By Brian Glyn Williams - The Jamestown Foundation

That the Crimean Khans were by no means "mere puppets that could be changed anytime the Porte desired" as
William Munson describes them in The Last Crusade, can be seen by the fact that the Crimean Khan's
standard had the rank of five horsetails. 8 Lesley Blanche ascribes even greater importance to the Crimean
Khan claiming that he actually had six horsetails on his standard, putting him on the same level as the
Sultan himself. 9 The Sultan also recognized the leading Giray clan's claim to royal lineage and used the title
"Chingizye" (Genghisid) in addressing the Crimean Khan. According to Alan Fisher "Of all the subjects of
the Ottoman Sultans, the Crimean Khans held a special position because of the importance of their
genealogy." 10
When the Sultan required Crimean assistance in a campaign, an invitation and gifts were sent to the Khan and
various officials in his court. For his part, the Khan received a bejeweled sword, a robe of honor and a
payment known as the "quiver price." The Khan was also given the honor of having a full dress parade
upon his arrival in the Ottoman camp before a campaign and was considered to have a higher rank than
even the Grand Vezir.
Eventually, the Ottomans did increase their influence in the Crimean Khanate, as shall be seen, but it
must be remembered that the Crimean Tatars were never subjects like the Serbs or the Greeks, but
rather subordinate allies.
Although historians may disagree about the exact nature of Ottoman-Tatar relations, there is no controversy
concerning the importance of Mehemed II's accomplishments in the Crimea for the security of both the
Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate. In his summary of the Ottoman Empire's expansion,
Donald Pritcher has the following to say about Mehemed II's successes in the Crimea.
The Crimean venture, though it has received comparatively little attention from historians (except in
Russia) was undoubtedly one of the most important and far-sighted of all the Conqueror's undertakings,
and it proved to the mutual advantage of both suzerain and vassal. 11
In his biography of Mehemed the Conqueror, Franz Babinger places even more importance on the
Conqueror's successes in the Black Sea region and puts them in a broader context. Babinger states:
It is no exaggeration to say that even the discovery of the new Atlantic trade routes,
with its crucial consequences for the economic life of the West, resulted in part from
Ottoman expansion in the Black Sea area. The voyages to the New World were undertaken
in the hope of creating a new, substitute route to India and Central Asia. 12
Having set the stage for future cooperation between the Crimean Tatars and the Ottomans, a brief analysis
of the Tatars' way of life, and in particular their methods of warfare, is in order. This will help demonstrate
the nature of the military assistance that the Tatars were able to offer to their new ally. Finally, the various
Ottoman fronts, each with its own particular conditions, foes and history, will be analyzed separately.
The areas of Tatar participation are from east to west, the Caucasus Front against Persia, the Russian Front,
the Polish Front, and the Western Front, which involved actions against Habsburg Austria, Moldavia,
Transylvania and Wallachia. These zones, which were never clearly defined, overlapped in many areas and
are used here merely for convenience.
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