What seas did Afanasy Nikitin discover? Afanasy Nikitin and India through his eyes. What Afanasy Nikitin discovered

Page 3 of 3

short biography NIKITINA Afanasia

NIKITIN Afanasy (year of birth unknown - died in the spring of 1475), Russian merchant, traveler and writer.

In the spring of 1468, Afanasy Nikitin, a middle-income merchant from Tver, equipped two ships and headed along the Volga to the Caspian Sea together with his fellow countrymen to trade. Expensive goods were brought for sale, including “soft junk” - furs that were valued in the markets of the lower Volga and Northern. Caucasus. Near Astrakhan, the Tatars attacked the merchants and plundered almost everything. Nikitin, who probably spoke two or three Turkic languages ​​and Farsi, decided to sell the remaining goods in foreign countries. From Baku he sailed to Mazandaran. After spending more than two years in Iran, he moved further south. On the way, Nikitin learned that thoroughbred stallions are valued in India and that there you can cheaply buy goods that are expensive in Rus'. Having acquired a horse, in April 1471 Nikitin boarded a ship bound for the Indian port of Chaul. It was not immediately possible to sell the stallion profitably, and he travels to different cities of India under the guise of a Khoja, suffering persecution from local authorities. Only in Bidar, the populous capital of the Bahmani state, does he manage to sell his horse. In January 1472 he came to the sacred city of Parvat, where he lived for a year and a half. Nikitin spent almost six months in one of the cities of the “diamond” province. Raichur, where he decided to return to his homeland.
The results of the trip disappointed Nikitin: “. . . there is nothing for our land. . . pepper and paint, it's cheap. . . But they won’t let us bring goods without duty. But there are many tolls, and there are many robbers on the sea.” The Tver merchant traveled around India for about three years. His travel records clarify and complement the Indian chronicles of 1471-74. Nikitin described the magnificent trips of the local sultan, the terrible poverty of the peasants, caste and religious differences (“people of different faiths do not drink with each other, do not eat, do not marry”).
In January 1473, Nikitin boarded a ship in Dabhol (Dabul), which, after almost a three-month voyage calling at the Somali and Arabian Peninsulas, took him to Hormuz. Trading spices, Nikitin passed through the Iranian Plateau to Tabriz, visiting the nomadic “white sheep” Turkmens, crossed the Armenian Plateau and in the fall of 1474 reached Trabzon. The authorities of this Black Sea port seized all his goods, including Indian gems, mistaking Nikitin for a Turkmen; the diary was not touched.
On November 5, Nikitin arrived in Feodosia, where he spent the winter and probably put his observations in order. In the spring of 1475, he moved north, most likely along the Dnieper. From the brief introduction to his notes, included in the “Lvov Chronicle” under 1475, it follows that he “died before reaching Smolensk, in the spring or at the beginning of 1475. And he wrote the notes with his own hand, and those notebooks. . . brought by merchants to Moscow.”
In the 16th-17th centuries. his diary “Walking across the Three Seas” (meaning the Caspian, Arabian and Black), was rewritten several times. Six lists are known. One of them at the beginning. 19th century was found by N.M. Karamzin, who appreciated the exceptional importance of the work.
Without planning a trip across three seas in advance, Nikitin turned out to be the first European to give a valuable description of medieval India, depicting it simply and truthfully. His records are devoid of a racial approach and are distinguished by religious tolerance, rare for that time. With his feat, Nikitin proved that in the 2nd half. In the 15th century, 30 years before the Portuguese “discovery” of India, even a not rich, but purposeful person could travel there.
Nikitin’s work is of interest not only as one of the brightest examples of the genre of travel essays, the so-called. ancient Russian “walkings” (the founder of which is considered to be Abbot Daniel, early 12th century), but also as a monument to the living Russian language of the 15th century.

In 1957, the peak (height 3500 m) of a large (length 275 km) underwater mountain range in the Indian Ocean near the equator was named after Nikitin, the hero of many historical stories. In 1955 a monument was erected to him in Tver, and at the beginning of 2002 - in India.

