Afanasy Nikitin, a Tver middle-class merchant, became the first European to study and describe medieval India a quarter century before the arrival of the Portuguese colonialists.

His notes "Walking Over Three Seas" have become a valuable literary and historical monument, in which the versatility of observations is combined with tolerance and devotion to their native land.

Biography of Athanasius Nikitin. The beginning of the way

When the biography of Athanasius Nikitin begins, is unknown. It is a fact that he is the son of a peasant Nikita, which means that Nikitin is his middle name, not his last name. How he became a merchant is also unknown. Now we only know that the Russian traveler Athanasius Nikitin by the middle of the 1460s was already a fairly wealthy man selling furs abroad. By this time, he had already become an experienced merchant who managed to visit Byzantium, Moldova, Lithuania and the Crimea. And everywhere he was lucky.

Apparently, a competent merchant always enlisted the relevant documents (certificates) from the Tver prince. The large geography of the travel trips of the traveler Athanasius Nikitin indirectly indicates that he knew a number of Turkic languages \u200b\u200band Farsi. In addition, one should not lose sight of the fact that the Principality of Tver was then part of the large and powerful Tatar state of the Golden Horde, which allowed Russian merchants to freely trade with many Muslim countries. The most famous journey in the biography of Athanasius Nikitin also began quite smoothly.

Routes Nikitinsky "walking"

The exact start date for the release of the merchant caravan is now impossible to establish. Some historians date it to 1466, others shift it to 1468. Omitting exact dates and relying on specific facts, we can state the following.
  The trip, which gave the world the discoveries of Athanasius Nikitin, began in the spring. Then a group of Russian merchants equipped a caravan of ships for a trade trip to the Lower Volga and the North Caucasus. The caravan had two vessels, loaded, including, and "soft junk", i.e. furs well appreciated in those parts.

The Grand Duke of Tverskoy Mikhail Borisovich gave Nikitin a letter allowing him to begin wide trade in the south of the Golden Horde near Astrakhan. For greater safety, the caravan was planned to be annexed to the Russian embassy by Vasily Papin, but it left earlier. Then the caravan waited for the Tatar embassy of Shirvan Khasan-bek, with whom it went to the Lower Volga.

Alas! Covering the merchants did not help. Near Astrakhan, a caravan of ships was attacked by local robbers who did not even look at the embassy cover, and all merchandise was taken away. Returning back without money and without goods entailed terrible consequences, so the busted merchants scattered wherever. Nikitin headed south to Baku, then part of Persia, and further to Mazanderan. Thus began the geographical discoveries of Athanasius Nikitin.

Way to India and back

In Persia, Nikitin lived for more than two years, trying to somehow make up for the good lost near Astrakhan. Learning that in India thoroughbred stallions cost good money, he went there. The journey of Athanasius Nikitin to India began in 1471, when he, with a horse bought in Persia, loaded onto a ship bound for the Indian port of Chaul.

Unfortunately, the merchant did not succeed in immediately selling the animal at a decent price, and then Nikitin's path went through Indian cities. In the state capital Bahmani Bidar, he finally sold his horse and went to Parvat, the holy city in which he lived for a year and a half. From there, the route of Athanasius Nikitin lay in the "diamond" province of Raichur, where he spent another six months, earning funds for the return trip.

Three years of travel Athanasius Nikitin in India disappointed him. For his homeland, he saw almost nothing useful there. They didn’t allow them to take out cheap goods without duty, and there were many robbers at sea, which made trade extremely difficult. Not particularly successful in Indian trade, the Russian traveler began to gather home.

This route Athanasius Nikitina passed through the Arabian and Somali peninsulas, Hormuz, Tabriz, Trabzon. Here, having suspected a Turkmen spy of him, he arrested all the goods, leaving Nikitin only his notes. From Trabzon he reached Kafa, where he wintered, waiting for the Russian merchant caravan. In Cafe, he met with Moscow merchants, with whom in the spring of 1475 he went home.

Unfortunately, Nikitin's health weakened over the years of travel let him down, and he suddenly died near Smolensk. His notes were brought to Moscow and subsequently glorified the merchant

Athanasius Nikitin is a traveler, an experienced merchant and the first European to visit India. Nikitin is also known for his notes “Walking the Three Seas”. Athanasius Nikitin is known to his contemporaries as a navigator and merchant. This merchant was the first of the inhabitants of European countries to visit India. The traveler discovered the eastern country 25 years before Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese travelers.

From the biography of Athanasius Nikitin:

History has preserved little information about Athanasius, the date and place of his birth, parents and childhood. The first historical records relate to his journey to the three seas of the Black, Caspian and Arabian, which is described in his notes. + Little is also known about the childhood of the Russian traveler, since the biography of Athanasius Nikitin began to be recorded during the expeditions of the merchant. It is only known that the navigator was born in the middle of the 15th century in the city of Tver. Traveler's father is a peasant, his name was Nikita. At that time there were no surnames, therefore "Nikitin" is a middle name, but not a surname.

