Kolodziejczyk Dariusz. The Crimean Khanate and Poland-Lithuania (ENG)

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764 document 33 (1560)

And if some of our people of the Crimea and Perekop in deviation from

[this] word unite with the cossacks of Akkerman, Očakiv, and Azov without

our knowledge and, having entered the state or [Ukrainian] borderlands

the great king, commit damages—may God prevent them from violating our

oath!—[then] we, Devlet Giray, will severely restrain them. And we will not let

our cossacks or those of Akkerman, Očakiv, or Azov raid the state of my brother,

and with our power we will restrain our people from joining them and raiding

the state of the great king; as we have the authority from His Majesty, the Turk-

ish emperor, to restrain the aforementioned cossacks of Akkerman, Očakiv, and

Azov, and to let them be severely punished for their transgressions.

And if some of our people of the Crimea, of Perekop, or from among the

Nogays, set out and settle down in Akkerman, Očakiv, or Azov, and while

dwelling there, they commit any damage to the two states of our brother, the

great king, either the Polish Crown or the Grand Duchy, on hearing that, we

should nd the culprits and order to punish them by beheading in the presence

of an envoy or courier of the great king, or having gathered them, we should

send them to [any of the] border castles of the great king.

And if any of our people of the Crimea, of Perekop, or from among the

Nogays, led by evil intentions, were to enter the states of the great king, capture

numerous people, goods, and movables, or commit any damage, we should

severely punish such enemies, who dared to commit such acts in violation of

our oath, by beheading, bodily punishments, and conscations of all prop-

erty, and we should send back to the great king all the taken captives, without

[demanding] any redemption, and restore from our treasury the whole dam-

age done in captured horses, cattle, and movables, by estimating their value in

groszes or orins.

And we will justly display friendship and sincerity towards

our brother, the great king, we should remain [with him] in mutual eternal

peace, and we wish to and we will strongly keep this peace with the two states,

the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, forever, according to the

present letter of agreement and our oath, as we have engaged and sworn to keep

it without any variation.

And while remaining in eternal and good friendship with our brother, the

great king Sigismund Augustus, according to our letter of agreement and oath,

we, Devlet Giray Khan, should not accept gis from our enemy, the grand

duke of Muscovy, as long as we live, neither should [others] accept [such gis]:

the sultans, our sons, as long as they live, with the exception of a permission

granted by our brother, the great king, upon a particular notication.

e name ukraina is translated here as “[Ukrainian] borderlands;” cf. notes

18–19 above.

Written in Polish ablative plural: groszmi or złotymi; grosz (<Lat. grossus) was a

silver coin worth one-thirtieth of a Polish złoty, i.e., orin (Lat. orenus polonicalis)

or—in the mid-16th century—ca. one-ieth of a “red” (or rather “golden”) złoty,

i.e., golden orin or ducat (Lat. orenus aureus, Pol. czerwony złoty); cf. Józef Andrzej

Szwagrzyk, Pieniądz na ziemiach polskich X–XX w. (Wrocław, 1973), p. 102.

document 33 (1560) 765

And our merchants from our military camp,

the Turks [i.e., Muslims],

Franks [i.e., Latin Christians],

Armenians, or Jews, should not accompany

embassies and couriers. And if such merchants travel with their merchandise

along with our envoys from our state to your state, and trade, buy, and sell,

they should not be given any food or travel allowance from the treasury of

our brother, the great king, [that would be] deduced from the gis [due to

us]; moreover, they should pay toll from their transactions and merchandise in

customary places, according to the old custom.

And when an envoy of our brother is sent from Kiev to us, he is not to carry

the gis from [your] treasury [further] than to our gate [i.e., stronghold]

Perekop; <and we,>

and you, our brother, should not detain our envoys and

couriers longer than a month, or four weeks, at your gate [i.e., court], and

you should give them drink and food out of your generosity, as [you used to

give] formerly to our envoys and couriers, who used to be well treated; and

should order to collect from him [i.e., the royal envoy] the treasures and

gis, and for the sake of the friendship with our brother, the great king, we

should treat our brother’s envoy generously and well, order to feed him, and

not detain him at our gate [i.e., court] longer than a month, or four weeks;

he should only stay at our gate [i.e., court] for four weeks in order to recover

and give rest to his horses. And neither we, Devlet Giray Khan, nor our sul-

tans, ulans, beys, mirzas, and subjects should do any harm to the envoy of our

brother, or detain him, but we should let him go free without any damage.

