Kalga (title)
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Kalga ( , ka, კალგა) was the highest ranked official after the
khan Khan may refer to: * Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name * Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by various ethnicities Art and entertainment * Khan (band), an English progressiv ...
in the hierarchy of the
Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...
. The title of kalga was introduced Law and Division of Power in the Crimean Khanate (1532-1774): With Special Reference to the Reign of Murad Giray (1678-1683), by Natalia Królikowska-Jedlińska, 2018, publisher BRILL, ISBN 9004384324, 9789004384323 in 1486 by
Meñli I Giray Meñli I GirayCrimean Tatar language, Crimean Tatar, Ottoman Turkish and (1445–1515) was thrice the List of Crimean khans, khan of the Crimean Khanate (1466, 1469–1475, 1478–1515) and the sixth son of Hacı I Giray. Biography Stru ...
for his son Mehmed Geray in order to establish a firm order of succession to the throne. Prior to that, power in the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...
was inherited by a senior member of the khan's family, which led to endless strife. This may have been Mengli's intention, but in later reigns the khanship usually went to one of the khan's relatives without much regard to who had been kalga. The khan, kalga and nureddin were always members of the Giray clan. From an early date the khans were confirmed by the Ottoman Sultan. From the seventeenth century khans were increasingly installed and removed by the Turks. The successor to the Crimean Khan or a trusted member of the Khan's family was appointed to the position of kalga. In the event of the death of khan, the kalga ruled the country until the appointment of a new monarch. He was also the commander in chief of the army if the khan did not go to war personally. The kalga had a residence in
Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...
, known as Ak-Mosque at the time, and ruled the city of
Bilohirsk Bilohirsk (until 1944 – Karasubazar, ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Bilohirsk Raion, one of the raions (districts) of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, which is recognised by a majority of countries as part of Ukraine, but i ...
, known as Karasubazar at the time, and its environs.


Other Crimean titles

*The nureddin (
Nur al-Din Nur al-Din () is a male Arabic given name, translating to "light of Faith", ''nūr'' meaning "light" and ''dīn'' meaning "religion". More recently, the name has also been used as a surname. There are many Romanized spelling variants of the name. T ...
) was third in rank after the khan and kalga. This title was introduced in 1578 or 1579 by Mehmed the Fat. Like the kalga, he was normally a close relative of the khan. His official residence was at Bakhchisarai and he had his own officials, but not as many as his superiors. The nureddin was sometimes unofficially associated with the Mansur clan in the northwestern steppe-like part of the peninsula and therefore with the steppe nomads, just as the kalga was sometimes unofficially associated with the Shirin clan in the east and therefore with the Turks at Kaffa. *The Or-Beg was the governor of
Perekop Perekop ( Ukrainian & Russian: Перекоп; ; ) is a village located on the Perekop Isthmus connecting the Crimean peninsula to the Ukrainian mainland. It is known for the Or Qapi fortress, which served as the gateway to Crimea. The villa ...
. Howorth calls him the third dignitary in the state, but the title is hard to find before about 1690. *The Begs (
Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...
) were leaders of the Crimean clans. * Mirza was a title used by some Nogai chiefs. *The Seraskers ( Serasker) were Crimean agents in the Nogai hordes, especially Budjak and Kuban. The title first appears perhaps around 1700. *Sultan was an honorific sometimes given to members of the Giray clan in Turkish sources.


Further reading

* VV Panashenko . Kalga, kalga-sultan // Encyclopedia of the History of Ukraine () : in 10 volumes / editor: VA Smoliy (chairman) and others. ; Institute of History of Ukraine, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine . - K . : Наукова думка , 2007. - Т. 4: Ка - Ком. - P. 29. - 528 p. : il. - ISBN 978-966-00-0692-8 . (In Ukrainian) * Bushakov V. On the origin of the title of Kalga in the Crimean Khanate () // Vatan. - 1991. - № 3. - 14-18. (In Ukrainian) * Buszakow WA On the origin of the title of kalag in Chanakie Krymsky // Rocznik muzułmański. - Warzawa. - 1994. - R. 3. - T. 2. - S. 85-88. (In Polish)


References

{{reflist Crimean Khanate Ottoman period in Ukraine History of the Ottoman Empire in Europe Islam in Ukraine Noble titles