Pages: 99-123

The author analyzes a historiographic tradition related to the so called Timur’s “Crimean campaign” (or of his protégé Edigu) in 1395, during the war with Tokhtamysh. According to this tradition, this campaign led to devastation of a significant part of the Crimea, including its most important urban centers — Chersonese, Mangup, Solghat, Caffa. A detailed comparison of written accounts and archaeological materials, however, does not prove this view. Information about Timur’s campaign in Crimea originates from a biased Egyptian source. Most of the other contemporary accounts — Greek, Latin and Armenian — “ignore” this catastrophe. The archaeological research does not yield any reliable data to prove that any of the Crimean towns were ruined in late 14 th c. Overall, it can be substantially inferred that Timur’s western campaign in 1395 did not affect the Crimean territory.

Keywords: Crimea, 1395, Timur, Edigu, Tokhtamysh, ‘Crimean Campaign’, Chersonese, Mangup, Solghat, Caffa, historiography

Information about author:

Victor Myts (Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation). Candidate of Historical Sciences. State Hermitage Museum. Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, 32/34, Saint Petersburg, 190000, Russian Federation
E-mail: [email protected]