hero city of Sevastopol” - author)

In addition to these cities, we can also mention Yevpatoria, a port on the western side of the Crimean peninsula, and Akhmechet, the residence of the kalgi.

“As a result of the case at Balta, Krim-Girey was recognized by Porta Khan and was called to Constantinople in order to agree on the conduct of the war with Russia. Through the same courier who brought the news of the deposition of Maqsud, the new khan sent an order that all officials The khanates came to greet him solemnly in Kaushany, in Bessarabia.

Help: Causeni- the former center of residence of the Kaushan Horde until the end of the 18th century.

It arose in ancient times at the intersection of the Upper Trayanov Shaft with the river. Botnoy. Settlement IX – X centuries.

Crimea – Girey(Sultan, Crimean Khan reign 1758-1764,1768-1769) created his second capital in the city of Causeni.

The Khan's palace was built here, adapted for military, administrative and representative purposes. He came to Kaushany from Bakhchisarai almost every year, inspecting the Nogai hordes along the way and directly exercising his power prerogatives in relation to the nomads.

Here, in the area of ​​the Bendery crossing, Caushan and the upper "Trajan Wall" was " keyhole"on the "Danube Castle", which opened the doors to the Balkans, researchers are sure."

Continuation of the memoirs of Baron Toth:

“I, of course, hurried there. After the ceremonial entry into Kaushany, Krim-Girey in his palace, in the hall of the divan, on the throne, received expressions of loyal feelings from the highest dignitaries of the Crimean Khanate. The new khan treated me extremely favorably, so, that after the ceremony he visited me and even stayed for dinner.

Krim-Girey is about 60 years old. His figure is very representative, even majestic. His techniques are noble and, depending on his wishes, he can seem both affectionate and stern. His nature is very active and lively.

He is a lover of all kinds of pleasures: - for example, he keeps with him a large orchestra of musicians and a troupe of comedians, whose performance gives him the opportunity to rest in the evenings from political affairs and preparations for war, with which Krim-Girey is busy all day.

Active himself, he demands the same from others, and with his ardor he often even punishes too severely those who do not carry out his orders.

During his stay in Kaushani, an ambassador from the Polish confederation came to the khan in order to agree on the opening of a campaign, which Krim-Girey expected to begin with a raid on New Serbia

(here should not be confused with Serbia because New Serbia is the territory of the current Kirovograd region in Ukraine).

However, the fact that the interests of bordering Polish Ukraine could suffer in this case required a preliminary agreement with Poland.

Its ambassador was not provided with any instructions in this regard, and the khan therefore asked me to go to Dankovtsa, near Khotyn, where the leaders of the Polish confederation were.

Having talked with Counts Krasinsky and Potocki in Dankovets, I hastened to return to the khan.

The campaign to New Serbia, approved by the assembly of the great vassals, was decided. From Kaushan, Krim-Girey sent orders to the provinces to send troops.

In order to form an army of 200 thousand people, it was necessary to require 2 horsemen from every 8 families living in the Crimean Khanate.

Krim-Girey considered this number of people sufficient to attack the enemy from 3 sides at the same time.

Nuradin with 40 tons of troops was supposed to go to the Small Don, Kalga with 60 tons along the left bank of the Dnieper to Orel.

An army of 100 tons and a 10,000-strong detachment of Turkish sepoys remained under the command of Khan himself.

(in Turkey - sepoys are a hired cavalry army, a type of knightly cavalry - author)

With this army he was supposed to penetrate New Serbia. In addition to these troops, there were also separate armies from the provinces of Edesan and Budzhak.

They also had to go to New Serbia and Tambahar was appointed as their junction point with the khan’s army.

The first two days were used only to transport the army across the Dniester.

As soon as it was transported, an ambassador from the Lezgins appeared at the Khana, offering their army of 80 thousand people for the upcoming war. This proposal, however, was not accepted.

(in which the short-sightedness of the new Crimean Khan was manifested, for it was precisely this number of troops that was not enough for him to successfully complete the military campaign of 1679 - author).

Having united with the troops of Edesan and Budzhak, we soon reached Balta. This border city presented the appearance of complete devastation.

The sepoys not only completed the devastation of Balta, but also burned all the neighboring villages. This spoiled cavalry, unaccustomed to discipline, was a positively harmful burden for the Tatar army.

The troops were already fully assembled and Krim-Girey, having only waited for the news that Kalga and Nuradin had reached their destination with their armies, moved from Balta to New Serbia.

