The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a
Turkic ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
who originally settled in the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Li ...
at the beginning of the 14th century. The first Tatar settlers tried to preserve their
shamanistic
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiri ...
religion and sought asylum amongst the
non-Christian Lithuanians.
[Lietuvos totoriai ir jų šventoji knyga - Koranas]
Towards the end of the 14th century, another wave of Tatars – this time,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, were invited into the Grand Duchy by
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...
. These Tatars first settled in
Lithuania proper around
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
,
Trakai
Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...
,
Hrodna
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
and
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
and later spread to other parts of the Grand Duchy that later became part of
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
. These areas comprise parts of present-day
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. From the very beginning of their settlement in Lithuania they were known as the Lipka Tatars. While maintaining their religion, they united their fate with that of the mainly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From the
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...
onwards the Lipka Tatar light cavalry regiments participated in every significant military campaign of Lithuania and Poland.
The Lipka Tatar origins can be traced back to the descendant states of the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
, the
Crimean Khanate
The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...
and
Kazan Khanate
The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...
. They initially served as a noble military caste but later they became urban-dwellers known for their crafts, horses and gardening skills. Throughout centuries they resisted assimilation and kept their traditional lifestyle. While they remained very attached to their religion, over time they lost their original
Tatar language
Tatar ( or ) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken by Volga Tatars, Tatars mainly located in modern Tatarstan (European Russia), as well as Siberia. It should not be confused with Crimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar or Siberian Tat ...
, from the
Kipchak group of the
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...
and for the most part adopted
Belarusian,
Lithuanian and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
.
[Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, "Polish or Lithuanian Tartars", Harvard University Press, pg. 990] There are still small groups of Lipka Tatars living in today's Belarus, Lithuania and Poland, as well as their communities in the United States.
Name
![LT-1997-50litų-Karaims and Tatars-b](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/LT-1997-50lit%C5%B3-Karaims_and_Tatars-b.png)
The name Lipka is derived from the old
Crimean Tatar name of Lithuania
The first known record of the name of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuva) is in a 9 March 1009 story of Saint Bruno recorded in the Quedlinburg Chronicle ( la, Annales Quedlinburgenses). The Chronicle recorded a Latinized form of the Old Church Slavonic wo ...
. The record of the name Lipka in Oriental sources permits us to infer an original Libķa/Lipķa, from which the Polish derivative Lipka was formed, with possible
contamination
Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc.
Types of contamination
W ...
from
contact
Contact may refer to:
Interaction Physical interaction
* Contact (geology), a common geological feature
* Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye
* Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects
* ...
with the Polish ''lipka'' "small lime-tree"; this etymology was suggested by the Tatar author S. Tuhan-Baranowski. A less frequent Polish form, Łubka, is corroborated in Łubka/Łupka, the Crimean Tatar name of the Lipkas up to the end of the 19th century. The Crimean Tatar term ''Lipka Tatarłar'' meaning ''Lithuanian Tatars'', later started to be used by the Polish–Lithuanian Tatars to describe themselves.
In religion and culture the Lipka Tatars differed from most other Islamic communities in respect of the treatment of their women, who always enjoyed a large degree of freedom, even during the years when the Lipkas were in the service of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Co-education of male and female children was the norm, and Lipka women did not wear the veil – except at the marriage ceremony. While traditionally Islamic, the customs and religious practices of the Lipka Tatars also accommodated many Christian elements adopted during their 600 years residence in Belarus, Poland, Ukraine and Lithuania while still maintaining the traditions and superstitions from their nomadic past.
Over time, the lower and middle Lipka Tatar nobles adopted the
Ruthenian language then later the
Belarusian language
Belarusian ( be, беларуская мова, biełaruskaja mova, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language. It is the native language of many Belarusians and one of the two official state languages in Belarus. Additionally, it is spoken in some p ...
as their native language.
[Selim Mirza-Juszeński Chazbijewicz, "Szlachta tatarska w Rzeczypospolitej" (Tartar Nobility in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth), Verbum Nobile no 2 (1993), Sopot, Poland, ] However, they used the
Arabic alphabet to write in
Belarusian until the 1930s. The upper nobility of Lipka Tatars spoke Polish.
