Intercultural Communication of the Don Cossacks and the Azov Ottoman Turks in the XVII Century

Abstract

The article is devoted to the issues of interaction between the Don Cossacks and the Ottoman Turks from Azov, going beyond their direct military clashes. The conditions, forms and content of such non-military communication are studied by the author as part of the space of the border dialogue culture, traditional for both sides. The article substantiates the inadmissibility of marginalizing such historical phenomena, which are an integral part of local border life and traditional relations of border communities – the Cossacks and the population of the Ottoman fortress. Introducing the concept of “rhythms of Ottoman-Cossack relations”, the author considers intercultural communication against the background of alternating peaceful and confrontational relations between the Cossacks and the Azov Ottoman Turks. The factors that contributed to the development of intercultural communication between the parties are established, including language and trade contacts, exchange of information during official contacts, intelligence activities, stories of defectors, etc. The role and significance of the so-called “Peacemaking” (“Zamireniye”) of the Don Host and the Ottoman Azov in the development of trade and other non-military contacts between them is analyzed. The “Peacemaking” (“Zamireniye”) also contributed to the intensification of the so-called payback and exchange operations with slaves between the Cossacks and the Azov people. “Peacemaking”, as well as “Rozmireniye” (Peacebreaking), have become a fundamental part of the culture of border dialogue between the Cossacks and the Azov people, systematically influencing the ways in which both sides resolved conflicts and other situations. Mutual trade between the Cossacks and the Azov people is noteworthy, including the purchase by the population of the fortress of property seized by the Cossacks during campaigns. Such a “shadow economy” of the local borderland was quite consistent with the symbiotic ties of its enterprising multi-ethnic population.

Received 13 February 2025

Revised 7 March 2025

Accepted 25 March 2025

For citation: Sen’, D. V., 2025. Intercultural Communication of the Don Cossacks and the Azov Ottoman Turks in the XVII Century. Slavic World in the Third Millennium, 2025 (1–2), pp. 9–26.. https://doi.org/10.31168/2412-6446.2025.20.1-2.01