Afanasy Nikitin, merchant from Tver. He is rightfully considered not only the first Russian merchant who visited India (a quarter of a century before the Portuguese Vasco da Gama), but also the first Russian traveler in general. The name of Afanasy Nikitin opens the list of brilliant and most interesting sea and land Russian explorers and discoverers, whose names are inscribed in golden letters on the world history of geographical discoveries.

The name of Athanasius Nikitin became known to contemporaries and descendants due to the fact that he kept a diary, or rather travel notes, throughout his stay in the East and India. In these notes, he described with many details and details the cities and countries he visited, the way of life, customs and traditions of the peoples and rulers ... The author himself called his manuscript "Journey beyond the three seas." The three seas are Derbent (Caspian), Arabian (Indian Ocean) and Black.

Quite a bit did not reach on the way back A. Nikitin to his native Tver. His comrades handed over the manuscript of "Journey beyond the Three Seas" into the hands of the clerk Vasily Mamyrev. From him she got into the annals of 1488. Obviously, contemporaries appreciated the importance of the manuscript, if they decided to include its text in the historical chronicles.

N. M. Karamzin, the author of the “History of the Russian State”, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, accidentally stumbled upon one of the chronicles of the “Journey ...”. Thanks to him, the journey of the Tver merchant A. Nikitin became public knowledge.

The texts of A. Nikitin's travel notes testify to the broad outlook of the author, his good command of business Russian speech. When reading them, you involuntarily catch yourself thinking that almost all the author's notes are completely understandable, although they were written more than five hundred years ago!

Brief information about the journey of Afanasy Nikitin

Nikitin Afanasy Nikitich

Tver merchant. Year of birth unknown. Place of birth too. He died in 1475 near Smolensk. The exact start date of the trip is also unknown. According to a number of authoritative historians, this is most likely the year 1468.

Purpose of Travel:

an ordinary commercial expedition along the Volga as part of a caravan of river boats from Tver to Astrakhan, establishing economic ties with Asian merchants trading along the Great Silk Road passing through the famous Shemakha.

This assumption is indirectly confirmed by the fact that Russian merchants went down the Volga accompanied by Asan bey, ambassador of the sovereign Shamakhi, Shirvan Shah Forus-Esar. Shemakhan's ambassador Asan-bek was on a visit to Tver and Moscow with the Grand Duke Ivan III, and went home after the Russian ambassador Vasily Papin.

A. Nikitin and his comrades equipped 2 ships, loading them with various goods for trade. The commodity of Afanasy Nikitin, as can be seen from his notes, was junk, that is, furs. Obviously, ships and other merchants sailed in the caravan. It should be said that Afanasy Nikitin was an experienced, courageous and resolute merchant. Before that, he visited distant countries more than once - Byzantium, Moldova, Lithuania, Crimea - and safely returned home with overseas goods, which is indirectly confirmed in his diary.

Shemakha

one of the most important points throughout the Great Silk Road. Located on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan. Being at the crossroads of caravan routes, Shemakha was one of the major trade and craft centers in the Middle East, occupying an important place in the silk trade. Back in the 16th century, trade relations between Shemakha and Venetian merchants were mentioned. Azerbaijani, Iranian, Arab, Central Asian, Russian, Indian and Western European merchants traded in Shamakhi. Shemakha is mentioned by A. S. Pushkin in “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” (“Give me a girl, the Shemakhan queen”).

A. Nikitin's caravan enlisted travel letter from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich to move around the territory of the Tver principality and grand ducal travel charter abroad, with which he sailed to Nizhny Novgorod. Here they planned to meet with the Moscow ambassador Papin, who was also on his way to Shemakha, but did not have time to capture him.

Departed from the Savior of the holy golden-domed and succumbed to his mercy, from his sovereign from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich Tversky ...

It is interesting that initially Afanasy Nikitin did not plan to visit Persia and India!

