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

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784 document 35 (14 february–14 march 1592)

Also, each year you should give and send gis [ bölek hazinesi] to me, your

brother Ghazi Khan, and you should not detain them. And you should send

tiyiş present[s]

to our dependants guring in the register [deer],

without

any omission.

Also, along with the gis [ bölek hazinesi], each year you should send sixty

pieces [postaws]

of cloth to our brother, the qalga Feth Giray Sultan, who is

my qalga sultan.

Now, “you, who are King Sigismund, our brother, if you expel from the

Dnieper river all of your Christian cossacks, who are thieves, robbers, and mis-

chief makers dwelling on the Dnieper, if you restrain them and not let them

commit harm or damage to our shepherds and cowherds, and if, according to

our stipulation [şart], you give the gis [ bölek hazinesi] and presents [tiyiş],

and each year you give sixty postaws of cloth to our brother, the qalga sultan,

Fethi

Giray Sultan, along with presents for his twelve dependants, by God,

with God, and through God, I, who am Ghazi Giray Khan, the great khan of

the countless [inhabitants of the] Kipchak Steppe, myself and—to begin with

the qalga sultan, Fethi Giray Sultan, and the nureddin sultan—the older and

younger princes [sultans], along with our troops, we will not set out against

Poland and other domains of yours, our brother Sigismund, and we will not

raid, burn, destroy, or take captives;”—having said that, I have [also] made

those in the inner [i.e., court] and outer service, the great qaraçıs, the ulan

princes [keys], the beys, and the mirzas to swear sincere oaths; and I have

looked favorably at the gis [ bölek hazinesi] that you had sent with your great

envoy, Broniowski, and I have taken them and accepted.

At the audience with your envoy Broniowski, we have made engagements

[‘ahd] and written down our ‘ahdname, and we have sworn oaths; and I have

sent [the ‘ahdname] to the presence of our brother, King Sigismund.

[Yet,] if you do not remove and expel from the Dnieper river all of your

Christian cossacks, if you do not hold and restrain them, and if you do not keep

friendship, brotherhood, aection, peace, and companionship by sending gis

[hazine bölek], whatever God gives one, one takes it.

[But] if you keep your stipulations and no harm or damage is done to our

cowherds by your cossacks, whom you expel from the Dnieper river, if the

Crimean cossacks set out and drive captives from Poland, we will stop their

captives and send them [back]; and we will punish [such] cossacks and perpe-

trators of small raids [beş-başlar]. And we will be a friend to your friend and

an enemy to your enemy.

Also, our brother Sigismund, you should know that Duke Fedor, son of Ivan,

the ruler [bey] of the kingdom [memleket] of Muscovy, sent his letter and his

On the term tiyiş, see Document 34, n. 16; mentioned for the rst time in the

present document, it is described as the “tiyiş present” (tiyiş bernesi; tiyiş bernesin in

the accusative case); hereaer it is referred to merely as tiyiş.

Cf. Document 34, n. 15.

Cf. Document 34, n. 17.

Feth and Fethi are two variants of the same name.

document 35 (14 february–14 march 1592) 785

envoy to me, Ghazi Giray Khan, the khan of the Kipchak Steppe, and he sent

many gis [ bölek hazinesi], half in furs

and half in akças [i.e., cash], saying:

“From this day on let us both keep friendship, peace, and companionship; and

I will give and send each year three million silver akças

along with the gis

[ bölek hazinesi] in cash.”

As you, our brother King Sigismund, kept friendship and sent the interpreter,

Khodjam Berdi, promising “we are going to give gis [ bölek hazinesi],” I did

not accept the Muscovian envoy and his words, neither did I look at his gis

favorably; in the sight of [your] interpreter, Khodjam Berdi, I ordered the Mus-

covian envoy arrested, rushed to the dungeon, and imprisoned. And along with

an army of 300,000, composed of the Crimeans, the Nogays, and my Circassian

servants, we set out against the capital of Muscovy [i.e., Moscow], crushing

and killing the troops and outposts stationing on the road, even burning and

destroying the capital, and bringing back captives and booty. ank God!—our

whole army returned safe and sound. us you must know.

