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Afanasy Nikitin is a merchant and traveler. Afanasy Nikitin interesting facts

Afanasy Nikitin is known to his contemporaries as a navigator and merchant, the merchant became the first European who visited India. The traveler discovered the eastern country 25 years before other Portuguese travelers.

In the travel notes "Journey Beyond the Three Seas", the Russian traveler described in detail the life and political structure of the eastern countries. The manuscripts of Athanasius were the first in Russia that described a sea voyage not from the point of view of a pilgrimage, but with the aim of telling a story about trade. The traveler himself believed that his notes were a sin. Later, in the 19th century, the stories of Athanasius were published by a famous historian and writer and entered the History of the Russian State.

Childhood and youth

Little is known about the childhood years of the Russian traveler, since the biography of Afanasy Nikitin began to be recorded during the expeditions of the merchant. The navigator was born in the middle of the 15th century in the city of Tver. The traveler's father is a peasant, his name was Nikita. Therefore, "Nikitin" is a patronymic, not a surname.

Biographers do not know anything more about the family, as well as about the youth of the traveler. Athanasius became a merchant at a young age and managed to see many countries, such as Byzantium and Lithuania, where the traveler promoted trade. The product of Athanasius was in demand, so it cannot be said that the young man lived in poverty.

Expeditions

Afanasy Nikitin, as an experienced merchant, sought to expand trade in today's Astrakhan. The navigator received permission from the Prince of Tver Mikhail Borisovich III, so Nikitin was considered as a secret diplomat, but historical data do not confirm these conjectures. Having received the support of the first government officials, Afanasy Nikitin set off on a long journey from Tver.

The navigator sailed across the Volga River. Initially, the traveler stopped in the city of Klyazin and went to the monastery. There he received a blessing from the abbot, and also prayed to the Holy Trinity so that the trip would turn out well. Then Afanasy Nikitin went to Uglich, from there to Kostroma, and then to Ples.

Athanasius Nikitin's itinerary

According to the traveler, the route passed without obstacles, however, in Nizhny Novgorod, the navigator's expedition dragged on for two weeks, since there the merchant was supposed to meet with the ambassador of the Shirvan state, Hasan-bek. Initially, Nikitin wanted to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but he had already sailed south.

The trouble happened when the team of Athanasius sailed past Astrakhan: Tatar robbers overtook the sailors and plundered the ship, and one ship sank altogether.

Map of the times of Athanasius Nikitin

Travelers could not return to their homeland, as they were waiting for promissory notes for not keeping the goods that were purchased with state money on credit. Some of the sailors who had at least something left at home returned to Russia, the rest of Nikitin's people went in different directions, some remained in Shamakhi, some went to work in Baku.

Afanasy Nikitin hoped to improve his financial situation, so he decided to set sail towards the south: from Derbent, the resilient navigator went to Persia, and from Persia he reached the busy port of Hormuz, which was the intersection of trade routes: Asia Minor, India, China and Egypt. In manuscripts, Afanasy Nikitin called this port "the haven of Gurmyz", known in Russia for the supply of pearls.

A shrewd trader in Ormuz learned that rare stallions were supplied from there, which were not bred in the Indian country, and there they were highly valued. The merchant bought a horse and, hoping to sell the goods at a sky-high price, went to the Eurasian continent to India, whose territory, although it was then on the maps, remained unexplored by Europeans.

Afanasy Nikitin sailed to the city of Chaul in 1471 and lived in an unfamiliar state for three years, but did not return to his homeland. The Russian traveler described in detail the life and structure of the sunny country in his manuscripts.

Athanasius was surprised at how Indian residents walk along the street: women and children walked naked, and the prince's hips and head were covered with a veil. But on the other hand, almost every person had gold jewelry in the form of bracelets, which surprised the Russian merchant. Nikitin did not understand why the Indians could not sell precious jewelry and buy clothes to cover their nudity.

Illustration of the book by Athanasius Nikitin "Journey beyond the three seas"

He was also impressed that the population of India was large, and almost every second inhabitant of the country was expecting a child.

In Chaul, Athanasius did not sell the stallion at a bargain price, so in early spring the navigator went to the very outback of India. The merchant reached the northwestern fortress of Junnar, where he met with Asad Khan, its owner. The governor liked the goods of Athanasius, but he desired to have a horse for free and took it away by force. During the conversation, Assad learned that the Russian traveler professed a different religion and promised to return the animal with gold in addition if the merchant converted to Islam. The governor gave Nikitin 4 days to think, in case of a negative answer, Asad Khan threatened the Russian merchant with death.

