CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Kabotyanski, Daniil Evgenievich |
|---|---|
| Title | From Rebellious Allies to Loyal Subjects: The Role of Nogay Hordes in the Russian Annexation of Crimea, 1768-1783 |
| Summary | In the late 18th century, the Nogay hordes inhabiting the Black Sea steppes were nominal subjects of the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire, but maintained a nomadic lifestyle and tribal society, as well as unique religious practices. However, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 they became allies of the Russian military and for nearly a decade afterwards, they maintained a complex web of shifting allegiances between the Russians and Ottomans, often rebelling in support of either side’s candidates for Crimean Khan. It is difficult to understand why a nomadic Muslim steppe people would ally with a state as different from it as Russia, and indeed previous historians have failed to explain the Nogays’ behavior during this period. This study analyzes Russian imperial political, diplomatic, and military correspondence pertaining to the Nogay hordes in order to identify the various factors that motivated their actions during this period, focusing especially on the reasons for changes in allegiance from one empire to the other. The sources are analyzed with reference to theoretical literature on the borderland peoples living on imperial frontiers and on Russian imperial interactions with steppe nomads. The Nogay hordes are found to have used a typical borderland strategy of manipulating their imperial neighbors to gain a combination of benefits including material gain, protection from external threats, and internal autonomy, which included both political self-government and cultural accommodation. An important part of this last point was toleration for the Nogays’ syncretic variety of Islam. It is also found that in negotiations with the Nogays, the Russian state relied on old practices of steppe diplomacy stemming from the early modern period. The Nogays’ unpredictable allegiance and frequent rebellions were a major cause of the Russian annexation of Crimea, which ultimately led to the destruction of the Nogays’ own way of life. |
| Supervisor | Rieber, Alfred J. |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/kabotyanski_daniil.pdf |
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