Russo-Crimean Wars
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The Russo-Crimean Wars were fought between the forces of the Muscovy and the invading Tatars of the Crimean Khanate.
Contents |
History
(For background, see Expansion of Russia 1500-1800.)
The Crimean Tatars' invasions of Russia (Muscovy) began in 1507, after the death of Moscow's grand duke Ivan III, when the Crimean Khanate attacked the Russian towns of Belev and Kozelsk.
In the 16th century the border of the Wild Steppes was near the city of Ryazan, near the Oka River, a tributary of the Volga, and close to the Yelets river, a tributary of the Don river, near Sosna. The main path to Moscow was the Muravsky Trail, going from the Crimean Isthmus of Perekop up to Tula between the basins of the Dnieper and Severskiy Donets rivers. Penetrating for about 100–200 kilometers into Russian territory, the Tatars would turn back only after extensive looting and kidnapping. Captives were sent to the Crimean city of Caffa to be sold.
Every spring, Moscow mobilized up to 65,000 soldiers for border service. The defensive lines consisted of a circuit of fortresses and cities.
To protect from invasions by the Nogai Horde in the region between the Volga and Irtysh rivers, the Volga cities of Samara (1586), Tsaritsyn (1589), and Saratov (1590) were founded.
The Russian population in the border regions suffered heavily from these invasions. This depopulation, in combination with the inability of Russian settlement in southern regions where the climate was more conducive to agriculture, hindered Muscovy's social and economic development.
The most dangerous invasions occurred in 1517, 1521 (supported by the Khanate of Kazan), 1537 (supported by the Khanate of Kazan, the Lithuanians, and the Turks), 1552, 1555, 1570–72 (supported by Sweden), 1589, 1593, 1640, 1666–67 (supported by Poland-Lithuania), 1671, and 1688.
1570
In 1570 the Crimean Tatars horde terribly devastated the Ryazan borderland of Muscovy, only meeting weak resistance.
1571
In May 1571, the 120,000 strong Crimean Tatar army, Big and Small Nogai Hordes bypassed the Serpukhov defensive fortifications on the river Oka, crossed the river Ugra and flanked the 6,000 men Russian army. The Russians sentries were crushed by the Tatars, and the surprise attack forced the main Russian army to retreat to Moscow. The rural population also sought refuge in the capital. The Tatars devastated the unprotected towns and villages around Moscow, and proceeded to set fire to the capital's suburbs. Within three hours, Moscow was completely burned to the ground. The Tatars enslaved 150,000 Russians, while some contemporary chroniclers claim the Tatar invasion caused 800,000 victims.
1572
After the burning of Moscow, the Crimean khan, Devlet Giray, supported by the Ottoman Empire, planned the full conquest of Russia. In 1572 the Tatars and the Turks again invades Russia, however, this time they were repelled in the Battle of Molodi. In July-August, the 120,000-strong horde of Devlet I Giray of Crimea was defeated by Russians led by Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky and Prince Dmitriy Khvorostinin.
After 1572
The Crimean Tatars continued to exact tribute from Russia till 1680[citation needed]. Later, the Russian expansion turned to the Black Sea region and Crimean khanate was invaded several times and finally conquered in late 18th century during the Russo-Turkish Wars..
Incomplete List of Tatar Raids
This list does not include raids into Poland-Lithuania (75 raids during 1474-1569[1]:17)
- 1465: Crimea attacks the Great Horde to prevent it from raiding Russia and disrupting the northern trade[2]
1507 and 1514: Raids led by Tatar nobles so the the Khan would not officially break peace.[1]:14
1521: Khan and 50,000 men cross the Oka at Kolomna and ravage outskirts of Moscow for 2 weeks[1]:14
- c1533: Abatis defense line about 100 km south of the Oka.
1533-47:(regency for Ivan IV) some 20 large raids on the frontiers.[3]:71
1541: Crimean Khan crosses Oka on rafts under covering fire from Turkish guns.[1]:12
1555,1562,1664,1565; Khan leads large armies into Muscovy.[1]:16\
- 1556-59: Russians and Zaporozhians raid the Black Sea coast four times[1]:56
1564: Ryazan posad burned.[1]:47
1571: Russo-Crimean War (1571) Moscow burned.
1572: Battle of Molodi
1591: Raid reaches Moscow[3] :116(this seems to contradict the next entry)
1591: Artillery stops raid at Kolomenskoy on the Bank Line [1] :52
1592: Suburbs of Moscow burned while Russian troops were away fighting Swedes[1]:17
1598: Crimeans stopped by Bank Line, withdraw and sue for peace [1]:46
1614: Nogai raids within sight of Moscow. During the Time of Troubles so many captives were taken that the price of a slave at Kaffa dropped to fifteen or twenty gold pieces [1]:66
1618: Nogais release 15,000 captives in peace treaty with Moscow.[4]
1632: Force from Livny ambushed by Tatars and Janissaries(sic). 300 killed and the rest enslaved[1]:67
1632: 20,000 Tatars raid south of lines because troops were shifted for Smolensk War[1]:76
1633: 30,000 Tatars cross Abatis and Bank lines. Thousands of captives from Oka region[1]:76.(the last deep raid into Muscovy[5] :26)
1635: Many small war parties south of Ryazan[1]:79
1637,41-43: Raids by Nogais and Crimean nobles without permission of Khan[1]:90
1643: 600 Tatars and 200 Zaporozhian Cossacks(sic) raid near Kozlov. 19 killed, 262 captured.[1]:23
1644: 20,000 Tatars raid southern Muscovy, 10,000 captives[1]:91
1645: 6,000 captives. (It is claimed that the Turks encouraged these raids to obtain galley slaves for a war with Venice)[1]:91
- c1650: Belgorod Line pushes Russian forts 300 km south of the Abatis Line.
- c1680: Izium Line: Russian forts within 150 kilometers of Black Sea.
- 1687,89: Crimean campaigns: attempt to invade Crimea fails.
1691-92:Several thousand captives from near Izium Line[1]:183
1769: Winter raid into New Serbia. Prisoners by the thousands[6]
- 1774: Crimea a Russian vassal
- 1783: Crimea annexed by Russia.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Davies (2007). Warefare,State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe,1500-1700.
- ^ Janet Martin, 'Treasure from the Land of Darkness,1986, page 201
- ^ a b Stevens, Carol (2007). Russia's Wars of Emergence 1460-1730.
- ^ Michael Khodarkovsky, 'Russia's Steppe Frontier,2002, page 22
- ^ Sunderland, Willard (2004). Taming the Wild Field.
- ^ Lord Kinross, 'The Ottoman Centuries', page 397
(number following a footnote is the page number)
Source
- Vasily Klyuchevsky, The Course of Russian History, Vol. 2.
- http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/HISTORY/ANDREEW_A_R/krym_history.txt
- The Full Collection of Russian Annals. The Patriarchal Annals, vol.13, Moscow. 1965
External links
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