2026. no 3. Ismet Zaatov

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.3.69-107

Ethnocultural basis of the formation process
of the Crimean Tatar art culture and decorative and applied art (6)*

Ismet Zaatov
Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences
Kazan, Russian Federation;
Fevzi Yakubov Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University
Simferopol, Russin Federation;
Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Folklore, KHAZAR University
Baku, Azerbaijan

Abstract. The establishment of Ottoman rule in southern Crimea in the mid-second half of the 15th century and the subsequent flourishing of the Turkish port city of Kefe, which served as a link in drawing the population of the Crimean Khanate into the sphere of influence of Istanbul’s crafts, culture, and decorative arts, had a significant impact on the development of arts and crafts, decorative and applied arts, and the formation of the artistic culture of the medieval Crimean Tatar state. The formation of an ethnocultural environment intensified in the Crimean Tatar cities of Karasubazar and Akmesdjit, the fortified towns of Gezlev, Or, Kerich, Gazy-Kermen, Kız-Kermen, Ochakov, and Taman, in hundreds of new Tatar settlements, and in the palace and castle complexes being erected for the ruling Geray dynasty and the upper class of the Crimean Karachi-beys. The socialization and professionalization of artistic crafts and decorative and applied arts accelerated in Crimean Tatar cities, and the influence and significance of esnaf (guild-based arts and crafts industries) within the Crimean Khanate’s class hierarchy grew. The founding of Bakhchisaray, the new capital of the Crimean Khanate, by Khan Sahib Geray I in the first half of the 16th century facilitated the emergence and development of new centers of Crimean Tatar arts and crafts and decorative and applied arts in the city and its surrounding area.

Keywords: artistic culture; crafts; craftsmen; Crimean Tatars; Crimean Khanate; Bakhchisarai; Karasubazar; esnaf

For citation: Zaatov I.A. Ethnocultural basis of the formation process of the Crimean Tatar art culture and decorative and applied art (6). Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2026, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 69–107. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2026.3.69-107 (In Russian)

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ismet A. Zaatov – Dr. Philosophy (Art Criticism), Cand. Sci. (Art history), Leading Researcher of the Crimean Scientific Center, Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (7, Baturin Str., Kazan 420111, Russian Federation); Senior Researcher of the Research Institute of the Crimean Tatar Philology, History and Culture of the Crimea Ethnoses, Fevzi Yakubov Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University (8, Uchebny lane, Simferopol 295015, Russian Federation); Research Fellow at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology and Folklore under Khazar University (41, Mehseti Str., Baku AZ1096, Azerbaijan); ORCID: 0009-0009-0629-5616. E-mail: zaatov@gmail.com

Received 23.12.2025

Accepted 08.06.2026

* Continuation. See the beginning in: Zaatov I.A. Ethnocultural basis of the formation process of the Crimean Tatar art culture and decorative and applied art (1–5). Krymskoe istoricheskoe obozrenie=Crimean Historical Review. 2021, no. 2, pp. 134– 170. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2021.2.134-170 (In Russian); 2022, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 123–154. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2022.1.123-154 (In Russian); 2023, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 120–146. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2023.1.120-146 (In Russian); 2023, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 143–168. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2023.2.143-168; 2025, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 102–127. https://doi.org/10.22378/kio.2025.2.102–127 (In Russian)