287            Genar has been in the Taman region for the last six months at a Hatukoy village called Nepsi, not far away from the town.  It was famous for its water-wells.  The land was suitable for agriculture.  The inhabitants were prosperous.

            The Abaskos were the most prominent family of the Nepsi village.  Genar had met Abaskos Zavbeç in the Taman Bazaar.  They had hit well immediately, and their week long association had turned into a close friendship.  Zavbeç, aware of  Genar's wish to permanently stay in the same region,  advised him to settle down in Nespi, the village where the Aboskos lived.

            There couldn't be a better start for Genar.

            Abaskos let  Genar have one of their guest houses, which comprised of two rooms and an adjacent stable.  It was a good enough accommodation for Genar and Jığbe.

            After a few  days they were no more visitors.  Jıbğe set to work.  He started a business investing Genar's small capital.  He bought goods at  the Taman Bazaar, and bartered the same in the Tatars and Hatukoy villages with goods, which he could profitably Bazaar in Taman.

             In the town he bought tissue (textile), glassware, salt, kitchenware, spices, perfume and similar other things.  In the villages, he exchanged those goods with livestock, fur, butter, and wheat, which fetched  good money  at the Taman Bazaar.

             Jıbğe had also found a helper, a young Tatar called Koçak was very helpful in the early days.  Koçak was only sixteen years old,  was conversant in the Adige language, and  served as an interpreter in the Tatar   language.

            Genar visited Taman quite often; sometimes alone and sometimes with Abasko Zavbeç.  The port-town was what exactly the place he was looking for.  The Taman Bazaar was a place where crowds of people from divergent background and  ethnic origin gathered.  Turks, Tatars, Caucasians, Nogays, Cossacks, Jews and Armenians had commercial intercourse here.

            The goods brought from the Don and Volga basin, and from the Caucasian hinterland found customers here.  In spite of the war, ships still called at  the Taman harbor.  The travelers coming in by way of sea and land used to  bring along  news from distant lands.  At the inns people talked, discussed about the Ottoman-Russian war.  It was clear that the trade and daily business had been affected by the war.  There was a palpable nervousness in the crowds.  The faces laid bare signs of stress.

            At the Taman fortress there was a garrison to defend the eastern bank of the Kerç Strait.  It had communication link with the fortresses of Temruk, Adahun and Soğucak. When need be those fortresses could be  subordinated to the Taman fortress.

            For Genar it was a period of education.  He studied and inquired into whatever he didn't know.  It seemed like he was trying to prepare himself for a future leadership role.

            The early days were difficult days for him due  language barrier.  He wasn't able to communicate with Tatars without the help of Zavbeç.  Eventually, he began to get hang of Crimean Turkish.

            The information he got on the Ottoman-Russian war worried and excited him.

            He was upset to find out of the alignments brought about by the war; such as   the one of the Eastern or Yedisan Nogays with the Russians.  What really shocked him was the situation of the Crimean Khan, Kaplan Giray II.

            Kaplan Giray gave in by the alluring words of the Russians; got involved in conspiracies against the Ottomans.  He had been swayed away  the Russian propaganda to the effect that the independence of Crimea could restored one the Peninsula severed relations with the Ottomans. So he turned his back to the Ottomans. As a counter-move, the Ottomans dismissed Kaplan Giray, and got replaced him by Selim Giray III. Kaplan Giray took asylum in Russia along with the Bey of the Şirin Tribe, who supported him.

            Crimea, which once impressed Russia as a powerful state, was collapsing.  Without timely precautions taken, the future of the kingdom was bleak.  All the evidence was pointing to that.

288            Nonetheless, a minor development had a comforting effect.  Selim Giray, shortly after ascending to the throne, defeated a Russian army at the banks of Dnepr.

            The subsequent preponderance didn't last long. Adverse stance of the Nogays, and the Russian counter-offensive in the Spring forced Sultan Selim III  to promptly withdraw the Ottoman forces .  The Russian war resources seemed to be endless.  Besides, the Crimean-Ottoman alliance at the northeastern  Black Sea sector was almost non-existent.

            Genar didn't want to watch the events from a distance.  He wanted to be involved.  Towards the end of June 1771, he decided to go to the Crimean front.  He persuaded Abasko Zavbeç to come along with him.

