Astrakhan Khanate - Before The Khanate

Before The Khanate

The area surrounding the lower Volga was populated by various Turkic tribes since the 6th century AD. There were, for example, the Khazars. Following the invasion of Mongol tribes from the east and the splintering of their empire, the area came under the rule of the Golden Horde. This empire, too, was wracked by civil war, and the semi-independent Astrakhan Khanate was established by Qasim I around 1466. Its location at the mouth of the Volga, straddling important trade routes, allowed it to accumulate significant wealth, but also attracted the attention of neighbouring states and nomadic tribes, subjecting the khanate to numerous invasions. Meñli I Giray, the khan of the Crimea who had destroyed the Big Horde's capital of Sarai-al-Jadid caused significant destruction to the khanate.