Historical and geographical analysis of the Chronicle of Remmal Khodja “Tarih-i Sahib Giray Khan”

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of the historical work of the famous Ottoman scholar Muhammad Nidai Kaisuni-zade, well known as Remmal Khodja, his work “Tarih-i Sahib Giray Khan”, which was written in the middle of the XVI century. This source, is dedicated to the history of the reign of Khan Sahib Giray (1532–1551), it will be studied here for the purpose of revealing information on the historical geography of the Crimean Khanate and adjacent territories. The beginning of this analysis was published in № 2, 2018 of this journal. In his chronicle Remmal Khodja describes nine military campaigns of Sahib Giray. He describes in details the routes of movement of the Tatar troops, gives the places of crossings and location sites of the troops. Very valuable are the characteristics given by the court historian to the opponents of the khan and descriptions of the terrain on which the fighting was conducted. From the above I mentioned information, it may seem, that Remmal Khodja described the events as if he was its direct witness. In all the military campaigns of Sahib Giray, described by Remmal Khodja, can be traced four directions of those campaigns. To the west – to Moldavia, to the north – to Russia and Lithuania, to the east – to the Astrakhan Khanate, and south-east – to the Caucasus. Of all the directions, the North Caucasus region is described in more detailed way in the source, since Sahib Giray made four campaigns to this territory. The revealed information gives us the chance to clarify the boundaries of the Crimean Khanate, the lands that were in its vassal dependence, the location of sites and fortresses, as well as the areas of residence of some North Caucasian tribes. The only publication of “Tarih-i Sahib Giray Khan” was implemented in 1973 by O. Gökbilgin. The scientist published a Chronicle in the modern Turkish transcription, providing it with a French translation.

Keywords

• crimean khanate
• historical geography
• sahib giray
• remmal khodja