Astrakhan Khanate
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The Khanate of Astrakhan, also referred to as the Xacitarxan Khanate, was a
Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
state that arose during the break-up of the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the
Volga river The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...
, around the modern city of
Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
. Its khans claimed patrilineal descent from Toqa Temür, the thirteenth 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 ...
and grandson of Genghis Khan.
Mahmud bin Küchük Mahmud Astrakhani ( fa, ; tt-Latn, Ästerxannıñ Mäxmüd) was one of Küchük Muhammad's sons and a Khan who founded the Khanate of Astrakhan in the 1460s. Life After years of struggle for the throne of the Great Horde against Akhmat Kha ...
established the Khanate in the 1460s. The capital was the city of
Xacitarxan Hajji Tarkhan or Hajji Tarkhan al Jedid ( tt-Cyrl, Хаҗитархан, translit=Xacitarxan), also known as Hashtar Khan / Astarxan ( tt-Latn, Astarxan) or Astrakhan,in Persian sources: حاجی‌ترخان Haji-Tarkhan; Russian sources: Аст ...
, also known as
Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
in Russian chronicles. Its territory included the Lower
Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...
valley and the
Volga Delta The Volga Delta is the largest river delta in Europe, and occurs where Europe's largest river system, the Volga River, drains into the Caspian Sea in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, north-east of the republic of Kalmykia. The delta is located in the ...
, including most of what is now Astrakhan Oblast and the steppeland on the right bank of Volga in present-day Kalmykia. To the south was 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 the east the
Nogai Horde The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds co ...
, and to the west
Nogais The Nogais ( Nogai: Ногай, , Ногайлар, ) are a Turkic ethnic group who live in the North Caucasus region. Most are found in Northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia and Astrakhan Oblast; some als ...
who were theoretically subjects 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 Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...
.


Before the Khanate

The area was a natural center since it was the intersection of the north–south trade route down the Volga to Persia and the east–west trade route north of the Caspian. From the sixth century it was populated by various Turkic-speaking tribes. They formed two states:
Old Great Bulgaria Old Great Bulgaria or Great Bulgaria (Medieval Greek: Παλαιά Μεγάλη Βουλγαρία, ''Palaiá Megálē Voulgaría''), also often known by the Latin names ''Magna Bulgaria'' and ''Patria Onoguria'' (" Onogur land"), was a 7th- ...
() and the
Khazars The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
(c. 650–969). Following the Mongol conquest the western steppe broke off and became the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
(c. 1240–1502). In the fifteenth century parts of the Horde broke off as follows: 1438:
Khanate of Kazan 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 ...
, 1441:
Khanate of Crimea 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 Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...
, 1466: Astrakhan, 1480:
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. The steppe remnant ended in 1502 and steppe peoples around Astrakhan became the
Nogai Horde The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds co ...
.


Demography and society

Most of the population of the Astrakhan khanate were Astrakhan Tatars and
Nogais The Nogais ( Nogai: Ногай, , Ногайлар, ) are a Turkic ethnic group who live in the North Caucasus region. Most are found in Northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia and Astrakhan Oblast; some als ...
. Merchants carried on a transit trade between
Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 * Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
,
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 an ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and the
Transcaucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...
region. The nobility consisted of feudal ranks, which were, from highest to lowest: the khan, sultans, begs, and morzalar. The rest of the population were known as ''qara xalıq'', ''black people'' (or more accurately in Old Turkic, "great creation" implying 'the creatures at large" or common folks, when "qara" stood for "big" and "great" not just black, and "aq" (white), stood also for delicate, small, dainty etc.), the standard Turkic designation for commoners. The state religion was Sunni Islam. With its conquest by the Russians in 1556, Sunni Islam was largely replaced by Russian Orthodox Christianity, though the region to this day is home to a Sunni Muslim minority. The Kalmyks are largely Buddhist.


