The Tatar tale of Chinese who fled when the forest grew
Editorial contextMüller reports a story still told orally by the Tobolsk Tatars: Siberia was once a bare steppe where the Chinese lived, but when forest began to grow everywhere the people took fright, 'as the land became as if horned', and moved away to their present home. He says it was also written down in 1670 on the orders of the Tobolsk governor Pyotr Godunov. Müller calls it a false tale that no reasonable person can believe, and notes that forest could easily grow over abandoned sites in 450 years without any miracle.
They say that at first all Siberia was a bare steppe without forest, and when at that time the Chinese lived there, forest little by little began to grow in various places, at which the people took fright, because the land became as if horned, and moved to their present dwelling. This tale can still be heard by word of mouth from the Tobolsk Tatars.
Working translation
Original wording
Сказываютъ, якобы сперва вся Сибирь была голая степь безъ лѣсу, а какъ въ оное время Китайцы тамъ жительство свое имѣли, то помалу по разнымъ мѣстамъ началъ лѣсъ расти, чего народъ испужавшись, понеже земля подобно какъ рогатая стала, на нынѣшнее жилище переселился. Сію повѣсть еще и нынѣ у Тобольскихъ Татаръ изустно слышать можно.
About Siberian Tatars of Tobolsk (tellers); 'Chinese' (in the tale)
Keep in mind
Müller records the tale in order to reject it; the next page adds the claim that ruined towns between the Irtysh and Tobol are overgrown with forest.
The scan is too rough to double-check this quote by machine. Compare it with the page.
Who built Kashlyk, the Tatar capital of Sibir
Editorial contextThe chronicle credits a Tatar ruler, Mamet, with founding the town of Kashlyk at the mouth of the little Sibirka river after defeating a khan of Kazan. From this town, it says, the whole land took the name Sibir. The author says he took this from a 'Muslim history', meaning Tatar tradition.
Tsar Mamet defeated Alim, tsar of Kazan, and built the town of Kashlyk at the mouth of the little river Sibirka, spreading his realm in Siberia and making subjects; and from then Siberia and its tsars began to be more famous, as the Muslim history tells.
Working translation
Original wording
Маметь царь казанскаго царя Алима побѣдилъ, и на усть рѣчки Сибирки градъ Кашлыкъ учинилъ, царство въ Сибири распространивъ и поддани учинилъ; и оттолѣ нача славнѣе зватися Сибирь и цари, ихъ же бусурманская исторія повѣдаетъ.
About Siberian Tatars (khans of Sibir)
Keep in mind
The chronicler reports Tatar tradition second-hand; Kashlyk is the town known in other sources as Isker or Sibir.
Yermak enters an empty capital
Editorial contextAfter routing Kuchum's army on the Irtysh, Yermak marched on Sibir, 'the residence of the Tartar princes', expecting a hard fight. Instead the news of the defeat had emptied it; he rode in and sat on the Khan's throne unopposed, and neighbouring peoples came in to swear allegiance and pay tribute.
delay to Sibir, the residence of the Tartar princes … But the news of the late defeat had diffused universal consternation, and Sibir was entirely deserted … he himself soon after made his triumphant entry, and seated himself upon the throne without the least opposition.
About Siberian Tatars
Keep in mind
Based on Siberian chronicles written decades later from the conquerors' side.
OCR normalized; printed margin notes omitted.
'Now we call Tatars our kin in Tobolsk, Kazan and Astrakhan'
Editorial contextThe answer Bichurin got from Turkestanis in Beijing, and his conclusion. It shows 'Tatar' as a name used by outsiders for particular Turkic communities under Russian rule, not the name of a vast state.
I asked them whom they call Tatars. Here is their answer: 'Now we call Tatars a people of the same stock as us, living in Tobol, Kazan and Astrakhan.' The Tatars themselves, on the contrary, assert that this name was given them by neighbouring peoples. … but now there is not a single people, nor even a clan, in Central Asia that calls itself by this name.
Working translation
Original wording
я спрашивалъ ихъ, кого они называютъ Татарами? Вотъ ихъ отвѣтъ: „нынѣ мы называемъ Татарами единоплеменный съ нами народъ, обитающій въ Тоболѣ, Казани и Астрахани.“ Напротивъ, сами Татары утверждаютъ, что сіе названіе дано имъ отъ сосѣднихъ народовъ. … но только нынѣ нѣтъ ни одного не токмо народа, но и поколѣнія въ Средней Азіи, которое бы называлось симъ именемъ.
About Volga and Siberian Tatars, as seen by Turkestani Muslims
A note on this quote
The scan is too rough to double-check this quote by machine. Compare it with the page.
The Tartars of Tobolsk, once subjects of Kuchum Khan
Editorial contextAt Tobolsk the envoys asked about a people the Russians called Tartars (Ta-ta-la), who lived from the Irtysh to Kazan. Russians told them these people had once been subjects of Kuchum Khan (Ku-tching Khan), the last khan of Sibir, and had spread out after Tobolsk became Russian. Tulishen noted that those who had not become Orthodox Christians looked like Chinese Muslims (Hui): short hair, small caps, no pork.
the Russians said: "This people was formerly subject to the Ku-tching Khan, otherwise called Ho-tung. … Some among them have conformed to our religion, but others have not." Such of this people as have not conformed to the religion of the Russians, have the appearance of being (Hoei-tse) Mahometans. They wear small caps, and their hair cut short. They eat no pork
About Siberian Tatars
Keep in mind
The origin story is what Russians told the envoys. The last clause of this passage in the Chinese text (T1072, juan 1, 46a: 别供佛像) differs from Staunton's 'offer no sacrifices to their Divinities', so that detail is uncertain.