God—may He be exalted!—willing, also in the spring, when the summer

season comes,

we will set out along with our troops and raid our enemy;

[yet] we strongly request that you, Sigismund, our brother, should—without

any refuse—raise for us, your brother Ghazi Giray Khan, ve thousand orins

Ton means “garments” as well, but in the given context it rather refers to furs.

Lit. “thirty times one hundred thousand;” if the text refers to the Ottoman akça,

the promised sum of 3,000,000 akça would be equal to almost 25,000 golden orins;

yet, if it refers to the local kefevi akça minted in the Crimea, it would be worth four

or ve times less; cf. Şevket Pamuk, Monetary History of the Ottoman Empire (Cam-

bridge, 2004), pp. 106 and 136. It is not altogether clear whether the oered sum was

to be paid in the frame of customary annual gis as their part in cash (one half in

value?), or extra. Besides, the genuineness of the Muscovian oer is disputable; the

khans used to make the Polish and Muscovian rulers bid against each other by pre-

senting the oer of another party as more attractive.

e ancient Kipchak word tilmaç, recorded in the text, has been adopted into

Slavic languages already in the Middle Ages (cf. Ruth. tolmač and Pol. tłumacz); cf.

also Germ. Dolmetsch which origins from Tur. dilmaç.

e aforementioned Crimean invasion of Muscovy was instigated by John III

Vasa, the king of Sweden and the father of Sigismund III, then in war against Muscovy

himself. In July 1591, the Crimean army reached the village of Kolomenskoe on the

outskirts of Moscow, while the city itself was successfully defended by Boris Godunov,

the de facto regent during the reign of Fedor I (r. 1584–1598) and the future tsar. e

results of the campaign were less glorious for the Tatars than it is described in this

document and the khan himself was wounded in his le hand by a bullet; see Leszek

Podhorodecki, Chanat krymski i jego stosunki z Polską, p. 121.

I.e., when wetlands dry; two seasons were suitable for large campaigns in the

steppe: the winter season, when wetlands and small streams were frozen, and the sum-

mer season (i.e., late spring and early summer), when wetlands were already passable

but one could still nd fresh grass and enough water to feed and water horses; cf. the

military advices regarding campaigning in the steppe sent by the Cossack hetman

Ivan Mazepa to the Russian commander-in-chief, Vasilij Golicyn (Golitsyn), in his

letter dated 20 September 1688; in: Lysty Ivana Mazepy 1687–1691, vol. 1. Edited by

V. Stanislavs’kyj (Kiev, 2002), pp. 227–233.

786 document 35 (14 february–14 march 1592)

of allowance towards the campaign and army expenses; and you should send it

without delay, with one of our or your couriers, who used to come formerly.

As our brothers, the kings, used to give [allowances of] ve thousand o-

rins for the campaign expenses to the former khans, and to our heavenly elder

brother, Mehmed Giray Khan,

also you, King Sigismund, should—without any

refuse—promptly give and send ve thousand orins through fast couriers.

Now, in order to communicate our friendship, aection, peace, compan-

ionship, and brotherhood with you, our brother King Sigismund, to you, our

brother King Sigismund, I have appointed our worthy man Qasım Bey, being

our vizier and great courtier [uluġ içki begimiz], our great envoy, and sent

him along with his tet and bahşı

to the presence of yours, our brother King

Sigismund. God willing, when he arrives safe and sound, he will communi-

cate to you, our brother King Sigismund, our own words, and he will tell you

everything that you ask. God willing, when he comes, you may inform me, your

brother Ghazi Giray Khan, that you are safe and sound, so that we may rejoice

and enjoy; and let us be a friend to your friend, and an enemy to your enemy,

and keep peace, companionship, aection, and brotherly friendship for many

Apparently a reference to the negotiations between King Stephan Báthory and

Mehmed Giray II, successfully concluded in 1579 through the embassy of Marcin

Broniowski. Mehmed Giray II ruled between 1577 and 1584. He was deposed and

killed at the instigation of the Porte aer having refused to continue the campaign

against Persia, in which many Tatars had perished and Ghazi Giray had been taken

prisoner. Having ascended to the throne, Ghazi Giray consciously continued the inter-

nal and external policy of his elder brother; see Hajvoronskyj, Sozvezdie Geraev, pp.