Diplomatic correspondence between the Crimean Khanate and Poland from the early 16th century refers to Poland and Lithuania as the "land of the Poles and the Lipkas".
By the 17th century the term Lipka Tatar began to appear in the official documents of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
History
![Lithuanian Tatars of Napoleonic army](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Lithuanian_Tatars_of_Napoleonic_army.JPG)
The migration of Tatars into the lands of Lithuania and Poland from
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
began during the 14th century and lasted until the end of the 17th. There was a subsequent wave of Tatar immigrants from Russia after the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
of 1917, although these consisted mostly of political and national activists.
According to some estimates, by 1590–1591 there were about 200,000 Lipka Tatars living in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
and about 400 mosques serving them. According to the ''Risāle-yi Tatar-i Leh'' (trans: ''Message Concerning the Tatars of Poland'', an account of the Lipka Tatars written for
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...
by an anonymous Polish Muslim during a stay in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
in 1557–1558 on his way to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
) there were 100 Lipka Tatar settlements with mosques in Poland. The largest communities existed in the cities of
Lida
Lida ( be, Лі́да ; russian: Ли́да ; lt, Lyda; lv, Ļida; pl, Lida ; yi, לידע, Lyde) is a city 168 km (104 mi) west of Minsk in western Belarus in Grodno Region.
Etymology
The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuani ...
,
Navahrudak
Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus.
In the Middle A ...
and
Iwye
Iwye ( be, Іўе ; lt, Yvija; russian: Ивье ; pl, Iwje; yi, איוויע ''Ivye'') is a city and former shtetl in Belarus in the Grodno Region, 158 km east of Grodno. It is a station on the railway line between Lida and Maladzyechna ...
. There was a Lipka Tatar settlement in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, known as
Totorių Lukiškės, Tatar quarter in
Trakai
Trakai (; see names section for alternative and historic names) is a historic town and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Because of its proximity to Vilnius, Trakai is a popular tourist destination. ...
and in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, today's capital of Belarus, known as
Tatarskaya Slabada.
In the year 1672, the Tatar subjects rose up in open rebellion against the Commonwealth. This was the widely remembered
Lipka rebellion
The Lipka rebellion was a 1672 mutiny of several cavalry '' chorągwie'' (regiments) of Lipka Tatars, who had been serving in the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth since the 14th century. The immediate cause of the rebellion was over ...
. Thanks to the efforts of King
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
, who was held in great esteem by the Tatar soldiers, many of the Lipkas seeking asylum and service in the
Turkish army
The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...
returned to his command and participated in the struggles with the Ottoman Empire up to the
Treaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...
in 1699, including the
Battle of Vienna (1683) that was to turn the tide of Islamic expansion into Europe and mark the beginning of the end for the Ottoman Empire.
Beginning in the late 18th and throughout the 19th century the Lipkas became successively more and more
polonized
Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя ...
. The upper and middle classes in particular adopted Polish language and customs (although they kept Islam as their religion), while the lower ranks became Ruthenized. At the same time, the Tatars held the Lithuanian Grand Duke
Vytautas
Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...
(Wattad in Tatar, or "defender of Muslims in non Muslim lands"), who encouraged and supported their settlement in the late 14th and early 15th century, in great esteem, including him in many legends, prayers and their folklore.
Throughout the 20th and since the 21st centuries, most Tatars no longer view religious identity as being as important as it once was, and the religious and linguistic subgroups have intermingled considerably; for example, the Tatar women in Poland do not practice veiling (wearing headscarf/hijab) or view it as a mandatory religious obligation, but rather an influence of Arab culture on Islamic customs. Many Polish Tatars, especially and mainly the youth, also drink alcohol.
Timeline
* 1226: The Khanate of the White Horde was established as one of the
successor state
Succession of states is a concept in international relations regarding a successor state that has become a sovereign state over a territory (and populace) that was previously under the sovereignty of another state. The theory has its roots in 19th- ...
s to the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan. The first Khan, Orda was the second son of
Jochi
Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...