Isker, the real Tatar name of the town of Sibir
Editorial contextMüller says Khan Makhmet moved the princely seat from the Tura to a high headland on the Irtysh and fortified it, because the old capital Chimgi (Tyumen), though protected by ravines, a rampart and ditches, lay on flat ground. The ruins could still be seen above Tobolsk. He rejects the idea that 'Sibir' is a Tatar word for 'capital': the Tatars call the fortress Isker, and the name Kashlyk used in the Tobolsk chronicle was, he says, used by no people he knew.
This place is the so-called old Tatar town and fortress of Sibir, whose remains can still be seen upriver of Tobolsk … The true Tatar name of this old fortress is Isker, by which name the Tatars call it to this day.
Working translation
Original wording
Сіе мѣсто есть такъ именуемое старинной Татарской городъ и крѣпость Сибирь, котораго остатки повыше Тобольска … еще и теперь видны. … Подлинное Татарское имя сей старинной крѣпости есть Искеръ, которымъ именемъ Татаре еще и понынѣ оную называютъ.
About Siberian Tatars (khans of the Taibugid line)
Keep in mind
The distance from Tobolsk is garbled in the OCR and has been left out.
Kuchum's empty capital and the mosque the Tatars still kept
Editorial contextJust up the Irtysh from Tobolsk, by a stream called Sibirka that he thought gave all Siberia its name, Spafarii notes the empty little town and earthworks of Kuchum, the Tatar khan who ruled when Yermak's Cossacks came. The site was naturally strong, an island, but deserted. Only the Tobolsk Tatars still renewed a mosque there and came to worship. The editor adds that the historian Müller later described these ruins.
near the stream lies the empty little town and earthworks of Kuchum, tsar of Siberia, who ruled at the time when Yermak came into Siberia; and the place is very strong: it is an island, yet now it lies empty, only the Tobolsk Tatars, in remembrance of their unclean Mahometan faith, renewed a mosque before this and renew it now, in which they come and perform their rites according to their unclean faith.
Working translation
Original wording
близъ рѣчки лежитъ пустой городокъ и шанцы Кучюма царя Сибирского, который владѣлъ въ то время, какъ приходилъ Ермакъ въ Сибирь; и мѣсто то самое крѣпкое: островъ есть, однакожъ нынѣ лежитъ пусто, толко Тоболскія Татары для воспоминанія нечистые ихъ вѣры магмецкіе обновили прежъ сего и нынѣ обновляютъ мечеть, въ которой по ихъ нечистой вѣрѣ приходяще дѣйствуютъ.
About Siberian Tatars (Tobolsk Tatars, former subjects of Khan Kuchum)
Keep in mind
Spafarii does not say he visited the site, which lies a short way upriver from Tobolsk where he stayed; 'unclean faith' is his Orthodox hostility to Islam.
Isker, the khan's capital: 'if one can call it a town'
Editorial contextMüller visited the remains of Isker, the capital Yermak's Cossacks entered in 1582, on a steep height of the Irtysh above Tobolsk. He describes a small round hill protected on the landward side by a triple rampart and ditches, the river and a ravine guarding the other sides, and an interior only a few dozen fathoms across, room for little more than the khan, his family and servants. Part of it had fallen into the river.
The remains of this former capital of the land, if one can indeed call a place such as this seems to have been a town, can still be seen today.
Working translation
Original wording
Die Ueberbleibsel dieser ehmahligen Haupt-Stadt des Landes, wenn man anders einen Ort, so wie dieser gewesen zu seyn scheinet, eine Stadt nennen kann, sind noch heut zu Tage zu sehen.
About Siberian Tatars (the khanate of Kuchum)
Continue in this sourceMüller's Collection of Russian History, with his history of Siberia1733 to 1743 · 11 passagesSibir, 'the chief town', built on the Irtysh
Editorial contextEsipov continues: Taibuga's descendant Mamet killed Upak (Ibak, khan of Tyumen, whom Esipov calls 'the Kazan tsar'), destroyed his own town of Chingiden, went deeper into Siberia and built a town on the Irtysh, naming it Sibir, 'that is, the chief one'. This is the Tatar capital also called Isker or Kashlyk, which Yermak took in 1582. The Russian name for the whole region comes from this Tatar town.
Mamet killed Upak, the Kazan tsar, and destroyed his own town Chingiden and went away from there into the interior of the Siberian land and built himself a town on the river Irtysh and named it the town of Sibir, that is, the chief one; and the tsar lived in it many years
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Original wording
Маметъ Казанского царя уби Упака и градъ свой Чингиденъ разруши и отиде оттуду внутрь Сибирския земли и постави себѣ градъ на рѣке Иртише и назва его градъ Сибирь, сиречь началный; и живяше в немъ царь лѣта многа
About Mamet (Muhammad), Taibugid prince; Upak (Ibak), 'the Kazan tsar'
Keep in mind
Esipov's 'Kazan tsar' Upak is Ibak of the Shibanid dynasty; the meaning 'chief' for Sibir is Esipov's gloss, not a proven etymology.
Old Sibir: a rampart and a name
Editorial contextGmelin and Müller rode 18 versts up the Irtysh from Tobolsk to where, by common report, the old town of Sibir had stood, seat of Siberia's former rulers. Apart from traces of a rampart they saw nothing at all. Gmelin suggests that both the little Sibirka stream and the whole province of Siberia took their names from this vanished town.
where, according to common report, the old town of Sibir stood, which is said to have been the seat of the former rulers of Siberia... Apart from some traces of a rampart that had been thrown up there, we could see nothing.
