On the letter sent by the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray to Kazan Khan Muhammad Amin
Makaleler > Tam Makale · 2026
Yazarlar: Serkan ACAR
Golden Horde Review, Uluslararası, Scopus, 2026, cilt 14, ss 368-368
DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2026-14-2.368-384
Özet
To reconstruct the features of the epistolary culture of the Tatar khanates – successors to the Golden Horde – based on a previously unknown document, and to introduce into scholarly circulation a unique letter from Crimean Khan Mengli Giray to Kazan Khan Muhammad Amin. Research materials: The study uses a copy of an original khan’s letter recorded in an Ottoman manuscript in Istanbul. The original document, dating from the early 16th century, is lost; the surviving copy dates from the late 16th century. The letter is written in four languages (Tatar, Ottoman, Arabic, and Persian). The research draws on the publication by Bedriye Sabit, through which Halil İnalcık and Zeki Velidi Togan gained access to the copy. Scientific novelty and results. This document has not yet been introduced into scholarly circulation. It is now presented to the academic community for the first time, accompanied by detailed explanatory notes. The study fills a gap in the source studies of Eastern European medieval history by demonstrating direct correspondence between khans, which has scarcely survived. The introduction of this new source confirms the existence of an epistolary tradition between the Crimean and Kazan khanates in the early 16th century. Despite the loss of the original, the late copy allows us to refine our understanding of diplomatic and cultural ties in the region.