THE ARMY OF THE CRIMEAN KHANATE IN THE MILITARY CAMPAIGN OF 1594 IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LONG TURKISH WAR (1593–1606)

Abstract

The article examines the military campaign of the Crimean Khanate in 1594 as part of the Long (Thirteen Years) War of the Ottoman Empire against the Habsburg State in 1593–1606. It is found that the Crimeans came to the aid of the Ottomans at a time when the latter were experiencing a shortage of food and the further siege of Győr was in question. The main attention is paid to the hostilities with the participation of the Crimeans in the Carpathians and on the territory of Hungary. The correspondence of the Polish Chancellor Jan Zamoyski, which became one of the main sources, is analyzed, regarding the participation of the Crimeans in the war, their passage through Pokuttya and the Carpathians, as well as the peculiarities of their tactics of fighting. It is proved that the Tatars were able to successfully overcome the Carpathians both due to the high mobility of the troops, reconnaissance and tactical maneuvers, and due to the errors of the Polish and Hungarian military command, which acted late and did not take into account the scale of the threat. An attempt was made to establish the number of Tatar troops involved in the campaign, the route of their advance and the features of local battles in Pokuttya, Prykarpattia, the Carpathians, Transcarpathia and directly on the territory of the Hungarian Kingdom. In the campaign of 1594, the Tatars captured Cheshebisy with the help of artillery, captured Papa without a fight, and helped the Ottomans capture Győr. The prerequisites for the war of 1593-1606, the features of the military art of the Crimean Khanate and the reasons for the participation of the Crimeans in the military campaigns of the Ottoman Empire are considered. Based on a cross-analysis of contemporary sources, the nature of the complex relationship between the Tatar and Turkish command is established. A detailed analysis of Turkish narrative sources has shown the existence of a personal conflict between the Crimean Tatar Khan Gaza II Geray and the serdar of the Turkish army Koca Sinan-pasha, which ultimately resulted in the withdrawal of the main forces of the Crimeans from Hungary and the subsequent removal of Sinan-pasha from the post of Grand Vizier. In conclusion: the campaign of the Crimean Khanate army to Hungary in 1594 allowed the Ottomans not only to hold the front, but also to capture the fortress of Győr, conduct hostilities the following year, and maintain control over the territories. The Crimeans inflicted considerable damage on the enemy's economic and resource base. The successful crossing of the Carpathians by the Tatars showed that the king and magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were in no hurry to fight on the side of the Habsburgs.