The Girey dynasty ruled the Crimean Khanate for almost 350 years. It revealed to the world many famous personalities, some of whom were outstanding statesmen, while others found their calling in serving science and culture. The last type included the famous art critic and ethnographer Sultan Khan Giray. The biography of this man, as well as the history of the Girey dynasty as a whole, will be the subject of our discussion.
Biography of Khan-Girey
Sultan Khan-Girey was born in 1808 on the territory of modern Adygea. He was the third son of a Crimean Tatar aristocrat who came from the khan's family - Mehmed Khan-Girey. In addition, Circassian blood flowed in the Sultan’s veins. The best qualities of these two peoples are intertwined in him.
After reaching the age of 29, he participated in a number of wars of the Russian Empire, while holding an officer rank and commanding a separate unit. But he did not take part in the Caucasian War, which was tearing apart his homeland at that time, although, of course, this tragic conflict resonated in his heart.
Khan-Girey wrote a number of works on ethnography, folklore and art history of the Circassian people, which gained worldwide fame. Among them are “Notes about Circassia” and “Circassian legends”. He is also the author of a number of works of fiction. But most of his creations were published only after his death. Khan-Girey is also known as the compiler of the Adyghe alphabet.
Since 1841, he carried out active campaigning among the mountaineers (on behalf of the Russian government) with the goal of their reconciliation. However, his attempts ended in vain. Khan-Girey died at the age of 34, in 1842, in his small homeland.
This outstanding man left behind a son - Sultan Murat-Girey, born in the year of his father's death. But the contribution of Sultan Khan-Girey to the development of Adyghe culture and literature is priceless.
According to one version, it is in his honor that the Crimean Tatars want to rename Kherson Khan-Girey.
Let's find out who the ancestors of such an outstanding personality were.
Founding of a dynasty
The founder of the dynasty of rulers of Crimea was Hadji Giray. He came from the Tukatimurid family - one of the branches of the descendants of Genghis Khan. According to another version, the roots of the Girey dynasty came from the Mongolian Kirey family, and they were attributed to the Genghisids later in order to justify their right to power.
Hadji Giray was born around 1397 on the territory of modern Belarus, which at that time belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL).
At that time, the Golden Horde was going through hard times, actually breaking up into several independent states. The power in Crimea, with the support of the Lithuanian prince, managed to capture Hadji Gireya in 1441. Thus, he became the founder of a dynasty that ruled in Crimea for almost 350 years.
At the origins of power
Mengli-Girey is the khan who laid the foundation for the power of the Crimean Khanate. He was the son of Hadji Giray, after whose death (in 1466) a power struggle broke out between the children.
Initially, the eldest son of Hadji-Girey, Nur-Devlet, became the khan. But Mengli-Girey decided to challenge this right. Several times during this internecine struggle, the Crimean Khanate changed its ruler. Moreover, if Nur-Devlet relied on the forces of the Golden Horde and the Ottoman Empire in its claims, Mengli relied on the local Crimean nobility. Later, another brother, Aider, joined the fight. In 1477, the throne was captured by Dzhanibek, who did not belong to the Girey dynasty at all.
Finally, in 1478, Mengli-Girey was able to finally defeat his rivals and establish himself in power. It was he who laid the foundations for the power of the Crimean Khanate. True, in the course of the struggle with other contenders, he had to recognize his state from the Ottoman Empire and give the south of Crimea, which his allies, the Genoese, colonized, to the direct control of the Turks.
The Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey entered into an alliance with the Moscow state against the Great Horde (heir to the Golden Horde) and Lithuania. In 1482, his troops ravaged Kyiv, which at that time belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Under him, the Crimean Tatars carried out massive predatory raids on the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as part of compliance with the treaty with Moscow. In 1502, Mengli-Girey finally destroyed the Great Horde.
Mengli-Girey died in 1515.
Further strengthening of the khan's power
The state was further strengthened by Mehmed-Girey, the khan who ruled after the death of Mengli-Girey and was his son. Unlike his father, from his youth he prepared to become a ruler, receiving the title - kalga, which corresponded to the title of crown prince. Mehmed-Girey led many campaigns and raids organized by Mengli-Girey.
By the time of his accession to the throne, he already held in his hands all the threads of government, so that his brothers’ attempts to rebel were doomed to failure.
In 1519, the Crimean Khanate strengthened significantly, as part of the Nogai Horde moved to its territory. This was caused by the fact that the Nogais were defeated by the Kazakhs, and they had to ask for asylum from Mehmed-Girey.
Under Mehmed, there was a change in the foreign policy course of the Crimean Khanate. After the Great Horde was defeated by his father, the need for an alliance with the Principality of Moscow disappeared, so Mehmed Giray Khan entered into an alliance with Lithuania against Rus'. It was under him that in 1521 the first major campaign of the Crimean Tatars against the Moscow Principality was organized.
Mehmed-Girey managed to place his brother Sahib-Girey on the throne of the Kazan Khanate, thereby extending his influence to the Middle Volga region. In 1522 he captured the Astrakhan Khanate. Thus, Mehmed-Girey actually managed to subjugate a significant part of the former Golden Horde.
But while in Astrakhan, the khan was so intoxicated with his power that he disbanded the army, which was taken advantage of by ill-wishers who organized a conspiracy against Mehmed-Girey and killed him in 1523.
The pinnacle of power
In the period from 1523 to 1551, the brothers and sons of Mehmed Giray ruled alternately. This time was full of intense struggle within the Crimean Khanate. But in 1551, Devlet-Girey, the son of Mubarek, who, in turn, was the offspring of Mengli-Girey, came to power. It was during his reign that the Crimean Khanate reached the peak of power.
Devlet-Girey is a Crimean Khan who became especially famous for his raids on the Russian state. His campaign of 1571 even culminated in the burning of Moscow.
Devlet-Girey was in power for 26 years and died in 1577.
Weakening of the Khanate
If the son of Devlet-Girey still managed to maintain the prestige of the Crimean Khanate, then under his successors the importance of the Tatar state in the international arena dropped significantly. Mehmed II himself was overthrown by the Turkish Sultan in 1584, and his brother Islyam-Girey was installed in his place. The following Crimean khans were unremarkable rulers, and in the state itself, unrest became a fairly common occurrence.