What is known about A. Nikitin
Afanasy Nikitin (birth unknown, death possible 1475) - navigator, merchant, merchant. The first European to visit India. He discovered India 25 years before Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese explorers. Traveled in 1468-1474. on Persia, India and the Turkish state. In his travel notes “Walking across Three Seas,” he describes in detail the life and political structure eastern countries.
The mysterious personality of the merchant
IN Russian history many mysterious personalities. And perhaps the most mysterious of them is the personality of the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin. And was he a merchant? And who, if not a merchant? The fact that he was a traveler and a writer is clear: he made his “Walk across the Three Seas” and also described it, so much so that to this day, more than 500 years later, it is interesting to read. But what this merchant traded is unknown. Why did he travel on one ship and carry goods on another? And why did he take books with him - a whole chest? There are still questions...
Notes of a traveler
The notes of Afanasy Nikitin were acquired in 1475 by Vasily Mamyrev, clerk of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, from certain merchants who came to Moscow. “I found the writing of Ofonas Tveritin, a merchant who was in Yndei for 4 years, and went, they say, with Vasily Papin” - this is how the meticulous official inscribed the acquired “notebooks” of the traveler, specifying that the above-mentioned ambassador then went to Shirvan Shah (that is, to the ruler of Azerbaijan) with a party of gyrfalcons (famous birds of prey of the Russian North), which were intended as a gift to the eastern ruler, and later took part in the Kazan campaign, where he was killed by a Tatar arrow. Already such a preface speaks of the close interest of the highest Kremlin official in this document (deacon is a position corresponding to the status of a minister).
Travel of Afanasy Nikitin
And the document is actually quite interesting. This is what follows from it. When in 1466 Grand Duke Moscow Ivan III sent his ambassador Vasily Papin to the court of the Shah of the country of Shirvan, the merchant from Tver Afanasy Nikitin, who was going on a trade trip to the East, decided to join this embassy. He prepared thoroughly: he obtained letters of passage from the Grand Duke of Moscow and from Prince Tver, letters of safe conduct from Bishop Gennady and governor Boris Zakharyevich, stocked up letters of recommendation to the Nizhny Novgorod governor and customs authorities.
IN Nizhny Novgorod Afanasy learned that Ambassador Papin had already passed by the city to the lower reaches of the Volga. Then the traveler decided to wait for the Shirvan ambassador Hasan-bek, who was returning to the court of his sovereign with 90 gyrfalcons - a gift from Ivan III. Nikitin placed his goods and belongings on a small ship, and he and his traveling library settled on big ship with other merchants. Together with Hasan Bey's retinue, the krechetniks and Afanasy Nikitin, more than 20 Russians - Muscovites and Tver residents - traveled to the kingdom of Shirvan. What Afanasy wanted to trade, he does not specify anywhere.

In the lower reaches of the Volga, the caravan of the Shirvan ambassador ran aground. He was attacked there dashing people Astrakhan Khan Kasim. The travelers were robbed, one of the Russians was killed and a small ship was taken from them, on which were all the goods and property of Athanasius. At the mouth of the Volga, the Tatars captured another ship. When the sailors moved along west bank Caspian Sea to Derbent, a storm came - and another ship was wrecked near the Dagestan fortress of Tarki. Kaytaki, the local population, plundered the cargo, and the Muscovites and Tver residents were taken with them to the full...
The only surviving ship continued its voyage. When they finally arrived in Derbent, Nikitin, having found Vasily Papin, asked him and the Shirvan ambassador to help in the liberation of the Russians driven away by the Kaytaks. They listened to him and sent the walker to the headquarters of the sovereign Shirvan, and he sent the ambassador to the leader of the Kaytaks. Soon Nikitin met his liberated fellow countrymen in Derbent.
Shirvanshah Farrukh-Yassar received precious Russian gyrfalcons, but spared several gold coins to help the naked and hungry people return back to Rus'. Nikitin’s comrades were saddened, “and they dispersed in all directions.” Those who had no debts for goods taken from Rus' wandered home, others went to work in Baku, and some remained in Shemakha. Where did Afanasy Nikitin go, robbed, without goods, money and books? “And I went to Derbent, and from Derbent to Baku, and from Baku I went overseas...” Why did I go, why, with what means? This is not mentioned...
1468 - he ended up in Persia. Where and how he spent the whole year - again, not a word. The traveler has very few impressions of Persia, where he lived for another year: “from Rey I went to Kashan and there was a month. And from Kashan to Nayin, then to Yazd and lived here for a month...” After leaving Yazd, the Tver merchant reached the city of Lara, inhabited by seafaring merchants, whose rulers depended on the sovereign of the powerful White Sheep Turkmen state. “From Sirjan to Tarum, where they feed the cattle with dates...”
“And here there is the Gurmyz refuge and here there is the Indian Sea,” the traveler wrote in the spring of 1469 in his notebook. Here, in Hormuz on the shores of the Persian Gulf, the robbed Afanasy suddenly turned out to be the owner of a thoroughbred stallion, which he was going to sell profitably in India. Soon Nikitin and his horse were already on sailing ship without an upper deck, transporting live cargo across the sea. Six weeks later, the ship dropped anchor in Chaul Harbor on the Malabar Coast, western India. Transportation cost 100 rubles.
India occupies a significant place in Nikitin's diaries. “And here there is Indian country, and people walk around all naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks with their bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. And the men and women are all naked, and all are black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me, and they marvel to the white man..." - the wanderer wrote down in surprise.

