...settled here, finding it an advantageous location for acquiring goods coming from the East via the Great Silk Road. It was also a destination for Russian Grand Dukes who had lost their domains as a result of internecine conflict. Later, Mongolian horsemen reached the peninsula and Crimea became part of the Golden Horde, the dominion established by the descendants of Genghis Khan. Under the Horde, the steppe continued to be wandered by herds and the cities were filled with the sounds of Italian, Greek, Russian, and Tatar speech.

Centuries passed, and the Golden Horde dissolved into several khanates, among which the Crimean Khanate was one of the most powerful. In the wondrous Palace of Bakhchisarai, the khan's wives lounged idly, lulled by the murmur of the Fountain of Tears.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The Crimean Khanate recognized the supremacy of the Turkish Sultan--an arrangement that was mutually advantageous. In the 16th century, Turkey came to dominate the entire coastline of the Black Sea, which had become a "Turkish lake." The Crimean Khanate was the only former...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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