Historical setting during the journey of A. Nikitin

The Golden Horde, which controlled the Volga, was still quite strong in 1468. Recall that Russia finally threw off the Horde yoke only in 1480, after the famous “standing on the Ugra”. In the meantime, the Russian principalities were in vassal dependence. And if they regularly paid tribute and "did not show off", then they were allowed some freedoms, including trade. But the danger of a robbery always existed, so the merchants gathered in caravans.

Why does a Russian merchant address Mikhail Borisovich, Grand Duke of Tverskoy, as a sovereign? The fact is that at that time Tver was still an independent principality that was not part of the Muscovite state and was constantly fighting with it for primacy in the Russian lands. Recall that finally the territory of the Tver principality became part of the Moscow kingdom under Ivan III (1485).

P consolation A. Nikitin can be divided into 4 parts:

1) travel from Tver to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea;

2) the first trip to Persia;

3) a trip to India and

4) the return journey through Persia to Russia.

Its entire path is clearly visible on the map.

So, the first stage is a journey along the Volga. It went well, right up to Astrakhan. Near Astrakhan, the expedition was attacked by robber gangs of local Tatars, the ships were sunk and looted

And I passed Kazan voluntarily, we didn’t see anyone, and I passed the Horde, and Uslan, and Saray, and I passed the Berekezans. And we drove to Buzan. Then three filthy Tatars ran into us and told us false news: "Kaisym Saltan guards the guests in Buzan, and with him three thousand Tatars." And the ambassador of the Shirvanshin Asanbeg gave them a single coat and a linen to take them past Khaztarakhan. And they, filthy Tatars, took one by one, but they gave the news to Khaztarakhan (Astrakhan) king. And the yaz left his ship and climbed on the ship for a word and with his comrades.

We drove past Khaztarakhan, and the moon was shining, and the tsar saw us, and the Tatars called to us: "Kachma, don't run!" And we didn’t hear anything, but we ran like a sail. Because of our sin, the king sent his entire horde after us. Ini overtook us on Bohun and taught us to shoot. And we shot a man, and they shot two Tatars. And our smaller ship was on the move, and they took us and plundered us that hour , and mine was small junk all in a smaller vessel.

The bandits took away from the merchants all the goods, bought, obviously, on credit. Returning to Russia without goods and without money threatened with a debt hole. Comrades Athanasius and himself, in his words, " crying, yes, they dispersed in different directions: whoever has something in Russia, and he went to Russia; and who should, and he went where his eyes carried.

Reluctant traveler

Thus, Afanasy Nikitin became an unwilling traveler. The way home is booked. Nothing to trade. There was only one thing left - to go to intelligence in foreign countries in the hope of fate and one's own enterprise. Having heard about the fabulous riches of India, he directs his steps precisely there. through Persia. Pretending to be a wandering dervish, Nikitin stops for a long time in each city, and shares his impressions and observations with paper, describing in his diary the life and customs of the population and rulers of those places where his fate brought him.

And the tongue went to Derbent, and from Derbent to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baki you went across the sea to Chebokar. Yes, here you lived in Chebokar for 6 months, but in Sarah lived for a month, in the Mazdran land. And from there to Amily, and here I lived for a month. And from there to Dimovant, and from Dimovant to Ray.

And from Drey to Kashen, and here I was a month, and from Kashen to Nain, and from Nain to Ezdei, and I lived here for a month. And from Dies to Syrchan, and from Syrchan to Tarom .... And from Torom to Lara, and from Lara to Bender, and here there is a refuge of Gurmyz. And here is the Indian Sea, and in the Parsian language and Gondustanskadoria; and from there go by sea to Gurmyz 4 miles.

The first journey of Athanasius Nikitin through the Persian lands, from the southern shores of the Caspian Sea (Chebukara) to the shores of the Persian Gulf (Bender-abasi and Hormuz), lasted more than a year, from the winter of 1467 to the spring of 1469.

Russian travelers and pioneers

Again Travelers of the Age of Discovery

Afanasy Nikitin is a famous Russian traveler, merchant and writer. He went down in history as one of the first Europeans who managed to make a long journey to Persia, Turkey and India. He described his amazing discoveries and achievements in the book "Journey beyond three seas" - Caspian, Black and Arabian.

short biography

History has preserved very little information about the years of the life of a historical figure, thanks to which many interesting things about overseas lands became known in Russia. The first records mentioning the merchant date back to the period of his journey to the East.

