Zaporozhian Cossacks

The Zaporozhian Cossacks or Zaporizhian Cossacks, also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host, were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. They were predominantly Ruthenians, but also included other ethnic groups (most notably their kish otaman Ivan Sirko was of Moldavian origin). Scientific studies conducted on the Zaporozhian Cossack genetics show that their Y-chromosomal genetic makeup forms the southern fragment of East Slavic population, with minimal levels to absence of Caucasian and Asian component in their paternal gene pool. Along with Registered Cossacks and Sloboda Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossacks played an important role in the history of Ukraine and the ethnogenesis of Ukrainians.

The Zaporozhian Sich grew rapidly in the 15th century from serfs fleeing the more controlled parts of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Zaporozhian Host became established as a well-respected political entity with a parliamentary system of government. During the course of the 16th, 17th and well into the 18th century, the Zaporozhian Cossacks were a strong political and military force that challenged the authority of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Tsardom of Russia, and the Crimean Khanate.

The host went through a series of conflicts and alliances involving the three powers, including supporting an uprising in the 18th century. Their leader signed a treaty with the Russians. This group was forcibly disbanded in the late 18th century by the Russian Empire, with much of the population relocated to the Kuban region on the south edge of the Russian Empire, while others founded cities in southern Ukraine and eventually became state peasants. The Cossacks served a valuable role of conquering the Caucasian tribes and in return enjoyed considerable freedom granted by the Tsars.

Etymology

The name comes from the location of their fortress, the Sich, in ( "land beyond the rapids"), from Ukrainian "beyond" and "rapids".

As for Cossacks, Max Vasmer's etymological dictionary traces the name to the Tatar Turkic word , , in which cosac meant 'free man' but also 'conqueror'. The ethnonym Kazakh is from the same Turkic root. In written sources, the name is first attested in the Codex Cumanicus from the 13th century. In English, Cossack is first attested in 1590. In the 20th century, the Russian scientist Gumilyov was an apologist for the Polovtsian origin of the Cossacks.

Within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

alt=|thumb|Thousands of [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|slaves were freed in 1616 when the Petro Sahaidachny's Cossacks captured the town of Kaffa in Crimea]]

In the 16th century, with the dominance of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth extending south, the Zaporozhian Cossacks were mostly, if tentatively, regarded by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as their subjects. Registered Cossacks were a part of the Commonwealth army until 1699.

Around the end of the 16th century, relations between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire, which were not cordial to begin with, were further strained by increasing Cossack aggression. From the second part of the 16th century, the Cossacks started raiding Ottoman territories. The Polish government could not control the fiercely independent Cossacks but, since they were nominally subjects of the Commonwealth, it was held responsible for raids by their victims. Reciprocally, the Tatars living under the Ottoman rule launched raids in the Commonwealth, mostly in the sparsely inhabited south-east territories of Ukraine. Cossacks, however, were raiding wealthy merchant port cities in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, which were just two days away by boat from the mouth of the Dnieper River.

Consecutive treaties between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth called for both parties to keep the Cossacks and Tatars in check, but enforcement was almost non-existent on both sides. In internal agreements, forced by the Poles, the Cossacks agreed to burn their boats and stop raiding. However, boats could be rebuilt quickly, and the Cossack lifestyle glorified raids and looting.

thumb|left|A Zaporozhian Sich [[Sich Rada|Rada (Council)]]

During this time, the Habsburg monarchy sometimes covertly employed Cossack raiders to ease Ottoman pressure on their own borders. Many Cossacks and Tatars shared an animosity towards each other due to the damage done by raids from both sides. Cossack raids followed by Tatar retaliation, or Tatar raids followed by Cossack retaliation, were an almost regular occurrence. The ensuing chaos and string of conflicts often turned the entire south-eastern Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth border into a low-intensity war zone and led to an escalation of Commonwealth–Ottoman warfare, from the Moldavian Magnate Wars to the Battle of Cecora (1620) and wars in 1633–34.