, the eldest son of Genghis Khan. The
White Horde
The eldest son of Genghis Khan, (who established the Mongol Empire) Jochi had several sons. When he died, they inherited their father's dominions as fiefs under the rule of their brothers, Batu Khan, as supreme khan and Orda Khan, who, although ...
occupied the southern Siberian
steppe
In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes.
Steppe biomes may include:
* the montane grasslands and shrublands biome
* the temperate grasslands, ...
from the east of the
Urals
The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western ...
and the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...
to
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
.
* 1380: Khan
Tokhtamysh
Tokhtamysh ( kz, Тоқтамыс, tt-Cyrl, Тухтамыш, translit=Tuqtamış, fa, توقتمش),The spelling of Tokhtamysh varies, but the most common spelling is Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamısh, Toqtamysh, ''Toqtamış'', ''Toqtamıs'', ''Toktamy ...
, the hereditary ruler of the White Horde, crossed west over the Urals and merged the White Horde with the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
whose first khan was Batu, the eldest son of Jochi. In 1382 the White and Golden Hordes sacked and burned Moscow. Tokhtamysh, allied with the great central Asian Tatar conqueror Tamerlane, reasserted Mongol power in Russia.
* 1397: After a series of disastrous military campaigns against his former protector, the great Tatar warlord
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, Tokhtamysh and the remnants of his clan were granted asylum and given estates and noble status in Grand Duchy of Lithuania by
Vytautas the Great
Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...
. The settlement of the Lipka Tatars in Lithuania in 1397 is recorded in the Chronicles of
Jan Długosz
Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ...
.
![Jakub Szynkiewicz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Jakub_Szynkiewicz.png)
* 1397: The Italian city state of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
funded a joint expedition by the forces of Khan Tokhtamysh and Grand Duke Vytautas against Tamerlane. This campaign was notable for the fact that the Lipka Tatars and Lithuanian armies were armed with handguns, but no major victories were achieved.
* 15 July 1410: The
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...
took place between the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
*Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exist ...
and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania on one side (c. 39,000 troops), and the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
on the other (c. 27,000 troops). The Teutonic knights were defeated and never recovered their former influence. After the battle, rumours spread across Europe that the Germans had only been defeated thanks to the aid of tens of thousands of heathen Tatars, though it is likely there were no more than 1,000 Tatar
horse archer
A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...
s at the battle, the core being the entourage of
Jalal ad-Din, son of Khan
Tokhtamysh
Tokhtamysh ( kz, Тоқтамыс, tt-Cyrl, Тухтамыш, translit=Tuqtamış, fa, توقتمش),The spelling of Tokhtamysh varies, but the most common spelling is Tokhtamysh. Tokhtamısh, Toqtamysh, ''Toqtamış'', ''Toqtamıs'', ''Toktamy ...
. At the start of the battle,
Jalal ad-Din led the Lipka Tatar and Lithuanian light cavalry on a suicide charge against the Teutonic Knights' artillery positions – the original "
Charge of the Light Brigade". The Teutonic Knights' Grand Master
Ulrich von Jungingen
Ulrich von Jungingen (1360 – 15 July 1410) was the 26th Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, serving from 1407 to 1410. His policy of confrontation with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Pol ...
responded by ordering his own heavy cavalry to pursue the Lipkas away from the field of battle, trampling through their own infantry in the process. The resulting destruction of the Teutonic Knights' line of battle was a major factor in their subsequent defeat. This incident forms one of the highlights of
Aleksander Ford
Aleksander Ford (born Mosze Lifszyc; 24 November 1908 in Kiev, Russian Empire – 4 April 1980 in Naples, Florida, U.S.) was a Polish film director; and head of the Polish People's Army Film Crew in the Soviet Union during World War II. Follow ...
's 1960 film ''Krzyżacy'' (''
Knights of the Teutonic Order''), based on the historical novel
of the same name by Nobel laureate
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...
.
* 1528: The Polish (
szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in the ...
) and
Lithuanian nobility
The Lithuanian nobility or szlachta ( Lithuanian: ''bajorija, šlėkta'') was historically a legally privileged hereditary elite class in the Kingdom of Lithuania and Grand Duchy of Lithuania (including during period of foreign rule 1795–1918 ...
's legal right to retribution on the grounds of the wounding or killing of a nobleman or a member of his family is extended to the Lipka Tatars.