Editions of the book by Afanasy Nikitin "Journey beyond three seas"

According to the book “Journeys beyond three seas”, Athanasius Nikitin was saved by a chance: the familiar old man Mohammed met the governor of the fortress, before whom the ruler showed mercy and released the stranger, returning the horse. However, historians are still arguing whether Athanasius Nikitin accepted the Mohammedan faith or remained faithful to Orthodoxy. The merchant left such doubts because of the original notes, which were saturated with foreign words.

Nikitin was also surprised by the customs of India and exotic animals; in a foreign country, he first saw snakes and monkeys. The journey to unseen lands was colorful and bright, but Athanasius was dissatisfied, because the merchant did not see the trade benefits. According to the navigator, the sunny country traded in paints and cheap pepper - there was nothing to take home to make a profit. Nikitin's Indian stay was interesting, but poor: the sale of a single horse cost the merchant a loss and a fine.

Personal life

Scientists do not know about the personal life of Afanasy Nikitin, because the biography of the Russian navigator was compiled thanks to the notes of the merchant. Whether Nikitin had children, whether his faithful wife was waiting for him, also remains a mystery. But, judging by the merchant's manuscripts, Afanasy Nikitin was a purposeful and cheerful person who was not afraid of difficulties in an unfamiliar country. During three years of travel, Afanasy Nikitin mastered foreign languages; Arabic, Persian and Turkic words were found in his diaries.

There are no photographic portraits of Nikitin; only primitive drawings have survived to his contemporaries. It is known that the merchant had a simple Slavic appearance and wore a square beard.

Death

Wandering through sunny countries, Afanasy Nikitin lived with a dream of returning to his homeland. The navigator got ready to go back and went to the trading port of Hormuz, from where the journey to India began. From Hormuz, the merchant traveled north through Iran and ended up in Trabzon, a Turkish city. Local Turkish residents mistook the Russian navigator for a spy, so they took Nikitin prisoner, taking away everything that was on the ship. The only thing that the navigator had left with him was the manuscripts.

Athanasius was released from arrest, and the merchant went to Feodosia: there he was supposed to meet with Russian merchants in order to borrow money and pay off debts. Closer to the autumn of 1474, the merchant arrived in the Feodosia city of Kafu, where he spent the winter.

In the spring, Nikitin intended to travel along the Dnieper to Tver, but died in the city of Smolensk. The reason for the death of Afanasy Nikitin remains a mystery, but scientists are sure that a long journey to different countries with different climatic conditions has sharply worsened the health of the navigator.

Nikitin's notes were delivered to Moscow by merchants who accompanied the wanderer. Nikitin's diary was handed over to the prince's adviser, and in 1480 the manuscripts were included in the chronicle.

Streets and lanes in Russia, as well as the embankment in the city of Tver, were named after the Russian navigator. In 1958, Mosfilm filmed the movie Journey Beyond Three Seas, and in 1955 a monument to Nikitin was erected in Tver. There are also monuments to the Russian merchant in the Cafe and in the state of Maharashtra.

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.

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.

Afanasy Nikitin(year of birth unknown - died 1472), Russian traveler, writer. In 1466 he set off for trading purposes from Tver (now the city of Kalinin) down the Volga, reached Derbent by sea, reached Baku, then sailed along the Caspian Sea to Persia, where he lived for about a year; in the spring of 1469 he arrived in the city of Hormuz and reached India through the Arabian Sea, where he lived for about 3 years, traveling a lot. On his way back through Persia, Nikitin reached Trebizond, crossed the Black Sea, and in 1472 arrived in Kafa (Feodosia). In the autumn of 1472, on the way home, he died near Smolensk. During the trip, he carefully studied the population of India, the social system, government, economy, religion and life, partly its nature. He described his journey in "Journey Beyond the Three Seas", which was an outstanding work, testifying to the breadth of N.'s outlook and his advanced views for his time; it belongs to the significant monuments of ancient Russian literature (translated into many languages of the world). The abundance and reliability of factual material in these records was a valuable source of information about India. In the city of Kalinin (now Tver), on the banks of the Volga, a monument was erected to him (bronze, granite, 1955, sculptors S. M. Orlov, A. P. Zavalov, architect G. A. Zakharov).

Great Soviet Encyclopedia

AFANASIY NIKITIN(died in 1475) - Tver merchant, traveler, the first European to visit India (a quarter of a century before Vasco da Gama opened the way to this country), author of Journey Beyond the Three Seas.

The year of birth of A. Nikitin is unknown. Information about what forced this merchant to undertake a risky and long journey to the East in the late 1460s, towards three seas: the Caspian, Arabian and Black, is extremely scarce. He described it in his notes, entitled "Journey beyond the three seas."

The exact start date of the trip is also not known. In the 19th century I.I. Sreznevsky dated it 1466-1472, modern Russian historians (V.B. Perkhavko, L.S. Semenov) believe the exact date is 1468-1474. According to their data, a caravan of several ships, uniting Russian merchants, set off from Tver along the Volga in the summer of 1468. The experienced merchant Nikitin had previously visited distant countries - Byzantium, Moldavia, Lithuania, Crimea - and returned safely home with overseas goods. This journey also began smoothly: Athanasius received a letter from the Grand Duke of Tverskoy Mikhail Borisovich, intending to launch a wide trade in the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Astrakhan (this message gave some historians reason to see the Tver merchant as a secret diplomat, an infiltrator of the Tver prince, but there is no documentary evidence of this).

In Nizhny Novgorod, for security reasons, Nikitin was supposed to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but he had already gone south, and the trade caravan did not find him. Having waited for the Tatar ambassador Shirvan Khasan-bek to return from Moscow, Nikitin set off with him and other merchants two weeks later than planned. Near Astrakhan, a caravan of embassy and merchant ships was robbed by local robbers - the Astrakhan Tatars, not counting that one of the ships was sailing "his own" and, moreover, an ambassador. They took away from the merchants all the goods purchased on credit: returning to Russia without goods and without money threatened with a debt hole. Comrades Athanasius and he himself, in his words, “weeping, but they dispersed in some places: whoever has something in Russia, and he went to Russia; and who should, and he went where his eyes carried.

The desire to improve things with the help of intermediary trade drove Nikitin further south. Through Derbent and Baku, he got to Persia, crossed it from Chapakur on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea to Hormuz on the Persian Gulf and sailed across the Indian Ocean to India by 1471. There he spent three whole years, visiting Bidar, Junkar, Chaul, Dabhol and other cities. He did not make any money, but was enriched by indelible impressions.

On the way back in 1474, Nikitin happened to visit the coast of East Africa, in the "Ethiopian land", reach Trebizond, then end up in Arabia. Through Iran and Turkey, he reached the Black Sea. Arriving in Kafa (Feodosia, Crimea) in November, Nikitin did not dare to go further to his native Tver, deciding to wait for the spring merchant caravan. His health was undermined by the long journey. Perhaps in India he acquired some chronic disease. In Kaffa, 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 they moved north, the weather became colder. The undermined health of A. Nikitin made itself felt and he died unexpectedly. The place of his burial is conventionally considered to be Smolensk.

Wanting to tell others what he had seen himself, A. Nikitin kept travel notes, which he gave a literary form and gave the title "Journey beyond the three seas." Judging by them, he carefully studied the life, life and occupations of the peoples of Persia and India, drew attention to the state system, government, religion (he described the worship of the Buddha in the sacred city of Parvat), spoke about diamond mines, trade, weapons, mentioned exotic animals - snakes and monkeys, the mysterious bird “gukuk”, supposedly foreshadowing death, etc. His notes testify to the breadth of the author’s outlook, friendly attitude towards foreign peoples and the customs of those countries where he visited. A businesslike, energetic merchant and traveler not only looked for goods needed by the Russian land, but carefully observed and accurately described life and customs.

He vividly and interestingly described the nature of exotic India. However, as a merchant, Nikitin was disappointed with the results of the trip: “The infidel dogs deceived me: they talked about a lot of goods, but it turned out that there was nothing for our land ... Pepper and paint were cheap. Some carry goods by sea, while others do not pay duties for them, but they will not let us carry [anything] without duty. And the duty is large, and there are many robbers on the sea. Missing his native land, feeling uncomfortable in foreign lands, A. Nikitin sincerely urged to admire the “Russian land”: “God save the Russian land! There is no country like it in this world. And although the nobles of the Russian land are not just, may the Russian land be settled and may there be [enough] justice in it! Unlike a number of European travelers of that time (Nicola de Conti and others), who adopted Mohammedanism in the East, Nikitin was faithful to Christianity to the end ("he did not leave his faith in Russia"), he gave all moral assessments of mores and customs, based on the categories Orthodox morality, while remaining religiously tolerant.