e gis for us from our brother’s treasury should be sent each year to

Perekop, to our gate [i.e., stronghold], by the Christian feast of the nativity

Pol. kupcy nasi ordobazarczy>ordobazarcy; the Tatar term ordobazar (<ordu

bazarı, “horde’s bazaar”) refers to the khan’s mobile camp, typically inhabited not

merely by household members and soldiers, but also bakers, various artisans, and

merchants. Such camps, equipped with portable mosques and functioning as mov-

able market places, served as the khan’s residence not only during military cam-

paigns, but also—especially in the 15th and 16th century—during summer seasons

as the early Girays did not entirely abandon the custom of seasonal peregrination;

see Syroečkovskij, “Muxammed-Geraj i ego vassaly,” p. 17; Maryna Kravets, “From

Nomad’s Tent to Garden Palace: Evolution of a Chinggisid Household in the Crimea,”

in: History and Society in Central and Inner Asia. Papers presented at the Central and

Inner Asia Seminar, University of Toronto, 16–17 April 2004. Edited by M. Gervers,

U. Bulag, G. Long (Toronto, 2005): 47–57, esp. p. 48.

Cf. n. br above.

e Polish term drzwi (lit. “door” or “gate”) is an obvious calque of the Turkish

term bab or qapu, referring either to a normal gate or to a monarchic court (hence

the English term “Sublime Porte” referred to the Ottoman court). Here it apparently

refers to the fortress of Perekop, sometimes referred to in Turkish as Or qapu (lit.

“ditch gate”), but further in the same document (see below) it refers to the khan’s

residence in Qırq Yer, and also to the royal court.

e sentence regarding the royal envoy is interrupted here (cf. n. 26 below).

Here continues the interrupted sentence regarding the royal envoy (cf. n. 25

above).

766 document 33 (1560)

of the Son of God

[i.e., Christmas], by the 20th [sic]

day of the month of

December.

And when we need anything, then we, Devlet Giray Khan, should notify our

brother, the great king, through our couriers, and the couriers should not be

detained, but sent back to us without delay.

I, Devlet Giray Khan, along with our sons, the sultans, and all the qaraçıs,

ulans, beys, mirzas, and the Nogays who serve us, will fulll all the present

[conditions] every year, according to our letter of agreement.

And in return for our truly loyal friendship our brother, the great king, every

such year [when I fulll my promise] should send me, Devlet Giray Khan, the

gis of Mehmed Giray [i.e., that used to be given to Mehmed Giray Khan],

and he should also send our son, the sultan, Qalga Mehmed Giray, the gis

of Bahadır Sultan [i.e., that used to be given to Bahadır Giray].

And if some

year our brother writes us requesting that we invade the land of the Muscovian

enemy along with our troops, or that we send our sons, the sultans, and we do

not fulll it, then that year we will not be entitled to the gis of Mehmed Giray

and of Bahadır Sultan, but the [ordinary] annual gis that used to be [sent]

up till the present time should be sent to us each year according to the ancient

letter of agreement.

Yet, if some year we, Devlet Giray Khan, or our sultan, the qalga sultan,

along with our troops, invade the lands of our Muscovian enemy without being

requested by the king, display enmity to this enemy with our saber, cause dam-

age in his state, and—with God’s help—capture a castle or a few castles from

the hands of the Muscovian [duke] and append to the state of our brother, the

great king, then that year, in return for such a true friendship, our brother, the

king, should give us, Devlet Giray Khan, the gis of Mehmed Giray, and he

should also send our son, Mehmed Giray Sultan, the gis of Bahadır Sultan.

And if some year we, Devlet Giray, our son, the qalga sultan, and our other

sons, the sultans, do not fulll our word and oath, and refrain from raiding

Muscovy and causing substantial damage to [our] enemy’s land, or if we com-

mence friendship with the grand duke of Muscovy, or raid the states of our

brother, the great king of the [Polish] Crown, of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,

It is rather unlikely that the original document, issued in the khan’s chancery,

referred to Christ as “the Son of God,” because the Muslims regarded Jesus as a

prophet, but not the son of God. It is apparently an addition of a Lithuanian chan-

cery clerk.

Obviously it should read “25th.”

