Which continent is Afanasy Nikitin connected to? What did Afanasy Nikitin discover? "Walking across Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin

Nikitin Afanasy(? - 1472) - Tver merchant who visited India.

In the 15th century, Russian merchants conducted brisk trade with the countries of the East. Merchants set out from Tver for overseas trade in 1466, among whom was Afanasy Nikitin. They joined the embassy caravan traveling to the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, and together with him they sailed down the river. Near Astrakhan, the Tatar Khan Kasim attacked the caravan and captured the ship on which all the goods were located. It was risky to return: Nikitin borrowed goods, and therefore a debtor’s prison awaited him in his homeland. He decided to continue the journey. Nikitin boarded the Shuya ship and sailed to the shores, and then went into the interior of the country.

During the journey, A. Nikitin kept a diary and left to his descendants a description of the journey, which is called “Walking across the Three Seas.” It describes the lavish trips of the Sultan, his courtyard, wall painting, gold carvings and much more. However, Nikitin also noticed the poverty of the people. The caste division of Hindus and religious strife with Muslims did not escape him. His notes highlight the features of the country and provide information about. Nikitin paints detailed and interesting pictures of folk festivals, in which up to 100 thousand people participated. Even the stars in India are positioned differently, he noted.

Nikitin spent about three years in India. He began to feel homesickness more and more clearly. The following patriotic lines about Russia appear in his diary: “There is no country like it in this world, although the boyars of the Russian land are not kind. But may the Russian land be established and may there be justice in it!” Longing for his homeland, at the beginning of 1472 Nikitin set off on his return journey. On a small ship he reached the shores, then with a caravan of merchants he reached the shores. From here he sailed to the peninsula and, meeting with fellow countrymen - Russian merchants, headed home, but near Smolensk in 1472 he died of illness. His notes were preserved and delivered to Moscow by the merchants traveling with him.

Afanasy Nikitin passed through three seas - the Indian and the Black, saw many peoples, but never found a better land than his own. “... There is no country in this world like Rus'...” he wrote in his book.

Afanasy Nikitin went to 30 years before its opening. He showed the world what many difficulties a person can overcome if he sets out on a dangerous long journey at his own peril and risk. A. Nikitin was the first Russian to truthfully describe India, which in the 15th century was known in Rus' only from legends and epics.

The world fame of the outstanding representative of our country Afanasy Nikitin rightfully belongs to this great traveler and explorer of Russian territories, although very, very little information about him has reached our time. Contemporaries know Afanasy Nikitin as a famous navigator who was the first European to visit India, discovering it 25 years earlier than the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gamma got there.

There is no information left about the place and date of his birth; it is unknown what he did before he began research. His early biography is partially known to historians. Some scientists, based on fragmentary information, believe that Athanasius was born around 1440, into a peasant family. Afanasy's father's name was Nikita, hence his last name. What made Afanasy leave peasant work is unknown, but at a fairly young age he entered the service of a merchant in a trade caravan and at first carried out various small assignments, gradually gaining experience. Soon, he manages not only to gain experience, but also to gain great authority among traders and merchants. And soon Nikitin began leading trade caravans on his own. On trade matters, he had to visit different states - Lithuania, Byzantium, Crimea. Afanasy's commercial campaigns were always accompanied by success, and he returned to his homeland with ships full of overseas goods.

The beginning of the Indian campaign

In 1446, at the most opportune time for travel, at the beginning of summer, merchants from the city of Tver gathered for “overseas countries”, a dangerous and distant voyage. An expensive product was prepared for sale - fur, which was highly valued in the markets along the banks of the Volga and the North Caucasus. The merchants took a long time to decide who to put in charge of the caravan. In the end, the choice fell on Afanasy Nikitin, a responsible and honest person with a reputation as an experienced traveler, with vast experience and who has seen a lot in his life.

Already in those distant times, the Volga River became the center of an international trade route. The ships, under the leadership of Nikitin, were supposed to sail along the river to the “Khvalynsky Sea” (this is an outdated name for the Caspian Sea).

Since this path was no longer new for Nikitin and had been traveled more than once, the traveler’s travel notes to Nizhny Novgorod are very meager and brief. In the city, the caravan joined the Shirvan ships led by Hasanbek, which were returning from Moscow.

The caravan successfully passed the city of Kazan and other Tatar settlements. In the Volga River delta, merchants breathed a sigh of relief. But here an unexpected attack of the Astrakhan Tatars under the leadership of Khan Kasim took place. Nikitin's notes briefly describe the battle with the Tatars. Several people were killed on both sides. Unfortunately, one vessel ran aground and the other got caught in fishing equipment. These ships were completely plundered, and four people were taken prisoner.

