The Nogai Horde was a

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

founded by the

Nogais The Nogais ( ) are a Kipchaks, Kipchak people who speak a Turkic languages, Turkic language and live in Southeastern Europe, North Caucasus, Volga region, Central Asia and Turkey. Most are found in Northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well ...

that occupied the

Pontic–Caspian steppe The Pontic–Caspian Steppe is a steppe extending across Eastern Europe to Central Asia, formed by the Caspian and Pontic steppes. It stretches from the northern shores of the Black Sea (the ''Pontus Euxinus'' of antiquity) to the northern a ...

from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the

Kalmyks Kalmyks (), archaically anglicised as Calmucks (), are the only Mongolic ethnic group living in Europe, residing in the easternmost part of the European Plain. This dry steppe area, west of the lower Volga River, known among the nomads as ...

and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the

Manghud The Manghud, or Manghit (, ''Mangud;'' ) were a Mongol tribe of the Urud-Manghud federation, and a sub-clan of Borjigin, Manghuds (Mangkits or Mangits) who moved to the Desht-i Qipchaq steppe were Turkified. They established the Nogai Horde ...

s constituted a core of the Nogai Horde. In the 13th century, the leader of 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 ...

, Nogai Khan, a direct descendant of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

through

Jochi Jochi (; ), also spelled Jüchi, was a prince of the early Mongol Empire. His life was marked by controversy over the circumstances of his birth and culminated in his estrangement from his family. He was nevertheless a prominent Military of the ...

, formed an army of the Manghits joined by numerous Turkic tribes. A century later the Nogays were led by Edigu, a commander of Manghit paternal origin and Jochid maternal origin, who founded the Nogai dynasty. In 1557, Nogai ''Nur-al-Din'' Qazi Mirza quarreled with Ismael Beg and founded the

Lesser Nogai Horde The Lesser Nogai Horde, not to be confused with the (Greater) Nogai Horde on the Caspian, was the Nogais, Nogai Tatar territory in Krasnodar Krai, Kuban (on the eastern shore of the Sea of Azov), allied with the Crimean Khanate, during the 16th ...

on the steppe of the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

. The Nogais north of the Caspian were thereafter called the Great Nogai Horde. In the early 17th century, the Horde broke down further under the onslaught of the Kalmyks. The Nogais north of the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

were nominally subject to 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 ...

rather than the Nogai Bey. They were divided into the following groups:

Budjak Budjak, also known as Budzhak, is a historical region that was part of Bessarabia from 1812 to 1940. Situated along the Black Sea, between the Danube and Dniester rivers, this #Ethnic groups and demographics, multi-ethnic region covers an area ...

(from the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

to the

Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...

), Yedisan (from the Dniester to the Bug), Jamboyluk (Bug to

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

), Yedickul (north of Crimea) and

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

. In particular, the Yedisans are mentioned as a distinct group, and in various locations.

Society

There were two groups of

: those north of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

under their own

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 ...

(leader), and those north of the

nominally subject to the Crimean Khan. The first group was broken up circa 1632 by the

. The second shared the fate of the Khanate of Crimea. The

Nogai language Nogai ( ; , , , ) also known as Noğay, Noghay, Nogay, or Nogai Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken in Southeastern European Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. It is the ancestral language of the Nogais. As a m ...

was a form of Kypchak Turkic, the same language group as that of the neighboring Kazakhs, Bashkirs and Crimean and Volga Tatars. They were mostly Sunni Muslims, but their religious institutions were not centralised and the Nogais strongly opposed any efforts to do so. When the Ottomans tried to impose their control over the Nogai Horde, they heavilly supported the creation of new mosques and madrasses as they served as the instrument of political legitimisation for the Ottoman sultan who also served as the Caliph. However, those attempts were mostly unsuccessful and the Ottomans failed to demolish the authority of the tribe leaders and centralize their rule over the Nogais. They were pastoral

nomad Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

s grazing sheep, horses, and camels. Outside goods were obtained by trade (mostly horses and slaves), raiding, and tribute. There were some subject peasants along the Yaik river. One of the main sources of income for the Nogais was raiding for slaves, who were sold in Crimea and

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

. Hunting, fishing, caravan taxation, and seasonal agricultural migration also played a role, although this is poorly documented. The basic social unit was the semi-autonomous ''ulus'' or band. Aristocrats were called '' mirza''. The ruler of the Nogais was the Bey. The capital or winter camp was at Saraychik, a caravan town on the lower Yaik. From 1537 the second in rank was the ''Nur-al-Din'', usually the Bey's son or younger brother and expected successor. The ''Nur-al-Din'' held the right bank along the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