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Original wording
wo der gemeinen Sage nach die alte Stadt Sibir gestanden hat, welche der Sitz der ehemahligen Sibirischen Beherrscher gewesen seyn soll. … Außer einigen Spuren von einem Walle, der daselbst aufgeworfen war, konnten wir nichts sehen.
About Former rulers of Siberia (the Siberian Tatar khanate)
Continue in this sourceGmelin's journey through Siberia, volume 11733 to 1743 · 15 passagesStone statues and ruined cities he never saw
Editorial contextIn a footnote Strahlenberg records that Russian regiments going up the Irtysh in 1720 found antiquities and 'Temples of Idols', and that Tobolsk Tatars and Russians told him of many stone figures of men and beasts and the ruins of several cities in the little-visited steppe between the Tobol and Ishim. He links them to obelisks said to have been set up by Tamerlane and to the seat of Oghuz Khan, and regrets he could never go to see them.
…and I have also been told, by the Tobolskian Tartars and Russians, that, from this River, farther towards the West, South, and South-west from the City of Tobolsky, between the Sources of the Rivers Toboll and Ischim, whither very few People frequented, there were to be found great Numbers of Images, cut in Stone, of Men and Beasts; and that the Ruins of several Cities were discernible in those Desarts.
About Tobolsk Tatars and Russians (informants)
Keep in mind
Pure hearsay: he says himself he never had the chance to visit. The Tamerlane and Oghuz Khan links come from his reading.
Log huts with windows made of ice
Editorial contextTravelling up the Irtysh in midwinter, Bell's party passes many Tatar villages and sleeps in their huts. He describes one- or two-room log houses chinked with moss, a broad bench for sitting and sleeping, and, in place of glass, a pane of ice cut to fit the window. The next page adds that these Tatars are very clean and use open hearths rather than Russian stoves.
These houses consist generally of one or two rooms, according to the ability of the landlord. … The walls are built of wood and moss, consisting of large beams, laid one above another, with a layer of moss between every two beams. All the roofs are raised. A square-hole is cut out for a window, and to supply the want of glass, a piece of ice
About Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceJohn Bell's travels from St Petersburg across Asia1715 to 1738 · 18 passagesKuchum Khan's realm and his fortress of Sibir
Editorial contextOn the eve of the Cossack invasion, Coxe says, Siberia was split between several princes and independent 'Tartar' tribes. The strongest ruler, Kuchum Khan, held the lands from the Irtysh and Ob to the Tobol and Tura, with his residence at Sibir, a small fortress on the Irtysh. The next page adds that it stood near today's Tobolsk and that some of its ruins could still be seen.
Siberia was at that time partly divided among a number of separate princes; and partly inhabited by the various tribes of independent Tartars. Of the former Kutchum Chan was the most powerful Sovereign … His principal residence was at Sibir, a small fortress upon the river Irtish
About Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceWilliam Coxe on the Russian conquest of Siberia and the China trade1780 · 11 passagesA Christian city seen in the sky above Tobolsk
Editorial contextMüller relays, somewhat apologetically, the omens that the Siberian chronicles say foretold the end of Tatar rule. The Tatars living around the site of later Tobolsk often saw a Christian city with churches and bell towers in the air and heard bells ringing. He says he tells it only to stay faithful to his source.
Will I be forgiven for telling them? I do it for no other reason than that I do not like to depart from my original. The Tatars living round about are often said to have seen, above the place where the town of Tobolsk now stands, a Christian city with churches and bell towers in the air, and to have heard bells ringing too.
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Original wording
Wird man es mir wohl zu gute halten, wenn ich solche erzähle? Ich thue es aus keiner andern Ursache, als weil ich mich nicht gerne von meinem Originale entferne. Oft sollen die umher wohnenden Tataren über dem Orte, wo jetzt die Stadt Tobolsk stehet, eine Christliche Stadt mit Kirchen und Glockenthürmen in der Luft gesehen, und dabey auch ein Geläute von Glocken gehöret haben.
About Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceMüller's Collection of Russian History, with his history of Siberia1733 to 1743 · 11 passagesA Kalmyk idol that gave communion to the sick
Editorial contextChappe brought back Kalmyk Buddhist idols from Tobolsk and had their meaning explained by Kalmyk envoys and later by a Kalmyk lama in St Petersburg. Of the copper figure Otschirbany he writes that the god was sent from heaven to fight demons who had stopped the sun and moon, and that a channel ran from its mouth to its anus so that lamas could drop a sacred pill through it into a sick person's mouth.
This god is of the third order. He was sent from heaven to fight evil spirits that had stopped the Sun and Moon. … The mouth of this divinity connects with the anus by a vertical channel. The lamas or priests use it to give communion to the sick.
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Original wording
Ce Dieu est du troisieme ordre. Il fut envoyé du Ciel pour combattre de mauvais génies qui avoient arrêté le Soleil & la Lune. … La bouche de cette Divinité communique avec l'anus par un canal perpendiculaire. Les Lamas ou Prêtres en font usage pour donner la communion aux malades.
About Zunghar Kalmyks (Oirat Buddhists)
Keep in mind
Otschirbany is Vajrapani. Chappe owned and described the figure, but the ritual comes through interpreters and may be misunderstood.
'Turali': the Tatars who lived in towns
Editorial contextDiscussing the word 'tura' (town or fortress in Tatar and Bukharan), Müller reports that the Bashkirs call the Tyumen Tatars, and after them the Tobolsk Tatars, only 'Turali'. On the next page he gives the Bashkirs' explanation: these Tatars had lived since ancient times in towns and fortresses, or at least in fixed places, while the Bashkirs often moved their dwellings about the steppe.
