Beginning of Afanasy Nikitin's activity
Very little is known about the outstanding representative of the Russian people Afanasy Nikitin. There is no reliable information about his birth (date and place), about his childhood and adolescence. But the glory of the great traveler and explorer deservedly belongs to this brave man.
According to some reports, Afanasy Nikitin was born into the family of a peasant Nikita. This means that "Nikitin" is the patronymic of Afanasy, not a surname. The date of birth is also unknown. Some scholars date it roughly $ 1430-1440 years.
Remark 1
It is known that he left peasant labor and joined the merchants. At first, he was hired in trade caravans, as they would now say, "a laborer." But gradually he gained prestige among merchants and began to lead merchant caravans himself.
The beginning of the Indian campaign
In the summer of $ 1446, Tver merchants on several boats set off on a long voyage "to overseas countries." The merchants appointed Afanasy Nikitin as the head of the caravan. By that time, he already had a reputation as an experienced person, who had gone out and seen a lot. Along the Volga, which already at that time played the role of an international trade route, the ships were to descend to the "Khvalynsky Sea". So in those years the Caspian was called.
Nikitin's travel notes on the way to Nizhny Novgorod are short. This indicates that the path was not new. In Nizhny Novgorod, merchants joined the Shirvan embassy of Khasanbek, who was returning from Moscow.
In the Volga delta, the caravan was attacked by the Astrakhan Tatars and was plundered. Four Russian merchants were taken prisoner. The surviving ships left for the Caspian Sea. But in the area of \u200b\u200bpresent-day Makhachkala, the ships were broken during a storm and plundered by local residents.
Afanasy Nikitin, who collected the goods on loan, could not return home. Therefore, he went to Baku, which was then a large commercial and industrial center. Nikitin sailed from Baku in $ 1468 to the Persian fortress Mazanderan, where he stayed for more than eight months. He describes Elbrus, the nature of Transcaucasia, cities and life of local residents.
Afanasy Nikitin in India
In the spring of $ 1469, he arrives in Hormuz. More than $ 40 thousand people lived in Hormuz then. Having bought horses in Hormuz, Nikitin goes to India. In the Indian city of Chaul, he arrived $ 23 $ April $ 1471 $ a year. The horses in Chaul could not be sold profitably. And Nikitin went into the interior of the country. The merchant spent two months in Junnar. Then he moved even further $ 400 versts to Bidard, Alland. On the way, Afanasy Nikitin tries to learn as much as possible from the life of a foreign nation (customs, legends, beliefs, architectural features). For a long time Nikitin lived with ordinary Indian families. He was nicknamed “Khoze Isuf Khorosani”.
In $ 1472, Afanasy Nikitin visits the holy city of Parvat, where he describes the religious holidays of the Indian Brahmins. In $ 1473 he visits the Raichur diamond region. After that, Nkitin decides to return "to Russia".
Remark 2
Afanasy Nikitin spent about three years in India. He witnessed the wars between Indian states, gives a description of Indian cities and trade routes, the peculiarities of local laws.
Way back home
Having bought precious stones, Nikitin in $ 1473 goes to the sea in Dabul (Dabhol). From this port, he is ferried to Hormuz. On the way, he describes the "Ethiopian Mountains" (the high shores of the Somali Peninsula).
Nikitin chose the way home through Persia and Trebizond to the Black Sea and further to Kafa and through Podolia and Smolensk. At the Cafe, he spent the winter $ 1474-1475 a year, putting his notes and observations in order.
In the spring of $ 1475, Nikitin moved north along the Dnieper. But he never got to Smolensk. Afanasy Nikitin died on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. His recordings were delivered to the Moscow clerk of the Grand Duke Vasily Mamyrev by traffickers.
The meaning of Afanasy Nikitin's travel
Over the next two centuries, Afanasy Nikitin's notes, known as "Voyage across the Three Seas", were repeatedly copied. Six lists have come down to us. This was the first description in Russian literature of not a pilgrimage, but a commercial trip, full of observations about the political system, economy and culture of other countries. Nikitin himself called his journey sinful, and this is the first description of anti-pilgrimage in Russian literature Scientific feat Nikitin is difficult to overestimate. Before him there were no Russian people in India. From an economic point of view, the trip was not profitable. There was no product suitable for Russia. And the goods that would have made a profit were subject to a large duty.
Remark 3
But the main result was that Afanasy Nikitin, thirty years before colonization by the Portuguese, was the first European to give a true description of medieval India. In modern times, Nikitin's notes were discovered by N.M. Karamzin as part of the Trinity collection. Karamzin published excerpts in $ 1818 in the footnotes to the History of the Russian State.
Afanasy Nikitin is known to his contemporaries as a navigator and a merchant, the merchant was the first of the inhabitants of European countries to visit India. The traveler discovered the eastern country 25 years before and other Portuguese travelers.