28–29 and 34–36. Interestingly, the khan’s referring to a former Crimean alliance with

King Stephan contradicts his earlier characteristic of the “Hungarian king” as a sworn

enemy of the Muslims (see above).

On the term tet, referring to the rst retinue member of a khan’s envoy, see

Document 20, n. 27. e term bahşı, originating from Sanscrit, entered western Turkic

languages in the Mongol period and came to refer to a scribe responsible for draw-

ing ocial documents in Genghisid chanceries. In the 16th century it was gradually

replaced by the Arabic term katib; cf. Vasilij Bartol’d, Sočinenija, vol. 5 (Moscow, 1968),

p. 501; Usmanov, “Etapy islamizacii Džučieva ulusa i musul’manskoe duxovenstvo

v tatarskix xanstvax XIII–XVI vekov,” in: Duxovenstvo i političeskaja žizn’ na Bližnem

i Srednem Vostoke v period feodalizma (Moscow, 1985): 177–185, esp. p. 181; Maria

Eva Subtelny, “‘Ali Shīr Navā’ī: Bakhshī and Beg,” Harvard Ukrainian Studies 3–4

(1979–1980) = Eucharisterion: Essays presented to Omeljan Pritsak on his Sixtieth

Birthday by his Colleagues and Students, pt. 2: 797–807, esp. p. 799. Although both

terms seemed anachronous already in the late 16th century, we encounter a tet and a

bahşı as late as 1634 (see Document 49). Aer the tet, the bahşı was second in hierar-

chy among the envoy’s retinue members and at times we encounter bahşıs’ names in

ocial correspondence. For instance, in 1508 a solemn oath was taken in Moscow by

the khan’s envoy, the tet, and the bahşı named Qaysım; see Malinovskij, “Istoričeskoe

sobranie,” p. 395. In the şartname, sent by Sa‘adet Giray to Moscow in 1531, the

khan referred to his great envoy, Avel Sheikh, accompanied by the tet, Ityak Tarkhan,

and the bahşı, Abdulkhan, son of Khodja Tabib (a s nim tetja Itjak tarxana i bakšeja

svoego, Xozja Tabibeva syna Abdylxana poslali esmja); cf. RGADA, f. 123, op. 1, no.

6, fol. 368a (cf. Malinovskij, “Istoričeskoe sobranie,” p. 419, where the bahşı’s patro-

nymic is rendered corruptly as zjatja Bibova syna).

document 35 (14 february–14 march 1592) 787

years, while our two countries would be strong and safe, and the poor and

miserable would constantly praise both brotherly rulers [padişahs];

—such is the tenor of the noble yarlıq [full] of imperial aection that has

been written [and sent] along with a heavy salutation and a light gi.

Salutation unto whomsoever has followed the right path [i.e., Islam]! Writ-

ten at the date of the month Djumada I from among the months of the year

1000,

in Alma Saray.

[seal] Ghazi Giray Khan, son of Devlet Giray Khan

On the customary formula aġır selam ve yingil bölek, see Kurat, Topkapı Sarayı

Müzesi Arşivindeki Altın Ordu, Kırım ve Türkistan hanlarına ait yarlık ve bitikler,

p. 51, and Zajączkowski, “Dyplomatyka Złotej Hordy i Krymu w XV w.,” p. 215.

e standard Arabic formula is followed by a redundant Turkish word: yılında

(“in the year”); also the year number is recorded in Turkish (biŋ) and not in Arabic

(it would read elf like in Document 34).

One of the khan’s residences, situated to the north of Baghchasaray on the

Alma river; later known as Almakerman or Almakermen; see Jankowski, Historical-

Etymological Dictionary, pp. 158–161.

