Khanate of Kazan

The Khanate of Kazan ( Tatar Казан Ханлыгы / Qazan xanlığı; Russian Казанское ханство / Kasanskoje Chanstwo ) was from 1438 to 1552 a Tatar successor state of the Golden Horde, with its capital Kazan. It comprised by today's standards in about Tatarstan, along with Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, parts of, Udmurtia and Bashkortostan and some adjacent land, by the middle Volga. In addition to this Vyatka and Kama were the main rivers and thus the main transport routes.

State religion was Sunni Islam, the particular much more than the membership of the Tatar people, the identity of the state.

The Khanate was founded around 1437/38 of Ulugh Mehmed in the wake of the breakup of the Golden Horde. Before an autonomous Bulgarian principality had in Kazan Volga already existed within the Horde, whose throne was usurped by Ulugh Mehmed using the local nobility. Even after the coup, the Khanate was very unstable: it was in the 115 years of its existence nineteen Power Exchange, the Khans but were always chosen from among the descendants of Genghis Khan.

Initially in a strong position towards Russia ( the Grand Prince of Moscow were the Khans tribute ), this ratio in 1487 turned after the first conquest of Kazan by Ivan III. order. It was not until 1521 managed an alliance with the Khanate of Crimea, the Khanate of Astrakhan and the Nogai Horde, which could shake the dominance of Moscow being. This fragile alliance however, was not not a very long time, and under the pretext to intervene in disputes about the succession, Ivan the Terrible, the city of Kazan began to besiege, 1552. On 2 October this year, the city was taken and the Khan Yädegär Möxämmät captured. On February 26, 1553 it was christened with the name Simeon and enfeoffed by Ivan the Terrible with the city of Zvenigorod.

With the conquest of Kazan, the last enemy state was turned off on the way to Siberia for Moscow, which could be developed and subsequently conquered.

Kazan was a major cultural center of the Volga region and beyond, in particular the literature was very encouraged and flourished.

To commemorate his victory over the Kazan Khanate was Ivan the Terrible 's Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral build.

Coat of arms

The large coat of arms of the Russian Empire in the heraldic right circle Kazan was represented in the fourth coat of arms ( shield 1 ) ( Khanate of Kazan ): Argent, a gold -winning, gold -reinforced, rotflügliger black Basilisk ( Zilant ) with red tail ( coat of arms of Kazan ). On the escutcheon is placed the golden crown country of the Kingdom of Kazan.