In the travel notes "Voyage across the Three Seas" russian traveler described in detail the life and political structure of the eastern countries. The manuscripts of Athanasius were the first in Russia to describe cruise not from the point of view of pilgrimage, but for the purpose of telling the story of trade. The traveler himself believed that his notes were a sin. Later, in the 19th century, the stories of Athanasius were published by the famous historian and writer and entered the "History of the Russian State".
Childhood and youth
Little is known about the childhood years of the Russian traveler, since the biography of Afanasy Nikitin began to be recorded during the merchant's expeditions. The navigator was born in the middle of the 15th century in the city of Tver. The traveler's father is a peasant, his name was Nikita. Therefore "Nikitin" is a patronymic, not a surname.
More about the family, as well as about the youth of the traveler, biographers do not know anything. Athanasius became a merchant at a young age and managed to see many countries, for example, Byzantium and Lithuania, where the traveler promoted trade. Athanasius' goods were in demand, so it cannot be said that the young man lived in poverty.
Expeditions
Afanasy Nikitin, as an experienced merchant, strove to expand trade in present-day Astrakhan. The navigator received permission from the Prince of Tver Mikhail Borisovich III, so Nikitin was considered a secret diplomat, but historical data do not confirm these guesses. Having received the support of the first government officials, Afanasy Nikitin set off on a long journey from Tver.
The navigator swam across the Volga River. Initially, the traveler stopped in the city of Klyazin and went to the monastery. There he received a blessing from the hegumen, and also prayed to the Holy Trinity that the journey would be successful. Then Afanasy Nikitin went to Uglich, from there to Kostroma, and then to Ples.
Travel route of Afanasy Nikitin According to the traveler, the route passed without obstacles, however, in Nizhny Novgorod the navigator's expedition dragged on for two weeks, since there the merchant was supposed to meet with the ambassador of the Shirvan state, Hasan-bek. Initially, Nikitin wanted to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but he had already sailed south.
The trouble happened when the team of Athanasius sailed past Astrakhan: the sailors were overtaken by Tatar robbers and plundered the ship, and one of the ships drowned altogether.
Map of the times of Afanasy Nikitin Travelers could not return to their homeland, as they were awaited by promissory notes for the fact that they did not keep the goods that were purchased with government money on credit. Some of the sailors, who had at least something left at home, returned to Russia, the rest of Nikitin's people dispersed in different directions, someone stayed in Shemakha, some went to work in Baku.
Afanasy Nikitin hoped to improve his financial situation, so he decided to set sail towards the south: from Derbent, the cheerful navigator set off for Persia, and from Persia he reached the busy port of Hormuz, which was the intersection of trade routes: Asia Minor, India, China and Egypt. In the manuscripts, Afanasy Nikitin called this port "the Gurmyz's haven", familiar in Russia with the supply of pearls.
A shrewd trader in Hormuz learned that they supply rare stallions from there, which are not bred in the Indian country, and there they are expensive. The merchant bought a horse and, hoping to sell the goods at an exorbitant price, went to the Eurasian mainland in India, whose territory, although it was then on the maps, remained unexplored by the Europeans.
Afanasy Nikitin sailed to the city of Chaul in 1471 and lived in an unknown country for three years, but did not return to his homeland. The Russian traveler described in detail the life and structure of the sunny country in his manuscripts.
Athanasius was amazed at how the Indian inhabitants walk along the street: women and children walked naked, and the prince had his thighs and head covered with a veil. But on the other hand, almost every person had gold jewelry in the form of bracelets, which surprised the Russian merchant. Nikitin did not understand why Indians could not sell precious jewelry and buy clothes to cover their nakedness.
Illustration for the book by Afanasy Nikitin "Walking the Three Seas" He was also impressed that the population of India was large, and almost every second inhabitant of the country was expecting a child.
In Chaul, Athanasius did not sell the stallion at a bargain price, so at the beginning of spring the navigator went to the very hinterland of India. The merchant reached the northwestern fortress of Junnar, where he met with Assad Khan, its master. The governor liked the goods of Athanasius, but he desired to get a horse for free and took it away by force. During the conversation, Assad learned that the Russian traveler professes a different religion and promised to return the animal with gold in addition, if the merchant converts to Islam. The governor gave Nikitin 4 days to think it over; in case of a negative answer, Assad-Khan threatened the Russian merchant with death.
Editions of the book by Afanasy Nikitin "Walking Beyond the Three Seas" According to the book "Voyages across the Three Seas" Afanasy Nikitin was saved by chance: the governor of the fortress met a familiar old man Muhammad, in front of whom the ruler showed mercy and let the stranger go by returning the horse. However, historians are still arguing whether Afanasy Nikitin accepted the Mohammedan faith or remained faithful to Orthodoxy. Such doubts were left by the merchant because of the original notes, which were saturated with foreign words.