In 1648, Islyam-Girey III tried to enter the arena of big politics by concluding an alliance with the Zaporozhye Cossacks in the liberation war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But this union soon fell apart, and the hetmanate became subject to the Russian Tsar.
The Last Ruler
The last ruler of the Crimean Khanate was Khan Shagin-Girey. Even during the reign of his predecessor Devlet-Girey IV, in 1774, the Crimean Khanate gained independence from the Ottoman Empire and recognized the protectorate of Russia. This was one of the conditions of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace, which ended the next Russian-Turkish war.
The Crimean Khan Shagin-Girey came to power in 1777 as a protege of Russia. He was enthroned instead of the pro-Turkish Devlet-Girey IV. However, even supported by Russian weapons, he did not sit firmly on the throne. This is evidenced by the fact that in 1782 he was removed from the throne by his brother Bakhadyr-Girey, who came to power on the wave of a popular uprising. With the help of Russian troops, Shagin-Girey managed to regain the throne, but his further reign became a fiction, since he no longer had real power.
In 1783 this fiction was eliminated. Shagin-Girey signed the abdication of the throne, and the Crimean Khanate was annexed to the Russian Empire. Thus ended the period of Gireyev’s rule in Crimea. The only evidence of Shagin’s reign can now be the coins of Khan Giray, the image of which can be seen above.
After his abdication, Shagin-Girey first lived in Russia, but then moved to Turkey, where in 1787 he was executed by order of the Sultan.
Girey after losing power
Sultan Khan-Girey is not the only representative of the family who became widely known after the loss of the dynasty’s power over the Crimea. His brothers were famous - Sultan Adil-Girey and Sultan Sagat-Girey, who became famous in the military field for the benefit of the Russian Empire.
Khan-Girey's cousin Sultan Davlet-Girey became the founder of the Adyghe theater. The latter’s brother, Sutan Krym-Girey, was the chairman of the cavalry division committee. Both were killed in 1918 by the Bolsheviks.
Currently, the title of Crimean Khan is nominally claimed by Jezzar Pamir-Girey, who lives in London.
The significance of the Girey family in world history
The Gireyev family left a noticeable mark on the history of Crimea, and world history in general. The existence of the Crimean Khanate, a state that at one time played one of the leading roles in Eastern Europe, is almost inextricably linked with the name of this dynasty.
Gireev is also remembered by the current generation of Crimean Tatars, associating this family with glorious times in the history of the people. No wonder they came up with the initiative to rename Kherson Khan-Girey.
In Russian history, in addition to the heroic pages that we remember with pleasure, there are many frankly shameful ones that bashfully hide in the depths of textbooks and reference books.
Khan, who committed mischief on the Izyumsky Way
In the history of government Tsar Ivan the Terrible, generally controversial, stands out in 1571, in which the ruler of Russia, despite his nickname, could not avoid the greatest humiliation, which largely influenced his subsequent policies.
After the collapse of the Golden Horde, several state formations existed around the emerging Russian state, remaining after the fall of the Tatar-Mongol empire.
Almost all of them were in hostile relations with the Russian state and carried out regular raids on Russian border territories, robbing, killing and capturing civilians. Such raids contributed to the widespread development of the slave trade in the khanates formed on the ruins of the Golden Horde.
With the strengthening of the Russian state, Russian monarchs began to solve the problem of restless neighbors. Under Tsar Ivan the Terrible, the Kazan and Astrakhan Khanates were annexed to Russia.
The icon “Blessed is the army of the Heavenly King,” painted in memory of the Kazan campaign of 1552. Source: wikipedia.org
Another serious opponent of Russia was the Crimean Khanate, the head of which in 1551 was appointed Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Khan Devlet-Girey.
Devlet-Girey was an irreconcilable opponent of Rus', and after the fall of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates he actively sought to restore their independence.
The confrontation between Russia and the Crimean Khanate will last for many years and will take place with varying degrees of success. The legendary words from the film “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession” about the Crimean Khan, who commits outrages on the Izyum Highway, are pure truth.
In the first period of his reign, Ivan the Terrible, who took Kazan and Astrakhan, quite successfully repelled Devlet-Girey’s attempts to ruin the Russian lands.
War and internal strife
The situation changed radically after Russia entered the Livonian War, the purpose of which was to secure access to the Baltic Sea for our state. The war, which was initially successful for the Russians, eventually resulted in a protracted conflict that ended in failure for Russia.
Devlet-Girey, taking advantage of the distraction of the main Russian military forces in the western direction, began to carry out devastating raids on southern Russian lands almost every year.
The internal Russian conflict did not allow one to cope with this threat - Ivan the Terrible, who sought to strengthen the autocracy, encountered resistance from the Boyar Duma, which sought to limit the powers of the monarch.
Ivan the Terrible began to directly interpret failures in the Livonian War as evidence of internal treason.
Ivan the Terrible at the wedding of Simeon Bekbulatovich (miniature from the Front Chronicle). Photo: wikipedia.org
To combat the boyar opposition, the institution of oprichnina was introduced - the tsar himself took under his personal control a number of lands, on which a special royal army was formed to fight the traitors. An army was formed from young nobles, who were opposed to the noble boyars. At the same time, all other lands of the state that were not included in the oprichnina were called “zemshchina” and even received their own king - the Tatar prince appointed by Ivan the Terrible Simeon Bekbulatovich.
The oprichnina army led by the tsar launched terror against the opponents of Ivan the Terrible, both imaginary and real. In 1570, at the peak of the oprichnina, Novgorod was destroyed, accused of trying to go over to the side of the enemy.
During this period, the creators and leaders of the oprichnina themselves fell under the flywheel of repression. At the same time, the fighting qualities of the oprichnina army, accustomed not to war, but to punitive actions, were extremely low, which will clearly manifest itself in 1571.
Russian disaster
In the spring of 1571, the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey, having gathered a large army, numbering, according to various estimates, from 40 to 120 thousand Crimean Horde and Nogais, set out on a campaign against Rus'.
A year before Prince Vorotynsky assessed the state of the guard service on the southern borders of Rus' as extremely unsatisfactory. However, the initiated reforms did not manage to change the situation.
