In 1563, after a long and bloody war, on the vast territories lying between the great Siberian river Irtysh and its tributary Tobol, Kuchum Khan established his power - the direct heir to the Genghis Khan clan and the successor of his aggressive policy. The army of the khan, consisting of Kazakhs, Nogais and Uzbeks, terrified the inhabitants of the lands, to which he turned his greedy eyes.
The beginning of the capture of Siberian lands
Khan Kuchum, whose biography contains, along with historical facts, episodes generated by legends, many of which are composed about this, in his own bright and peculiar person, forever remained in the history of Siberia. However, little is known about his early years. Avaricious records of the annals inform only that he was born in 1510-1520 on the shores of the Aral Sea, in the ulus, which was called Alty-aul. The chronicle "On the capture of Siberian land", compiled by Savva Esipov at the end of the 16th century, clarifies that he was a Karakalpak by nationality.
In order to become the ruler of the vast Siberian Territory, Khan Kuchum, at the head of detachments composed of local tribes subject to him, began military operations in 1555 against Khan Ediger, who unchecked ruled in the lands adjacent to the Irtysh. In this, he relied on the help of his relative, the Bukhara ruler Abdullah Khan II. This foreigner saw in the capture of Siberia his economic and political interests, as did Khan Kuchum himself. The photos presented in the article give an idea of the originality of the Siberian region, where the action of the upcoming historical drama was unfolding.
The overthrow of Khan Ediger
This war, as mentioned above, ended in 1563 with the victory of Khan Kuchum, who took control of vast territories and became the ruler of the tribes of Barabins, chats and Ostyaks living on the banks of the Irtysh. Since that time, his personal wealth began to grow with incredible speed, since the conquered peoples were obliged to regularly pay yasak - a tribute in the form of valuable fur-bearing animals.
Since Khan Kuchum was a descendant of Genghis Khan himself, he zealously guarded his traditions, and, having occupied the city of Kashlyk - the capital of Khan Ediger, he began by killing the latter together with his brother Bedbulat, thereby avenging the death of his grandfather, who had died several years earlier from their hands. He saved his life only to Ediger’s nephew - Seydyak, but only in order to, having chained him in chains, send him to Bukhara as a gift to Abdullah Khan for his military assistance.
An attempt to Islamize Siberian peoples
In the territories subject to him, Khan Kuchum, as an Orthodox Muslim, first of all took care of the souls of his new tributaries, but he did this in the traditions of militant Islam, so famous today, by fire and sword. But taiga residents historically rooted their beliefs, and the shaman was closer to them than the mullah.
Without entering into theological disputes with them, Kuchum simply chopped off the heads of those who showed special perseverance. For all the rest, circumcision laid down by the law of Mohammed was done either on a voluntary basis or by force. This was the principle that the Siberian Khan Kuchum continued to follow steadily. Photos of pagan temples of the peoples of Siberia can be seen in this article.
Riots among local tribes
This forced planting of Islam has caused numerous riots among the conquered, and, it would seem, already resigned to its position of the population. The scale of resistance took on such a wide scope that Khan Kuchum was forced to seek help from his father, Murtaza. However, the reinforcement sent by him was not enough, and only with the help of the cavalry of the same Bukhara relative Abdullah Khan II managed to cope with the rebellious.
Following the troops from Bukhara, numerous Islamic preachers arrived in Siberia, converting to the new faith those whom the scimitar steel spared. Such energetic actions had a result, but, nevertheless, even after the death of the khan, the inhabitants of Siberia in their overwhelming majority remained pagans.
Ruler of the Siberian Khanate
In the very first years of his reign, Khan Kuchum made every effort to expand his possessions and strengthen the state he created. In this he was able to achieve undoubted success. Soon, besides the Tatars and Kipchaks, the Bashkir and Khanty-Mansi tribes were under his control. The previously free peoples constituted a powerful Siberian Khanate, extending in the north to the banks of the Ob, in the west to the Urals, and in the south to the Baraba steppe. And all would be well, if not for the tribute that he was obliged to pay to the Russian Tsar.
Khan Kuchum was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, who had conquered half the world in former times, and his heart was broken when he had to send an ambassador to Moscow every year with a thousand valuable sable skins. And if the treasury of the khan was able to withstand such yasak, then the soul - no. Having finally suppressed the centers of resistance on the lands controlled by him, Kuchum not only refused to pay Russia the due tribute, but also had the desire to include part of its territories into his khanate.
Khan Kuchum and Ermak Timofeevich
The first object of his aggression, he chose Perm. This provoked a revolt of the Nogai Tatars, who tried to take advantage of the current situation to secede from the Russian state. After that, the khan made a number of attempts to capture Russian cities, but only incurred the wrath of Ivan the Terrible, who immediately sent Cossacks to pacify him, led by the legendary Ermak Timofeevich.
In only one clash near the Chuvash mountain on October 12, 1581, the units of Khan Kuchum were able to resist the Cossacks and repel their attack. But a month later they were completely defeated, after which the army, which kept the population of Siberia in obedience , fled. At the entrance to the capital of the khanate - the city of Isker - Yermak did not meet any resistance. There was simply no one to fight him, defending a khan who came and hated by everyone.
