The Tatars ()
[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different
Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar".
Initially, the ethnonym ''Tatar'' possibly referred to the
Tatar confederation. That confederation was eventually incorporated into the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
when
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
unified the various steppe tribes.
Historically, the term ''Tatars'' (or ''
Tartars'') was
applied to anyone originating from the vast
Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
n landmass then known as
Tartary
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
, a term which was also conflated with the Mongol Empire itself. More recently, however, the term has come to refer more narrowly to related ethnic groups who refer to themselves as ''Tatars'' or who speak languages that are commonly referred to as ''Tatar''.
The largest group amongst the Tatars by far are the
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
, native to the
Volga-Ural region (
Tatarstan and
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
), who for this reason are often also known as "Tatars" in Russian. They compose 53% of the population in Tatarstan. Their language is known as the
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 ...
. , there were an estimated 5.3 million ethnic Tatars in Russia.
Many noble families in the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...
and
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. ...
had Tatar origins.
Etymology
''Tatar'' became a name for populations of the former
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 ...
in Europe, such as those of the former
Kazan
Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...
,
Crimean
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 ...
,
Astrakhan,
Qasim Qasim, Qasem or Casim may refer to:
* Qasim (name), a given name of Arabic origin and the name of several people
* Port Qasim, port in Karachi, Pakistan
* ''Kasım'' and ''Casim'', respectively the Ottoman Turkish and Romanian names for General To ...
, and
Siberian
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
Khanates. The form ''Tartar'' has its origins in either
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
or
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, coming to Western European languages from
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
and the
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
(, "mounted messenger"). From the beginning, the extra ''r'' was present in the Western forms and according to the
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
this was most likely due to an association with ''
Tartarus''.
The Persian word is first recorded in the 13th century in reference to the hordes of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
and is of unknown origin, according to ''
OED
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' "said to be" ultimately from ''tata''. The
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 ...
word for Tatars is . Tatars themselves wrote their name as or .
''Tatar'' is usually used to refer to the people, but ''Tartar'' has since come to refer to derived terms such as
tartar sauce,
steak tartare, and the
Tartar missile
The General Dynamics RIM-24 Tartar was a medium-range naval surface-to-air missile (SAM), and was among the earliest surface-to-air missiles to equip United States Navy ships. The Tartar was the third of the so-called "3 T's", the three primar ...
.
["Tartar, Tatar, n.2 (a.)"](_blank)
(1989). In ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Retrieved 11 September 2008, from Oxford English Dictionary Online.
All Turkic peoples living within the Russian Empire were named ''Tatar'' (as a Russian
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
). Some of these populations still use ''Tatar'' as a self-designation, others do not.
* Kipchak groups
** Kipchak–Bulgar branch or "
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different " in the narrow sense
***
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
****
Astrakhan Tatars
Astrakhan Tatars ( tt-Latn, Əsterxan tatarları, Əsterhan tatarlary, Ashtarkhan tatarları) are an Ethnic group, ethnic subgroup of the Volga Tatar.
In the 15th to 17th-centuries, the Astrakhan Tatars inhabited the Astrakhan Khanate (1459–15 ...
***
Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...
** Kipchak–Cuman branch
***
Crimean Tatars
****
Dobrujan Tatars
***
Karachays and
Balkars: ''Mountain Tatars''
***
Kumyks: ''Daghestan Tatars''
***
Crimean Karaites: ''Crimean Karaite Tatars / Karaite Tatars''
***
Krymchaks: ''Crimean Krymchak Tatars / Krymchak Tatars''
** Kipchak–Nogai branch:
***
Nogais: ''Nogai Tatars''
***
Siberian Tatars
Siberian Tatars ( sty, , ), the ethnographic and ethnoterritorial group of Tatars of Western Siberia, the indigenous Turkic-speaking population of the forests and steppes of Western Siberia, originate in areas stretching from somewhat east of ...
*
Siberian
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
branch:
**
Altaians: ''Altai Tatars'', including the
Tubalar
The Tubalars are an ethnic subgroup of the Altaians native to the Altai Republic in Russia.
According to the 2010 census, there were 1,965 Tubalars in Russia. In 2002 they were listed by the authorities within the indigenous small-numbered people ...
or ''Chernevo Tatars''
**
Chulyms or ''Chulym Tatars''
**
Khakas
The Khakas (also spelled Khakass; Khakas: , ''khakas'', , ''tadar'', , ''khakastar'', , ''tadarlar'') are a Turkic indigenous people of Siberia, who live in the republic of Khakassia, Russia. They speak the Khakas language.
The Khakhassian p ...
: ''
Yenisei
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat language, Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan language, Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas language, K ...
Tatars'' (also ''Abakan Tatars'' or ''Achin Tatars''), still use the ''Tatar'' designation
**
Shors
Shors or Shorians ( Shor: , ''shor-kizhi'', , ''tadar-kizhi'', , ''shor'', , ''tadar'', , ''shor-kizhiler'', , ''tadar-kizhiler'', , ''shorlar'', , ''tadarlar'') are a Turkic ethnic group native to Kemerovo Oblast of Russia. Their self design ...
: ''
Kuznetsk
Kuznetsk (russian: Кузне́цк) is a town in Penza Oblast, Russia, located in the foothills of the Volga Upland, mainly on the left bank of the Truyov River. Population:
Administrative and municipal status
Within Russia's framework of a ...
Tatars''
* Oghuz branch
**
Azerbaijanis
Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most numer ...
: ''Caucasus Tatars'' (also ''Transcaucasia Tatars'' or ''Azerbaijan Tatars'')
The name ''Tatar'' is also an endonym to a number of peoples of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
and
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...
, namely the
Khakas people.
Languages
11th century
Kara-khanid
The Kara-Khanid Khanate (; ), also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids (), was a Turkic peoples, Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia in the 9th through the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakha ...
scholar
Mahmud al-Kashgari
Mahmud ibn Husayn ibn Muhammed al-Kashgari, ''Maḥmūd ibnu 'l-Ḥusayn ibn Muḥammad al-Kāšġarī'', , tr, Kaşgarlı Mahmûd, ug, مەھمۇد قەشقىرى, ''Mehmud Qeshqiri'' / Мәһмуд Қәшқири uz, Mahmud Qashg'ariy / М ...
noted that the historical Tatars were bilingual, speaking other Turkic languages besides their own language.
The modern
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 ...
, together with the
Bashkir language
Bashkir (, ; Bashkir: ''Bashqortsa'', ''Bashqort tele'', ) is a Turkic language belonging to the Kipchak branch. It is co-official with Russian in Bashkortostan. It is spoken by approximately 1.4 million native speakers in Russia, as well as i ...
, forms the Kypchak-Bolgar (also "Uralo-Caspian") group within the
Kipchak languages
The Kipchak languages (also known as the Kypchak, Qypchaq, Qypshaq or the Northwestern Turkic languages) are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family spoken by approximately 28 million people in much of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, spannin ...
(also known as Northwestern Turkic).
There are two Tatar dialects—Central and Western. The
Western dialect (Misher) is spoken mostly by
Mishärs, the Central dialect is spoken by Kazan and
Astrakhan Tatars
Astrakhan Tatars ( tt-Latn, Əsterxan tatarları, Əsterhan tatarlary, Ashtarkhan tatarları) are an Ethnic group, ethnic subgroup of the Volga Tatar.
In the 15th to 17th-centuries, the Astrakhan Tatars inhabited the Astrakhan Khanate (1459–15 ...
. Both dialects have subdialects. Central Tatar furnishes the base of literary Tatar.
The
Siberian Tatar language
Siberian Tatar language (себертатар теле, көнбатыш себер татарлары теле)) is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken in Western Siberia region of Russia, primarily in the oblasts of Tyumen, Novosibirsk Ob ...
is independent of Volga–Ural Tatar. The dialects are quite remote from Standard Tatar and from each other, often preventing
mutual comprehension. The claim that Siberian Tatar is part of the modern Tatar language is typically supported by linguists in Kazan and denounced by Siberian Tatars.
Crimean Tatar is the indigenous language of the
Crimean Tatar people
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
. Because of its common name, Crimean ''Tatar'' is sometimes mistakenly seen in Russia as a dialect of
Kazan Tatar
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
. Although these languages are related (as both are Turkic), the Kypchak languages closest to Crimean Tatar are (as mentioned above)
Kumyk and
Karachay-Balkar
Karachay-Balkar (, ), or Mountain Turkic (, ), is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia, European Russia, as well as by an immigrant population in Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey. I ...
, not Kazan Tatar. Still, there exists an opinion (
E. R. Tenishev), according to which the Kazan Tatar language is included in the same Kipchak-Cuman group as Crimean Tatar.
Contemporary groups and nations
The largest Tatar populations are the
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
, native to the
Volga-Ural region, and the
Crimean Tatars of
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 ...
. Smaller groups of
Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...
and
Astrakhan Tatars
Astrakhan Tatars ( tt-Latn, Əsterxan tatarları, Əsterhan tatarlary, Ashtarkhan tatarları) are an Ethnic group, ethnic subgroup of the Volga Tatar.
In the 15th to 17th-centuries, the Astrakhan Tatars inhabited the Astrakhan Khanate (1459–15 ...
live in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and the
Siberian Tatars
Siberian Tatars ( sty, , ), the ethnographic and ethnoterritorial group of Tatars of Western Siberia, the indigenous Turkic-speaking population of the forests and steppes of Western Siberia, originate in areas stretching from somewhat east of ...
in Asia.