The main forces of the Russian army continued to fight in the Livonian War, and no more than 6,000 warriors tried to prevent Devlet-Girey’s army. The Crimean Tatars successfully crossed the Ugra, bypassed the Russian fortifications on the Oka River and struck the flank of the Russian army.
The warriors, unable to withstand the blow, retreated in panic, opening the way to Moscow for Devlet-Girey. Ivan the Terrible himself, having learned that the enemy was already several miles from his headquarters, was forced to flee to the north.
It is known that initially Devlet-Girey did not set the task of advancing to Moscow, however, having learned about the weakness of the Russian army and the weakening of Rus' as a whole due to several lean years, the Livonian War and the oprichnina, he decided to take advantage of the favorable situation.
By May 23, Devlet-Girey’s army approached Moscow. All that the few Russian troops managed to do was take up defensive positions on the outskirts of Moscow. Ivan the Terrible was not in the capital.
All Saints Bridge and the Kremlin at the end of the 17th century. Painting by Apollinary Vasnetsov Photo: Public Domain
The only safe place was the Kremlin, which the Crimean Tatars could not take without heavy guns. However, Devlet-Girey did not even try to storm the fortress, on May 24 he began plundering the unprotected part of the settlement, where traders, artisans and refugees were located, flocking from the cities through which the Crimean army had previously passed.
The Tatars actually robbed and set fire to estates with impunity. A strong wind scattered the fire throughout the city, resulting in a fire that engulfed the whole of Moscow. Explosions occurred in cellars in the city, collapsing part of the fortress walls. The fire penetrated the Kremlin, iron rods burst in the Faceted Chamber, and the Oprichnina Courtyard and the Tsar's palace were completely burned down, where even the bells melted.
The wounded commander-in-chief of the Russian troops burned in the basement of a Kremlin house Prince Belsky.
Triumph of Devlet-Girey
Survivors of this nightmare wrote that crowds of people rushed in panic to the city gates farthest from the Tatars, trying to escape. Some suffocated in the smoke, others burned in the fire, others were crushed to death in a mad stampede, others, fleeing the fire, threw themselves into the Moscow River and drowned, so that soon it was literally filled with the corpses of the unfortunate.
After three hours of fire, Moscow was practically burned to the ground. The next day, Devlet-Girey went back with the booty and captives, destroying Kashira along the way and ravaging the Ryazan lands. The defeated Russian army was unable to pursue him.
Contemporaries wrote that just cleaning up the corpses of Muscovites and refugees who died in the capital on May 24, 1571 took two months. The city being restored had to be populated by people who were resettled from other cities.
Assessing the damage from the invasion is extremely difficult. According to foreigners, by 1520 at least 100,000 people lived in Moscow, and as of 1580 this number was no more than 30 thousand.
Up to 80 thousand inhabitants of Rus' became victims of the Crimean invasion, and up to 150 thousand were taken captive. A number of historians consider these figures to be overestimated, however, the losses were colossal.
Shocked and humiliated, Ivan the Terrible was ready to transfer the Kazan Khanate to Devlet-Girey, but refused to return the independence of Kazan. At the same time, disappointed in the guardsmen, Ivan the Terrible began to curtail the policy of mass repression. Soon even the mention of the word “oprichnina” was prohibited.
The incredible success, however, stunned not only Ivan the Terrible, but also Devlet-Girey. Having received the nickname “Took the Throne” after a military campaign, he declared his intention not only to take possession of Astrakhan, but also to subjugate the entire Russian state.
Counter attack
Foundation stone in memory of the victory in the Battle of Molodi in 1572. Photo: wikipedia.org
In 1572, fulfilling his plans, Devlet-Girey moved to Rus' with a 120,000-strong Crimean-Ottoman army. Having overcome small Russian outposts on the Oka River, he rushed to Moscow.
However, this time the Russians were ready to meet a dangerous enemy. In the Battle of Molodi, which lasted from July 29 to August 2, 1572, the Russian army under the command of the governor Mikhail Vorotynsky, Dmitry Khvorostinin And Ivan Sheremetyev defeated the forces of Devlet-Girey.
The Russians, having fewer forces, proved themselves to be much more skilled warriors than the Crimean Tatars, who clearly overestimated their strength after the raid of 1571.
The defeat was complete - those who fled from the battlefield drowned in the Oka, pursued by the Russian cavalry. Among the dead were many Crimean nobility, including the Khan's son, grandson and son-in-law. Many of Devlet-Girey’s associates were captured.
In fact, the Crimean Khanate lost its male combat-ready population. Devlet-Girey no longer carried out raids on Rus', and his successors limited themselves only to forays of small detachments into the border territories.
The Russian shame of 1571 was avenged, but will never be forgotten.
Having drunk to the fullest extent of cosmopolitanism and liberal-subject disbelief in their own strengths, suppressing, just in case, all attempts to pronounce, read, write, publish the word “Russian”, the political elite came to the need, no, ran into the need to resuscitate such an archaic, such an uncomfortable and rough, such a dangerous and unpredictable social trend as patriotism.
But, since the word “ideology” has been completely erased from state legal circulation, the actions and volitional decisions of the top are not correlated with the concept of “ideology,” just as it is impossible to correlate the philosophical dispute “Which comes first: the chicken or the egg” with a bluish chicken carcass on a market counter .
And since the scientific and ideological approach to solving the problem of strengthening patriotic sentiments in society is not available to the elite, a wide variety of, sometimes exotic, ways of raising the patriotic spirit are used. For example, the creation of the Ministry of Patriotism. Well, maybe not ministries, but certainly the departmental structure “Rospatriotism”.
Actually, this method of solving almost any Russian problem has ceased to be exotic. Somehow he has become so familiar that it does not cause bewilderment among most Russians. The authorities, it seems, do not know any other ways to solve pressing government problems other than creating another budget-absorbing state structure.
However, since the Ministry of Stupidity has already been created, it needs to be occupied with something. So that at least a little justifies the investment of budget funds. The Soviet game “Zarnitsa” is good, but it makes sense when it makes sense, that is, it is filled with meaning and content. Otherwise, it will certainly turn into a scout movement, but this is no longer patriotism, but another round of liberal servility and loyal love for a foreign homeland and culture.