More about the family, as well as about the youth of the traveler, biographers do not know anything. Athanasius at a young age became a merchant and managed to see many countries, for example, Byzantium and Lithuania, where the traveler promoted trade. The product of Athanasius was in demand, therefore it cannot be said that the young man lived in poverty.

Scientists do not know about the personal life of Athanasius Nikitin, because the biography of the Russian navigator was compiled thanks to the notes of the merchant. Whether Nikitin had children, whether his faithful wife was waiting for him, also remains a mystery. But, judging by the manuscripts of the merchant, Athanasius Nikitin was a purposeful and cheerful person who was not afraid of difficulties in unfamiliar countries. Over the three years of travel, Athanasius 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 contemporaries. It is known that the merchant had a simple Slavic appearance and wore a square beard.

Wandering around the sunny countries, Athanasius Nikitin lived with the dream of returning to his homeland. The sailor gathered on the return trip 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 captured Nikitin, taking away everything that was on the ship. The only thing the seafarer had with him was the manuscript.

And when Athanasius was released from arrest, the merchant went to Feodosia: there he had to meet with Russian merchants in order to borrow money and get even with his debts. Closer to the fall of 1474, the merchant arrived in the Feodosia city of Kafu, where he spent the winter.

And staying in a Cafe (Crimea), in November 1474, he decided to wait for the spring trade caravan, because undermined health did not allow traveling in winter. During a long stay in Cafe, Nikitin managed to get to know and establish close relations with Moscow rich merchants, among whom was Grigory Zhukov and Stepan Vasiliev. In the spring, Nikitin intended to go along the Dnieper to Tver.

When the Crimea became warm, their united large caravan set off. The undermined health of Athanasius made itself felt more and more. Because of what he died and was buried near Smolensk. The reason for the death of Athanasius Nikitin remains a mystery, but scientists are sure that a long trip to different countries with different climatic conditions sharply worsened the health of the sailor.

A desire to share his impressions, observations and experiences resulted in his travel notes. Well-read and competent knowledge of not only Russian business speech, but also a good perception of foreign languages \u200b\u200bis clearly visible here.

Nikitin’s notes were delivered to Moscow by merchants who accompanied the wanderer. Nikitin's diary was handed over to the adviser to Prince Ivan III, and in 1480 the manuscripts entered the chronicle.

In the travel notes “Walking Over Three Seas,” the Russian traveler described in detail the life and political structure of the eastern countries. The manuscripts of Athanasius were the first in Russia to describe the sea voyage not from the point of view of pilgrimage, but with the purpose of telling about trade. The traveler himself believed that his notes were a sin. Later, in the 19th century, the stories of Athanasius were published by the famous historian and writer Nikolai Karamzin and entered the "History of the Russian State."

2. “Wanderings” were introduced by Prince Vasily Mamyryov into the annals.

* Dates from the biography of Athanasius Nikitin:

* 1468 the beginning of the journey over 3 seas.

* 1471, arrival in India.

* 1474 g. Returned to the Crimea.

* 1475 died.

About expeditions and travels of Athanasius Nikitin:

Failed scientists to restore the exact date of departure on a trip.

Afanasy Nikitin, as a real merchant, sought to expand trade in present-day Astrakhan. The navigator received permission from the Tver prince Mikhail Borisovich III, therefore, Nikitin was considered as a secret diplomat, but historical data do not confirm these guesses. Having received the support of the first government officials, Athanasius Nikitin went on a long journey from Tver.

Russian merchants who traveled in the same direction as Athanasius set off from Tver on several ships. Athanasius at that time was an experienced merchant and traveler, because he had to visit countries such as Byzantium, Lithuania, Moldova and Crimea more than once. A successful return home was accompanied by the import of overseas goods.

The sailor 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 trip would turn out well. Then Athanasius Nikitin went to Uglich, from there to Kostroma, and then to Ples. According to the traveler, the route passed without obstacles, however, in Nizhny Novgorod, the sailor's expedition dragged on for two weeks, since there the merchant was to meet with the ambassador of the Shirvan state, Hassan-bek. Initially, Nikitin wanted to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but he had already sailed south.

The trouble happened when the team of Athanasius sailed past Astrakhan: the Tatar robbers overtook the sailors and plundered the ship, and one ship completely sank.

Returning to Russia promised to fall into the pit of debt obligations. Therefore, the comrades of Athanasius were divided: those who had at least something at home, returned to Russia, and the rest dispersed in different directions, someone stayed in Shemakha, some went to work in Baku.

