Astrakhan

Astrakhan, the largest city in southern Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, also serves as its administrative center. Situated on eleven islands within the Caspian Depression, it straddles both banks of the upper Volga Delta, roughly 100 kilometers from the Caspian Sea. With a population of 475,629 recorded in the 2021 Census, it holds the distinction of being Russia's lowest city, lying 28 meters below sea level.

Originally the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate—a remnant of the Golden Horde ruled by the Astrakhan Tatars—the earlier settlement stood on the Volga's higher right bank, about 11 kilometers from the modern city. Its position along caravan and water routes helped it grow from a village into a major trading hub. Timur conquered it in 1395, and Ivan the Terrible captured it in 1556. The city was then relocated to its present site in 1558.

Astrakhan is often called Russia's southernmost outpost and the Caspian capital, reflecting its status as the oldest economic and cultural center of the Lower Volga region. It belongs to the Eurasian Regional Office of the World Organization United Cities and Local Governments. The city's great ethnic diversity shapes its character, and it serves as the hub of the Astrakhan metropolitan area.

Etymology

The name "Astrakhan" originally referred to Hajji Tarkhan, a Golden Horde city located 12 kilometers from today's Astrakhan. "Hajji" is an honorific for Muslims who have completed the pilgrimage to Mecca, while "tarkhan" was a Mongol term for a tax-exempt individual. Historical variants include al-Hajj Tarkhan (Arabic), Ejder Khan (Ottoman Turkish), Heshter Khan or Hashtarkhan (Persian), and Astorokhan (Russian). A Tatar legend, first recorded by the Arab traveler Ibn Battuta, tells that a Turkic pilgrim to Mecca founded the settlement, and his piety earned the future city exemption from taxes.

Medieval history

Astrakhan lies in the Volga Delta, a region rich in sturgeon and exotic plants. This fertile area once held the capitals of Khazaria and the Golden Horde. Travelers first mentioned the settlement in the early 13th century as Xacitarxan.

Tamerlane burned it to the ground in 1395 during his war with the Golden Horde. From 1459 to 1556, Xacitarxan served as the capital of the Astrakhan Khanate. Archaeologists have found the ruins of this medieval settlement 12 kilometers upstream from the modern city.

In 1324, Ibn Battuta began his pilgrimage from Tangier to Mecca. Over nearly 29 years and 7,500 miles, he encountered many cultures, documenting them in his diaries. Passing through the Golden Horde on the Volga River—which he called the Athal—he described it as "one of the greatest rivers in the world." He noted that the khan wintered in Astrakhan, and because the water was cold, Özbeg Khan ordered the people to lay bundles of hay on the frozen river for travel. When Battuta sought permission to visit Constantinople, the Khan granted it and gifted him fifteen hundred dinars, horses, and a dress of honor.

Ivan the Terrible conquered the khanate in 1556, and a new fortress—the kremlin—was built on a steep hill overlooking the Volga in 1558, traditionally considered the founding year of the modern city. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1569, the Ottomans besieged Astrakhan but retreated in disarray.

A year later, the Ottoman sultan renounced claims to the city, opening the entire Volga to Russian traffic. Despite military defeat, the Ottomans secured safe passage for Muslim pilgrims and traders from Central Asia and demanded the destruction of a Russian fort on the Terek River. In the 17th century, Astrakhan developed as Russia's gateway to the Orient, with merchants from Armenia, Safavid Persia, Mughal India, and the Khivan Khanate settling there, giving the city a cosmopolitan character.

Modern history

Stenka Razin and his Cossacks held Astrakhan for seventeen months in 1670–1671. Early in the next century, Peter the Great built a shipyard there, using the city as a base for hostilities against Persia.

Later, Catherine the Great granted the city important industrial privileges. The city was held by Kondraty Bulavin's Cossacks during the Bulavin Rebellion from 1707 until their defeat the following year. A Kalmuck khan had laid an abortive siege to the kremlin several years earlier.

In 1717, Astrakhan became the seat of Astrakhan Governorate, with early governors including Artemy Petrovich Volynsky and Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev. Six years later, it served as a base for Russia's first venture into Central Asia. The city suffered severe fires in 1702, 1718, and 1767; was plundered by Safavid Persians in 1719; and a cholera outbreak in 1830 killed much of the population.

The Astrakhan Kremlin, built from the 1580s to the 1620s using bricks from the site of Sarai Berke, contains two impressive cathedrals consecrated in 1700 and 1710. Built by masters from Yaroslavl, they retain traditional Russian church architecture features, though their exterior decoration is distinctly baroque.

In March 1919, after a failed workers' revolt against Bolshevik rule, the Cheka, acting on orders from Sergey Kirov, executed 3,000 to 5,000 people in less than a week. Some victims had stones tied around their necks and were thrown into the Volga.