The Crimean Khanate (Khanate of Crimea) was an independent Turkic state (khanate) founded in 1441 by Haci Giray Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan.

Golden Horde

Crimean Khanate succeded the Golden Horde rule in Crimea. See Golden Horde and Crimea#History for details about that period.

Establishment of the Khanate

In 1433, after a civil war, Haci Giray became the governor. In 1437, he defeated an attempt by Genoan colonists to remove him from power. In 1441, with the help of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Haci Ghiray declared the province to be independent as the Crimean Khanate. The khanate included the Crimean peninsula and the lower Dniepr areas.

Ottoman Empire

During the rule of the next khan, Mengli Ghiray, the Ottoman Empire, under the orders of Mehmed II, invaded the Crimean Khanate in 1475. The Ottoman forces, under the command of Gedik Ahmet Pasha conquered the Genoan colonies in Eupatoria, Cembalo, Soldaia, and Kaffa. The khanate became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.

Sahib Giray I founded Bakhchisaray in 1532 and moved the capital there. The Hansaray (Khan's Palace) was built in the same year.

The Crimean khanate participated in numerous wars on the side of the Ottoman Empire. In 16th-17th centuries, it led or participated in wars against Russia (Muscovy) and Poland, as well as territories of contemporary Ukraine.

In the 16th century, the troops of the Crimean khanate besieged Moscow, Tula, and other Russian cities on several occasions. The other Turkic khanates, such as the Kazan Khanate and the Siberian Khanate, were incorporated into Russia in the 16th century. In 1571, Devlet Ghiray I captured and burned Moscow.

During the end of the 17th century, Russia fought the Russo-Turkish War, 1676-81 against the Ottoman Empire. As a part of this war, a number of unsuccessful raids was made to Crimea.

Annexation by Russia

After the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-74, the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji was signed, which made the Crimean Khanate independent from the Ottoman Empire, and aligned it with the Russian Empire. On 8 April 1783, in violation of the treaty, Catherine II annexed the whole of the Crimea into the Russian Empire.

References

• This article incorporates text from the "Great Soviet Encyclopedia"

See also

• List of Crimean khans
• List of Turkic states and empires
• Crimean Tatars
• Ottoman Empire
• Golden Horde
• Kazan Khanate

Links

• The Palace of the Crimean Khans (http://www.hansaray.iatp.org.ua/)
• Tatar.Net (http://www.tatar.net/)
• Annexation of the Crimean Khanate (http://www.qurultay.org/linkshow.asp?AD=../links/eng/history/rus_period/3_1.html)