Having reached the upper reaches of the Ingul - the border of New Serbia - the khan convened a military council, at which it was decided that 1/3 of the entire army, at midnight, would cross the Ingul, then divide into many small detachments and engage in devastation of the country.

She was supposed to set fire to all the villages and grain reserves, take the population captive and drive away the herds.

The remaining 2/3 were also supposed to cross the Ingul the next day at dawn and besiege the fortress of St. Elizabeth, (now the city of Kirovograd in Ukraine - author) in order to enable the army that went to devastate the country to return safely with booty.

The next day this decision was carried out. Everything went well, and only the terrible cold was a significant hindrance to the campaign.

The day after we crossed the Ingul, it was so strong that more than 3 thousand soldiers almost literally froze, and more than 30 tons of horses died. The entire army was in a very unenviable position, the sepoys were especially pitiful - the cold suffocated them like flies.

Krim-Girey, riding in a closed carriage, had to get out of it and ride among the soldiers to inspire the army.

Approaching the fortress, we began to notice on the horizon numerous glows of fires produced by our army that had gone ahead, and many soldiers of this army began to return to us with booty.

We soon occupied the small town of Adzhemka near the fortress; it had not yet been destroyed, but we found very few inhabitants in it; - everyone almost went under the protection of the fortress guns of St. Elizabeth".

Here we will interrupt our presentation of the memoirs of Baron de Tott and look at the situation from the side of the Russian troops besieged in the fortress.

Fortress of St. Elizabeth built along the southern border of New Serbia, an area of ​​military settlements created in 1752 to defend southern Ukraine from attacks by the Turks and Crimean Tatars. The decree on the creation of a fortress on the right bank of the Ingul was signed by Empress Elizabeth on January 11, 1752. The project was approved on July 30, 1752.

The choice of location was determined by approximately the same distance from the then existing fortresses - Arkhangelsk (now Novoarkhangelsk) on Sinyukha and Mishurinorezskaya on the Dnieper, which created a defensive line of three large fortifications, the gaps between which were defended by New Serbian trenches and Cossack outposts.

The site for the fortress was chosen by Artillery General I.F. Glebov in accordance with the special instructions given to him on February 3, 1752. The choice of location was finally approved by the Senate at its meetings on March 21, 1753.

However, due to the tense political situation, the start of construction work was delayed, and the decree on the work was issued only on March 3, 1754. The ceremonial foundation of the fortress took place on June 18, 1754. The construction work was supervised by engineer-lieutenant colonel L. I. Menzelius.

The fortress consisted of a hexagon of bastion fronts created by earthen ramparts with six ravelins in front of the curtains. The entire fortification system was surrounded by deep, dry ditches along the outer perimeter, which ran along a fortress road covered by six glacis.

On the bank of the Ingul, for the defense of the river, 175 fathoms from the fortress there was a separate trench (trench - field fortification) of St. Sergius. The bastions had the shape of pentagons, with gorzhas open onto the fortress parade ground (gorzha is the rear part of the fortification). The bastions had double flanks (flank, French flanc - side of the fortification, perpendicular or almost perpendicular to the front line).

Ravelins (ravelin, Latin ravelere - to separate, - a triangular-shaped fortification) had the shape of irregular rhombuses and were open from the rear. If captured by the enemy, this made them defenseless from fire from the fortress. All verki (defensive structures) were earthen.

The main shaft reached 19 feet in height, 18 feet in thickness, the height of the lower flanks was 7.5-9 feet, the height of the ravelins was 16 feet, the depth of the ditches was 18-21 feet (approx. 1 foot = 0.3048 meters).

Three gates led to the fortress, surrounded by watchtowers and guardhouses - Trinity (the main one, now the entrance to Novo-Alekseevka), Prechistensky and All Saints.

The bastions of the fortress were named after the saints - Peter (the first from the Trinity Gate in a clockwise direction), then successively - Alexei, Andrew the First-Called, Alexander Nevsky, Archangel Michael and Catherine. The Ravelins also had their patron saints - Anna (opposite the Trinity Gate), then in a circle - Natalia, John, the Most Holy Pechersk Nicholas and Feodor.

The artillery armament of the fortress at that time consisted of 120 cannons, 12 mortars, 6 falconets, 12 howitzers and 6 mortars.

The fortress of St. Elizabeth took part directly in hostilities only once.

This happened during the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, the first campaign of which began in 1769 with the attack of the Crimean Khan Crimea-Girey on the Elisavetgrad province.