Volga Tatars
The
Volga Bulgars
Volga Bulgaria or Volga–Kama Bulgaria, was a historic Bulgars, Bulgar state that existed between the 7th and 13th centuries around the confluence of the Volga and Kama River, in what is now European Russia. Volga Bulgaria was a multi-ethnic ...
, who settled on the
Volga
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
river in the 7th century AD and converted to Islam in 922 during the missionary work of
Ahmad ibn Fadlan
Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Rāšid ibn Ḥammād, ( ar, أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد; ) commonly known as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Muslim traveler, famous for his account of his ...
, inhabited the present-day territory of
Tatarstan. After the
Batu Khan invasions of 1223–1236, the Golden Horde annexed Volga Bulgaria. Most of the population survived, and a certain degree of mixing between it and the
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Se ...
of the Horde ensued. The group as a whole accepted the
exonym
An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...
"Tatars" (finally in the end of the 19th century; although the name
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
persisted in some places; the majority identified themselves simply as ''the Muslims'') and the language of the Kipchaks; on the other hand, the invaders eventually converted to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
( 14th century). As the Golden Horde disintegrated in the 15th century, the area became the territory of the
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 ...
, which
Russia ultimately conquered in the 16th century.
Some Volga Tatars speak different dialects of the
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 ...
. Accordingly, they form distinct groups such as the
Mişär
Mishar Tatar or Misher Tatar, also Western Tatar (Мишәр, ''Mişär'', Мишәр Татар, ''Mişär Tatar'', көнбатыш татар, ''könbatış tatar''), is a dialect of Tatar spoken by Mishar Tatars mainly located at Penza, Ulyan ...
group and the Qasim group:
*
Mişär-Tatars
The Mishar Tatars (endonyms: мишәрләр, мишәр татарлары, mişärlär, mişär tatarları) form a subgroup of the Volga Tatars, indigenous to Mordovia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and Chuvashia in the Russian Federation. They ...
(or Mishars) are a group of Tatars speaking a Mishar dialect of the
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 ...
. They live in the
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
,
Tambov,
Penza,
Ryazan and
Nizhegorodskaya oblasts of Russia and in
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
and
Mordovia. They live on the right bank of the
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...
, in Tatarstan.
* The Western Tatars have their capital in the town of Qasím (
Kasimov, ru , Касимов) in
Ryazan Oblast, with a Tatar population of 1100.
A minority of Christianized Volga Tatars are known as
Keräşens
Kryashens ( tt-Cyrl, керәшен(нәр), , russian: кряшены; sometimes called ''Baptised Tatars'' (russian: крещёные тата́ры)) are a sub-group of the Volga Tatars, frequently referred to as one of the minority ethnic grou ...
.
The Volga Tatars used the Turkic
Old Tatar language
The Old Tatar ( imlâ: يسكى تاتار تلى, translit. tt-Cyrl, иске татар теле, translit=İske Tatar Tele, Volga Turki; ba, Урал-Волга буйы төрки теле) was a literary language used by some ethnic grou ...
for their literature between the 15th and 19th centuries. It was written in the
İske imlâ variant of the
Arabic script
The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used writing system in the world by number of countries using it or a script directly derived from it, and the ...
, but actual spelling varied regionally. The older literary language included many Arabic and Persian loanwords. However, the modern literary language (generally written using a
Cyrillic alphabet), often has Russian- and other European-derived words instead.
Outside of Tatarstan, urban Tatars usually speak
Russian as their first language (in cities such as Moscow,
Saint-Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Nizhniy Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
,
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
,
Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
, and in cities of the
Ural region and western Siberia) and other languages in a worldwide diaspora.
In the 1910s the Volga Tatars numbered about half a million in the
Kazan Governorate in
Tatarstan, their historical homeland, about 400,000 in each of the governments of
Ufa, 100,000 in
Samara
Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...
and
Simbirsk
Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population:
The city, founded as Simbirsk (), w ...
, and about 30,000 in
Vyatka,
Saratov
Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...
,
Tambov,
Penza,
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
,
Perm and
Orenburg
Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...
. An additional 15,000 had migrated to
Ryazan or were settled as prisoners in the 16th and 17th centuries in
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 ...
(
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 ...
,
Grodno
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
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 ...
). An additional 2000 resided in
St. Petersburg.
Most Kazan Tatars practise Islam. The Kazan Tatars speak Kazan (normal) tatar language, with a substantial amount of Russian and Arabic loanwords.
Before 1917,
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
was practiced only by the wealthier classes and was a waning institution.
An ethnic nationalist movement among Kazan Tatars that stresses descent from the
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
is known as
Bulgarism
Bulgarism is an ideology aimed at the "revival of Bulgars' national identity" and Volga Bulgaria statehood. It originated in the second half of 19th century within the Wäisi movement and the Society for the study of the native land (Chuvashia) It ...
