The Battle of Chuvash Cape (November 4, 1582) led to the victory of a Russian expedition under

Yermak Timofeyevich Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During the reign ...

and the fall of

Khanate of Sibir The Khanate of Sibir (also Khanate of Turan, sty, Себер ханлыгы) was a Tatar Khanate located in southwestern Siberia with a Turco-Mongol ruling class. Throughout its history, members of the Shaybanid and Taibugid dynasties often con ...

and the end of Khan

Kuchum Kuchum Khan (Siberian Tatar ''Köçöm'', Russian: ''Кучум''; died c. 1601) was the last Khan of Siberia who ruled from 1563 to 1598. Kuchum Khan's attempt to spread Islam and his cross-border raids met with vigorous opposition from the Ru ...

's power. The battle took place near

Qashliq Qashliq, Isker or Sibir (Siberian Tatar language: ''Qaşlıq'' or ''Iskär'') was a medieval (14th–16th century) Siberian Tatar fortress, in the 16th century the capital of the Khanate of Sibir, located on the right bank of the Irtysh River at it ...

(Isker).

Context

After Kuchum seized power in Sibir, he attacked the nearby lands of

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

. Merchant

Stroganovs The Stroganovs or Strogonovs (russian: link=no, Стро́гановы, Стро́гоновы), French spelling: Stroganoff, were a family of highly successful Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen. From the time of Iva ...

, who explored

Ural Ural may refer to: *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India *Ural Federal District, in Russia *Ural econ ...

deposits, requested the

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

to punish 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 ...

. They equipped 540 men with arms and ammunition; later, 200 men joined the expedition.

Qashliq fortifications

The fortifications of Qashliq before the battle were deteriorating. Because a siege would be fatal for the Tatars, they decided to fight at the river bank, and hide ambushing forces behind the numerous fallen trees in the area. Although Tatar cannons were brought into position, they did not fire during the battle.

Battle

The Cossacks approached the bank, firing at the Siberians; the Siberians answered with arrows. However, Russian fire did not inflict many casualties among the Tatars, who hid among the trees. The Siberians under Mametqul counter-attacked the Cossack expedition. The Cossacks positioned themselves in a square formation, and riflemen in the center opened fire. The

Khanty The Khanty (Khanty: ханти, ''hanti''), also known in older literature as Ostyaks (russian: остяки) are a Ugric indigenous people, living in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a region historically known as "Yugra" in Russia, together ...

and

Mansi Mansi may refer to: People * Mansi people, an indigenous people living in Tyumen Oblast, Russia ** Mansi language * Giovanni Domenico Mansi Gian (Giovanni) Domenico Mansi (16 February 1692 – 27 September 1769) was an Italian prelate, theolog ...

tribesmen who formed part of the Siberian ranks were mostly hunters; they had never participated in battles against soldiers equipped with firearms. Consequently, the tribesmen panicked and retreated. The rest of the Tatars proceeded with the offensive, but the Cossacks continued shooting, killing many Siberians. Mametqul was shot during the battle, and narrowly escaped capture; the Tatars evacuated him by boat. After Mametqul was injured, the rest of the Siberian forces panicked and dispersed. Kuchum fled

, but the Cossacks chose not to pursue him. Instead, they retreated to Atik-town for the night.

Aftermath

After the defeat, Kuchum and some of his subjugates escaped to the Baraba

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

; however, most locals refused to follow him. On October 26, the Cossacks entered Qashliq. The city was depopulated after the battle, although it was briefly repopulated from 1584 to 1586. After the battle, the Khanate of Sibir disintegrated, and most of its territory was annexed by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. The conquest of Siberia is often compared with the

Spanish conquest of the Americas Spain began colonizing the Americas under the Crown of Castile and was spearheaded by the Spanish . The Americas were invaded and incorporated into the Spanish Empire, with the exception of Brazil, British America, and some small regions of ...

. The conflict was provoked by individuals, as many

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

s were, not states. Another notable popular belief is that the Siberians, like Native Americans, did not use fire-arms, leading to a Cossack victory. However, it is disputed.

References

*
Бой на Чувашевом мысу
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Chuvash Cape Khanate of Sibir 16th-century military history of Russia Chuvash Cape Conflicts in 1582 1582 in Russia History of Siberia