            Zavbeç was a healthy, brave young man.  But he didn't share Genar’s approach to the events.  He took the war for a game, or a transient skirmish.  This short-sighted view  stemmed from his ignorance.

            It had been a year since the Russian army sustained offensive against Crimea.  It had been repulsed by the combined Ottoman-Crimean forces deployed at the Or-kapı.  The Russian army under the command of Prince Dolruki had retreated, and with the reinforcement it received from the Eastern Nogays, they sought for an opportunity for another offensive.

            The Russians were at advantage at the western front.  They had captured some Ottoman fortresses.  In the event Crimea fell to the  Russians, the Russian forces could have advanced down to the banks of the River Kuban.

            Genar was concerned about fate of the Jane, Bjeduğ and Hatukoy regions. For the Russians would transgress through those regions should they decide to  capture the Ottoman fortresses east of the Kerç Strait.

            Abasko Zavbeç laughed off Genar’s  concern.  He believed that the combined Ottoman and Crimean forces were invincible.  He said:  "You will see, soon the Russians will withdraw begging for mercy."

            Genar and Zavbeç entertained such contrasting views when they crossed the Kerç Strait and entered Crimea.  Even before they reached Bahcesaray, they began receiving news that they never expected.

            A section of the Crimeans had begun openly talking about terminating Ottoman mandate over the Peninsula, banking upon the supposed promise by the Russian Queen  for an independent Crimea.

            This view was in circulation more among the Khans and the Mirzas rather than the common  people.  Some of the Khans burning with the lust of power had become voluntary agents of the Russians.  The Crimean royal  family was divided into several factions.  An environment of total distrust had been prevailing.  Nobody had any idea how would develops would unfold.  The atmosphere was uneasy and vexatious.

            At the inn they were staying Genar and Zavbeç met with several Crimeans who had come from different parts of the peninsula.  They discussed the war with those new friends in the evenings, while during the daytime they wandered around at the Bazaar, had lost its liveliness since the beginning of the war.

            It was difficult to foresee the future with any certainty.  There was a great void in authority.  Frictions and conflicting views were on the increase. The people were in fright and anxiety.

            One morning a great commotion broke out in the inn.  There were people running up and down  the stairs.  A large crowd was at the foyer talking loudly.

            Genar and Zavbeç run out of their room and down the stairs.  As they approached the crowd Genar shouted at Zavbeç "Ask them, what is going on?"

            Zavbeç listened to the conversations for a short while.  Then turned to Genar, his face was pale. He announced,

            -Russians have attacked Or-kapi.

289            Genar, having grasped Zavbeç’s statement, got closer to the crowd to listen better.

            A lean and short bearded person was talking in the center with lots of gesticulation.

            -Or-kapi is blocked by the  Russian Artillery.  Behind them there are countless Nogay and Cossack cavalrymen.

            The crowd interrupted the man, shouting

            -So come the Nogays!  The sneaky bastards!

            A man with strong voice standing in the back dominated the rest.

            -They are so shameless!  It is only two years ago that they were attacking the Russians, as our allies.  Now, are they on the Russian side?

            The man in the center continued.

            -But Ottoman artillery retaliated the Russians fiercely.  It is not possible for the enemy to penetrate through Or-kapi.

            Numerous comments were voiced in the crowd.
            -Of course they can't!

            -If they do, they will get their lesson!

            -Our Khan is behind the trenches!

            Genar didn't speak  Crimean Turkish well enough.  He couldn't understand most of what was being said.  But he was impressed by the excitement in the crowd.  He wondered if the same feelings were prevalent in the streets and in the Bazaar as well.  He left the inn along with Zavbeç.

            Genar had been to Bahcesaray twice with his father.  He had also passed through here once during the Russian Campaign.  He knew the location of the Bazaar.  He was familiar with the town.

            The apparent reason that attracted Genar to Crimea was the war.  But, actually his concern for Ahmet Sena also had something to do with his presence in  Crimea.

            His father's good friend, the salt trader Batu was not in town.  His relations and friends didn't know Sena’s whereabouts.

            Ever since his arrival, Genar had been inquiring around about Ahmet Sena.  He had not met with anyone who knew of him.  Yet, Ahmet Sena had lived in Bahcesaray for many years before moving to Caucasia with his father.  Not being able to find some one who knew him was driving Genar crazy.

