Khan Qırım Giray (1717–1769) was one of the most influential rulers of 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 ...

. He was the patron of the Bakhchisaray Fountain and many

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

s throughout

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 ...

, and is also known to have extended the

Bakhchisaray Palace The Khan's Palace ( tr, Han Sarayı) or Hansaray is located in the town of Bakhchysarai, Crimea. It was built in the 16th century and became home to a succession of Crimean Khans. The walled enclosure contains a mosque, a harem, a cemetery, livi ...

Reign

Qırım Giray's first reign lasted (1758–1764), he gathered a large army in

Căușeni Căușeni () is a town and the administrative center of Căușeni District, Moldova. Its population at the 2014 census was 15,939, of which 12,056 Moldovans, 1,119 Romanians, 747 Russians, 545 Ukrainians, 204 Bulgarians, 69 Gagauzians, 12 Gypsi ...

and prepared to invade

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 ...

after some

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

merchants were robbed, some of his forces managed to raid and pillage a few important Polish strongholds. Poland agreed to pay indemnity to him and the conflict ended. Qırım Giray intended to wage war against

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

, who was placed as ruler of Poland by

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

but was halted by 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) ...

and was deposed by his nephew

Selim III Giray Selim III Gerai (Giray) ( Crimean III Selim Geray 1713–1786, ٣ سليم كراى ;) - Crimean khan from the Gerai dynasty (1765–1767, 1770–71), son of Khan Fetih II Giray, grandson of Devlet II Giray. Life Under Arslan Giray Arslan Gi ...

, but regained power after the reign of Maqsud Giray. Qırım Giray's second reign lasted from (1768–1769), he once again gathered a large army in

consisting of

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

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

allies and invaded the Russian held territories in modern-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Bakhchisaray Fountain

left, Fountain of Tears In 1764 Khan Qırım Girai commissioned the fountain master ''Omer the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

'' to construct the Bakhchisaray Fountain. The Bakhchisaray Fountain or ''Fountain of Tears'' is a real case of life imitating art. The fountain is known as the embodiment of love of one of the last Crimean Khans, Khan Qırım Girai for his young wife, and his grief after her early death. The Khan was said to have fallen in love with this

girl in his

harem Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...

named Maria Potoçka. Despite his battle-hardened harshness, he was grievous and wept when she died, astonishing all those who knew him. He commissioned a marble fountain to be made, so that the rock would weep, like him, forever.Johnstone, Sarah. ''Ukraine''. Lonely Planet, 2005. The tradition of building such ''Salsabil fountain'' is well established in

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ar ...

, especially in the cities of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. Salsabil fountains often involved several basins, and sometimes channels that distributed water through basins and pools. Inscribed in gold above the Fountain of Tears is a verse of Surah 76 of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

, which names, among the benefits the righteous will enjoy including a spring, called "Salsabil". According to many Muslim scholars, the word ''Salsabil'' literally means "seek the way". It refers to a particular spring in heaven, and it also contains allusions to such concepts as "nectar," "smooth" and "easy on the throat". The Arabic word ''Sabil'' commonly refers to public fountains built for philanthropic purposes to provide water for wayfarers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qirim Girai 1769 deaths Crimean Khans 18th-century rulers in Europe Year of birth unknown

Reign

Bakhchisaray Fountain

See also

References