“…The Old Crimean Khan Went to the Mountain Circassians”: The Residence of Dethroned Khan Devlet Giray II in the Northern Caucasus (1703)

Research objectives: The aim of this article is to establish new historical details related to Devlet Giray II’s escape to the North Caucasus in the spring of 1703 after his impeachment and the crushing of his rebellion. The reasons related to Devlet Giray II’s rebellion and its consequences are investigated in the context of the characteristics of the crisis phenomena that loomed over the Crimean Khanate at the turn of the 17th–18th centuries. The article analyzes research findings on the location of the dethroned Khan among the “mountain Circassians” (i.e. Western Circassia, Kabarda) in 1703. Research materials: These are represented by narrative sources of Oriental origin, as well as Russian documentary sources from the early 18th century, materials from the funds of the federal and state archives of the Russian Federation. Some of these original documents are introduced by the author into scientific circulation for the first time. Results and scientific novelty: The novel elements of the article consist of: bringing new data to the solution of the question of the escape route and localization of the Devlet Giray II residence in the North Caucasus (Kabarda), as well as the organization of a campaign against him led by Nureddin Gazi Giray. For the first time in scholarship, the attitude of various groups of the population of the Crimean Khanate and the North Caucasus to the Devlet Giray II’s escape to Kabarda and his resistance to attempts by the new Crimean authorities to obtain his extradition have been systematically studied.