. From the 1560s there was a second ''Nur-al-Din'', a sort of a war chief. Third in rank was the ''Keikuvat'', who held the Emba. Political organization was fluid and much depended on personal prestige since as nomads, the Nogai subjects could simply move away from a leader who was disliked. Ambassadors and merchants were regularly beaten and robbed. Stealing horses, looked down upon in many cultures, was an important part of social and economic life on the steppe. Beys and Mirza's would often declare themselves vassals of some outside power, but such declarations had little meaning.

Slavery and raids

The Nogai Horde along with the

raided settlements in Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Poland. The slaves were captured in southern Russia, Poland-Lithuania,

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, and

Circassia Circassia ( ), also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in . It spanned the western coastal portions of the North Caucasus, along the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Circassia was conquered by the Russian Empire during ...

by Tatar horsemen in a trade known as the " harvesting of the steppe". In

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

alone, about one-third of all the villages were destroyed or abandoned between 1578 and 1583. Some researchers estimate that altogether more than 3 million people were captured and enslaved during the time of the Crimean Khanate.

History

Decline of the Golden Horde

1444 map Khanates Lithuania Novgorod Pskov Muscovy Ryazan Tver

After the Mongols managed to destroy the Cuman-Kipchak Confederation and conquered its lands, they established the Golden Horde also known as Ulus Juchi. At its peak it dominated most of the land area between Volga and Danube rivers. During this time Manghit Edigu Bey (Edigu) rose to power and managed to reorganize the various Manghit tribes into the Nogai Horde. Due to his role in defeating and killing Tokhtamysh he was granted a great measure of independence to the Nogai Horde and giving him control over much of the western territories of the Golden Horde. However, soon after his death, at the beginning of the 15^th century the Golden Horde had entered a period of internal decline due to struggle for power between Crimea and Nogais and eastern Khanates. Additionally the consequences of Tamerlane’s fatal expeditions, and the rising power of Lithuania and Muscovy also led to diminishing power of the Golden Horde and eventual collapse in 1501, when the Crimeans sacked the capital city of the Golden Horde – Sarai.Başer, Alper. “Conflicting Legitimacies in the Triangle of the Noghay Hordes, Crimean Khanate, and Ottoman Empire.” ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 36, no. 1/2 (2019): 105–22. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48585260.

Independence and the Conflict with Crimean Khanate

Due to the decentralised nature of the Golden Horde, the Nogais were relatively independent of their overlords in Sarai and thus didn't oppose the Crimeans in their fight with the Golden Horde. However, after the sack of Sarai and the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Crimeans started to claim legitimacy as the successors of the Golden Horde and thus wanted to expand their rule over the Nogais. They justified their expansion, by invoking the title of "Khan" which showed their connection to Chingissids. But, as the Nogais were one of a few tribes whose rulers descended not from the Chingissids but from their own dynasty, they rejected any authority of Crimean Khan, which eventually led to clashes and conflicts between them. The first and most important attempt of Crimean Khanate to subjugate the Nogais ended when the Nogais killed the Crimean Khan

Mehmed I Giray Mehmed I Giray Crimean Tatar, Ottoman Turkish and (1465–1523, reigned 1515–1523) was khan of the Crimean Khanate. He was preceded by his father Meñli I Giray (r. 1478–1515) and followed by his son Ğazı I Giray (1523–1524). He gained ...

, near Astrakhan. Such hostilities resulted in the tension between the two nations and thus many Nogai and Crimean sources from that period started depicting their opponents in a very negative light which was then heavily exaggerated in the folklore and other fictional stories of that, which created a sense of heavy anomicity and hostility between the two people.

Chronology

Independence

This data is from the English-language sources below. A long list of Nogai raids on Russia and Poland, from Russian sources, can be found at Crimean-Nogai raids. *c. 1509 Nogais move into lands vacated by Great Horde *1519 end of Moscow–Crimean alliance *1521 Nogais, driven west by the Kazakhs, cross the Volga and attack Astrakhan. *c. 1522 Kazakhs capture Nogai capital *1523 Crimea briefly takes Astrakhan, but its army and Khan are destroyed by the Nogais. *1547

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar of all Russia, Tsar and Grand Prince of all R ...

