‘A Seditious and Sinister Tribe’: The Crimean Tatars and Their Khanate

‘A Seditious and Sinister Tribe’: The Crimean Tatars and Their Khanate
by: Donald Rayfield (Author)
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Publication Date: 2024/9/3
Language: English
Print Length: 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1789149096
ISBN-13: 9781789149098
Book Description
With implications for the war in Ukraine, a surprising history of the Crimean Tatars from the fifteenth century to the present day.   The Crimean Tatars were the Turkic-speaking native peoples of Crimea who established a powerful khanate in the 1440s, which remained in power until 1783. In this, the first history in English of this khanate for over one hundred years, eminent scholar Donald Rayfield shows that this misunderstood and much-feared nation was, in fact, a flourishing state with a vibrant literary culture, religious tolerance, a sophisticated constitution, and a prosperous economy. Rayfield’s book describes the establishment of the khanate, its reign, and its eventual fall, concluding with a vivid portrayal of the ruthless suppression of the Tatars—first by Russia and then the Soviet Union—and the final, effectively genocidal, invasion under Vladimir Putin.   This vibrant and ultimately tragic chronicle is essential reading for anyone interested in the background of the current war in Ukraine.
About the Author
With implications for the war in Ukraine, a surprising history of the Crimean Tatars from the fifteenth century to the present day.   The Crimean Tatars were the Turkic-speaking native peoples of Crimea who established a powerful khanate in the 1440s, which remained in power until 1783. In this, the first history in English of this khanate for over one hundred years, eminent scholar Donald Rayfield shows that this misunderstood and much-feared nation was, in fact, a flourishing state with a vibrant literary culture, religious tolerance, a sophisticated constitution, and a prosperous economy. Rayfield’s book describes the establishment of the khanate, its reign, and its eventual fall, concluding with a vivid portrayal of the ruthless suppression of the Tatars—first by Russia and then the Soviet Union—and the final, effectively genocidal, invasion under Vladimir Putin.   This vibrant and ultimately tragic chronicle is essential reading for anyone interested in the background of the current war in Ukraine. Read more