One may easily think here, since Tura in the Tatar and Bukharan language means a town or fortress, that perhaps the river Tura received its name from this old Tatar fortress of Chimgi. The Bashkirs have no other name for the Tyumen Tatars, and after them for the Tobolsk Tatars too, than to call them Turali
Working translation
Original wording
Man kann hier leicht auf die Gedanken kommen, da Tura in der Tatarischen und Bucharischen Sprache eine Stadt, oder Festung, bedeutet, daß vielleicht der Fluß Tura von dieser alten Tatarischen Festung Tschimgi den Nahmen empfangen. Die Baschkiren haben für die Tümenischen Tataren, und nach selbigen auch für die Tobolskischen, keinen andern Nahmen, als daß sie solche Turali nennen
About Tyumen and Tobolsk Tatars, as named by the Bashkirs
Continue in this sourceMüller's Collection of Russian History, with his history of Siberia1733 to 1743 · 11 passagesTatar boat-haulers flogged by Russian soldiers
Editorial contextGoing up the Tobol river from Tobolsk to Tyumen, the embassy's boats were towed the whole way by Tatars. In Tulishen's own Chinese words, there was no towpath, the men waded through mud until their legs bled, and the Russian soldiers kept whipping them until the envoy, unable to watch, told them to stop. It is one of the few moments where the author shows personal feeling.
All along the way the Ta-ta-la (Tatar) people hauled the towropes. The banks were thick with trees and there was no towpath, so they all walked in mud and water; the skin of their legs and feet was torn and blood ran down, yet the Russian soldiers still flogged them on. I could not bear to watch, and only when I rebuked them did they stop.
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Original wording
途中皆搭搭拉之人挽縴岸傍林木叢宻無縴路俱行泥水之中兩足肌膚破損血水淋漓俄羅斯兵丁猶加笞楚催促余不忍視呵責方止
About Siberian Tatars under Russian rule
Keep in mind
Staunton's English version of the same scene is on T0019 n156 (p.112).
A wedding song called 'Yermak'
Editorial contextAt the same wedding two Tatar musicians, one with a reed pipe with finger holes (its end taken wholly into the mouth) and one with an ordinary violin, played for the guests. They singled out one tune they found moving. It was called 'Yermak', after the Cossack leader who conquered Siberia in the 1580s, and they said it dated from the time he brought their forefathers under Russian rule.
They called the song 'Yermak' and said it had been composed at the time when Yermak took Siberia and, through his services, brought their forefathers under Russian rule.
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Original wording
Sie nennten das Lied Jermak und sagten, daß es zu der Zeit gemacht wäre, da Jermak Sibirien eingenommen, und ihre Voreltern durch seine Dienste unter die Russische Bothmäßigkeit gebracht hätte.
About Siberian Tatars of Tobolsk
Continue in this sourceGmelin's journey through Siberia, volume 11733 to 1743 · 15 passagesA shining Christian city seen in the sky over the Tatar capital
Editorial contextThe chronicle claims that the Tatar khans, princes and Muslim clergy saw, year after year, a glowing Christian city with churches and ringing bells hovering in the air over the spot where Tobolsk cathedral later stood. It is a foretelling legend written to show that God had given the land to the Russians, not an eyewitness report.
In their time, every year, the tsar and the princes, akhuns, mullahs, abyzes and the other Muslims saw visions: on the place where the town of Tobolsk and the cathedral church up to its bell tower now stand, a Christian city appeared in the air with light, with churches and a great ringing, so that they marvelled and were terrified, not knowing what it would be.
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Original wording
При сихъ во вся лѣта видѣнія царь и князи, агуны, муллы и абызы и протчіе бусурманы на томъ мѣстѣ, идѣже нынѣ градъ Тоболескъ и соборная церковь до колоколни, видѣшася христіанскій со свѣтомъ градъ въ воздухѣ, и церкви и звонъ велій, яко ими дивитися и ужасно недоумѣя, что будетъ се.
About Siberian Tatars (Muslim clergy and nobles of Sibir)
Keep in mind
A pious prophecy legend composed after the conquest; the same page adds a pillar of fire and gold and silver sparks on the town site.
Yermak's armour: too heavy to swim in
Editorial contextIn the arsenal at Tobolsk, which smelled more like a stable, Holman was shown the portrait and armour of the Cossack conqueror Yermak. He handled the chain shirt and found it so heavy that he understood why Yermak sank for good when, in his last battle, he stepped short of 'the Tartar king's galley'. He adds that he cannot say whether the story is fable or history.
the portrait and armour of Yermack; the former a miserable daub; the latter consisting chiefly of a chain shirt, so heavy that one cannot wonder at his going irretrievably to the bottom, when, in his last battle, he stepped short of the Tartar king's galley, and fell into water. Whether the history of this banditti leader be fabulous or not, it is at least interesting
About Siberian Tatars (Khan Kuchum's forces)
Keep in mind
Holman handled the armour but could not judge the portrait; he calls it a daub on others' word. Whether the armour was really Yermak's is not tested.
Yurts of 'the former rulers of the country'
Editorial contextNear Tobolsk, on the steep bank of the Irtysh, Erman entered sooty Tatar yurts at Philatefsk. They were shaped like Ostyak (Khanty) huts but cleaner, with a clay hearth (chubal), a built-in cauldron, and woven cloth, Bukharan carpets or felt in the sleeping recesses. The families sat cross-legged round brick tea, with horse-flesh cooking. He calls them 'descendants of the former rulers of the country'.
