Şahin Giray

Who was Şahin Giray?

Şahin Giray, Shahin Khan Girai was the last Khan of Crimea. He was born in 1745 in Edirne. He studied in Greece and also in Venice. He reputedly spoke the Crimean Tatar language as well as Ottoman Turkish, Italian and Greek. When he was 20, his uncle Crimean Khan Qırım Giray called him back to the Crimea from his foreign school whereupon he 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. However, this proposal was strongly opposed by Selim Giray. Following this rebuke Russia launched a surprise attack on the Crimea forcing the Khan to send envoys to Saint Petersburg to sue for peace. During this mission Catherine II met Şahin Giray and wrote of him:

"The Crimean Prince is the most gentle Tatar, I have ever seen. He's very talented, bronze-colored, good-looking, circumcised and writes poetry. He wants to see and learn everything."

In 1776, Şahin Giray succeeded his uncle to become Khan of Crimea. During his brief reign he embarked on a program to re-build and modernise the Crimean Khanate. These reforms centred on the economy and government infrastructure but included opening factories and moving the capital from Bakhchisaray to the important trade city of Caffa .