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{{Short description|16th to 18th-century Cossack polity in modern southern Ukraine}}
]
{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}
] and of the territory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks under rule of the Russian Empire (1751).]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Infobox former country
| native_name = Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового
| conventional_long_name = Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower
| common_name = Zaporozhian Sich
| iso3166code = omit <!-- For a country or geopolitical version of a country that ceased to exist prior to the introduction of iso3166-->
| era = ]
| status = Vassal state
| empire = ] {{small|(1583-1657)}}
| status_text = ] of ]<br/>{{small|(1583–1657)}}
| government_type = ] ]
<!-- Rise and fall, events, years and dates -->
<!-- only fill in the start/end event entry if a specific article exists. Don't just say "abolition" or "declaration" -->| event_start = <!-- Default: "Established" -->
| date_start = <!-- Optional: Date of establishment, in format 1 January (no year) -->
| year_start = 1552
| event_end = ]
| date_end = <!-- Optional: Date of disestablishment, in format 1 January (no year) -->
| year_end = 1775
| year_exile_start = <!-- Year of start of exile (if dealing with exiled government: status="Exile") -->
| year_exile_end = <!-- Year of end of exile (leave blank if still in exile) -->
| event1 = <!-- Optional: other events between "start" and "end" -->
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| date_post = <!-- Flag navigation: Preceding and succeeding entities p1 to p5 and s1 to s5 -->
| p1 = Wild Fields
| flag_p1 = <!-- Default: "Flag of {{{p1}}}.svg" (size 30) -->
| image_p1 = <!-- Use: ] -->
| p2 =
| flag_p2 =
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| s1 = Novorossiya Governorate
| flag_s1 = Flag of Russia.svg
| image_s1 = <!-- Use: ] -->
| s2 = Danubian Sich
| flag_s2 = Flag_of_the_Zaporizhian_Sich.svg
| s3 =
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| s4 =
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| s5 =
| flag_s5 =
| image_flag = Flag of the Zaporizhian Sich.svg
| flag_alt = <!-- Alt text for flag -->
| image_flag2 = Zaporozhian Sich flag.svg
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| symbol_type = <!-- Displayed text for link under symbol. Default "Coat of arms" -->
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| image_map = 007 Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate and Russian Empire 1751.jpg
| image_map_alt =
| image_map_caption = Historical map of the Ukrainian ] (dark green) and of the territory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (purple) under the rule of the Russian Empire (1751)
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| image_map2_alt =
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| footnote_a = <!-- Accepts wikilinks -->
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}}
{{Ukrainian statehood}} {{Ukrainian statehood}}


The '''Zaporozhian Sich''' ({{langx|pl|Sicz Zaporoska}}, {{langx|uk|Запорозька Січ}}, {{lang|uk-latn|Zaporozka Sich}}; also {{langx|uk|Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового}}, {{lang|uk-latn|Volnosti Viiska Zaporozkoho Nyzovoho}}; '''Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower''')<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Mytsyk |author-first=Yu |url=http://resource.history.org.ua/cgi-bin/eiu/history.exe?Z21ID=&I21DBN=EIU&P21DBN=EIU&S21STN=1&S21REF=10&S21FMT=eiu_all&C21COM=S&S21CNR=20&S21P01=0&S21P02=0&S21P03=TRN=&S21COLORTERMS=0&S21STR=Volnosti_Vijska |chapter=Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового |language=uk |trans-chapter=Freedoms of the Zaporozhian Lowland Army |script-title=uk:Енциклопедія історії України |trans-title=Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine |date=2003}}</ref> was a semi-autonomous polity and ]{{sfnp|Essen|2018|p=83}} of ] that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries, including as an autonomous ] within the ] for over a hundred years,<ref name="EoU">{{cite encyclopedia|author-first1=Lev |author-last1=Okinshevych |author-first2=Arkadii |author-last2=Zhukovsky |url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetmanstate.htm |title=Hetman state |encyclopedia=] |date=1989 |volume=2 |access-date=9 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123090646/http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CE%5CHetmanstate.htm |archive-date=23 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://history.org.ua/JournALL/journal/1991/4/3.pdf |script-title=uk:Українська козацька держава |trans-title=The Ukrainian Cossack State |language=uk |author-last=Smoliy |author-first=Valeriy |author-link=Valeriy Smoliy |journal=Ukrainian Historical Journal |issue=4 |year=1991 |issn=0130-5247 |access-date=20 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123111207/http://history.org.ua/JournALL/journal/1991/4/3.pdf |archive-date=23 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://litopys.org.ua/salto/salt04.htm |script-title=uk:КОНЦЕПЦІЇ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ДЕРЖАВНОСТІ В ІСТОРІЇ ВІТЧИЗНЯНОЇ ПОЛІТИЧНОЇ ДУМКИ (від витоків до початку XX сторіччя) |trans-title=CONCEPTS OF UKRAINIAN STATEHOOD IN THE HISTORY OF DOMESTIC POLITICAL THOUGHT (from its origins to the beginning of the XX century) |author-last1=Saltovskiy |author-first1=Oleksandr |date=2002 |website=litopys.org.ua |publisher=Kyiv |access-date=22 December 2014 |language=uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123090650/http://litopys.org.ua/salto/salt04.htm |archive-date=23 November 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> centred around the ] region of modern day ], spanning the lower ] river. In different periods the area came under the sovereignty of the ], the ], the ], and the ].
The '''Zaporozhskaya Sech'''<ref></ref> ({{lang-ru|Запорожская Сѣчь; Войско Запорожское Низовое}}; {{lang-ua|Запорозька Січ}}, ''Zaporoz'ka Sich'') was a semi-autonomous ]' polity in the 16th-18th centuries, centred in the region around today's ] spanning across the lower ] river. Historically, the area was, in different periods, under the sovereignty of the ], the ], the ] and the ]. In 1775, shortly after Russia annexed the territories ceded to it by the ] under the ] (1774), Sech was disbanded and incorporated into the Russian province of ].


In 1775, shortly after Russia annexed the territories ceded to it by the ] under the ] (1774), ] disbanded the Sich. She incorporated its territory into the Russian province of ].
Zaporozhskaya Sech is said to have started from a fortress built on the ] island in the middle of the ] in the present-day ] region of what is now ]. The term "Zaporozhskaya Sech" can also refer ] and informally to the whole military-administrative organisation of the Zaporozhian ].