* 1569: The
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
is founded at the
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin ( pl, Unia lubelska; lt, Liublino unija) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the pe ...
. Companies of Lipka Tatar light cavalry for a long time constituted one of the foundations of the military power of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Lithuanian Tatars, from the very beginning of their residence in Lithuania were known as the Lipkas. They united their fate with that of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From the Battle of Grunwald onwards they participated in every significant military campaign.
* 1591: The rule of the fervent Catholic
Sigismund III (1587–1632) and the
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
movement brought a number of restrictions to the liberties granted to non-Catholics in Poland, the Lipkas amongst others. This led to a diplomatic intervention by Sultan
Murad III with the Polish king in 1591 on the question of freedom of religious observance for the Lipkas. This was undertaken at the request of Polish Muslims who had accompanied the Polish King's envoy to
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
.
* 1672: The
Lipka Rebellion
The Lipka rebellion was a 1672 mutiny of several cavalry '' chorągwie'' (regiments) of Lipka Tatars, who had been serving in the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth since the 14th century. The immediate cause of the rebellion was over ...
. As a reaction to restrictions on their religious freedoms and the erosion of their ancient rights and privileges, the Lipka Tatar regiments stationed in the
Podolia
Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
region of south-east Poland abandoned the Commonwealth at the start of the late 17th century
Polish–Ottoman Wars that were to last until the end of the 17th century with the
Treaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...
in 1699. The Lipka Rebellion forms the background to the novel ''
Pan Wolodyjowski'', the final volume of the historical ''
Trylogia'' by
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...
, the
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winning author (1905) who was himself descended from Christianised Lipka Tatars. The 1969 film ''Pan Wolodyjowski'', directed by
Jerzy Hoffman
Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006.
Hoffman is best known for his works in '' The Deluge'' (1974) and ''With Fire a ...
and starring
Daniel Olbrychski
Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is best known for leading roles ...
as Azja Tuhaj-bejowicz, still remains among the biggest box-office successes in the history of Polish cinema.
* 1674: After the famous
Polish victory at Chocim, the Lipka Tatars who held the Podolia for Turkey from the stronghold of Bar were besieged by the armies of
Jan Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobi ...
, and a deal was struck that the Lipkas would return to the Polish side subject to their ancient rights and privileges being restored.
* 1676: The
Treaty of Zurawno that brought a temporary end to the Polish–Ottoman wars stipulated that the Lipka Tatars were to be given a free individual choice of whether they wanted to serve the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
or the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
* 1677: The
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
in March 1677 confirmed all the ancient Tatar rights and privileges. The Lipka Tatars were permitted to rebuild all their old mosques, to settle Christian labour on their estates and to buy up noble estates that had not previously belonged to Tatars. The Lipka Tatars were also freed from all taxation.
* 1679: As a reward for their return to the Commonwealth the Lipka Tatars were settled by King Jan Sobieski on
Crown Estates
The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...
in the provinces of
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
,
Kobryn
Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...
and
Hrodna
Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
. The Tatars received land that had been cleared of the previous occupants, from 0.5 to 7.5 square kilometres per head, according to rank and length of service.
* 1683: Many of the Lipka Tatar rebels who returned to the service of the Commonwealth in 1674 were later to take part in the
Vienna campaign of 1683. This included the 60 Polish Tatars in the light cavalry company of Samuel Mirza Krzeczowski, who was later to save the life of King
Jan III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
during the disastrous first day of the
Battle of Parkany, a few weeks after the great victory of the
Battle of Vienna that was to turn the tide of Islamic expansion into Europe and mark the beginning of the end for the Ottoman Empire. The Lipka Tatars who fought on the Polish side at the Battle of Vienna, on 12 September 1683, wore a sprig of straw in their helmets to distinguish themselves from the Tatars fighting under
Kara Mustafa
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha ( ota, مرزيفونلى قره مصطفى پاشا, tr, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous of Merzifon"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and G ...
on the Turkish side. Lipkas visiting Vienna traditionally wear straw hats to commemorate their ancestors' participation in the breaking of the
Siege of Vienna.