On January 4, the 70,000-strong Turkish-Tatar army he led crossed the Russian border near the Oryol trench and on January 7 stopped near the fortress of St. Elizabeth, in which the head of the province, Major General A. S. Isakov, took refuge with the garrison and local residents

The horde was met by the fire of the fortress cannons. Crimea-Girey never decided to storm the fortress, and Isakov could not oppose him with sufficient military force for open battle.

The attackers divided into several detachments, destroyed nearby villages with fire and sword, captured more than a thousand inhabitants, took large number cattle and went beyond the Dniester.

A successful sortie of I. V. Bagration’s cavalry detachment was made from the fortress, which cut down the Tatar rearguard.

Now let’s see what Baron Toth wrote about this!

“The position of the army, however, was so bad, due to the cold, lack of provisions and feed for horses, that Krim-Girey was seriously afraid of being defeated by even the smallest enemy.

To prevent such a possibility, he selected 300 of the best horsemen from the army and sent them to harass the fortress while the army recovered somewhat in Ajemka, where we found a lot of supplies.

A lot of provisions were also brought by the soldiers who devastated New Serbia. Almost each of them returned with several captives and rich booty.

Another brought 5-6 captives of all ages and about 60 sheep and about two dozen bulls. More than 150 villages were devastated by them.

During the 3 days spent in Adzhemka, the army recovered and we, having lit up the entire city almost instantly, set off further - to the border of Polish Ukraine. At the border we took, after the heroic resistance of the inhabitants, who all died, the large village of Krasnikov.

This case showed all the worthlessness of the Turkish sepoys, who fled after the first shot of the Krasnikovites, and, on the contrary, all the courage and fortitude of the Cossacks who were in the army of the khan.

These Cossacks, says Tott, live in the Kuban region. One of the Russians, named Ignatius, not wanting to carry out the orders of Peter the Great - to shave his beard, succumbed, with his rather numerous followers, to the Crimean Khan.

He cared, of course, more about the inviolability of his beard than his freedom, and the Tatars found, therefore, such a close relationship between their word inat - stubborn and Ignatius that the name Inatov remained with the Cossacks.

The Inats care little about preserving the purity of their religion, but jealously guard their rights - to eat pork and have their Christian banner in war.

The Turks in the Khan's army are very dissatisfied with this. They consider it an insult to their Mohammedan banners to be adjacent to Christian ones, and I often heard them mutter curses at this desecration of the shrine. The Tatars have such a developed common sense that they consider it very simple and natural.

T ut I will complement Tott’s story about the Inats, since here we are talking about the Don Cossacks - the Nekrasovites.

Nekrasovtsy (Nekrasov Cossacks, Nekrasov Cossacks, Ignat Cossacks) are descendants of the Don Cossacks who, after the suppression of the Bulavinsky uprising, left the Don in September 1708.

Named in honor of the leader, Ignat Nekrasov. For more than 240 years, the Nekrasov Cossacks lived outside Russia as a separate community according to the “testaments of Ignat,” which determined the foundations of the community’s life.

After the defeat of the Bulavinsky uprising in the fall of 1708, part of the Don Cossacks, led by Ataman Nekrasov, went to Kuban, a territory that at that time belonged to the Crimean Khanate.

In total, according to various sources, from 2 thousand (500-600 families) to 8 thousand Cossacks with their wives and children left with Nekrasov. Having united with the Old Believers Cossacks who had gone to the Kuban back in the 1690s, they formed the first Cossack army in the Kuban, which accepted the citizenship of the Crimean khans and received quite broad privileges. Runaways from the Don and ordinary peasants began to join the Cossacks. The Cossacks of this army were called Nekrasovtsy, although it was heterogeneous.

First, the Nekrasovites settled in the Middle Kuban (on the right bank of the Laba River, not far from its mouth), in a tract near the modern village of Nekrasovskaya. But soon the majority, including Ignat Nekrasov, moved to the Taman Peninsula, founding three towns - Bludilovsky, Golubinsky and Chiryansky.

For a long time, the Nekrasovites carried out raids on the Russian border lands from here. After 1737 (with the death of Ignat Nekrasov), the situation on the border began to stabilize.

In 1735-1739 Russia several times offered the Nekrasovites to return to their homeland.

Having failed to achieve results, Empress Anna Ioannovna sent Don Ataman Frolov to Kuban. Unable to resist Russian troops, the Nekrasovites began moving to Turkish possessions on the Danube.

In the period 1740-1778, with the permission of the Turkish Sultan, the Nekrasovites moved to the Danube. On the territory of the Ottoman Empire, the sultans confirmed to the Nekrasov Cossacks all the privileges that they enjoyed in the Kuban from the Crimean khans.