            A suspicion was growing inside him.  He was asking himself "Perhaps he lived under a different name around here.  Or, was he a figment of my imagination?"

            This nerve-racking suspense didn't last long.  On the morning of tenth of July, the news that rocked entire Bahcesaray arrived.  The Russians had penetrated the Or-kapi fortifications and had entered Crimea.

            At first nobody wanted to believe it.  But, the same evening when the Guards of Crimean Khan Selim Giray came into the town routed, the painful reality had to be accepted.

            Selim Giray, acting unilaterally upon the encouragement of the Khans and Mirzas supporting him, had attacked the Russian army across the Or-kapi fortifications, without consultation with the Ottoman Commander Silahdar Ibrahim Paşa.  The light cavalry of the Khan had been stopped quickly by the Russian artillery and  infantry battalions.  Selim Giray had managed to withdraw to his base in Or-kapi with much difficulty.  However, this incident encouraged Russians to press forward. Taking advantage of the confusion and trusting their supporters in Crimea, the Russians had launched an all out offensive.

            Or-kapi had been defended strongly by the Ottoman forces.  But the Khans  and Mirzas, ill-advised to the effect that Crimea would attain independence with the help of the Russians, had back-stabbed the Ottoman army.  The leaders of Independence Party, Sahip Giray and Şahin Giray brothers, had opened up certain points of the Or-kapi fortifications to the Russians.  The Ottoman forces finding their rear insecure, had to withdraw, leaving their heavy equipment behind.

290.            A total chaos started in the peninsula.  People, fearing a Russian massacre, deserted the towns.  Some of them sought shelter in the rural areas, others migrated to the south.

            In morning of the twelfth of July, Genar and Abasko Zebveç left Bahcesaray.  On their way they watched the Ottoman forces withdrawing from Or-kapi to the Kefe fortress.  Then, they trotted their horses towards the Kerç Strait.

            The road to the wharf at Cape Kilisecik was very crowded.  Part of the people in panic were trying to cross into the Taman region.

            Genar and Zebveç managed to get onto a barge with their horses.  They felt relief only upon arrival at the port of Cocka; for they were secure once on the Caucasian territory.

            The most narrow point at the Kerç Strait was between the capes of Kilisecik and Cocka.  Even during peace time the traffic between theses two harbors was heavy.  Now it was much more congested.  There were not enough barges and boats available.

            Normally there used to be out-door markets set up at these places.  But now there were no traders left in there, neither local nor foreign sellers were in sight.

            Genar and Zebveç were not the only ones trying to cross from Crimea onto Caucasia..  There were numerous people at the wharfs of Kerç intending to go across.  Army deserters and Caucasians who had been in Crimea on employment or on business Crimeans who were afraid of Russian massacre, were rushing to the coast.

            Crimeans of older generations remembered the 1736 Russian occupation.  They remembered vividly the looting, burning down of towns and villages, and massacre of the population by the Russians.  Those who understood the extent of the danger, were overwhelmed by fear. They looked for shelter.

            Necessary defensive measures were taken at the five Ottoman fortresses located on either side of the Strait.  Since there were not sufficient number of soldiers and equipment, it was not possible to join forces.  Yeni Kale was the farthest fortress to the north. It could  be the first target of any attack coming from the direction of the Sea of Azak.  Notwithstanding its vital location, its defense capabilities were limited.  It could only function as a surveillance post.

            The Khans, Mirzas and the Crimean aristocrats, who didn't yield to Russian occupation, were taking refuge in the Ottoman fortresses and in the Caucasian coastal area..  They didn't believe that the war was lost yet.  Therefore, they didn't want to go too far from their home.

            Some of the displaced Crimeans, after crossing the Kerç Strait, went on to the hinterland.  Two Khans and about twenty Mirzas were at the farm of Prince Misostiko Bata.  Many others took refuge with the respected families in the surroundings of Anapa.  Zanikos, Kalubatiyikos, Boletokus, Bezrikos opened their homes to Crimean Khans and nobles.

            The chaos had spilt over to Caucasia as well.

            There were more than hundred Hatukoy villages in the Taman region called "Şahi Ada".  Misostiko Bata sent his men there to organize defense measures.  He wanted people to be prepared for evacuations, but not to move before his orders.