History

The Astrakhan khanate is poorly documented. According to Frank "The dates and activities of these rulers are faintly represented in the sources, when they are represented at all." About all we have is an imperfect khan list with uncertain regnal dates and a few military and diplomatic events and traveler's reports. The capital was
Xacitarxan Hajji Tarkhan or Hajji Tarkhan al Jedid ( tt-Cyrl, Хаҗитархан, translit=Xacitarxan), also known as Hashtar Khan / Astarxan ( tt-Latn, Astarxan) or Astrakhan,in Persian sources: حاجی‌ترخان Haji-Tarkhan; Russian sources: Аст ...
, which the Russians called Astrakhan, 12 km north of modern
Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
. After the conquest, the town and name were moved to the present location. The khanate is said to have been founded 1466 but did not become fully separate from the Golden Horde until the Horde's end in 1502. In 1459 the Golden Horde ruler
Küchük Muhammad Küchük Muḥammad or Kīchīk Muḥammad (; 28 June 1391 – 1459) was a Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde from 1433 until his death in 1459. He was the son of Tīmūr Khan, possibly by a daughter of the powerful beglerbeg Edigu. His name, "L ...
died and power was split between his sons
Ahmed Khan bin Küchük Ahmed Khan bin Küchük () was a List of Khans of the Golden Horde, Khan of the Great Horde between 1465 and 1481. Life In 1465, Ahmed Khan seized power in the Horde by rising against his brother Mahmud bin Küchük, who had been its ruler ...
, the man who lost Russia in 1480, and
Mahmud bin Küchük Mahmud Astrakhani ( fa, ; tt-Latn, Ästerxannıñ Mäxmüd) was one of Küchük Muhammad's sons and a Khan who founded the Khanate of Astrakhan in the 1460s. Life After years of struggle for the throne of the Great Horde against Akhmat Kha ...
who was based around Astrakhan. The khanate was founded either by Mahmud or his son
Qasim I Qasim I Khan (died 1500) was a ruler of the Astrakhan Khanate in 1466–1500. He was crowned after the death of his father, Mäxmüd of Astrakhan. Qasim gave refuge to Muhammad Shaybani and his brother Mahmud Sultan, allowing Shaybani to go o ...
. The khans of Astrakhan were all descended from Mahmud or his brother Ahmed. It was visited by Ambrogio Contarini in 1476. Howorth (only) says it was besieged by Ahmed and
Ibak Khan Ibak Khan (died 1495) was a Shaybanid khan of Sibir about whom the sources are contradictory. He is also called Abak, Ivak, Ibaq, Khan of Tyumen, and Said Ibrakhim Khan(?). With the breakup of the Golden Horde the regional powers were the Nogais ...
some time before 1480. The Russian Wikipedia (only) says it was besieged by Ibak's brother and the Nogais in 1492. It was twice briefly occupied by Crimea (
Mehmed I Giray Mehmed I Giray (1465–1523, reigned 1515–1523) was khan of the Crimean Khanate. He was preceded by his father Meñli I Giray (r. 1478–1515) and followed by his son Ğazı I Giray (1523–1524). He gained control of the steppe nomads, put his ...
in 1523 and
Sahib I Giray Sahib I Giray (1501–1551) was Khan of Kazan for three years and Khan of Crimea for nineteen years. His father was the Crimean Khan Meñli I Giray. Sahib was placed on the throne of Kazan by his ambitious brother Mehmed of Crimea and driven ou ...
in 1549). The khanate traditionally had military and diplomatic relations with Crimea, the Nogais and sometimes the Circassians. Diplomatic contact with Moscow began in 1532 or earlier. About this time Moscow was expanding east toward Kazan which it conquered in 1552. It also was gaining the power to exert force down the Volga between Kazan and Astrakhan, something that is not explained in the sources. In 1551,
Yamghurchi of Astrakhan Yamghurchi Khan ( tt-Latn, Yamğurçı xan ) (died 1555) was a ruler of the Astrakhan Khanate since the 1540s. He occupied the throne with the help of the Nogay nobility. In the battle of Xacitarxan in 1554 the Russians defeated him and forced ...
made a nominal submission to Moscow. He soon changed sides and allied with Crimea and the Nogais. Russia sent 30,000 troops against him. In 1554 he fled the town and Russia imposed its client
Dervish Ali Astrakhani Dervish Ali Astrakhani ( fa, درویش علی; russian: Дервиш-Али, translit=Darwish Ghali; tt-Cyrl, Дәрвиш Гали хан, ''Därwiş Ğäli xan''; ?–~1558) was a '' Khan'' of the Astrakhan Khanate from 1554 until the Khanate ...
who soon began intriguing with the Crimeans. Russia sent more troops and occupied Astrakhan in 1556, proceeding to destroy the largest
slave market A slave market is a place where slaves are bought and sold. These markets became a key phenomenon in the history of slavery. Slave markets in the Ottoman Empire In the Ottoman Empire during the mid-14th century, slaves were traded in special ...
on the Volga.Janet Martin, Medieval Russia:980-1584, (Cambridge University Press, 1996), p. 356 In 1558, Astrakhan was moved 12 km south to its present location. In 1569, the Ottomans were unable to capture Astrakhan.


See also

* Astrakhan Tatars * List of Turkic dynasties and countries *
List of Turkic states and empires The following is a list of dynasties, states or empires which are Turkic-speaking, of Turkic origins, or both. There are currently six recognised Turkic sovereign states. Additionally, there are six federal subjects of Russia in which a Turkic l ...
* List of Khans of Astrakhan * List of Sunni Muslim dynasties


References


Sources

*Henry Hoyle Howorth (1880) ''History of the Mongols'', part 2, pp. 349–362. *Allen J. Frank (2009) ''Cambridge History of Inner Asia'', pp. 253–255. {{coord missing, Russia States and territories established in 1466 1556 disestablishments Turkic dynasties Tatar states Turkic rump states