The term ''Zaporozhian Sich'' can also refer ] and informally to the whole military-administrative organisation of the ] ].
The history of Zaporozhskaya Sech comprises six periods of time:

* the emergence of Sech (1471—1583)
== Name ==
The name '']'' refers to the military and political organization of the Cossacks and to the location of their autonomous territory 'beyond the rapids' (''{{transliteration|uk|za porohamy}}'') of the ].<ref name=Zap>{{cite encyclopedia|author=Borys Krupnytsky & Arkadii Zhukovsky| url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CZ%5CA%5CZaporizhiaThe.htm| title=The Zaporozhia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Ukraine|date=1993|access-date=18 April 2017}}</ref> The ] were a major portage on the north–south Dnieper trade route. The term '']'' is a noun related to the East Slavic verb ''sich'' (]), meaning 'to chop' or 'cut'; it may have been associated with the usual wood sharp-spiked stockades around Cossack settlements.<ref>{{citation|author-first1=Dmytro |author-last1=Yavornytsky |author-link1=Dmytro Yavornytsky |translator-first=Ivan |translator-last=Svarnyk |editor-first=L. L. |editor-last=Kiriyenko |script-title=uk:Історія Запорізьких Козаків, у трьох томах |trans-title=History of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, in three volumes |location=Lviv |publisher=Видавництво "Світ" |year=1892 |language=uk |volume=1 |isbn=978-5-11-000647-0 }}</ref>

Zaporizhzhia was located in the region around the ] (''Velykyi Luh'') in today's south-eastern Ukraine, which was flooded by the ] from the construction of the ] in 1956 until ]. The area was also known under the historical term '']''.

== History ==
A possible precursor of the Zaporozhian Sich was a fortification ('']'') built on the ] island<ref>{{cite book|title=Kozatski sichi (narysy z istoriyi ukrayinskoho kozatstva XVI–XIX st.) |editor-link=Valeriy Smoliy |editor-first1=Valeriy |editor-last1=Smoliy |publisher=] |year=1998 |isbn=966-02-0324-1 |page=22}}</ref> ({{ill|Tomakivka Sich|uk|Томаківська Січ}}) in the middle of the ] in the present-day ] of ]. However, there is no direct evidence about the exact time of the existence of Tomakivka Sich, whereas indirect data suggest that at the time of Tomakivka Sich there was no Zaporozhian Sich yet.<ref>, by Гурбик А.О., in: Історія українського козацтва: нариси у 2 т.\ Редкол: Смолій (відп. Ред) та інші. – Київ.: Вид.дім "Києво-Могилянська академія", 2006р, Т.1.</ref>

The history of Zaporozhian Sich spans six time-periods:

* the emergence of the Sich (construction of {{ill|Khortytsia castle|uk|Хортицький замок}}) (1471–1583)
* as part of the ] by inclusion in the ] (1583–1657) * as part of the ] by inclusion in the ] (1583–1657)
* the struggle with the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth), the Ottoman Empire, and the Crimea Khanate for the independence of the Ukrainian part of the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth) (1657—1686) * the struggle against the ] (the Polish-Lithuanian state), the Ottoman Empire, and the Crimea Khanate for the independence of the Ukrainian part of the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth) (1657–1686)
* the struggle with Crimea, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire for the unique identity of Cossacks (1686—1709) * the struggle with Crimea, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire for the unique identity of Cossacks (1686–1709)
* the standoff with the Russian government during its attempts to cancel the self-governing of the Sich, and its fall (1734–1775)
* the creation of the ] outside the Russian Empire and finding ways to return home (1775 - 1828)
* the formation of the ] outside the Russian Empire and finding ways to return home (1775–1828)
* the standoff with the Russian government during its attempts to cancel the self-governing of Sech; and its fall (1734—1775)


== Origins == === Formation ===
] (oil on canvas; 72 × 112&nbsp;cm, ] in Warsaw)]]
The term "]" is a noun related to the Russian verb ''sech′'' (сѣчь) – "to chop" or "cut".


The Zaporozhian Sich emerged as a method of defence by Slavic colonists against the frequent and devastating raids of ], who captured and enslaved hundreds of thousands of ], ] and ] to supply the ] in operations called "the harvesting of the steppe". The Ukrainians created a self-defence force, the ]s, fierce enough to stop the ] hordes, and built fortified camps (''sichi'') that were later united to form a central fortress, the Zaporozhian Sich.<ref name=Zap />
The Volhynian prince ] established the first Zaporozhskaya Sech on the island of Small (Mala) ] in 1552,<ref>
{{en icon}}
</ref>
building a fortress at ''Niz Dnieprovsky'' (Lower ]) and placing a Cossack garrison there. In 1558, however, Tatar forces destroyed that fortress. Soon another sich was created on the now-flooded island of Tomakovka as a fortified encampment 40 miles south, near the modern city of ]. Tatars also razed that sich (1593). With the destruction of Tomakovska Sech, the third Sech was created on the Bazavluk island in 1593 that today is flooded as well. It survived until 1638, when a Polish expeditionary force destroyed it while suppressing a cossack uprising. Another sech, first mentioned in 1628, stood at Nikitin Rog, near the present-day city of ]. From here ]'s uprising began in 1648. Chertomlykskaya Sech (Чертомлыкская сечь) was liquidated after the ] (1709). Then another sech was built at the mouth of the Kamianets river, which also was destroyed by Russian Empire government in 1711. The cossacks then fled to the ] to avoid persecution and founded the Oleshky Sech in 1711 (today it is the city of ]). In 1734, however, they were allowed to return to the ]. Being discriminated in the Khanate cossacks gladly accepted the offer to return and build another Sich in close proximity to the former Chortomlyk Sech. This was the last Sich which was banned in 1775 by the Government of ]. It was the end of the war between the Russian and ]s, for possession of the steppes near the ] and ]. Russia's government needed no more service from the Zaporozhian Cossacks for protection of the borders in that area.


Prince ] established the first Zaporozhian Sich on the island of Small (Mala) ] in 1552, building a fortress at ''Niz Dnieprovsky'' (Lower Dnieper) and placing a Cossack garrison there;<ref name=ZapSich>{{cite encyclopedia|author-first=Arkadii |author-last=Zhukovsky |url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?AddButton=pages\Z\A\ZaporozhianSich.htm |title=Zaporozhian Sich |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Ukraine |date=1993 |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> Tatar forces destroyed the fortress in 1558. The Tomakivka Sich was built on a now-inundated island to the south, near the modern city of ]; Tatars also razed that sich, in 1593. A third sich soon followed, on Bazavluk island, which survived until 1638, when it was destroyed by a Polish expeditionary force suppressing a Cossack uprising.{{Citation needed|date=January 2019}} These settlements, founded during the 16th century, were already complex enough to constitute an early ].{{sfnp|Essen|2018|p=83}}
A minority of the Cossacks (about 5 thousand) left Zaporozhia to serve the Ottoman Empire at the mouth of the Danube River, where they founded Danube Sich.