—graffiti have appeared on the walls in the streets of Kazan with phrases such a
"Bulgaria is alive" (Булгария жива)
Astrakhan Tatars
The Astrakhan Tatars (around 80,000) are a group of Tatars, descendants of the
Astrakhan Khanate's population, who live mostly in
Astrakhan Oblast
Astrakhan Oblast (russian: Астраха́нская о́бласть, ''Astrakhanskaya oblast'', , ''Astrakhan oblysy'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southern Russia. Its administrative center ...
. In the
Russian census of 2010 most Astrakhan Tatars declared themselves simply as "Tatars" and few declared themselves as "Astrakhan Tatars". Many Volga Tatars live in Astrakhan Oblast, and differences between the two groups have been disappearing.
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars are a relatively recent ethnic layer in
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 ...
. They displaced the Greek speaking Byzantines and the remains of the Gothic populations settled there in the 3rd Century AD. Crimean tatars gain a distinct identity during the 13th–17th centuries, They incorporated many invading Turkic people, including the
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
that settled in Crimea in the 10th century and other contributions from the peoples who inhabited Crimea before (Greeks, Scythians, and Goths).
At the beginning of the 13th century, Crimea, where the majority of the population was already composed of a
Turkic people—Cumans, became a part 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 Tatars mostly adopted Islam in the 14th century and thereafter Crimea became one of the centers of Islamic civilization in Eastern Europe. In the same century, trends towards separatism appeared in the Crimean Ulus of the Golden Horde. De facto independence of Crimea from the Golden Horde may be counted since the beginning of princess (khanum)
Canike's, the daughter of the powerful Khan of the Golden Horde
Tokhtamysh and the wife of the founder of the
Nogai Horde Edigey
Edigu (or Edigey) (also İdegäy or Edege Mangit) (1352–1419) was a Mongol Muslim emir of the White Horde who founded a new political entity, which came to be known as the Nogai Horde.
Edigu was from the Crimean Manghud tribe, the son of Balt ...
, reign in the peninsula. During her reign she strongly supported
Hacı Giray in the struggle for the Crimean throne until her death in 1437. Following the death of Сanike, the situation of Hacı Giray in Crimea weakened and he was forced to leave Crimea for Lithuania.
In 1441, an embassy from the representatives of several strongest clans of Crimea, including the Golden Horde clans Shırın and
Barın and the Cumanic clan—Kıpçak, went to 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 ...
to invite Hacı Giray to rule in Crimea. He became the founder of the
Giray dynasty, which ruled until the annexation of the Crimean Khanate by Russia in 1783.
Hacı I Giray was a
Jochid
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 ...
descendant of
Genghis Khan
''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan''
, birth_name = Temüjin
, successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Borjigin
, ...
and of his grandson
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
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 ...
. During the reign of
Meñli I Giray, Hacı's son, the army of the
Great Horde that still existed then invaded Crimea from the north, Crimean Khan won the general battle, overtaking the army of the Horde Khan in Takht-Lia, where he was killed, the Horde ceased to exist, and the Crimean Khan became the
Great Khan and the successor of this state.
Since then, the Crimean Khanate was among the strongest powers in Eastern Europe until the beginning of the 18th century. The Khanate officially operated as a vassal state 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) ...
, with great autonomy after 1580, because of being a Muslim state, the Crimean Khanate just could not be separate from the Ottoman caliphate, and therefore the Crimean khans had to recognize the Ottoman caliph as the supreme ruler, in fact, the viceroy of God on earth. At the same time, the Nogai hordes, not having their own khan, were vassals of the Crimean one,
Muskovy
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
and 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 ...
paid annual tribute to the khan (until
1700
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 19), where then Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 11 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 17 ...
and
1699
Events
January–March
* January 5 – A violent Java earthquake damages the city of Batavia on the Indonesian island of Java, killing at least 28 people
* January 20 – The Parliament of England (under Tory dominance) limits the size ...
respectively). In 1711, when
Peter I of Russia
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
went on a campaign with all his troops (80,000) to gain access to the Black Sea, he was surrounded by the army of the Crimean Khan
Devlet II Giray
Devlet II Giray (1648–1718) was Khan of the Crimean Khanate from 1699 to 1702 and from 1709 to 1713. His eldest son was Selim II Giray.
First Rule (1699–1702)
Selim I Giray, after his retirement in 1699, recommended Devlet II Giray Khan ...
, finding himself in a hopeless situation. And only the betrayal of the Ottoman vizier
Baltacı Mehmet Pasha
Baltacı Mehmet Pasha (also called Pakçemüezzin Baltacı Mehmet Pasha, sometimes known just as Baltacı or Baltadji; 1662, Osmancık – July 1712, Lemnos) was an Ottoman statesman who served as grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire, first from ...
allowed Peter to get out of the encirclement of the Crimean Tatars. When Devlet II Giray protested against the vizier's decision, his response was: "You might know your Tatar affairs. The affairs of the
Sublime Porte are entrusted to me. You do not have the right to interfere in them."
