Who was the Khan of the Crimea in 1456?
This article discusses the question of who was the new Khan of the Crimea in 1456. Before that L.P. Collie considered that it was Khan Aydar, the son of Haci Giray. The Genoese sources of 1456 noted that a new Khan appeared in the Crimea, but the sources did not indicate his name. The recently published Armenian sources («A collection of the Armenian chronicles relating to the Crimea and adjacent regions»), in which it was said that Mahmudek became the Khan of the Crimea in 1456 and that he fought against Haci Giray. This Khan ruled the Crimea not for a long time. At the end of 1456, Haci Giray was able to regain the throne of the Crimea. At this period of time, there were several descendants of Genghis Khan, who wore the name of Mahmudek or Mahmoud. The first candidate was Mahmudek, the son of Ulug Muhammad, the Khan of Kazan Khanate. The second candidate was Mahmudek, the son of Haci Muhammad. Probably, he ruled in Siberia before his brother Saydek Khan and his son Ibak Khan. The third candidate was Mahmoud, the son of Kuchuk Muhammad. Most likely, he served to Mustafa, the Khan of the Great Horde. The authors hypothesized that this Mahmudek was the son of Seid Ahmed, Mahmoudek by name, and who was mentioned by A.L. Ponomarev. According to A.L. Ponomarev this Mahmoudek was supported to the throne by Mamak from Shirin's tribe. The authors put forward their own interpretation of the passage from the manuscript of Murat Arginskiy, and as a result, they came to the conclusion that Seid Ahmed Kuchuk was the younger Seid Ahmed (or the second),who was known as Seid Ahmed Beksubovich. The first Seid Ahmed, was the grandson of Tokhtamysh. Mahmoud is Mahmudek, the son of Seid Ahmed-Kuchuk.