In the middle of the seal there is the trident-shaped emblem of the Girays (taraq

tamġa).

DOCUMENT 36 (21 APRIL 1598)

e letter of agreement (list przemierny) sent by King Sigismund III

to Khan Ghazi II Giray

e original document is missing.

Polish copy: AGAD, Metryka Koronna, Libri Legationum, no. 27,

fol. 101a–103a.

Kopia przymierza tatarskiego, które się posłało przez pana Kossakowskiego

Anno Domini 1598 dnia 21 kwietnia:

Miłością bożą Zygmunt trzeci król polski i wielkie książę lithewskie, ruskie,

pruskie, mazowieckie, żmudzkie, inantskie, kiiowskie, wołyńskie, podolskie,

podlaskie, i szwedzki, gottski, wandalski dziedziczny król.

Oznajmujemy tym listem, którym to wiedzieć należy, niniejszym i na potym

będącym, iż jakośmy za wolą bożą siedli na stolicy Korony Polskiej i Wiel-

kiego Księstwa Lithewskiego, i ziem do niej należących, nastał też na carstwo

Ordy Krimskiej po śmierci Aslangiereia Kazigierei Car, z którym acz pierw-

szych czasów obrazy mieliśmy, ale iż zjachawszy się w mołdawskiey ziemi z

hetmanem i kanclerzem naszym Janem Zamoiskim, i wojskiem naszym na

Czocorze, umysł swój obrócił do tego, aby naszę chęć ku sobie pozyskał, i

żądał tegoż hetmana naszego, aby się przyczynił i starał o przyjaźń między

nami, oarując się nam nie tylko być przyjacielem, ale i przyjaciołom naszym

być przyjacielem, a nieprzyjaciołom nieprzyjacielem, i stać i wojować prze-

ciwko każdemu naszemu nieprzyjacielowi, w czym był do nas posłał do Kra-

kowa, do stolice naszej, uczciwego Jana Achmeta Czelebeia posła swego.

My o tem porozumiewaliśmy się z Radami naszemi i tę chęć i oarowanie

Cara Kazigiereia przyjęliśmy wdzięcznie, i ten list nasz przemierny posłaliśmy

jemu przez posła naszego wielkiego Nicodema Kossakowskiego, dworzanina

naszego, obiecując jemu tego, i wszystkie rzeczy w nim opisane mocnie i nie-

naruszenie dzierżeć, jeśli on nam takowyż list przemierny, słowo od słowa

napisany pośle, i mocno to przemierze i wszystkie jego obowiązki trzymać

będzie.

Napierwej tedy od nas i Senatorów Panów Koronnych, poddanych naszych,

Carowi Kazigiereiowi, synom, bratom, ludziom, ziemie jego pokój obiecujemy

pewny i nieodmienny. Także z swojej strony Car Kazigierey z syny, bracią

swemi, murzami, książęty, karaccy, ułany, bejami, przełożonemi miejsc i ludzi

tak wojennych, jako wszystkich innych, z tymiż ludźmi, i z ludźmi nahai-

skiemi z sobą sprzyjaźnionemi i złąconemi, będąc nam wiernym przyjacielem

i prawdziwie mając nas i ludzie nasze za przyjaciele, a nieprzyjaciół naszych

za nieprzyjaciele swoje, nie będzie żadnym naszym, z Panów Rad, ślachty,

poddanych naszych zamkom, miastom, miasteczkom, wsiom, wołościom,

document 36 (21 april 1598) 789

ludziom, stadom, towarom szkodził ani ich wojował, brał. I owszem z ludźmi

naszymi on sam, synowie, bracia, murzowie, książęta, karacej, ułanowie, bejo-

wie, i wszyscy przełożeni jego, i ludzie jego nahaiscy mają szczery i wierny

pokój zachować, nie wojując ani nasyłając, ani żadnych szkód i krzywd czy-

niąc, i w grunty nasze nie wtargając aż do Morza Czarnego. I przez ziemie

nasze ludzie ani wojska jego na inne wojny przechodzić nie mają, ani się o

nie ocierać.

