NIKITIN, AFANASIY(died 1475) - Tver merchant, traveler, the first European to visit India (a quarter of a century before Vasco da Gama opened the route to this country), author Walking across 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, towards three seas: the Caspian, Arabian and Black, in the late 1460s is also extremely scarce. He described it in his notes entitled Walking across three seas.
The exact start date of the journey is also unknown. 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 traders, 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, Moldova, Lithuania, Crimea - and returned home safely with overseas goods. This journey also began smoothly: Afanasy received a letter from the Grand Duke of Tver, Mikhail Borisovich, intending to expand wide trade in the area of modern Astrakhan (this message gave some historians reason to see the Tver merchant as a secret diplomat, a spy for the Tver prince, but there is no documentary evidence of this).
In Nizhny Novgorod, Nikitin was supposed to join the Russian embassy of Vasily Papin for safety reasons, but he had already gone south and the trade caravan did not find him. Having waited for the Tatar ambassador Shirvan Hasan-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, without taking into account that one of the ships was sailing “one of their own” and, moreover, the ambassador. They took away from the merchants all the goods purchased on credit: returning to Rus' without goods and without money threatened a debt trap. Afanasy’s comrades and himself, in his words, “buried and dispersed: whoever had anything in Rus' went to Rus'; and whoever should, but he went where his eyes took him.”
The desire to improve matters through intermediary trade drove Nikitin further south. Through Derbent and Baku he entered Persia, crossed it from Chapakur on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea to Hormuz on the shores of the Persian Gulf and sailed along the Indian Ocean to India by 1471. There he spent three whole years, visiting Bidar, Junkar, Chaul, Dabhol and other cities. He didn’t make any money, but he was enriched with indelible impressions.
On the way back in 1474, Nikitin had a chance to visit the coast of East Africa, the “land of Ethiopia,” 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 he acquired some kind of chronic disease in India. In Kaffa, Afanasy Nikitin apparently met and became close friends with wealthy Moscow “guests” (merchants) Stepan Vasiliev and Grigory Zhuk. When their joint caravan set off (most likely in March 1475), it was warm in Crimea, but as they moved north the weather became colder. A. Nikitin’s poor health made itself felt and he died unexpectedly. Smolensk is conventionally considered the place of his burial.
Wanting to tell others what he saw himself, A. Nikitin kept travel notes, which he gave a literary form and gave a title Walking across three seas. Judging by them, he carefully studied the life, way of life and occupations of the peoples of Persia and India, drew attention to the political system, governance, religion (described the worship of Buddha in the sacred city of Parvata), spoke about diamond mines, trade, weapons, mentioned exotic animals - snakes and monkeys, the mysterious bird “gukuk”, which supposedly foreshadowed death, etc. His notes testify to the breadth of the author’s horizons, his friendly attitude towards foreign peoples and the customs of the 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 also vividly and interestingly described the nature of exotic India. However, as a merchant, Nikitin was disappointed with the results of the trip: “I was deceived by the infidel dogs: they talked about a lot of goods, but it turned out that there was nothing for our land... Pepper and paint were cheap. Some transport goods by sea, others do not pay duties for them, but they will not allow us to transport [anything] without duty. But the duty is high, and there are many robbers at sea.” Missing his native land and feeling uncomfortable in foreign lands, A. Nikitin sincerely called for admiration for the “Russian land”: “May God save the Russian land! There is no country like it in this world. And although the nobles of the Russian land are not fair, 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 Rus'”), and gave all moral assessments of morals and customs based on categories Orthodox morality, while remaining religiously tolerant.
Walking A. Nikitin testifies to the author’s well-readness, 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, and gave them a Russian interpretation.
Walking, delivered by someone in 1478 to Moscow to the clerk of the Grand Duke Vasily Mamyrev after the death of their author, were soon included in the chronicle of 1488, which in turn was included in the Second Sofia and Lviv Chronicles. Walking translated into many languages of the world. In 1955, a monument to its author was erected in Tver on the banks of the Volga, at the place from where he set off “across the three seas.” The monument was installed on a round platform in the shape of a rook, the bow of which is decorated with a horse's head
In 2003, the monument was opened in Western India. The seven-meter stele, faced with black granite, on the four sides of which inscriptions in Russian, Hindi, Marathi and English are engraved in gold, was designed by the young Indian architect Sudip Matra and built with local donations with financial participation from the administrations of the Tver region and the city of Tver.
Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva
- Russian traveler, merchant and writer, was born in 1442 (the date is not documented) and died in 1474 or 1475 near Smolensk. He was born into the family of the peasant Nikita, so Nikitin, strictly speaking, is not the traveler’s surname, but his patronymic: at that time, most peasants did not have surnames.
In 1468 he undertook an expedition to the countries of the East and visited Persia and Africa. He described his journey in the book “Walking across Three Seas.”
Afanasy Nikitin - Biography
Afanasy Nikitin, biography who is only partially known to historians, was born in the city of Tver. There is no reliable information about his childhood and youth. It is known that at a fairly young age he became a merchant and visited Byzantium, Lithuania and other countries on trade matters. His commercial enterprises were quite successful: he returned safely to his homeland with overseas goods.
He received a letter from the Grand Duke of Tver, Mikhail Borisovich, which allowed him to develop extensive trade in the area of present-day Astrakhan. This fact allows some historians to consider the Tver merchant a secret diplomat and spy for the Grand Duke, but there is no documentary evidence for this assumption.
Afanasy Nikitin began his journey in the spring of 1468, traveling by water past the Russian cities of Klyazma, Uglich and Kostroma. According to the plan, having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the pioneer's caravan was supposed to join another caravan, led by Vasily Papin, the Moscow ambassador, for safety reasons. But the caravans missed each other - Papin had already gone south when Afanasy arrived in Nizhny Novgorod.
Then he waited for the arrival of the Tatar ambassador Hasanbek and, with him and other merchants, went to Astrakhan 2 weeks later than planned. Afanasy Nikitin considered it dangerous to set sail in a single caravan - at that time Tatar gangs ruled along the banks of the Volga. The caravans of ships safely passed Kazan and several other Tatar settlements.
But just before arriving in Astrakhan, the caravan was robbed by local robbers - these were Astrakhan Tatars led by Khan Kasim, who was not embarrassed even by the presence of his compatriot Khasanbek. The robbers took away all the goods from the merchants, which, by the way, were purchased on credit. The trade expedition was disrupted, two ships out of four were lost. Then everything turned out not in the best way either. The two remaining ships were caught in a storm in the Caspian Sea and washed ashore. Returning to their homeland without money or goods threatened the merchants with debt and shame.
Then the merchant decided to improve his affairs, intending to engage in intermediary trade.
Thus began the famous journey of Afanasy Nikitin, described by him in his literary work “Walking across Three Seas.”
Information about the travel of Afanasy Nikitin
Persia and India
Nikitin went through Baku to Persia, to an area called Mazanderan, then crossed the mountains and moved further south. He traveled without haste, stopping for a long time in villages and engaging not only in trade, but also studying local languages. In the spring of 1469, he arrived in Hormuz, a large port city at the intersection of trade routes from Asia Minor (), China and India.
Goods from Hormuz were already known in Russia, Hormuz pearls were especially famous. Having learned that horses were being exported from Hormuz to the cities of India, which were not bred there, he decided on a risky commercial venture. I bought an Arabian stallion and, in the hope of reselling it well in India, boarded a ship heading to the Indian city of Chaul.
The voyage took 6 weeks. India made a strong impression on the merchant. Not forgetting about the trade affairs for which he, in fact, arrived here, the traveler became interested in ethnographic research, recording in detail what he saw in his diaries. India appears in his notes as a wonderful country, where everything is not like in Rus', “and people walk around all black and naked.” Athanasius was amazed by the fact that almost all the inhabitants of India, even the poor, wear gold jewelry. By the way, Nikitin himself also amazed the Indians - local residents had rarely seen white people here before.
However, it was not possible to sell the stallion profitably in Chaul, and he went inland. He visited a small town on the upper reaches of the Sina River and then went to Junnar.
In my travel notes did not miss everyday details, and also described local customs and attractions. This was hardly the first truthful description of the life of the country not only for Rus', but even for the whole of Europe. The traveler left notes about what food is prepared here, what they feed domestic animals, how they dress and what goods they sell. Even the process of making local intoxicating drinks and the custom of Indian housewives to sleep with guests in the same bed are described.