Nikitin was also surprised at the customs of India and exotic animals, in a foreign country he first saw snakes and monkeys. The journey to unprecedented lands was colorful and bright, but Athanasius was unhappy, because the merchant did not see any commercial benefits. According to the navigator, the sunny country traded in paints and cheap pepper - there was nothing to take home to make a profit. Nikitin's Indian stay was interesting, but poor: the sale of a single horse cost the merchant at a loss and imposed a fine.
Personal life
Scientists do not know about the personal life of Afanasy Nikitin, because the biography of the Russian navigator was compiled thanks to the notes of the merchant. Whether Nikitin had children, whether his faithful wife was expecting him - also remains a mystery. But, judging by the merchant's manuscripts, Afanasy Nikitin was a purposeful and cheerful person who was not afraid of difficulties in an unfamiliar country. For three years of travel, Afanasy Nikitin mastered foreign languages, in his diaries there were Arabic, Persian and Turkic words.
There are no photographic portraits of Nikitin, only primitive drawings reached his contemporaries. It is known that the merchant had a simple Slavic appearance and wore a square beard.
Death
Wandering around sunny countries, Afanasy Nikitin lived with the dream of returning to his homeland. The navigator got ready for the return journey and went to the trade port of Hormuz, from where the journey to India began. From Hormuz, the merchant went north through Iran and ended up in Trabzon, a Turkish city. Local Turkish residents mistook the Russian navigator for a spy, so they took Nikitin prisoner, taking away everything that was on the ship. The only thing the navigator had with him was the manuscripts.
Athanasius was released from arrest, and the merchant went to Feodosia: there he had to meet with Russian merchants in order to borrow money and get even with debts. Closer to the autumn of 1474, the merchant arrived in the Feodosia city of Kafu, where he spent the winter.
In the spring Nikitin intended to go along the Dnieper to Tver, but died in the city of Smolensk. The reason for the death of Afanasy Nikitin remains a mystery, but scientists are sure that a long trip to different countries with different climatic conditions sharply worsened the health of the navigator.
Nikitin's notes were delivered to Moscow by merchants who accompanied the wanderer. Nikitin's diary was handed over to the prince's advisor, and in 1480 the manuscripts were included in the chronicle.
Streets and lanes in Russia, as well as an embankment in the city of Tver, were named after the Russian navigator. In 1958 "Mosfilm" filmed the movie "Walking the Three Seas", and in 1955 a monument to Nikitin was erected in Tver. Also, there are monuments to the Russian merchant in the Cafe and in the state of Maharashtra.
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR
Series "History of Science and Technology"
L, S, SEMENOV
JOURNEY OF AFANASIY NIKITIN
Publishing house "Science"
Moscow 1980
Semenov L.S. Journey of Afanasy Nikition.-M .: Nauka, 1980.-144 p., Ill.- (Series "History of Science and Technology").
The notes of the outstanding Russian traveler Afanasy Nikitin, who visited India five centuries ago, have been translated into many languages \u200b\u200bof the world and have long attracted the attention of writers and scientists. The author, who worked in India, managed to interpret in a new way the remarkable monument of "ancient Russian culture. Comparing the Russian chronicles and Indian chronicles with the notes of Afanasy Nikitin, the author establishes new chronological framework “Voyages across three seas”, specifies the route of the trip.
Leonid Sergeevich SemenovJOURNEY OF AFANASIY NIKITIN
Approved for publication by the editorial board of a series of popular scientific publications of the USSR Academy of Sciences
The editor of the publishing house L. I. Prikhodko
Artistic editor I. V. Razina
Technical editor L. N. Zolotukhina
Proofreaders O. V. Lavrova, V. A. Shvartsr
IV No. 15310
Donated to the set 09/26/1979. Signed and seals on 29.12.79. T-16392. Format 84 X1081 / 3 g. Typographic paper No. 2. Ordinary typeface. The print is high. CONV. print l. 8. Uch.-ed. l. 8.5. Circulation 150,000 (1st plant 1-100,000 copies) Type. order 2342. The price is 30 kopecks.
Publishing house "Science". 117864 GSP-7, Moscow V-485, Profsoyuznaya st., 90 2nd printing house of the Nauka publishing house 121099, Moscow, G-99, Shubinsky per., 10
© Publishing house "Science", 1980,
Responsible editor doctor historical sciences R. G. SKRYNNIKOV
Introduction 3
A year before the Kazan campaign 8
First Sea - Caspian 28
Second Sea - Indian 58
Seven gates of Bidar 75
Third Sea - Black 109
Conclusion 132
Note 134
Literature 138
List of abbreviations 138
Name Index 139
Pointer geographical names 141
INTRODUCTION
In the middle of the XV century. Europe was on the verge of great geographical discoveries in search of a direct sea route to India. The ships of Vasco da Gama, led through the Arabian Sea by Ibn Majid, the "Moor from Gujarat," opened the era of the conquest of Hindustan in the 90s. Contemporaries, however, believed that Columbus' caravels were the first to reach the shores of India. And for a long time there were two Indies on the maps of the world - the West Indies and the East Indies.
