Encyclopedia
The
Kazan Khanate was a medieval
Tatar state which occipied the territory of former
Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. The khanate covered contemporary
Tatarstan,
Mari El,
Chuvashia,
Mordovia, parts of
Udmurtia and
Bashkortostan; its capital was the city of
Kazan.
Khanate's geography and population
The territory of the khanate comprised the
Muslim Bolgar-populated lands of Bolgar, Cükätäw, Kazan, Qasan duchies and other regions that originally belonged to
Volga Bulgaria. The
Volga, Kama and Vyatka were the main rivers of the khanate, as well as the major trade ways. The majority of the population were
Kazan Tatars . Their self-idenitity was not restricted to Tatars; many identified themselves as simple Muslims or "the people of Kazan".
Islam was the state religion.
The local feudal nobility consisted of ethnic Bolgars, but the Kazan khans' court and body guard were composed of steppe Tatars that lived in Kazan. According to the
Ginghizide tradition, the local Turkic tribes were also called
Tatars by the steppe nobility and, later, by the Russian elite. Part of the higher nobility hailed from the
Golden Horde. It included members of four leading noble families: Arghin, Barin, Qipchaq, and Shirin.
Peoples subject to the khan included the Chuvash, Mari, Mordva, Tatar-Mishar, Udmurt, and Bashkir. The
Permians and some of the Komi tribes were also incorporated into the Khanate. The Mishars had arrived during the period of the
Golden Horde and gradually assimiliated the resident Finnic Mordvins and Burtas. Their territory was governed by former steppe Tatars. Some of the Mishar duchies were never controlled from Kazan and instead gravitated towards the Qasim Khanate or
Muscovite Russia.
Most of the khanate territory was covered by forests, and only the southern part adjoined the
steppe. The main population of the steppes were the nomadic Manghites, also known as
Nogais, who sometimes recognized the rule of the Kazan khan, but more often raided agricultural
Tatars and Chuvash, as they had done in the
Golden Horde period. Later, Nogais were transplanted and replaced with
Kalmyks. More recently, this area was settled by Tatars, Chuvash and Russians, who erected defensive walls to guard the southern border. Since the khanate was established, Tatar Cossack troops defended the khanate from the Nogais.
Russian sources indicate that at least five languages were used in the Kazan khanate. The first and foremost was the
Tatar language, including the Middle dialect of the Kazan Tatars and the Western dialect of the Mishars . Its written form was the favoured language of the state. The Chuvash language was a descendant of the Bolgar language, spoken by the pagan Chuvash people. The Bolgar language also strongly influenced the Middle dialect of
Tatar language. The other three were probably the Mari language, the Mordvin languages and the Bashkir language, likewise developed from the Bolgar and Kipchak languages.
Economics
The Khanate's urban population produced clay ware, wood and metal handiworks, leather, armor, ploughs and jewels. The major cities were
Qazan, Arça, Cükätaw, Qasan, Çalli, Alat and Cöri. The urban populattion also traded with the people of
Central Asia, the
Caucasus, and
Russia. In the 16th century, Russia became the main trading partner of Kazan, and the khanate shared the economic system of Moscow. The major markets were the Tasayaq Bazaar in Kazan and the Markiz Isle fair on the Volga River. Agricultural landownership was based on the söyurgal and hereditary estates.
Society
The state was governed by the
khan. His actions were based on decisions and consultations of a cabinet council, or Diwan. The nobility comprised the ranks of
bäk ,
ämir , and
morza . Military estates consisted of the
uglan ,
bahadir,
içki . Muslim clergy also played a major role. They were divided into
säyet ,
säyex ,
qazí , and
imams. The
ulema or clergy played a judicial role, and maintained the
madrassas and maktabs .
The majority of the population were
qara xaliq : a free Muslim population, who lived on state land. The feudal lands were mostly settled by
çura . Prisoners of war were usually sold to
Turkey or
Central Asia. Occasionally they were sold within the Khanate as slaves and sometimes were settled on feudal lands to become
çura later. The non-Muslim population of the Khanate were required to pay the yasaq.
Administration and military
The Khanate was divided into 5 daruga: Alat, Arça, Gäreç, Cöri and Nugay. The term daruga translates as "direction". They replaced the "duchies" that the khanate originated from. Some feudal lords sporadically asserted independence from Kazan, but such attempts would be promptly suppressed.
The military of the khanate consisted of armament and men from the darughas and subject lands, khan guards, and the troops of the nobility. The number of soldiers was never constant, ranging from 20,000 to 60,000 in number. Often, troops from Nogay, the
Crimea and
Russia also served the Kazan khans. Fire-arms were used for defending the walls of Kazan.
Culture
In general, the culture of the Kazan Khanate descended from that of
Volga Bulgaria. Cultural elements of the
Golden Horde were also present in noble circles.
A large part of the urban population were literate. Large libraries were present in
mosques and
madrassahs.
Kazan became a center of science and theology.
Although Islamic influence predominated, lay literature also developed. The most prominent Old Tatar language poets were Möxämmädyar, Ömmi Kamal, Möxämmädämin, Gärifbäk, and Qolsärif. Möxämmädyar renovated the traditions of Kazan poetry, and his verses were very popular.
The city of
Bolghar retained its position as a sacred place, but had this function only, due to the emergence of Kazan as a major economic and political center in the
1430s.