=== Struggle for independence ===
In 1780, after disbanding the Zaporozhian Cossack Host, General Grigorii Potemkin made an attempt to gather and reorganize the Cossacks on a voluntary basis to help defend Ukraine from the Turks and what was to be war with the Turks (1787 - 1791). He was able to gather almost 12,000 Cossacks and called them the Black Sea Cossacks. After the conflict was over, rather then allow the Cossacks to settle across Southern Ukraine, the Russian Government began to resettle them on the Kuban and in 1860, they changed their name and became the ].
]
] of Protection of Holy ].]]
]
The ] became included in the ] from 1583 to 1657, part of the ]. They resented Polish rule, however, one of the reasons being religious differences, as the cossacks were ] whereas the ] were mostly ].{{sfnp|Essen|2018|p=83}} They thus engaged in a long struggle for independence from surrounding powers, the ] (Polish state), the Ottoman Empire, the ], and the ] and ]. The Sich became the centre of Cossack life, governed by the '']'' alongside its Kosh Ataman (sometimes called Hetman, from German "Hauptmann").

In 1648, ] captured a sich at Mykytyn Rih,<ref>{{Cite book|author-last=Cybriwsky |author-first=Roman Adrian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7pWDwAAQBAJ&q=Chortomlyk+Sich&pg=PA203 |title=Along Ukraine's River: A Social and Environmental History of the Dnipro |date=15 March 2018 |publisher=Central European University Press |isbn=978-963-386-204-9 |language=en}}</ref> near the present-day city of ].<ref name=ZapSich /> From there he began an ] against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that led to the establishment of the ] (1648–1764). After the ] in 1654, the Zaporozhian Host was split into the Hetmanate, with its capital at ], and the more autonomous region of ], which continued to be centred on the Sich. During this period the Sich changed location several times but was generally located in the ]. The ] was built at the mouth of the Chortomlyk River in 1652. In 1667 the ] made the Sich a ] ruled jointly by Russia and the ].

During the reign of ], Cossacks were used for the construction of canals and fortification lines in northern Russia. An estimated 20–30 thousands were sent each year. Hard labour led to a high mortality rate among builders, and only an estimated 40% of Cossacks returned home.<ref>{{cite web|author-first=Volodymyr |author-last=Antonovych |url=http://exlibris.org.ua/kz/r09.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927192817/http://exlibris.org.ua/kz/r09.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |script-title=uk:Про козацькі часи на Україні – Дев'ята глава |trans-title=On Cossack Times in Ukraine – Chapter nine |language=uk |publisher=exlibris.org.ua |date=1991}}</ref>

After the ] in 1709, the Chortomlyk Sich (sometimes referred to as the "Old Sich" (''Stara Sich'')) was destroyed and ], the capital of Hetman ], was razed. Another sich was built at the mouth of the Kamianets river but was destroyed in 1711 by the Russian government. The Cossacks then fled to the Crimean Khanate to avoid persecution and founded the Oleshky Sich in 1711 (today the city of ]). In 1734, they were allowed to return to the Russian Empire. Suffering from discrimination in the Khanate, Cossacks accepted the offer to return and built another Sich in close proximity to the former Chortomlyk Sich, referred to as the ].<ref name=ZapSich /> The population in steppe region numbered around 52,000 in the year 1768.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jdzn1JY0-_oC&pg=PA22 |title=The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794-1881 |isbn=978-0-8047-6684-5 |author-last1=Zipperstein |author-first1=Steven J. |year=1985|publisher=Stanford University Press }}</ref>

Fear of the independence of the Sich resulted in the Russian administration abolishing the Hetmanate in 1764. The Cossack officer class was incorporated into the ] nobility (]). The rank and file Cossacks, however, including a substantial portion of the old Zaporozhians, were reduced to peasant status. Tension rose after the ], when the need for a southern frontier ended after the annexation of the ]. The colonisation of ] (New Russia) with Serbian and Romanians sponsored by Russia created further conflict.<ref name=Zap /> After the end of the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire for possession of the ] and Crimean steppes, Russia no longer needed the Zaporozhian Cossacks for protection of the border region. Russia finally destroyed the Zaporozhian Sich through military force in 1775.


===The list of Zaporozhian Siches and their leaders=== === Destruction and aftermath ===
]'', by ])]]{{Main|Liquidation of the Zaporozhian Sich}}
* Khortytsia Sich, 1556–1557 years.
In May 1775, Russian General ] received orders to occupy and destroy the Zaporozhian Sich from ], who had been formally admitted into Cossackdom a few years earlier. Potemkin was given direct orders from ]. On 5 June 1775, Tekeli surrounded the Sich with artillery and infantry. He postponed the assault and even allowed visits while the head of the Host, ], was deciding how to react to the Russian ultimatum. The Zaporozhians decided to surrender. The Sich was officially disbanded by the 3 August 1775 manifesto of Catherine, "On the Liquidation of Zaporozhian Sich and Annexation thereof to ]", and the Sich was razed to the ground.
* Tomakivka Sich, 1564–1593 years.

** ] (1569-1570)
Some of the Cossack officer class, the '']'', became hereditary Russian nobility and obtained huge lands in spite of their previous attempts to relocate the Sich to either North America or Australia. Under the guidance of a ''starshyna'' named Lyakh, a conspiracy was formed among a group of 50 Cossacks to pretend to go fishing on the river Inhul next to the ] in the Ottoman provinces, and to obtain 50 passports for the expedition. The pretext was enough to allow about 5,000 Zaporozhians to flee, some travelling to the ] where they formed a new ], as a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. Others moved to ] to form a Sich there as a protectorate of the ]. According to folklore, some moved to ], because ]s and other senior members of the starshyna considered themselves a kind of ].<ref>{{cite web|author-first=Volodymyr |author-last=Selezniov |url=https://day.kyiv.ua/en/article/history-and-i/capital-city-liberties |title=Capital city of liberties: How many Zaporozhian Siches were there? |publisher=day.kyiv.ua |date=17 October 2006 |access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref>

The leader of the Zaporozhian Host, Petro Kalnyshevsky, was arrested and exiled to the ] (where he lived to the age of 112 in the ]). Four high level ''starshynas'' were repressed and exiled, later dying in Siberian monasteries. Lower level ''starshynas'' who remained and went over to the Russian side were given army ranks and all the privileges that accompanied them, and allowed to join ] and ] regiments. Most of the ordinary Cossacks were made peasants and even serfs.<ref name=Turchenko>{{cite book|editor=Turchenko F. |title=Ukrains'ke kozatstvo. Mala entsyklopediia |location=Kyiv |date=2002}}</ref>

In 1780, after disbanding the Zaporozhian Cossack Host, General Grigorii Potemkin attempted to gather and reorganize the Cossacks on a voluntary basis, and they helped to defend Ukraine from the Turks during the ]. He was able to gather almost 12,000 Cossacks and called them the Black Sea Cossacks. After the conflict was over, rather than allowing the Cossacks to settle across Southern Ukraine, the Russian government began to resettle them on the ]. In 1860, they changed their name to the ].