"Walking" by Afanasy Nikitin testifies to the author's erudition, his command of business Russian speech and at the same time very receptive to foreign languages. He cited in his notes many local - Persian, Arabic and Turkic - words and expressions, gave them a Russian interpretation.

"Walking", delivered by someone in 1478 to Moscow to the deacon of the Grand Duke Vasily Mamyrev, after the death of their author, was soon included in the annals of 1488, which in turn was included in the Sofia Second and Lvov Chronicles. "Walking" has been translated into many languages of the world. In 1955, a monument was erected to its author in Tver on the banks of the Volga, at the place where he set off "over the three seas." The monument was erected on a round platform in the form of a boat, the bow of which is decorated with a horse's head.

In 2003, the monument was opened in Western India. The seven-meter stele, lined with black granite, on four sides of which inscriptions in Russian, Hindi, Marathi and English are engraved with gold, was designed by a young Indian architect Sudeep Matra and built with local donations with the financial participation of the administrations of the Tver region and the city of Tver.

Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva

Afanasy Nikitin, a middle-class merchant from Tver, became the first European to study and describe medieval India a quarter of a century before the arrival of the Portuguese colonizers.

His notes "Journey Beyond Three Seas" have become a valuable literary and historical monument, in which the versatility of observations is combined with religious tolerance and devotion to the native land.

Biography of Athanasius Nikitin. The beginning of the way

When the biography of Afanasy Nikitin begins is unknown. The fact is that he is the son of the peasant Nikita, which means that Nikitin is his middle name, not his last name. How he became a merchant is also unknown. Now we only know that the Russian traveler Athanasius Nikitin by the mid-1460s was already a fairly wealthy man who sold furs abroad. By this time, he had already become an experienced merchant who had time to visit Byzantium, Moldavia, Lithuania and the Crimea. And everywhere he was lucky.

Apparently, a competent merchant always secured the relevant documents (letters) from the prince of Tver. The large geography of trade trips of the traveler Athanasius Nikitin indirectly indicates that he knew a number of Turkic languages and Farsi. In addition, one should not lose sight of the fact that the Tver principality was then part of the large and powerful Tatar state of the Golden Horde, which allowed Russian merchants to freely trade with many Muslim countries. The most famous journey in the biography of Afanasy Nikitin also began quite smoothly.

Routes of Nikitinsky "walking"

It is currently impossible to establish the exact start date for the release of the merchant caravan. Some historians date it to 1466, others shift it to 1468. Omitting the exact dates and relying on specific facts, the following can be argued.
The trip that gave the world Afanasy Nikitin's discoveries began in the spring. Then a group of Russian merchants equipped a caravan of ships for a trading trip to the Lower Volga and the North Caucasus. The caravan had two ships, loaded, among other things, with "soft junk", i.e. furs, well valued in those parts.

The Grand Duke of Tver, Mikhail Borisovich, gave Nikitin a letter allowing him to start extensive trade in the south of the Golden Horde near Astrakhan. For greater security, it was planned to attach the caravan to the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but it left earlier. Then the caravan waited for the Tatar embassy of Shirvan Hasan-bek, with whom he went to the Lower Volga.

Alas! Covering the merchants did not help. Near Astrakhan, a caravan of ships was attacked by local robbers, who did not even look at the embassy cover, and took away all the merchant's goods. Returning back without money and without goods entailed dire consequences, so the ruined merchants dispersed in all directions. Nikitin headed south to Baku, then part of Persia, and further to Mazanderan. Thus began the geographical discoveries of Athanasius Nikitin.

Road to India and back

Nikitin lived in Persia for more than two years, trying to somehow make up for the good lost near Astrakhan. Having learned that in India, thoroughbred stallions cost good money, he went there. Athanasius Nikitin's journey to India began in 1471, when he, with a horse bought in Persia, loaded onto a ship bound for the Indian port of Chaul.

Unfortunately, the merchant did not manage to immediately sell the animal at a decent price, and then Nikitin's path ran through Indian cities. In the capital of the state of Bahmani Bidara, he finally sold his horse and went to Parvat, the holy city, where he lived for a year and a half. From there, Afanasy Nikitin's route went to the "diamond" province of Raichur, where he spent another six months, earning money for the return trip.