I had to stay in the Junnar fortress against my own will. The “Junnar Khan” took the stallion from him when he learned that the merchant was not an infidel, but an alien from distant Rus', and set a condition for the infidel: either he converts to the Islamic faith, or not only will he not receive the horse, but will also be sold into slavery. Khan gave him 4 days to think. The Russian traveler was saved by chance - he met an old acquaintance Muhammad, who vouched for the stranger to the khan.
During the 2 months spent by the Tver merchant in Junnar, Nikitin studied the agricultural activities of the local residents. He saw that in India they plow and sow wheat, rice and peas during the rainy season. He also describes local winemaking, which uses coconuts as a raw material.
After Junnar, he visited the city of Alland, where there was a large fair. The merchant intended to sell his Arabian horse here, but again it didn’t work out. At the fair, even without his stallion, there were many good horses for sale.
Only in 1471 Afanasy Nikitin I managed to sell my horse, and even then without much benefit for myself, or even at a loss. This happened in the city of Bidar, where the traveler arrived after waiting out the rainy season in other settlements. He stayed in Bidar for a long time, becoming friends with the local residents.
The Russian traveler told them about his faith and his land, the Hindus also told him a lot about their customs, prayers, and family life. Many entries in Nikitin's diaries concern issues of Indian religion.
In 1472, he arrived in the city of Parvat, a sacred place on the banks of the Krishna River, where believers from all over India came for the annual festivals dedicated to the god Shiva. Afanasy Nikitin notes in his diaries that this place has the same meaning for Indian Brahmins as Jerusalem for Christians.
The Tver merchant traveled around India for another year and a half, studying local customs and trying to conduct trade business. However, the traveler’s commercial endeavors failed: he never found goods suitable for export from India to Rus'.
Africa, Iran, Türkiye and Crimea
On his way back from India, Afanasy Nikitin decided to visit the east coast of Africa. According to entries in his diaries, in the Ethiopian lands he barely managed to avoid robbery, paying off the robbers with rice and bread.
He then returned to the city of Hormuz and moved north through war-torn Iran. He passed the cities of Shiraz, Kashan, Erzincan and arrived in Trabzon (Trebizond), a Turkish city on the southern shore of the Black Sea. It seemed that the return was close, but then the traveler’s luck turned away again: he was taken into custody by the Turkish authorities as an Iranian spy and deprived of all his remaining property.
According to the traveler himself, which has come down to us in the form of notes, all that was left with him at that time was the diary itself, and the desire to return to his homeland.
He had to borrow money on his word of honor for the journey to Feodosia, where he intended to meet fellow merchants and with their help pay off his debts. He was able to reach Feodosia (Cafa) only in the fall of 1474. Nikitin spent the winter in this city, completing notes on his journey, and in the spring he went along the Dnieper back to Russia, to his hometown of Tver.
However, he was not destined to return there - he died in the city of Smolensk under unknown circumstances. Most likely, the years of wandering and hardships suffered by the traveler undermined his health. Afanasy Nikitin's companions, Moscow merchants, brought his manuscripts to Moscow and handed them over to clerk Mamyrev, adviser to Tsar Ivan III. The records were later included in the chronicles of 1480.
In the 19th century, these records were discovered by the Russian historian Karamzin, who published them in 1817 under the author’s title. The three seas mentioned in the title of the work are the Caspian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Black Sea.
A merchant from Tver ended up in India long before representatives of European states arrived there. The sea route to this country was discovered by a Portuguese merchant several decades later than the Russian trade guest arrived there. What did he discover in distant lands and why are his records so valuable to posterity?
Although the commercial goal that prompted the pioneer to undertake such a dangerous journey was not achieved, the result of the wanderings of this observant, talented and energetic man was the first real description of an unknown distant country. Before this, in Ancient Rus', the fabulous country of India was known only from legends and literary sources of that time.
A man of the 15th century saw the legendary country with his own eyes and managed to talentedly tell his compatriots about it. In his notes, the traveler writes about the state system of India, the religions of the local population (in particular, about the “belief in the buts” - this is how Afanasy Nikitin heard and wrote down the name of Buddha, sacred to the majority of the inhabitants of India at that time).
