Background
Sahin Geray was born in 1745 in Edirne, Turkey.
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Sahin Geray
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also known as
Shahin Khan Girai
Education
Sahin Geray studied in Greece and Venice. He reputedly spoke the Crimean Tatar language as well as Ottoman Turkish, Italian, and Greek.
Career
When he was 20, his uncle Crimean Khan Qırım Giray called him back to Crimea from his foreign school whereupon Sahin Geray was installed as the Commander of Nogai Horde. In 1770, the Russian Empire won a great battle against the Ottoman Empire and sought an alliance with the Crimean Khanate against the Turks. Selim Giray declined the proposal, precipitating a surprise attack by Russia against the Khanate.
In 1776, Sahin Geray succeeded his uncle to become Khan of Crimea. During his brief reign, he embarked on a program to rebuild and modernize the Crimean Khanate. These reforms centered on the economy and government infrastructure but included opening factories and moving the capital from Bakhchisaray to the important trade city of Caffa.
Eventually, under enormous pressure from Russia and facing the inevitability of defeat, he agreed to a Russian offer to incorporate the Khanate into the Russian Empire. As a result, he was compelled to move to Saint Petersburg, where he lived under house arrest. Sahin Geray appealed to be allowed to move to Edirne, where he had spent much of his childhood. In 1787, Russia and the Ottoman Empire agreed to allow him to move to Edirne. This move was not the retirement he was expecting because the Ottoman authorities saw him as a possible challenger to the imperial Ottoman throne. He was moved under arrest to Constantinople and then Rhodes where he was executed later that year.
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
Catherine II: "This is a 25-year-old young man who is extremely intelligent and wants to educate himself. This Crimean Dauphin is the most amiable Tatar; he is good-looking, clever, educated in a non-Tatar way, writes poetry, wants to see everything, and knows everything; everyone loves him. He does not miss a single performance; on Sunday afternoons he goes to the Smolny Monastery and watches the pupils dance."
Connections
His family lived in Burgazada, Istanbul after Sahin Geray was executed by Abdul Hamid I.