Not only the thirst for conquest pushed into unknown lands. There was a growing need for reliable information about customs, mores, government, social structure, resources and accurate geographic location countries whose very existence they knew only by hearsay. This is evidenced by stories about visiting India, which appeared even before the period of great geographical discoveries. These are "Topography" of the Byzantine merchant Kozma Indikoplov, "Book" a Venetian merchant Marco Polo and the story of the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin "Walking the Three Seas". The first of these works belongs to the 6th century, the early Middle Ages, the second - to the 13th century, the heyday of the Middle Ages, the last - to the 15th century. Each description was richer in content than the previous one, because it met the more complex needs of the next era.
For science, Afanasy Nikitin's journey was opened by N.M. Karamzin. Analyzing the archives of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, he found the notes of a Russian traveler that deeply struck him: “Russia in the 15th century had its Tavernier and Chardinis, less enlightened, but equally brave and enterprising; the Indians heard about it before, rather than about Portugal, Holland, England "1.
Karamzin was familiar not only with travels of the 17th century. across India and Persia. In his translation, the Russian reader first became acquainted with scenes from the drama "Shakuntala" by the great Indian writer Kalidasa. Around the same time, another work of ancient Indian literature appeared in Russian - an excerpt from the Mahabharata, published by NI Novikov. He also published the earliest news about Russian-Indian relations. , which we managed to find then among the files of the Ambassador Prikaz 2.
Reading about any scientific discovery, we sometimes forget that it had its own prehistory. It seems to us that before the excavations of the German archaeologist G. Schliemann on the Gissar-Lyk hill, no one knew exactly where ancient Troy was. But open the Russian "Voyages" of the era of Afanasy Nikitin. “Here the mouth went out to sea, hedgehogcalled White, - we read in the notes of Zosima, who sailed in 1420 from the Black to the Mediterranean Sea, - and here is the city of Troas ”3. And the Moscow merchant Trifon Korabeynikov, who later followed the same path, clarifies: “That city is ruined, and that place is empty” 4.
The first one who turned to clarifying the circumstances of the life of Afanasy Nikitin was his contemporary. It is believed that he was the clerk of Metropolitan Gerontius - Rodion Kozhukh. His name is associated with a number of news included in the annals, which became the basis for the Lvov and Sophia II Chronicles, the lists of which contain Nikitin's "Voyage" 5. The chronicler acts here not only as a narrator of things long past, but also as a historian of his time.
“In the same year,” says the Lvov Chronicle under 6983 (1474/1475), “I acquired the spelling of Ofonas tveritin from a merchant who had been in Ynday for 4 years, and he went, he says, with Vasily Papin. As for the experiments, if Vasily went with the krechaty as an ambassador from the Grand Duke, and told me, he came from the Horde a year before the Kazan campaign; if Prince Yurya was near Kazan, then they shot him near Kazan. This is written not to be found, in some summer he went or in some summer he came from Yndeya, died, and they say that dei Smolenska did not reach, he died. And he wrote the scripture with his own hand, like his hands those tetrati brought guests to Mamyrev Vasily, to the deacon of the Grand Duke in Moscow ”6.
And in those notebooks - "Walking the Three Seas", as Afanasy Nikitin called the description of his trip.
Let's open the Lviv (named after the name of the publisher) chronicle, which has come down to us in the list of the 16th century. Black ink-like letters. “This is our sinful journey across the three seas, - we begin to distinguish words that are almost undivided in the line with separate letters above the line, the 1st sea of \u200b\u200bDerben, Doria Khvalitskaa; 2nd Indian Sea, Doria Gundustanskaa; 3rd Black Sea, Doria Stembolskaya "7.
The name of the author in the chronicle text of the "Voyage" was named only once, at the very end, when describing the departure from India: [to tavu] and conspire about a boatload, and from our head two golden hail to Gurmyz hail ”(49). There is no name of the traveler's father in the chronicle. It was preserved by the Trinity list discovered by Karamzin. This list is generally more complete than the chronicles, it preserved not only the initial phrase revealing the name of Father Afanasy ("son of Nikitin"), but also two whole pages of the manuscript that are absent in the chronicle. At the same time, in the Troitsky list, Nikitin's text, in comparison with the chronicle, was subjected to such a significant non-author's processing that it was singled out as an independent edition of "Khozheniya". However, individual words and phrases that were omitted or distorted in the Trinity edition were brought to us by the chronicle and vice versa. So, in the above passage, according to the chronicle, instead of “about nalone” it is written “from the knee”, “in tava” is omitted, “to reach” instead of “date”. These words are correctly read in the Trinity List, but it says "akanny", and instead of "mind" - "mind" (29). In the XVII century. a third edition appeared - an abridged version of the Trinity List. But here some passages are clearer, which turned out to be more understandable to the compiler than people of the next generations. And we must therefore involve all the options in order to restore the original text of the notebooks of Afanasy Nikitin, which the traveler's companions passed on to the clerk Ivan III after his death.