On Bahadır Giray, the son and qalga of Mehmed Giray Khan, see Document 17, n. 11.

e present document introduces two categories of gis expected by the khan

from the royal side: ordinary gis that should be sent each year as a form of tribute

and extraordinary gis, once received by Mehmed Giray and Bahadır Sultan, treated

as a compensation for the Crimean assistance against Muscovy. e phrase wedle

pierwszego dokończenia (“according to the rst letter of agreement” or “according to

the ancient letter of agreement”) might refer either to the agreement between Mengli

Giray and Sigismund I from 1513 (Documents 10–11), or to the document issued by

Devlet Giray in 1552 (Document 32).

document 33 (1560) 767

of Ruthenia, etc., or his borderland [Ukrainian] castles, or if our people of the

Crimea, of Perekop, and from among the Nogays, who serve us, as well as the

cossacks of Akkerman, Očakiv, and Azov, wish to raid the royal state, and we

refrain from [conscating and] gathering the abducted captives and sending

them back to the king, restoring from our treasury the damages done to the

state of the great king by estimating their value, and from punishing those, who

have invaded the royal state without our knowledge, by beheading and severe

penalties, then we will violate our oath.

And if you, our brother, do not send us the gis of Mehmed Giray and of

Bahadır Sultan, or if the cossacks from the borderland [Ukrainian]

castles

come from your side to our states by water or by land

and commit any dam-

age, and you, our brother, do not order to punish such wrongdoers and do

not restore or compensate the damage, then you, our brother, will thus violate

your oath.

And as regards the [ordinary] annual gis that you used to send us accord-

ing to the ancient letter of agreement, you, our brother, do not have to send

them until we satisfy all the present [conditions], and restore and fulll every-

thing according to our present letter of agreement.

We, Devlet Giray Khan—to begin with, along with our son, the qalga

Mehmed Giray, and our [other] sons, the sultans, [and] the beys, qaraçıs, ulans,

and other mirzas—as many as there are–, who stand by us as our loyal and

good servants, have taken our oath upon the present [conditions]:

We sincerely swear to God, who created heaven and earth, and by our

Koran, that we display loyalty to our brother and wish to remain in justice

and good delity with your descendants; and we promise to fulll everything

according to our present letter of agreement; and no damage will be done in

any matter to the states of yours, our brother, either the Polish Crown or the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania, or any of your castles, villages, estates, your whole

state and people, and your entire borderlands;

[and we swear] that we wish

to remain forever in brotherly and good friendship with you, our brother, the

great king Sigismund Augustus, just as it is openly and clearly written in our

present letter of agreement.

And we have taken oath upon the sincerity of everything [that has been

written] above, and having invoked the supreme and one God, and our prophet

Muhammad Mustafa,

we swear according to our law to keep it in accor-

dance with our present letter of agreement: by God, with God, and through

In this case the Polish term ukrainnych zamków can be translated as “borderland

castles,” but also more precisely as “Ukrainian castles;” cf. notes 18–20 above.

e Polish expression wodni i polni kozacy (lit. “water and eld cossacks”) is

translated here as “the cossacks [who come] by water or by land;” it can be also trans-

lated as “the cossacks, dwelling on the [Dnieper] river or in the steppe.”

Here the term ukrainom waszym is written in plural, hence it is translated as

“your borderlands;” cf. notes 18–20, and 31 above.

Mustafa (lit. “the Chosen”) is the second name of Prophet Muhammad.

768 document 33 (1560)

God!

Such is our oath. We will rmly keep our oath to our brother, the great

king Sigismund Augustus, and our word will never deviate from our present

oath.

And I send to you, our brother, our present letter written in gold, having

stamped it with the golden seals. Having recorded the present agreement in the

present letter, we dispatch it through your good envoy and great servant, Pan

Skumin L’vovyč Tyškevyč,

the marshal and tenant of Čornobyl’, whom you,

our brother, have sent us, and through our envoy and loyal servant named

Hadji Ali Bey,

attached to your envoy.

is letter has been written in our residence in Qırq Yer, in our place of

Baghchasaray,

in the year 1560.

e Arabic formula vallahi ve billahi ve tallahi is almost correctly rendered in

the Polish text.

Skumin Tyškevyč (Pol. Tyszkiewicz), marshal and tenant of Čornobyl’ since 1558,

envoy to the Crimea in 1554, 1559–1560, and 1562; see Banionis, LDK pasiuntinybių

tarnyba, pp. 112, 165, and 201–202; Urzędnicy centralni i dostojnicy WKL, p. 246.