Afanasy Nikitin rode on his horse for about a month to the city of Junnar (Junir), apparently making frequent stops along the way. He indicated in his diary the distances between cities and large villages. Junir, which was probably part of the Muslim state, was ruled by the governor Asad Khan, who, as Athanasius wrote, having many elephants and horses, nevertheless “rode on people.”
The merchant continued his journey. Arriving in the city of Bidar, the capital of the Muslim state of Deccan, where they traded slaves, horses, and golden fabrics. “There are no goods for the Russian land,” the navigator wrote with disappointment. As it turns out, India is not as rich as Europeans thought it was. While examining Bidar, he described the war elephants of the Deccan Sultan, his cavalry and infantry, trumpeters and dancers, horses in golden harnesses and tame monkeys. He was struck by the luxurious life of the Indian “boyars” and the poverty of rural workers. When meeting Indians, the traveler did not hide the fact that he was Russian.
In what language could Nikitin communicate with the local population? He spoke Persian and Tatar languages ​​excellently. Apparently, the local dialects came easily to him. The Indians themselves volunteered to take Nikitin to the temples of Sriparvata, where he was amazed by the huge images of the god Shiva and sacred bull Nandi. Conversations with those praying at the idols of Sriparvata gave Athanasius the opportunity to describe in detail the life and rituals of the worshipers of the god Shiva.
At this time, a guidebook appeared in Nikitin’s diary indicating the distances to Calicut, Ceylon, the kingdom of Pegu (Burma) and China. Nikitin recorded what goods were exported through the Indian ports of Kambay, Dabul, and Calicut. Gems, fabrics, salt, spices, crystal and rubies of Ceylon, and yachts of Burma were listed.

Return trip
...1472, spring - the merchant firmly decided, at all costs, to return to Rus'. He spent 5 months in the city of Kulur, where famous diamond mines were located and hundreds of jewelry craftsmen worked. He also visited Golconda, which at that time was already famous throughout the world for its treasures, the former capital of the Deccan, Gulbarga, and went to the seashore in Dabul. The captain of an undecked sailing ship, setting off for Hormuz, took two gold pieces from the traveler. A month later, Afanasy Nikitin came ashore. This was Ethiopia. Here the wanderer stayed for about a week, he spent another three weeks on the island of Hormuz, and then went to Shiraz, Ispagan, Sultaniya and Tabriz.
In Tabriz, Afanasy visited the headquarters of Uzun-Hasan, the sovereign of the White Barn Turkmen state, who then ruled over almost all of Iran, Mesopotamia, Armenia and part of Azerbaijan. What could connect a powerful eastern ruler with Tver traveler, what Uzun-Hasan talked to him about, the diaries are silent. He spent 10 days visiting the Turkmen king. He went to Rus' in a new way, through the Black Sea.
New tests awaited Afanasy Nikitin from the Turks. They shook up all his belongings and took them to the fortress, to the governor and commandant of Trebizond. Rummaging through the navigator's things, the Turks were looking for some kind of letters, perhaps mistaking the Tver merchant for the Moscow ambassador to the court of Uzun-Hasan. It is unknown, by the way, where, when and how the above-mentioned letters, which he received in Moscow and Tver before being sent to Shirvan, could have disappeared.
Where did he die?
The wanderer set off across the third sea to the city of Cafe (now Feodosia), a colony of Genoese merchants, where he landed in November 1472. However, the end of Afanasy Nikitin’s travels is not very clear. “They say that before he reached Smolensk, he died,” says the preface to “Walking across Three Seas,” acquired by clerk Mamyrev.
It is also unclear what the curious merchant did while staying in India for 4 years. And why, in the end, are some lines and pages of the diary not written in Russian, although in Russian letters? There was even a version put forward that these were some kind of encrypted texts. But translations from Persian and Tatar languages ​​showed that Athanasius’s reflections on God, on fasting and prayers were written in these languages...
One thing is certain: whoever Afanasy Nikitin was - a merchant, intelligence officer, preacher, ambassador or simply a very inquisitive wanderer - he was a talented writer and, without a doubt, a charming person. Otherwise, how could he cross the three seas?

