To the question on Circassian (Chercasy) version on the origin of Cossacksin the historical works in XVIII – the first third of ХІХ c. ; К вопросу о черкесской (черкасской) версии происхождения казачества в исторических работах XVIII – первой трети ХІХ ст. ; ДО ПИТАННЯ ПРО ЧЕРКЕСЬКУ (ЧЕРКАСЬКУ) ВЕРСІЮ ПОХОДЖЕННЯ КОЗАЦТВА В ІСТОРИЧНИХ ПРАЦЯХ XVIII – першої третини ХІХ ст

Abstract

In the article it is paid an attention to Circassian (Chercasy) version of the question on origin of Cossacks. On the Christian population of the North Caucasus named Circassians and also who used Slav speech, for the first time was mentioned in the historic and geographical works in XVI century. In the historiography the connection between concept Circassians-cherkasy and Cossacks occurred, probably, in the XVIII century. This fact we can see in the work of Bayer, Tatischev, which were created under the conditions of the Russian Empire. One of the reasons of turning historians to the Circassian (Cherkass) version of the origin of Cossacks it was using from 16 century concerning Cossacks the term «Cherkasy». In the second half of XVIII century to this theme turned the historians, who specialized in the history of Don and Ukrainian (Zaporozhian) Cossacks (Rigelman), or pursue in their historiography activity the specific political purposes (Boltin). With the comparison of a number of documents, it occurs that Boltin as intellectual was especially valued by well-known Russian statesman Potyomkin, who dealt with the matter of renewal, after the destruction of New Sich, the Cossack troops collecting the former Zaporozhian Cossacks, for the purpose to use them on the service of the Russian Empire. Our attention the fact drew that the Boltin's work, in which he deals with the Circassian (Cherkass) origin of Cossacks, issued in the same period (1788 year), when Ekaterina II wrote Potyomkin about the probability of the migration of the former Zaporozhian Cossacks to Taman, where they had to fulfill the military functions which were important for the empire. Thus, the using of the Circassian version of the origin of Cossacks in the Boltin's work acquired political nature, it made the possibility to connect with the historical arguments Zaporozhian Cossacks with the North-Caucasian region. At the turn of XVIII-ХІХ century another author, who visited Taman, and who have seen Black Sea Cossack army, mostly composed of ...