''A Journey Beyond the Three Seas'' (russian: Хожение за три моря, ''Khozheniye za tri morya'') is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

literary monument in the form of travel notes, made by a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

from

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russian ...

Afanasiy Nikitin Afanasy Nikitin (russian: Афана́сий Ники́тин; died 1472) was a Russian merchant from Tver and one of the first Europeans (after Niccolò de' Conti) to travel to and document his visit to India. He described his trip in a narrative ...

during his journey to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1466–1472. ''A Journey Beyond the Three Seas'' was the first Russian literary work to depict a strictly

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

, non-

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

trip. Prior texts were pilgrimage texts, which depicted travel to holy sites and were more standardized, dry and conventional. The author visited the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, India and the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. However, most of the notes are dedicated to India, its political structure,

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

s and ceremonies. The work is full of lyrical

digression Digression (''parékbasis'' in Greek, ''egressio'', ''digressio'' and ''excursion'' in Latin) is a section of a composition or speech that marks a temporary shift of subject; the digression ends when the writer or speaker returns to the main topic. ...

s and autobiographic passages. There is a strong individual, authorial presence. Its last page is in Turkic and broken

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

; these are, in fact, typical Muslim prayers, indicating that Nikitin might have converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

while he was in India, although his lapse from Christianity bothered him as he mentions several times in the text.For a translation of Nikitin's account, see Richard H. Major, ed. "The Travels of Athanasius Nikitin," tr. Mikhail M. Wielhorsky. In India ''in the Fifteenth Century''. Hakluyt Society, ser. 1. volume 22. (London: Hakluyt Society, 1857). On the other hand Nikitin consistently prays to

Blessed Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

Theotokos ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

, Christian Orthodox

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

, tries to observe Christian rites, and so on. The author did not make his way back to his native land; he died on the trip home. In 1475, the

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

made its way to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

into the hands of a government official by the name of Vasili Mamyrev. Later on, it was incorporated into the annalistic code of 1489, the

Sofia Second Chronicle The Sofia Second Chronicle is a Russian chronicle from the 16th century. It is found in two redactions: The Archival redaction, from the first quarter of the 16th century and now in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents (RGADA) (Fond 181, ...

and the

Lvov Chronicle The Lviv Chronicle ( uk, Львівський літопис) is a Ruthenian chronicle from the early seventeenth century Halychyna. This chronicle reflects the events in Kievan Rus from year 1498 to 1649, revealing valuable information about th ...

References

External links

Full text of ''A Journey Beyond Three Seas''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Journey Beyond the Three Seas, A 1470s books Medieval literature Indian travel books East Slavic manuscripts East Slavic literature Cyrillic manuscripts 15th-century manuscripts

References

Further reading

External links