Referred to as a Circassian (Hadčy Alej Petyhorec) in a letter by Sigismund

Augustus from 1571; see Kniga posol’skaja, vol. 1, p. 310. Perhaps identical with Ali

Hadji, a courtier (içki bek) of Sahib Giray Khan, who was sent in embassy to Cracow

and Vilnius in 1541? Cf. Document 29, n. 2, and Document 30, n. 1.

Baghchasaray is identied here with Qırq Yer, although these were initially two

separate localities; cf. Document 15, n. 21.

DOCUMENT 34 (14 FEBRUARY–14 MARCH 1592)

e ‘ahdname sent by Khan Ghazi II Giray to King Sigismund III

and his subjects [Facs. III]

Original paper

document in Turkish (Crimean Tatar mixed with Ottoman

Turkish): AGAD, AKW, Dz. tat., k. 65, t. 126, no. 702.

125 × 30 cm. (3 sheets glued together)

upper invocation (gold): nesih script

lower invocation (gold): nesih script

proto-tuġra (gold): divani script

the golden nişan of Ghazi II Giray (5.7 × 5.7 cm.) is impressed at the top

text (black with gold insertions, ornamented with scattered golden triple

dots): divani script

the black almond-like seal of Ghazi II Giray (1.7 cm. in height) is impressed

at the bottom

Published in a) Materialy dlja istorii Krymskago xanstva, pp. 9–12; b) Akdes

Nimet Kurat, IV–XVIII. yüzyıllarda Karadeniz kuzeyindeki Türk kavimleri ve

devletleri (Ankara, 2002) [rst published in 1972], pp. 385–391 (Arabic-script

text based on Materialy, followed by a Latin-script transcription; the edition

is not annotated and contains several omissions).

Hüve

Bi`l-quvveti`l-ehadiye ve`l-mu‘cizati`l-muhammediye

Uluġ O[r]du uluġ hanı Ġazi Gėrey Han sözüm

Bismillahi`r-rahmani`r-rahimi! La ilaha illa`llah Muhammadun rasul`llah!

İslam!

Ġazi Gėrey Han bin Devlet Gėrey Han/

bin Mübarek Gėrey Sultan bin

Mengli Gėrey Han

e white paper contains a watermark (5.2 cm. in height) depicting an anchor

inscribed within a circle, topped with a trefoil with rhomboid leaves; identical paper

was used in the same period by the Ottoman chancery; cf. Asparouh Velkov, Les

ligranes dans les documents ottomans—Divers types d’images (Soa, 2005), pp. 5

and 92–93. e watermark was typical for Venetian paper-mills; see Charles Briquet,

Les Filigranes. Dictionnaire Historique des Marques du Papier, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1923)

[reprint: Hildesheim and New York, 1977], pp. 40–41.

Here begins the inscription in the middle frame of the nişan.

e whole inscription of the nişan is inverse and hardly legible; it can be read

against the light.

770 document 34 (14 february–14 march 1592)

