The initial emergence of settlements on the site of present-day Astrakhan and near it dates back to ancient times. We have already mentioned the city of Atel, once located in the area of Sharinova Hill. There is an indication that at the mouth of the Volga river there is also the city of Balanmar, but all this refers to the ancient period of the 1st - 1st centuries, after which there comes a kind of break in the area of indications, since the further fate of these cities is not clear. It is further known that in the XIII century, it was near the Casti Sea that the powerful Golden Horde ruled; Among the Tatar settlements that arose then was the city of Tsitrakhan, which we mentioned in the last chapter. It seems that Tsitrakhan was located several miles above the current Astrakhan, and therefore, if we assume that Tsitrakhan is the current Astrakhan, then we must admit that the city was moved to its present location after the 19th century. As for the name Astrakhan, it is most likely assumed that it came from the name of one of the khans of this city of Ashtar; hence the name Ashtar Khan, which later moved to Astrakhan. When the power of the Golden Horde and the residence of the khans ended, Sarai, oeno-
Factory in the port.
Bathed by Batu on Akhtub, 70 versts from Astrakhan, was destroyed by Toanna's ally Sh Mengli-Girey, Astrakhan, which until that time was only a rich trading city, began to acquire a new important political significance and, finally, became the capital of the kingdom of Astrakhan, which arose on the ruins of the Golden Horde. As the capital of the Tatar kingdom, Astrakhan at that time, in the character of its inhabitants, in its internal structure and even in its appearance, should have had a great resemblance to Kazan, the capital of the kingdom of Kazan, which was homogeneous with Asgrakhan. Since X\Y it has become so common that various Tatar princes and, so to speak, Tatar golden youth from the Golden Horde came to serve the Grand Duke of Moscow; thanks to these people, the connection between Astrakhan and Moscow was constantly maintained, which, however, was not very receptive to various friendly statements
Tatar capital. Those who followed proved that this was an unfounded imflo; in 1551, the Astrakhan Tsar Yamgurchi decided to surrender to the Moscow Tsar and continue to reign in Astrakhan as a Russian juror; Toann the Terrible accepted this proposal, but Yamgurchey turned out to be a traitor, detained the Russian ambassador and even robbed him. He had to pay for this betrayal very soon: having conquered Kazan, Toann the Terrible decided to also capture Astrakhan; It was assumed that after conquering Kazan, it seemed even less difficult that Astrakhan did not require such a huge army to take it, and the kingdom of Astrakhan itself could not be an enemy as strong as the kingdom of Kazan. In 1554, an army of thirty thousand was sent to Astrakhan under the leadership of Golovin, Vyazemskato and the former Astrakhan prince Derbysh. The Astrakhan king Yamgurchi, barely learning about the approach of the Russians, withdrew from the city, and Astrakhan, without bloodshed, opened the gates to the Russian troops, who occupied the city. To protect the newly annexed ruler from attacks by nomads and robbers, the city was surrounded by a fence and a polysad, and in 1582 the construction of a kremlin began on Zayachiy Hill. This Kremlin took a very long time to build; its construction was completed in 1692; its circumference was then equal to 945 fathoms, its length was 225 fathoms, and its width was 175 fathoms. On the eastern side adjacent to the Kremlin was the city of Blyi, located on the same hill. There were four gates to the Kremlin: from the Volga side under the Vraena Tower, the main passage to the Byflom city under the cathedral bell tower, Nikolsvya in the northern part and Zhitnye in the southern part (from the former Zhitny yard).
The long history of Astrakhan over the course of more than two centuries represents a record of the difficult events experienced by the city.
In 1605, the Astrakhan people recognized False Dmitry as king, despite the convictions of the arch. Don't lie to the impostor; Oeeodos was captured and taken to
Moscow, and his house was looted. Last
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