2022, vol. 10, no. 4. Karpov S.P.

2022, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 758-769

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2022-10-4.758-769
EDN: https://elibrary.ru/CLPXZQ

   TIMUR-SULTAN AND KERIM-BIRDI:
TWO ATTACKS ON VENETIAN TANA IN 1410 AND IN 1418

S.P. Karpov
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Moscow, Russian Federation
spkarp1204@yandex.ru

Abstract: The purpose of the study is to consider the problem of the existence of the Venetian and Genoese trading stations in Tana within the territory of the Golden Horde city of Azak during the internecine war in the Golden Horde between the sons of Toktamysh and Idegei. Through an analysis of sources, an effort is made to determine the circumstances of the attacks of the Golden Horde khans and the level of damage that arose from them.
Research materials: Unpublished documents of the State Archives of Venice (Italy), as well as Venetian chronicles and historical works of the 15th–16th centuries.
Results and scientific uniqueness: The study of Venetian sources showed that during the second period of turmoil in the Golden Horde which erupted after the defeat of Toktamysh by Tamerlane, Tana trading stations underwent extremely difficult times during the period of the domination of beklerbek Idegei. The point of disagreement between the Tatar khans and the Venetians was the non-payment of a tax for renting land, called terraticum, by the Venetian merchants who traded at the mouth of the Don. The Venetians tried to maneuver between the sons of Toktamysh and the henchmen of Idegei, but since power in the Horde often changed hands at the time, Tana became a hostage in this internecine struggle. In 1410, Tana suffered from an unexpected night raid by Timur Khan and was captured. The damage amounted to between 100,000 and 120,000 ducats. Many Venetian sources tell us about these events, but with great discrepancies in details. Thanks to the inclusion of an important commerce-related source – the protocol of the Venetian judges on petitions – we can determine the exact date of the attack, the name of the khan, and the amount of damage. In 1418, there was an even more devastating second attack on Tana by Khan Kerim-birdi. After that, the Venetian Senate, having comprehensively studied the situation, decided to surround Tana with stone walls and repair its fortifications. Thanks to the erection of strong fortifications at Tana, it was possible for the town to hold out until the Ottoman Turkish conquest in 1475.

Keywords: Tana, Azak, Venetian trading station, Genoese, Timur-sultan, Kerim-birdi, Idegey, Venetian State Archives, deliberations, chronicles, consul of Tana

For citation: Karpov S.P. Timur-sultan and Kerim-birdi: Two attacks on Venetian Tana in 1410 and in 1418. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2022, vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 758–769.  DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2022-10-4.758-769 (In Russian)

Acknowledgments: The study was carried out within the framework of the work under the Russian Science Foundation grant 22-18-00167 (The Black Sea region and the Mediterranean world in the era of crises and changes in the Middle Ages).

REFERENCES

  1. Gulevich V.P. From the Horde Ulus to the Girays’ Khanate: Crimea in 1399–1502. Kazan: Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, 2018. 492 (In Russian)
  2. Karpov S.P. Kak Feniks iz pepla: vozrozhdenie torgovli v Tane posle katastrofy 1395 g. [Like a Phoenix from the Ashes: The Rebirth of Tana’s Trade after the 1395 Disaster]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2020, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 504–514. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2020-8-3.504-514 (In Russian)

2a. Karpov S.P. История Таны (Азова) в XIII–XV вв. Vol. 1. Тана в XIII–XIV вв. [History of Tana (Azov) in the 13th–15th Centuries. Tana in the 13th–14th Centuries). St. Petersburg: Aleteyya Publ., 2021. (In Russian)

