A Letter of Protection for Debrecen from Devlet Giray, Kalga Sultan (1690/91)

Abstract

In the winter of 1690–1691, the market town of Debrecen1 received a remarkable document. Devlet Giray, Kalga Sultan of the Crimean Khanate, granted a letter of protection to the town’s inhabitants. In it, he recognized the services that Debrecen had rendered to his “glorious and victorious army” and strictly forbade his troops from troubling its citizens in the future.3 What makes this charter unique is that, among the 143 charters issued by Ottoman authorities during this century and a half of domination over the city, it is the only one that came from the Tatars.