Crimean Khanate

Timeline

1. 1441Chufut Qale · CrimeaBy 1441 the Genoese already recorded Hacı Giray as the new khan; he minted coins in his own name at Chufut Qale, marking Crimea's transformation from the Golden Horde ulus into an independent Giray dynasty khanate.
2. 1441–1449From Old Crimea to Chufut Qale · CrimeaHacı Giray moved the political center from Old Crimea to the mountain town of Chufut Qale and, with Lithuanian support, resisted the Great Horde and other Chinggisid competitors, achieving an initial integration of the peninsula's Tatar clans.
3. 1449–1466Crimean khanate court · CrimeaHacı Giray reigned until 1466; the khanate court operated under Islamic law and a council of clan beys, coexisting with the Genoese colony of Caffa. After his death his sons contested the throne; Mengli Giray later succeeded and adjusted foreign alliances, and the khanate entered its next phase.
4. 1475–1783Bakhchysarai · CrimeaAfter 1475 the khanate maintained the Giray dynasty and clan bey structure under Ottoman suzerainty, with the capital later moved to Bakhchysarai. As an independent political entity it survived until its annexation by Russia in 1783; its later raiding history is covered in separate event entries.