It is only known that Afanasy Nikitin was born in the middle of the 15th century in the city of Tver. His father was a simple peasant, but Athanasius managed to stand firmly on his feet and start trading. At a young age, he managed to see many countries where he established trade relations.

Rice. 1. Afanasy Nikitin.

Nikitin is not a surname, but a patronymic of a traveler, since in those distant times surnames simply did not exist. It is also noteworthy that the Tver merchant officially bore a patronymic, while in the Moscow principality such a right belonged only to representatives of the highest nobility.

Travel of Athanasius Nikitin to India

In the spring of 1468, Nikitin equipped two ships to start trading in new lands. His route ran through the Volga and the Caspian, where expensive Russian furs were especially valued at local markets.

But near Astrakhan, the ships were almost completely plundered by the Tatars. Ruined merchants could not return to their homeland, since many of them bought goods for sale on credit, and upon returning home they were in debt. They had no choice but to go around the world in search of a better life.

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Nikitin also headed south: having reached Derbent, and then to Persia itself, the merchant headed for the busy port of Hormuz, which was the crossing point of many trade routes of the East.

Rice. 2. Port of Hormuz.

The traveler learned that thoroughbred stallions are especially highly valued in India. With the last money he bought a horse, hoping to profitably sell it to Indian merchants and get rich. So in 1471, Nikitin ended up in India, which by that time was already on the maps, but still remained a little-studied country.

Over the next three years, the Russian merchant traveled around India. Missing his homeland, he stocked up on Indian goods and set off on the return journey. However, in one of the ports, all his goods were arrested. After wintering in Feodosia, Afanasy Nikitin set off again, but in the spring of 1475 he died on the way home.

The legacy of Afanasy Nikitin

Throughout the journey, Nikitin made travel notes, which later compiled his famous book "Journey Beyond the Three Seas". This was the first work in Russian literature that described in detail not the journey itself, but a business trip, with vivid and lively descriptions of the culture, religion, economic and political structure of other countries.

In his book, Nikitin described in detail the life of medieval India. He was unspeakably surprised by the appearance of the Indians: the color of their skin, long braids for both men and women, the almost complete absence of clothes and at the same time an abundance of jewelry on their arms and legs. However, the traveler himself was a great curiosity - a crowd of onlookers always followed the "white" man in India on the heels.

Rice. 3. Medieval India.

Nikitin's work is replete with Muslim prayers and Arabic-Persian vocabulary. Scientists have repeatedly raised the question that a merchant during his journey through the East could convert to Islam. In this case, upon returning to his homeland, he would have expected a fierce reprisal for a change of faith.

What have we learned?

When studying the report on the topic "Afanasy Nikitin" in the geography program for grade 5, we learned what Afanasy Nikitin discovered in geography. We found out that the merchant set out a detailed description of his journey through the eastern countries in the book “Journey Beyond Three Seas”, thus giving rich food for thought to future explorers of the East.

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Afanasy Nikitin, merchant from Tver. He is rightfully considered not only the first Russian merchant who visited India (a quarter of a century before the Portuguese Vasco da Gama), but also the first Russian traveler in general. The name of Afanasy Nikitin opens the list of brilliant and most interesting sea and land Russian explorers and discoverers, whose names are inscribed in golden letters on the world history of geographical discoveries.
The name of Afanasy Nikitin became known to contemporaries and descendants due to the fact that he kept a diary, or rather travel notes, throughout his stay in the East and India. In these notes, he described with many details and details the cities and countries he visited, the way of life, customs and traditions of the peoples and rulers ... The author himself called his manuscript "Journey beyond the three seas." The three seas are Derbent (Caspian), Arabian (Indian Ocean) and Black.