Then the merchants who lost the goods went in two ships to the fortress city of Derbent. Afanasy Nikitin hoped to improve his financial situation, so he decided to sail towards the south: the cheerful sailor went to Persia from Derbent, and reached the busy port of Hormuz from Persia, which represented the intersection of trade routes: Asia Minor, India, China and Egypt. In manuscripts, Athanasius Nikitin called this port "the refuge of Gurmyz", familiar in Russia with the supply of pearls.

The discerning merchant in Hormuz learned that from there they deliver rare stallions that are not bred in an Indian country, and there they are valued highly. The merchant bought a horse, and with the hope of selling the goods at a sky-high price, he went to the Eurasian continent to India, whose territory, although it was then on the maps, remained unknown to Europeans. In India, Nikitin spent 3 years. He visited many cities in India, he saw a lot, but failed to make money. The Russian traveler described in detail the life and structure of the sunny country in his manuscripts.

Athanasius was amazed at how Indian residents walk along the street: women and children walked naked, while the prince had his thighs and head covered with a blanket. But almost every person had gold jewelry in the form of bracelets, which surprised the Russian merchant. Nikitin did not understand why the Indians could not sell precious jewelry and buy clothes to cover up nudity. He was also impressed that the population of India was large, and almost every second resident of the country was expecting a baby.

Athanasius Nikitin sailed to the city of Chaul in 1471. In Chaul, Athanasius did not sell the stallion at a bargain price, so in early spring the sailor went to the very outback of India. The merchant reached the northwestern fortress of Dzhunnar, where he met with Assad Khan, its owner. The viceroy liked the product of Athanasius, but he desired to get the horse for free and took it by force. During the conversation, Assad found out that the Russian traveler professes a different religion and promised to return the animal with gold in addition, if the merchant accepts Islam. The viceroy 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 Over Three Seas,” Athanasius Nikitin saved the case: the governor of the fortress met the familiar old man Muhammad, before whom the ruler showed mercy and released the stranger, returning the horse. However, historians still argue: Athanasius Nikitin accepted the Mohammedan faith or remained faithful to Orthodoxy. Such doubts were left by the merchant because of the original notes, which were saturated with foreign words.

A long way was back to the Crimea. Athanasius traveled through Africa, he also visited the Ethiopian lands, reached Trebizond and Arabia. Then overcoming Iran, and then Turkey returned to the Black Sea.

Interesting facts from the life of Athanasius Nikitin:

* Athanasius Nikitin was the first Russian traveler to visit Persia and India. Returning from these countries, the traveler visited Turkey, Somalia and Muscat.

* Nikitin discovered the eastern countries 25 years before the travels of Vasco da Gama and many other travelers.

* Nikitin was surprised at the customs of India and exotic animals, in a foreign country he first saw snakes and monkeys.

* The journey to unprecedented lands was colorful and vibrant, but Athanasius was unsatisfied, because the merchant did not see any commercial benefits.

* According to the seafarer, a sunny country traded in paints and cheap pepper - there was nothing to take home to make a profit.

* The Indian stay of Nikitin was interesting, but poor: the sale of a single horse cost the merchant a loss and a fine.

* Afanasyev’s well-known travel notes “Walking Over Three Seas”, this is a wayward guide, which describes in detail the life and political structure of countries in the East.

* In Russia, these manuscripts were the first to describe marine manuscripts for the purpose of narrating about trade.

* For scientists, Nikitin’s personal life remains a mystery. It is not known whether he had a wife and children.

* Nikitin is not the last name of the traveler. Then there were no names. This is his middle name, that is, Athanasius, son of Nikita.

* He described Calcutta, Ceylon and Indochina, which were not previously known.

* Athanasius Nikitin came from a poor family. And the main reason he went on trips is to improve the financial situation of the family through trade with foreign merchants.

* The biggest surprise Nikitin experienced in India was that the locals walked naked, but in gold jewelry. * The streets and alleys in Russia, as well as the embankment in the city of Tver, were named after the Russian navigator.

* In 1958, Mosfilm made the movie Moving Over Three Seas.

* In 1955, a monument to Nikitin was erected in Tver at the place where his journey began.

* There are also monuments to the Russian merchant in Cafes and in the state of Maharashtra.

* This fact is curious: the Tver merchant had the right to wear a middle name, while in the Vladimir and then Moscow principalities only boyars and nobles had this right.

* Mentioned in the records of exotic animals, as well as the mysterious feathered "gukuk".

* “Walking” is translated into many languages.

* 2003, a monument was erected in the western part of India, the inscriptions on which are engraved in Hindi, Marathi, Russian and English.

* The Old Russian original text of his “Walking Over Three Seas” is written in four languages.

* Ends his travel diary with Nikitin prayer to Allah.

* In his notes Athanasius often uses local expressions of the countries in which he managed to visit, and after them gives his interpretation in Russian.

* In his notes not only differences in nature and outlandish animals are indicated, but also differences in customs, way of life and state system.