The history of the text "Voyage across the Three Seas" was presented to researchers in different ways. It was suggested that Nikitin left several copyright versions of the notes. One of the earliest commentators of the "Vozheniya" II Sreznevsky saw signs of this in the discrepancies in the lists that have come down to us. In his opinion, Nikitin, while rewriting his diary, made corrections 8. One edition went to Mamyrev and passed into the chronicle, and the other was used by the compiler of the Trinity list. Soviet researchers came to the conclusion that Nikitin, having given a literary form to his notes, begun in India, left one version of his work. Textological research has shown that "Voyage across the Three Seas" cannot be called a diary in the full sense of the word - the exposition here is conducted by leaps and bounds, but the bulk, no doubt, was written in India. The creators of the various editions of "Khozheniya" were the scribes of the monument.
We do not know who was the editor of the list kept in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. Was it Vasily Mamyrev, who had the original of Nikitin's notes, or Vasily Yermolin, a major contractor, a well-known book lover? He, Ermolin, belonged to the chronicle, which is part of the Trinity collection together with Nikitin's "Voyage". One thing is certain: Mamyrev could not bequeathed this list to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, since he died in 1490, and the paper of the list is filigree in 1497. 9 In the 17th century. a new name appeared - "On Indian Walking" 10. Of the surviving copies of this edition, one belonged to Arseny Sukhanov, who visited the Balkans in the 1650s and left a description of his trip to Egypt. Is it not him that we owe the new name and the editorial board itself? In any case, he became so interested in Nikitin's “going” to India that he included his notes in a collection he was compiling for himself.
Notes of Afanasy Nikitin, as far as can be judged from the lists that have come down to us, were not dated. They talk about historical figures with whom the traveler met. But the time of their life and activity goes, as a rule, beyond those years during which the journey proceeded. Nikitin names a number of events of the second half of the 15th century that took place in different countries: in the Caucasus, Persia, India, Turkey. However, one has only to start comparing the description of Nikitin with what we know about these events from other historical documents, the question immediately arises: were the traveler's notes the result of questioning, or were they made under the direct impression of what was happening in front of him? That is why it is important not only to get a general idea of \u200b\u200bthe era in which the personality of the traveler was formed and the journey itself was made. You also need to know in what years it happened. After all, if we “shift” the biographical outline within certain limits, the general socio-economic and cultural background will be preserved, but the historical person of interest to us will be among others political events... And the understanding of the motives of his behavior and the determination of the nature of the information communicated to him depend on this.
Afanasy Nikitin - traveler and pioneer from Tver Afanasy Nikitin - Russian traveler, merchant and writer, was born in 1442 (date is not documented) and died in 1474 or 1475 near Smolensk. Born into the family of the peasant Nikita, so Nikitin is, strictly speaking, not the last name of the traveler, but his patronymic: at that time most of the peasants did not have surnames.
In 1468 he undertook an expedition to the countries of the East and visited Persia, India and Africa. He described his journey in the book "Voyage across the Three Seas".
Afanasy Nikitin - Biography... Afanasy Nikitin, whose biography is known to historians only partially, was born in the city of Tver. There is no reliable information about his childhood and youth. It is known that at a fairly young age he became a merchant and visited Byzantium, Crimea, Lithuania and other countries on trade. His commercial ventures were quite successful: he returned safely to his homeland with overseas goods.
He received a charter from the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich, which allowed him to develop extensive trade in the area of \u200b\u200bpresent-day Astrakhan. This fact allows some historians to consider the Tver merchant a secret diplomat and spy of the Grand Duke, but there is no documentary evidence of this assumption.
Afanasy Nikitin began his journey in the spring of 1468, going by waterway past the Russian cities of Klyazma, Uglich and Kostroma. According to the plan, having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the pioneer caravan was to join another caravan for security reasons, led by Vasily Papin, the Moscow ambassador. But the caravans missed each other - Papin had already gone south when Athanasius arrived in Nizhny Novgorod.
Then he waited for the arrival of the Tatar ambassador Khasanbek from Moscow and with him and other merchants went to Astrakhan 2 weeks later than planned. Afanasy Nikitin considered it dangerous to set sail as a single caravan - at that time Tatar gangs ruled along the banks of the Volga. Caravans of ships safely passed Kazan and several other Tatar settlements.
But just before the arrival in Astrakhan, the caravan was robbed by local robbers - these were the Astrakhan Tatars led by Khan Kasim, who was not embarrassed even by the presence of his compatriot Khasanbek. The robbers took away from the merchants all the goods bought, by the way, on credit. The trade expedition was thwarted, two out of four vessels Afanasy Nikitin lost. Then everything turned out not in the best way either. The two remaining ships hit the Caspian Sea in a storm and were washed ashore. Returning home without money and goods threatened merchants with debt and shame.