Continuation of the memoirs of Baron Thoth:

"The day after the capture of Krasnikov, the khan intended to capture small town Tsibulev, but the artillery that was in this town did not allow this to be done, and we only managed to burn its suburb and took the inhabitants of this suburb into captivity.

From here, along the Polish border, we headed back to Bessarabia to Bendery.

The Tatars, and especially the Turks, did not pay attention to the border and attempted to rob and burn the Polish border villages that we met along the road, and, thanks only to the incredible efforts and merciless severity of Krim-Girey, these villages of the friendly land were saved from devastation.

Before reaching Bendery, Krim-Girey ordered the division of the spoils of war.

There were up to 20 thousand prisoners alone. Khan offered me some of them, but I, of course, refused.

After dividing the spoils, we went straight to Bendery and soon, with the thunder of cannon shots, we solemnly entered this city.

Krim-Girey stayed with the vizier, the commander of the city, and began disbanding the army while his court, which was in Kaushany, was preparing to meet him.

A few days later we were all already in Causeni, extremely pleased with the opportunity to rest after all the work of this tiring winter campaign. However, our rest was not too long.

News was received from Constantinople that a new Turkish army had already headed to the Danube for a new campaign and Krim-Girey, among the pleasures of relaxation, had to prepare for the campaign and take care of gathering his army.

As a result of these intense activities, Krim-Girey began to very often experience attacks of hypochondria, to which he had been, although occasionally, susceptible.

During such attacks, I was usually alone with the khan, trying to occupy him with something, to distract him. But one day Siropolo came to us.

He was a Greek, a native of Corfu, a famous chemist, doctor of the Wallachian prince and his agent in Tartary.

He appeared on some business of his own, but took advantage of this opportunity to offer the khan a medicine that, as he said, tasted good and at the same time would immediately and forever cure him of hypochondria.

Khan agreed to take it, and Siropolo immediately went out to prepare this medicine for him. A suspicion arose in me, which was involuntarily suggested by Siropolo’s position at the khan’s court.

I told the khan my suspicions; I spent a long time convincing him not to take the medicine prepared by this man, but it was all in vain. Siropolo returned suspiciously quickly with his medicine, and Krim-Girey immediately took it.

The next day my suspicions and fears intensified even more. After taking the medicine, the khan became so weak that he was barely able to leave the house.

Siropolo explained this as a crisis, which he had expected, and which, as he said, would certainly be followed by a complete recovery.

However, Cream-Girey felt worse and worse. He no longer appeared from the harem.

The court, the ministers - everything was in terrible excitement; but my efforts to bring Siropolo to trial were unsuccessful. Everyone was already occupied only with who would be the heir of Krim-Girey.

I was completely desperate to see the Khan, when he himself conveyed to me his desire to see me.

I left immediately. Entering the room where the khan lay, I found him making his last orders on his bed through his Divan-Efendi.

Here, Krim-Girey told me, pointing to the papers surrounding him, were my last, dying activities. I graduated from them, and I wish to devote my last minutes to you.

In a conversation with me, he tried to cheer me up, but noticing that the deep sadness that I was unable to hide did not leave me, he said: that’s it, give up your sensitivity; it will probably touch me too, but I would like to die in a cheerful mood, and having said this, he signaled to the musicians who were in the back of the room to begin the concert and died at the sounds of this concert.

The Khan's body was embalmed and transported to Crimea. Despite the fact that traces of poison were obvious during the embalming of the corpse, Siropolo freely received a ticket and went to Wallachia.

The interests of the court suppressed any thought of revenge and punishment of the culprit. The fatigue that was a consequence of the campaign and the uncertainty regarding my position due to the death of Krim-Girey forced me to go to Constantinople and there to await further orders from my government."

So, before us was a reliable picture of the first military actions in the Russian-Turkish war of 1769-1774.

And we see that while Turkish troops are being drawn up from all over Turkey and the conquered territories to the theater of future military operations in the Northern Black Sea region, Moldova and Southern Ukraine, the Tatar cavalry, supported by individual Turkish detachments, was thrown into battle.

The description of the progress of this company left to us by Tott shows that the Tatar raid on the territory occupied by Russian troops was just a kind of reconnaissance in force. For, not having siege artillery, the Crimean Tatars were unable to take by storm even a single more or less protected settlement, not to mention the strong fortress of St. Elizabeth.

And the purpose of their raid was to create a kind of “scorched earth” territory in order to make it difficult for Russian troops to conduct military operations there in the spring of 1769...

In this connection, the story itself about the first year of the war in full will be presented to the reader in the next part...

(end of part 5)