[1] Allah ve Hüday İzim

ve İzed ve uġan Tėngri ta‘ala hazretlerining vah-

daniyeti ve ‘azameti birlen başlansun

[2] ong qolnıng ve sol qolnıng uluġ ulusnıng tümen biylegen ming yüz on

biylegen

[3] oġlanlarınga ve bekleringe ve mirzalarınga ve Rus ve Prus kenazlarınga

ve şehir ve kermen

[4] bėkleringe ve metrepolitleringe ve ivladıqalarınga ve aqbaşlı ve qara

tonlarınga mesçanlarınga ve barça uluġ kengeş panlarınga

[5] ve içki ve tışqılarınga ve köblik qara ėlge barça tüzünce bilgeleringe basa

mėn ki sansız ve köblik Deşt-i Qıpçaqnıng uluġ

[6] padişahı Ġazi Gėrey Hanmėn Haq sübhanehu ve ta‘alanıng ‘ulüvv-i ‘ina-

yetleri şan-i şerimüzge muqarin ve mu‘avin bolub uluġ atalarımıznıng

[7] uruqlarınga taht-i haqaniġa cülus müyesser ve nasib boldı ėrse işbu

yarlıġ-i şerif-i haqanimiz birlen beyan ve aşikare qılarmız kim

[8] eva’ildin uluġ atamız uçmaqlıq Haci Gėrey Han ve önki havaqinü`l-

‘uzam ve selatinü`l-kiram rahmetu`llah ‘aleyhim ecma‘in zamanlarında

vilayet-i İleh

[9] memleketi qıralları olan Qazimir qıral ve Zigmut qıral ve Ahust qıral ve

sair qırallar çaġlarında biri birisi birlen dost muhabbet ve barış

[10] ve yarış bolub ėki curt arasında öksüz oġul ve tul hatun yarlı yırtca

başlarınga altun tac urub yürür bolsalar

[11] ve asla meci-i tacir ve bazargan varub kėlür bolsalar zarar ve ziyan

körmey emin barub aman kėlürler ėrdiler amma Ahust qıral fevt

[12] olduqda İleh memleketiġe qıral bolur oġlı qalmay İleh memleketi on ėki

yıl qıralsız bolub memleket içinde olan hırsuz ve haramileri

[13] İleh memleketining voyvodaları ve panları ve kermen bekleri tirkemey ve

zabt qılmay zahire azuq vėrüb kemi

vėrüb Özü suyına kėlüb Tataruŋ

[14] tuvarcısın alub ve tuvar ve yılqısın sürüb song Macar qıralları uruġındın

İştfan qıral İleh memleketiġe qıral bolub Özü suyında

[15] olan qrıstyannıng hırsuz harami qazaqlarınga ri‘ayet ėtken üçün Özü

suyında harami ve hırsuz qazaqlar köblik bolub Özü suyındın

[16] inüb devletluġ ve sa‘adetluġ padişah hündkar hazretlerining Özü

suyı boyunda olan Cankermen ve Aqkermen ve Bender kermenning

arasında

[17] olan qoycı ve tuvarcı ve bazargan faqirleringe zarar ve ziyan körküzgen-

leri üçün rahmetliq babamuz Devlet Gėrey Han

[18] ve aġaçalarımız hanlar ve özümiz ve sultanlar ve beş-baş Tatar qazaqları

İleh memleketin her yıl ve her qış çabub ėki curt

For the old Turkish term izi (lit. “master;” in Muslim texts oen referring to

God), see Gerard Clauson, An Etymological Dictionary of Pre-irteenth-Century Tur-

kish (Oxford, 1972), p. 41, and Ananiasz Zajączkowski (ed.), Najstarsza wersja turecka

Husräv u Šīrīn Qutba, pt. 3: Słownik (Warsaw, 1961), p. 56; in the present document

the expression İzim is translated as “my [divine] Master.” Once again, many thanks

to Henryk Jankowski for his help in identifying this term.

It can be also read gemi.

document 34 (14 february–14 march 1592) 771

[19] biri biriŋe düşman olurġa Özü suyı içinde olan harami hırsuz qrıstyan

qazaqları sebeb olunmuşlardır hala İleh memleketi

[20] qıralı bolġan İsveşke qıral oġlu qarındaşımız Zigmut qıral devlet-

işikimizge uluġ ėlçisi Branovski

ni bölek hazinesi birlen yiberüb

[21] burunġı barış ve yarış ve dost ve muhabbet yosunca ėki curtumuz barış

ve yarış bolub bazargan emin varub ve aman kėlüb kim kimesnedin

zarar ve ziyan

[22] olmasın dėdiler ėrse yibergen bölek hazinesin hoş körüb alub qabul

qılındı ve qarındaşımız Zigmut birlen dahi dost ve muhabbet

[23] ve barış ve yarışımıznı dahi şol şart üzerine qılarmız ki Özü suyı içinde

olan harami ve hırsuz qrıstyan qazaqların barçasın

[24] sürüb Özü suyındın çıqarub tirkeb zabt ėtkeyler ve taqı yibere turġan

bölek hazinesin her yıl yibergeyler ve deerümüz

[25] üzere kişilerimizning tiyişlerin bölek hazinesiyle bilge yibergeyler ve taqı

qaġılqa sultan olan qarındaşımız Feth Gėrey

[26] Sultanġa dahi altmış postaf çekmen bölek hazinesiyle bilge yibe[r]geyler

ve on ėki kişiġe dahi tiyiş yibergeyler bu üslub üzere

[27] bölek hazinesin vėrüb ve tiyişlerin bilge yiberir bolsalar ve Özü suyı için-

