Participation of Meshchera service Tatars in the embassy service of the Russian state in the 16th–17th centuries (some aspects)

It is known from sources and research literature that in the second half of the 16th–17th centuries, a significant number of interpreters and translators of the Tatar language, who were landowners from the Meshchera region, served in the Ambassadorial Prikaz (Office). However, their origin has not yet been analyzed in more detail. Based on previously obtained data, the author established that the translators were descendants of noble Siberian immigrants from the inner circle of Kuchum and the Kuchumovichs, as well as representatives of the most noble Meshchera princely families. All of them, through marriages, were in kinship and property to each other and provided protection when appointed to serve as employees of the Ambassadorial Office. The interpreters and villagers, apparently, for the most part came from ordinary Tatars. Their origin still remains unclear. At the turn of the 16th–17th centuries, their numbers increased at an explosive pace, but throughout the 17th century, for various reasons, a gradual decline in this category of employees of the Ambassadorial Office was recorded. Fot citation: Belyakov A.V. Participation of Meshchera service Tatars in the embassy service of the Russian state in the 16th–17th centuries (some aspects). From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2024, vol.14, no.1, pp.10–20. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2024-14-1.10-20 (In Russian)