Vladimir Dergachev

Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin By the will of fate, he became a great Russian traveler, leaving travel notes known as “Walking across Three Seas.” His year of birth is unknown, he died (or died tragically?) in 1447 near Smolensk (on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania) on the way back from a trip, one might say, a few steps from home. Afanasy Nikitin condensed an important feature of the Russian mentality - striving beyond the horizon. This was not an adventure; the experienced and brave merchant had already visited Constantinople in Byzantium, Lithuania, Crimea and the Principality of Moldova and returned safely with overseas goods.

The journey along the Volga, Caspian Sea, Persia, Arabian Sea, India, Turkey and the Black Sea lasted from mid-1471 to early 1474 (according to another dating - from 1468 to 1474).

Initially, the purpose of the merchant trip was to establish trade relations with Asian merchants in charge of trade along the route passing through the Caucasian Shamakhi. Russian merchants carried mainly furs. Russian merchants went down the Volya, accompanied by the ambassador of the Shirvan Shah (ruler) of Shamakhi. The voyage along the Volga went well, but near Astrakhan on the Buzan River the merchants were robbed by the Tatars. The robbers stole the goods, apparently purchased on credit. Returning to Rus' without goods and without money threatened with a debt trap. But some of the merchants returned, and Nikitin went further to the East. In order not to return empty to Tver and not end up in a hole of debt, the merchant sailed to Derbent, then to Baku, Shemakha and Persia, where he bought a stallion, which he decided to sell profitably in India and purchase goods for the Russian land. But this deal did not bring much benefit either.

Afanasy Nikitin stayed in India for three years: “And here there is Indian country, and people all walk naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are naked, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks with their bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. And the men and women are all naked, and all are black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me, and they marvel at the white man...” “The Hindus call the bull father and the cow mother. They bake bread and cook food with their droppings, and with that ash they make marks on the face, on the forehead and all over the body. On Sunday and Monday they eat once a day.” In his notes, Nikitin used expressions of profanity of the great and mighty Russian language. In academic translations, strong words have disappeared.

In 1387, the first Muslim state of Bahmani was formed in southern India, with the Vijayanagara Empire located to the south. Since 1429, the capital of the sultanate was moved to Bidar, which was visited by a Russian merchant: “In Bidar, the moon stays full for three days. There are no sweet fruits in Bidar. There is no great heat in Hindustan. It is very hot in Hormuz and Bahrain, where pearls are born, in Jeddah, in Baku, in Egypt, in Arabia, and in Lara. But it’s hot in the land of Khorasan, but not like that. It is very hot in Chagotai. It’s hot in Shiraz, Yazd, and Kashan, but there is wind there. And in Gilan it is very stuffy and steamy, and in Shamakhi it is steamy; It’s hot in Baghdad, and it’s hot in Khums and Damascus, but it’s not so hot in Aleppo.”

The route of Afanasy Nikita's walk across the three seas

The picture shows a monument to Afanasy Nikitin in Feodosia (formerly Cafe). In 2002, a monument to Afanasy Nikitin was unveiled in the Indian city of Revdanda.


http://leto.feodom.com/upload/arts/51.JPG

Researchers of the trip “across three seas” are trying to answer the question of how a Russian merchant managed to survive in foreign lands? Perhaps a local tradition helped him:“And their wives sleep with their husbands during the day, and at night they go to sleep with strangers, and sleep with them, and give them food and bring with them sugar food and sugar wine, and feed and water the guests so that they are loved, and they love the guests of people white because their people are very black. And the wife conceives a child from the guest, and the husbands give food. And a white child is born, then the guest will pay a fee of three hundred tenecks...”Nikitin’s words are beyond doubt; Marco Polo later wrote about this. But wandering in a foreign land was not easy: “And all the black people are villains, and the wives are all b..., sorcerers and thieves, and deception, and potions, they kill their masters with poison.”