So I propose to occupy the Russian state agency “Rospatriotism”, and with it the “young, unfamiliar tribe”, with the important and necessary task of clearing the rubble of our native history, restoring its true face, real facts and historical justice, true exploits and glory, forgotten and deliberately hidden heroes. And this is where the truly Russian patriotic game “Zarnitsa” can find a new life and a new, lively and interesting development.
And to spark interest, I’ll tell you about a small episode of our native history, which, at the whim of several generations of the elite, remains known only to a small circle of specialists and lovers of Russian history.
The year was 1572. For several years in a row, the Russian land has been torn by plague and famine. The plague was brought from Europe by “Aglitsky” trading people, but Russia, with its bathhouses and habit of cleanliness, quite successfully resisted it. But four consecutive lean years of famine took their toll - the plague wiped out almost three-quarters of the population. Almost everyone seemed to have died out. The Tatars drove young women and children into slavery, and killed everyone else. The south of the country was so deserted that, according to a contemporary, a Jewish money changer and slave buyer sitting on Perekop, observing the endless lines of captives, asked in amazement: “Are there still people left in that country?”
Those who still had the strength and means to move, by the spring of 1571, were drawn closer to Moscow, hoping to find bread, shelter and protection there from the endless raids of the Crimean Tatars, who were insolent before their eyes. But in May 1571, the Crimean Khan with 40 thousand troops, taking advantage of the betrayal of the boyars and the conspiracy with Poland, approached Moscow and did not take it by storm, but set it on fire. Sovereign Ivan IV Vasilyevich (not Grozny, he became Terrible no earlier than the 18th century) barely managed to carry off his legs and the remains of the treasury to Novgorod.
Moscow burned completely, tens of thousands of people died in the fire. There was no one left to protect her. On the way back, the Tatar army massacred 36 Russian cities, destroyed hundreds of thousands of Russian people, drove tens of thousands into captivity, where Jewish resellers sold them into slavery in Istanbul.
It seemed that nothing could save Rus' from dismemberment and ruin. It seemed as if the state no longer existed. The sovereign was forced to enter into humiliating negotiations with the Crimean Khan and promise him the Astrakhan Khanate in exchange for a respite from the raids. However, Khan Devlet I Giray no longer wanted the Astrakhan or Kazan Khanates; he boldly and boastfully wrote to the king that he was now only interested in his head and his throne. To top it off, the khan sent the king a dagger so that “Ivan would stab himself.”
In the summer of 1572, the khan again gathered an army of 120 thousand mounted warriors - Tatars and Nogais, 33 thousand Turks with artillery and 7 thousand Turkish Janissaries. The Khan was so confident of an easy and quick victory that even before the start of the campaign he gave away Russian lands and cities to his relatives, in-laws and close Murzas.
For the defense of Moscow, which had not yet been restored after last year’s fire, Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich was able to gather the oprichnina and zemstvo troops numbering just over 20 thousand people, which in itself was a miracle. Exact lists of those who stood up under the command of Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Vorotynsky to defend the capital in the summer of 1572, numbering 20,034 people, and an unknown number of those who arrived from the Don to help the Cossacks of Mikhail Cherkashin (from two to three thousand people) have been preserved.
All this “border” army, armed with cannons and arquebuses, and the zemstvo with pitchforks, scythes and axes, stood on the Oka River in the area of Kolomna and Serpukhov, 50 versts from Moscow. %20(1).jpg)
On July 27, the Crimean-Turkish army approached the Oka and began crossing it in two places - near the village of Drakino (upstream of Serpukhov) and at the confluence of the Lopasni River into the Oka, at Senka Ford.
Here the enemy’s road was blocked by a detachment of 200 “children of the boyars” under the command of Ivan Shuisky. They were attacked by a 20,000-strong vanguard of the Crimean-Turkish army under the command of Murza Teberdei Bey. The enemies outnumbered the defenders of the crossing a hundredfold, despite this, none of the Russians ran. The waters of the Oka turned red from the spilled blood.
All 200 young warriors, the flower and hope of the Russian boyars, laid down their heads in battle at the crossing, holding back the onslaught of the enemy; many enemies fell under their blows.
The surviving remnant of Teberdey-Murza's detachment reached the Pakhra River (not far from modern Podolsk) and stood in anticipation of the main forces, cutting off all roads leading to Moscow. He was no longer capable of more, being pretty battered in the battle at Senka Ford.
In the battle near Drakin, the detachment of commander Divey-Murza defeated the regiment of governor Nikita Odoevsky, thereby opening a direct road to Moscow. Khan rushed to the capital. Prince Vorotynsky did not wait for the enemy to burn the city; he withdrew his troops from the coastline and moved in pursuit.
The Crimean army was pretty stretched out. If its advanced units stood on the Pakhra River, then the rearguard was just approaching the village of Molodi (15 kilometers away), where on July 29 it was overtaken by an advanced detachment of Russian troops under the leadership of the young and brave oprichnina governor Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin. A fierce battle broke out, as a result of which the Crimean rearguard was completely defeated.
Having learned about the defeat of his rearguard and fearing an attack from the rear, Khan Devlet Giray was forced to stop his breakthrough to Moscow and deploy his entire army. Khan decided to first defeat Vorotynsky’s army, which became an unexpected obstacle to the Crimean plans. Without its defeat, the Crimean ruler could not achieve his goal of destroying Rus'.
Dmitry Khvorostinin's detachment found himself face to face with the entire Crimean army. But, correctly assessing the situation, the young prince was not at a loss and with an imaginary retreat lured the enemy to the line of defensive structures, the so-called Walk-city, which by that time had already been deployed on the banks of the Rozhai River (now Rozhai), in which there was a large regiment under the command of Vorotynsky himself . A protracted battle began, for which the Tatars were not ready.
For a couple of days, maneuver skirmishes took place in the area from Pakhra to Molodi. In them, Devlet Giray probed Vorotynsky’s positions, fearing the approach of troops from Moscow.
When it became clear that the Russian army had nowhere to wait for help, the khan attacked Gulyai-Gorod on July 31. The assault was repulsed; the Tatars, having suffered significant losses, were forced to retreat. Among others, the adviser to the Crimean Khan, Divey-Murza, was killed.