Treaty of the Pruth was signed, and 10 years later, Russia declared itself an empire. In 1736, the Crimean Khan
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 ...
was summoned by the Turkish Sultan
Ahmed III
Ahmed III ( ota, احمد ثالث, ''Aḥmed-i sālis'') was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at H ...
to
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 ...
. Understanding that Russia could take advantage of the lack of troops in Crimea, Qaplan Giray wrote to the Sultan to think twice, but the Sultan was persistent. As it was expected by Qaplan Giray, in
1736 the Russian army invaded Crimea, led by
Münnich Münnich is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich (1683 – 1767), German nobleman and general in the Russian army
* Ferenc Münnich (1886–1967), Hungarian politician
* René Münnich (born 197 ...
, devastated the peninsula, killed civilians and destroyed all major cities, occupied the capital,
Bakhchisaray
Bakhchysarai ( crh, Bağçasaray, italic=yes; russian: Бахчисара́й; ua, Бахчисара́й; tr, Bahçesaray) is a town in Crimea, a territory recognized by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine and annexed by Russia as the Re ...
, and burnt the
Khan's palace with all the archives and documents, and then left Crimea because of the epidemic that had begun in it. One year after the same was done by another Russian general—
Peter Lacy.
[Gayvoronsky, 2007] Since then, the Crimean Khanate had not been able to recover, and its slow decline began. The
Russo-Turkish War of 1768 to 1774 resulted in the defeat of the Ottomans by the Russians, and according to the
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774) signed after the war, Crimea became independent and the Ottomans renounced their political right to protect the Crimean Khanate. After a period of political unrest in Crimea,
Imperial Russia
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...
violated the treaty and
annexed the Crimean Khanate in 1783.
Due to the oppression by the Russian administration, the Crimean Tatars were forced to immigrate to the Ottoman Empire. In total, from 1783 till the beginning of the 20th century, at least 800 thousand Tatars left Crimea. In 1917, the Crimean Tatars, in an effort to recreate their statehood, announced the
Crimean People's Republic—the first democratic republic in the Muslim world, where all peoples were equal in rights. The head of the republic was the young politician
Noman Çelebicihan
Noman Çelebicihan ( crh, نعمان چلبى جهان, ''Numan Çelebicihan''; 1885 – 23 February 1918) was a Crimean Tatar politician, lawyer, mufti of Crimean Muslims, and writer. He was the President of the short-lived independent Crimean ...
. However, a few months later the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
captured Crimea, and Çelebicihan was killed without trial and thrown into the Black Sea. Soon in Crimea, Soviet power was established.
Through the fault of the Soviet government, which exported bread from Crimea to other regions of the country, in
1921–1922, at least 76,000 Crimean Tatars died of starvation, which became a disaster for such a small nation. In 1928, the first wave of repression against the Crimean Tatar
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the in ...
was launched, in particular, the head of the
Crimean ASSR Veli Ibraimov Veli is a male Finnish and Estonian given name, meaning ''brother''.
It is also an Ottoman Turkish name, mainly used by Ottoman affiliated populations as a male given name, meaning ''guardian''. Its original etymology in Arabic meaning a "friend of ...
was executed in a fabricated case. In 1938, the second wave of repression against the Crimean Tatar intelligentsia was started, during which many Crimean Tatar writers, scientists, poets, politicians, teachers were killed (
Asan Sabri Ayvazov,
Usein Bodaninsky
Üsein Abdurefi oğlu Bodaninskiy (russian: Усеи́н Абдрефи́евич Бодани́нский, translit=Usein Abdrefiyevich Bodaninsky; 1 December 1877 – 17 April 1938) was Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar historian, artist, art criti ...
,
Seitdzhelil Hattatov,
Ilyas Tarhan and many others). In May 1944, the USSR State Defense Committee
ordered the total deportation of all the Crimean Tatars from Crimea. The deportees were transported in
cattle trains to Central Asia, primarily to Uzbekistan. During the deportation and in the first years of being in exile, 46% of Crimean Tatars died. In 1956,
Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and Premier of the Soviet Union, chairm ...
exposed
Stalin's cult of personality
Joseph Stalin's cult of personality became a prominent feature of Soviet popular culture in 1929, after a lavish celebration of his purported 50th birthday. For the rest of Stalin's rule, the Soviet press presented Stalin as an all-powerful, ...
and allowed deported peoples to return to their homeland. The exception was the Crimean Tatars. Since then, a powerful national movement of the Crimean Tatars, supported abroad and by
Soviet dissidents
Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union in the period from the mid-1960s until t ...
