Khanate of Kazan

Uncommon card · No. 128047

The Khanate of Kazan, also called the Kazan Khanate, was a Tatar state on the Middle Volga, in the territory of the former Volga Bulgaria, from the mid-15th century until 1552. It covered present-day Tatarstan, Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, and parts of Udmurtia and Bashkortostan; its capital was Kazan. The khanate was one of the successor states of the Golden Horde. Historians date its founding either to 1437 or 1438, when Ulugh Muhammad took power in Kazan, or to 1445, when his son Maxmud began to rule there. Its history was marked by frequent changes of khan and by conflict between pro-Moscow and pro-Crimean groups in the nobility. From 1487 to 1521 the khanate was in effect a Muscovite protectorate. The Tsardom of Russia conquered it in 1552, after the siege of Kazan, and resistance in the former khanate continued until 1557. The population included Tatars, Chuvash, Mari, Mordvins, Udmurts, and Bashkirs. Sunni Islam was the state religion. The khan was formally the sole ruler, but real...

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