Three years of Athanasius Nikitin's travels in India disappointed him. For his homeland, he saw almost nothing useful there. Cheap goods were not allowed to be exported without duty, and there were many robbers at sea, which made trade extremely difficult. Having not been particularly successful in Indian trade, the Russian traveler began to get ready for home.

This route of Athanasius Nikitin ran through the Arabian and Somali Peninsulas, Hormuz, Tabriz, Trabzon. Here, suspecting him of a Turkmen spy, all his goods were seized from him, leaving Nikitin only his notes. From Trabzon he reached Kafa, where he spent the winter, waiting for a Russian merchant caravan. In the Cafe, he met with Moscow merchants, with whom he went home in the spring of 1475.

Unfortunately, Nikitin's health, weakened by years of travel, failed him, and not far from Smolensk he died suddenly. His notes were brought to Moscow and subsequently glorified the merchant

Nikitin Athanasius (died 1475) - Tver merchant, traveler, the first European to visit India (a quarter of a century before Vasco da Gama opened the way to this country), the author of the Journey across the Three Seas.

And I went to Derbent, and from Derbent to Baku ... The Busurman dogs lied to me, they told me that there was a lot of all our goods, but it turned out that there was nothing on our land, all the goods were white on the Busurman land, pepper and paints - this cheap, but the duties are high and there are many robbers on the sea.

Nikitin Athanasius

The exact start date of the trip is also not known. In the 19th century I.I. Sreznevsky dated it 1466-1472, modern Russian historians (V.B. Perkhavko, L.S. Semenov) believe the exact date is 1468-1474. According to their data, a caravan of several ships, uniting Russian merchants, set off from Tver along the Volga in the summer of 1468. The experienced merchant Nikitin had previously visited distant countries more than once - Byzantium, Moldavia, Lithuania, Crimea - and returned safely home with overseas goods. This journey also began smoothly: Athanasius received a letter from the Grand Duke of Tverskoy Mikhail Borisovich, intending to launch a wide trade in the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Astrakhan (this message gave some historians reason to see the Tver merchant as a secret diplomat, an infiltrator of the Tver prince, but there is no documentary evidence of this).

In Nizhny Novgorod, for security reasons, Nikitin was supposed to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin, but he had already gone south, and the trade caravan did not find him. Having waited for the Tatar ambassador Shirvan Khasan-bek to return from Moscow, Nikitin set off with him and other merchants two weeks later than planned. Near Astrakhan itself, a caravan of embassy and merchant ships was robbed by local robbers - the Astrakhan Tatars, not counting that “ours” and, moreover, an ambassador were sailing on one of the ships. They took away from the merchants all the goods purchased on credit: returning to Russia without goods and without money threatened with a debt hole. Comrades Athanasius and he himself, in his words, “weeping, but they dispersed in some places: whoever has something in Russia, and he went to Russia; and who should, and he went where his eyes carried.

Perhaps in India he acquired some chronic disease. In Kaffa, 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 they moved north, the weather became colder. The undermined health of A. Nikitin made itself felt and he died unexpectedly. The place of his burial is conventionally considered to be Smolensk.

Wanting to tell others what he had seen himself, A. Nikitin kept travel notes, which he gave a literary form and gave the title Journey beyond the three seas. Judging by them, he carefully studied the life, life and occupations of the peoples of Persia and India, drew attention to the state system, government, religion (he described the worship of the Buddha in the sacred city of Parvat), spoke about diamond mines, trade, weapons, mentioned exotic animals - snakes and monkeys, the mysterious bird “gukuk”, supposedly foreshadowing death, etc. His notes testify to the breadth of the author’s outlook, friendly attitude towards foreign peoples and the customs of those countries where he visited. A businesslike, energetic merchant and traveler not only looked for goods needed by the Russian land, but carefully observed and accurately described life and customs.

I met many Indians and declared to them my faith that I was not a Busurman, but a Christian, and they did not hide from me either about their food, or about trade, or about prayers, and they did not hide their wives from me; I asked everyone about their faith, and they say: we believe in Adam, and Booth is Adam and his whole family. There are 84 faiths in India, and everyone believes in Bout, and faith with faith does not drink, does not eat, does not marry. India occupied a special place in his notes: “And here there is an Indian country, and people all go 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 ...