Zacharias de Ghisolfi Ghisolfi

1 zacharias de ghisolfi

1.1 contact muscovy
1.2 departure moscow
1.3 fate
1.4 analysis

zacharias de ghisolfi

a descendant of simeone, zacharias de ghisolfi prince , ruler of taman peninsula 1480. beset ottoman empire (which in process of reducing girai khanate , italian possessions in crimea tributary status) in 1482, zacharias , subjects, mixed population of jews, italians, greeks, circassians, tatars , slavs, compelled retire matrega , sought refuge on island of matrice. on august 12 of year, zacharias informed directors of bank of saint george in genoa of position, , requested 1,000 ducats retain friendship of allies, crimean goths of feodoro, had exhausted resources; stated unless received support of republic, move wallachia, voivode had offered him castle.

contact muscovy

notwithstanding fact turks had captured tana (azov) , of settlements in gazaria, ghisolfi continued war matrice, small measure of success. learning had expressed desire come russia, , glad of opportunity ally circassians , other peoples resisting ottoman incursions, ivan iii of muscovy directed prince nozdrevaty, ambassador crimean tatar khan meñli giray, forward message sealed gold seal zacharias jew, @ caffa. message, dated march 14, 1484, , forwarded luka , prince vasili, both court dignitaries, reads follows:

by grace of god great ruler of russian country, grand duke ivan vassilivich, czar of russias, ... skariya hebrew. have written through gabriel petrov, our guest, desire come us. our wish so. when give evidence of our favorable disposition toward you. if wish serve us, our desire confer distinction upon you; should not wish remain , prefer return own country, shall free go ...

departure moscow

from despatch in latin conario on kuban river, dated june 8, 1487, , signed zachariah guigursis , clear zacharias, intending accept ivan s hospitality, started moscow, while on way robbed , tortured stefan, voivode of moldavia; upon release, returned home. notwithstanding experience, ghisolfi , men declared ready join ivan provided guides furnished them. replying despatch, march 18, 1488, muscovite prince repeated invitation, , informed ghisolfi had notified dmitry shein, ambassador @ crimean court, had requested khan meñli giray send cherkassy 2 men guide ghisolfi moscow. directed shein add number tatar own suite.

fate

several years passed before guides sent, in spring of 1496 reached mouth of miyusha , taigana rivers, zacharias meet them 4 weeks after easter. had been arranged in event of either party reaching rendezvous before other, first should wait until whitsuntide, , if need until peter , paul s day. guides waited until st. nicholas day (dec. 6), when learned ghisolfi unable advance on account of disturbances among people, man zacharias substantial, family great, , difficult induce them move. in report ivan, crimean ambassador declared that, out of friendship muscovy, khan meñli giray take ghisolfi under protection, expressed concern due ghisolfi s having antagonized turks, khan s overlords.

from subsequent events, evident ghisolfi entered service of khan, further negotiations carried on, , in april 1500, ivan, instructing ambassador, refers ghisolfi zacharias fryazin, had lived in circassia , in service of meñli giray, never reached russia.

analysis

ivan s repeated invitations ghisolfi seem indicate hoped latter s services valuable him in extending russian influence on black sea. yet strange during period of more eighteen years ghisolfi did not succeed in reaching russia. whether fact ghisolfi jew had impediments put in way, difficult ascertain, no mention of him found in jewish writings. different spellings of zachariah s name in italian , russian documents— guizolfi, guigursis, , guilgursis —may attributed errors of russian scribes.