Ukrainian writer ] (1858–1921)<ref name=Kashchenko>{{cite book|author-first=Adrian |author-last=Kashchenko |author-link=Adrian Kashchenk o|title=Opovidannia pro slavne viys'ko zaporoz'ke nyzove |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1DnmAAAACAAJ |year=1991 |publisher=Sich |language=uk |isbn=978-5-7775-0301-5}}</ref> and historian ]<ref name=Apanovich>Olena Apanovich, "Ne propala ihnya slava", "Vitchizna" Magazine, N 9, 1990</ref> note that the abolition of the Zaporozhian Sich had a strong symbolic effect, and memories of the event remained for a long time in local folklore.

== Organization and government ==
{{See also|Kosh Otaman|Registered Cossacks|Hetman}}
] (Council)]]
The Zaporozhian Host was led by the ] that elected a ] as the host's leader. He was aided by a head secretary (''pysar''), head judge, and head archivist. During military operations the ] carried unlimited power supported by his staff as the military collegiate. He decided with an agreement from the Rada whether to support a certain Hetman (such as ]) or other leaders of state.

Some sources refer to the Zaporozhian Sich as a "Cossack republic",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukraine-eu.mfa.gov.ua/eu/ua/publication/content/6162.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607171606/http://www.ukraine-eu.mfa.gov.ua/eu/en/publication/content/6162.htm|archive-date=2011-06-07|title=Speech of H.E. Roman Shpek,Head of the Mission of Ukraine to EU on debate in the EP dedicated to 10th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Constitution|publisher=Mission of Ukraine to EU|date=28 June 2006|access-date=13 September 2015}}</ref> because the highest power in it belonged to the assembly of all its members, and its leaders (''starshyna'') were elected. The Cossacks formed a society (hromada) that consisted of "]s" (each with several hundred Cossacks). A Cossack military court severely punished violence and stealing among compatriots, the bringing of women to the Sich, the consumption of alcohol in periods of conflict, and other offenses. The administration of the Sich provided ] and schools for the religious and secular education of children.

The population of the Sich had a cosmopolitan component, including ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and many other ethnicities.{{cn|date=November 2023}} The social structure was complex, consisting of destitute gentry and ], '']'' (Polish nobility), merchants, peasants, outlaws of every sort, runaway slaves from Turkish ]s, and runaway serfs (as the Zaporozhian ] Pivtorakozhukha). Some of those who were not accepted to the host formed gangs of their own, and also claimed to be Cossacks. However, after the ] these formations largely disappeared and were integrated mainly into Hetmanate society.

=== Army and warfare ===
The Cossacks developed a large fleet of fast, light vessels. Their campaigns were targeted at rich settlements on the ] shores of the ], and several times took them as far as ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/unavy/aCossack1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621165316/http://www.geocities.com/unavy/aCossack1.html |archive-date=21 June 2009 |title=Cossack Navy 16th – 17th Centuries |date=1996}}</ref> and ] (formerly ]).

===Zaporozhian Sich centers and locations===
* Khortytsia Sich (1556–1557)
** ] Island (today part of ])
* Tomakivka Sich (1564–1593)
** ], formerly submerged (located near today's ])
* Bazavluk Sich, (1593–1638)
** Great Meadow, formerly submerged (located near today's village of ], ])
* Mykytyn Sich (1639–1652)
** ]
* ] (1652–1709)
** Great Meadow, formerly submerged (located near today's village of Kapulivka, Nikopol Raion)
* Kamianka Sich (1709–1711)
** near village of Respublikanets, ]
* Oleshky Sich (1711–1734)
** eastern outskirts of the city of ]
* ] (1734–1775)
** Great Meadow, formerly submerged near the village of Pokrovske, ] (about same location of Chortomlyk and Bazavluk)

=== Zaporozhian Siches and their leaders ===
{{colbegin|colwidth=22em}}
* Khortytsia Sich (1556–1557)
** Wężyk Chmielnicki (1534–1569)
* Tomakivka Sich (1564–1593)
** Wężyk Chmielnicki (1534–1569)
** ] (1569–1570)
** ] (1574) ** ] (1574)
** ] (1574-1575) ** ] (1574–1575)
** ] (1575-1576) ** ] (1575–1576)
** ] (1576-1578) ** ] (1576–1578)
** ] (1577-1578) ** ] (1577–1578)
** ] (1578) ** ] (1578)
** ] (1581) ** ] (1581)
** ] (1581-1584) ** ] (1581–1584)
** ] (1584) ** ] (1584)
** ] (1585) ** ] (1585)
Line 44: Line 254:
** ] (1586) ** ] (1586)
** ] (1586) ** ] (1586)
** ] (1585-1589) ** ] (1585–1589)
** ] (-1593) ** ] (−1593)
* Bazavluk Sich, 1593–1638 years. * Bazavluk Sich, (1593–1638)
** ] (1593-1596) ** ] (1593–1596)
** ] (1594) ** ] (1594)
** ] (1596) ** ] (1596)
** ] (1596) ** ] (1596)
** ] (1596-1597) ** ] (1596–1597)
** ] (1596-1597) ** ] (1596–1597)
** ] (1597-1598) ** ] (1597–1598)
** ] (1598) ** ] (1598)
** ] (1599) ** ] (1599)
** ] (1600-1602) ** ] (1600–1602)
** ] (1602-1603) ** ] (1602–1603)
** ] (1602-1603) ** ] (1602–1603)
** ] (1603) ** ] (1603)
** ] (1609-1610) ** ] (1609–1610)
** ] (1622-1623) ** ] (1622–1623)
** ] (1623-1625) ** ] (1623–1625)
** ] (1624-1625) ** ] (1624–1625)
** ] (1625) ** ] (1625)
** ] (1625-1628) ** ] (1625–1628)
** ] (1628-1630) ** ] (1628–1630)
** ] (1628-1629) ** ] (1628–1629)
** ] (1629-1630) ** ] (1629–1630)
** ] (1630) ** ] (1630)
** ] (1630-1631) ** ] (1630–1631)
** ] (1632) ** ] (1632)
** ] (1632-1633) ** ] (1632–1633)
** ] (1632) ** ] (1632)
** ] (1633) ** ] (1633)
** ] (1633) ** ] (1633)
** ] (1633-1635) ** ] (1633–1635)
** ] (1637) ** ] (1637)
** ] (1637) ** ] (1637)
Line 82: Line 292:
** ] (1638) ** ] (1638)
** ] (1638) ** ] (1638)
* Mykytska Sich, 1639–1652 years. * Mykytyn Sich (1639–1652)
** ] (1639-1642) ** ] (1639–1642)
** ] (1642-1646) ** ] (1642–1646)
** establishment of the ] ** establishment of the ]
* Chortomlyk Sich, 1652–1709 years. * ] (1652–1709)
* Kamyanets Sich, 1709–1711 years. * Kamianka Sich (1709–1711)
* Oleshky Sich, 1711–1734 years. * Oleshky Sich (1711–1734)
* Nova Podpolnenska Sich, 1734–1775 years. * ] (1734–1775)
* ], 1775–1828 years. * ] (1775–1828)
{{colend}}

