Zaporizhzhya Cossacks gathered in the army since the most distant times. Historical facts testify to its occurrence from the year one thousand five hundred. Some contemporaries of the foundation of the Sich Zaporizhzhya believed that the emergence of the Cossacks began with the unification of peasants who sought to destroy the serfdom. According to other chroniclers, this army was created from the Kozars, who lived in Central Asia, and switched to Ukraine during the Mongol-Tatar yoke.
Men of this class did not work, but spent their time practicing in military science. From the time of settlement in Ukraine they began to be called Cossacks. Polish and Lithuanian magnates began to force the serving of unusual labor duties of soldiers. These events took place after the capture of Ukraine. However, the Cossacks, in order to avoid forced labor, retired from their settled lands. They chose their place beyond the threshold of the Dnieper. According to historians, this is how the Zaporozhye Cossacks appeared. Seeing the courage of this army, the Polish kings began to call them to service. And the noble representatives of the gentry considered it a great honor to be the leaders of brave detachments.
Arsenal of troops consisted of the most advanced weapons of the time. Zaporizhzhya Cossacks owned guns and howitzers, mortars and mortars, self-propelled guns and pistols, spears and sabers, blades and daggers, bows and arrows. The data of archaeological and historical science confirm the evidence of a large arsenal of weapons that was taken from the peoples with whom the fighting was conducted. However, the main preference Zaporozhye Cossacks gave a saber.
The brave army included infantry, cavalry and artillery. The total number of armed Cossacks ranged from ten to twelve thousand people. Cavalry has always been considered an elite unit. It was the most formidable force in combat qualities. The units of the troops included hundreds and regiments. During the campaigns, the Cossacks stopped for the night with a camp, which was a row of carts located around the perimeter, fastened together with chains.
The main source of income for the Zaporizhzhya Sich was the mining conquered during the campaigns, as well as trade, the sale of wine, tribute received from transportation, and royal and royal salaries. Part of the good received in battle was given as usual to the church. The remaining production was divided equally, and its Ukrainian Cossack could drink to the penny. Significant amounts were collected by Sich from merchants traveling through Zaporizhzhya lands. Most of the income included a tax on housing located within the borders of the Army.
The feudal lords looked with apprehension at the increasing influence of the Cossacks. After all, it was on the side of the oppressed peasants and could always help them. The aspirations of the feudal lords were reduced to solving the task of destroying the Sich Zaporizhia and returning it to serfdom. Towards the end of the fifteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth centuries, Lithuanian and Polish magnates were able to appropriate significant territories of lands belonging to the Cossacks. As a result of this, in 1648 an uprising broke out. He was led by Colonel of the Cossack army Bohdan Khmelnitsky. The campaign under his leadership was completed by victory.
Given the great influence of the Sich on the Cossacks of Ukraine, Peter the Great and the hetman Mazepa fought for the Army. However, the Cossacks sided with Charles XII and fought against the Russian troops. After Mazepa signed the alliance treaty with the Swedes, Peter I put forward three regiments to capture the Zaporizhzhya Sich. Before them was tasked to destroy the nest of rebels to the base. In May 1709, the fortress was taken, completely destroyed and burned.
The final point in the fate of the Cossacks put Catherine II. In August 1775, she issued a manifesto approving the destruction of Sich and its attribution to the Novorossiysk province.