The architecture of the khanate is characterized by white-stone architecture and wood carvings.
History
The former territories of
Volga Bulgaria may have regained a degree of independence within the disintegrating
Golden Horde by the turn of the
15th century. The principality was self-governed and maintained a dynasty of Bolgar rulers. Whatever the status of this proto-state, the founder of the khanate was Olug Moxammat. It was in 1437 or 1438 that he assumed the title of khan and usurped the throne of Kazan with some help from local nobility. It has been suggested that the transfer of power from the local Bolgar dynasty to Moxammat was finalized by his son Maxmud in 1445.
Throughout its history, the khanate was prone to civil turmoil and struggles for the throne. The khans were replaced 19 times in 115 years. There were a total of fifteen reigning khans, some ascending the throne multiple times. The Khan was often elected from the
Gengizides by vernacular nobility and even by the citizens themselves.
Early history
- See also: Russo-Kazan Wars
During the reign of Olug Moxammat and his son Maxmud, Kazan forces raided
Muscovy and its subject lands several times.
Vasily II of Moscow, engaged in the
Great Feudal War against his cousins, was defeated in a battle near
Suzdal, and was forced to pay ransom to the Kazan khan.
In July 1487, Grand Duke
Ivan III of Moscow occupied Kazan and seated a puppet leader, Möxämmädämin, on the Kazan throne. After that, the Kazan Khanate became a protectorate of Moscow and Russian merchants were allowed to trade freely throughout its territory. The supporters of a union with the
Ottoman Empire and the
Crimean Khanate tried to exploit the population's grievances to provoke revolts , but with negligible results.
In 1521, Kazan emerged from the dominance of Moscow, concluding a mutual aid treaty with the
Astrakhan Khanate, the
Crimean Khanate and the Nogay Horde. The combined forces of khan Muhamed Giray and his Crimean allies then attacked Muscovy and captured more than 150,000 slaves. Russian chronicles record about forty attacks of Kazan khans on the Russian territories in the first half of the 16th century.
The final decade
The reinforcement of
Crimea displeased the pro-Moscow elements of the Kazan Khanate, and some of these noblemen provoked a revolt in 1545. The result was the deposition of Safa Giray. A Moscow supporter, Sahgäli, occupied the throne. Following that year, Moscow organized
several campaigns to impose control over Kazan, but the attempts were unsuccessful.
With the help of the
Nogays, Safa Giray returned to the throne. He executed 75 noblemen, and the rest of his opposition escaped to Russia. In 1549 he died, and his 3-year old son Ütämesgäräy was recognized as khan. His regent and the de-facto ruler of the khanate was his mother Söyembikä. The administration of the ulan Qosçaq gained a degree of independence under her rule.
At that time Safa Giray's relatives were in
Crimea. Their invitation to the throne of Kazan was vitiated by a large portion of vernacular nobility. Under Qosçaq's government relations with Russia continued to worsen. A group of disgruntled noblemen at the beginning of 1551 invited a supporter of Tsar
Ivan the Terrible, Sahgäli, for the second time.
At the same time the lands to the east of the
Volga River were ceded to Russia. Ütämesgäräy, along with his mother, was sent to a Moscow prison. Sahgäli occupied the Kazan throne until February 1552. Anti-Moscow elements in the Kazan government exiled Sahgäli and invited the
Astrakhan prince Yadegar Moxammad, along with the
Nogays, to aid them.
Downfall
Kazan was then
put under siege. The forces of Ivan IV operated from the Russian castle of
Sviyazhsk. In August 1552, the Russians defeated the Tatar inland troops, burnt Archa and some castles. After two months of siege and destruction of the
citadel walls on October 3, the Russians entered the city. Some defenders managed to escape but most were put to the sword. Yadegar Moxammad was imprisoned and population was slaughtered. The Kazan Chronicle reports about 110,000 killed, both civilians and garrison, but this epic figures should not be taken literally, because it is highly unlikely that the population of Kazan exceeded 40,000.
After the fall of Kazan, territories such as
Udmurtia and
Bashkortostan joined
Russia without a conflict. The khanate's administration was wiped out, pro-Moscow and neutral nobles kept their lands, but others were executed. Tatars were then resettled far away from rivers, roads and Kazan. Free lands were settled by Russians and sometimes by pro-Russian Tatars. Orthodox bishops such as
Germogen forcibly baptized many Tatars.
Resistance
Until 1558, part of the population continued to resist Russian rule. The rebel governments were formed in Chalem and Mishatamaq. But as the
Nogays under Gäli Äkräm often raided the agricultural population, the coalition went to ruin. After a brutal repression against Kazan rebels, their commanders were executed.
By some estimates, the population of the former khanate declined by 500,000 as a result of the occupation wars. The colonial administration, known as the Kazan Palace's Office undertook the Russification of the Tatars and other peoples. The term
Tsardom of Kazan was in use until 1708 when the
Kazan Governorate was formed.
According to some scholars, the Khanate of Kazan was briefly restored during the
Time of Troubles with the help of the ethnic Russian population, but Russian forces under the leadership of
Kuzma Minin suppressed the rebellion.
See also
- List of Turkic states and empires
- Ar begs
- Qasim Khanate
References
Notes
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