* 1699: Some of the
Kamieniec-based Lipka Tatars who had remained loyal to the Turkish
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
were settled in
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...
along the borderlands between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as in the environs of
Chocim
Khotyn ( uk, Хотин, ; ro, Hotin, ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine and is located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of the ...
and Kamieniec-Podolski and in the town known as
Lipkany. A further large scale emigration of Lipkas to Ottoman controlled lands took place early in the 18th century, after the victory won by King
Augustus II
Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...
over the Polish-born King
Stanisław Leszczyński
Stanisław I Leszczyński (; lt, Stanislovas Leščinskis; french: Stanislas Leszczynski; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at v ...
, whom the Lipkas had supported in his war against the Saxon King.
* 1775: The Polish Lipkas came back into favour during the reign of the last King,
Stanislas Augustus (1765–95). In 1775 the
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
reaffirmed the noble status of the Polish Lithuanian Tatars. After the
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
, the Lipkas played their part in the various national uprisings, and also served alongside the Poles in the
Napoleonic army
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
.
* 1919: The Polish Lipkas joined the newly created
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
formations;
Pułk Jazdy Tatarskiej and later,
13th Regiment of Wilno Uhlans.
* 1939: With the
re-emergence of the Polish state after the First World War, a Polish Tatar regiment was re-established in the
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
which was distinguished by its own uniforms and banners. After the
fall of Poland in 1939, the Polish Tatars in the
Wilno
Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...
(Vilnius) based 13th Cavalry Regiment were one of the last Polish Army units recorded carrying on the fight against the German aggressors while led by Major
Aleksander Jeljaszewicz
Aleksander Jeljaszewicz, known as "Sasza" (22 March 1902 – 18 August 1978)Aleksander Miśkiewicz Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny, 3 - 9 sierpnia 2006 r. nr 31 (wydanie internetowe nr 308) was a Major in the Polish Army. He was the commander of the last ...
.
Present status
![Bandera Tàtars de Belarus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Bandera_T%C3%A0tars_de_Belarus.svg)
Today there are about 10,000–15,000 Lipka Tatars in the former areas of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The majority of descendants of Tatar families in Poland can trace their descent from the nobles of the early Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Lipka Tatars had settlements in north-east Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, south-east
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
and Ukraine. Today most reside in Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus. Most of the Lipka Tatars (80%) assimilated into the ranks of the nobility in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth while some lower noble Tatars assimilated to the
Belarusian,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
and
Lithuanian townsfolk and peasant populations.
A number of the Polish Tatars emigrated to the US at the beginning of the 20th century and settled mostly in the north eastern states, although there is also an enclave in Florida. A small but active community of Lipka Tatars exists in New York City. "
The Islamic Center of Polish Tatars" was built in 1928 in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York City, and functioned until recently.
After the annexation of eastern Poland into the Soviet Union in 1939 and then following World War II, Poland was left with only 2 Tatar villages,
Bohoniki and
Kruszyniany
Kruszyniany ( Polish Arabic: كروـشـنيانِ) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krynki, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus.
The village has a popu ...
. A significant number of the Tatars in the territories annexed by the USSR repatriated to Poland and clustered in cities such as
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
(Maciej Musa Konopacki - patriarch of the Polish Orient),
Białystok
Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area.
Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...
,
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
and
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decemb ...
totaling some 3,000 people. One of the neighborhoods of
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski (; german: Landsberg an der Warthe) often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów, is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the second largest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 120,087 inhabitants (Decemb ...
where relocated Tatar families resettled has come to be referred to as "the Tatar Hills", or in Polish "Górki Tatarskie".
In 1925 the
Muslim Religion Association ( pl, Muzułmański Związek Religijny) was formed in Białystok, Poland. In 1992, the
Organization of Tatars of the Polish Republic
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived fro ...
( pl, Związek Tatarów Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) with autonomous branches in Białystok and Gdańsk, began operating.
In Poland, the 2011 census showed 1,916 people declaring Tatar ethnicity.
In November 2010, a monument to Poland's Tatar populace was unveiled in the port city of
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
at a ceremony attended by President
Bronislaw Komorowski, as well as
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different representatives from across Poland and abroad. The monument is a symbol of the important role of Tatars in
Polish history
The history of Poland spans over a thousand years, from medieval tribes, Christianization and monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political l ...