He described the trade of India, the armament of the army of this country, talked about exotic animals (monkeys, snakes, elephants), local customs and Indian ideas about morality. He also recorded some Indian legends.
The Russian traveler also described cities and areas that he himself had not visited, but which he had heard about from the Indians. So, he mentions Indochina, places that at that time were still completely unknown to Russian people. The information carefully collected by the pioneer allows us today to judge the military and geopolitical aspirations of the Indian rulers of that time, the state of their armies (down to the number of war elephants and the number of chariots).
His “Walking across Three Seas” was the first text of its kind in Russian literary literature. The fact that he did not describe only holy places, as pilgrims did before him, gives the work a unique sound. It is not the objects of the Christian faith that fall into the field of his attentive vision, but people with a different religion and a different way of life. His notes are devoid of any officiality and internal censorship, and this is why they are especially valuable.
A story about Afanasy Nikitin and his discoveries - video
Journey Afanasia Nikitina began in Tver, from there the route ran along the Volga River through Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan to Astrakhan. Then the pioneer visited Derbent, Baku, Sari, and then moved overland through Persia. Having reached the city of Hormuz, he again boarded the ship and arrived on it at the Indian port of Chaul.
In India, he visited many cities on foot, including Bidar, Junnar and Parvat. Further along the Indian Ocean he sailed to Africa, where he spent several days, and then, again by water, returned to Hormuz. Then on foot through Iran he came to Trebizond, from there he reached the Crimea (Feodosiya).
Afanasy Nikitin, merchant from Tver. He is rightfully considered not only the first Russian merchant to visit India (a quarter of a century before the Portuguese Vasco da Gama), but also the first Russian traveler in general. The name of Afanasy Nikitin opens the list of brilliant and interesting sea and land Russian explorers and discoverers, whose names are inscribed in golden letters in the world history of geographical discoveries.
The name of Afanasy Nikitin became known to his contemporaries and descendants due to the fact that throughout his stay in the East and India he kept a diary, or more precisely, travel notes. In these notes, he described with many details the cities and countries he visited, the way of life, customs and traditions of peoples and rulers... The author himself called his manuscript “Walking across the Three Seas.” The three seas are the Derbent (Caspian), Arabian (Indian Ocean) and Black.
A. Nikitin did not reach his native Tver quite a bit on the way back. His comrades handed over the manuscript of “Walking across Three Seas” into the hands of clerk Vasily Mamyrev. From him it was included in the chronicles of 1488. It is obvious that contemporaries appreciated the importance of the manuscript if they decided to include its text in historical chronicles.
Brief information about the journey of Afanasy Nikitin
Nikitin Afanasy Nikitich
Tver merchant. Year of birth unknown. Place of birth too. Died 1475 near Smolensk. The exact start date of the journey is also unknown. According to a number of authoritative historians, this is most likely 1468.
Purpose of Travel:
an ordinary commercial expedition along the Volga as part of a caravan of river vessels from Tver to Astrakhan, establishing economic ties with Asian merchants trading along the Great Silk Road passing through the famous Shamakhi.
This assumption is indirectly confirmed by the fact that Russian merchants went down the Volga, accompanied Asan-bey, ambassador of the ruler Shamakhi, Shirvan Shah Forus-Esar. The Shemakha ambassador Asan-bek was on a visit to Tver and Moscow with Grand Duke Ivan III, and went home after the Russian ambassador Vasily Papin.
A. Nikitin and his comrades equipped 2 ships, loading them with various goods for trade. Afanasy Nikitin's goods, as can be seen from his notes, were junk, that is, furs. Obviously, ships of other merchants also sailed in the caravan. It should be said that Afanasy Nikitin was an experienced merchant, brave and decisive. Before this, he had visited distant countries more than once - Byzantium, Moldova, Lithuania, Crimea - and returned home safely with overseas goods, which is indirectly confirmed in his diary.
Shemakha
one of the most important points along the entire Great Silk Road. Located on the territory of present Azerbaijan. Located at the intersection of caravan routes, Shamakhi was one of the major trade and craft centers in the Middle East, occupying an important place in the silk trade. Back in the 16th century, trade relations between Shamakhi and Venetian merchants were mentioned. Azerbaijani, Iranian, Arab, Central Asian, Russian, Indian and Western European merchants traded in Shamakhi. Shemakha is mentioned by A.S. Pushkin in “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel” (“Give me a maiden, the Shemakha queen”).