The next day, August 1, the attacks stopped, but the situation in the besieged camp was critical - many were wounded, supplies and water were almost gone.
On August 2, Devlet Giray again led his army to storm, regardless of losses, he decided to capture Gulyai-city at any cost, but the attack was again repulsed - the Crimean cavalry could not take the fortified position located on the hill. For this it was necessary to have a large number of infantry. And then the Crimean Khan made a decision that was unexpected for the steppe inhabitants - he ordered the cavalry to dismount and attack the Gulyai-city on foot together with the Janissaries. Having waited until the main forces of the Crimeans (including the Janissaries) were drawn into a bloody battle for Gulyai-Gorod, Voivode Vorotynsky quietly led out a large regiment, led it through a ravine and struck in the rear of the Tatar army. At the same time, Khvorostinin’s guardsmen also went on the attack from behind the walls of Gulyai-Gorod. Unable to withstand the double blow, the Crimeans and Turks, who were not used to fighting on foot, ran. Panic turned the formidable warriors into an uncontrollable, frightened herd. The battle turned into a regular massacre. The Russians pursued the remnants of the Tatars to the crossing of the Oka River, where their 5,000-strong rearguard guarding the crossing was completely destroyed.
By nightfall the carnage died down.
The losses among the Tatar army were enormous: all seven thousand Janissaries, most of the Tatar Murzas, as well as the son, grandson and son-in-law of Devlet Giray himself were killed. Many high Crimean dignitaries were captured. The remnants of the army were “accompanied” to the very border, mercilessly destroyed.
Of the 120 thousand army, no more than 10 thousand soldiers reached Crimea...
This is how Khan Devlet I Giray’s campaign against Rus' ended ingloriously.
As for the results of this battle, it was the last major battle between Russia and the Steppe. Crimea, having received a powerful blow at Molodi, was unable to recover from the defeat - the entire combat-ready male population of Crimea was destroyed.
Also, the Ottoman Murzas and Janissaries were almost completely destroyed.
The victory was hard won by the 5,000-strong oprichnina army under the command of Dmitry Khvorostinin. Almost no one was left alive.
In the fall of 1572, the oprichnina was officially abolished - all the oprichnina were killed in that unequal battle in the summer of 1572.
In its historical consequences, scale, and heroism of the victors, the Battle of Molodi is not only not inferior, but also significantly superior to many historical battles known to us, be it the Battle of Kulikovo or Borodino.
However, this battle has fallen out of our memory, and it is not in history books. But we must remember those to whom we owe our lives, what we are. The names of Vorotynsky, Khvorostinin, Shuisky, Cherkashin are not known to almost anyone in our country, except for a narrow circle of specialists. Low bow to you, our ancestors, for this greatest victory of the Russian spirit and Russian weapons!
In 2012, the 440th anniversary of that great battle and that great victory passed unnoticed.
Also in 2012, the Rospatriotism Agency was created.
Tatiana Lukashonok,
Stavropol Territory, Pyatigorsk
Khan Genghisid, who became famous for the burning of Moscow, captured and sold into slavery hundreds of thousands of people from countries neighboring the Crimea
Coins from the reign of Devlet-Girey
History knows almost nothing about Devlet-Girey’s youth. A relative of the Crimean Khan Sahib-Girey lived for a long time in Istanbul at the Sultan’s court. When the Bakhchisarai throne became vacant in 1551, the Sultan sent Chingizid, whom he liked, to the Crimea.
Having established himself in Bakhchisaray, Devlet-Girey immediately declared himself as the worst enemy of the Russian kingdom, as well as other neighbors of the Crimea. Under him, the raiding war acquired a large scale, and the total number of polonyaniks sold in the slave markets of Kafa (now Feodosia) and other cities of Crimea was estimated not in tens, but in hundreds of thousands of people.
Already in the second year of his reign, in the summer of 1552, Devlet-Girey led his 60,000-strong cavalry army on a raid against Rus'. In its ranks were Turkish janissaries and gunners. Moreover, the Crimean Khanate soon became an ally of the opponents of the Moscow state in the Livonian War of 1558–1583.
That summer, on June 21, the Crimean cavalry appeared under the walls of the fortified city of Tula, whose garrison was commanded by Voivode Temkin. After shelling the city with cannons and incendiary shells, the Krymchaks launched an assault on it, which was repulsed. The siege of Tula and the destruction of its surroundings began.
Ivan IV Vasilyevich sent the royal army to the rescue of the besieged. Its advanced regiment (15 thousand horse soldiers) attacked the army of Devlet-Girey, and the Tula garrison went on a sortie. The raiders suffered heavy losses and fled, but their pursuers overtook them 40 kilometers from Tula on the banks of the Shivoron River, where a new battle took place. After this victory, Tsar Ivan the Terrible set off on the Kazan campaign.
Genghisid decided to launch a new big raid on the Moscow borders only in the summer of 1555. His 60,000-strong cavalry army again moved to Tula, but 150 kilometers from it, near the village of Sudbischi, its path was blocked by a regiment of local nobility led by governor I.V. Sheremetev, who was sent by the tsar on a campaign to Perekop at the head of a 13,000-strong army.
Sheremetev missed the khan. Having learned about the movement of the enemy cavalry towards Tula, the governor left 4 thousand warriors to guard the convoy, and he himself, with 9 thousand cavalry, began to pursue the enemy. The two-day battle took place near the village of Sudbischi. The regiment of the wounded Sheremetev had to hold a perimeter defense in a gully (ravine). Khan, having learned about the approach of new Russian forces, broke camp at night and went to the steppe.
Tsar Ivan the Terrible decided to prevent a new enemy raid. In the spring of 1556, a detachment of servicemen led by the governor, clerk M.I., was sent to the lower reaches of the Dnieper. Rzhevsky. His army went down the Dnieper on ships and took the “fortress fort” from Ochakov, which was destroyed.
At the Turkish Dnieper fortress of Islam-Kermen, Russian warriors and Ukrainian Cossacks fought for six days with the mounted army of the Crimean Tatars. The battle ended with the Krymchaks losing the horse herds that had been captured from them. This was the first appearance of the Moscow army in the lower reaches of the Dnieper.