But, first of all, the merchant spirit of Afanasy Nikitin was looking for profitable goods for the Russian land. In order to return to Tver not only to pay off debts, but also to remain with a profit. In his notes he writes about silk, sandalwood and pearls. But what attracted him most was local diamonds. Perhaps he tried to bring them to Russian soil, but was robbed and killed near Smolensk.

- Russian traveler, merchant and writer, was born in 1442 (the date is not documented) and died in 1474 or 1475 near Smolensk. He was born into the family of the peasant Nikita, so Nikitin, strictly speaking, is not the traveler’s surname, but his patronymic: at that time, most peasants did not have surnames.

In 1468 he undertook an expedition to the countries of the East and visited Persia and Africa. He described his journey in the book “Walking across Three Seas.”

Afanasy Nikitin - Biography

Afanasy Nikitin, biography who is only partially known to historians, was born in the city of Tver. There is no reliable information about his childhood and youth. It is known that at a fairly young age he became a merchant and visited Byzantium, Lithuania and other countries on trade matters. His commercial enterprises were quite successful: he returned safely to his homeland with overseas goods.

He received a letter from the Grand Duke of Tver, Mikhail Borisovich, which allowed him to develop extensive trade in the area of ​​​​present-day Astrakhan. This fact allows some historians to consider the Tver merchant a secret diplomat and spy for the Grand Duke, but there is no documentary evidence for this assumption.

Afanasy Nikitin began his journey in the spring of 1468, traveling by water past the Russian cities of Klyazma, Uglich and Kostroma. According to the plan, having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the pioneer's caravan was supposed to join another caravan, led by Vasily Papin, the Moscow ambassador, for safety reasons. But the caravans missed each other - Papin had already gone south when Afanasy arrived in Nizhny Novgorod.

Then he waited for the arrival of the Tatar ambassador Hasanbek and, with him and other merchants, went to Astrakhan 2 weeks later than planned. Afanasy Nikitin considered it dangerous to set sail in a single caravan - at that time Tatar gangs ruled along the banks of the Volga. The caravans of ships safely passed Kazan and several other Tatar settlements.

But just before arriving in Astrakhan, the caravan was robbed by local robbers - these were Astrakhan Tatars led by Khan Kasim, who was not embarrassed even by the presence of his compatriot Khasanbek. The robbers took away all the goods from the merchants, which, by the way, were purchased on credit. The trade expedition was disrupted, two ships out of four were lost. Then everything turned out not in the best way either. The two remaining ships were caught in a storm in the Caspian Sea and washed ashore. Returning to their homeland without money or goods threatened the merchants with debt and shame.

Then the merchant decided to improve his affairs, intending to engage in intermediary trade.

Thus began the famous journey of Afanasy Nikitin, described by him in his literary work “Walking across Three Seas.”

Information about the travel of Afanasy Nikitin

Persia and India

Nikitin went through Baku to Persia, to an area called Mazanderan, then crossed the mountains and moved further south. He traveled without haste, stopping for a long time in villages and engaging not only in trade, but also studying local languages. In the spring of 1469 he arrived in Hormuz, a large port city at the crossroads trade routes from Asia Minor (), China and India.

Goods from Hormuz were already known in Russia, Hormuz pearls were especially famous. Having learned that horses were being exported from Hormuz to the cities of India, which were not bred there, he decided on a risky commercial venture. I bought an Arabian stallion and, in the hope of reselling it well in India, boarded a ship heading to the Indian city of Chaul.

The voyage took 6 weeks. India made a strong impression on the merchant. Not forgetting about the trade affairs for which he, in fact, arrived here, the traveler became interested in ethnographic research, recording in detail what he saw in his diaries. India appears in his notes as a wonderful country, where everything is not like in Rus', “and people walk around all black and naked.” Athanasius was amazed by the fact that almost all the inhabitants of India, even the poor, wear gold jewelry. By the way, Nikitin himself also amazed the Indians - local residents had rarely seen white people here before.

However, it was not possible to sell the stallion profitably in Chaul, and he went inland. He visited a small town on the upper reaches of the Sina River and then went to Junnar.

