2019, vol. 7, no. 3. Gulevich V.P.

2019, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 568-592

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2019-7-3.568-592

   THE OTTOMAN CONQUEST OF CAFFA (1475), KILIA
AND BELGOROD (1484) IN THE CHRONICLE OF THE TURKS WRITTEN
BY ANTONIO DE HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS, THE SPANISH HISTORIAN

V.P. Gulevich
Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine
gulevych_v@ukr.net

Abstract: Research objectives: To introduce the Russian translation of a little-known Spanish source about the Ottoman conquests of Caffa (1475), and Kilia and Belgorod (1484), into scholarly circulation.
Research materials: Spanish sources on the history of the Golden Horde and the Crimea are very few. Therefore, the Chronicle of the Turks is an important and interesting source for this region dating from the late Middle Ages. The present article contains an introductory essay both about the author of the Chronicle of the Turks, Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas, and the features of his work. The next section contains the original Spanish text describing the capture by the Ottomans of Caffa (1475), Kilia and Belgorod (1484); as well as its Russian translation. This effort represents the first translation of the source into Russian and its introduction into scholarly circulation.
Results and novelty of the research: The main source for the author on the fall of Caffa, and Kilia and Belgorod, was the work of the Italian chronicler, Giovanni Maria Angiolello, though it was creatively revised by A. Herrera de Tordesillas. The author covers the events in the Crimea on the eve of the Ottoman conquest, relations between the Genoese and Tatars, and the mood of Caffa’s inhabitants. He describes the preparation of the Turkish fleet, the siege of the city and its treacherous surrender to the Turkish military, the deception of the Turks and their atrocities against residents who had been surrendered to the mercy of the victors, their plundering, the separation of families, the enslavement of children, and the deportation of the Italian populace to Istanbul. He mentions the capture of other Italian colonies in Crimea, although without providing details. He further describes the Ottoman capture of the strategically important cities of the northwestern Black Sea Region – Kilia and Belgorod in 1484. Here, the author describes the episodes in a concise form, since, compared with the fall of Caffa, these events had a much lower resonance in Europe. Some features of the text by Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas suggest that he did not provide all the information that he actually had available.

Keywords: Ottoman conquest of the Northern Black Sea Region, Caffa, Genoese colonies of Crimea

For citation: Gulevich V.P. The Ottoman Conquest of Caffa (1475), Kilia and Belgorod (1484) in the Chronicle of the Turks written by Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, the Spanish Historian. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2019, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 568–592. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2019-7-3.568-592

Acknowledgment: The author of the article considers it a pleasant duty to sincerely thank the Candidate of Philological Studies, Associate Professor of the Department of Romance Philology at Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University’s Institute of Philology, Liudmila V. Artemova, for her great help in translating the source.

