The Crimean Khan Şahin Giray (1777–1783): The First Modernizer of the Islamic World and his Image in Imperial and Minority Perspectives

Abstract

Abstract The last Tatar khan in the Crimean Peninsula, Şahin Giray, lived during the period that saw the annexation of this Ottoman suzerainty by the Russian Empire. He is the first recorded Muslim ruler in history who tried to introduce a program of modernization based on contemporary European models, and his reforms concerned all spheres of Tatar society. In spite of his collaboration with the Russian Empire, Russian historiography is generally critical toward this khan and skeptical regarding his reforms. The Ottoman historians saw Şahin as a traitor, therefore his achievements were ignored in their writings. A completely different approach regarding Şahin Giray and his innovations can be found in a little-known Jewish-Karaite chronicle, presenting an additional cultural-historical dimension from the perspective of minorities. The purpose of the present article is to analyze political and socio-cultural factors of these distinctions between the imperial standpoint and minority perspective.