The reasons for the military superiority of the Cossacks
Such a relatively easy victory, according to historians, is due to several factors. First of all, it should be noted that Khan Kuchum led the army, which consisted of representatives of the most diverse nations, not connected by either religious or cultural ties, and often hostile to each other.
The role and betrayal of the local princes played a role, considering it more profitable for themselves to pay tribute to the Moscow Tsar than to a foreign khan, who also relied on the support of the Bukhara troops. In addition, realizing that the prospect of robbing Russian cities with impunity turned out to be unattainable, they immediately went over to the side of the Cossacks.
And finally, we must not forget that the half-wild Khan's horde dealt with well-organized regular Cossack units that had undergone training and had firearms that were absolutely unknown at that time in the Siberian wilderness. These circumstances made it possible for Yermak’s detachment, which numbered less than a thousand people, to crush the enemy’s resistance in a short time, significantly exceeding it in numbers.
A new stage of the conquest of the Siberian Khanate
But military happiness, as you know, is changeable, and an easy victory sometimes instills unnecessary arrogance. Khan Kuchum, defeated, having lost all his army and barely escaping flight, took refuge in the Ishim steppes, stretching in the southern part of the West Siberian Plain. There, he managed to collect the detachments of foreigners scattered across the steppe and, having promised them rich booty, to raise them to fight with the Cossacks, about the movement of which the locals informed him. Soon, seizing the opportunity, Kuchum attacked them and managed to win.
The news of the military failure reached Moscow and forced Ivan the Terrible to send reinforcements led by two experienced governors beyond the Urals - Vasily Sukin and Ivan Myasny. A year later, with a detachment of archers, Danila Chulkov joined them. Of course, this decided the outcome of the case and deprived the Khan of hope for revenge. From that time on, his military activity was reduced only to predatory raids, which did not always, however, have a successful outcome for him.
Defeat and flight of Khan Kuchum
So, in July 1591, after one of the sorties, the khan’s camp on the Ishim River was surrounded, and soon captured by archers under the command of Prince V.V. Koltsov-Mosalsky. Kuchum himself fled again, leaving the winners as a trophy of his two wives and son Abdul-Khair. Three years later, a similar situation developed on the island of Black, located in the upper Irtysh. There, hoping to hide from the tsarist troops, the city was founded by the Tatars. After the assault, undertaken by the detachment of Prince Andrei Yeletsky, he was taken, and again Khan Kuchum disappeared, leaving the riflemen rich booty.
Conscious of the futility of further struggle, in 1597 Kuchum proposed to make peace. He made commitments to stop the raids, but for this he demanded the return of prisoners and part of the property seized from him. The answer he received from Moscow said that peace was possible only if he transferred to the service of the Russian Tsar. But, since this was unacceptable for the descendant of Genghis Khan, Kuchum refused and began to accumulate strength for a new strike.
The last years of the life of Khan Kuchum
Since that time, the Moscow authorities, having been convinced of the impossibility of negotiating with the khan, take the most active steps to destroy it. In August 1598, Prince Koltsov-Mosalsky managed to storm the khan’s fortress on the Irmen River. It is known that the son, brother and two grandchildren of the khan died in the battle, but he himself managed to escape again. Sagittarius captured many noble captives, who were sent first to Tobolsk, and then to Moscow, where a thanksgiving service was served on the occasion of the victory.
Subsequently, another attempt was made to persuade the khan to the Russian service, but even she was unsuccessful. To this end, in October 1598, the governor, Prince Voeikov, by order of Boris Godunov who had ascended the throne by that time, sent a trusted person to Kuchum, but was again refused. The operation that followed was also unsuccessful, the purpose of which was to capture the khan, using the information received from local residents.
Death hidden from us by history
His death, which followed in 1601, is surrounded by the same unknown as birth. There is the most contradictory information about the circumstances under which Khan Kuchum ended his life. His biography ends somewhere in the endless steppes inhabited by tribes of semi-wild nomads. From some sources it can be concluded that they were karakalpaks close to him by blood, but what provoked them to kill the once omnipotent, and by that time lonely and abandoned khan by all, is unknown.
The Siberian Khan Kuchum, whose reign (1563-1568) coincided with the period of the conquest of Siberia and the development of it by Russian explorers, has become an integral part of our history. He entered it, along with his sons Ablaykerim and Kirey, who, after the death of his father, tried to hold power over the taiga region for several decades and, like him, was forced to cede this right to the Russian Tsar.
The family of the ruler of the Siberian Khanate
In conclusion, a few words about the family surrounded by Khan Kuchum. Biography, nationality, political aspects and stages of the military path - these are the information that is primarily drawn to our attention when considering a particular historical person. However, they will be incomplete if you do not take into account the loved ones around her.
Khan Kuchum's family fully corresponded to his status. For all his life he had eleven wives (slaves and concubines do not count), most of whom belonged to noble families. They gave birth to nine daughters and seventeen sons, who also played a role in the history of this ancient nomadic people. Legends about Khan Kuchum, the conqueror of Siberia, have survived to this day, having outlived their creators for centuries.