. "Tatars shed their blood in all national independence uprisings. Their blood seeped into the foundations of the reborn Polish Republic," President Komorowski said at the unveiling. The monument is the first of its kind to be erected in Europe.
Famous Lipka Tatar descendants
*
Gasan (Hasan) Konopackiy –
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 ...
,
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
ian and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
military and political leader
*
Aleksander Jeljaszewicz
Aleksander Jeljaszewicz, known as "Sasza" (22 March 1902 – 18 August 1978)Aleksander Miśkiewicz Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny, 3 - 9 sierpnia 2006 r. nr 31 (wydanie internetowe nr 308) was a Major in the Polish Army. He was the commander of the last ...
– Major of the Polish Army; commander of the last Tatar/Islamic unit in the Polish military
*
Ibrahim Kanapacki – Belarusian socio-political, cultural and religious figure, historian
*
Tomasz Miśkiewicz
Tomasz Miśkiewicz (born 9 July 1977) is the Polish mufti of the ''Muzułmański Związek Religijny'' (Muslim Religious Union).
Biography
Tomasz was born in Białystok in 1977 but was raised in Suchowola. From 1991 to 1993, Tomasz studied Arab ...
– Polish mufti
*
Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski
Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski (27 May 1876 – 3 January 1945) was a Polish writer, explorer, university professor, and anticommunist political activist. He is known for his books about Lenin and the Russian Civil War in which he participated.
...
- Polish writer and political activist
*
Aleksander Romanowicz
Aleksander Romanowicz was a general of cavalry in both Russian Imperial Army and Polish Army. Born on 1 April 1871, on his family estate Olekszyszki (near Lida), in 1890 he graduated from the Russian Army Cadet Corps in Polotsk, then entered the ...
– General of cavalry in
Russian Imperial Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
and
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...
*
Aleksander Sulkiewicz
Iskander Mirza Huzman Beg Sulkiewicz (8 December 1867 – 18 September 1916), known as Aleksander Sulkiewicz, was a Polish people, Polish politician of Lipka Tatars, Lipka Tatar ethnicity who campaigned for Polish independence and co-founded the Po ...
– Polish politician of, activist in socialist and independence movements and one of the co-founders of
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland.
It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...
*
Charles Bronson – American Hollywood actor (father Lipka Tatar)
*
Elena Glinskaya
Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya (russian: Елена Васильевна Глинская; 1510 – 4 April 1538) was the Grand Princess consort of Russia, as the second wife of Grand Prince Vasili III and de facto regent of Russia for 5 consecutiv ...
– Russian regent
*
Fatma Mukhtarova
Fatma Sattarovna Mukhtarova ( az, Fatma Muxtarova, russian: Фатьма Мухтарова; 26 March 1893 or 1898Грачева Л Годы и люди: б. очерков Саратов, 1988. Вып. 3. С. 164-174. – 19 October 1972) was ...
– Soviet opera singer (mother Lipka Tatar)
*
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, especi ...
– Polish
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
-winning novelist (paternally of distant Lipka Tatar ancestry)
*
Kevin Simm
Kevin Ian Simm (born 5 September 1980) is an English pop singer. He won ''The Voice UK'' on 9 April 2016. Simm was in the group Liberty X from 2001 until their split in 2007, and is currently the lead singer of the group Wet Wet Wet.
Early lif ...
– Russian singer
*
Maciej Sulkiewicz
Maciej (Suleyman bey) Sulkiewicz ( be, Мацей Аляксандравіч Сулькевіч, translit=Maciej Aliaksandravič Sulkievič, az, Süleyman bəy Sulkeviç, russian: Матвей (Магомет) Сулькевич, translit=Matvey ...
–
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
of the
Russian Imperial Army
The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...
,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
of the
Crimean Regional Government
Crimean Regional Government (russian: Крымское краевое правительство ''Krymskoe kraevoe pravitel'stvo'') refers to two successive short-lived regimes in the Crimean Peninsula during 1918 and 1919.
History
Following Ru ...