Then the merchant decided to improve his affairs, intending to engage in intermediary trade. Thus began the famous journey of Afanasy Nikitin, described by him in his literary work "Walking the Three Seas".
Travel information of Afanasy Nikitin.
Persia and India... Nikitin went through Baku to Persia, to an area called Mazanderan, then crossed the mountains and moved further south. He traveled without haste, staying for a long time in the villages and not only doing trade, but also studying the local languages. In the spring of 1469, he arrived in Hormuz, a large port city at the intersection of trade routes from Egypt, Asia Minor (Turkey), China and India.
Products from Hormuz were already known in Russia, especially Hormuz pearls were famous. Having learned that horses from Hormuz are exported to the cities of India, which are not bred there, Afanasy Nikitin decided on a risky business venture. He smoked an Arabian stallion and, hoping to sell it well in India, boarded a ship going to the Indian city of Chaul.
The swim took 6 weeks. India made a strong impression on the merchant. Not forgetting about the commercial affairs, on which he, in fact, arrived here, the traveler was carried away by ethnographic research, writing down in detail what he saw in his diaries. India appears in his records as a wonderful country, where everything is not the same as in Russia, "and people go all black and naked." Athanasius was struck by the fact that almost all the inhabitants of India, even the poor, wear gold jewelry. By the way, Nikitin himself also amazed the Indians - the locals had rarely seen white people here before.
However, it was not possible to sell the stallion profitably in Chaul, and he went inland. He visited a small town in the upper reaches of the Sina River, and then went to Junnar.
In his travel notes, Afanasy Nikitin did not miss the details of everyday life, and also described local customs and sights. This was hardly the first true description of the country's life, not only for Russia, but even for all of Europe. The traveler left notes about what food is prepared here, how pets are fed, how they dress and what goods are traded. They even describe the process of making local intoxicating drinks and the custom of Indian housewives to sleep in the same bed with guests at home.
In the fortress Junnar had to linger no longer on their own. "Dzhunnar Khan" took the stallion away from him when he learned that the merchant was not a Basurman, but a stranger from distant Russia, and set a condition for the Gentile: either he converts to the Islamic faith, or not only does not receive a horse, but will be sold into slavery. Khan gave him 4 days to think about it. The Russian traveler was saved by chance - he met an old acquaintance, Muhammad, who vouched for a stranger before the khan.
During the 2 months spent by a Tver merchant in Dzhunnar, Nikitin studied the agricultural activities of local residents. He saw that in India they plow and sow wheat, rice and peas during the rainy season. He also describes the local winemaking, which uses coconuts as raw materials.
After Junnar, he visited the city of Alland, where there was a large fair. The merchant intended to sell his Arabian horse here, but again it did not work out. At the fair and without his stallion, there were many good horses for sale.
Only in 1471 Afanasy Nikitin managed to sell his horse, and even then without much benefit for himself, or even at a loss. This happened in the city of Bidart, where the traveler arrived, waiting out the rainy season in other settlements. He stayed in Bidar for a long time, making friends with the locals.
The Russian traveler told them about his faith and his land, the Hindus also told him a lot about their customs, prayers, family life. Many entries in Nikitin's diaries deal with Indian religious issues.
In 1472, he arrived in the city of Parvat, a sacred place on the banks of the Krishna River, where believers from all over India went to the annual festivities dedicated to Lord Shiva. Afanasy Nikitin notes in his diaries that this place has the same meaning for the Indian Brahmans as Jerusalem for the Christians.
The Tver merchant traveled around India for another year and a half, studying local customs and trying to conduct trade. However, the traveler's commercial endeavors failed: he never found a product suitable for export from India to Russia.
Africa, Iran, Turkey and Crimea... On the way back from India, Afanasy Nikitin decided to visit the east coast of Africa. According to the entries in the diaries, in the Ethiopian lands, he barely escaped the robbery, buying off the robbers with rice and bread.
Then he returned to the city of Hormuz and moved through Iran, in which there were hostilities, to the north. He passed the cities of Shiraz, Kashan, Erzinzhan and arrived in Trabzon (Trebizond), a Turkish city on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It seemed that the return was near, but then luck again turned away from the traveler: he was arrested by the Turkish authorities as an Iranian spy and deprived of all the remaining property.
According to the traveler himself, who have come down to us in the form of records, all that remained with him at that time was the diary itself, and the desire to return to his homeland.
He had to borrow money on his word of honor for the road to Feodosia, where he intended to meet compatriot merchants and with their help pay off debts. He could get to Feodosia (Kafu) only in the fall of 1474. Nikitin spent the winter in this city, completing the notes about his journey, and in the spring he went along the Dnieper back to Russia, in native city Tver.