Quite a bit did not reach on the way back A. Nikitin to his native Tver. His comrades handed over the manuscript of "Journey beyond the Three Seas" into the hands of the clerk Vasily Mamyrev. From him she got into the annals of 1488. Obviously, contemporaries appreciated the importance of the manuscript, if they decided to include its text in the historical chronicles.

Brief information about the journey of Afanasy Nikitin

Nikitin Afanasy Nikitich

Tver merchant. Year of birth unknown. Place of birth too. He died in 1475 near Smolensk. The exact start date of the trip is also unknown. According to a number of authoritative historians, this is most likely the year 1468.

Purpose of Travel:

an ordinary commercial expedition along the Volga as part of a caravan of river boats from Tver to Astrakhan, establishing economic ties with Asian merchants trading along the Great Silk Road passing through the famous Shemakha.

This assumption is indirectly confirmed by the fact that Russian merchants went down the Volga accompanied by Asan bey, ambassador of the sovereign Shamakhi, Shirvan Shah Forus-Esar. Shemakhan's ambassador Asan-bek was on a visit to Tver and Moscow with the Grand Duke Ivan III, and went home after the Russian ambassador Vasily Papin.

A. Nikitin and his comrades equipped 2 ships, loading them with various goods for trade. The commodity of Afanasy Nikitin, as can be seen from his notes, was junk, that is, furs. Obviously, ships and other merchants sailed in the caravan. It should be said that Afanasy Nikitin was an experienced, courageous and resolute merchant. Before that, he visited distant countries more than once - Byzantium, Moldova, Lithuania, Crimea - and safely returned home with overseas goods, which is indirectly confirmed in his diary.

Shemakha

one of the most important points throughout the Great Silk Road. Located on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan. Being at the crossroads of caravan routes, Shamakhi was one of the major trade and craft centers in the Middle East, occupying an important place in the silk trade. Back in the 16th century, trade relations between Shemakha and Venetian merchants were mentioned. Azerbaijani, Iranian, Arab, Central Asian, Russian, Indian and Western European merchants traded in Shamakhi. Shemakha is mentioned by A. S. Pushkin in “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” (“Give me a girl, the Shemakhan queen”).

A. Nikitin's caravan enlisted travel letter from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich to move around the territory of the Tver principality and grand ducal travel charter abroad, with which he sailed to Nizhny Novgorod. Here they planned to meet with the Moscow ambassador Papin, who was also on his way to Shemakha, but did not have time to capture him.

Departed from the Savior of the holy golden-domed and succumbed to his mercy, from his sovereign from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich Tversky ...

It is interesting that initially Afanasy Nikitin did not plan to visit Persia and India!

Travel A. Nikitin can be divided into 4 parts:

1) travel from Tver to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea;

2) the first trip to Persia;

3) a trip to India and

4) the return journey through Persia to Russia.

Its entire path is clearly visible on the map.

So, the first stage is a journey along the Volga. It went well, right up to Astrakhan. Near Astrakhan, the expedition was attacked by robber gangs of local Tatars, the ships were sunk and looted

The bandits took away from the merchants all the goods, bought, obviously, on credit. Returning to Russia without goods and without money threatened with a debt hole. Comrades Athanasius and himself, in his words, " crying, yes, they dispersed in different directions: whoever has something in Russia, and he went to Russia; and who should, and he went where his eyes carried.

Reluctant traveler

Thus, Afanasy Nikitin became an unwilling traveler. The way home is booked. Nothing to trade. There was only one thing left - to go to intelligence in foreign countries in the hope of fate and one's own enterprise. Having heard about the fabulous riches of India, he directs his steps precisely there. through Persia. Pretending to be a wandering dervish, Nikitin stops for a long time in each city, and shares his impressions and observations with paper, describing in his diary the life and customs of the population and rulers of those places where his fate brought him.

And the tongue went to Derbent, and from Derbent to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baki you went across the sea to Chebokar. Yes, here you lived in Chebokar for 6 months, but in Sarah lived for a month, in the Mazdran land. And from there to Amily, and here I lived for a month. And from there to Dimovant, and from Dimovant to Ray.

