Girays’ Steppe Diplomacy. The Message of Khan Janibek Giray of 1633

Abstract

A letter from the Сrimean Khan Janibek Giray to the Nogay Horde of 1633, preserved in the Stock 123 “Russia’s Relations with the Nogay Tatars” of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, is published here. At that time, the Nogay Horde was in a state of complete decline and decay. Intestine strife of Nogay nobles, destructive strikes against the Kalmyks, who occupied the former Nogai pastures over the Volga river, oppression by Russian Astrakhan local governors led to the fact that the Nogays used to move to neighboring countries – in an intention to find peace and protection there. One of desirable and traditional areas of migration were the North Black Sea steppes, which were under the authority of the Girays. The Khan’s message was addressed to the mirzas and ignorant leaders of the nomadic communities, but not to the nominal ruler of the Horde biy Kanay, because in the 1630s he completely lost his remaining authority. One of the reasons of the Khan’s appeal was the search of new human resources (albeit in the form of relatively poor, but numerous steppe people) to strengthen his power in the state, thoroughly weakened by long internecine turmoil – the feud between the aristocratic clans of Shirins and Mansurs. In addition, extension horsemen were needed for raids on the Russian borders, which became more frequent at a time when the forces of the Moscow state were diverted to the Smolensk war. In the address to Nogays the Khan does not designate specific conditions of their stay in his subjection, he only names the area of the Dnieper, through which migrants from the East would roam. Janibek Giray placed the main emphasis on co-belief and called for Islamic solidarity. Loyal to the Russian authorities, mirzas delivered the Crimean letter to Astrakhan, from where the governors sent it to Moscow. The archive keeps the original letter and its Russian translation, made by the Foreign affairs’ office (Posol’sky prikaz). This publication introduces the facsimile of the document and its translations (of the 17th century and modern).