A co byli przodkowie powinni Cara Kazigiereia, carowie dawni tatar-

scy, wojować za potrzebą i za upomnieniem naszym do Moskwy, i zamki

nam należące odbierać i oddawać nam ze wszystkiemi grunty i pożytkami,

także też przeciwko innym wszystkim nieprzyjaciołom naszym za potrzebą

i napomnieniem naszym wojować, toż też car Kazigierey Car z syny, bracią,

murzami, książęty, karaczey, ułany, bejami, i ludźmi swemi powinien czynić

będzie, i będzie czynił szczerze i prawdziwie.

My także, jako przodkowie jego naszym,

i nasi przodkowie jego przodków

nieprzyjaciół za swoich mając, nie będziem im pomagać, ani ku szkodzie i

złemu jego przechowywać.

On też ma przeciwko Ieremiemu hospodarowi wołoskiemu, i synom jego,

i ziemi wołoskiej zachować się spokojnie i przyjacielskie, i przeciw niemu

nie być, ani szkody żadnej jemu albo ziemi mołdawskiej czynić, i hospodar-

czyków innych na tę ziemię ani prowadzić, ani przechowywać, i owszem jemu

ich wydać, i jako począł, życzliwość jemu pokazować i pomocnym być, gdyż

Jeremia postanowiony jest dla zadzierżenia przyjaźni i przemierza starodawnego

między nami a Cesarzem Jego Miłością tureckim, przyjacielem naszym.

Obrazy wszystkie i szkody, które się między nami aż do tego czasu stały

odpuszczamy carowi dufając, że nam to stateczną chęcią i wiarą swą na potym

nagrodzi. On też także u nas i u ludzi naszych żadnych szkód upominać się

nie ma, i upominków żadnych przeszłych, gdyż odtąd przyjaźń między nami

poczyna się.

Jako też bywało za przodków naszych, co się w dokończeniu króla Zygmunta

świętej pamięci z Mielligiereiem Carem najduje, carowi Kazigiereiowi, albo

synom jego, albo braciej za pozwoleniem naszym w poczcie pewnym od nas

naznaconym do nas, i do ziemie naszej gościem wezwanym, i pomocnikiem

przeciwko nieprzyjaciołom naszym, a zwłaszcza gdybyśmy ich do czynienia z

nieprzyjacioły naszymi użyli, przyjechać wolno będzie. Także żadnej krzywdy

ani w osobie, ani w ludziach, ani w rzeczach od nas i ludzi naszych cierpieć

nie mają, i owszem uczciwie i dobrowolnie mają być od nas przyjęci.

I szanowani kupcy, kramarze nasi i państw naszych w ziemi carskiej, także

carskie z ziemie jego w naszych ziemiach, mają wolną na obie stronie po

kupiectwach jeździć i targować, zapłaciwszy wszystkie myta, a od nikogo nie

mają być z żadnej miary krzywdzone i szkodzone. A gdzie by jaka krzywda

stała się, sprawiedliwość rychła i gruntowna ma być czyniona.

A żeby nasza szczodrobliwość przeciw Carowi Kazigiereiowi i sługom jego

pokazała się, żeby tym gotowszy i sposobniejszy do powinnej pomocy, jako

It should rather read naszych.

790 document 36 (21 april 1598)

się wyżej opisało, nam przeciwko wszystkim nasym nieprzyjaciołom był,

tedy obiecujemy jemu z szczodrobliwości i łaski naszej odtąd na każdy rok

upominki dawać, tak jako stary król Zygmunt dawał w pieniądzach połowicę,

a drugie w kupiech, posyłać do Białłogroda na dzień . . .

miesiąca novembra.