            The Russians, after passing through the Or-kapi fortifications, advanced without haste.  They didn't pursue the Ottoman army or the disintegrating cavalry of Selim Giray.  On the contrary, they moved slowly to give them time to withdraw.  They entered Bahcesaray like an ally of the local people.  They named Sahip Giray Khan and his brother Şahin Giray as the Kalgays, or the Regents.

            The Russians were able to inspire trust the Crimean people, They took advantage of the situation at once.  They marched onto Kefe along with the cavalry units under the deceptive command of the new Crimean army commander, Şahin Giray.

            Silahdar Ibrahim Pasha had fortified the Kefe fortress and had taken additional defensive measures.  But, a disintegration had  began in the Ottoman forces upon defection of the  Crimeans onto  the side of the Russians.  The Russians captured Kefe fortress in a short time, and Ibrahim Pasha was taken prisoner.

291            There were no notable obstacles left before the Russian army.  They captured the fortresses of Kerç and Yeni Kale on the western side of the Strait.

            Meanwhile the Russian navy stationed at the mouth of the River  Don  in the Azov Sea, arrived at the Kerç Strait., and captured the fortresses Temruk, Adahun and Kızıltaş, one after the other.  The Taman fortress couldn't resist long.  The neighborhood of the fortress had already been evacuated, the inhabitants having taken refuge in the Tatar and Adige villages in the hinterland..

            The Russians had halted advance against the Hatukoy villages. They had anyway reached their planned targets, had terminated Ottoman presence north of the Black Sea.  Besides, to them the Taman peninsula was fraught with danger because of its lakes, swamps and marshland.  The risk of getting lost in the depths of a hostile landscape restrained Russian advance any further.

            Therefore the Russians concentrated around the fortresses.  They started to wait,  with defensive measures taken.

            This time the Russians followed a very different strategy as compared with what they had pursued during their previous occupation of the area in 1736.  This time they were careful in the treatment of the local population.  They were hoping to win them over.

            Following the cessation of military operations  the commander of the Russian army General Dolguraki made a proclamation. He said,  " Crimea shall be an independent state upon termination of the Ottoman-Crimean alliance ."

            The Russians had carefully planned everything.  The Beys of the five leading clans met and approved the Khanate of Sahip Giray-II, and Regency of his brother Şahin Giray, as dictated by the Russians.

            At the end of November 1771, a Crimean delegation under leadership of Şahin Giray visited the Russian capital St. Petersburg.  The Crimean independence and conditions for a peace treaty were to be negotiated.

            Şahin Giray was an intelligent and handsome person. He physically impressed the Tzarina.  So much so that Catherina mentioned him in her letters to Volter and Diderot in France.. Şahin Giray, however, like her other favorites, was to be hostaged as a tool at the disposal of the Tzarina Catherina, who was adapt to skillfully use everything in the implementation of her own grand design.

            The Russian strategy proved successful..  Crimea was separated from the Ottoman Empire.

            The Russians prevailed on the western front also.  Ottoman power vanquished, peace negotiations with Istanbul went underway.  Tactics of procrastination aimed at gaining time were extensively employed by the Russians.

            Now it was the opportune time for Queen Catherina to embark upon retributive operations against her next arch enemy, Poland..  Catherina, concluding agreements with Austria and Prussia, divided Poland into three,  the largest portion being annexed to Russia.

            Genar, though closely followed the developments about the war in the Taman region, didn't know of the Polish predicament and the peace talks between the Ottoman and Russian empires.

            There was one thing he knew for sure: a "Crimean entity” had ceased to exist.  He had seen with his very own eyes the damage done to the people of Crimea by the divided Girays and Mirzas who ruled the land.

            He was preoccupied with his own people, who were in a worse situation.  He knew that next time it would Caucasia's turn to be victimized.  He was looking for remedies.

            He was, however, not in any consequential position, not a Prince or a trusted Thamate;  he was a young man prepared only carry out orders.  He was a common Caucasian.

                                                             O0O

            Since the Russians gained control of the Kerç Strait, dynamic life in  the Taman region had been dampened.  The area was dominated by a  nervous suspense, a situation which lasted about two years.

292.            In Caucasia there was no Ottoman fortress left, except the one at Soğucak on the Tsemez rocks. All rest had been captured by the Russians.  Only the Tatar and Adige villages surrounded by wooden hedges laid ahead of the Russian.