* Athanasius also visited the holy city of Parvat, where Buddha is worshiped. He studied local religion and government. His notes testify to the broad outlook and friendliness of the author to foreign countries and peoples.

* Despite the beautiful and interesting descriptions of India, Persia and other countries, his notes do not hide his disappointment with the absence of the promised variety of goods.

* Missing Russian land, Athanasius could not feel comfortable in foreign lands. * Despite the injustice of the Russian nobles, Nikitin glorified the Russian land.

* The traveler and the Christian religion kept to the last, and all assessments of mores and customs were based on Orthodox morality.

Mysteries in the history of life and travels of Athanasius Nikitin:

Russian traveler Athanasius Nikitin is a mysterious figure.

The lack of biographical information about Athanasius Nikitin in the annals and other ancient Russian documents for some researchers is the basis to believe that the “Walk” was falsified at the end of the XVIII century.

Indeed, in a mysterious way, the Russian traveler ended up in India several years before Vasco da Gama, which should have indicated Russia's priority in the discovery of India. Some inaccuracies in the description of the countries through which the merchant Athanasius passed speak in favor of this version.

Athanasius is silent about many things, for example, about what actually made him go on an expedition to distant lands. It is also in favor of this version that Athanasius managed to keep his travel diary for many years of traveling, although during the trip he had to endure shipwrecks, be attacked by robbers and undergo other troubles that did not contribute to the safety of the birch bark scroll. Moreover, a stranger recording something with obscure signs had to be mistaken for a spy, the list was destroyed, and the scribe himself was executed.

However, historians agree that the text of the life is genuine, since it is not known in a single copy, such as, for example, “The Word of Igor’s Regiment”, but in several, and extracts from the original “Walk” are contained in several chronicles dating from the 15th century, in particular, in the Lviv Chronicle, the accuracy of which is not in doubt, and therefore the text of the “Walk” is authentic.

Another thing is that up to now, not the manuscript of the Tver merchant was preserved, but its copies made by subsequent scribes who could distort the text: involuntary clerical errors, replacing incomprehensible words with similar ones - all this made the text less authentic.

Another hypothesis suggests that Athanasius Nikitin visited only Hormuz, a large Arab port on the border of the Persian Gulf, and all the evidence about India was drawn from the stories of sailors who really were there.

In fact, some descriptions of India seem fantastic, and events (battles, changes of rulers) and dates are poorly synchronized with each other. It is also in favor of this version that the episode “sailing” included an episode of sailing to the shores of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. These shores were well known to the sailors of Hormuz, but they lie far from the path from India to the Persian Gulf. But along with such fantastic sketches, many descriptions of India are so accurate that they could be made only by an eyewitness.

Nothing reliably known about the occupation of Athanasius Nikitin. Historians and encyclopedic reference books unanimously call him a "merchant", and some researchers, seeking historical authenticity, say differently: "presumably a merchant." What lies behind this?

In Russia and in the distant southern countries Athanasius was treated not as a simple merchant, but as an ambassador. It is possible that Athanasius had secret diplomatic missions to the rulers of the Lower Volga and the Caspian basin. The death of Athanasius is also mysterious. Returning to Russia, he, a subject of the Grand Prince of Tver, mysteriously dies near Smolensk, which was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the diary falls into the hands of subjects of the Prince of Moscow, who transport him to Muscovy. Moreover, the clerks-managers of the Moscow prince immediately realize that they have before them a document of exceptional importance. Based on this, it can be argued that the agents of the Prince of Moscow tracked down Athanasius in the territory of another state and took away from him an important document that for some reason was necessary for them.

The time in which Athanasius Nikitin went to India was difficult and tragic in the history of Russia. It was especially difficult for the native Athanasius of Tver. In 1462, Ivan III Vasilyevich ascended to the throne of Tver’s eastern neighbor, the Grand Duchy of Moscow. He, like his descendant and full namesake Ivan IV Vasilievich, also wore the nickname Grozny. The Moscow princes sought to subjugate all the neighboring Russian states. At that time in Russia there were three independent principalities: Moscow, Tver and Ryazan - and three independent republics: Novgorod, Pskov and Vyatka. It was Ivan III Vasilievich who, during his reign, subjugated these principalities and cities to his power, having passed through the independent principalities and republics with fire and sword, drowning the freedom of Novgorodians and Tveriches, Vyatichi and Pskov in blood. However, this will be a little later, and now, in 1466, the Tver prince Mikhail Borisovich, trying to maintain the independence of his state, sends Afanasy to the far lands of the inconspicuous merchant in the hope that he will be able to put together some coalition.

Historians disagree in dating the beginning of Nikitin's journey. Some call it 1458, others call it 1466. Perhaps, some mystery lies here too. Maybe Athanasius made two trips - one in 1458 to Kazan and Astrakhan, and the second, which began in 1466, brought him to India. However, we do not have reliable information about this first trip, so we will assume that the “walk” began in 1466.

