02/13/2008 | line305b

Dear colleagues,

I write with a request for your help. I am looking for references to Crimean Tatars in Ottoman Turkish imaginative literature (e.g. poetry or folk songs). I have found a few in the works of Ziya Gokalp and Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, but any other allusions that you may recall would be greatly appreciated.

Also, would anyone happen to know from which primary source Norman Itzkowitz (in his _Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition_) pulls this colorful description of the martial prowess of the Crimean Tatars in the Ottoman victory against the Russians on the banks of the Prut river in 1711: "The most effective Ottoman unit in this encounter was the Crimean Tatars. Armed with the traditional weapons of bows and swords, they cut off so many Russian heads that the grand vizier, who at the beginning of the battle had offered his men a large bounty for every Russian head delivered to his tent, had to reduce the bonus..."? Unfortunately, Itzkowitz does not provide a footnote.

With many thanks and best wishes,

Rory

Rory Finnin
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
Institute for Comparative Literature and Society
Columbia University