‘A Seditious and Sinister Tribe’: The Crimean Tatars and Their Khanate

The Crimean Tatars were a powerful khanate in the 1440s with a flourishing state, literary culture, religious tolerance, and a prosperous economy, but were misunderstood and feared. Donald Rayfield's book describes their establishment, reign, and fall, concluding with the brutal invasion under Vladimir Putin. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the background to the current war in Ukraine.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2024
Publisher: Reaktion Books

The Crimean Tatars were a group of Turkic-speaking native peoples who established a powerful khanate in Crimea in the 1440s. This khanate remained in power until 1783, making it one of the longest-lasting Turkic states in history. In his first history in English for over 100 years, eminent scholar Donald Rayfield reveals that the Crimean Tatars were a misunderstood and much-feared nation with a flourishing state, vibrant literary culture, religious tolerance, sophisticated constitution, and prosperous economy. Rayfield's book describes the establishment of the khanate, its reign, and its eventual fall, concluding with a vivid portrayal of the Tatars' ruthless suppression by Russia and the Soviet Union and the final, effectively genocidal, invasion under Vladimir Putin. This chronicle is essential reading for anyone interested in the background to the current war in Ukraine.

Weight: 712g
Dimension: 242 x 165 x 34 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789149098