So, in 1466, Athanasius Nikitin sent from his native Tver to Shirvan land (modern Dagestan and Azerbaijan). He (we emphasize - with the appearance of a simple merchant) has travel letters from the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich and from the Archbishop of Tver Gennady. Athanasius is not alone, other merchants are coming with him - all in all, they have two ships. Interestingly, Athanasius does not mention the names of Russian companions anywhere, and this is rather strange. Either Athanasius did not want to give out the names of those who went along with him on an important assignment, or, on the contrary, the clerk-scribe of the Grand Duke of Moscow decided not to include Tverich merchants in the list. They move along the Volga, past the Klyazminsky monastery, pass Uglich and get to Kostroma, which was in the possession of Prince Ivan III of Moscow. In principle, relations between Moscow and Tver are tense, but no war has been officially declared, and the Moscow governor passes Athanasius with a security deed further.

On the way, Athanasius Nikitin wanted to join Vasily Papin, the ambassador of the Grand Duke of Moscow in Shirvan, but he had already passed down the river. Why Moscow Tver merchant did not wait, remains a mystery. And what kind of goods did Athanasius take to Shirvan? He does not mention this anywhere. Historians suggest that it could be fur. In Nizhny Novgorod, Athanasius had to stay for two weeks in order to wait for the ambassador of the Shirvanshah named Khasan-bek, who brought 90 shrimps with him to Shirvan, a gift from the Moscow prince. However, such a number of hunting birds was either very exaggerated or was a figure of speech understood only by the initiates. Some historians suggest that the word warriors was replaced with the word "gyrfalcons", that is, the ambassador went with a detachment of Moscow mercenaries, who, according to the agreement of the Moscow principality with the Horde, Muscovy had to exhibit to help the Horde states. The Shirvan ambassador gets on the larger of the two ships, and they go down the river.

The further path of the heroes is very mysterious. In the travel diary, Athanasius notes that they successfully passed Kazan, the Horde, Uslan, and Sarai. The description of this part is fluent and gives the impression that sailing along the Volga was a commonplace for Russian merchants. Despite the fact that they go in the retinue of Ambassador Shirvan, they choose a roundabout way - along Akhtuba, trying to bypass Astrakhan. Somewhere near the confluence of the Volga in the Caspian during one of the moorings, Tatars attack the ships. A situation that, to put it mildly, does not fit into any framework.

After all, we are talking about an attack on the ambassador of another state. However, this attack, if only it took place, testifies against the presence of 90 combatants ("gyrfalcons") in the ambassador's retinue. What kind of mysterious Tatars attacked the embassy, \u200b\u200bAthanasius or the later scribe is silent about this, but later on the way to Shirvan the Russians and companions of Athanasius again had to face troubles. Near the city of Tarhi (near the present Makhachkala), the ships fell into a storm, and when the smaller of the ships either washed ashore or docked on their own, all the merchants were captured. Athanasius at that time was on an embassy ship.

In Derbent, Athanasius asks Vasily Panin and Khasan-bey to help those captured near Tarhi. The prisoners were indeed released, but the goods were not returned to them, because by law all the property of the ship that crashed into the sea was washed ashore belongs to the owner of the shore. Such relations of Athanasius with the ambassadors of the Prince of Moscow and Shirvanshah convince even more that Nikitin was far from a simple merchant.

Some of the merchants, according to Nikitin, tried to return to Russia, while others remained in Shirvan. In the text of “Walking”, Athanasius tries to explain his further wanderings by the fact that he borrowed goods in Russia and now that the goods have disappeared, they could have made him a slave for debts. However, this is not the whole truth or even untruth. In the future, Nikitin will try twice to return to Russia, but for some reason he will not be allowed to go twice further than Astrakhan. Therefore, in the end, Athanasius returned to Russia not along the Volga, but along the Dnieper. But if he borrowed goods, then the debt would have remained so several years later, when he decided to return a few years later. For some time Athanasius remained in Shirvan, first in Derbent, and then in Baku, "where the fire burns unquenchable." What he did all this time is unknown. One gets the impression that he was either expecting some important news from Tver, or, on the contrary, was hiding from enemies. An unknown reason drove Athanasius further, overseas - to Chenokur. Here he lives for six months, but is forced to leave here, a month he lives in Sari, another month in Amal - and again the road, a short rest and again on the road. Here is how he himself talks about this part of his journey: “And I lived in Canakur for six months, but I lived in Sari for a month, in the land of Mazandaran. And from there he went to Amol and lived here a month. And from there he went to Demavend, and from Demavend to Ray. Here Shah Hussein was killed, from the children of Ali, the grandchildren of Muhammad, and the curse of Muhammad fell on the killers - seventy cities were destroyed. From Ray I went to Kashan and lived here for a month, and from Kashan to Nain, and from Nain to Yezd, a month also lived here. And from Yazd went to Sirdzhan, and from Sirdzhan to Tarom, livestock is fed with dates, four pieces of almonds sell a batman of dates. And from Tarom he went to Lara, and from Lara to Bender, then the harbor of Hormuz. And then the Indian Sea, in Persian Daria of the Gundustan; it’s four miles to get to Hormuz town. ”

