Khanate of Kazan

Khanate of Kazan
قازان خانلغى Qazan Xanlığı Казан Ханлыгы
1438–1552
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The Khanate of Kazan (green), c. 1500.
Capital		Kazan
Languages		Turkic (Tatar, Chuvash), Mari
Religion		Islam, Shamanism
Government		Khanate
Kazan Khan		Olug Moxammat (first)
		Yadegar Moxammat (last)
History
•	Established	1438
•	Annexed to Muscovy	1552
Preceded by Succeeded by Golden Horde Volga Bulgaria Tsardom of Russia

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The Khanate of Kazan (Tatar: Cyrillic Казан ханлыгы, Latin Qazan xanlığı, Arabic قازان خانليغى; Russian: Казанское ханство, tr: Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Bulgarian-Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. Its khans were the patrilineal descendants of Tugh Temür, the thirteenth son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El, Chuvashia, Mordovia, and parts of Udmurtia and Bashkortostan; its capital was the city of Kazan. It was one of the successor states of the Golden Horde, and it came to an end when it was conquered by the Tsardom of Russia.

The territory of the khanate comprised the Muslim Bolgar-populated lands of the Bolğar, Cükätäw, Kazan, and Qaşan duchies and other regions that originally belonged to Volga Bulgaria. The Volga, Kama and Vyatka were the main rivers of the khanate, as well as the major trade ways. The majority of the population were Kazan Tatars (i.e. Muslim Bolgars that adopted the Tatar language). Their self-identity was not restricted to Tatars; many identified themselves simply as Muslims or as "the people of Kazan". Islam was the state religion.