In my travel notes did not miss everyday details, and also described local customs and attractions. This was hardly the first truthful description of the life of the country not only for Rus', but even for the whole of Europe. The traveler left notes about what food is prepared here, what they feed domestic animals, how they dress and what goods they sell. Even the process of making local intoxicating drinks and the custom of Indian housewives to sleep with guests in the same bed are described.

I had to stay in the Junnar fortress against my own will. The “Junnar Khan” took the stallion from him when he learned that the merchant was not an infidel, but an alien from distant Rus', and set a condition for the infidel: either he converts to the Islamic faith, or not only will he not receive the horse, but will also be sold into slavery. Khan gave him 4 days to think. The Russian traveler was saved by chance - he met an old acquaintance Muhammad, who vouched for the stranger to the khan.

During the 2 months spent by the Tver merchant in Junnar, Nikitin studied agricultural activities local residents. He saw that in India they plow and sow wheat, rice and peas during the rainy season. He also describes local winemaking, which uses coconuts as a raw material.

After Junnar, he visited the city of Alland, where there was a large fair. The merchant intended to sell his Arabian horse here, but again it didn’t work out. At the fair, even without his stallion, there were many good horses for sale.

Only in 1471 Afanasy Nikitin I managed to sell my horse, and even then without much benefit for myself, or even at a loss. This happened in the city of Bidar, where the traveler arrived after waiting out the rainy season in other settlements. He stayed in Bidar for a long time, becoming friends with the local residents.

The Russian traveler told them about his faith and his land, the Hindus also told him a lot about their customs, prayers, and family life. Many entries in Nikitin's diaries concern issues of Indian religion.

In 1472, he arrived in the city of Parvat, a sacred place on the banks of the Krishna River, where believers from all over India came for the annual festivals dedicated to the god Shiva. Afanasy Nikitin notes in his diaries that this place has the same meaning for Indian Brahmins as Jerusalem for Christians.

The Tver merchant traveled around India for another year and a half, studying local customs and trying to conduct trade business. However, the traveler’s commercial endeavors failed: he never found goods suitable for export from India to Rus'.

Africa, Iran, Türkiye and Crimea

On his way back from India, Afanasy Nikitin decided to visit the east coast of Africa. According to entries in his diaries, in the Ethiopian lands he barely managed to avoid robbery, paying off the robbers with rice and bread.

He then returned to the city of Hormuz and moved north through war-torn Iran. He passed the cities of Shiraz, Kashan, Erzincan and arrived in Trabzon (Trebizond), a Turkish city on the southern shore of the Black Sea. It seemed that the return was close, but then the traveler’s luck turned away again: he was taken into custody by the Turkish authorities as an Iranian spy and deprived of all his remaining property.

According to the traveler himself, which has come down to us in the form of notes, all that was left with him at that time was the diary itself, and the desire to return to his homeland.

He had to borrow money on his word of honor for the journey to Feodosia, where he intended to meet fellow merchants and with their help pay off his debts. He was able to reach Feodosia (Cafa) only in the fall of 1474. Nikitin spent the winter in this city, completing notes on his journey, and in the spring he set off along the Dnieper back to Russia, to hometown Tver.

However, he was not destined to return there - he died in the city of Smolensk under unknown circumstances. Most likely, the years of wandering and hardships suffered by the traveler undermined his health. Afanasy Nikitin's companions, Moscow merchants, brought his manuscripts to Moscow and handed them over to clerk Mamyrev, adviser to Tsar Ivan III. The records were later included in the chronicles of 1480.

In the 19th century, these records were discovered by the Russian historian Karamzin, who published them in 1817 under the author’s title. The three seas mentioned in the title of the work are the Caspian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Black Sea.

A merchant from Tver ended up in India long before representatives of European states arrived there. The sea route to this country was discovered by a Portuguese merchant several decades later than the Russian trade guest arrived there. What did he discover in distant lands and why are his records so valuable to posterity?

Although the commercial goal that prompted the pioneer to such dangerous journey, was not achieved, the result of the wanderings of this observant, talented and energetic person was the first real description unknown distant country. Before this in Ancient Rus' The fabulous country of India was known only from legends and literary sources of that time.

A man of the 15th century saw the legendary country with his own eyes and managed to talentedly tell his compatriots about it. In his notes, the traveler writes about the state system of India, the religions of the local population (in particular, about the “belief in the buts” - this is how Afanasy Nikitin heard and wrote down the name of Buddha, sacred to the majority of the inhabitants of India at that time).