==Organization and government==

] (Council)]]

{{See also|Kosh Otaman|Registered Cossacks|Hetman}}

The Zaporozhian Host was led by the ] that elected a ] as the leader of the host. He was aided by a head secretary (''pysar''), head judge, head archivist. During the military operations the Ottoman carried an unlimited power supported by his staff as the military collegiate. He decided with an agreement from the Rada whether or not to support a certain Hetman (such as ]) or other leaders of state.

Some sources refer to the Zaporozhian Sich as a "cossack republic",<ref>http://www.ukraine-eu.mfa.gov.ua/eu/ua/publication/content/6162.htm</ref> as the highest power in it belonged to the assembly of all its members, and because the leaders ('']'') were elected. The Cossacks formed a society (]) that consisted of "]s" (each with several hundred cossacks). There was a cossack military court that severely punished violence and stealing among compatriots; the bringing of women to the Sich; the consumption of alcohol in periods of conflict, etc. The administration of the Sich provided ] and ]s for the religious and ] ] of children.

The Sech population had an international component, and apart from ] included ], ], ], ], ], ] and many other ethnicities. The social structure was also complex, consisting of: destitute gentry and ], '']'' (Polish nobility), merchants, peasants, outlaws of every sort, run-away slaves from Turkish ]s, run-away serfs (as the Zapooizhian ] Pivtorakozhukha), etc. Some of those that were not accepted to the Host formed gangs of their own claiming to be Cossacks as well. However, after the ] these formations largely disappeared and were integrated mainly into Hetmanate society.

===Army and warfare===
] and freed the slaves in 1616]]
The Cossacks developed a large fleet of fast light vessels. Their campaigns were targeted at rich settlements on the ] shores of the ], and several times took them as far as ]<ref></ref> and ] (formerly ]).

=== Formation ===
], oil on canvas; 72 × 112 cm. ] in Warsaw.]]

Zaporozhskaya Sech emerged as a natural method of defense by the Slavic people against the frequent and devastating raids of ], who captured hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Belorussians and Poles. Such slaving operations were called "the harvesting of the steppe".

Because of the Tatars' constant interference, the Ukrainians found it hard to survive, let alone make a living. They created a self-defense force, the ]s, fierce enough to stop the ] hordes.

Some researchers say that the constant threat from the Crimean Tatars was the impetus for the emergence of cossackdom. During the raids of retribution to the Black Sea]] shores of the Ottoman Empire and ], the ]s not only robbed rich settlements, but liberated their compatriots from ].

==History==

=== Establishment ===

]
] of Protection of Holy ].]]

In later years Sech became the center of Cossack life at the southern boundaries of ]. The ] was governed by the '']'' alongside its Kosh Ataman (sometimes called Hetman, from German "Hauptmann" ).

After the ] (1654), the Host was split into two, the ] with its capital at ], and the more autonomous region of ] which continued to be centred on the Sich. During this period the Sich changed location several times.

The 1667 ] made the Sich a condominium ruled jointly by ] and the ].

During the reign of ] cossacks were used for the construction of canals and fortification lines in the northern Russia. An estimated 20–30 thousands were sent each year. Hard labor led to the high mortality rate among builders. Only an estimated 40% of cossacks returned home.<ref></ref>

After the ] the original Sich was destroyed in 1709, and ]'s capital - ] - was razed. This is sometimes referred to as the '''Old Sich''' (''Stara Sich''). From 1734 to 1775 a '''New Sich''' (''Nova Sich'') was constructed.

Fear of the independence of the Sich resulted in the Russian Administration first abolishing the ] in 1764 and finally totally destroying Zaporozhskaya Sech itself by military force in 1775.

By the late 18th century, the Cossack officer class in Little Russia was incorporated into the Imperial Russian nobility (]). The rank and file Cossacks, however, including a substantial portion of the old Zaporozhians, were reduced to peasant status. They were able to maintain some freedoms and continued to provide refuge for those fleeing serfdom in Russia and Poland. This aroused the anger of the Russian empress ]. Also, tension rose after the ], when the need for a southern frontier ended after the annexation of the ]. With the colonisation of ], tensions were created between the Cossacks and numerous ] colonists. European female travelers used to penetrate into the Sich and to report the naked men there. Using that as the excuse, Catherine II decided to disband the Sich.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

===Destruction===
In May 1775, Russian General ] received orders to occupy the main Zaporozhian fortress, the Sich, and to destroy it. The order was given by ], who was formally admitted into Cossackdom a few years earlier. Potemkin was given direct orders from ].

On 5 June 1775, Tekeli surrounded the Sich with artillery and infantry. He postponed the assault and even allowed visits while the head of the Host, ], was deciding how to react to the Russian ultimatum.
The Zaporozhians decided not to spill Russian blood and to surrender, not to the Empire but to Catherine the Second as a woman and the mother of the state, who according to an ultimatum had only wanted to have these ferocious bachelors transfer to family life.{{cn|date=February 2015}}

Sech was officially disbanded by the 3 August 1775 manifesto of Catherine the Great "On the Liquidation of Zaporozhskaya Sech and Annexation thereof to ]" (Об уничтожении Запорожской Сечи и о причислении оной к Новороссийской губернии).