, Grand Prince of Moscow, becomes the first Tsar of All Rus'. *1552 Kazan annexed by Muscovy. Nogais lose tribute *c. 1550–1560 Crimean Tatars and Nogais again attack Ryazan land *1556 Astrakhan annexed by Muscovy. Nogais lose tribute *1557 Mirza Kazy crosses the Volga and founds Small Horde along the Kuban *1567–1571 Muscovite fort on the Terek, south of Nogais *1569 Ottomans and Crimeans with Small Horde fail to take Astrakhan *1570s Kazakh pressure shifts Nogai trade away from Central Asia toward Moscow *1571 Russo-Crimean Wars (1571) Crimean–Nogai attack on Moscow. 100,000 horsemen. Moscow burned *1577 Crimean Tatars and Nogais continue to raid the southern Muscovite lands and lead Temnikov to ruins *1580/81 or 1577: Saraichick destroyed by the Cossack raiders *1582/83 Muscovite peace with Sweden and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. *1584 Crimean–Nogai pillage Ryazan land. Nogais capture "countless Slavic people". *1588 many Nogais move to Don. Very destructive fighting between Big and Small Hordes *1593 Nogais operate in Voronezh and Livni *1594 Nogais (up to 8 thousand) raid southern Muscovite lands. The enemy is besieged and Nogais storm the city. *1598 Moscow pushes fortifications south *1600 Moscow 'appoints' a Nogai Bey for the first time. Beginning of the civil war among Nogais

Decline

*1500–1850 Russian population expands southward and occupies forest-steppe and steppe. This is poorly documented *1605–1618 During the

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

so many captives were taken that the price of a slave at Kaffa dropped to fifteen or twenty gold pieces. Nogais ravage and burn many of the "Ukraine and Seversk" cities, towns, villages and suburbs, killing and taking prisoners from the locals. *1616 Raids on Russian borders by large numbers of Nogais *1617 Nogais and Azov Tatars invade southern Russia three times to plunder the village and capture prisoners. *1618 Nogais release 15,000 captives in peace treaty with Moscow. *1619 Isterek Bey dies. Civil war. Status of Beyship uncertain after this *1628 Crimean Tatars and Nogais begin to ravage the surrounding towns and villages of Poland, killing and capturing the local population. *1633 last Crimean–Nogai raid to reach the Oka *1634 major defeat of Nogais by Kalmyks *1637, 1641–1643: Raids by Nogais and Crimean nobles without permission of the Khan *1640 Crimean Tatars and Nogais terribly ravage Volhynia, Podolia and Galicia, taking a large number of captives. *1643 Kalmyks push back from Astrakhan *1664 Crimean Tatar and Nogai noblemen with their troops take part in the military campaign against the Polish king and devastate Livny and Bryansk counties *1693 Kalmyks attack Nogais, as agents of Russia *1699 Nogai forces continue to raid the southern Russian cities. *1711 20,474 Kalmyks and 4,100 Russians attack Kuban. They kill 11,460 Nogays, drown 5,060 others and return with 2,000 camels, 39,200 horses, 190,000 cattle, 220,000 sheep and 22,100 human captives, of whom only 700 are adult males. On the way home they meet and defeat a returning Nogai war party and free 2,000 Russian captives. *1720s 15,000 Nogai 'tents' flee Kalmyks for Kuban. *1736–1739 Russians temporarily hold Azov *1770 Yedisans ally with Russia, blocking the land route from the Balkans to Crimea *1771 Exodus of Trans-Volga Kalmyks back to Dzungaria *1772 many Crimean Nogais accept Russian protection *1774 Crimea is proclaimed independent from the Ottoman Empire by the Russo-Ottoman

Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (; ), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on , in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kaynardzha, Bulgaria and Cuiugiuc, Romania) between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, ending the R ...

. The khanate increasingly falls under Russia's influence *1783 Crimea annexed by Russia; many Nogais move from lower Dnieper to Kuban *1783: Kuban Nogai Uprising: last attempt to resist

Post-Conquest history

During the next 150 years, Black Sea grain ports assist massive southward expansion of Russian agriculture and population. *1783 – 19th century: Nogais east of the Black Sea push southeast to their present location *c. 1860 Several hundred thousand Muslims migrate from Russia to the Ottoman Empire *1928 Nogaysky District, Dagestan established *2002 Nogay population: 90,700 *2007 Nogay District formed in Karachay-Cherkessia

Partial list of beys and mirzas

* Temir Khan Nogai (1480): at Ugra standoff, 1481: assassinated Ahmed Khan. * Musa Mirza (died 1506): said to have 17 sons, among them: ** Sheidiak (1521): defeated

Astrakhan Khanate The Khanate of Astrakhan was a Tatar rump state of the Golden Horde. The khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, around the modern city of Astrakhan. Its khans claimed patrilineal de ...