He described the trade of India, the armament of the army of this country, talked about exotic animals (monkeys, snakes, elephants), local customs and Indian ideas about morality. He also recorded some Indian legends.

The Russian traveler also described cities and areas that he himself had not visited, but which he had heard about from the Indians. So, he mentions Indochina, places that at that time were still completely unknown to Russian people. The information carefully collected by the pioneer allows us today to judge the military and geopolitical aspirations of the Indian rulers of that time, the state of their armies (down to the number of war elephants and the number of chariots).

His “Walking across Three Seas” was the first text of its kind in Russian literary literature. The fact that he did not describe only holy places, as pilgrims did before him, gives the work a unique sound. It is not the objects of the Christian faith that fall into the field of his attentive vision, but people with a different religion and a different way of life. His notes are devoid of any officiality and internal censorship, and this is why they are especially valuable.

A story about Afanasy Nikitin and his discoveries - video

Journey Afanasia Nikitina began in Tver, from there the route ran along the Volga River through Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan to Astrakhan. Then the pioneer visited Derbent, Baku, Sari, and then moved overland through Persia. Having reached the city of Hormuz, he again boarded the ship and arrived on it at the Indian port of Chaul.

In India, he visited many cities on foot, including Bidar, Junnar and Parvat. Further along the Indian Ocean he sailed to Africa, where he spent several days, and then, again by water, returned to Hormuz. Then on foot through Iran he came to Trebizond, from there he reached the Crimea (Feodosiya).

Afanasy Nikitin is known to his contemporaries as a navigator and merchant; the merchant became the first of the inhabitants European countries who have visited India. The traveler discovered the eastern country 25 years before other Portuguese travelers.

In the travel notes “Walking beyond the three seas” Russian traveler described in detail the life and political structure of the eastern countries. Athanasius's manuscripts were the first in Rus' to describe a sea voyage not from the point of view of pilgrimage, but for the purpose of telling a story about trade. The traveler himself believed that his notes were a sin. Later, in the 19th century, Afanasy’s stories were published by a famous historian and writer and included in the “History of the Russian State.”

Childhood and youth

Little is known about the childhood years of the Russian traveler, since the biography of Afanasy Nikitin began to be written down during the merchant’s expeditions. The navigator was born in the mid-15th century in the city of Tver. The traveler's father was a peasant, his name was Nikita. Therefore, “Nikitin” is a patronymic, not a surname.

Biographers know nothing more about the family, as well as about the traveler’s youth. Afanasy became a merchant at a young age and managed to see many countries, for example, Byzantium and Lithuania, where the traveler promoted trade. Afanasy's goods were in demand, so it cannot be said that the young man lived in poverty.

Expeditions

Afanasy Nikitin, as an experienced merchant, sought to expand trade in what is now Astrakhan. The navigator received permission from the Tver prince Mikhail Borisovich III, so Nikitin was considered as a secret diplomat, but historical data does not confirm these guesses. Having received the support of the first government officials, Afanasy Nikitin set off on a long journey from Tver.

The navigator sailed across the Volga River. Initially, the traveler stopped in the city of Klyazin and went to the monastery. There he received a blessing from the abbot, and also prayed to the Holy Trinity so that the journey would go well. Next, Afanasy Nikitin went to Uglich, from there to Kostroma, and then to Ples.

According to the traveler, the route passed without obstacles, but in Nizhny Novgorod the navigator’s expedition dragged on for two weeks, since there the merchant was supposed to meet with the ambassador of the Shirvan state, Hasan Bey. Initially, Nikitin wanted to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but he had already sailed south.

Trouble happened when Afanasy’s team sailed past Astrakhan: the sailors were overtaken by Tatar robbers and plundered the ship, and one ship completely sank.

Travelers could not return to their homeland, as they were faced with debt obligations for not preserving the goods that were purchased with government money on credit. Some of the sailors who had at least something left at home returned to Rus', the rest of Nikitin’s people dispersed to different sides, some stayed in Shemakha, some went to work in Baku.

Afanasy Nikitin hoped to improve his financial situation, so he decided to set sail towards the south: from Derbent the resilient navigator set off for Persia, and from Persia he reached the busy port of Hormuz, which was the intersection of trade routes: Asia Minor, India, China and Egypt. In manuscripts, Afanasy Nikitin called this port “the haven of Gurmyz”, known in Rus' for the supply of pearls.