Devlet-Girey did not abandon his thoughts regarding “profits” at the expense of the Moscow kingdom. In the summer of 1569, he and his cavalry became an ally of the Sultan's commander Kasim Pasha in a campaign against Astrakhan. The reason for the campaign was that the Astrakhan Khanate became part of the Russian state.
The Astrakhan campaign of the Turks (20 thousand) and Crimean Tatars (50 thousand) through the southern Trans-Don steppes ended in complete failure. Approaching Astrakhan, which was defended by a small Russian garrison under the command of governor Karpov, the Ottomans did not dare to storm the fortress.
The Sultan's army, having stood near Astrakhan for only ten days, began to retreat to Azov through the steppes of the North Caucasus. From disease, hunger and lack of water, and frequent attacks by the Trans-Kuban Circassians, the Ottomans lost up to 70 percent of their original number. Only 16 thousand people reached the Azov fortress.
The Astrakhan failure greatly shook the khan's dignity of Devlet-Girey. Then Devlet-Girey decided to assert his position of power among his subjects with a successful raid on Russian borders. He managed to carry out his plans with interest: the raid of the Crimean Khan’s cavalry army on Moscow in 1571 turned out to be extremely successful: the city was burned. Rus' has not seen such a terrible raid by steppe inhabitants for a long time.
That year, the khan led (according to various sources) a cavalry army of 100-120 thousand, with a huge mass of riding horses and baggage camels, on a raid. He knew that the southern borders of the Muscovite kingdom were poorly protected: the Livonian War was going on, and the main Russian forces were far from the banks of the Oka and Ugra rivers.
In the spring of 1571, the “shore” was occupied by the 50,000-strong army of governor I.V. Sheremetev, which with separate regiments and outposts occupied the “climbs” across the Oka and Ugra. Tsar Ivan the Terrible, having received news of the beginning of the raid, with a detachment of oprichniki (“oprichnina army”) approached the Oka River and took up a position near Serpukhov.
Khan managed to outwit the enemy: he moved along the so-called Pig Road, away from the positions of the Moscow army, and unhindered “climbed” the Ugra, finding himself in the rear of the regiments of Governor Sheremetev, who were defending the banks of the Oka.
Such an enemy maneuver led to “shakyness” in the commander’s regiments. Tsar Ivan the Terrible and his oprichnina army found themselves cut off from the Serpukhov fortress and retreated to Bronnitsy, and further to the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, which had a fortress fence. Then he “left” for the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery.
The tsarist commanders retreated from the Oka to Moscow. On May 23, they took up defensive positions in the capital's outskirts. An enemy attack was expected along the outskirts of Bolshaya Ordynka Street. Two large cannons were placed here, which amazed foreigners with their size - the Kashpirev Cannon (weight - 19.3 tons) and the "Peacock" (weight - 16.32 tons).
The path for the Khan's cavalry to Moscow was open. On May 24, Devlet-Girey approached the city, but did not dare to storm it. An attempt to break through to the Moscow Kremlin along Bolshaya Ordynka was unsuccessful. The large regiment of the governor Prince Ivan Belsky stationed here repelled the attack of the Khan's cavalry. Street fighting did not bode well for uninvited guests from Crimea.
The Krymchaks “dispersed” to the outskirts and suburbs of Moscow and began their usual robbery and “gathering” of polonyaniks. Devlet-Girey, among other things, ordered to burn all the grain that was not yet threshed.
The capital's settlements were set on fire on the same day, May 24. That is, having failed to take a huge wooden city in a raid, the khan decided to burn the Russian capital, using strong winds and dry weather for such “evil.” Moscow burned out completely within a day. Only the Moscow Kremlin survived the fire thanks to its non-wooden walls. But the cellars containing the “fiery potion,” that is, gunpowder, exploded. The explosions killed many people, and in two places a stone fortress wall collapsed. Many tens of thousands of townspeople and warriors perished in the fiery tornado. Contemporaries testified that on the day of May 24, the Moscow River was dammed with the corpses of people who riskily tried to find salvation in it from the all-consuming fire.
Devlet-Girey with his army, burdened with military booty, left burning Moscow on the same day, May 24. He received news that Russian troops were rushing towards the city from the Livonian border.
On the way back, Devlet-Girey ravaged the Ryazan land, turning it in many places into a depopulated wasteland. South of the Oka, the Krymchaks plundered 36 cities. There is information in history that in the raid of 1571, Devlet-Girey took with him to the Crimea, that is, into slavery, about 150 thousand people, according to other sources - up to 100 thousand. The vast majority of them were sold to the Turks.
The following year, the Crimean-Turkish army of 120 thousand people again moved towards Moscow. However, his path was blocked by a 60,000-strong Russian army under the command of the already glorified commander, Voivode Mikhail Vorotynsky. The parties fought in a multi-day battle near the village of Molodi, 60 kilometers from Moscow (between Podolsk and Stolbovaya).
Khan and his army managed to bypass the Russian field fortress (“walk-city”) that stood in his way and rushed towards Moscow. Then Voivode Vorotynsky removed his regiments from the “bank” of the Oka and hurried in pursuit of the enemy. A regiment of mounted warriors was sent forward under the command of the prince-voevoda Dmitry Khvorostinin. He overtook the enemy near the village of Molodi, boldly attacking the Khan’s cavalry.
The main forces of Vorotynsky, who arrived, blocked the Crimeans and Turks from retreating from Moscow. In the battle that took place, Devlet-Girey’s army was defeated and fled. According to some reports, Khan Genghisid from his 120 thousand army, which was leaving for a second raid on Moscow, brought back only 20 thousand demoralized soldiers back to Crimea.
After this terrible defeat, the Crimean Khanate could not restore its military strength for a long time. Genghisid died in disgrace in 1577, suffering “the shame of the Tur (Sultan)” and his loyal subjects, who had lost such a huge number of relatives and friends.