The remaining ships moved on. Not far from Tarkha (the region of modern Makhachkala), the ships found themselves in the epicenter of a storm and found themselves washed up on the coast, people were captured, and the remaining goods were plundered by the local population. Afanasy, by chance, sailed on the ambassador's ship, so he managed to safely reach the next city - Derbent. Immediately, he and his remaining comrades began to seek the release of the prisoners. Their petitions were successful, and a year later the people were free. But the goods were lost irretrievably, and no one was going to return them.

Having accumulated a huge debt, Nikitin could not even think about returning to his homeland. There, shame and debt awaited him. There is only one way out - to become a reluctant traveler and go to a foreign land, hoping only for the success of a new enterprise. Therefore, he continued his journey, heading to Baku, from there, the traveler goes to the Mazanderan fortress, and stays there for a long time. All this time he kept his notes, telling about the nature, cities and life of the population of Transcaucasia.

Afanasy Nikitin in India

At the beginning of 1469, Athanasius goes to the fabulous city of Hormuz, famous for its gems, with a population of more than forty thousand people. Having heard about fabulous India and its wealth, he, wanting to get rich and pay off his debts, goes there. Here he decides to take a dangerous step - he buys an Arabian stallion, hoping to find a profitable home for the Indians.

Already on April 23, 1471, he managed to reach an Indian city called Chaul. Here he cannot sell the horse profitably, and the traveler sets off deeper into the country. Gradually he passes through the whole of India, stopping for a long time in places he likes. So he lived for several weeks in Junnar, then in Bidar and Alland. Afanasy enjoys studying the life, customs, architecture and legends of the indigenous population. He diligently takes notes, fascinated by ethnographic research, and carefully records his observations. In Nikitin's stories about India, this country is presented as fabulous; everything here is not the same as on Russian soil. It was very surprising that everyone wore gold, even the poorest. It is worth saying that Nikitin himself also surprised the Indians - they had never met white-skinned people with blond hair before. Among the indigenous population, he was known as “Jose Isuf Khorosani,” who often lived for a long time in the houses of ordinary Indians, without pretensions to luxury.

In 1472, the researcher reaches a place sacred to every Indian - the city of Parvata, where he studies with interest the religion of the Indian Brahmans, their religion, holidays and rituals. A year later, Afanasy will visit Raichul, the “diamond region” of India. In general, the traveler spent a little more than three years in a foreign land. He spent this time with great benefit, exploring an unknown country and its features. He carefully records the customs, laws, and life of the local population, and witnesses several internecine wars. Soon, Afanasy Nikitin decides to return to his homeland.

The way home

Having decided to return home, Nikitin carefully prepares for departure. With the money he has, he buys goods - local precious stones and jewelry. At the beginning of 1473, he went to Dabul, to the sea, where he boarded a ship, which took him almost three months to reach Hormuz. Trading spices along the way, he reaches Trabzon, visiting nomadic Turkmen along the way. Trabzon authorities confused the researcher with a Turkmen and seized all the goods he had with him, including Indian gems. The diary and notes did not interest them. Having reached Feodosia, the traveler found Russian merchants, with whom he left the foreign land. But he never made it home. Leaving his notes to his fellow travelers, he died quietly near Smolensk, somewhere on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. This happened in the spring of 1475. Priceless diaries were delivered by merchants to the Grand Duke.

The meaning of Afanasy Nikitin's journey

This is how the “walk across three seas” of Afanasy Nikitin, the first Russian traveler, ended. The travel notes handed over to the Grand Duke were appreciated very highly, since before Nikitin not a single European had been to India. The notebook with the traveler's observations was included in the historical chronicles of the country. Over the next centuries, Nikitin's notes were rewritten and supplemented more than once.

The scientific feat of this research cannot be overstated. This work is considered the first description of unknown countries. It contains observations about the political, economic and cultural structure of “overseas” countries, including India.

The commercial trip turned out to be a great study. Economically, the trip to India turned out to be unprofitable, because there were no goods suitable for Russian people, and gems and jewelry were subject to a huge duty.

The most important result of the trip is that Afanasy Nikitin became the first Russian traveler to visit medieval India and give a true picture of it. Only thirty years later would the Portuguese colonialists come to India.

Afanasy Nikitin, a mediocre Tver merchant, became the first European to study and describe medieval India a quarter of a century before the Portuguese colonialists arrived there.

His notes “Walking across Three Seas” have become a most valuable literary and historical monument, in which the versatility of his observations is combined with religious tolerance and devotion to his native land.