din qrıstyan qazaqların bir qoymay barçasın

[28] çıqarır bolsalar barış ve yarış ve dost ve muhabbet bolub eger mėn özüm

Ġazi Gėrey Han bulay ve uluġ kiçik qaġılqa sultan

[29] başlıq barça sultanlar bolġaylar ve bekler ve mirzalar bolsun Tatar

çerüvmiz birlen çabarġa ve yaqub yıqarġa ve zarar ve ziyan qılarġa

[30] bir kimesne barmasın eger sėn qarındaşımız Zigmut bu ‘ahd ve şart

üzerine turar bolsalar vallahi ve billahi ve tallahi dostuŋızġa dost

[31] ve düşmanıŋızġa düşman bolurmız ve taqı beş-baş qazaqlar barub ėl

astındın salaŋız çabub esir kėltürür bolsalar mėn qarındaşıŋız

[32] Ġazi Gėrey Han kėltürgen esirlerni qayta alub yiberirmiz ve beş-baş ve

qazaqlarnıng taqı qatı haqlarındın kėlürmiz Özü suyı

[33] içinde turġan qrıstyan qazaqlarıŋıznı çıqarmas bolsaŋız Tatar tuvarcısıġa

ve tuvar qaraġa zarar ve ziyan qılar bolsalar siz

[34] qarındaşımız Zigmut bilmiş bolsun kim dostluq ve muhabbet ve

barış ve yarış olmay ėki curt emin-aman bolmaslar ve taqı siz Zigmut

qarındaşımız

[35] Özü suyı içinde qrıstyan qazaqlarıŋıznı çıqarır bolsaŋız Özü suyı boyunda

bolġan qara ra‘iyet-i ėl kişileriŋiz kelüb çorqa tuzumuzdan

[36] aqçaları birlen eminimüzdin tuz satun alub ketsün sėn Zigmut

qarındaşımıznıng memleketiġe ve bizim memleketimizge bazarganlar

qorqmay

[37] ve üşenmey emin varub aman kėlgeyler hala uluġ ėlçiŋiz Branovskining

közünce bu ant ve şart ve ‘ahd ėdüb bu ‘ahdname

[38] yarlıġ-i şerif-i haqanimüzge altun nişanlıġ mührini basub özümizning

uluġ ėlçimüz olan içki begimiz olub vezirimüz

Written with a nal Arabic he (ﻪﻜﺳﻮﻧاﺮﺑ); its ending can be read—ki as in the

word ki (

ﻪﻛ).

772 document 34 (14 february–14 march 1592)

[39] olan Qasımnı bu ant ve şart ve ‘ahdimizni siz qarındaşımız Zigmut

bildirir üçün yiberdik ve taqı sėn Zigmut qarındaşımız Masqov

düşmanıŋızġa

[40] atlanġanıŋızda mėn Ġazi Gėrey Han qarındaşıŋızda yardım üçün Tatar

çerüvin tiler bolsaŋız harclıq lori yibergeysiz ki çerüvmizge vėrüb

[41] düşmanıŋız üstüne cibergeymiz ve taqı biz Ġazi Gėrey Han

qarındaşıŋızdın varan uluġ ėlçimüzi ėki aydın artuq tutqar qılmay

[42] bölek hazinesi ve tiyişler birlen qayta tėz-oq biz qarındaşıŋızġa yibergey-

siz ve siz Zigmut qıral qarındaşımızdın bizge kėlgen

[43] uluġ ėlçiŋizni taqı ėki aydın artuq tutqar qılmay sėn Zigmut qıral

qarındaşımızga tėz-oq ciberirmiz imdi sėn Zigmut qıral

[44] qarındaşımız bilmiş bolsunlar kim Özü suyı içindin qazaqlarıŋıznı çıqar

ve tirkemey zabt qılmas bolursaŋız biz qarındaşıŋıznıng tuvarcılarına

[45] ve tuvar qaraġa zarar qılub ve devletluġ sa‘adetluġ padişah hündkar haz-

retlerining kermenlerine ve re‘ayasıġa zarar ve ziyan qılar bolsalar

[46] dostluq ve muhabbatlıq ve barış-yarış bolmay ėki curtnıng re‘aya ve

berayası zahmet körüb devletluġ padişah hündkar hazretlerindin

[47] dahi uyat bolursız bu ‘ahd ve şart ve ant üzerine turulmaq kerekdir deyü

‘ahdname yarlıġ-i şerif-i haqani bitildi  şehri Cemaziyi`l-evvel

[48] min şuhuri seneti elf

bi-maqami

Alma Saray dari`l-haqani

Ġazi Gėrey Han bin Devlet Gėrey Han

Translation:

He!

