The Peculiar Status of the Crimean Khans in Ottoman Protocol

This article examines the prominent status that the Crimean khans enjoyed in Ottoman court protocol, as compared to that of vassal princes of tributary principalities and envoys from sovereign states in the early eighteenth century. Through an analysis of a set of ceremonies staged for the designated Crimean khan, Mengli II Giray, in 1724, for the occasion of his installment, the article illustrates the extraordinary prestige shown to the khans in diplomatic ceremonial. As motives for such a configuration, the author cites the Crimean khanate's increasing importance as a strategic ally for the Ottomans as Russian power continued to grow during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The geopolitical realities aside, the role that the distinct Chinggisid lineage of the Crimean khans must have played to receive such an honorable reception in Istanbul cannot be underestimated.