REFERENCES

  1. Dnevnik puteshestviya v Samarkand ko dvoru Timura (1403–1406) [Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court of Timour at Samarcand (1403–1406)]. Per. so staroispanskogo, predisl. i komment. I.S. Mirokovoy. Moscow: Nauka, Glavnaya redaktsiya vostochnoy literatury, 1990. 211 p. (In Russian)
  2. Krim u 1438 r. (Podorozhnі notatki Pero Tafura) [Crimea in 1438 (Pedro Tafur’s travelogue)]. Perekl. і vstup. stat. O. Galenka. Ukraїna v minulomu [Ukraine in the Past]. Is. VIII. Kyiv–L’vіv, 1996, pp. 178–185. (In Ukrainian)
  3. Tafur P. Stranstviya i puteshestviya [Wandering and Traveling]. Perevod, predislovie i kommentarii L.K. Masielya Sanchesa. Moscow: Indrik, 2006. 296 p. (In Russian)
  4. Hautala R., Gulevich V.P. A Letter of the Tuscan Anonym on the Seizure of Caffa in 1475 from the Codex Q 116 supof the Ambrosian Library. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=GoldenHorde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 4, pp. 829–854. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-4.829-854 (In Russian)
  5. Aşık Paşazade. Osmanogullari’nin tarihi. Çeviri ve günümüz diline aktarim: Kemal Yavuz – M.A. Yekta Saraç. İstanbul, 2003. 615 p. (In Turkish)
  6. Book of the Knowledge of All the Kingdoms, Lands, and Lordships That Are in the World. Second series. No. XXIX. London: Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1912. XIV, 85, XXXVI p.
  7. Clavijo R.G. Embassy to Tamerlane. 1403–1406. Introduction and comment, by G. Le Strange. London, 1928. XVIII, 375 p.
  8. Crónica de los turcos, la cual principalmente sigue a la que escribió Juan María Vicentino, cronista de Mahometo, Bayasit, Selim y Suleimán, señores de ellos Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas. Available at: http://bdh.bne.es/bnesearch/detalle/bdh0000014857 (last accessed: 28.04.2019) (In Spanish)
  9. Crónica de los turcos de Antonio Herrera de Tordesillas, en edición de Fernando Fernández Lanza. Available at: http://www.archivodelafrontera.com/wp-content /uploads/2012/03/Cronica_turquesca_DEFINITIVA_con_plantilla.pdf (In Spanish) (last accessed: 28.04.2019)
  10. Donado da Lezze. Historia Turchesca (1300–1515). Publicată, adnotată, impreună cu o introducere de I. Ursu. Bucureşti: Ediţiunea Academiei Romane, 1909. LX, 304 p. (InItalian)
  11. El libro del conoscimiento de todos los reinos = The Book of Knowledge of All Kingdoms. Edition, translation and study by Nancy F. Marino. p. cm. – (Medieval & Renaissance texts & studies; v. 198). Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Voyages and travels. 2. Flags. I. Marino, Nancy F., 1951. II. Tide: Book of knowledge of all kingdoms. III. Series: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies (Series); v. 198. Tempe, Arizona: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 1999. LXXVI. 138 p. (In Spa­nish, English)
  12. 12. Historia del Gran Tamorlán e itinerario y narración del viaje y relación de la embajada que Ruy González de Clavijo le hizo por mandado del muy poderoso señor Rey Don Enrique el Tercero de Castilla y un breve discurso hecho por Gonzalo Argote de Molina para mayor inteligencia de este libro. Madrid, Miraguano Ediciones (Libros de los malos tiempos, 8), 1984. 259 p. (In Spanish)
  13. 13. Lanza F.F. Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas, primer cronista mayor de Indias, autor probable de la «Cronica de los Turcos», fuente manuscrita española de la segunda mitad del siglo XVI, fundamental para un sólido conocimiento del Islám turco y para la reconstrucción de la mutilada «Historia turchesca» de Giovanni Maria Angiolello. Estudios de historia social y económica de América. No 13. 1996, pp. 279–304. (In Spanish)
  14. Monumenta Hungariae historica. Acta extera. Vol. IV. Magyar diplomacziai emlékek Mátyás király korámból 1458–1490. Második kötet. Szereeszték Nagy Iván és B. Nyáry Albert. Budapest: Magyar Tudományos Könyvkiadó-Hivatala, 1877. XXI, 448 p. (InLatin)
  15. Ruy González de Clavijo. Embajada a Tamorlán. Estudio y edición de un manuscrito del siglo XV por Francisco López Estrada. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Nueva colección de libros raros o curiosos, 1), 1943. CXIV, 304, CCLXXXI p. (In Spanish)
  16. Ruy González de Clavijo. Embajada a Tamorlán. Éd. Francisco López Estrada, Madrid, Castalia (Clásicos Castalia, 242), 1999. 422 p., [8] p. de pl. (In Spanish)
  17. Pero Tafur. Travels and Adventures 1435–1439. Translated into English, edition and introduction by Malcolm Letss. London, 1926. XV, 261 p.
  18. Tafur P. Andanças e viajes de Pero Tafur por diversas partes del mundo avidos (1435–1439). Ed. M. Jiménez de la Espada / Coleccion libros españoles, raros ó curiosos. Tomo octavo. Madrid, 1874. Vol. 1. XVIII, 1–320 p., Vol. 2. 321–618 p. (In Spanish)

About the author: Vladislav P. Gulevich – MA (History), Chief Adviser, Office for Relations with the Local Government and the Local Authorities to the Staff of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (5, M. Grushevsky Str., Kyiv 01008, Ukraine). E-mail: gulevych_v@ukr.net

Received   April 30, 2019   Accepted for publication   August 13, 2019
Published online   September 29, 2019