And he died during the Egyptian campaign of 1516 - 1517. The widow Mubarek Giray successively married the Crimean khans Mehmed Giray and Saadet Giray. In 1530-1532, under his uncle, the Crimean Khan Saadet I Giray, Tsarevich Devlet Giray held the position of kalgi, that is, heir to the khan's throne. In 1532, after the abdication of Saadet Giray and the accession of the new khan Sahib Giray, Devlet Giray was imprisoned, where he spent several years. After his release, Devlet Giray left Crimea for Istanbul, where he gradually gained the favor of the Ottoman Sultan.
In 1551, he appointed Devlet I Giray as the new Crimean Khan instead of his uncle Sahib I Giray. The former khan Sahib I Giray was removed from power and killed by his great-nephew Bulyuk Giray, who acted on the orders of the new khan Devlet Giray. Kalga Sultan Emin Giray (1537-1551), the eldest son and heir of Sahib I, along with his other sons, were also killed. In the same 1551, as a reward, Devlet I appointed Tsarevich Bulyuk Girey as kalga, but then personally killed him. The khan appointed his eldest son Ahmed Giray as the new kalga. In 1555, after the death of Ahmed Giray, another son of the khan, Mehmed Giray, became kalga.
Devlet I Giray pacified and united all the Bey clans of Crimea, and during his reign the country was not shaken by internal unrest. In relations with Suleiman, whose vassal he remained all his life, he very skillfully knew how to take advantage of favorable circumstances and managed to largely ensure his independence. So already during his time he prevented the implementation of the plan conceived by the Turks to connect the Volga and Don with a canal, which threatened to strengthen Turkish influence in the Crimea.
Devlet Giray had significant military forces and is known for his numerous military campaigns, mainly wars with the Moscow state. He sought to restore the independence of the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates, conquered by the Russian Tsar in 1552 and 1556.
In the summer of 1552, Devlet Giray, trying to prevent the conquest of the Kazan Khanate, undertook his first campaign against the Russian state. Turkish Janissaries with cannons took part in the Khan's campaign against Rus'. First, the khan moved along the Izyumsky Way to the Ryazan places, from where he planned to approach Kolomna. However, the khan soon learned that the king himself was standing near Kolomna with a large army, waiting for the Tatars, changed his plan and rushed to Tula. On June 21-22, Devlet Giray with the Tatar horde approached Tula and besieged the city. The defense of the city was led by the Tula governor, Prince Grigory Ivanovich Temkin-Rostovsky. Ivan the Terrible sent Russian regiments (15 thousand people) under the command of princes P. M. Shchenyatev and A. M. Kurbsky to help the Tula garrison. The Crimeans besieged the city and began to fire at it with artillery. On June 23, the Tula garrison, having learned about the approach of the regiments sent by the tsar to help, launched a sortie from the fortress and forced the enemy to retreat. Prince Kambirdei, brother-in-law of Khan Devlet Giray, died in the battle. The Russians captured all Turkish artillery.
In the summer of 1555, the tsar organized a campaign against the Crimean Khanate. A 13,000-strong Russian army under the command of governors I.V. Sheremetev and L.A. Saltykov set out from Belyov on a campaign against the Crimean uluses. Along the way, Moscow governors learned that the Crimean Khan with a large horde of 60 thousand had crossed the river. Northern Donets, intending to attack the Ryazan and Tula places. According to Prince A.M. Kurbsky, under the command of the Crimean Khan there were detachments of Turkish Janissaries and cannons. Russian governors, dividing their forces into two detachments, attacked the Crimean horde. On July 3, 1555, in the battle near the village of Sudbischi (150 km from Tula), the superior forces of the Crimean Khan were defeated by a small Russian army under the command of the boyar Ivan Vasilyevich Sheremetev the Bolshoi. In the battle “at Fate”, the Tatars and Turks suffered heavy losses, among those killed were the khan’s sons, Kalga Akhmed Giray and Hadji Giray. At this time, Tsar Ivan the Terrible himself set out with the main forces of the Russian army in Tula, from where he planned to come to the aid of his vanguard. Fearing the approach of the Russian army, Devlet Giray stopped the battle and went to the steppe uluses.
In 1556, Russian military men and Ukrainian Cossacks made several raids on Turkish and Crimean possessions. The environs of Islam-Kermen, Ochakov and Kerch were devastated, several Crimean detachments were defeated and the “tongues” were captured.
In the spring of 1557, Devlet Giray with a large army besieged and stormed the fortress of the Zaporozhye Cossacks on the Dnieper island of Khortitsa for 24 days. Zaporozhye Cossacks under the command of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Vishnevetsky repulsed all enemy attacks and forced him to retreat.
In January 1558, the Crimean Khan, having learned about the campaign of Russian troops in Livonia, organized a large campaign against the southern Russian lands. A horde of 100 thousand under the leadership of Kalga Mehmed Giray, the eldest son of the khan, crossed the river. Donets, intending to attack Ryazan, Tula and Kashira. Kalga Mehmed Giray reached the Mechi River, where he received information about the gathering of Russian troops on the river. Oka, and retreated back to the steppe. Russian governors pursued the Tatars to the river. Oskol, but could not overtake the enemy. In the summer of the same year, Russian warriors and Zaporozhye Cossacks, led by Prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky, descended the Dnieper on river boats and reached Perekop, destroying both Tatar troops and settlements.
In the summer of 1559, Prince Dmitry Vishnevetsky, together with the Cossacks and Russian soldiers, descended on ships to the lower reaches of the Don, made a new raid deep into the Crimean possessions and defeated the river. Aidar Tatar detachment of 250 people. At the same time, a second Russian detachment under the command of Daniil Adashev descended down the Dnieper and ravaged the western coast of Crimea. The Russians defeated the Tatar detachments sent against them and freed many Russian and Lithuanian prisoners.
In May-July 1562, Devlet Giray undertook a new campaign against the southern Russian lands. The 15,000-strong Tatar army ravaged the outskirts of Mtsensk, Odoev, Novosil, Bolkhov, Chern and Belev.
In the spring of 1563, the Crimean princes, brothers Mehmed Giray and Adil Giray, sons of Devlet Giray, led another raid on the border Moscow possessions. The 10,000-strong Tatar army ravaged the Dedilovsky, Pronsky and Ryazan places.