The Ostyak mode of living cannot be confounded with that of these people, yet the yurts of both are shaped alike; but those of the Tatars have always the advantage in cleanliness, and, besides the chubal of beaten clay, there is also the well-set boiler: in the recesses, too, instead of skins there lies usually some woven fabric
About Siberian Tatars
Keep in mind
Here 'yurt' means a small fixed winter hut, not a felt tent.
A Tobolsk mullah's book of Tatar history
Editorial contextWhile making his map as a prisoner, Strahlenberg befriended the Bukharan and other Muslim residents of Tobolsk. Their chief priest showed him two manuscripts from the city of Turkestan, one on the Persian dynasties and one on Tartary, called 'Chingis' or 'Kitap' (book). On the next page he tells how a Tatar explained it word by word in Russian and two Swedish officers wrote it down in German: this became the German text of Abulghazi's history.
But because I addressed myself especially to their chief priest, called Agun Asbackewitz, who was a very friendly man, he showed me … two manuscripts, one concerning the Persian dynasties, the other Tartary, which latter he called only Tzingis or Zingis, or Kitap, that is, book; both of which he had obtained from the city of Turkestan
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Original wording
Weil ich mich aber absonderlich an ihren vornehmsten Priester, Agun Asbackewitz genannt, so ein gar freundlicher Mann war, adressirte, wurden mir … auch zweene Manuscripta von ihm hervor gezeiget, eines betreffend die Persischen Dynastien, das andere aber die Tatarey, welches letztere er nur Tzingis oder Zingis, item: Kitap oder Buch nannte; beyde aber aus der Stadt Turckestan erhalten hatte
About Bukharan and Tatar Muslims of Tobolsk
Keep in mind
The OCR of this copy is badly garbled Fraktur; the quote has been restored letter by letter from the damaged text, so check the scan.
The scan is too rough to double-check this quote by machine. Compare it with the page.
Tobolsk: a timber capital with two brick buildings
Editorial contextThe capital of Russian Siberia, as Tulishen saw it, had no walls; about a thousand families lived in houses of large timber, with two big brick public buildings and wooden government offices, and a lower town of about 2000 families by the river. It is a plain eyewitness picture of Tobolsk as a Russian timber town seven years after its first stone kremlin was begun.
It contains above a thousand families, who live in houses constructed of large timber. There are also two large public buildings of brick, and several Government offices built of wood in the usual manner. On the low ground, along the banks of the river, there is another portion of the town, built also of wood, and containing above 2000 families.
About Russians (the Siberian Tatars lived nearby)
Continue in this sourceA Qing envoy's journey to the Torghut khan on the Volga, 1712 to 17151712 to 1715 · 12 passagesSibir, 'the capital of the Tartars'
Editorial contextCochrane retells the Cossack Yermak's conquest: after taking Tyumen he marched on Sibir, 'the capital of the Tartars', twelve miles from where Tobolsk now stands, entered it in triumph on 26 October and 'from the head of a banditti, became a sovereign prince'. He notes that the town's name 'seems to have given name' to all Asiatic Russia. He admits the history is translated from a note printed on a map given him by the governor of Tobolsk.
Yermak instantly directed his march against Sibir, the capital of the Tartars, distant twelve miles, and on the 26th October entered it in triumph, received the oath of allegiance of his new subjects, and, from the head of a banditti, became a sovereign prince.
About Siberian Tatars (Khanate of Sibir)
Keep in mind
Second-hand history, as Cochrane says on n112.
The Tatars called it Isker, not Sibir
Editorial contextIn a footnote Coxe rejects the popular idea that Siberia was named after the captured fortress of Sibir, pointing out that the Tatars themselves called the fort Isker. He suggests the regional name came to the Russians earlier, through the Permian and Zyrian peoples.
Several authors have supposed the name of Siberia to derive its origin from this fortress, soon after it was first taken by the Russians under Yermac. But this opinion is advanced without sufficient foundation; for the name of Sibir was unknown to the Tartars, that fort being by them called Isker.
About Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceWilliam Coxe on the Russian conquest of Siberia and the China trade1780 · 11 passagesInside a Tatar mosque at Tobolsk
Editorial contextIdes, curious to see Tatar worship, visited a mosque at Tobolsk with the governor, without whom he would not have been let in. The mosques had large open windows and carpeted floors with no other ornament; worshippers left their shoes at the door. The mufti was an Arab, and the Tatars honoured anyone who could read Arabic. Many Kalmyk slaves lived in the area.
The Tartars who live at Tobolsk and for several leagues around are all Muslims. Mr Isbrants, curious to see their ceremonies, went to one of their mosques accompanied by the voevoda, without whom he could not have been admitted. They are surrounded by large windows, which are left open, and the floor is covered with carpets, with no other ornament.
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Les Tartares, qui demeurent à Tobol, & à plusieurs lieues aux environs, sont tous Mahometans. Mr. Isbrants, étant curieux de voir leurs cérémonies, se rendit dans une de leurs mosquées, accompagné du Waiwode, sans quoi il n'auroit pû y être admis. Elles sont entourées de grandes fenêtres, qu'on laisse ouvertes, & le pavé en est couvert de tapis, sans autre ornement.
About Siberian Tatars
Keep in mind
Ides's eyewitness visit, reported second-hand in this book.
Tobolsk: Russian hilltop, Tatar lower town
Editorial contextIdes reached Tobolsk, the capital of Siberia, on 1 July 1692. The upper town on the hill was Russian, strengthened by a stone monastery with watchtowers; the lower town along the Irtysh belonged to Muslim Tatars and Bukharan merchants who traded up the river to the Kalmyks and on to China. He adds that several thousand Tatars served the tsar as horsemen.
