Selyamet II Giray (reigned 1740–1743, lived 1691–1751) was a khan 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 ...
. His four-year reign was relatively uneventful. He was described as honest, gentle, pious and inclined to charity and good works. He was the youngest son of
Selim I Giray and thus the last of the
six brothers who ruled for most of the period 1699–1743. His son
Maqsud Giray became khan in 1767.
During the second reign of his brother
Qaplan I Giray
Qaplan I Giray was three times khan of the Crimean Khanate. He was the son of Selim I Giray and thus one of the six brothers who ruled for most the period from 1699 to 1743. During his first reign he was defeated by the Kabardians. His second r ...
(1713-1715) he was Or-Beg or governor of Perekop. During the first reign of his brother
Meñli II Giray Mengli II Giray (1678–1740) was twice khan of the Crimean Khanate (1724–1730 and 1737–1740). He was a son of khan Selim I Giray and thus one of the six brothers who were khans during most of the period from 1699 to 1742. He was said to be in ...
(1724-1730) he started as nureddin and was promoted to kalga in 1727. During Mengli's second reign (1737-1740) he was kalga. When Mengli died of natural causes in January 1740 he was promoted to khan with the support of the Crimeans and approval of the Turks. He appointed as kalga Azamat Geray, a son of his brother
Ğazı III Giray. As nureddin he appointed Tokhtamysh Giray, a son of his brother and predecessor Mengli Giray.
Just before he came to the throne Russia had invaded Crimea three times. (see
Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739)
The Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739 between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was caused by the Ottoman Empire's war with Persia and continuing raids by the Crimean Tatars. The war also represented Russia's continuing struggle for access to the Blac ...
) Selyamet's first task was to restore 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 ...
and associated mosques which the Russians had burned in 1736. In 1741 he went to Istanbul for consultations. In 1742 he replaced kalga Azamat with the future khan
Selim II Giray
Selim II Giray (reigned 1743–1748, lived 1708–1748) was a khan of the Crimean Khanate. His father was Qaplan I Giray and his son was future khan Qaplan II Giray (1770). He was obedient to and praised by the Turks and kept peace with Russia by ...
, a son of his brother Qaplan. In foreign policy he had plans to resist Russia including a Swedish alliance (
Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743)
The Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743 (also known as The War of the Hats) was instigated by the Hats, a Swedish political party that aspired to regain the territories lost to Russia during the Great Northern War, and by French diplomacy, which soug ...
), but the Ottomans forbad this for fear of another Russian war. In October–November 1743 was dethroned by the Turks because of Russian complaints that he had not released some prisoners. Some writers
[Smirnov Chapter 4, paragraph 5] say that Selim II and his friends in Istanbul had something to do with this.
After various moves he settled near
Yambol
Yambol ( bg, Ямбол ) is a town in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''.
Yambol is the admi ...
. He died there in 1751 and was buried near the local mosque.
Sources and notes
*Henry Hoyle Howorth, History of the Mongols, 1880, Part 2, p 581.
*Smirnov, Krimskoye Khanstvo b XVIII Beke, 1887, Chapter 4 http://www.krimoved-library.ru/books/krimskoe-hanstvo-v-xviii-veke4.html (in Russian)
*Giray-Ilmi: Rose Bush of Khans, compiled by Khalim Giray in 1811, modernized Turkish with many additions by Ablyakim Ilim (before 1947), Russian translation with additions and deletions of obsolete material by Kemal Usenov, 2004. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Krym/XV/Rozovyj_kust_chanov/29.phtml?id=12949. (in Russian)
*Gaivoronsky: Short Biographies of Crimean Khans (in Russian) Гайворонский О
Созвездие Гераев. Краткие биографии крымских ханов.— Симферополь: Доля, 2003. —
{{Khans of Crimea
Crimean Khans