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Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky: An Imperialistic East Asian Journey [Aleksandr Bekoviç-Çerkasski: Emperyalist Bir Doğu Asya Yolculuğu]

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 13, 87 - 122, 31.05.2022
https://doi.org/10.21488/jocas.916244

Abstract

This article attempts to identify the true reasons, outcomes, and outstanding legacy of Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky. A Circassian aristocrat, a Muslim converted to Christianity, who would travel searching for a mythical river of gold in the name of Russia; this historical character’s life and ultimate death is investigated. The importance of his journey from Russia to Khiva will underline the substantial effect Russian imperialism had on central Asia. One of the first expeditions enforced by a Russian ruler, Peter the Great, Bekovich-Cherkassky’s story sheds light on the Circassian-Russian relations and provides a wealth of information about the institution of amanat or exchanging the children from aristocratic families for the purpose of forming political alliance. Finally, this article argues that by inspiring other explorers and travelers to the region, Bekovich-Cherkassky’s journey impacted the future of Russia’s exploration. The extremely limited information surrounding both Alexander and the journey are compiled with evidence here that his expedition held more weight than history has been able to testify.

References

  • Allworth, Edward. Central Asia : 130 Years of Russian Dominance, a Historical Overview. 3rd ed. Central Asia Book Series. Duke University Press, 1994.
  • Allworth, Edward. The Modern Uzbeks : From the Fourteenth Century to the Present : A Cultural History. Studies of Nationalities in the USSR. Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 1990.
  • Bushkovitch, Paul. “Princes Cherkasskii or Circassian Murzas: The Kabardians in the Russian Boyar Elite, 1560-1700.” Cahiers Du Monde Russe 45, no. 1/2 (2004): 9–29.
  • “Capt. Burnaby’s Ride to Khiva.” The Literary World; a Monthly Review of Current Literature (1870-1904); Boston. Boston, United States, Boston: S.R. Crocker; E. H. Hames & co.; L. C. Page & company, April 1, 1877. (Accessed October 28, 2020).
  • “Circassian Bibliography and Library.” Адыгэ Библиографие Зэхуэзыхьэсар Жэмыхъуэ Мыхьмуд и Къуэ Амджэдщ (Амыщщ), December 7, 2008. https://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/bibliography.pdf
  • Daudov Abdullah K., Andreev Artyom A., Yanchenko Denis G., Shorohov Vladimir A., and Kibiń Aleksei S. “On the History of the First Russian Fortifications on the East Coast of the Caspian Sea.” https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=25659153. (Accessed November 15, 2020).
  • Frost, Robert I. The Northern Wars: War, State, and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558-1721. Modern Wars in Perspective. Longman, 2000. (Accessed September 24, 2020).
  • Kabardino-Russkiie Otnosheniia v XVI-XVIII vv. (Кабардино-русские отношения в XVI-XVIII вв.), Volume 2 (1711-1739): Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. Prince Dolgoruky, Донесение фельдмаршала князя В. В. Долгорукого в Коллегию иностранных дел о желательности прибавки жалованья Эльмурзе Черкасскому, за верную службу его Российской империи. (Doneseniye fel'dmarshala knyazya V. V. Dolgorukogo v Kollegiyu inostrannykh del o zhelatel'nosti pribavki zhalovan'ya El'murze Cherkasskomu, za vernuyu sluzhbu yego Rossiyskoy imperii). November 28, 1730. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVI/Russ_Kab_otn_2/41-60/41.htm. (Accessed November 22, 2020).
  • Kabardino-Russkiie Otnosheniia v XVI-XVIII vv. Lieutenant General Schubert, “Записки о поездках князя Александра Бековича-Черкасского к восточному берегу Каспийского моря и о сухопутной экспедиции его в Хиву”, (Zapiski o poyezdkakh knyazya Aleksandra Bekovicha-Cherkasskogo k vostochnomu beregu Kaspiyskogo morya i o sukhoputnoy ekspeditsii yego v Khivu). 1717. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XVIII/1700-1720/Russ_turkmen/21-40/25.htm. (Accessed November 19, 2020).
  • Kelley, Patrick A. Imperial Secrets: Remapping the Mind of Empire. Washington, DC :, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/msu.31293028916280. (Accessed December 7, 2020).
  • Khodarkovsky, Michael. Russia’s Steppe Frontier : The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800. Indiana University Press, 2002. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.proxy-bc.researchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=696620&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
  • Lippman, Walter. 1922. Public Opinion: The Russian Nobility. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 654. (Accessed May 5, 2020).
  • Lobanov-Rostovsky, Andrei. Russia and Asia /. New York :, 1933. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b674795. (Accessed October 31, 2020).
  • “Map of the Khanate of Khiva and the Lower Reaches of the Amu Darya River,” 1873. https://www.wdl.org/en/item/15034/. (Accessed November 22, 2020).
  • Nogmov, Shora, История черкесского народа, (Istoriia adygheiskogo naroda), Tbilisi 1861, Nalchik 1994. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1700-1720/Nogmov/text3.htm. (Accessed November 22, 2020).
  • “North-West-Caucasus-Language.Jpg (1564×952).” http://abkhazworld.com/aw/images/img/north-west-caucasus-language.jpg. (Accessed November 14, 2020).
  • Perovski (General). The Great Game: A Narrative of the Russian Military Expedition to Khiva in 1839. Taylor & Francis, 2004. (Accessed September 24, 2020).
  • Schuyler, Eugene. Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia; Study of Historical Biography,. London, 1884. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b4727360. (Accessed October 31, 2020).
  • Sutherland, Edwards H., Russian Projects against India from the Czar Peter to General Skobeleff, (London, 1885), http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044004452017. (Accessed October 31, 2020).
  • Sunderland, William. “Imperial Space: Territorial Thought and Practice in the Eighteenth Century.” Russian Empire: Space, People, Power, 1700-1930, Indiana University Press, 2007.
  • Thietmar, editor. “Expedition of Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky to Khiva.” Journal for Reading by Pupils of Military Educational Institutions, vol. 65, no. 262, 1847. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XVIII/1700-1720/Bekovic_Cerkasskij/text2.htm. (Accessed November 19, 2020).
  • Wanner, Michal. “Alexander Bekovich Cherkassky’s Campaign to Central Asia and India in 1714-1717.” The Central and Eastern European Online Library 1 (2014): 24. (Accessed October 13, 2020).
  • Zokirjon Abdukarimovich, Saidboboev. “CENTRAL ASIA ON THE RUSSIAN CARTOGRAPHIC SOURCES IN XVIII CENTURY.” EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR), April 28, 2020, 204–6. https://doi.org/10.36713/epra4342. (Accessed November 11, 2020).

Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky: An Imperialistic East Asian Journey [Aleksandr Bekoviç-Çerkasski: Emperyalist Bir Doğu Asya Yolculuğu]

Year 2022, Volume: 7 Issue: 13, 87 - 122, 31.05.2022
https://doi.org/10.21488/jocas.916244

Abstract

Bu makale, Aleksandr Bekoviç-Çerkasski'nin keşif gezisinin gerçek nedenlerini, sonuçlarını ve seçkin mirasını tanımlamaya çalışmaktadır. Bir Çerkes aristokrat, Hristiyan olan bir Müslüman, altın nehir mitinin peşinde Rusya adına seyahatlere çıkan bu tarihi karakterin yaşamı ve ölümü incelenmektedir. Çalışmada Rusya'dan Hiva'ya yolculuğunun önemi, Rus emperyalizminin Orta Asya üzerindeki etkisi ele alınacaktır. Bir Rus hükümdarı, Büyük Petro, tarafından yürütülen ilk keşif gezisi olan Bekoviç-Çerkasski öyküsü, o dönemlerdeki Çerkes-Rus ilişkilerine ışık tutarken, amanat kurumu veya politik işbirlikleri için aristokratik ailelerden çocukların değiştirilmesi hakkında da zengin bir bilgi sağlamaktadır. Sonuç itibariyle, bu makale Bekoviç-Çerkasski'nin yolculuğunun daha sonraki kaşif ve gezginlerin bölgeye ilgisine ilham vererek, Rusya’nın keşiflerinin geleceğini de etkilediğini savunmaktadır. Hem Aleksandr’ı hem de yolculuğu çevreleyen son derece sınırlı bilgiler, burada, keşif gezisinin tarihin ifade edebileceğinden daha fazla ağırlığa sahip olduğuna dair kanıt olarak derlenmiştir.