By the strength of oneness [of God] and the miracles of Muhammad!

[proto-tuġra] e great khan of the Great Horde, Ghazi Giray Khan: my

word:

[nişan] [outer frame] In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful!

ere is no god but God! Muhammad is the Prophet of God! Islam! Ghazi

Giray Khan, son of Devlet Giray Khan, [middle frame] son of Mübarek Giray

Sultan, son of Mengli Giray Khan

Apparently written in gold by mistake.

Text of the seal.

At the end there is the golden trident-shaped emblem of the Girays (taraq tamġa).

e whole inscription is inverse, hardly legible, and can be read only against the light.

According to Mirkasym Usmanov, these shortcomings demonstrate that by the time

of Ghazi II Giray the tradition of using nişans went into oblivion, to be completely

discontinued under his successors; see Usmanov, Žalovannye akty Džučieva ulusa

XIV–XVI vv., pp. 152–154.

document 34 (14 february–14 march 1592) 773

Let us commence with [invoking] the oneness and greatness of God, Lord, my

[divine] Master, Deity, and omnipresent Heaven—may He be exalted!

To those commanding over tens of thousands [tümens], and those command-

ing over thousands, hundreds, and tens of the right wing and the le wing

of the great people [ulus], the ulans, beys, and mirzas, and to the princes

Ruthenia and Prussia, the commanders of cities and towns, metropolitans and

[Orthodox] bishops,

women [sic]

and monks,

townsmen,

all lords of the

Great Council, those in the inner [i.e., courtiers] and outer service, and to all

common people; they should all duly know:

I, who am the great padishah of the countless and numerous [inhabitants of

the] Kipchak Steppe, Ghazi Giray Khan; as the greatness of favors of God—may

He be gloried and exalted!—has joined and assisted our noble dignity, and

our accession to the imperial throne, [duly belonging] to the ospring of our

ancestors, has been facilitated and destined, we declare and announce with our

present noble imperial yarlıq that formerly, in the times of our great ancestor,

the heavenly [i.e., residing in heaven] Hadji Giray Khan, and [other] previous

great emperors and municent sultans (may the compassion of God be upon

them all!), [and] in the age of the kings of the Polish Kingdom: King Casimir,

King Sigismund, King Augustus, and other kings, there existed [between us]

mutual friendship, aection, peace, and companionship, [so that] if an orphan,

a widow, or a ragged beggar had traveled between the two countries wearing

golden crowns on their heads, and especially with the arrival of traders and

merchants, if they had gone and returned, they would not have experienced

any harm or damage, going securely and returning safely.

In theory, it is also possible to translate the word kenazlar as “reverends” or

“Catholic bishops” since the Ruthenian term knjaz’ referred either to “prince” or

“[Catholic] priest.” Yet, albeit Catholic hierarchs were listed in the şartname sent

to Poland in 1520, throughout the 16th century the Crimean chancery stuck to the

customary formula, known from the earliest yarlıqs sent to Lithuanian rulers. e

formula opened with addressing the Ruthenian princes, metropolitans, and Orthodox

bishops, while it contained no reference to Catholic hierarchs. is subject is also

discussed in Chapter 3 in Part II.

Ruth. vladyka or Pol. władyka (i.e., “Orthodox bishop”) is rendered in the Turk-

ish text as ivladıqa.

Pol. białogłowa (lit. “white head,” i.e., “woman”) is rendered in the Turkish text as

aqbaşlı (lit. “[the one] with a white head”). e term itself was apparently entered in

the present and earlier documents by misunderstanding; an earlier scribe, unfamiliar

with the old Ruthenian term belec (lit. “[the one] wearing white [garments]”), which

referred to a layman living in a monastery, changed it into belyholova, i.e., “woman;”

cf. Document 18, n. 5 and Document 27, n. 5.

Ruth. černec (lit. “[the one] wearing black [garments],” i.e., “monk”) is rendered

in the Turkish text as qara ton (lit. “[the one wearing] black garments”).

Pol. mieszczanin (mieszczan in the genitive plural) is rendered in the Turkish text

as mesçan.