2025. no 4. Roman Pochekaev

Legal aspects of relations between the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire in views of European contemporaries. Part 2: Study of sources of 18th century*

Roman Pochekaev
“Higher School of Economics” University – St. Petersburg

Abstract. This article examines the writings of European contemporaries (primarily diplomats and travelers who visited the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire during the period under review) on the specifics of the Girays’ status with the Ottomans in the 18th century. The article analyzes the notes of French authors–diplomats and writers A. de La Motraie, A. Jaworki, F. Tott, C.-C. de Peyssonel, A. de Vergy du Vernoy, C. de Bar; the Englishmen D. Motley, W. Eaton, W. Tooke; and the Dutchman N.-E. Kleeman. In the last century of its existence, the Crimean Khanate increasingly came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, but it was towards the end of its existence that it gained official independence (as a result of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca). The author intends to trace the evolution of the Khanate’s status in relation to the Ottoman Empire as it was presented by foreign contemporaries, to identify the most common observations, as well as stereotypes and errors that were characteristic of European authors, many of whom uncritically used the materials of their predecessors.

Keywords: Crimean Khanate, Ottoman Empire, sovereignty, suzerainty, vassalage, notes of European travelers

For citation: Pochekaev R.Yu. Legal aspects of relations between the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire in views of European contemporaries. Part 2: Study of sources of 18th century. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2025, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 129–143. DOI: 10.22378/kio.2025.4.129-143 (In Russian)

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About the author: Roman Yu. Pochekaev – Dr. Sci. (History), Cand. Sci. (Jurisprudence), Professor, Head of the Department of theory and history of law and state, HSE University – St. Petersburg (3A, Kantemirovskaya Str., St. Petersburg 194100, Russian Federation); ORCID: 0000-0002-4192-3528; rpochekaev@hse.ru

Received 08.05.2025

Accepted 11.08.2025

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* Continuation. See the beginning in: Pochekeav R.Y. Legal aspects of relations between the Crimean Khanate and the Ottoman Empire in views of European contemporaries. Pt. I: Study of sources of 16th–17th cc. Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2019, no. 2, pp. 68–85. DOI: 10.22378/kio.2019.2.68-85 (In Russian)