, and
Chief of General Staff of Azerbaijani Armed Forces
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Silahlı Qüvvələri Baş Qərargahı) is the military staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. It is the central organ of the Armed Forces Administration ...
in 1918–1920
*
Mikhail Tugan-Baranovsky
Mikhail Tugan-Baranovsky (russian: Михаил Иванович Туган-Барановский, uk, Михайло Іванович Туган-Барановський, romanized: ''Mykhailo Ivanovych Tuhan-Baranovskyi'') was a Ukrainian eco ...
– Ukrainian statesman, economical scientist of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(paternally of partial Lipka Tatar ancestry)
*
Osman Achmatowicz
Osman Achmatowicz (April 16, 1899 – December 4, 1988) was a Polish professor of chemistry of Lipka Tatars, Lipka Tatar descent. His son, Osman Achmatowicz Jr., (also a chemist) is credited with the Achmatowicz reaction in 1971.
Biography
Profes ...
– chemist
*
Mustafa Edige Kirimal
Mustafa Edige Kirimal (birth name ''Edige Szynkiewicz''; 1911 in Bakhchysarai – 22 April 1980 in Munich) was a Crimean-born Lipka-Tatar politician.
Kirimal is best known for his meticulous research and publications on the history of Crimean ...
– politician in Crimea
*
Jakub Szynkiewicz – Polish mufti
*
Halina Konopacka
Halina Konopacka (Leonarda Kazimiera Konopacka-Matuszewska-Szczerbińska) (26 February 1900 – 28 January 1989) was a Polish athlete. She won the discus throw event at the 1928 Summer Olympics, defeating American silver medal winner Lillian C ...
- Polish Olympian
Two distantly related members of the
Abakanowicz family
*
Bruno Abakanowicz
Bruno Abdank-Abakanowicz (6 October 1852 – 29 August 1900) was a Polish mathematician, inventor, and electrical engineer.
Life
Abakanowicz was born in 1852 in the Russian Empire (now Lithuania). After graduating from the Riga Technical Univ ...
– mathematician, inventor and electrical engineer (distant paternal Lipka Tatar ancestry)
[Por. S. Dziadulewicz, ''Herbarz rodzin tatarskich'', Wilno 1929, s. 365.]
*
Magdalena Abakanowicz
Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska (20 June 1930 – 20 April 2017) was a Polish sculptor and fiber artist. She was known for her use of textiles as a sculptural medium and her outdoor installations. She is widely regarded as one of Poland ...
– Polish artist whose family is of distant Tatar origin (distant paternal Lipka Tatar ancestry)
Lipka Tatar mosques
File:Iǔje, miačet (8.08.2010).jpg, Tatar mosque in the town Iwye
Iwye ( be, Іўе ; lt, Yvija; russian: Ивье ; pl, Iwje; yi, איוויע ''Ivye'') is a city and former shtetl in Belarus in the Grodno Region, 158 km east of Grodno. It is a station on the railway line between Lida and Maladzyechna ...
, Belarus
File:Navahrudak Mosque.JPG, Tatar mosque in the city Navahrudak
Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus.
In the Middle A ...
, Belarus
File:Nemėžis, mečetė 1.JPG, Tatar mosque in Nemėžis
Nemėžis is a village in the Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania, it is located only about east of Vilnius. It is located south-east of Vilnius along a railway.
History
It is believed that there was a castle in Nemėžis during the reig ...
, Lithuania
File:Keturiasdesimt Totoriu mecete.JPG, Mosque in Keturiasdešimt Totorių
Keturiasdešimt Totorių (literally: ''Forty Tatars'', tt-Cyrl, Кырык Татар, ''Kyryk Tatar'') is a village in Vilnius District Municipality, Pagiriai Eldership, Lithuania. According to the 2011 census, it had population of 451. There ...
, Lithuania
File:2019. Mečetė, Kaunas.JPG, Mosque, built in Kaunas in 1930, quincentennial year of Vytautas the Great
Vytautas (c. 135027 October 1430), also known as Vytautas the Great ( Lithuanian: ', be, Вітаўт, ''Vitaŭt'', pl, Witold Kiejstutowicz, ''Witold Aleksander'' or ''Witold Wielki'' Ruthenian: ''Vitovt'', Latin: ''Alexander Vitoldus'', O ...
passing
File:Bohoniki - Mosque 05.jpg, Mosque in Bohoniki, Poland
File:Meczet_w_Kruszynianach_front_side.jpg, Mosque in Kruszyniany
Kruszyniany ( Polish Arabic: كروـشـنيانِ) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Krynki, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus.