  1. Karpov S.P. O razgrome Tany Tamerlanom v 1395 g.: sobytie i ego posledstviya [Destruction of Tana by Tamerlane in 1395: Event and Consequences]. Povolzhskaya Arkheologiya [The Volga River Region Archaeology]. 2020, no. 2 (32), pp. 38–47. DOI: 10.24852/pa2020.2.32.38.47 (In Russian)
  2. Karpov S.P. Sledstvennoe delo konsula venetsianskoy Tany Danielya Loredana (1412) [Investigation of a case of Daniele Loredan, consul in Tana (1412)]. Prichernomor’e v srednie veka [The Black Sea Region in the Middle Ages]. Karpov S.P. (ed.) St. Petersburg: Aleteyya, 2011, vol. 8, pp. 122–138. (In Russian)
  3. Mirgaleev I.M. The Political History of the Golden Horde During the Reign of Tokhtamysh Khan. Kazan: Alma-Lit, 2003. 164 p. (In Russian)
  4. Mirgaleev I.M. Attempts to revive the Golden Horde in the late XIV – early XV century.The Golden Horde in World History. Kazan: Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences, pp. 698–704. (In Russian)
  5. Prokof’eva N.D. Akty venetsianskogo notariya v Tane Donato a Mano (1413–1419) [The Acts of the Venetian Notary in Tana Donato a Mano (1413–1419)]. Prichernomor’e v srednie veka [The Black Sea Region in the Middle Ages]. Karpov S.P. (ed.) St. Petersburg: Aleteyya Publ., 2000, vol. 4, pp. 36–174. (In Russian)
  6. Dolfin Giorgio. Cronicha dela nobil cità de Venetia et dela sua provintia et destretto. Origini-1458. Caracciolo Aricò A., Frison Ch. (eds.) Venezia: Centro di studi medievali e rinascimentali “E.A. Cicogna”, 2009. Vol. 2. 220 p. (In Italian)
  7. Ex Chronico Iohannis Bembi. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores. Muratori L.A. (ed.) Mediolani: Ex typographia Societatis Palatinae in Regia Curia, 1728, vol. XII, coll. 515–524. (In Latin)
  8. Heyd W. Histoire du commerce du Levant au moyen âge. Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1923. Vol. 2. 799 p. (In French)
  9. Il Codice Morosini. Il mondo visto da Venezia (1094–1433). Nanetti A. (ed.) Spoleto: Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull’alto medioevo, 2010. 2274 p. (In Italian)
  10. Iorga N. Notes et extraits pour servir à l’histoire des Croisades au XVe siècle. Revue de l’Orient Latin. 1896, vol. IV, pp. 25–117, 226–319, 503–622. (In French, Latin)
  11. Martin M.E. Venetian Tana in the Later Fourteenth and Early Fifteenth Centuries. Byzantinische Forschungen. 1987, vol. 11, pp. 375–
  12. Moretto Bon, notaio in Venezia, Trebisonda e Tana (1403-1408). de’Colli S. (ed.) Venezia: Comitato per la pubblicazione delle fonti relative alla storia di Venezia, 1963. X+67 p. (Fonti per la storia di Venezia. Sez. III. Archivi notarili) (In Italian, Latin)
  13. Prost A. Les chroniques vénitiennes. Revue des questions historiques. 1882, A. 16, vol. 31, 62 livraison, pp. 512–5 (In French)
  14. Sanuto Marino. Vitae ducum Venetorum. Rerum Italicarum Scriptores. Muratori L.A. (ed.) Mediolani: Ex typographia Societatis Palatinae in Regia Curia, 1733, vol. XXII, coll. 399–1252. (In Latin)
  15. Thiriet F. Régestes des délibérations du Sénat de Venise concernant la Romanie. Paris-La Haye: Mouton, 1959. Vol. 2. 300 p. (In French)

About the author: Sergey P. Karpov – Dr. Sci. (History), Professor, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the Faculty of History of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Head of the Department of History of the Middle Ages, Head of the Laboratory for the study of the countries of the Black Sea and Byzantium in the Middle Ages, Lomonosov Moscow State University (27, building 4, Lomonosovsky Ave., Moscow 119192, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-1564-2079. E-mail: spkarp1204@yandex.ru

Received  September 14, 2022   Accepted for publication  November 29, 2022
Published   Online December 29, 2022