And from Drey to Kashen, and here I was a month, and from Kashen to Nain, and from Nain to Ezdei, and I lived here for a month. And from Dies to Syrchan, and from Syrchan to Tarom .... And from Torom to Lara, and from Lara to Bender, and here there is a refuge of Gurmyz. And here is the Indian Sea, and in the Parsian language and Gondustanskadoria; and from there go by sea to Gurmyz 4 miles.

The first journey of Athanasius Nikitin through the Persian lands, from the southern shores of the Caspian Sea (Chebukara) to the shores of the Persian Gulf (Bender-abasi and Hormuz), lasted more than a year, from the winter of 1467 to the spring of 1469.

From Persia, from the Port of Hormuz (Gurmyz), Afanasy Nikitin went to India. Athanasius Nikitin's journey through India supposedly lasted three years: from the spring of 1469 to the beginning of 1472 (according to other sources - 1473). It is the description of his stay in India that occupies most of A. Nikitin's diary.

But Gurmyz is on the island, and every day you can catch the sea twice a day. And then Esmi took the first Great day, and Esmi came to Gurmyz four weeks before the Great day. And then Esmi did not write all the cities, many great cities. And in Gurmyz there is a hot sun, it will burn a person. And in Gurmyz there was a month, and from Gurmyz you went beyond the Indian Sea.

And I went by sea to Moshkat 10 days; and from Moshkat to Degu 4 days; and from Degas to Kuzryat; and from Kuzryat Konbaatu. And then paint and lek will give birth. And from Konbat to Cheuville, and from Cheuville we went on the 7th week along Velitsa days, and we went in Tava for 6 weeks by sea to Chiville.

Arriving in India, he will make "exploratory trips" deep into the peninsula, exploring its western part in detail.

And here there is an Indian country, and people walk around all naked, but their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks around with their belly, 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, sometimes there are many people behind me, but they marvel at the white man. And their prince is a photo on his head, and another on the goose; and the boyars have a photo on the splash, and a friend on the goose, the princesses go around the photo on the splash is rounded, and the friend is on the goose. And the servants of the princes and boyars - the photo on the tail is rounded, and the shield, and the sword in their hands, and some with sulits, and others with knives, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; and all are naked, and barefoot, and balkata, but they don’t shave their hair. And zhonki go head is not covered, and the nipples are bare; and couples and girls go naked up to seven years, not covered with rubbish.

The customs and way of life of the Hindus are conveyed in "Journey Beyond the Three Seas" in detail, with numerous details and nuances that the author's inquisitive eye noticed. Rich feasts, trips and military actions of Indian princes are described in detail. The life of the common people is well reflected, as well as nature, flora and fauna. Much of what he saw A. Nikitin gave his assessment, however, quite objective and unbiased.

Yes, everything is about faith about their trials, and they say: we believe in Adam, and the butes, it seems, that is, Adam and his whole family. And believe in the Indians of all 80 and 4 faiths, and everyone believes in buta. And faith with faith neither drink, nor eat, nor marry. And another is boranine, yes chickens, yes fish, yes eggs, but no faith can eat oxen.

Saltan, on the other hand, goes out for fun with his mother and his wife, sometimes with him there are 10 thousand people on horseback, and fifty thousand on foot, and two hundred elephants are led out, dressed in gilded armor, and before him there are a hundred trumpeters, and a hundred people dancing, and simple horses 300 in gold tackle, and a hundred monkeys behind him, and all are gaurok.