It seems that he travels through Iran, moving from one city to another, as if hiding from someone. And far from all the cities he lists in his notes, there are "many more big cities," he writes, in which he visited, but he does not even give their names. Interestingly, in The Walk, he talks about the ancient city of Ray, in which Hussein, the grandson of Muhammad, was once killed. Soon after, the city was captured and destroyed by the conquerors, and by the time of Athanasius only ruins remained from it. It is difficult to say whether Nikitin was hiding in the ruins of Ray from unknown opponents or was looking for something to sell there, but this city is mentioned in his notes especially. The legend of the destroyed city is consonant with his gloomy thoughts about his homeland - a war is brewing there between the two great principalities, at the same time the troops of the Grand Duke of Moscow are smashing Vyatka and Novgorod. And the history of the city of Ray is intertwined with modernity.

But here he travels to the Strait of Hormuz, which separates the Persian Gulf from the "Indian Sea". Here he is the first of the Rusyns (as he calls himself) to see the ebbs and flows. Interestingly, it is here that he meets Christians and celebrates Easter with them. This is a very important fact for historians, because from long descriptions of wanderings, one can make an unambiguous conclusion that he wandered around Iran for more than a year, but since he did not have the opportunity to perform Easter ceremonies and even had no opportunity to calculate the onset of Easter, he did not celebrated this holiday.

It is possible that it was at this time that Athanasius Nikitin began to attend thoughts of the legitimacy of other faiths. It was in Hormuz, in his own words, that Athanasius began to keep his diary. But the descriptions of his previous travels are quite detailed, so the idea arises that in Hormuz (or a little earlier) he lost his previous records and now here, on the shore of the Persian Gulf, before sailing to India, he restored his memories.

Soon Athanasius sailed on an Indian ship (Tave) to India. It is difficult to say whether India was the immediate goal of his journey or whether he got there by chance, in search of wealth. In his own words, he found out that horses are not bred in India, so they are very expensive there, and decided to go to India with the stallion whom he hoped to sell there. On a tava, Nikitin reached the northern Indian port of Cambia, "where paint and varnish are born" (the main export products, except spices and fabrics), and then went to Chaul, located on the Indian subcontinent. India hit the traveler. This land was so unlike its native places, lush greenery and fertile soil gave crops unprecedented in its homeland. People in India - dark-skinned, nude, barefoot - were also different. They lived a different life, served other gods.

And he is surprised at various Indian wonders, such as fighting elephants: “The battle is fought more and more on elephants, themselves in armor and horses. Large forged swords are tied to elephants and tusks<…>  let the elephants clothe themselves in damask armor, and turrets are made on the elephants, and in those turrets there are twelve people in armor, all with guns and arrows. ” And Athanasius probably thought: “Eh, such elephants to my grand duke, he would be invincible!” But to bring even one elephant to Russia is impossible. And far, and the path is dangerous. About 700 years before Nikitin, the Arab ruler Harun al-Rashid presented the elephant to the King of the Francs, Charlemagne, and he was with great difficulty brought from Palestine to Aachen. But that was the gift of one great ruler to another.

Many things surprise the traveler: “Their winter began with Trinity Day (May-June.) Every day and night - for four whole months - everywhere there is water and dirt. These days they plow and sow wheat, yes rice, peas, and everything edible. Their wine is made from large nuts, Hundustan goats are called, and mash - from Tatna. Here horses are fed with peas, and Khichri is boiled with sugar and butter, and horses are fed with them, and in the morning they are given sheshins. Horses are not found in Indian land, bulls and buffaloes will be born in their land - they ride them and carry goods and other things, they do everything.<.>  Dzhunnar-grad stands on a rock of stone, is not fortified by anything, is fenced by God. And the paths to that mountain are one day, they walk along one person: the road is narrow, two cannot go.<…>  Spring they began with the Protection of the Holy Virgin (October)<…>  At night, the city of Bidar is guarded by a thousand guards under the command of the Kuttaval, on horseback and in armor, but in the hands of everyone with a torch<.>  In Bidar, snakes crawl through the streets, two fathoms long. ”

