The Ottoman Conquest of Caffa (1475), Kilia and Belgorod (1484) in the Chronicle of the Turks written by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, the Spanish Historian

Abstract

Research objectives: To introduce the Russian translation of a little-known Spanish source about the Ottoman conquests of Caffa (1475), and Kilia and Belgorod (1484), into scholarly circulation. Research materials: Spanish sources on the history of the Golden Horde and the Crimea are very few. Therefore, the Chronicle of the Turks is an important and interesting source for this region dating from the late Middle Ages. The present article contains an introductory essay both about the author of the Chronicle of the Turks, Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas, and the features of his work. The next section contains the original Spanish text describing the capture by the Ottomans of Caffa (1475), Kilia and Belgorod (1484); as well as its Russian translation. This effort represents the first translation of the source into Russian and its introduction into scholarly circulation. Results and novelty of the research: The main source for the author on the fall of Caffa, and Kilia and Belgorod, was the work of the Italian chronicler, Giovanni Maria Angiolello, though it was creatively revised by A. Herrera de Tordesillas. The author covers the events in the Crimea on the eve of the Ottoman conquest, relations between the Genoese and Tatars, and the mood of Caffa’s inhabitants. He describes the preparation of the Turkish fleet, the siege of the city and its treacherous surrender to the Turkish military, the deception of the Turks and their atrocities against residents who had been surrendered to the mercy of the victors, their plundering, the separation of families, the enslavement of children, and the deportation of the Italian populace to Istanbul. He mentions the capture of other Italian colonies in Crimea, although without providing details. He further describes the Ottoman capture of the strategically important cities of the northwestern Black Sea Region – Kilia and Belgorod in 1484. Here, the author describes the episodes in a concise form, since, compared with the fall of Caffa, these events had a much lower resonance in Europe. Some features of the text by Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas suggest that he did not provide all the information that he actually had available.