A shrewd merchant in Hormuz learned that rare stallions were supplied from there, which were not bred in the Indian country, and they were highly valued there. The merchant bought a horse and, with the hope of selling the goods at an exorbitant price, went to the Eurasian continent of India, the territory of which, although it was on the maps at that time, remained unknown to Europeans.

Afanasy Nikitin sailed to the city of Chaul in 1471 and lived in an unfamiliar state for three years, but did not return to his homeland. The Russian traveler described in detail the life and structure of the sunny country in his manuscripts.

Afanasy was amazed at how Indian residents walked along the street: women and children walked naked, and the prince had his thighs and head covered with a veil. But almost every person had gold jewelry in the form of bracelets, which surprised the Russian merchant. Nikitin did not understand why Indians could not sell precious jewelry and buy clothes to cover their nakedness.

He was also impressed that India had a large population, and almost every second woman in the country was expecting a child.

In Chaul, Afanasy did not sell the stallion for favorable price, so at the beginning of spring the navigator went to the very depths of India. The merchant reached the northwestern fortress of Junnar, where he met with Asad Khan, its owner. The governor liked Afanasy's goods, but he wanted to get the horse for free and took it away by force. During the conversation, Assad learned that the Russian traveler professes a different religion and promised to return the animal with gold in addition if the merchant converts to Islam. The governor gave Nikitin 4 days to think; in case of a negative answer, Assad Khan threatened the Russian merchant with death.

According to the book “Walking across the Three Seas,” Afanasy Nikitin was saved by chance: the governor of the fortress met an old man he knew, Muhammad, to whom the ruler showed mercy and released the stranger, returning his horse. However, historians are still arguing: Afanasy Nikitin accepted the Mohammedan faith or remained faithful to Orthodoxy. The merchant left such doubts because of the original notes, which were full of foreign words.

Nikitin was also surprised by the customs of India and exotic animals; in a foreign country, he saw snakes and monkeys for the first time. The journey to unprecedented lands was colorful and vibrant, but Afanasy was dissatisfied, because the merchant never saw any trade benefits. According to the navigator, the sunny country traded in paints and cheap pepper - there was nothing to take home to make a profit. Nikitin's Indian stay was interesting, but poor: the sale of a single horse cost the merchant a loss and a fine.

Personal life

Scientists do not know about the personal life of Afanasy Nikitin, because the biography of the Russian navigator was compiled thanks to the merchant’s notes. Whether Nikitin had children, whether his faithful wife was waiting for him, also remains a mystery. But, judging by the merchant’s manuscripts, Afanasy Nikitin was a purposeful and resilient person who was not afraid of difficulties in an unfamiliar country. During three years of travel, Afanasy Nikitin mastered foreign languages; Arabic, Persian and Turkic words were found in his diaries.

There are no photographic portraits of Nikitin; only primitive drawings reached his contemporaries. It is known that the merchant had a simple Slavic appearance and wore a square beard.

Death

Wandering through sunny countries, Afanasy Nikitin lived with the dream of returning to his homeland. The navigator got ready for the return journey and went to the trading port of Hormuz, from where the journey to India began. From Hormuz the merchant traveled north through Iran and ended up in Trabzon, a Turkish city. Local Turkish residents mistook the Russian navigator for a spy, so they took Nikitin prisoner, taking away everything that was on the ship. The only thing that the navigator had left with him was the manuscripts.

Afanasy was released from arrest, and the merchant went to Feodosia: there he was supposed to meet with Russian merchants to borrow money and pay off his debts. Closer to the autumn of 1474, the merchant arrived in the Feodosian city of Kafa, where he spent the winter.

In the spring, Nikitin intended to travel along the Dnieper to Tver, but died in the city of Smolensk. The cause of Afanasy Nikitin’s death remains a mystery, but scientists are confident that the long journey across different countries with different climatic conditions sharply worsened the health of the navigator.

Nikitin's notes were delivered to Moscow by merchants who accompanied the wanderer. Nikitin's diary was handed over to the prince's adviser, and in 1480 the manuscripts were included in the chronicle.

Streets and alleys in Russia, as well as an embankment in the city of Tver, were named after the Russian navigator. In 1958, Mosfilm filmed the film “Walking across Three Seas”, and in 1955 a monument to Nikitin was erected in Tver. There are also monuments to the Russian merchant in Cafe and in the state of Maharashtra.