In October 1564, Devlet Giray undertook a new campaign against the southern Russian possessions. A 60,000-strong Crimean horde led by the khan and his two sons attacked the Ryazan land. The khan himself approached Ryazan and besieged the city, but the Russian garrison repulsed all enemy attacks. The Crimeans greatly ravaged and devastated the Ryazan environs. After staying within the Ryazan borders for six days, the Tatars retreated to the steppes. In the fall of 1565, Devlet Giray with a small Tatar army attacked the southern Russian possessions. On October 9, the khan besieged Bolkhov, but on the same day, when Russian regiments approached, he quickly fled to the steppes at night.
In the summer of 1569, the Ottoman Sultan organized a large Turkish-Tatar campaign against Astrakhan. A 17,000-strong Turkish army under the command of Kasim Pasha set out from Kafa. At Perevoloka, Devlet Giray with a 50,000-strong Tatar army joined the Turks. The Turkish command planned to build a canal between the Don and the Volga, transfer ships with guns to the Volga, then go down to Astrakhan and capture the city. However, the Turks were unable to dig a canal and drag their ships to the Volga. Kasim Pasha returned the ships with artillery back to Azov, and he and the khan set off on a march to the Volga. On September 16, the Turks and Tatars approached Astrakhan, but due to the lack of artillery they did not dare to storm the fortress. The Russian garrison in Astrakhan was reinforced with men and had cannons. Tsar Ivan the Terrible sent a river army to help Astrakhan under the command of Prince P.S. Serebryany. First, Devlet Giray and the horde retreated to the Crimea, and on September 26, Kasim Pasha ordered the Turkish army to begin retreating to the Don. During the retreat, the Turks suffered heavy casualties.
In the spring of 1570, the Crimean Khan organized a new campaign against Russian possessions. The Tatar horde (50-60 thousand people), led by the princes, Kalga Mehmed Giray and Adil Giray, devastated the Ryazan and Kashira places.
In the spring of 1571, Devlet Giray, with the support of the Ottoman Empire and in agreement with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, undertook his famous campaign against Moscow lands, which ended with the burning of Moscow and the destruction of many southern Russian districts. At first, the khan was going to limit himself to a raid on the Kozel region and led his 120,000-strong horde to the upper reaches of the river. Okie. Having crossed the Oka, the Crimeans rushed to Bolkhov and Kozelsk. But on the way, the khan accepted the offer of one of the defectors to go to Moscow. The traitor Kudeyar Tishenkov promised the khan to lead his army through unprotected “climbings” in the upper reaches of the Zhizdra River, where the Russian governors did not expect the Tatars. In mid-May, the 40,000-strong Tatar horde, bypassing the Russian regiments, crossed the river near Przemysl. Zhizdra and moved towards Moscow. The Tsar, fearing for his life, fled from the “shore” past Moscow to Rostov. Russian governors, princes I.D. Belsky, I.F. Mstislavsky and, having learned about the invasion of the Crimean horde, set out from Kolomna to Moscow, trying to get ahead of the khan. On May 23, Russian regiments approached Moscow and settled in the vicinity of the capital, preparing for defense. Soon the governors entered into battle with the advanced Tatar detachments and forced them to retreat. On May 24, the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray himself with his main forces approached the outskirts of Moscow and set up a camp in the village of Kolomenskoye. Khan sent a 20,000-strong army to Moscow, ordering the city's outskirts to be set on fire. In three hours, the Russian capital was almost completely burned out. Only the Kremlin survived, which the khan did not dare to besiege. On May 25, Devlet Giray with the Tatar horde retreated from near the capital to the south in the direction of Kashira and Ryazan, disbanding part of his troops along the way to capture prisoners.
As a result of the Moscow campaign, Devlet I received the nickname “Took the Throne” (Crimean Taht Algan). As a result of the campaign, tens of thousands of Russians were killed, more than 150 thousand were taken into slavery. Devlet Giray sent to the embassy, demanding the transfer of Kazan and Astrakhan to him. Seeing that the situation was critical, the Russian Tsar proposed to transfer the Astrakhan Khanate to Devlet Girey. However, the khan refused, believing that it was now possible to subjugate the entire Russian state.
The following year, 1572, having received the support of the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khan Devlet Giray assembled an army of 120 thousand for a new campaign against Russian lands: 80 thousand Crimeans and Nogais, 33 thousand Turks, 7 thousand Turkish Janissaries. At the end of July, the Crimean horde approached Serpukhov, defeated small Russian outposts and crossed the river. Oku. Along the Serpukhov road, Devlet Giray moved towards Moscow. Russian governors, stationed with regiments in Serpukhov, Tarusa, Kaluga, Kashira and Lopasnya, advanced to Moscow following the Crimean horde, cutting off its path to retreat. July 30 - August 2, 1572 on the Pakhra River, 50 km from Moscow, the Crimean-Ottoman army was destroyed by a 25,000-strong Russian army under the command of the princes and Dmitry Ivanovich Khvorostinin in the Battle of Molodi. In the battles, the Crimeans and Turks suffered huge casualties, the famous Crimean military leader Divey-Murza was captured, and the Nogai Murza Tereberdey died. Among the dead were the sons of the khan, princes Shardan Giray and Khaspulad Giray. On the night of August 3, the Crimean Khan hastily retreated to the south, pursued by Russian troops. To break away from the pursuit, Devlet Giray set up several barriers, which were broken and destroyed by the Russians. Of the huge army that crossed the Russian border in July 1572, 5-10 thousand returned to Crimea. This campaign became the last major military campaign of the Crimean Khanate against the Russian state. Large and repeated invasions of the Crimeans into Russian lands, Devlet Giray's claims in negotiations with Russian ambassadors for the return of Kazan and Astrakhan to the Crimea and the threat to the Volga region had a significant impact on the development of the Livonian War (1558 - 1583) and on its unsuccessful outcome for Russia.
In subsequent years, Devlet Giray did not personally raid Russian possessions. Only his sons, individual Crimean and Nogai Murzas with small forces attacked the Moscow outskirts.
At the end of the khan's life, relations between his eldest sons, Kalga Mehmed Giray and Adil Giray, sharply worsened.
Devlet I Giray died of the plague on June 29, 1577. He was buried in Bakhchisarai. He was succeeded by his eldest son and ruler Mehmed II Giray.