1551: near

Urgench Urgench (//, ; ; ) is a district-level city in western Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Xorazm Region. The estimated population of Urgench in 2021 was 145,000, an increase from 139,100 in 1999. It lies on the Amu Darya River and the Shavat canal ...

** Mamay Khan (died 1549): Murdered the Crimean khan in 1523. 1530s: near Yaik, then near Kazan. ** Yosuf Khan (1549–1555): (on Yaik, anti-Moscow) circa 1535: near

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

. 1549: helped Moscow against Kazan. 1551: near Yaik, broke with Moscow, claimed to have 300,000 horsemen and 8 sons. circa 1552: dissuaded from raid on Moscow. 1555: murdered by Araslan Mirza. ** Ismail Khan Nogai (1555–1564) (on Volga, pro-Moscow) 1551: near Astrakhan. 1554: helped to take Astrakhan. 1555: sent 20,000 horses to Moscow 1555: Beg. 1556–57: Yosuf's sons (especially Yunus) seized his property. 1558: abandoned and starved, sent across Volga to buy food. 1560: tried to attack Crimea, blocked by Kazy Mirza *

Söyembikä of Kazan Söyembikä (also spelled ''Söyenbikä, Sujumbike,'' pronounced ; Cyrillic: ''Сөембикә'') (1516 – after 1554) was a Nogais, Nogai ruler, ''xanbikä''. She served as regent of Kazan during the minority of her son from 1549 until 15 ...

, daughter of Yosuf, widow of Kazan Khan, Moscow's captive * Arslan Mirza, son of Kuchum, killed Yosuf, Keikuvat under Ismael * Kazi Mirza (died 1577): son of Mamay. 1551: near

Jaxartes The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan and eastern ...

. 1555: Nureddin under Ismael. circa 1557: broke with Ismael when Ismael appoints Tin Ahmed his successor. Fled to Kuban, founding Small Horde. 1577: killed in war with

Kabardians The Kabardians (Kabardian language, Kabardian: Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Adyghe language, Adyghe: Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; ) or Kabardinians are one of the twelve major Circassians, Circassian tribes, representing one ...

* Tin Ahmad (1564–1579): 1577 said to support raids on Moscow * Urus Khan Nogai (1579–1590): 1581 with

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

attacked Moscow's frontiers. Killed in battle against the Small Horde * Ur Muhamed Khan (1590–1597) * Tin Muhamed (1597–1600) * Isterek (1600–1618): 1600: was installed by Russians at

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

. 1613: was attacked by

, fled to

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, then Azov Sea region. Swore allegiance to both Russians and Turks, then made alliance with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, and received ambassadors from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, refused to be

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

. 1616: was attacked by Crimea, sought Russian protection at Astrakhan. 1618: died under questionable circumstances * Kanai Khan (1622–1634)Khodarkovsky (2004)

Genealogy of Nogai Horde

Notes

References

* Khodarkovsky, Michael. ''Russia's Steppe Frontier'', 2004 * Related books by Willard Sunderland (Taming the Wild Field), Alan W Fisher (Crimean Tatars), Martha Brill Olcott (Volga Tatars) and Khodarkovsky (1992 ''Where Two Worlds Met'', on Kalmyks) * Başer, Alper. “Conflicting Legitimacies in the Triangle of the Noghay Hordes, Crimean Khanate, and Ottoman Empire.” ''Harvard Ukrainian Studies'' 36, no. 1/2 (2019): 105–22. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48585260. * Kara, Dávid Somfai. “BABA TÜKLI AND THE SWAN GIRL. LEGITIMISING ELEMENTS IN THE TURKIC EPIC EDIGE.” ''Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae'' 63, no. 2 (2010): 117–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23659044. {{Authority control 1634 disestablishments Tatar states Early modern history of Russia States and territories established in the 1440s States and territories disestablished in 1634 History of Ural Khanates Nogai people Mongol rump states 1630s disestablishments in Asia 1440s establishments in Asia