Sech was razed to the ground. Starshina became hereditary Russian nobility and obtained huge lands in spite of their previous attempts to relocate Sich to either North America or Australia. Under the guidance of the '']'' Lyakh, a conspiracy was formed among a group of 50 Cossacks to pretend to go fishing in the river Inhul next to the ] in the Ottoman provinces and to have 50 passports for this, which Zaporozhian Cossack Grigory Potyomkin issued for them. The pretext was enough to allow the Russians and Cossacks, defected from Turkey to become Russian border guards, to let about 5000 Zaporozhians to Turkey, because there were no photos in passports in those time. The fleeing Cossacks traveled to the ] where they formed a new ], as a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. Some of them moved to Hungary to have a Sich there as a protectorate of ]. According to folklore, some moved to Malta, because ] members considered themselves the kind of ].<ref>Volodymyr Selezniov Capital city of liberties http://www.day.kiev.ua/en/article/history-and-i/capital-city-liberties</ref>
As long as Potyomkin could not be guilty, so ] was arrested and exiled to the ] (where he lived to the age of 112 in the ]). Four high level '']s'' had been repressed and exiled. These Kalnysh's comrades died in Siberian monasteries. Lower level ''starshynas'' who remained and went over to the Russian side were given army ranks and all the privileges that accompanied them, and allowed to join ] and ] regiments. Most of the ordinary Cossacks were made peasants and even serfs.<ref name=Turchenko>Turchenko F. (ed), "Ukrains'ke kozatstvo. Mala entsyklopediia", Kiev, 2002</ref>
Though when the Host of Loyal Zaporozhians had been formed, they had Siches on Bug and Dniester, but the Ukrainian writer ] (1858–1921)<ref name=Kashchenko>Adrian Kashchenko, "Opovidannia pro slavne viys'ko zaporoz'ke nyzove", Dnipropetrovsk, Sich, 1991, ISBN 5-7775-0301-2</ref> and historian ]<ref name=Apanovich>Olena Apanovich, "Ne propala ihnya slava", "Vitchizna" Magazine, N 9, 1990</ref> note that the final abolition of the Zaporizhian Sich of 1734-1775, the historic Cossack stronghold perceived as the bastion of the protection of the Ukrainians and their ways of life, had such a strong symbolic effect that the memories of the event remained for a long time in local folklore, and new Siches on the Bug and the Dniester, such as Sich in Austria, were not reflected in folklore.
[[File:Ilja Jefimowitsch Repin 009.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Cossacks compose an answer to a letter from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Mehmed IV, artist - Ilya Repin
<br>''The Sultan, in his letter, very diplomatically asked the cossacks to recognize his authority over them. The Cossacks in extremely abusive, vulgar language responded negatively'']]


== See also == == See also ==
Line 159: Line 310:
== References == == References ==
{{Reflist}} {{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
*{{cite book
|last = Essen
|first = Michael Fredholm von
|title= Muscovy's Soldiers. The Emergence of the Russian Army 1462–1689
|language= en
|date= 2018
|publisher= Helion & Company
|location= Warwick
|isbn= 978-1-912390-10-6
}}


== External links == == External links ==
* – Encyclopedia of Ukraine
*
* - Encyclopedia of Ukraine
{{Coord missing|Ukraine}} {{Coord missing|Ukraine}}


{{authority control}}
]

]
] ]
]
]
]
]
]
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Latest revision as of 15:00, 4 December 2024

16th to 18th-century Cossack polity in modern southern Ukraine
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Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the LowerВольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового
1552–1775
Flag of Zaporozhian Sich Flag
Historical map of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate (dark green) and of the territory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (purple) under the rule of the Russian Empire (1751)Historical map of the Ukrainian Cossack Hetmanate (dark green) and of the territory of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (purple) under the rule of the Russian Empire (1751)
StatusVassal state of Poland–Lithuania
(1583–1657)
Demonym(s)Zaporozhian Cossacks
GovernmentCossack Republic
Historical eraEarly modern period
• Established 1552
• Disestablished 1775
Preceded by Succeeded by
Wild Fields
Novorossiya Governorate
Danubian Sich
Today part ofUkraine
Part of a series on the
History of Ukraine
Topics
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Middle Ages
Early Modern period
Modern history
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The Zaporozhian Sich (Polish: Sicz Zaporoska, Ukrainian: Запорозька Січ, Zaporozka Sich; also Ukrainian: Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, Volnosti Viiska Zaporozkoho Nyzovoho; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cossacks that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries, including as an autonomous stratocratic state within the Cossack Hetmanate for over a hundred years, centred around the Great Meadow region of modern day Ukraine, spanning the lower Dnieper river. In different periods the area came under the sovereignty of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Ottoman Empire, the Tsardom of Russia, and the Russian Empire.

In 1775, shortly after Russia annexed the territories ceded to it by the Ottoman Empire under the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774), Catherine the Great disbanded the Sich. She incorporated its territory into the Russian province of Novorossiya.

The term Zaporozhian Sich can also refer metonymically and informally to the whole military-administrative organisation of the Zaporozhian Cossack host.

Name

The name Zaporizhzhia refers to the military and political organization of the Cossacks and to the location of their autonomous territory 'beyond the rapids' (za porohamy) of the Dnieper River. The Dnieper rapids were a major portage on the north–south Dnieper trade route. The term sich is a noun related to the East Slavic verb sich (сѣчь), meaning 'to chop' or 'cut'; it may have been associated with the usual wood sharp-spiked stockades around Cossack settlements.

Zaporizhzhia was located in the region around the Great Meadow (Velykyi Luh) in today's south-eastern Ukraine, which was flooded by the Kakhovka Reservoir from the construction of the Kakhovka Dam in 1956 until its destruction in 2023. The area was also known under the historical term Wild Fields.

History

A possible precursor of the Zaporozhian Sich was a fortification (sich) built on the Tomakivka island (Tomakivka Sich [uk]) in the middle of the Dnieper River in the present-day Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. However, there is no direct evidence about the exact time of the existence of Tomakivka Sich, whereas indirect data suggest that at the time of Tomakivka Sich there was no Zaporozhian Sich yet.

The history of Zaporozhian Sich spans six time-periods:

  • the emergence of the Sich (construction of Khortytsia castle [uk]) (1471–1583)
  • as part of the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown by inclusion in the Kiev Voivodeship (1583–1657)
  • the struggle against the Rzeczpospolita (the Polish-Lithuanian state), the Ottoman Empire, and the Crimea Khanate for the independence of the Ukrainian part of the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth) (1657–1686)
  • the struggle with Crimea, the Ottoman Empire, and the Russian Empire for the unique identity of Cossacks (1686–1709)
  • the standoff with the Russian government during its attempts to cancel the self-governing of the Sich, and its fall (1734–1775)
  • the formation of the Danubian Sich outside the Russian Empire and finding ways to return home (1775–1828)

Formation

"Rear guard of Zaporozhians" by Józef Brandt (oil on canvas; 72 × 112 cm, National Museum in Warsaw)

The Zaporozhian Sich emerged as a method of defence by Slavic colonists against the frequent and devastating raids of Crimean Tatars, who captured and enslaved hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles to supply the Crimean slave trade in operations called "the harvesting of the steppe". The Ukrainians created a self-defence force, the Cossacks, fierce enough to stop the Tatar hordes, and built fortified camps (sichi) that were later united to form a central fortress, the Zaporozhian Sich.