, began, and in 1989 the
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
was made to condemn the
deportation of Crimean Tatars from their motherland as inhumane and lawless. Crimean Tatars began to return to their homeland. Today, Crimean Tatars constitute approximately 12% of the population of Crimea. There is a
large diaspora in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
, but most (especially in Turkey) of them do not consider themselves Crimean Tatars.
Still, there remains a diaspora in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
, where most of the Tatars keep identifying themselves as Crimean Tatars.
Nowadays, the Crimean Tatars comprise three sub-ethnic groups:
* the
Tats (not to be confused with
Tat people
Tat or TAT may refer to:
Geography
*Tát, a Hungarian village
*Tat Ali, an Ethiopian volcano
People
*Tat, a son and disciple of Hermes Trismegistus
*Tiffani Amber Thiessen, initials T.A.T.
*Tat Wood, a British author
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
, living in the Caucasus region) who used to inhabit the
Crimean Mountains
The Crimean Mountains ( uk, Кримські гори, translit. ''Krymski hory''; russian: Крымские горы, translit. ''Krymskie gory''; crh, Qırım dağları) are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast o ...
before 1944
* the
Yalıboylu who lived on the southern coast of the peninsula
* the
Noğays who used to live in the northern part of the Crimea
Crimean Tatars in Dobruja
Some Crimean Tatars have lived in the territory of today's
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
since the 13th century. In Romania, according to the 2002 census, 24,000 people declared their ethnicity as Tatar, most of them being Crimean Tatars living in
Constanța County in the region of Dobruja. Most of the Crimean Tatars, living in Romania and Bulgaria nowadays, left the Crimean peninsula for Dobruja after the
annexation of Crimea by the Russian Empire.
Dobrujan Tatars have been present in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
since the 13th century. The Tatars first reached the mouths of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
in the mid-13th century at the height of the power 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 ...
. In the 14th and 15th centuries 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) ...
colonized
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
with
Nogais from
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak (Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...
. Between 1593 and 1595 Tatars from Nogai and Budjak were also settled to Dobruja. Toward the end of the 16th century, about 30,000 Nogai Tatars from the
Budjak
Budjak or Budzhak (Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...
were brought to
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
.
[Robert Stănciugel and Liliana Monica Bălaşa, ''Dobrogea în Secolele VII–XIX. Evoluţie istorică'', Bucharest, 2005, p.147] After the
Russian annexation of Crimea in 1783
Crimean Tatars began emigrating to the
Ottoman coastal provinces of
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
(today divided between
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
). Once in Dobruja most settled in the areas surrounding
Mecidiye,
Babadag
Babadag (; tr, Babadağ, "Father Mountain"), formerly known as Babatag, is a town in Tulcea County, Romania, located on a small lake formed by the river Taița, in the densely wooded highlands of Northern Dobruja. One of the several tombs ...
,
Köstence,
Tulça,
Silistre,
Beştepe, or
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
and went on to create villages named in honor of their abandoned homeland such as Şirin, Yayla, Akmecit, Yalta, Kefe or Beybucak. Tatars together with Albanians served as
gendarmes, who were held in high esteem by the Ottomans and received special tax privileges. The Ottomans additionally accorded a certain degree of autonomy for the Tatars who were allowed governance by their own
kaymakam
Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...
, Khan Mirza. The
Giray dynasty (1427–1878) multiplied in Dobruja and maintained their respected position. A Dobrujan Tatar,
Kara Hussein
Kara or KARA may refer to:
Geography Localities
* Kara, Chad, a sub-prefecture
* Kára, Hungary, a village
* Kara, Uttar Pradesh, India, a township
* Kara, Iran, a village in Lorestan Province
* Kara, Republic of Dagestan, a rural locality in Dag ...
, was responsible for the destruction of the
Janissary corps on orders from Sultan Mahmut II.
Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars are a group of
Turkic-speaking Tatars 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 settlers tried to preserve their
shamanistic religion and sought asylum amongst the non-Christian Lithuanians.
Towards the end of the 14th century Grand Duke
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 ...
of Lithuania (ruled 1392–1430) invited another wave of Tatars—Muslims, this time—into the Grand Duchy. 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. T ...
,
Hrodna 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 spread to other parts of the Grand Duchy that later became part of 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 ...
in 1569. 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.
From the 13th to 17th centuries various groups of Tatars settled and/or found refuge within 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 ...
. The Grand Dukes of Lithuania especially promoted the migrations because of the Tatars' reputation as skilled warriors. The Tatar settlers were all granted ''
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 ...
'' (nobility) status, a tradition that survived until the end of the Commonwealth in the late-18th century. Such migrants included the
Lipka Tatars
The Lipka Tatars (Lipka – refers to ''Lithuania'', also known as Lithuanian Tatars; later also – Polish Tatars, Polish-Lithuanian Tatars, ''Lipkowie'', ''Lipcani'', ''Muślimi'', ''Lietuvos totoriai'') are a Turkic ethnic group who origina ...