Tobolesk: Which City, besides its own strength, is re-inforced with a large Stone Cloyster, with high Watch-Towers, which may pass for a Fortification. This place is situate on a high Hill … the bottom of which along by the River Rhitisch, is inhabited by the Mahometan Tartars and Buchars, which drive a great Trade up the Rhitisch or Irtis, into the Kalmakian Territories, and carry their Goods to China.
About Muslim Siberian Tatars and Bukharans
Continue in this sourceAn envoy's overland journey from Moscow to Peking1692 to 1695 · 18 passagesInside a Tatar mosque at Tobolsk
Editorial contextWith the governor's help, Ides was allowed into a Tatar mosque, which he says outsiders were normally not shown. It was plain: large open windows and carpets on the floor, nothing more. Worshippers left their shoes at the door and sat in rows; the imam wore white calico and a white turban. He adds that the chief mullah was an Arab, and that anyone who could read Arabic was highly respected.
Metschets, called by other Authors Mosques, or Churches, had large Windows round them, all which were set open: The Floor was covered with Tapistry, besides which there was no other Ornament. All Persons at their entrance leave their Shoes or Slippers at the Door … The chief Priest sat there, in a white Calico Habit, and a white Turkish Turbant on his Head.
About Muslim Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceAn envoy's overland journey from Moscow to Peking1692 to 1695 · 18 passagesTatar forts on the Irtysh stormed by Yermak's men
Editorial contextThe 1882 editor matches Spafarii's list of Tatar villages on the Irtysh with the Tobolsk chronicle of Semyon Remezov. In 1582, that chronicle says, Yermak's officer Bogdan Bryazga stormed a fortified Tatar town at the mouth of the Aremzyanka, and further down met resistance at the old Tatar fortress of Turtas, whose traces the historian Müller later searched for in vain. Beyond Turtas, Spafarii's list shows Tatar villages giving way to Ostyak ones.
Going down the Irtysh, at the mouth of the Arimdzyanka (where Spafarii names the Arimdzyansk district), Bryazga took by storm a fortified Tatar town … Here the chronicle mentions an ancient Tatar fortress, the Turtas gorodishche, whose traces the historiographer Müller sought in vain during his journey through Siberia.
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Слѣдуя внизъ по Иртышу, при устьѣ р. Аримдзянки (гдѣ Спаѳарій называетъ Аримдзянскую волость), Брязга взялъ приступомъ татарскій укрѣпленный городокъ … Здѣсь въ лѣтописи упоминается старинная татарская крѣпость, Туртасское городище, слѣды котораго тщетно разыскивалъ исторіографъ Миллеръ во время своего путешествія по Сибири.
About Siberian Tatars of Kuchum's khanate
Keep in mind
Editorial note resting on the late Remezov chronicle (c. 1700), not on Spafarii. The printed dash is shown as a comma.
Tobolsk: a stone monastery, and Muslim Tartars trading to China
Editorial contextIn the inserted Ides section, Tobolsk is a strong place with a great stone monastery with high towers, standing on a hill where the Irtysh and Tobol meet. The foot of the hill and the Irtysh bank are inhabited by Muslim Tartars and Bukharans who trade along the river among the Kalmyks and go on as far as China.
he arrived safely at Tobol or Tobolsk, a strong place, where there is a great stone monastery with high towers … The foot of this hill and the bank of the Irtysh are inhabited by Muslim Tartars and Bukharans, who trade a great deal on this river among the Kalmyks, and even go from there as far as China.
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il arriva heureusement à Tobol ou Tobolskoi, place forte, où l'on trouve un grand monastere de pierre, garni de hautes tours … Le pied de cette montagne & le rivage de l'Irtis sont habités par des Tartares & des Bachares Mahometans, qui trafiquent beaucoup sur ce fleuve parmi les Kalmuques, & vont même delà jusques à la Chine.
About Siberian Tatars and Bukharans
Keep in mind
Not seen by de Bruyn; a summary of Ides inserted by the French editors.
Russian labels: the Tatars of Tobolsk, Tomsk, the Ob and Krasnoyarsk
Editorial contextRémusat explains the Siberian 'Tatars': southern Siberia is full of Turkic nations, partly descended from armies the Mongols brought in the thirteenth century and partly older inhabitants. The Russians who conquered them in the late sixteenth century call most of them simply Tatars, adding the name of the town or district where they live: Tatars of Tobolsk, of Tom, of the Ob, of Krasnoyarsk.
The Russians, who subdued them at the end of the sixteenth century, call most of them by the common name of Tatars, to which they add the name of the town or district where they find them settled. Thus they distinguish the Tatars of Tobolsk, of the Tom, of the Ob, of Krasnoyarsk, those of the Chulym
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Les Russes qui les ont soumis à la fin du xvi.e siècle, les désignent, pour la plupart, par le nom commun de Tatars, auquel ils ajoutent celui de la ville ou du canton où ils les trouvent fixés. C'est ainsi qu'ils distinguent les Tatars de Tobolsk, de Tom, de l'Obi, de Krasnoyar, ceux du Tchoulim
About Turkic peoples of southern Siberia ('Tatars')
Continue in this sourceAbel-Rémusat's Researches on the Tartar languages1820 · 4 passagesTobolsk after the great fire
Editorial contextLesseps reached Tobolsk, the Siberian capital between the Irtysh and the Tobol, soon after a fire had burned most of it. The lower town had only wooden houses, which went first; the upper town on its hilltop had several fine stone buildings, but the fire reached them too and left only walls. On the next page he describes silent townspeople already rebuilding houses and shops in stone.
