Astrakhan Khanate

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Astrakhan Khanate

The Astrakhan Khanate ( tatar. Әстерхан ханлыгы / Asterchan chanlygy ) was a feudal state that emerged from the collapse of the Golden Horde . The khanate existed from approx. 1441 to 1554 and had its center at the mouth of the Volga . The capital Xacítarxan (also called Khadjitarkhan or Astrakhan ) was 12 km away from today's Astrakhan .

The territory included the lower course of the Volga, today 's Astrakhan Oblast and the steppe area west of the Volga, known today as Kalmykia , at least as far as the Kuma River . In the west it bordered the khanate of Crimea , in the south on Dagestan , in the northeast on the territory of the allied Nogai people .

history

The area of ​​the khanate was settled by many Turkic peoples in prehistoric times. After the conquest by the Mongols it belonged to their empire. When the Mongol Empire fell apart, the area on the lower Volga went to the Golden Horde . Their capital was also here. When civil wars shook the khanate of the Golden Horde in the middle of the 15th century, Machmud established the khanate of Astrakhan around 1466.

Under his successor Qasim I. the rule could be consolidated. As the region was important for trade between Europe and the Caspian Sea , the khanate soon grew rich. In the following time there were several clashes with the Khanate of Crimea, whose ruler Meñli I. Giray finally destroyed the Golden Horde and then moved through the Khanate of Astrakhan.

In the 1530s, the khanate, along with that of the Crimea and the Nogai Horde, took action against Russia , which was expanding southward. Then there were again conflicts with the Tatar neighbors. 1552 Tsar was Ivan IV. The Khanate of Kazan conquer. Shortly afterwards, pro-Russian layers were able to seize power in Astrakhan. Ivan then sent troops to Astrakhan and in 1554 appointed Khan Darwish Ghali II as a vassal.

When Darwish allied with the Crimean Khanate against Russia, Ivan sent Cossack troops and annexed the Astrakhan Khanate. The capital Xacitarxan was besieged and burned to the ground. Darwish fled to the Azov fortress . The southern part of the khanate was only loosely bound to Moscow, and many Cossacks settled there. The allied Nogaier in the northeast were soon defeated and driven out by the Kalmyks .

Population and society

Most of the khanate's population was originally made up of the Volga-Ural Tatars , 70,000 of whom still live in the region today. There were also many Nogai people living in the state . The Tatars were mainly farmers, but also traders and artisans.

There were various feudal ranks, such as the Khan , the Sultans and the Begum . The state religion was Islam .

List of the Khans of Astrakhan

Astrakhan as namesake

The asteroid (27789) Astrakhan is named after Astrakhan.

Remarks

  1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242753381_Einfuhrung_in_die_Ethnologie_Zentralasiens , p. 66, accessed on October 9, 2019
  2. Astrakhan at the IAU Minor Planet Center (English)