(13th–14th centuries) as well as Crimean and
Nogay Tatars (15th–16th centuries), all of which were notable in Polish military history, as well as
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
(16th–17th centuries). They all mostly settled in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Various estimates of the Tatars in the Commonwealth in the 17th century place their numbers at about 15,000 persons and 60 villages with mosques. Numerous royal privileges, as well as internal autonomy granted by the monarchs, allowed the Tatars to preserve their religion, traditions, and culture over the centuries. The Tatars were allowed to
intermarry with Christians,a practice uncommon in Europe at the time. The
May Constitution of 1791 gave the Tatars representation in the Polish
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 ...
(parliament).
Although by the 18th century the Tatars had adopted the local language, the Islamic religion and many Tatar traditions (e.g. the sacrifice of bulls in their mosques during the main religious festivals) survived. This led to the formation of a distinctive
Muslim culture, in which the elements of Muslim orthodoxy mixed with religious tolerance formed a relatively liberal society. For instance, the women in Lipka Tatar society traditionally had the same rights and status as men, and could attend non-segregated schools.
About 5,500 Tatars lived within the inter-war boundaries of
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 ...
(1920–1939), and a Tatar cavalry unit had fought for the country's independence. The Tatars had preserved their cultural identity and sustained a number of Tatar organisations, including Tatar archives and a museum 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 ...
.
The Tatars suffered serious losses during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and furthermore, after the
border change in 1945, a large part of them found themselves in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. It is estimated that about 3000 Tatars live in present-day Poland, of which about 500 declared Tatar (rather than Polish) nationality in the 2002 census. There are two Tatar villages (
Bohoniki
Bohoniki ( Polish Arabic: بوـحـونيكي) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sokółka, within Sokółka County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland, close to the border with Belarus. It lies approximately ea ...
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 ...
) in the north-east of present-day Poland, as well as urban Tatar communities in
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, 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 ...
. Tatars in Poland sometimes have a Muslim surname with a Polish ending: ''Ryzwanowicz''; another surname sometimes adopted by more assimilated Tatars is ''Tatara'' or ''Tataranowicz'' or ''Taterczyński'', which literally mean "son of a Tatar".
The Tatars played a relatively prominent role for such a small community in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth military as well as in Polish and Lithuanian political and intellectual life. In modern-day Poland, their presence is also widely known, due in part to their noticeable role in the historical novels of
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 ...
(1846–1916), which are universally recognized in Poland. A number of Polish intellectual figures have also been Tatars, e.g. the prominent historian
Jerzy Łojek.
A small community of Polish-speaking Tatars settled 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
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, in the early-20th century. They established a mosque that remained in use .
Siberian Tatars
The
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
n Tatars occupy three distinct regions:
* a strip running west to east from
Tobolsk
Tobolsk (russian: Тобо́льск) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1590, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and i ...
to
Tomsk
Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...
* the
Altay and its spurs
* South
Yeniseisk
Yeniseysk ( rus, Енисейск, p=jɪnʲɪˈsʲejsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. Population: 20,000 (1970).
History
Yeniseysk was founded in 1619 as a stocka ...
They originated in the agglomerations of various indigenous North Asian groups which, in the region north of the Altay, reached some degree of culture between the 4th and 5th centuries, but were subdued and enslaved by the Mongols.
The
2010 census recorded 6,779 Siberian Tatars in Russia. According to the 2002 census there are 500,000 Tatars in Siberia, but 400,000 of them are
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, татарлар, tatarlar) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are Russia's second-largest ethnicity after t ...
who settled in Siberia during periods of colonization.
Gallery
;Flags
File:Nogai flag.svg, Flag of the Nogai Horde
File:Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg, Flag of the Crimean Tatars
File:Flag of Tatarstan.svg, Flag of Tatarstan
File:Flag of the Kazan Khanate.svg, Flag of the 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 ...
File:COA Crimean Khanate.svg, Flag of the Crimean KhanatePierre Duval: Le monde ou La géographie universelle. (1676)
/ref>
File:Golden Horde flag 1339.svg, 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 ...
flag
File:Tartary flag.jpg, Tartary
Tartary ( la, Tartaria, french: Tartarie, german: Tartarei, russian: Тартария, Tartariya) or Tatary (russian: Татария, Tatariya) was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounde ...
flag
;Pictures
File:Crimean Tatars.jpg, Crimean Tatar men and boys
File:Crimean-tatar-women.jpg, Crimean Tatar women, early 1900s
;Paintings
File:Tatar.jpg, Tatar elder and his horse.
