The Status of Kasimov Chinggisids during the Reigns of Vasily II and Ivan III according to Written Sources

• Main Author: M.A. Nesin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: State Institution «Sh.Marjani Institute of History of Tatarstan Academy of Sciences» 2017-06-01
• Series: Zolotoordynskoe Obozrenie
• Online Access: http://goldhorde.ru/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/%D0%97%D0%9E-2-2017-397-411.pdf
• ISSN: 2308-152X; 2313-6197

Research objective: To study the issue both of the status of Kasimov Chinggisids as well as of the attitude toward the service Tatars and the Tatars who were allied to Moscow during the reigns of the great Moscow princes Vasily II and Ivan III. Research materials: Published and unpublished sources: books of official orders in the Russian state, chronicles, acts, diplomatic documents, etc. Results and novelty of the research: This work is the first comprehensive study of this topic. The author comes to the conclusion that Kasimov’s rulers during this period were considered servitors, vassals in relation to the Moscow principality. This was facilitated by the demesnial position of Kasimov, which was considered part of the grand prince’s domain rather than a sovereign splinter of the Golden Horde. Kasimov Chinggisids did not have a large military force in order to create an independent khanate in the steppe capable of competing, for example, with Kazan, and they relied on the strong Moscow principality performing military service for it, receiving money for proper maintenance and obeying the grand prince’s orders. At the same time, Ivan III even considered the possibility of replacing Daniyar in Kasimov with another serving prince during his lifetime. In addition, the author shows how much the attitude towards the service Tatars and the Tatar detachments, who were allied to Moscow, differed in different Russian lands.