A car zachować ma przeciw poddanym naszym, zamkom, miastom, mias-

teczkom, wsiom, uchodom, i pastwiskom pokój prawdziwy i nieodmienny,

te wszystkie rzeczy wyżej opisane. My co nam należy z naszej strony obiecu-

jemy mocno i nienaruszono dzierżeć, i skutkiem wykonywać. Także też

Car Kazigierey, z syny, bracią, murzami, książęty, karaczey, ułany, bejami,

i z przełożonemi i ludźmi wszystkiemi swemi powinien będzie dzierżeć i

wykonywać skutkiem i rzeczą, bez wszech farb, chytrości, i wymówek, czego

jeśli by nie czynił, tedy my będziem wolni od tego, co jemu z strony naszej

obiecujemy.

Do której rzeczy i pieczęć naszę koronną przycisnąćeśmy kazali. Pisan w

Warszawie roku od narodzenia Syna Bożego tysiąc pięćset dziewięćdziesiąt

ósmego, miesiąca aprila dwudziestego pierwszego dnia, panowania królestw

naszych polskiego XXI [sic], szwedzkiego roku V

Translation:

A copy of the Tatar agreement [i.e., treaty with the Tatars] sent through Pan

Kossakowski

anno Domini 1598, on the 21st day of April:

Sigismund the third, by the grace of God the king of Poland and the grand duke

of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Mazovia, Samogitia, Livonia, Kiev, Volhynia,

Podolia, Podlachia [Podlasie], and the hereditary king of the Swedes, Goths,

and Vandals.

We announce with the present letter, to whom it may concern, presently and in

the future, that as, with God’s will, we ascended the throne of the Polish Crown

and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and of the lands belonging to it, also Ghazi

Giray Khan became the khan of the Crimean Horde aer the death of Islam

Giray; and though initially transgressions happened between us and him [i.e.,

Ghazi Giray], having met our hetman and chancellor Jan Zamoyski, and our

Empty space was le to ll in the date.

On the royal courtier Nikodem Kossakowski, see his biography by Jarema Macisze-

wski and Tadeusz Wasilewski in PSB, vol. 14 (Wrocław etc., 1968–1969), pp. 283–284;

some biographic details are corrected in the article by Dariusz Skorupa, “Poselstwo

na Krym Nikodema Kossakowskiego. Przyczynek do stosunków polsko-tatarskich w

ostatnich latach XVI wieku,” Kwartalnik Historyczny 108 (2001), no. 2, pp. 25–42.

Kossakowski le Poland in December 1598 but he never reached the court of Ghazi

Giray as the latter assisted the Ottoman troops in Hungary in their campaign against

the Habsburgs. e Polish envoy remained in Suceava, corresponding with the khan

and the qalga, Selamet Giray, and negotiating with their envoys. Having spent almost

a year in Moldavia, in November 1599 he delivered the royal gis to the Tatar envoys

and returned to Poland.

document 36 (21 april 1598) 791

troops, in Ţuţora [Cecora] in the Moldavian land, he set his mind on gaining

our goodwill and asked the hetman to assist in acquiring mutual friendship,

oering not merely to be our friend, but a friend of our friends and an enemy of

our enemies, and to face and ght any of our enemies; in reference to this mat-

ter he sent his honest envoy, Djan Ahmed Chelebi,

to Cracow, our capital.

[And] having taken counsel in this matter with our Councilors, we have

favorably received this wish and oer of Ghazi Giray Khan, and we have sent

him our present letter of agreement [ list przemirny] through our great envoy

and courtier, Nikodem Kossakowski, promising him to rmly and invariably

keep everything that is written there, on the condition that he sends us a similar

letter of agreement, written word for word, and rmly keeps this agreement

and all its clauses.