However, he was not destined to return there - he died in the city of Smolensk under unknown circumstances. Most likely, the years of wandering and the hardships suffered by the traveler undermined his health. Companions of Afanasy Nikitin, Moscow merchants brought his manuscripts to Moscow and handed them over to the clerk Mamyrev, an adviser to Tsar Ivan III. Later, the records were included in the annals of 1480.
In the 19th century, these records were discovered by the Russian historian Karamzin, who published them in 1817 under the author's title. The three seas mentioned in the title of the work are the Caspian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Black Sea.
Discoveries of Afanasy Nikitin... A merchant from Tver ended up in India long before representatives of European states arrived there. The sea route to this country was opened by the Portuguese merchant Vasco da Gama several decades later than the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin came there. What did he discover in distant lands and why are his records so valuable to posterity?
Although the commercial goal that prompted the pioneer on such a dangerous journey was not achieved, the result of the wanderings of this observant, talented and energetic man was the first real description of an unknown distant country. Before that in Ancient Rus the fabulous country of India was known only from the legends and literary sources of that time.
A man of the 15th century saw the legendary country with his own eyes and was able to talentedly tell his compatriots about it. In his notes, the traveler writes about state structure India, the religions of the local population (in particular about "faith in buty" - so Afanasy Nikitin heard and wrote down the name of Buddha, sacred to most of the inhabitants of India at that time).
He described the trade of India, the armament of the army of this country, told about exotic animals (monkeys, snakes, elephants), local customs and ideas of Indians about morality. He also recorded some Indian legends.
The Russian traveler also described cities and areas that he himself had not visited, but which he heard about from the Indians. So, he mentions Calcutta, the island of Ceylon and Indochina, places that at that time were still completely unknown to the Russian people. The information carefully collected by the pioneer allows us today to judge the military and geopolitical aspirations of the Indian rulers of that time, the state of their armies (down to the number of war elephants and the number of chariots).
His "Walking Beyond Three Seas" was the first text of its kind in Russian literary literature. The fact that he did not describe only holy places, as the pilgrims did before him, gives the composition a unique sound. It is not objects of the Christian faith that fall into the field of his attentive vision, but people with a different religion and a different way of life. His notes are devoid of any formality and internal censorship, and for this they are especially valuable. A story about Afanasy Nikitin and his discoveries - video Travel map of Afanasy Nikitin
Afanasy Nikitin's journey began in Tver, from there the route ran along the Volga River through Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan to Astrakhan. Then the pioneer traveled to Derbent, Baku, Sari, after which he moved by land through Persia. Having reached the city of Hormuz, he again boarded a ship and arrived on it at the Indian port of Chaul.
In India, he visited many cities on foot, including Bidar, Junnar and Parvat. Further along the Indian Ocean, he sailed to Africa, where he spent several days, and then - again by water, he returned to Hormuz. Further, on foot through Iran, he came to Trebizond, from there he reached the Crimea (Feodosia).
Surely you would be curious to know what Afanasy Nikitin discovered. After reading this article, you will find out where this year of life of Afanasy Nikitin visited - 1442-1474 (75). He was born in Tver, in the family of Nikita, a peasant, therefore Nikitin is the patronymic, not the last name of the traveler. Most of the peasants at that time did not have surnames.
His biography is only partially known to historians. There is no reliable information about his youth and childhood, only that he became a merchant at a fairly young age and visited the Crimea, Byzantium, Lithuania and other states for commercial affairs. The commercial ventures of Afanasy were quite successful: he returned safely with overseas goods to his homeland.
Below is located in Tver.
In 1468, Athanasius embarked on an expedition, during which he visited the countries of the East, Africa, India and Persia. described in a book entitled "Voyage across the Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin.
Hormuz
Nikitin went through Baku to Persia, after which, having crossed the mountains, he drove further south. He made his journey without haste, stopping for a long time in the villages and studying the local languages, as well as doing trade. Athanasius arrived in the spring of 1449 in Hormuz - big citylocated at the intersection of various trade routes: from India, China, Asia Minor and Egypt.
Goods from Hormuz were already known in Russia. Hormuz pearls were especially famous. Afanasy Nikitin, having learned that horses were exported from this city, decided to make a risky venture. He bought an Arabian stallion and boarded the ship, hoping to resell it profitably in India. Athanasius went to the city of Chaul. So the Russian discovery of India continued. Afanasy Nikitin got here by sea.
First impressions of India
The voyage took six weeks. India made the strongest impression on the merchant. The traveler, not forgetting about trade, was also carried away by ethnographic research. He wrote down what he saw in detail in his diaries. In his notes, India appears as a wonderful country, in which everything is not at all the same as in Russia. Athanasius wrote that all people here walk naked and black. He was amazed that even the poor people wear gold jewelry. Nikitin himself, by the way, also impressed the Indians. Rarely did the locals see white people before. Nikitin failed to sell his stallion profitably in Chaul. He headed inland, visiting a small town in the upper Sina and then Junnar.
What did Afanasy Nikitin write about?
