Don Cossacks: Map & History
Don Cossacks or Donians, are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don.
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Don Cossacks or Donians, are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host, which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic polity in present-day Southern Russia and parts of the Donbas region of Ukraine, from the end of the 16th century until 1918.
Modern Countries Once Part of Don Cossacks
At its mapped extent, Don Cossacks covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Don Cossacks's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Don Cossacks in Depth
History
More than two thousand years ago the Scythians lived on the banks of the river Don. Many Scythian tombs have been found in this area. Subsequently, the area was inhabited by the Khazars and the Polovtsians. From the 16th to the 18th centuries the steppes of the Don River were part of "the Wild Field" (Russian: Дикое Поле). In the late Middle Ages the area was under the general control of the Golden Horde, and numerous Tatar (especially Crimean Tatar) armed groups roamed there, attacking and enslaving merchants and settlers.
The first Christians to settle on the territories around the Don were the Jassi and Kosogi tribes of the Khazar Kaghanate of the 7th to 10th centuries.
Origins
The exact origins of Cossacks remain unclear. In the modern view, Don Cossacks descend from Slavic people connected with Russian lands like the Povolzhye, the Novgorod Republic, and the Principality of Ryazan, and Ukrainian lands like the Dnieper. As well as nomadic Turkic tribes inhabiting the Steppes. Gotho-Alans could also have played a role in forming Don Cossack culture, which originated in the western part of the North Caucasus.
The theory of Russian historian A. M. Orlov is that Cossacks hosts were formed among Turkic nomads. He then thinks, that the Don Cossacks were originally formed largely by "Meshchera Tatars" under the Golden Horde, which he also connects to later Mishar Tatars.
Traditions and culture
The Cossacks had a democratic society where the most important decisions were made during a Common Assembly (Казачий Круг). The assembly elected temporary authorities — atamans.
The Don Cossack Choir Serge Jaroff was a group of former officers of the Russian Imperial Army who were discovered singing in Çilingir (near Constantinople), where they had fled after the defeat of their army in the Crimea. They made their formal concert debut in Vienna in 1923, led by their founder, conductor and composer, Serge Jaroff.
The choir became popular in America, Japan and Europe, touring the world in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, till today. The men, dressed as Cossacks, sang a cappella in a repertory of Russian sacred and secular music, army, folk and art songs.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Don Cossacks (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Don Cossacks: Key Facts
| Religions | Eastern Orthodoxy, Old Believers, Tibetan Buddhism, Kalmyks |
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Facts from Wikidata Q1057292 (CC0).
Don Cossacks Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Don Cossacks appears, with the other states of the time.
Don Cossacks Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 126,354 km² in 1640 CE.
Don Cossacks: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Don Cossacks exist?
Don Cossacks is dated to 1552 CE – 1641 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
How large was Don Cossacks at its peak?
At its peak in 1640 Don Cossacks covered about 126,354 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
High & Late Middle Ages • Capital: Avarga
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi