Ğazı II Giray

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Ğazı II Giray
Khan of the Tatar Crimean Khanate
(1st reign)
Reign1588 – 1596
Predecessorİslâm II Giray
SuccessorFetih I Giray
Khan of the Tatar Crimean Khanate
(2nd reign)
Reign1597 – 1607
PredecessorFetih I Giray
SuccessorToqtamış Giray
Born1554
DiedNovember 1607
Temryuk
DynastyGiray dynasty
ReligionIslam

Ğazı II Giray (1554 – November 1607) was a

Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90), gaining the trust of his Ottoman suzerains. He was appointed khan in 1588, after his homeland experienced a period of political turmoil. He failed to capture Moscow during his 1591 campaign against Tsardom of Russia, however he managed to secure a favorable peace treaty two years later. He was then summoned to support his Ottoman allies in the Long Turkish War, taking part in multiple military expeditions centered in Hungary. In late 1596, the Ottoman sultan briefly unseated Ğazı II Giray in favor of Fetih I Giray after heeding the advice of Grand Vizier Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha
. He returned to power three months later, continuing his reign until his death in November 1607.

Early life

Ğazı Giray was born in 1554. Little is known about his youth, it is speculated that while being hanzade (son of the khan)

Tatar raid on Podolia. The raid was sparked by the revolt of Moldavian voivode John III the Terrible who refused to accept the raise in tribute he had to pay to the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans requested the Crimean Khanate to aid them in the conflict after realizing that Zaporozhian Cossacks had intervened on John's side. The conflict ended when the Ottomans executed the Cossack commander Ivan Pidkova and unseated John.[2]

In November 1578, Crimean khan

Gence netted him enough booty. In the meantime, Mehmed's younger brother Alp Giray instigated a revolt, in an effort to take the throne for himself. The Ottomans questioned the loyalty of the khan after he declared that he was an independent ruler rather than an Ottoman vassal, ordering İslâm II Giray to ascend.[3]

Ğazı Giray remained in the Caucasus at the head of a small force. In the winter of 1579, Ğazı Giray distinguished himself during a surprise attack on a Safavid encampment in Gence. The Ottoman sultan rewarded him for this action with 50,000 akçes. In the spring of 1581, Ğazı Giray suffered a defeat in the vicinity of Shemakha and was taken prisoner. After refusing numerous proposals of collaboration he was imprisoned in the Alamut Castle. He managed to escape after he was transferred to Tabriz, joining Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha in Erzurum. He continued his participation in the campaign until the death of Osman Pasha on 30 November 1585. He then traveled to Constantinople where he was granted the salyane of Yambol where he continued to live until 1588. That year he received news that he was appointed khan in place of his brother İslâm II Giray. The Ottomans chose Ğazı Giray due to his familiarity with the inner workings of the empire and his experience in military affairs. Upon his arrival, his authority was not disputed by the Crimean tribal aristocracy.[4]

First Reign

Ğazı Giray's first action as khan was to appoint his brother

Don. In return the Tatars swore not to attack Russia during the summer of 1594, the agreement was concluded in October 1593. The agreement paved the way for the Crimean intervention into the Long Turkish War in Hungary, while Russia was able to augment its northern borders.[5]

On 28 April 1594, the Tatar army crossed into the

Raab and was separated from the city by the river of the same name. On 1 August, the Ottoman–Tatar army crossed the river and stormed the Raab castle, they were met by a flurry of gunfire and were forced to retreat. The following day the Ottomans began constructing a bridge across the river, enabling their musketeers and artillery to close in on their target. On 27 September, a second assault took place, it proved successful and the city fell. A part of the Crimean army was diverted to the fort of Pápa, which they found abandoned. The Muslims then besieged Komárom, however the siege was soon lifted after the advent of winter. Ğazı Giray retired to his winter quarters after leaving 2,000 of his men to garrison Pápa and Székesfehérvár.[6]

The palace intrigues surrounding the death of sultan Murad III frustrated Ottoman plans in Hungary. More importantly Wallachian voivode Michael the Brave and voivode of Moldavia Aaron the Tyrant had revolted against Ottoman authority. In late January 1595, the Tatars now loaded with booty began their journey home. Upon crossing the frozen Danube into Wallachia they were attacked by Michael's troops, suffering a devastating defeat they fell back to Silistra. The Khan informed the grand vizier Serdar Ferhad Pasha of the new state of affairs in Wallachia and urged him to dispatch a fleet to Ochakiv in order to ferry a 100,000 man army under Fetih Giray to the Balkans. The khan spent the summer in Crimea. The arrival of Fetih's army in September coincided with the Ottoman decision to transform Wallachia and Moldavia from tributary states into beylerbeyliks. Ğazı Giray seized the opportunity and requested that one of his relatives be appointed governor of the new province. The Ottomans feared that the Tatars would merge Moldavia with the rest of the khanate and instead appointed Ahmed Bey to the position. The Tatars conquered Moldavia after vanquishing Sigismund Báthory's and Ștefan Răzvan's forces. The Poles reacted by tasking Jan Zamoyski with checking the Tatar advance in the region. The two sides fought the Battle of Cecora (1595) on 19 September, before agreeing to mutually withdraw and recognize Ieremia Movilă as the new Moldavian voivode. The khan wintered in Bender, launching numerous diversionary raids into Wallachia while Fetih Giray besieged Eger with the Ottomans. In the meantime, the Habsburgs had crossed the swamps in the Eger area posing a threat to the Muslim army. The two sides engaged in the Battle of Keresztes on 26 October 1596. The Muslims emerged victorious at the conclusion of the battle, the largest to take place during the course of the war.[7]

Second Reign

Kefe, Baht Giray met a similar fate. Selamet Giray avoided the power struggle by remaining in Circassia. Fetih's reign of three months was thus cut short and Ğazı Giray regained control over the khanate in early 1597.[8]

The khan refused to take part in the 1597 Ottoman campaign in Hungary. After renewing the truce with Russia, he sent envoys to Poland, Wallachia and Moldavia in an attempt to gain concessions. The Crimean army returned to the Balkans in July 1598. The khan served as an intermediary between the sultan and emperor

arquebusiers. Devlet Giray's brothers fled either to Circassia or Anatolia with Selamet Giray following suit. In late August 1602, the khan once again set off for the Hungarian plains. On 23 September, the Tatars were defeated in the battle of Telzayn, whereupon the fell back to Silistria and united with the Ottomans in the middle of October.[10]

Ğazı Giray spent the winter in

Krka and Rába. The Tatars rode home at the end of the winter after the sultan failed to satisfy their monetary demands.[11] Little is known about the last years of the khan's life. He did not campaign in person, sending his son and kalgay Toqtamış Giray to Hungary in 1604. He erected the castle of Gazikerman in Circassia, dying from a plague outbreak shortly afterwards (November 1607). Toqtamış Giray succeeded him as khan following his death.[12]

Notes

  1. JSTOR 4205717
    .
  2. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 10–11.
  3. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 11–17.
  4. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 19–23.
  5. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 23–31.
  6. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 32–38.
  7. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 38–46.
  8. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 47–55.
  9. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 58–69.
  10. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 76–84.
  11. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 84–93.
  12. ^ Türk 2000, pp. 100–104.

References

Preceded by Khan of Crimea
1588–1596 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Khan of Crimea
1597–1607 		Succeeded by
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