us, rst of all we promise certain and inviolable peace on our part and

on the part of the Lords Senators of the Crown, our subjects, to Ghazi Giray

Khan, his sons, brothers, people, and land. And on his part, Ghazi Giray Khan

along with his sons, brothers, and the mirzas, princes,

qaraçıs, ulans, beys,

and those commanding over places and people (both military and other), and

with these people, and the Nogay people who are allied and united with him,

being our loyal friend and truly regarding us and our people as his friends, and

our enemies as his enemies, will not harm, raid, or capture any castles, towns,

boroughs, villages, estates, people, herds, or goods of ours and of our Lords

Councilors, nobles, and subjects. On the contrary, he and his sons, brothers,

Djan Ahmed Chelebi rst arrived at Cracow in November 1595, directly from

the camp at Ţuţora where a new agreement was reached between Poland-Lithuania

and the Ottoman-Crimean side. He was sent to collect the customary gis for the

khan promised by the Poles during the negotiations. Yet, the Polish side postponed

their delivery until a nal conrmation of the peace by the Ottoman sultan, which

occurred only in 1597. In 1597 Djan Ahmed was again sent to Poland and returned

to the khan in 1598, followed by the great envoy Nikodem Kossakowski, who carried

the present royal instrument of peace. In 1601, Djan Ahmed played a prominent role

during the negotiations in the Crimea with the next Polish evoy, Ławryn Piaseczyński.

Along with Piaseczyński, he traveled to Lithuania and delivered the khan’s instru-

ment of peace (Document 39) at a solemn audience in Vilnius in December 1601.

In spring 1602, both Piaseczyński and Djan Ahmed again traveled to the Crimea, as

Piaseczyński was commissioned with obtaining an “amended” document from the

khan. To Djan Ahmed’s resentment, the gis expected by the khan were detained in

Kamieniec Podolski, to be collected only in January 1603 by the next Crimean envoy,

Ali Mirza. See Skorupa, Stosunki polsko-tatarskie, pp. 66, 76–77, 104–111, 117. In the

summer of 1602, Djan Ahmed Chelebi departed with another mission to Moscow,

entrusted with Ghazi II Giray’s şartname, and witnessed the oath taken by Tsar Boris

Godunov; see Pamjatniki diplomatičeskix snošenij . . .. Edited by F. Laškov, pp. 39–40

and Leonid Juzefovič, Put’ posla, pp. 292–293. In 1604, he again traveled to Moscow

but was detained until 1606, when he returned to the khan accompanied by a Russian

envoy who represented False Dimitrij; see Lisejcev, “Russko-krymskie diplomatičeskie

kontakty v načale XVII stoletija,” pp. 250–252 and 256–258.

e Polish term książęty (książęta in the nominative) apparently refers to the

beys, traditionally referred to in Ruthenian sources as knjazi. Yet, beys are also men-

tioned below as bejowie (bejami in the ablative).

792 document 36 (21 april 1598)

mirzas, princes, qaraçıs, ulans, beys, all commanders, and his Nogay people

should keep sincere and loyal peace with our people, without raiding or sending

raiders, causing damage or harm, and without invading our lands [extending]

as far as the Black Sea. And his people and troops should not pass through

our lands while heading for other wars, nor should they even graze them [i.e.,

touch the frontiers].

And as the ancestors of Ghazi Giray Khan, the former Tatar khans, were to

raid Muscovy whenever we needed and requested, and retake and restore to

us the castles that had belonged to us, along with all their lands and prots,

and moreover, they were to raid our other enemies whenever we needed and

requested, also [now] the khan Ghazi Giray Khan, along with his sons, broth-

ers, mirzas, princes, qaraçıs, ulans, beys, and people should do likewise, and he

will do it sincerely and truly.

And just as his ancestors regarded our [ancestors’] enemies [as their ene-

mies], and as our ancestors regarded his ancestors’ [enemies] as such, likewise,

we will not assist them [i.e., such enemies], neither will we give them refuge to

his [i.e., the khan’s] detriment and harm.

And he should behave in a calm and friendly manner towards Jeremy,

the

Moldavian

hospodar, his sons, and the Moldavian land; he should not act

against him [i.e., Jeremy] or cause any damage to him or the Moldavian

land;

and he should not bring along to this land any other pretenders to the hospo-

dar’s throne,

or give them refuge; on the contrary, he should deliver them to

him [i.e., Jeremy]; and he [i.e., the khan] should display benevolence to him

[i.e., Jeremy] and assist him, like he did initially, because Jeremy has been

placed [on his throne] for the sake of cementing the friendship and ancient

agreement between us and our friend, His Majesty, the Turkish emperor.