What exactly Afanasy Nikitin did, what he ate, how he earned his livelihood - one can only guess about this. In any case, the author himself does not specify this anywhere. It can be assumed that the commercial vein in him affected, and he conducted some kind of petty trade, or was hired to serve with local merchants. Someone told Afanasy Nikitin that thoroughbred stallions are highly valued in India. For them, supposedly, you can get good money. And our hero brought a stallion with him to India. And what came out of it:

And the sinner's tongue brought the stallion to the Indian land, and God came to Chuner, and God gave everything in good health, and became me a hundred rubles. Winter has become with them since Trinity Day. And we wintered in Chunerya, we lived for two months. Every day and night for 4 months everywhere there is water and mud. On the same days, they yell and sow wheat, and tuturgan, and nogot, and everything edible. Their wine is repaired in great nuts - Gundustan goats; and braga is repaired in tatna. The horses are fed with nofut, and they cook kichiris with sugar, and they feed the horses, but with butter, but they give them wounds. In the Indian land, horses will not give birth to them, oxen and buffaloes will be born in their land, goods are also driven on the same ones, they carry something else, they do everything.

And in that one in Chuner, the khan took a stallion from me, and faded that I was not a Besermenian - Rusyn. And he says: ‘I will give a stallion and a thousand golden ladies, and stand in our faith — in Makhmet Deni; but you will not stand in our faith, in Mahmat Deni, and I will take a stallion and I will take a thousand pieces of gold on your head '.... And the Lord God had mercy on his honest holiday, did not leave his mercy from me, a sinner, and did not order me to die in Chuner with the wicked. And on the eve of Spasov, the host Makhmet Khorasan arrived, and beat him with his forehead, so that he would grieve about me. And he went to the Khan in the city and asked me to not put me in the faith, and he took my stallion from him. Such is the ospodarevo miracle on Spasov's day.

As can be seen from the notes, A. Nikitin did not flinch, did not exchange his father's faith for the promises and threats of the Muslim ruler. And he, in the end, will sell the horse almost without any fat.

Along with descriptions of the areas that Afanasy Nikitin visited, he included in his notes and remarks about the nature of the country and its works, about the people, their customs, beliefs and customs, about the people's government, the army, etc.

The Indians do not eat any kind of meat, neither yalovichina, nor boranine, nor chicken meat, nor fish, nor pork, but they have a lot of pigs. They eat twice a day, but they don’t eat at night, and they don’t drink wine, nor are they full. And besermen neither drink nor eat. But their food is bad. And one with one neither drinks, nor eats, nor with his wife. And they eat brynets, and kichiri with butter, and eat rose herbs, and boil with butter and milk, and they eat everything with their right hand, but they won’t take it for anything with their left. But the knife does not shake, and the liars do not know. And on the road, who cooks porridge for himself, and everyone has a mountain top. And they hide from besermen, so that they don’t look either into the mountaineer or into the food. And just look, otherwise they don’t eat. And they eat, cover themselves with a scarf so that no one sees it.

And the Shabbat haven of the Indian Sea is great…. May sholq be born on Shabbat, yes sandalwood, yes pearls, but everything is cheap.

And in Pegu there is a lot of shelter. Yes, all Indian derbysh live in it, yes precious stone, manik, yes yahut, yes kirpuk78 will be born in it; and sell the same stone derbyshi.

And Chinskoye and Machinskoye refuge are very large, but they make repairs in it, but they sell repairs by weight, but cheaply. And their wives and their husbands sleep during the day, and at night their wives go to sleep with the garip and sleep with the garip, and give them alaf, and bring with them sugar food and sugar wine, and feed and water the guests, so that they love her, but they love guests of white people, later their people are black velmi. And whose wives from the guest will conceive a child, and the husbands give alaf; and a white child is born, sometimes the guest has a fee of 300 tenek, and a black one is born, otherwise he has nothing to drink and eat, then he is halal.

Take this paragraph however you like. Garip - a foreigner, a foreigner. It turns out that Indian husbands allowed a white foreigner to sleep with his wife, and if a white child was born, they also paid extra 300 money. And if black - then only for grub! Such are the manners.

And the land is crowded with velmi, and the rural people are naked with velmi, and the boyars are strong, good and magnificent with velmi. And all of them are carried on their beds on silver ones, and before them they lead horses in gold tackle up to 20: and on horses behind them are 300 people, and five hundred people on foot, and 10 pipe workers, and 10 people on nagarnikov, and 10 pipers.