Biography of Afanasy Nikitin. The beginning of the way

It is unknown when the biography of Afanasy Nikitin begins. The fact is that he is the son of the peasant Nikita, which means that Nikitin is his patronymic, not his last name. How he became a merchant is also unknown. Now we only know that the Russian traveler Afanasy Nikitin by the mid-1460s was already a fairly wealthy man trading furs abroad. By this time, he had already become an experienced merchant who had visited Byzantium, Moldova, Lithuania and Crimea. And luck accompanied him everywhere.

Apparently, a competent merchant always obtained the relevant documents (letters) from the Tver prince. The large geography of trade trips of the traveler Afanasy 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 trade freely with many Muslim countries. The most famous journey in the biography of Afanasy Nikitin also began quite smoothly.

Routes of Nikitinsky “walking”

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

The Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Borisovich gave Nikitin a letter allowing him to begin extensive trade in the south of the Golden Horde near Astrakhan. For greater security, it was planned to join 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 it went to the Lower Volga.

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

The way to India and back

Nikitin lived in Persia for over two years, trying to somehow make up for the goods lost near Astrakhan. Having learned that thoroughbred stallions cost good money in India, he headed there. Afanasy Nikitin's journey to India began in 1471, when he, with a horse purchased in Persia, loaded onto a ship heading to the Indian port of Chaul.

Unfortunately, the merchant was unable to immediately sell the animal at a decent price, and then Nikitin’s path took him through Indian cities. In the capital of the Bahmani state, Bidar, 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 led to the “diamond” province of Raichur, where he spent another six months, earning money for the return journey.

Three years of Afanasy Nikitin's travels around India disappointed him. He saw almost nothing useful there for his homeland. They were not allowed to export cheap goods 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 to go home.

This route of Afanasy Nikitin ran through the Arabian and Somali peninsulas, Hormuz, Tabriz, Trabzon. Here, suspecting him to be a Turkmen spy, all his goods were seized, leaving Nikitin only with his notes. From Trabzon he reached Kafa, where he spent the winter, waiting for the Russian merchant caravan. In the Cafe he became friends 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 he suddenly died not far from Smolensk. His notes were brought to Moscow and subsequently glorified the merchant

Travel of Afanasy Nikitin to India

The first Russian explorer of the mysterious country of India was a merchant from Tver, Afanasy Nikitin. In 1466, with goods borrowed, he sailed on two ships down the Volga. At the mouth of the river, his ships were robbed by Astrakhan Tatars. The merchant did not return home, as he risked going to prison for debt. He went to Derbent, then to Baku, and from there by sea he reached the southern Caspian coast. The merchant ended up in the Persian Gulf, from where he sailed to India. He was carrying with him a stallion that he hoped to sell.

Afanasy Nikitin in India

India hit Nikitin. He wrote down his impressions in a diary. He was surprised by the dark-skinned people who walked around almost naked. The notes of the Russian merchant tell about the customs, life and way of life of the population of India, about its plants and animals. This is how he describes the monkeys, of which there are countless numbers in the country: “Monkeys live in the forest, and they have a monkey prince, he walks with his army. And if anyone touches them, then they complain to their prince, and they attack the city, destroy the courtyards and beat the people. And they say their army is very large, and they have their own language.” Perhaps Nikitin became acquainted with the Indian epic "Ramayana", one of the characters of which is the king of the monkeys.

European merchants have been visiting India since ancient times, bringing from it spices and all kinds of strange goods. For Russia, which knew Persia, the Middle East and the countries of Transcaucasia very well, India remained a mystery for a long time.

Nikitin, who studied the language of a foreign country and sought to adapt to the customs of India, was well received everywhere and was even offered to stay there forever, accepting the “infidel” faith. But the traveler, who passionately loved his homeland, went home. He returned to Russia and brought back his recordings, entitled “Walking across Three Seas.” In the so-called Lviv Chronicle (1475) there are the following words about the traveler and his work: “Before reaching Smolensk, he died. And he wrote the scripture with his own hand, and his handwritten notebooks were brought by the guests (merchants) to Vasily Mamyrev, the clerk of the Grand Duke.”

Nikitin's travel notes interested his contemporaries and descendants; the book was rewritten many times, becoming a source of knowledge about distant India for the Russian people. Nevertheless, the merchants did not try to visit it, probably because in his interesting and fascinating essay the author wrote honestly: “The infidel dogs lied to me: they said that there were a lot of all kinds of goods we needed, but it turned out that there was nothing for our land... Pepper and paint are cheap. But they transport goods by sea, while others do not pay duties for them, and they will not allow us to transport them without duty. But the duties are high, and there are many robbers at sea.” Most likely, Nikitin was absolutely right, and therefore Russia’s trade interests at that time extended mainly in the northern and eastern directions. Furs were exported from there, which they gladly bought from the Russians in Western European countries.