Khozi Kokos is the name given in

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 ...

sources for an advisor to

Ivan III Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his bl ...

Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...

. Khozi Kokos was a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

, probably a native of

Caffa uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

in Genoese-occupied Gazaria. His name is likely Turkic; "Khozi" may derive from the word for "pilgrim", and "Kokos" may derive from the Turkic "''Kök (or Gök) Koz''", or "Blue-Eyed". The Turkic name suggests that he may have been a Krymchak or Karay;

Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

descent is not out of the question but no sources refer to contemporary surviving Khazar communities. Ivan III concluded and maintained throughout his entire reign a very important alliance with Mengli Girai, Khan of 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 ...

. The services rendered by Kokos to Ivan may partly explain the latter's favorable attitude toward the Jews. The part played by Kokos as the agent of the grand duke is shown by the instruction given by the latter to his emissary, the '' boyar'' Nikita Beklemishev, dated March, 1474.''Sbornik Imp. Russ. Istor. Obschestva,'' xli.8. In this letter Beklemishev is instructed by Ivan to transmit to Kokos his diplomatic credentials to the court of the khan and the regards of the grand duke. Kokos is requested to discontinue the use of the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in his further communications to the grand duke, and to use either

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

instead.

References

Resources

Rosenthal, Herman. "Ivan III., Vassilivich, the Great."
'' Jewish Encyclopedia''. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906; citing: :*''Sbornik Imp. Russ. Istor. Obschestva,'' xli. 8, 12, 40-41, 50, 71, 74, 77, 114, 309; :*''Polnoye Sobraniye Russkikh Lyetopisei,'' vi. 763, 786, 819; :*Karamzim, ''Istor. Gosud. Rosis.'' vi. 154-156, 216, 225, notes 122, 125, 494, 595; :*Solovyev, ''Istor. Rossii,'' vol. v.; :*Platon, ''Kratkaya Tzerkovnaya Rossiskaya Istoriya,'' passim, Moscow, 1833; :* Grätz, ''Gesch.'' (Hebr. ed.), vii. 62; :*P. Pierling, ''La Russie et l'Orient''; :*''Mariage d'un Tsar au Vatican, Ivan III. et Sophie Paléologue,'' Paris, 1891, passim. Russian Jews People of the Grand Duchy of Moscow Diplomats of the Russian Empire {{Russia-diplomat-stub

See also

References

Resources