‘A Seditious and Sinister Tribe’: The Crimean Tatars and Their Khanate

The Crimean Tatars – Turkic-speaking native peoples of Crimea – established a powerful Khanate in the 1440s, which remained in power until 1783. In this, the first history in English for over 100 years, eminent scholar Donald Rayfield gives a historical portrait, showing that this misunderstood and much-feared nation was in fact a flourishing state with a vibrant literary culture, religious tolerance, a sophisticated constitution and a prosperous economy. Rayfield’s book describes the establishment of the Khanate, its reign and eventual fall, concluding with a vivid portrayal of the Tatars’ ruthless suppression – first by Russia and then the Soviet Union – and the final, effectively genocidal, invasion under Vladimir Putin. This vibrant and ultimately tragic chronicle is essential reading for anyone interested in the background to the current war in Ukraine.