Prince Dmytro Vyshnevetsky established the first Zaporozhian Sich on the island of Small (Mala) Khortytsia in 1552, building a fortress at Niz Dnieprovsky (Lower Dnieper) and placing a Cossack garrison there; Tatar forces destroyed the fortress in 1558. The Tomakivka Sich was built on a now-inundated island to the south, near the modern city of Marhanets; Tatars also razed that sich, in 1593. A third sich soon followed, on Bazavluk island, which survived until 1638, when it was destroyed by a Polish expeditionary force suppressing a Cossack uprising. These settlements, founded during the 16th century, were already complex enough to constitute an early proto-state.

Struggle for independence

Zaporozhian Cossack, 18th century.
Zaporozhian Cossacks Prayer, fragment of the icon of Protection of Holy Virgin Mary.
One of the unique granite columns with which the Cossacks marked their territory

The Zaporozhian Cossacks became included in the Kiev Voivodeship from 1583 to 1657, part of the Lesser Poland Province of the Polish Crown. They resented Polish rule, however, one of the reasons being religious differences, as the cossacks were Orthodox Christians whereas the Poles were mostly Catholics. They thus engaged in a long struggle for independence from surrounding powers, the Rzeczpospolita (Polish state), the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khanate, and the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. The Sich became the centre of Cossack life, governed by the Sich Rada alongside its Kosh Ataman (sometimes called Hetman, from German "Hauptmann").

In 1648, Bohdan Khmelnytsky captured a sich at Mykytyn Rih, near the present-day city of Nikopol. From there he began an uprising against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that led to the establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate (1648–1764). After the Treaty of Pereyaslav in 1654, the Zaporozhian Host was split into the Hetmanate, with its capital at Chyhyryn, and the more autonomous region of Zaporizhzhia, which continued to be centred on the Sich. During this period the Sich changed location several times but was generally located in the Great Meadow. The Chortomlyk Sich was built at the mouth of the Chortomlyk River in 1652. In 1667 the Truce of Andrusovo made the Sich a condominium ruled jointly by Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

During the reign of Peter the Great, Cossacks were used for the construction of canals and fortification lines in northern Russia. An estimated 20–30 thousands were sent each year. Hard labour led to a high mortality rate among builders, and only an estimated 40% of Cossacks returned home.

After the Battle of Poltava in 1709, the Chortomlyk Sich (sometimes referred to as the "Old Sich" (Stara Sich)) was destroyed and Baturyn, the capital of Hetman Ivan Mazepa, was razed. Another sich was built at the mouth of the Kamianets river but was destroyed in 1711 by the Russian government. The Cossacks then fled to the Crimean Khanate to avoid persecution and founded the Oleshky Sich in 1711 (today the city of Oleshky). In 1734, they were allowed to return to the Russian Empire. Suffering from discrimination in the Khanate, Cossacks accepted the offer to return and built another Sich in close proximity to the former Chortomlyk Sich, referred to as the Nova Sich. The population in steppe region numbered around 52,000 in the year 1768.

Fear of the independence of the Sich resulted in the Russian administration abolishing the Hetmanate in 1764. The Cossack officer class was incorporated into the Imperial Russian nobility (Dvoryanstvo). The rank and file Cossacks, however, including a substantial portion of the old Zaporozhians, were reduced to peasant status. Tension rose after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, when the need for a southern frontier ended after the annexation of the Crimea. The colonisation of Novorossiya (New Russia) with Serbian and Romanians sponsored by Russia created further conflict. After the end of the war between Russia and the Ottoman Empire for possession of the Black Sea and Crimean steppes, Russia no longer needed the Zaporozhian Cossacks for protection of the border region. Russia finally destroyed the Zaporozhian Sich through military force in 1775.

Destruction and aftermath

Cossacks compose an answer to a letter from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed IV, (Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire, by Ilya Repin)
Main article: Liquidation of the Zaporozhian Sich

In May 1775, Russian General Peter Tekeli received orders to occupy and destroy the Zaporozhian Sich from Grigory Potemkin, who had been formally admitted into Cossackdom a few years earlier. Potemkin was given direct orders from Catherine the Great. On 5 June 1775, Tekeli surrounded the Sich with artillery and infantry. He postponed the assault and even allowed visits while the head of the Host, Petro Kalnyshevsky, was deciding how to react to the Russian ultimatum. The Zaporozhians decided to surrender. The Sich was officially disbanded by the 3 August 1775 manifesto of Catherine, "On the Liquidation of Zaporozhian Sich and Annexation thereof to Novorossiya Governorate", and the Sich was razed to the ground.

Some of the Cossack officer class, the starshyna, became hereditary Russian nobility and obtained huge lands in spite of their previous attempts to relocate the Sich to either North America or Australia. Under the guidance of a starshyna named Lyakh, a conspiracy was formed among a group of 50 Cossacks to pretend to go fishing on the river Inhul next to the Southern Buh in the Ottoman provinces, and to obtain 50 passports for the expedition. The pretext was enough to allow about 5,000 Zaporozhians to flee, some travelling to the Danube Delta where they formed a new Danube Sich, as a protectorate of the Ottoman Empire. Others moved to Hungary to form a Sich there as a protectorate of the Austrian Empire. According to folklore, some moved to Malta, because Kosh otamans and other senior members of the starshyna considered themselves a kind of Maltese chivalry.

The leader of the Zaporozhian Host, Petro Kalnyshevsky, was arrested and exiled to the Solovetsky Islands (where he lived to the age of 112 in the Solovetsky Monastery). Four high level starshynas were repressed and exiled, later dying in Siberian monasteries. Lower level starshynas who remained and went over to the Russian side were given army ranks and all the privileges that accompanied them, and allowed to join Hussar and Dragoon regiments. Most of the ordinary Cossacks were made peasants and even serfs.

In 1780, after disbanding the Zaporozhian Cossack Host, General Grigorii Potemkin attempted to gather and reorganize the Cossacks on a voluntary basis, and they helped to defend Ukraine from the Turks during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792). He was able to gather almost 12,000 Cossacks and called them the Black Sea Cossacks. After the conflict was over, rather than allowing the Cossacks to settle across Southern Ukraine, the Russian government began to resettle them on the Kuban River. In 1860, they changed their name to the Kuban Cossacks.