We forgive the khan all the transgressions and damages that have happened

between us until the present time, in trust that in the future he will compensate

them to us by his constant goodwill and good faith. Neither should he reclaim

any indemnity or past gis from us and our people, because our mutual friend-

ship begins from now on.

Ieremia Movilă, Moldavian hospodar in the years 1595–1606; his enthronement

with the Polish support was acknowledged by the Ottoman-Crimean side in the agree-

ment reached at Ţuţora on 22 October 1595; see Kołodziejczyk, Ottoman-Polish Dip-

lomatic Relations, pp. 126–127 and 298–302.

In seventeenth-century Polish, the adjective wołoski (lit. “Wallachian” or “of

Wallachia”) referred to either Wallachia or Moldavia. In the given case it refers to

Moldavia.

Here Moldavia is referred to more precisely by the Polish adjective mołdawska

(“Mołdawian” or “of Moldavia”); cf. n. 5 above.

e Polish term hospodarczyk (hospodarczyków in the genitive plural) is a dimin-

utive of the term hospodar; it either refers to a hospodar’s son or is a pejorative refer-

ence to a hospodar. It is translated here as “pretender to the hospodar’s throne” as

in fact many pretenders to the Moldavian and Wallachian thrones were the sons of

former hospodars.

document 36 (21 april 1598) 793

Also, as it was practiced in the times of our ancestors and is recorded in the

agreement between the late King Sigismund and Mengli Giray Khan, Ghazi

Giray Khan, or his sons or brothers may come to us and our land as invited

guests or allies against our enemies, especially if we make use of their services

to ght our enemies, provided that we authorize it and set [the size of] their

retinue. And they should not suer any harm done to them, their people, or

belongings by us or our people; on the contrary, we should receive them hon-

estly and voluntarily.

Respected merchants and traders, both ours and from our states in the khan’s

land, as well as the khan’s and from his land in our lands, may freely travel

in both directions for the purpose of commerce and trade, having paid all tolls,

and should not be hurt or harmed by anybody in any way. And if they suer

any harm, immediate and thorough justice should be administered.

And in order to display our generosity towards Ghazi Giray Khan and his

servants, so that he be more willing and ready to bring us his due assistance

against all our enemies, according to the above written [clauses], we promise to

henceforth give him annual gis out of our generosity and grace, half in cash

and half in goods, just as the old king Sigismund

used to do, and send them to

Akkerman by the . . .

day of the month of November.

And the khan should maintain true and inviolable peace towards our sub-

jects, castles, towns, boroughs, villages, hamlets, and pastures in the above

described manner. On our part, we promise to rmly and invariably keep and

eectively execute our duties. Also Ghazi Giray Khan, along with his sons,

brothers, and the mirzas, princes, qaraçıs, ulans, beys, commanders and all his

people should eectively and materially keep and execute [his duties] without

any falsity, deceit, or excuses; and if he does not fulll it, then we will be free

from our promise to him.

To this eect we have ordered to impress our Crown seal. Written in War-

saw in the year 1598 from the birth of the Son of God, on the 21st day of the

month of April, in the 11th year

of our reign in Poland and the 5th year [of

our reign] in Sweden.

I.e., King Sigismund the Old (r. 1506–1548), thus nicknamed in order to dier-

entiate between him and his son, Sigismund Augustus.

Empty space was le to ll in the date. Neither a precise date nor the gis’ value

were entered by the royal chancery, who authorized Kossakowski to do it in a tting

time, depending on the result of his negotiations. Only in 1599, during his negotia-

tions with Tatar envoys in Moldavia, the envoy entered the value of the gis, namely

15,000 orins; see Skorupa, Stosunki polsko-tatarskie, pp. 80–81.

Erroneously written “in the 21st year;” apparently the scribe confused the 21st

day of April with the number of the year.