File:Tatar woman XVIII century.jpg, Tatar woman
File:Markov EL Tatar girl 1890.jpg, Crimean Tatar woman
File:Costumes de Differents Pays, 'Femme Tatar Tobolsk' LACMA M.83.190.220.jpg, Tatar woman
File:Fullarton, A. & Co. Caucausus & Crimea. 1872 (T).jpg, Crimean Tatar woman
File:Costumes de Differents Pays, 'Femme Tatar Kastchintz' LACMA M.83.190.226.jpg, Tatar woman
File:Markov EL Tatar shepherd-boy 1972.jpg, Crimean Tatar shepherd-boy
File:Tartares lituaniens en reconnaissance.jpg, Lithuanian Tatars of Napoleonic army
File:Семья крымских татар.jpg, Crimean Tatar family, 1840
File:Крымская татарка.jpg, Crimean Tatar girl from Kapsikhor
File:Tatar de Khourzouk. Grove, Florence Craufurd. Le Caucase. 1899. P.16.png, Daghestani Tatar elder
File:Soyembika.jpg, Tatar family
File:Mercier. Famille Tartare (Asie). Auguste Wahlen. Moeurs, usages et costumes de tous les peuples du monde. 1843.jpg, Tatar family in 1843
File:Карло Боссоли. Татарский танец.jpg, Dance of Crimean Tatars. Crimea, 1856
File:Кримські татари і мулла.jpg, Crimean Tatar family and a mullah
File:Tatarka.jpg, Crimean Tatar princess in 1682
File:Nicolae Tonitza - Micuta tataroaica.jpg, Tatar child ca. 19th century
File:Vasnetsov Tatary Idut.jpg, Tatars' raid on Moscow
File:Recovery of Tartar captives.PNG, Recovery of Tatar captives.
File:Крымскотатарский эскадрон.jpg, Crimean Tatar squadrone of the Russian empire
File:Yeget-1.jpg, Tatar costumes.
File:MarkovEL Akmulla 1872.jpg, Crimean Tatar elder inviting guests.
File:Markov EL Suuksu 1872.jpg, Tatar horsemen
File:Танец крымских татар, 1790-е годы.jpg, Crimean Tatar's national dance
File:Ryszkiewicz Tatars in the vanguard.jpg, Tatars in the vanguard of the Ottoman army
File:Tatar peopleы1862.jpg, Kazan Tatars 1862
;Language
File:Qur'an book made by tartars.JPG, Quran of the Tatars.
Kazan Millennium tamğa.svg, The word '' Qazan'' – قازان is written in Yaña imlâ in the semblance of a Zilant.
Borongi bolgarlar Gaziz cover.jpg, Cover page of Tatar Yana imla
Yana may refer to:
Locations
*Yana, Burma, a village in Hkamti Township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of northwestern Burma
*Yana, India, a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India
* Yana, Nigeria, an administrative ca ...
book, printed with Separated Tatar language in Arabic script in 1924.
Хальфин Азбука татарского языка 1778.pdf, A Tatar alphabet book printed in 1778. Arabic script is used, Cyrillic text is in Russian
Хальфин, Сагит. Азбука татарского языка. — М., 1778. — 52 с.
Nizhny-Novgorod-Mosque-inscription-C0274.jpg, Tatar sign on a madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
in Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
, written in both 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 ...
and Cyrillic Tatar scripts.
See also
*
List of Tatars
Tatars are a Turkic ethnic group numbering 6.7 million in the late 20th century, including all subgroups of Tatars, such as Volga Tatars, Lipka Tatars, Crimean Tatars, and Siberian Tatars. Russia is home to the majority of ethnic Tatars, with ...
*
List of conflicts in Europe during Turco-Mongol rule
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 ...
*
Tatarophobia
Tatarophobia (russian: Татарофобия, Tatarofobiya) refers to the fear of, the hatred towards, demonization of, or prejudice against people who are generally referred to as Tatars, including but not limited to Volga, Siberian, and Crimean ...
*
Tatar name A Tatar personal name, being strongly influenced by Russian tradition, consists of two main elements: isem (given name) and familia (family name) and also patronymic. Given names were traditional for Volga Bulgars for centuries, while family names ...
*
Uhlan
*
Serving Tatars
Serving Tatars ( tt-Cyrl, йомышлы татарлар, translit=Yomışlı Tatarlar; russian: Служилые татары) were a class of ethnically Tatars state servants in Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovy and Russia in 14th–18th centur ...
References
External links
*
The American Turko-Tatar Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatar
Ethnic groups in Azerbaijan
Ethnic groups in Dagestan
Ethnic groups in Kazakhstan
Ethnic groups in Poland
Ethnic groups in Russia
Ethnic groups in Turkey
Ethnic groups in Ukraine
Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan
Muslim communities of Russia
Turkic peoples of Europe
Turkic peoples of Asia
Tatar diaspora