Ukrainian writer Adrian Kaschenko (1858–1921) and historian Olena Apanovich note that the abolition of the Zaporozhian Sich had a strong symbolic effect, and memories of the event remained for a long time in local folklore.

Organization and government

See also: Kosh Otaman, Registered Cossacks, and Hetman
A Zaporozhian Sich Rada (Council)

The Zaporozhian Host was led by the Sich Rada that elected a Kosh Otaman as the host's leader. He was aided by a head secretary (pysar), head judge, and head archivist. During military operations the Otaman carried unlimited power supported by his staff as the military collegiate. He decided with an agreement from the Rada whether to support a certain Hetman (such as Bohdan Khmelnytsky) or other leaders of state.

Some sources refer to the Zaporozhian Sich as a "Cossack republic", because the highest power in it belonged to the assembly of all its members, and its leaders (starshyna) were elected. The Cossacks formed a society (hromada) that consisted of "kurins" (each with several hundred Cossacks). A Cossack military court severely punished violence and stealing among compatriots, the bringing of women to the Sich, the consumption of alcohol in periods of conflict, and other offenses. The administration of the Sich provided Orthodox churches and schools for the religious and secular education of children.

The population of the Sich had a cosmopolitan component, including Ukrainians, Moldavians, Tatars, Poles, Lithuanians, Jews, Russians and many other ethnicities. The social structure was complex, consisting of destitute gentry and boyars, szlachta (Polish nobility), merchants, peasants, outlaws of every sort, runaway slaves from Turkish galleys, and runaway serfs (as the Zaporozhian polkovnyk Pivtorakozhukha). Some of those who were not accepted to the host formed gangs of their own, and also claimed to be Cossacks. However, after the Khmelnytsky Uprising these formations largely disappeared and were integrated mainly into Hetmanate society.

Army and warfare

The Cossacks developed a large fleet of fast, light vessels. Their campaigns were targeted at rich settlements on the Black Sea shores of the Ottoman Empire, and several times took them as far as Constantinople and Trabzon (formerly Trebizond).

Zaporozhian Sich centers and locations

  • Khortytsia Sich (1556–1557)
  • Tomakivka Sich (1564–1593)
  • Bazavluk Sich, (1593–1638)
  • Mykytyn Sich (1639–1652)
  • Chortomlyk Sich (1652–1709)
    • Great Meadow, formerly submerged (located near today's village of Kapulivka, Nikopol Raion)
  • Kamianka Sich (1709–1711)
  • Oleshky Sich (1711–1734)
    • eastern outskirts of the city of Oleshky
  • Nova Pidpilnenska Sich (1734–1775)
    • Great Meadow, formerly submerged near the village of Pokrovske, Nikopol Raion (about same location of Chortomlyk and Bazavluk)

Zaporozhian Siches and their leaders

See also

References

  1. Mytsyk, Yu (2003). "Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового" [Freedoms of the Zaporozhian Lowland Army]. Енциклопедія історії України [Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine] (in Ukrainian).
  2. ^ Essen (2018), p. 83.
  3. Okinshevych, Lev; Zhukovsky, Arkadii (1989). "Hetman state". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Vol. 2. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  4. Smoliy, Valeriy (1991). Українська козацька держава [The Ukrainian Cossack State] (PDF). Ukrainian Historical Journal (in Ukrainian) (4). ISSN 0130-5247. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  5. Saltovskiy, Oleksandr (2002). КОНЦЕПЦІЇ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ДЕРЖАВНОСТІ В ІСТОРІЇ ВІТЧИЗНЯНОЇ ПОЛІТИЧНОЇ ДУМКИ (від витоків до початку XX сторіччя) [CONCEPTS OF UKRAINIAN STATEHOOD IN THE HISTORY OF DOMESTIC POLITICAL THOUGHT (from its origins to the beginning of the XX century)]. litopys.org.ua (in Ukrainian). Kyiv. Archived from the original on 23 November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. ^ Borys Krupnytsky & Arkadii Zhukovsky (1993). "The Zaporozhia". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. Yavornytsky, Dmytro (1892), Kiriyenko, L. L. (ed.), Історія Запорізьких Козаків, у трьох томах [History of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, in three volumes] (in Ukrainian), vol. 1, translated by Svarnyk, Ivan, Lviv: Видавництво "Світ" , ISBN 978-5-11-000647-0
  8. Smoliy, Valeriy, ed. (1998). Kozatski sichi (narysy z istoriyi ukrayinskoho kozatstva XVI–XIX st.). NASU press. p. 22. ISBN 966-02-0324-1.
  9. Томаківська Січ, by Гурбик А.О., in: Історія українського козацтва: нариси у 2 т.\ Редкол: Смолій (відп. Ред) та інші. – Київ.: Вид.дім "Києво-Могилянська академія", 2006р, Т.1.
  10. ^ Zhukovsky, Arkadii (1993). "Zaporozhian Sich". Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  11. Cybriwsky, Roman Adrian (15 March 2018). Along Ukraine's River: A Social and Environmental History of the Dnipro. Central European University Press. ISBN 978-963-386-204-9.
  12. Antonovych, Volodymyr (1991). Про козацькі часи на Україні – Дев'ята глава [On Cossack Times in Ukraine – Chapter nine] (in Ukrainian). exlibris.org.ua. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  13. Zipperstein, Steven J. (1985). The Jews of Odessa: A Cultural History, 1794-1881. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-6684-5.
  14. Selezniov, Volodymyr (17 October 2006). "Capital city of liberties: How many Zaporozhian Siches were there?". day.kyiv.ua. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  15. Turchenko F., ed. (2002). Ukrains'ke kozatstvo. Mala entsyklopediia. Kyiv.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. Kashchenko, Adrian (1991). Opovidannia pro slavne viys'ko zaporoz'ke nyzove (in Ukrainian). Sich. ISBN 978-5-7775-0301-5.
  17. Olena Apanovich, "Ne propala ihnya slava", "Vitchizna" Magazine, N 9, 1990
  18. "Speech of H.E. Roman Shpek,Head of the Mission of Ukraine to EU on debate in the EP dedicated to 10th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Constitution". Mission of Ukraine to EU. 28 June 2006. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  19. "Cossack Navy 16th – 17th Centuries". 1996. Archived from the original on 21 June 2009.

Works cited

  • Essen, Michael Fredholm von (2018). Muscovy's Soldiers. The Emergence of the Russian Army 1462–1689. Warwick: Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1-912390-10-6.

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