References

  • Allworth, Edward. Central Asia : 130 Years of Russian Dominance, a Historical Overview. 3rd ed. Central Asia Book Series. Duke University Press, 1994.
  • Allworth, Edward. The Modern Uzbeks : From the Fourteenth Century to the Present : A Cultural History. Studies of Nationalities in the USSR. Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, 1990.
  • Bushkovitch, Paul. “Princes Cherkasskii or Circassian Murzas: The Kabardians in the Russian Boyar Elite, 1560-1700.” Cahiers Du Monde Russe 45, no. 1/2 (2004): 9–29.
  • “Capt. Burnaby’s Ride to Khiva.” The Literary World; a Monthly Review of Current Literature (1870-1904); Boston. Boston, United States, Boston: S.R. Crocker; E. H. Hames & co.; L. C. Page & company, April 1, 1877. (Accessed October 28, 2020).
  • “Circassian Bibliography and Library.” Адыгэ Библиографие Зэхуэзыхьэсар Жэмыхъуэ Мыхьмуд и Къуэ Амджэдщ (Амыщщ), December 7, 2008. https://www.circassianworld.com/pdf/bibliography.pdf
  • Daudov Abdullah K., Andreev Artyom A., Yanchenko Denis G., Shorohov Vladimir A., and Kibiń Aleksei S. “On the History of the First Russian Fortifications on the East Coast of the Caspian Sea.” https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=25659153. (Accessed November 15, 2020).
  • Frost, Robert I. The Northern Wars: War, State, and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558-1721. Modern Wars in Perspective. Longman, 2000. (Accessed September 24, 2020).
  • Kabardino-Russkiie Otnosheniia v XVI-XVIII vv. (Кабардино-русские отношения в XVI-XVIII вв.), Volume 2 (1711-1739): Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1957. Prince Dolgoruky, Донесение фельдмаршала князя В. В. Долгорукого в Коллегию иностранных дел о желательности прибавки жалованья Эльмурзе Черкасскому, за верную службу его Российской империи. (Doneseniye fel'dmarshala knyazya V. V. Dolgorukogo v Kollegiyu inostrannykh del o zhelatel'nosti pribavki zhalovan'ya El'murze Cherkasskomu, za vernuyu sluzhbu yego Rossiyskoy imperii). November 28, 1730. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVI/Russ_Kab_otn_2/41-60/41.htm. (Accessed November 22, 2020).
  • Kabardino-Russkiie Otnosheniia v XVI-XVIII vv. Lieutenant General Schubert, “Записки о поездках князя Александра Бековича-Черкасского к восточному берегу Каспийского моря и о сухопутной экспедиции его в Хиву”, (Zapiski o poyezdkakh knyazya Aleksandra Bekovicha-Cherkasskogo k vostochnomu beregu Kaspiyskogo morya i o sukhoputnoy ekspeditsii yego v Khivu). 1717. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XVIII/1700-1720/Russ_turkmen/21-40/25.htm. (Accessed November 19, 2020).
  • Kelley, Patrick A. Imperial Secrets: Remapping the Mind of Empire. Washington, DC :, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/msu.31293028916280. (Accessed December 7, 2020).
  • Khodarkovsky, Michael. Russia’s Steppe Frontier : The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500-1800. Indiana University Press, 2002. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.proxy-bc.researchport.umd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e025xna&AN=696620&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
  • Lippman, Walter. 1922. Public Opinion: The Russian Nobility. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 654. (Accessed May 5, 2020).
  • Lobanov-Rostovsky, Andrei. Russia and Asia /. New York :, 1933. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.$b674795. (Accessed October 31, 2020).
  • “Map of the Khanate of Khiva and the Lower Reaches of the Amu Darya River,” 1873. https://www.wdl.org/en/item/15034/. (Accessed November 22, 2020).
  • Nogmov, Shora, История черкесского народа, (Istoriia adygheiskogo naroda), Tbilisi 1861, Nalchik 1994. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/Kavkaz/XVIII/1700-1720/Nogmov/text3.htm. (Accessed November 22, 2020).
  • “North-West-Caucasus-Language.Jpg (1564×952).” http://abkhazworld.com/aw/images/img/north-west-caucasus-language.jpg. (Accessed November 14, 2020).
  • Perovski (General). The Great Game: A Narrative of the Russian Military Expedition to Khiva in 1839. Taylor & Francis, 2004. (Accessed September 24, 2020).
  • Schuyler, Eugene. Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia; Study of Historical Biography,. London, 1884. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b4727360. (Accessed October 31, 2020).
  • Sutherland, Edwards H., Russian Projects against India from the Czar Peter to General Skobeleff, (London, 1885), http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.32044004452017. (Accessed October 31, 2020).
  • Sunderland, William. “Imperial Space: Territorial Thought and Practice in the Eighteenth Century.” Russian Empire: Space, People, Power, 1700-1930, Indiana University Press, 2007.
  • Thietmar, editor. “Expedition of Prince Bekovich-Cherkassky to Khiva.” Journal for Reading by Pupils of Military Educational Institutions, vol. 65, no. 262, 1847. http://www.vostlit.info/Texts/Dokumenty/M.Asien/XVIII/1700-1720/Bekovic_Cerkasskij/text2.htm. (Accessed November 19, 2020).
  • Wanner, Michal. “Alexander Bekovich Cherkassky’s Campaign to Central Asia and India in 1714-1717.” The Central and Eastern European Online Library 1 (2014): 24. (Accessed October 13, 2020).
  • Zokirjon Abdukarimovich, Saidboboev. “CENTRAL ASIA ON THE RUSSIAN CARTOGRAPHIC SOURCES IN XVIII CENTURY.” EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR), April 28, 2020, 204–6. https://doi.org/10.36713/epra4342. (Accessed November 11, 2020).
There are 23 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Article
Authors

Samantha Rogers 0000-0002-2188-2941

Publication Date May 31, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2022 Volume: 7 Issue: 13

Cite

MLA Rogers, Samantha. “Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky: An Imperialistic East Asian Journey [Aleksandr Bekoviç-Çerkasski: Emperyalist Bir Doğu Asya Yolculuğu]”. Kafkasya Çalışmaları, vol. 7, no. 13, 2022, pp. 87-122, doi:10.21488/jocas.916244.

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