This capital, situated between these two rivers, must have been one of the finest towns in Siberia, but it had just fallen prey to a fire that had reduced most of it to ashes. Formerly it was divided in two, the lower town and the upper town: the one, built on the flat top of a hill, had several fine stone buildings; the other had only wooden houses
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Cette capitale, située entre ces deux fleuves, doit avoir été une des plus belles villes de Sibérie, mais elle venoit d'être la proie d'un incendie qui en avoit réduit en cendres la plus grande partie. Précédemment elle étoit divisée en deux, la ville basse & la ville haute: l'une bâtie sur la plate-forme d'une montagne, présentoit plusieurs beaux édifices en pierre; l'autre n'avoit que des maisons de bois
About townspeople of Tobolsk
Continue in this sourceLesseps's journey across Siberia1787 to 1788 · 8 passagesPrayers in a Tatar mosque at Tobolsk
Editorial contextAt Tobolsk the governor's learned son took the envoy's party to a Tatar mosque. Brand describes a plain room with large open windows and carpets, the worshippers leaving their shoes at the door and sitting cross-legged in rows, a white-robed chief priest in a turban, a loud call, kneeling, and the priest looking over his right and then his left shoulder.
that he took us into a Tartar mosque, Meschet or church, which had large windows all round, all standing open; the floor was laid with carpets, with no other ornaments to be seen; the people who went in left their shoes or boots before the door and sat down in orderly rows with their feet crossed under them
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daß er uns in eine tartarische Mosquee, Meschets oder Kirche führte, die ringsherum grosse Fenster hatte, welche alle offen stunden, der Boden war mit Tapeten belegt, ohne daß andere Zierrathen darin zu sehen waren, die Leute so hinein giengen, liessen vor der Thüre ihre Schuhe oder Bismacken stehen, und setzen sich ordentlich in gewissen Reyhen mit unter sich geschlagenen Füssen nieder
About Muslim Tatars of Tobolsk
Continue in this sourceAdam Brand's journey with the Russian embassy to China1692 to 1695 · 12 passagesTimur's carved inscription in the steppe
Editorial contextAmong the illustrations promised for his book, Strahlenberg lists a monument that Timur (Tamerlane) had carved on a mountain when his army marched into Tartary, recording the day and year he stood there, still to be seen some 80 or 90 miles south of Tobolsk. He also promises copies of runic-looking epitaphs and metal plates and medals dug out of grave mounds in the steppes.
how Timur Beg (or the so-called Tamerlane) marched into Tartary with his army and stayed a while by a certain mountain, so that he had the day and year of his presence carved and cut there, which monument is still to be seen there to this hour, about 80 or 90 miles' journey south of the city of Tobolsk
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wie Timur-Beck (oder der sogenannte Tamerlan) in die Tatarey mit seiner Armee marchiret, und bey einem gewissen Gebürge eine Zeitlang gestanden, daß derselbe den Tag und das Jahr seiner Anwesenheit daselbst eingraben und hauen lassen, welches Monument noch diese Stunde, etwa 80 oder 90 Meil Weges von der Stadt Tobolski in Süden, daselbst zu sehen ist
About Timur's army; peoples of 'Tartary'
Keep in mind
The OCR of this copy is badly garbled Fraktur; the quote has been restored letter by letter from the damaged text, so check the scan. The inscription story comes from Pétis de la Croix's translation; the distance is Strahlenberg's.
The scan is too rough to double-check this quote by machine. Compare it with the page.
How Siberia's Tatar khanate fell
Editorial contextOpening his description of Tobolsk, Chappe tells how Siberia, ruled by a Tatar prince of the Uzbek line, was conquered by the Cossack brigand Yermak. Helped by the Stroganov family, Yermak sailed down the Tagil and Tura rivers, took Tiumen, surprised 'Tobolsk', captured the twelve-year-old son of Khan Kuchum and sent him to Moscow, buying the tsar's pardon with the gift of Siberia.
It was ruled by a Tartar prince of the family of the Uzbeks. … He embarked with his band on the river Tagil, which he descended to its mouth in the river Tura. Continuing down that river, he seized the town of Tiumen, surprised that of Tobolsk, took prisoner the twelve-year-old son of Khan Kuchum, and sent him to Moscow
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Elle étoit gouvernée par un Prince Tartare de la Famille des Usbeks. … Il s'embarqua avec sa troupe sur la riviere Tagil, qu'il descendit jusqu'à son embouchure dans la riviere Tura. Continuant ensuite sa route sur cette derniere riviere, il s'empara de la Ville de Tumen, surprit celle de Tobolsk, fit prisonnier le fils du Kan Zutchuin, âgé de douze ans, & l'envoya à Moscou
About Siberian Tatars under Khan Kuchum; Yermak's Cossacks
Keep in mind
Second-hand history with a slip: Yermak took the Tatar capital Isker (Sibir) in 1582, and Tobolsk was built nearby by the Russians only in 1587. 'Zutchuin' is Khan Kuchum.
