Crimean Khanate

Crimean Khanate. Tatar state in the Crimean Peninsula, bordering on the southern steppe of Ukraine and on the Kuban region. From the beginning of the 13th century it was ruled by the Golden Horde; after its demise, beginning with the mid-15th century, the khanate was an independent state ruled by the Girei dynasty. In 1478 it became a vassal state of Turkey, and from 1774 it was under the protection of Russia, which finally occupied it in 1783. (For more detail see Crimean Tatars and Crimea.)