Kuchum Khan (
Siberian Tatar
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 ...
''Köçöm'',
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
: ''Кучум''; died c. 1601) was the last
Khan 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 ...
who ruled from 1563 to 1598.
Kuchum Khan's attempt to spread
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
and his cross-border raids met with vigorous opposition from the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Ivan the Terrible
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584.
Ivan ...
(reigned 1547–1584), who sent a force of
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 confront him head-on (c. 1580). Kuchum is particularly noted for the vigorous resistance he offered to the Russian invaders.
Background
Kuchum was the son of prince Murtaza from the
Shayban dynasty (Şäyban) and a descendant of
Hadji Muhammad. In 1554, he contested the throne of the
Siberia Khanate
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 ...
against the incumbents brothers
Yadegar (Yädegär) and
Bekbulat, who were both
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...
s of
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 ...
. In 1563, Yadegar was defeated and Kuchum assumed the throne. In 1573, Kuchum conducted a raid on
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 ...
. It was this and other minor raids which prompted the Tsar of Russia to support a
Cossack
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 ...
invasion of Siberia.
War with the Muscovy
In 1582, the Siberia Khanate was attacked by the
Cossack
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 ...
ataman
Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; Russian: атаман, uk, отаман) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military comman ...
Yermak
Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossacks, Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During ...
, who
defeated Kuchum's forces and captured the capital
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 ...
. Kuchum retreated into the
steppes
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, ...
, and over the next few years regrouped his forces. He suddenly attacked Yermak on August 6, 1584, in the dead of night, and killed Yermak and most of his army; regaining control of the now ruined Qashliq. Kuchum attempted to unite the rival factions within the khanate nobility but met with resistance. After an unsuccessful attempt on his life by
Qarachi
Qarachi ( tt-Latn, Qaraçı) was the highest level of nobility, noble within Turkic peoples, Turkic khanates of the 14th through 16th centuries, such as Siberia Khanate and Kazan Khanate. The name could be applied to the member of the four extend ...
Sayet khan (Säyet), Kuchum was forced to move his horde to the steppe south of the
Irtysh
The Irtysh ( otk, 𐰼𐱅𐰾:𐰇𐰏𐰕𐰏, Ertis ügüzüg, mn, Эрчис мөрөн, ''Erchis mörön'', "erchleh", "twirl"; russian: Иртыш; kk, Ертіс, Ertis, ; Chinese: 额尔齐斯河, pinyin: ''É'ěrqísī hé'', Xiao'erj ...
river. There he attempted to establish a new khanate, engaging in war against Russian governors.
In 1590 Kuchum raided the Tatars around Tobolsk who were paying
yasak
''Yasak'' or ''yasaq'', sometimes ''iasak'', (russian: ясак; akin to Yassa) is a Turkic word for "tribute" that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
Origin
The origins of yasa ...
to the Russians. In 1591 Koltsov caught Kuchum on the Ishym River and captured two of his wives and his son Abdul-Khair who was later given estates in Russia. In 1594 the fort at
Tara was built in part to control Kuchum who was in the area. In 1595 Kuchum's followers were raided on the upper Irtysh. In 1597 Kuchum asked for negotiations and the Tsar and Abdul-Khair wrote from Russia offering estates in Russia in return for surrender. Before September 1598
Andrey Voyeykov
Andrey Matveyevich Voyeykov () (? – after 1654) was a Russian voyevoda. It is known that he was employed by tsar Feodor I of Russia and sent to Siberia as a military commander of Tara. He became famous for defeating the last Siberian khan ...
caught a large group of his followers at a place called Ub Lake and later caught Kuchum on the Ob River. Kuchum fled, but the Russians killed two of his sons and captured five other sons, eight wives and eight daughters. A Muslim cleric was sent to negotiate. Kuchum replied, describing himself as deaf and blind and without subsistence and said that he had not submitted before and would not submit now. This was his last contact with the Russians. He is believed to have died c. 1605 in
Bukhara
Bukhara (Uzbek language, Uzbek: /, ; tg, Бухоро, ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of 280,187 , and the capital of Bukhara Region.
People have inhabited the region around Bukhara ...
. In 1620 his son Ishim-khan married a daughter of
Kho Orluk
Kho Orluk ( mn, Хо Өрлөг; died 1644) was an Oirat prince and Taish of the Torghut- Oirat tribe. Around 1616, Kho Orluk persuaded the other Torghut princes and lesser nobility to move their tribe en masse westward through southern Siberia a ...
who was then leading his people from Dzugharia to the Volga.
Kuchum is portrayed in numerous Tatar and Russian songs and legends. His descendants remained in
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 ...
, eventually assuming the title of
Sibirsky.
In 1591, Kuchum's son, Abul Khayir was the first of his dynasty to convert to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. His conversion was followed by the conversion of his entire family who eventually assimilated into the Russian nobility. For instance,
although Abul Khayir's son was known as Vasily Abulgairovich, his grandson's name, Roman Vasilyevich, could no longer be distinguished from a native Russian name.
In 1686, the tsar decreed that the dynasties of the ruler of
Imereti
Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 munic ...
a in the Caucasus along with the Tatar princes of Siberia and
Kasimov
Kasimov (russian: Каси́мов; tt-Cyrl, Касыйм;, Ханкирмән,Ханкирмән, Хан-Кермень, means " Khan's fortress" historically Gorodets Meshchyorsky, Novy Nizovoy) is a town in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, located on the ...
were to be into the Genealogical Book of the Russian nobility.
[Michael Khodarkovsky, ''Russia's Steppe Frontier'', Indiana University Press, 2002, ]
M1 Google Print, p. 265
In 1661 a man who was said to be a descendant of Kuchum fought the Russians in Bashkiria. In 1739, during the
Bashkir War, Karasakal was said by some to be a Kuchumid.
[Alton S Donnelly, 'The Russian Conquest of Bashkiria', 1968, pages 23 and 127]
References
{{Authority control
16th-century births
1600s deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain
16th-century monarchs in Asia
History of Siberia
Khans
Khanate of Sibir
Tatar people
Muslim missionaries
Siberian Tatar people