In Saltanov's courtyard there are seven gates, and in the gate sits one hundred watchmen and one hundred Kafar scribes. Who will go, ini write down, and who will leave, ini write down. And garipov are not allowed into the city. And his court is wonderfully velmy, everything is cut and in gold, and the last stone is carved and gold is described velmi wonderfully. Yes, in his yard there are different courts.

Having studied Indian reality from the inside, Afanasy Nikitin came to the conclusion that further "market research" was hopeless, because from his merchant point of view, the mutual commercial interest of Russia and India was extremely poor.

The Besermen dogs lied to me, but they only said a lot of our goods, but there is nothing on our land: all the white goods on the Besermen land, pepper and paint, are cheap. They carry foreigners by sea, and they do not give duties. And other people will not let us carry out duties. And there are many duties, and there are many robbers on the sea.

Therefore, at the end of 1471 - beginning of 1472, Afanasy Nikitin decides to leave India and return home to Russia.

And that accursed servant of Athanasios, the God of the Most High, the creator of heaven and earth, thought according to faith, according to Christian, and according to the baptism of Christ and according to the holy fathers arranged, and according to the commandments of the apostles, and rush mind to drink in Russia.

The city of Dabul became the last point of A. Nikitin's Indian journey. In January 1473, Nikitin boarded a ship in Dabul, which, after almost three months of sailing, calling at the Somali and Arabian Peninsulas, delivered him to Hormuz. Trading in spices, Nikitin passed through the Iranian Plateau to Tabriz, crossed the Armenian Plateau and in the autumn of 1474 reached the Turkish Trebizond. The "customs" of this Black Sea port raked out from our traveler all the goodness acquired by overwork (including Indian gems), leaving him with nothing. The diary was not touched!

Further along the Black Sea, A. Nikitin gets to Kafa (Feodosia). Then through the Crimea and the Lithuanian lands - to Russia. In the Cafe, Afanasy Nikitin, apparently, met and became close friends with wealthy Moscow "guests" (merchants) Stepan Vasiliev and Grigory Zhuk. When their united caravan set off (most likely in March 1475), it was warm in the Crimea, but as it moved north it became colder. Apparently, having caught a bad cold, or for some other reason, Afanasy Nikitin fell ill and gave his soul to God somewhere in the Smolensk region, which is conditionally considered the place of his final resting place.

The results of "Journey beyond three seas" by the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin

Without planning a trip across the three seas in advance, Afanasy Nikitin turned out to be the first European who gave a valuable description of medieval India, describing it simply and truthfully. His notes are devoid of a racial approach and are distinguished by religious tolerance, rare for that time. By his feat, A. Nikitin proved that at the end of the fifteenth century, a quarter of a century before the Portuguese “discovery” of India, even not a rich, but purposeful person could make a trip to this country.

As was said, A. Nikitin did not find anything interesting and profitable in terms of trade for the Russian merchants in India. Interestingly, the Portuguese sea expedition of Vasco da Gama, who was the first European to approach the same western Indian shores, came to the same result, only by sea around Africa in 1498.

And how much effort was laid by the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs, as well as their sailors, to open the sea route to fabulous India! What names: Bartolomeo Dias, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Fernando Magellan... Ah, all these gentlemen of fortune would have read the notes of the Russian merchant Athanasius Nikitin... You look, and would not break spears and break ships to search for a "fabulously rich country" called India!

India, famous for its fabulous riches, has attracted many European travelers since ancient times. One of them was Afanasy Nikitin, who was the first European to visit some parts of this country.

The opportunity to go on a long journey presented itself to him at the beginning of the summer of 1468, when Hasan-bek, the ambassador of the Shirvan Khanate (which was located in the Caspian Transcaucasia), arrived in Moscow. The Moscow and Tver merchants decided to join the ambassador's return caravan in order to trade in the Caspian countries and Persia. About 30 Russian merchants set off on several ships. Among them was Nikitin, who enjoyed authority among the merchants. Therefore, he was entrusted with many goods for sale.