            Genar was staying in the Nepsi village at the place of Abaskos.  He was watching the Russian expansion in horror along with Zavbeç and his other friends.  They transmitted whatever information they collected to Prince Misostiko Bata.

            The Crimeans displaced by Russian occupation had  concentrated in the environs of Anapa.  They had not lost hope yet. They had still hope in the liberation of their land.  Their hopes were raised further, when the Ottomans landed about one thousand Leventine sailors at the Tsemez Bay in the summer of 1774.

            Naturally, the commander of the Russian occupation forces was prepared to meet the challenge..  He moved in to repulse the Ottoman offensive..

            The Russian forces advanced in several branches.  An army-corps started from Taman, following the coast line, arrived at Anapa.  Another one from north of Kuban, crossed the river and came down to the south.

            The Russians intended to implement in Caucasia the same policy that had proved successful in Crimea.  They told the local populations that their goal was to chase out the Ottoman forces. When they attained that goal they would leave Caucasia.  So they attempted to hoodwink the Caucasians.  But they failed to find any authority to negotiate with.

            The leaders of Western Caucasia intended to launch an offensive operation against the Russians.. All of them, including Misostiko Bata, held their armed forces ready for action in anticipation of an opportune moment.

            When the Russian occupation started, they had pulled their forces deep into the hinterland..  They hid themselves in the forests, watchful of the advancing enemy.

            The Adige villages had moved their flocks inside the hedges, and locked themselves in their houses.  Fear had settled in their hearts, worry showed on their faces.  Their fingers were on the triggers.  All sorts of arms available were ready to be used when needed.

            The two Russian army-corps met at Anapa, then marched onto Tsemez.  They expected to encounter a strong Ottoman force in the vicinity of Soğucak Fortress.

            The Russian army advanced with ease at the start.  But the terrain  was too difficult to move on. The forest too often traversed by streams, rendered transportation of cannons and other heavy equipment almost impossible.  In a short time  contact between the forces was cut off.

            The Caucasian leaders followed a strategy similar to the one they had applied against General Medeme in the summer of 1769.  They let everyone know in advance what they intended to do.

            They divided their forces into two lots.  While the smaller one was engaged in impeding the  advance of the occupation forces, through hit and run tactic, the main force of cavalry marched to the north to cut the Russian supply and reinforcement lines. The Caucasian forces under the command of Misostiko, Bezriko and Koseyiko Beslen crossed River Kuban and raided the army headquarters in the old Nogay Sahra.  After this accomplished, they returned to the west and attacked other Russian Army Headquarters in the Taman region.

            The two Russian armies advancing  towards Tsemez, when realized they had been encircled, made an about turn in haste and nervousness. The Russians burned down the villages on their way, as they pulled back.

            The villagers, faced with this situation, were forced to defend themselves.  Bloody confrontations lasted for days.  Women  and young girls also participated in the fighting.

            The majority of the Jane and Hatukoy villages were destroyed.  The buildings were burned down, the people were in great distress.  The enemy was finally vanquished, though at a high price.

            The Russian army suffered heavy casualties.  It pulled back in disarray to the north in the direction to the River Maniç, leaving their heavy war implements behind.

            Genar fought in this war as an ordinary Caucasian soldier.  He lost Abasko Zavbeç, his only friend in Taman region, in action.  He moved to Anapa with heavy feeling of loneliness and distress.

293.             Jıbğe had done everything in his power to help Genar enjoy the comforts of a nobleman’s life.  He had bought him the best clothing, provided him with the fastest horse, and followed him wherever he went like his shadow with the spare horses for him.

            But there were no signs in sight of the situation turning to the better. It was getting more complicated and hopeless day by day.

            The Ottoman-Russian war finally ended, and a peace treaty was signed between the two belligerent empires.  According to the  treaty River Kuban was agreed to be the border separating the powers in the region.

            The Caucasians were not consulted on the agreement.  Their opinion was never been sought.

            They became aware of the state of affairs only  at the time of implementation of the treaty.  Some of the western Caucasian leaders went into seclusion in disappointment.  The Jane and Bjedug Beys whose land had been occupied declared that they  would never recognize such agreements.

            Genar burnt in anger and rage for days, morally had nothing to support  onto.  Helpless and lonely as he was, turned his eyes to the north, in anticipation of what the days ahead had in store for him.