“Vilayet Chachan” based on the chronicle “History of Giray Khan” (XV century)

Abstract

The chronicle “History of Giray Khan” is a valuable source on the history of Caucasus of the XV century. The text of the chronicle mentions the vilayet – the administrative divisions of Girim, Charkas, Chachan, Dagestan, Ganja and Shamakhi; the region Chachan alongside other domains is conquered by Giray Khan – the representative of Giray Dynasty and leader of the Circassians. This substantiates the need for studying the text to determine the time of the conquest of Chachan, as well as other areas of the region, which would allow studying the history of the region more thoroughly. Comparative analysis is conducted on the events described in the chronicle and the overall historical picture of this period. The author draws parallel, and in some instances direct identification of the known events and dynasties with the episodes and characters from the chronicle. An attempt is made to dateline all key events associated with the activity of Giray Khan, including the conquest of the Chachan Vilayet. The dates acquired in the course of analysis give a more detailed perspective on the history of Central and Norteast Caucasus, including the Chechen Republic. The historical analysis proves the facts described in the chronicle and reveals the circumstances of the conquest of North Caucasus. There is no sufficient grounds to fully identify Giray Khan with Khan Nur Devlet. However, the image of Giray Khan encapsulated part of the biography of the Crimean khan, and perhaps depicts the story of the son, one of the brothers, or a close relative of Nur Devlet, who became the ruler in Caucasus, and possibly, founded one of the Kumukh Shamkhal dynasties. The Giray Khan’s conquest of the Chachan vilayet the author dates to 1452-1459, with a remark that the entire process has taken place in three or four waves during the last third of the XIV – mid XV century.