Some of Athanasius’s sketches are funny and rather reminiscent of Arabian tales, however, this is not surprising, much of what Nikitin could not see with his own eyes, he took from the stories of Arab merchants: “And there is also a gukuk bird in that Alanda, flies at night, shouts: "Cookie"; and on whose house he sits, there a man dies, and who wants to kill her, she fires from that mouth. Mamons walk at night and grab chickens, but they live in the hills or among the rocks. And those monkeys live in the forest. They have a prince of monkeys, walks with his army. If someone offends the monkeys, they complain to their prince, and he sends his army to the offender, and when they come to the city, they destroy houses and kill people. And the army of the monkey, they say, is very large, and they have their own language<.>  Navels of domestic deer are cut by navels - musk will be born in them, and wild deer by navels will be dropped in the field and in the forest, but they lose their smell, and musk isn’t fresh. ”

Whenever faced with a different way of life, a different faith and system of values, Athanasius became convinced that one can live differently and that each faith is correct in its own way. He is interested in questions of the faith of other peoples, which, in general, is almost a sin for the Orthodox, because truth, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, is contained only in the Gospels and teachings of the Church Fathers, and all other religions are from Satan. But Athanasius, together with the Indians, visits the main Buddhist center of that time - the city of Parvat, which he calls so: "That is their Jerusalem, the same as for the beshermen Mecca." However, the Buddhist monks failed to interest Nikitin in their faith, and Athanasius was surprised and scared by such a variety of faiths: “But people do not drink different faiths, do not eat, do not get married.” But the view of Parvat struck the imagination of Athanasius: “In Parvat<…>  all the naked come together, only the bandage on the hips, and the women are all naked, only the veil on the hips, and the others are all on the veil, and there are a lot of pearls on the neck, and there are yachts, and there are gold bracelets and rings on the hands. And inside, to the butkhan, they ride on bulls, the horns of each bull are bound in copper, and on the neck of three hundred bells and hooves of copper are shod with copper. And they call bulls acce. ”

“I asked them about faith,” writes Athanasius Nikitin, which in itself is surprising for a Christian who, according to dogma, must not learn “demonic beliefs,” but preach the word of Jesus himself.

The trading and historical observations of Athanasius are very accurate and reliable, he not only writes down what he saw with his own eyes, but also what the merchants told about other ports from Egypt to the Far East, he indicates where “silk is born”, where “diamonds are born ", Indicates to future travelers what dangers may await them in these parts, describes the wars in the countries through which he passed. Did he believe that soon Russian merchants would be able to travel with trade caravans to India? It is difficult to say, but the information provided by Nikitin could really help the merchants who could come to India after him. Athanasius is interested in Indian goods and concludes that in Russia they would not be in demand. “They said [to me] that there was a lot of [in India] goods for us, but [it turned out] there was nothing for our land: all goods were white for the land of the Germans, pepper and paint,” Nikitin mourned in his Walk. In Bidar, he writes in his diary: “Horses, kamka (cloth), silk and any other goods and black slaves are sold at the auction, but there is no other goods here. The goods are all Hundustani, but there are only edible vegetables, but for the Russian land there is no goods here. ”

Is not that a mysterious fragment? The merchant carefully writes down what is being sold in different cities, makes a lot of useful notes for subsequent merchants and suddenly cuts off: “Yes, there are no goods useful for Russia here!” Maybe this is how he tries to scare off competitors? It is possible that the “Walking” was intended specifically for Tver merchants, and the rest of the Tverians should have said: look, Athanasius Nikitin himself, the pioneer of that land, wrote that in India there is no good product for Russia. Speaking of goods. It was from India that pearls and ivory, gold and silver came to Russia. So the merchant Athanasius is cunning. However, another explanation is possible: this crafty passage is a product of text processing by the clerks of the Grand Duke of Moscow, saying that you, merchants, go to India, it’s better to stay in Russia. The centralization of state power, which began under Ivan III Vasilyevich and continued under his grandson Ivan IV, was accompanied by the closure of external borders so that no one would run away from the tsar’s will.

A thoughtful reading of the text “Walking” suggests that Athanasius Nikitin still converted to Islam during his years in Muslim countries, either this time or later in Bidar, when the local nobleman Malik Hassan Bahri, who bore the title of Nizam al-mulk, revealed Nikitin’s faith, invited him to change it to Islam. The modern Russian historian Zurab Hajiyev published an article on the pages of the Islamic Civilization online journal, which convincingly proves that even after numerous edits of Orthodox scribes, the text of the Khozhdeniya contains a lot of evidence of Nikitin's acceptance of Islam.

Indeed, Athanasius on the pages of The Walk is shown as a deeply religious person, the text begins with the glorification of Jesus and the blessings on the journey received by him from his spiritual mentors. In the future, his cautious attitude towards Islam gradually passes, he, as we have already mentioned, even cites in his travel diary the Sunni legend about punishing the city of Rhea for the murder of Imam Hussein.

