Meñli I. Giray

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Meñli I. Giray with his son Mehmed before the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II.

Meñli I. Giray (also Mengli Girej ; * 1445 ; † 1515 ) was khan of the Crimean khanate in 1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515 and the sixth son of the khanate founder Haci I. Giray .

Life

Accession to the throne and treaty with the Ottoman Sultan

Meñli took the throne in 1466, but was overthrown six months later by his brother Nur Devlet . He came back to power in 1469, which he lost in 1475 as a result of a rebellion by his brothers in league with the local nobility. In the same year, Ottoman troops arrested him in the newly conquered city of Kaffa , and they transferred him directly to Istanbul . He was forced to recognize the Ottoman supremacy over the Crimean Khanate, and in 1478, with Turkish help, he was able to overthrow his brothers again.

The contract between the Sultan and Meñli I. Giray gave the Sultan the right to appoint and depose a khan, but he had to choose from the Genghisid family, specifically the Giray family. The sultan's name should be read before that of the khan in the Chutba . The treaty forbade the Sultan from ever having a Khan or a member of the Giray family executed or from tampering with the family's property. All perks officially requested by the Crimean Khan should be granted. Furthermore, the Khan should wear five, the Sultan six horse tails as standard. Additions gave the Crimean Khan the right to mint coins, his own officials, free trade in the Black Sea, as well as subsidies and freedom of booty in the event of war. They gave the sultan the cities of Kaffa and Mankup, their customs duties and (as the successor to the caliphs ) the right to appoint and dismiss church dignitaries.

Meñli I. Giray contributed a lot to the development of the Crimean Khanate, for example by founding the fortress Özü in the Jedisan .

Take power in the Great Horde

The contract with the Sultan gave Meñli I. Giray back freedom and support against the Golden and Great Horde . In addition, he kept close ties to Ivan III in Moscow . (reg. 1462-1505), of whom he z. B. got cannons. In June 1502 he took the last Khan of the Great Horde, Shaykh Ahmad (r. 1481–1502) by surprise in a rapid attack and then took over a large part of his retinue. He then declared himself a " Haqan " and sought recognition as the "legal successor" of the Golden Horde vis-à-vis Moscow and the turkomong. Khanates on the Volga and the Caspian Sea . Practically all the princes of the houses of Mankit , Barin and Shirin and even nobles from Kazan and Astrakhan submitted themselves to him until 1515 . At the same time, the troop strengths attributed to him increased: if in 1501 he was only able to muster 25,000 men with the greatest effort, in the summer of 1502 he is said to have sent 70,000 men against Poland-Lithuania and in 1509 even 250,000 men against Astrakhan.

The increase in rank did not change the relationship to the Ottoman Empire lastingly. Nevertheless, the Polish king Alexander (r. 1492 / 1501–1506) understood as early as 1504 that Meñli Giray would intervene in the question of succession to the Ottoman throne in favor of his son-in-law Selim at the death of Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512) happened.

Meñli I. Giray died in 1515 and the rule passed to his son Mehmed I. Giray . He found his final resting place in Bakhchysarai .

Remarks

  1. Allegedly an attack by Ahmed Khan in 1476 also played a role, but the exact circumstances are unclear. See Spuler: Goldene Horde, p. 179; Howorth: History of the Mongols, Part 2, p. 455.
  2. See Howorth: History of the Mongols, Part 2, pp. 456 f.
  3. Occasionally the destruction of the capital Sarai is alleged (among others by IB Grekov, Halil Inalcik), but there is no proof of this. See Byzantine Research Vol. XV, p. 369 f.
  4. Meñli Giray requested the Shaykh Ahmad through Ivan III. 1501 granted tribute for himself.