Crimean Khanate in the Mid-18th Century: Nogai Kuban and Problems of Internal Political Development

Introduction. The article chronologically covers the 1740s and 1750s. The period witnessed a rise in confrontational processes in the Crimean Khanate that were intensified by the growing dissatisfaction of the Nogai hordes with restrictive policies of the Crimean Khans. The opposition reached its peak by the late 1750s, and was marked by the Nogai rebellion of 1758 against the Crimean Khan Halim Giray and his sons. Many Kuban Nogais led by the ex-serasker of Kuban Seadet Giray took an active part in the revolt. Goals. The paper seeks to examine the role and place of Nogai Kuban in cross-border processes along the Northwest Caucasus that resulted from nomadic migrations. It is planned to identify the impact of Nogai Kuban (Kuban Horde) on the political and other processes that accompanied activities of the ruling Crimean Khans aimed at strengthening governing structures of their own within the Nogais hordes. Materials and Methods. The article analyzes 18th-century written historical sources, including ones newly introduced into scientific discourse. Those are mainly Russian official papers stored at federal and public archives of the country. The study employs special history research methods, such as the historical/genetic and historical/comparative ones. Results. The Kuban Horde played a key role in the provincial life of Kuban Region, a periphery of the Crimean Khanate. In the mid-18th century, the territory was being increasingly involved into state integration processes by the Girays. For example, the institution of serasker-sultans in Kuban was established. Various representatives of the Giray dynasty actively struggled for the position, including the family of Sultan Bahti Giray that had settled in Kuban. Conclusions. The discovered facts confirm the significance of Sultan Bahti Giray’s family in the life of Kuban Region after 1729. Kuban Nogais actively participated in the Crimean Khanate’s internal policies, and opposed the heavy-handed administrative decisions of the Girays. Their dissatisfaction was actively fueled by ex-seraskers, Gazi Giray and Seadet Giray, the sons of Sultan Bahti Giray. The paper proves Seadet Giray enjoyed a mass support of Kuban Nogais, which largely predetermined ― through pressure on kalga-sultan ― his appointment as serasker in 1755. The study reveals an instant connection between the ‘revolt’ of Bahti Giray’s sons against the Crimean Khan ― and subsequent activities of Kuban Nogais in the rebellion of 1758.

uprising, Giray dynasty, Kalmyks, Kuban, Kuban Horde, Crimean Khanate, migrations, Nogai, Russia, serasker-sultan

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