In the Indian Bidar, Nikitin reflects on the fate of the Russian land. After listing the advantages of the lands he visited — Crimea, Georgia, Turkey, Moldova, and Podolia — he prays for the Russian land, but adds: “In this world there is no country like it, although the emirs of the Russian land are unfair. Let the Russian land settle down and justice be in it! ”Here is a curious moment: Athanasius calls the rulers of Russia emirs. It seems that during the trip he really gradually turned into an Arab merchant.

The text of “Walking” ends with lengthy Islamic prayers. If we consider that the last lines of the travel diary were written by Athanasius before his death, it turns out that in the last hours of his life he prays to Allah as a true Muslim. + After spending several years in India, he decides to return to Russia. The true reasons for this are not entirely clear. In “Walking,” he claims that this happened after a conversation with an Islamic official who suggested Athanasius to change his faith and justified this by saying that Athanasius, far from his homeland, did not observe Christian rites. But how true this is is unknown. The fact is that the return of Athanasius to Russia is also surrounded by riddles, and the text of The Walk, without a doubt, was subjected to numerous corrections.

Unlike the journey to India, the return trip was short and fast. In the port of Dubhol, he gets on a ship going through Ethiopia, Muscat and Hormuz and gets to Persia. In Persia, he stops in the cities of L ar, Shiraz, Yazd, Isfahan, Qom, Tabriz. Then he comes to Erzincan in Turkey, from there to Trabzon. So, having passed two seas, the Caspian and the "Indian", he gets to the third - the Black. In Trabzon, a Turkish official takes Nikitin for a spy and selects his goods.

It was on arrival in Kaffa in 1472 that the text of the Circulation breaks off. Athanasius Nikitin son, tveritin, disappears from history. It is only known that in the winter of 1474/1475 he dies or dies under mysterious circumstances near Smolensk, literally a hundred kilometers from his native city. It is believed that all this time he got to his native Tver. Two-plus years. Even on foot, it is very slow. Therefore, there is reason to believe that the two years of the traveler’s life that have fallen from history have passed as intensively as the previous ones.

Despite the disagreement among scholars regarding the religion of Nikitin, the most surprising fact that emerged during their disputes was Nikitin’s unusual approach to religion for his time. Brought up in an orthodox environment, but a tolerant merchant, having arrived in another country, was able not only to reconcile with other religions, but also to accept them and extract the most important ideas contained both in Orthodoxy and in Islam - monotheistic ideals of kindness and love.

Travel Athanasius Nikitin to India

The first Russian explorer of the mysterious country of India was the merchant from Tver, Athanasius Nikitin. In 1466, with the goods borrowed, he sailed on two ships down the Volga. At the mouth of the river, his ships were robbed by the Astrakhan Tatars. The merchant did not return home, as he risked going to jail for debt. He went to Derbent, then to Baku, and from there he got by sea to the southern Caspian coast. The merchant ended up in the Persian Gulf, from where he sailed to India by sea. He brought with him a stallion whom he was planning to sell.

Athanasius Nikitin in India

India hit Nikitin. He wrote down his impressions in a diary. Surprised him by dark-skinned people who walked almost naked. Records of the Russian merchant tell about the customs, life and life of the population of India, about its plants and animals. Here is how he describes the monkeys, which are countless in the country: “The monkeys live in the forest, and they have a monkey prince, he walks with his army. And if someone touches them, then they complain to their prince, and they, having attacked the city, destroy the yards and beat people. And their army, they say, is very large, and they have their own language. " Perhaps Nikitin met the Indian epic "Ramayana", one of whose characters is the king of monkeys.

For a long time, European merchants visited India, bringing spices and various outlandish goods from it. For Russia, which knew Persia, the Middle East and the countries of Transcaucasia perfectly, India remained a mystery for a long time.

Nikitin, who studied the language of a foreign country and sought to adapt to the customs of India, was well received everywhere and even offered to stay there forever, accepting the "Basurman" faith. But the traveler, who passionately loved his homeland, went home. He returned to Russia and brought his notes, titled "Walking Over Three Seas." In the so-called Lviv Chronicle (1475) there are such words about the traveler and his composition: “Smolensk, without reaching it, died. And he wrote the scripture with his own hand, and his handwritten notebooks were brought by the guests (merchants) to Vasily Mamyrev, the clerk of the Grand Duke. ”

Travel notes of Nikitin interested contemporaries and descendants, the book corresponded many times, becoming a source of knowledge about distant India for Russian people. Nevertheless, the merchants did not seek to visit her, probably because the author wrote honestly in his interesting and fascinating essay: “Basurman dogs lied to me: they said that there were a lot of goods we needed, but it turned out that there was nothing for our land ... Pepper and paint is cheap. But they carry goods by sea, while others do not pay duties for them, and they will not allow us to transport them without duty. But duties are high, and there are many robbers at sea. ” Most likely, Nikitin was absolutely right, and therefore the trade interests of Russia at that time extended mainly in the northern and eastern directions. Fur was exported from there, which the Russians bought with pleasure in the countries of Western Europe.