Cossack numbers expanded, with Ukrainian peasants running from serfdom in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Attempts by the szlachta to turn the Zaporozhian Cossacks into serfs eroded the Cossacks' once fairly strong loyalty towards the Commonwealth. Cossack ambitions to be recognized as equal to the szlachta were constantly rebuffed, and plans for transforming the Polish–Lithuanian Two-Nations Commonwealth into a Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth (with the Ukrainian Cossack people) made little progress, owing to the Cossacks' unpopularity. The Cossacks' strong historic allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox Church put them at odds with the Catholic-dominated Commonwealth. Tensions increased when Commonwealth policies turned from relative tolerance to the suppression of the Orthodox church, making the Cossacks strongly anti-Catholic, which at that time was synonymous with anti-Polish.

thumb|Battle between [[Maksym Kryvonis and Jarema Wisniowiecki during the Khmelnytsky Uprising, by Nikolay Samokish]]

The waning loyalty of the Cossacks and the szlachta's arrogance towards them resulted in several Cossack uprisings against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early 17th century. Finally, the King's adamant refusal to bow to the Cossacks' demand to expand the Cossack Registry was the last straw that prompted the largest and most successful of these: the Khmelnytsky Uprising, which started in 1648. The uprising became one of a series of catastrophic events known as the Deluge, which greatly weakened the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and set the stage for its disintegration one hundred years later. Even though Poland probably had the best cavalry in Europe, their infantry was weak. Since Poland recruited most of its infantry from Ukraine, once this became free from Polish rule, the army of the Commonwealth suffered greatly.

The Koliivshchyna was a major haydamak rebellion that broke out in right-bank Ukraine in June 1768. It was caused by the dissatisfaction of peasants and Cossacks with the treatment of Orthodox Christians by the Bar Confederation. Zaporozhian Cossack Maksym Zalizniak was one of the leaders of the rebellion.

Organization

thumb|Historical map of Ukrainian Cossack [[Hetmanate and territory of Zaporozhian Cossacks under the rule of the Russian Empire (1751).]]

The Zaporozhian Host as a military-political establishment developed based upon unique traditions and customs called the Cossack Code, and five to eight palankas (territorial districts) as well as an original system of administration with three levels: military leaders, military officials, leaders of march and palankas.]]

The seal of the Zaporozhian Host was produced in a round form out of silver with a depiction of a Cossack in a gabled cap on a head, in kaftan with buttons on a chest, with a sabre (shablya), powder flask on a side, and a self-made rifle (samopal) on the left shoulder. Most upper level Cossack Council members, such as Pavlo Holovaty and Ivan Hloba, were repressed and exiled as well, although lower level commanders and rank and file Cossacks were allowed to join the Russian hussar and dragoon regiments.

Aftermath

thumb|Zaporozhian Cossack from Crimea

thumb|Historical approximate map of ethnic Ukrainians, c. 1918

The destruction of the Sich created difficulties for the Russian Empire. Supporting the increase in the privileges gained by the higher ranking leadership put a strain in the budget, whilst the stricter regulations of the regular Russian Army prevented many other Cossacks from integrating. The existence of the Danubian Sich, which would support the Ottoman Empire in the next war, was also troublesome for the Russians. In 1784 Potemkin formed the Host of the Loyal Zaporozhians (Войско верных Запорожцев) and settled them between the Southern Bug and Dniester rivers. For their invaluable service during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792), they were rewarded with the Kuban land and migrated there in 1792.

In 1828, the Danubian Sich ceased to exist after it was pardoned by Emperor Nicholas I, and under amnesty its members settled on the shores of the Northern Azov between Berdyansk and Mariupol, forming the Azov Cossack Host. Finally in 1862 they too migrated to the Kuban and merged with the Kuban Cossacks. The Kuban Cossacks served Russia's interests right up to the October Revolution, and their descendants are now undergoing active regeneration both culturally and militarily. The 30,000 descendants of those Cossacks who refused to return to Russia in 1828 still live in the Danube delta region of Ukraine and Romania, where they pursue the traditional Cossack lifestyle of hunting and fishing and are known as Rusnaks. During the Soviet era, the nationalist aspect was officially discouraged in order to quell the rise of nationalist sentiment and Zaporozhian Cossacks' historical role of defending Muscovy from Turks was celebrated instead. In 1990, the Soviet government and Ukrainian independence movement cooperated to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Zaporozhian Sich.

Zaporozhian attire, songs, and music found their way into official state dance and music ensembles, and influenced the image of Ukraine in the years to come. Since the Independence of Ukraine in 1991, attempts at restoring the Cossack lifestyle have concentrated on politics, horsemanship and cultural endeavours. In November, 2016, Cossack songs of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast were inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

Currently the Zaporozhian Cossack stronghold Khortytsia is perceived to be a symbol of Ukrainian statehood.

Notes

References

External links

Zaporizhia at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Zaporozhian Cossacks at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Zaporozhian Sich at the Encyclopedia of Ukraine