Afanasy Nikitin in his travel notes noted everyday details, described sights and local customs. This was almost the first description of the life of India, not only for Russia, but also for Europe. Athanasius wrote about what food is eaten localswhat they feed their livestock, what goods they sell, how they dress. He even described the process of making intoxicating drinks, as well as the custom of housewives in India to sleep in the same bed with guests.
The story that took place at Junnar Fortress
In the Junnar fortress, the traveler did not linger on his own. The local khan took the stallion away from Athanasius when he found out that he was a newcomer from Russia, and not a Basurman, and set a condition to the Gentile: either he accepts Islam, or not only does he not return his horse, but will be sold into slavery by the khan. Four days were given for reflection. Only an accident saved the Russian traveler. He met Muhammad, an old acquaintance who vouched for a stranger before the khan.
During the two months that he spent in Junnar, Nikitin studied the agricultural activities of the population. He noticed that in India they sow and plow wheat, peas and rice during the rainy season. He also describes local winemaking. Coconuts are used as raw materials in it.
How Athanasius sold his horse
Athanasius visited the city of Alland after Junnar. There was a big fair here. The merchant wanted to sell but failed again. And without him there were many good horses at the fair.
Afanasy Nikitin managed to sell it only in 1471, and even then without profit, or even at a loss. It happened in the city of Bidar, where the traveler arrived, waiting out the rainy season in other settlements. He stayed here for a long time, made friends with the local population. Athanasius told the residents about his faith and land. Hindus also told a lot about their family life, prayers, customs. A lot of Nikitin's notes are devoted to the issues of religion of local residents.
Parvat in Nikitin's notes
The next thing that Athanasius Nikitin discovered was the sacred city of Parvat. He arrived here on the banks of Krishna in 1472. Believers from all over India came from this city to the annual festivities, which were dedicated to Nikitin notes in his diaries that this place is as important for Indian Brahmans as Jerusalem is for Christians.
Further journey of Afanasy Nikitin
For another year and a half, the merchant traveled across India, trying to trade and studying local customs. But commercial enterprises (why Afanasy Nikitin went across three seas) collapsed. He never found a suitable product for export to Russia from India.
Afanasy Nikitin visited Africa (east coast) on the way back. In the Ethiopian lands, according to diary entries, he miraculously managed to escape the robbery. The traveler bought off the robbers with bread and rice.
Return trip
Afanasy Nikitin's journey continued with the fact that he returned to Hormuz and went north through Iran, where hostilities were taking place at that time. Athanasius passed Kashan, Shiraz, Erzinjan and ended up in Trabzon, a Turkish city located on the southern coast of the Black Sea. The return seemed close, but luck turned against Nikitin again. The Turkish authorities took him under arrest, as they took him for an Iranian spy. So Afanasy Nikitin, a Russian merchant and traveler, was deprived of all his property. All he has left is his diary.
Afanasy borrowed money for the trip on his word of honor. He wanted to get to Feodosia, where he planned to meet Russian merchants and pay off debts with their help. In Kafu (Feodosia), he was able to get only in 1474, in the fall. Nikitin spent the winter here, completing travel notes. In the spring he decided to go back to Russia along the Dnieper, to Tver. This was the end of Afanasy Nikitin's trip to India.
Death of Afanasy Nikitin
But the traveler was not destined to return: he died in Smolensk under unclear circumstances. Probably, the years of hardship and wanderings undermined the health of Athanasius. His companions, Moscow merchants, brought his manuscripts to Moscow and handed them over to Mamyrev, a clerk and adviser to Ivan III. The records were later included in the annals of 1480.
They were discovered in the 19th century by Karamzin and published under the author's title in 1817. The three seas mentioned in the title of this work - the Caspian, Black and Indian Ocean.
What did Afanasy Nikitin discover?
Long before the Europeans arrived in India, a Russian merchant appeared in this country. The sea route was discovered here by Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese merchant, several decades later.
Although the commercial goal was not achieved, the journey resulted in the first description of India. In Ancient Russia, before that, it was known only from legends and some literary sources. A man of the 15th century was able to see this country with his own eyes and talentedly tell his compatriots about it. He wrote about the state system, religions, trade, exotic animals (elephants, snakes, monkeys), local customs, and also recorded some legends.
Nikitin also described the areas and cities that he had not visited himself, but which the Indians told him about. He mentions, in particular, the island of Ceylon, Calcutta, Indochina, which at that time were unknown to the Russians. Therefore, what Afanasy Nikitin discovered was of great value. Carefully collected information today allows us to judge the geopolitical and military aspirations of the rulers of India at that time, about their army.
"Walking Beyond Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin is the first text of this kind in the history of Russian literature. The unique sound of the composition is given by the fact that the traveler did not describe exclusively holy places, like the pilgrims before him. It is not various objects of the Christian religion that fall into his field of vision, but people with different beliefs and ways of life. The notes are devoid of internal censorship and formality, which is especially valuable.