The village has a popu ...
, Poland
Tatar graves at Powązki cemetery in Warsaw
File:Muzułmański Cmentarz Tatarski w Warszawie 2017b.jpg,
File:Muzułmański Cmentarz Tatarski w Warszawie 2017a.jpg
File:Cmentarz tatarski 2014.10 02.jpg
See also
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Lipka rebellion
The Lipka rebellion was a 1672 mutiny of several cavalry '' chorągwie'' (regiments) of Lipka Tatars, who had been serving in the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth since the 14th century. The immediate cause of the rebellion was over ...
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Powers Street Mosque
The Powers Street Mosque in Brooklyn, New York City is one of the oldest mosques in the United States. It was founded by a small group of Lipka Tatars, originating from the Białystok region of Poland. This was the first Muslim organization in Ne ...
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Tatar invasions
This article lists conflicts in Europe during the invasions of and subsequent occupations by the Mongol Empire and its successor states. The Mongol invasion of Europe took place in the 13th century. This resulted in the occupation of much of Easter ...
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List of Polish wars
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Uhlan
Uhlans (; ; ; ; ) were a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. While first appearing in the cavalry of Lithuania and then Poland, Uhlans were quickly adopted by the mounted forces of other countries, including France, Russia, Pr ...
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Aleksander Sulkiewicz
Iskander Mirza Huzman Beg Sulkiewicz (8 December 1867 – 18 September 1916), known as Aleksander Sulkiewicz, was a Polish people, Polish politician of Lipka Tatars, Lipka Tatar ethnicity who campaigned for Polish independence and co-founded the Po ...
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Kaliz
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Almış (Almas) iltäbär
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Aleksander Jeljaszewicz
Aleksander Jeljaszewicz, known as "Sasza" (22 March 1902 – 18 August 1978)Aleksander Miśkiewicz Tygodnik Wileńszczyzny, 3 - 9 sierpnia 2006 r. nr 31 (wydanie internetowe nr 308) was a Major in the Polish Army. He was the commander of the last ...
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Belarusian Arabic alphabet
The Belarusian Arabic alphabet ( be, Беларускі арабскі алфавіт, ''Biełaruski arabski ałfavit'') or Arabitsa (, ''Arabica'') was based on the Arabic script and was developed in the 16th century (possibly 15th). It consiste ...
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Lithuanian Tartars of the Imperial Guard
The Lithuanian Tatars of the Imperial Guard (french: Tartares Lituaniens de la Garde Impériale / ) were a light cavalry squadron of Napoleon's Imperial Guard, in the service of the French Army from 1812 to 1814. The Lithuanian Tatars, descendants ...
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Islam in Belarus
A continuous presence of Islam in Belarus began in the 14th century. From this time it was primarily associated with the Lipka Tatars, many of whom settled in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth while continuing their traditions and religi ...
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Islam in Lithuania
Islam in Lithuania, unlike many other northern and western European countries, has a long history starting from 14th century. The medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, stretching from Baltic to Black seas ...
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Islam in Poland
A continuous presence of Islam in Poland began in the 14th century. From this time it was primarily associated with the Lipka Tatars, many of whom settled in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth while continuing their traditions and religious be ...
References
External links
A Short History of the Lipka Tatars of the White HordeJakub Mirza Lipka
Selim Mirza-Juszenski Chazbijewicz - translated into English by Paul de Nowina-Konopka
The Lithuanian Tatarsarticle in
The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire ''The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire'' is a book about the small nations of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and Russia and some other post-Soviet states of today. It was published in Estonian in 1991 and in English in 2001.
T ...
{{European Muslims
Social history of Belarus
Ethnic groups in Belarus
Ethnic groups in Lithuania
Ethnic groups in Poland
Social history of Lithuania
Islam in Belarus
Islam in Poland
Muslim communities in Europe