In those days, the possessions of Russia along the Volga stretched only a little south of Nizhny Novgorod. Nevertheless, merchant and embassy ships descended safely to Astrakhan. However, near Astrakhan there was a fierce battle with the Tatars, who attacked the ships and plundered them. Of the entire caravan, only two ships survived. From the mouth of the Volga River we headed to the city of Derbent. On the way, a storm broke out on the Khvalyn (Caspian) Sea, and one of the ships crashed on the shore. The other was looted by local tribes. Goods borrowed from merchants did not allow Nikitin to return to his homeland empty-handed. He went to the city of Baku, and from there he moved to Persia (Iran), where he stayed for more than two years, and traveled along it for about 2 thousand km. Having reached Ormuz, a port in the Persian Gulf, one of the major trading centers of the medieval East, Nikitin learned that horses are highly valued in India, and, having invested all his money in a horse, he, under the name of the merchant Hadji Yusuf from the city of Khorsani, on a duba (a small coastal boat ) went to the coast of India. After a six-week voyage, A. Nikitin and his companions landed at the port of Chaul on the Malabar coast south of Bombay.

Nikitin spent four months in Bidar, the capital of the Bahmanid kingdom, famous for its silk fabrics, metal products, and precious stones. From the kingdom of the Bahmanids, Nikitin went to the Hindu state of Vijayanagar. Together with the Hindus, he made a pilgrimage to the religious center of Parvat. Nikitin lived among ordinary people, got acquainted with their way of life, beliefs and customs, folk crafts, religious and artistic monuments. In his notes, he tells about the plight of the peasants and the luxurious life of the nobles. Summarizing such observations, A. Nikitin wrote: "The land (India) is crowded, and the rural people are very poor, and the boyars have great power and are very rich."

He pays great attention to the nature of India, which he colorfully described in his diaries. Nikitin's hopes for the possibility of trade between Russia and India did not come true. As he notes, "there is no goods for the Russian land." That is why, being in India for almost four years, Nikitin directed his inquisitive mind and powers of observation to the study of all aspects of life and nature of the mysterious Indian land. He set out his observations in records known as "Journey beyond the Three Seas" - Caspian (Khvalyn), Black (Istanbul), Arabian (Gundustan).

Nikitin's way back was somewhat different from the previous one. From the coast of India, he arrived on a ship to Hormuz, and then through the territory of Persia went north. However, the internecine wars waged by the local rulers prevented him from going the same way. I had to turn west to the port of Trebizond on the Black Sea. From there, by sea, Nikitin sailed to the Crimea, to Balaklava, and then to Kafu (Feodosia). Here he met with a group of Russian merchants and went with them to Russia. But he was not destined to get to his native land. On the way, he fell ill and died not far from Smolensk. Three years after Nikitin's return from India, the chroniclers carefully rewrote the manuscript "Journey Beyond the Three Seas" and included it in the annals.

Nikitin was the first to describe the Indian nature, life and customs of the common people, to whom he treated with great sympathy and sympathy. Nikitin's narration was notable for its truthfulness, strictness and stinginess in the selection of facts. He wrote only about what he saw and observed himself. "Journey Beyond Three Seas" is multifaceted, almost encyclopedic. In terms of depth of thought and feelings, in terms of its simplicity and accessibility, this is a great old Russian work. And it is no coincidence that the well-known Russian Slavist, philologist and ethnographer Academician I. I. Sreznevsky considered "Journey Beyond the Three Seas" as important literary monument as "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". From a scientific point of view, the Journey was highly appreciated by the outstanding Russian historians N. M. Karamzin in The History of the Russian State and S. M. Solovyov in The History of Russia from Ancient Times.

A professor of St. Petersburg University, the founder of the Russian Indological school, who visited India three times, I.P. Minaev, gave a no less flattering assessment: “Tverich Nikitin surpasses quite a lot of Western European travelers in impartiality, observation and intelligence. The sobriety that distinguishes all his messages, and the fidelity of observation, give the right to compare his notes with the most outstanding of ancient travels. Afanasy Nikitin became, in the words of P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, the real forefather of all Russian travel geographers.

Born: 1433

Years of death: 1475