Sahin Giray
Encyclopedia
Şahin Giray was the last Khan of Crimea
. He was born in 1745 in Edirne
.
He studied in Greece
and also in Venice
.
He reputedly spoke the Crimean Tatar
language as well as Ottoman Turkish
, Italian
and Greek
.
When he was 20, his uncle Crimean Khan Qırım Giray called him back to the Crimea from his foreign school whereupon he was installed as the Commander of Nogai Horde
. In 1770, Russian Empire
won a great battle against the Ottoman Empire
and sought an alliance with the Crimean Khanate
against the Turks. However, this proposal was strongly opposed by Selim Giray
. Following this rebuke Russia launched a surprise attack on the Crimea forcing
the Khan to send envoys to Saint Petersburg
to sue for peace. During this mission Catherine II met Şahin Giray and wrote of him:
In 1776, Şahin Giray succeeded his uncle to become Khan of Crimea. During his brief reign he embarked on a program to re-build and modernise the Crimean Khanate. These reforms centred on the economy and government infrastructure but included opening factories and moving the capital from Bakhchisaray
to the important trade city of Caffa .
Eventually under enormous pressure from Russian and facing the inevitability of defeat, he agreed to a Russian offer to incorporate the khanate in to the Russian Empire. Following this he was compelled to move to Saint Petersburg
where he lived under house arrest. He appealed to be allowed to move to Edirne
where he had spent much of his childhood. In 1787, Russia and the Ottoman Empire agreed to allow him to move to Edirne. This move was not the retirement he was expecting because the Ottoman authorities saw him as a possible challenger to the imperial Ottoman throne. He was moved under arrest to Istanbul
and then Rhodes
where he was executed later that year.
His grandsons lived in Bursa, Istanbul and other Turkish cities.
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. He was born in 1745 in Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
.
He studied in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and also in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
He reputedly spoke the Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatar language
The Crimean Tatar language is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria...
language as well as Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish language
The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
.
When he was 20, his uncle Crimean Khan Qırım Giray called him back to the Crimea from his foreign school whereupon he was installed as the Commander of Nogai Horde
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation of about eighteen Turkic and Mongol tribes that occupied the Pontic-Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghits constituted a core of the Horde...
. In 1770, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
won a great battle against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and sought an alliance with the Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate
Crimean Khanate, or Khanate of Crimea , was a state ruled by Crimean Tatars from 1441 to 1783. Its native name was . Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Toqa Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan...
against the Turks. However, this proposal was strongly opposed by Selim Giray
Selim Giray
Selim Giray, Turkish born American Violinist, Researcher, and Conductor.- Biography :Turkish born violinist Selim Giray serves as Associate Professor of Violin, Viola and Artistic Director and Conductor of PSU Chamber Orchestra and Southeast Kansas Symphony Orchestra at Pittsburg State...
. Following this rebuke Russia launched a surprise attack on the Crimea forcing
the Khan to send envoys to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
to sue for peace. During this mission Catherine II met Şahin Giray and wrote of him:
"The Crimean Prince is the most gentle Tatar, I have ever seen. He's very talented,bronze-colored,good-looking,circumcised and writes poetry. He wants to see and learn everything."
In 1776, Şahin Giray succeeded his uncle to become Khan of Crimea. During his brief reign he embarked on a program to re-build and modernise the Crimean Khanate. These reforms centred on the economy and government infrastructure but included opening factories and moving the capital from Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray
Bakhchisaray is a town in Central Crimea, centre of the Bakhchisaray raion , best known as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate...
to the important trade city of Caffa .
Eventually under enormous pressure from Russian and facing the inevitability of defeat, he agreed to a Russian offer to incorporate the khanate in to the Russian Empire. Following this he was compelled to move to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
where he lived under house arrest. He appealed to be allowed to move to Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
where he had spent much of his childhood. In 1787, Russia and the Ottoman Empire agreed to allow him to move to Edirne. This move was not the retirement he was expecting because the Ottoman authorities saw him as a possible challenger to the imperial Ottoman throne. He was moved under arrest to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and then Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
where he was executed later that year.
His grandsons lived in Bursa, Istanbul and other Turkish cities.