Hacı I Giray Angel (Melek) (died 1466) was the founder and the first ruler of the
Crimean KhanateThe Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt The Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt...
. He is sometimes referred to as Hacı Devlet Giray or Devlet Hacı Giray. He is said to have been an 11th generation descendant of
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
.
He ascended the throne after a long struggle against the khans of the
Golden HordeThe Ulus of Jochi or the Golden Horde is an East Slavic designation for the Mongol—later Turkicized—Muslim khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus' in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus...
for the independence of the
Crimean KhanateThe Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt The Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt...
in which he was supported by the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
. While some sources state he came to power as early as 1428 or 1434, the first coins of Haci Giray are not earlier than 1441.
Hacı I Giray founded the
Giray DynastyGiray , alternative spellings Guirey, Ghirai, Ghiray, Geray, is the Genghisid dynasty, which reigned in the Khanate of Crimea from its formation in 1427 until its downfall in 1783. The dynasty also supplied several khans of Kazan and Astrakhan between 1521 and 1550...
of the
Crimean Khans, and introduced the new state symbol: "taraq tamğa" or "the trident of Girays", which is a derivation from the
scalesA weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load. A balance compares the unknown weight to a standard weight using a horizontal lever...
insignia of
Golden HordeThe Ulus of Jochi or the Golden Horde is an East Slavic designation for the Mongol—later Turkicized—Muslim khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus' in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus...
.
Hacı I Giray Angel (Melek) (died 1466) was the founder and the first ruler of the
Crimean KhanateThe Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt The Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt...
. He is sometimes referred to as Hacı Devlet Giray or Devlet Hacı Giray. He is said to have been an 11th generation descendant of
Genghis KhanGenghis Khan , ; 1162–1227), born , was the founder, Khan and Khagan of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous empire in history....
.
He ascended the throne after a long struggle against the khans of the
Golden HordeThe Ulus of Jochi or the Golden Horde is an East Slavic designation for the Mongol—later Turkicized—Muslim khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus' in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus...
for the independence of the
Crimean KhanateThe Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt The Crimean Khanate or the Khanate of Crimea was a Crimean Tatar state from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was Crimean Yurt...
in which he was supported by the
Grand Duchy of LithuaniaThe Grand Duchy of Lithuania was an Eastern and Central European state from the 12th /13th century until 1795. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the pagan Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija...
. While some sources state he came to power as early as 1428 or 1434, the first coins of Haci Giray are not earlier than 1441.
Hacı I Giray founded the
Giray DynastyGiray , alternative spellings Guirey, Ghirai, Ghiray, Geray, is the Genghisid dynasty, which reigned in the Khanate of Crimea from its formation in 1427 until its downfall in 1783. The dynasty also supplied several khans of Kazan and Astrakhan between 1521 and 1550...
of the
Crimean Khans, and introduced the new state symbol: "taraq tamğa" or "the trident of Girays", which is a derivation from the
scalesA weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load. A balance compares the unknown weight to a standard weight using a horizontal lever...
insignia of
Golden HordeThe Ulus of Jochi or the Golden Horde is an East Slavic designation for the Mongol—later Turkicized—Muslim khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus' in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus...
. He established his residence in Salaçıq village (the vicinities of modern
BakhchisarayBakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray raion , best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate...
near the
Çufut QaleÇufut Qale sometimes spelled as Chufut Kale is a historic fortress in Crimea, near Bakhchisaray. Its name is Crimean Tatar and Turkish for "Jewish Fortress" . Çufut Qale was historically a center for the Crimean Karaite community...
fortress). A contemporary European source,
The Chronicle of Dlugosz, described him as a person of outstanding personal values and a perfect governor.
According to some historians in 1456 he was deposed for a short period by the revolt of his own son Hayder, but was restored that the same year.
Hacı I Giray is buried in the Durbe in Salaçıq in
BakhchisarayBakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray raion , best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate...
.
Hacı I was extremely popular with the Crimean people, so they give him a nickname Angel .
External links