How Yermak took the Tatar prince's town
Editorial contextIdes retells the conquest of Siberia about a century after it happened. The Cossack outlaw Yermak, backed by the Stroganov family, sailed up the rivers, razed Tyumen and took the town where a twelve-year-old 'Tartarian Prince' lived, sending him captive to Moscow. The prince's grandson, Ides says, still lived in Moscow with the title 'Siberian Czarevitz'. Yermak later drowned in his heavy armour during a Tatar night attack.
advanced up the River Tobol to Tobolska, where then resided a Tartarian Prince, aged about twelve Years, whose Name was Altanai Kutzjumowitz (whose Grandson at present lives at Muscow, and is honoured with the Title of the Siberian Czarewitz.) This City he likewise attacqued and took with small loss, after which he carried the Prince Prisoner to Muscow
About Siberian Tatars (the Khanate of Sibir)
Keep in mind
Hearsay a century after the events. The Tatar capital Yermak took in 1582 was Isker (Sibir); Tobolsk itself was founded by the Russians nearby in 1587, so Ides compresses the story.
Tobolsk: churches on the bluff, Russians and Tatars below
Editorial contextSpafarii set out from Tobolsk, then the capital of Russian Siberia, in May 1675. He describes a town in two levels: churches, houses and people in the upper town on the high bluff over the Irtysh, and a large trading quarter under the hill where many Russians and Tatars lived. From here, he adds, roads ran to Bukhara, to Kazan and to other states.
And the town of Tobolsk is built on the Irtysh river on a high place, on a bluff, and the place is very beautiful, and there are many churches of God, and houses, and people live in the upper town; and below the hill there is also a great trading quarter (posad), in which live many Russian people and Tatars.
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А городъ Тоболескъ построенъ на рѣкѣ Иртышѣ на высокомъ мѣстѣ, на яру, и мѣсто зѣло красивое, и множество церквей Божіихъ, и дворовъ, и людей живутъ въ верхнемъ городѣ; такъ же и подъ горою посадъ великой, въ которомъ живутъ множество Рускихъ людей и Татаръ.
About Siberian (Tobolsk) Tatars living beside Russian settlers
Continue in this sourceSpafarii's 1675 journey across Siberia to the Chinese border1675 · 16 passagesTwo villages for every village: summer and winter
Editorial contextSailing up the Irtysh, Gmelin passed Uttus aul, which was really three villages: two for summer and one for winter. This, he says, was the general custom of the local Tatars, who moved into the winter village when the cold set in. He adds that 'aul' is the Tatar word for village, and that Russians call every Tatar village 'yurty', a Tatar word that simply means 'house'.
It is a general custom among the Tatars here that they have one village for the summer and another for the winter. As soon as the cold sets in they move into their winter village, and as soon as the warm weather comes, into the summer village.
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Dieses ist unter den hiesigen Tataren eine allgemeine Gewohnheit, daß sie ein anderes Dorf für den Sommer, ein anderes für den Winter haben. Sobald die Kälte einfällt, ziehen sie in ihr Winterdorf, und sobald die Wärme kommt, in das Sommerdorf.
About Siberian Tatars of the Irtysh
Continue in this sourceGmelin's journey through Siberia, volume 11733 to 1743 · 15 passagesHorse races before a Tatar wedding
Editorial contextGmelin and Müller drove out to a Tatar wedding at Sabanaka near Tobolsk. Before any wedding, he was told, riders race their horses to the bride's house for prizes put up by both families; this time they included red damask, a fox pelt, cotton cloths brought from the Kalmyk lands and a red horsehide. A few pages on, the akhun (Muslim cleric) told the groom his chief duty: not to take another wife without the consent of the one he was marrying.
It is an old custom at all Tatar weddings that many horses must first put on this show before the wedding begins. And so that there may always be riders, and people to lend horses for it, various prizes are put up both by the bridegroom's side and by the bride's
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Es ist dieses eine alte hergebrachte Gewohnheit bey allen Tatarischen Hochzeiten, daß viele Pferde, ehe die Hochzeit angehet, vorher dieses Schauspiel machen müssen. Und damit es allezeit Reuter und auch Leute, die die Pferde dazu lehnen, geben möge, so sind sowohl von Seiten des Bräutigams, als der Braut verschiedene Preise ausgesetzt
About Siberian Tatars of Tobolsk
Continue in this sourceGmelin's journey through Siberia, volume 11733 to 1743 · 15 passagesTobolsk, capital of the Siberian cities
Editorial contextTobolsk, founded by the Russians in 1587, is described as the capital of the Siberian towns, seat of the Tsar's viceroy, where tribute from both sides of the Ob is collected and sent to Moscow. Tartars come from the south from far inside Tartary to trade. Massa adds a pointed comparison: would that the 'cruel Spaniards' had taken America as peacefully.
From Tinnen one reaches Tobolsca, the capital of the Siberian cities; there is the seat of Siberia and the supreme Viceroy of the Muscovites … Also Tartars from the south come at a great distance from Tartary, and many other nations who gradually arrive there, in proportion as the fame of the country spreads wider.
About Siberian Tatars and traders from further south
Keep in mind
Massa's picture of a peaceful conquest reflects his Russian informants' view.
Tobolsk: Russian brick above, Tartar streets below
Editorial contextBell notes that the Tartar princes of Siberia once lived about thirty versts from Tobolsk at a place now 'neglected and ruinous' (he does not name it; it is probably the old khanate capital Isker, or Kashlyk). The Russian town on the hill has a brick wall, the governor's palace and brick churches, while the Tatars, descendants of the old inhabitants, live in several 'Tartar-streets' in the lower suburb along the river, with freedom of religion and trade.
Formerly the Tartar princes had their abode at a place about thirty verst south from Tobolsky, which is now neglected and ruinous. … Under the hill in the suburbs, along the banks of the river, are several large streets, called the Tartar-streets, occupied by the remains of the ancient inhabitants of these parts.
About Siberian Tatars
Continue in this sourceJohn Bell's travels from St Petersburg across Asia1715 to 1738 · 18 passages