A. Nikitin's caravan secured passing certificate from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich to move across the territory of the Tver principality and Grand Duke's travel letter abroad, with whom he sailed to Nizhny Novgorod. Here they planned to meet with the Moscow ambassador Papin, who was also on his way to Shemakha, but did not have time to capture him.
I died from the holy golden-domed Savior and be by his mercy, from his sovereign from Grand Duke Mikhail Borisovich Tversky...
It’s interesting that initially Afanasy Nikitin did not plan to visit Persia and India!
A. Nikitin’s journey can be divided into 4 parts:
1) travel from Tver to the southern shores of the Caspian Sea;
2) first trip to Persia;
3) travel around India and
4) return journey through Persia to Rus'.
Its entire path is clearly visible on the map.
So, the first stage is a trip along the Volga. It went safely, right up to Astrakhan. Near Astrakhan, the expedition was attacked by bandits of local Tatars, the ships were sunk and plundered
The bandits robbed the merchants of all their goods, apparently purchased on credit. Returning to Rus' without goods and without money threatened with a debt trap. Afanasy’s comrades and himself, in his words, “ crying, and some dispersed: whoever had anything in Rus', went to Rus'; and whoever should, but he went where his eyes took him.”
A reluctant traveler
Thus, Afanasy Nikitin became a reluctant traveler. The way home is closed. There is nothing to trade. There is only one thing left - to go on reconnaissance in foreign countries in the hope of fate and your own entrepreneurship. Having heard about the fabulous riches of India, he directs his steps there. Through Persia. Pretending to be a wandering dervish, Nikitin stops for a long time in each city and shares his impressions and observations on paper, describing in his diary the life and customs of the population and the rulers of the places where his fate took him.
And Yaz went to Derbenti, and from Derbenti to Baka, where the fire burns unquenchable; and from Baki you went across the sea to Chebokar. Yes, here you lived in Chebokar for 6 months, and in Sara you lived for a month, in the Mazdran land. And from there to Amili, and here I lived for a month. And from there to Dimovant, and from Dimovant to Rey.
And from Drey to Kasheni, and here I lived for a month, and from Kasheni to Nain, and from Nain to Ezdei, and here I lived for a month. And from Dies to Syrchan, and from Syrchan to Tarom... And from Torom to Lar, and from Lar to Bender, and here there is the Gurmyz shelter. And here there is the Indian Sea, and in the Parsean language and Hondustan Doria; and from there go by sea to Gurmyz 4 miles.
Afanasy Nikitin's first journey through the Persian lands, from the southern shores of the Caspian Sea (Chebukar) to the shores of the Persian Gulf (Bender-Abasi and Hormuz), lasted more than a year, from the winter of 1467 to the spring of 1469.
From Persia, from the Port of Hormuz (Gurmyz), Afanasy Nikitin went to India. Afanasy Nikitin's journey across India supposedly lasted three years: from the spring of 1469 to the beginning of 1472 (according to other sources - 1473). It is the description of his stay in India that occupies most of A. Nikitin’s diary.
And Gurmyz is on the island, and every day the sea catches him twice a day. And then I took the first Great Day, and I came to Gurmyz four weeks before the Great Day. Because I didn’t write all the cities, there are many great cities. And in Gurmyz there is sunshine, it will burn a person. And I was in Gurmyz for a month, and from Gurmyz I went beyond the Indian Sea.
And we walked by sea to Moshkat for 10 days; and from Moshkat to Degu 4 days; and from Degas Kuzryat; and from Kuzryat to Konbaatu. And then paint and paint will appear. And from Konbat to Chuvil, and from Chuvil we went in the 7th week along the Velitsa days, and we walked in the tawa for 6 weeks by sea to Chivil.
Arriving in India, he will make “research trips” deep into the peninsula and explore its western part in detail.
And here there is an Indian country, and people walk around all naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are naked, and their hair is braided in one braid, and everyone walks with their bellies, 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, there are many people behind me, and they marvel at the white man. And their prince has a photo on his head, and another on his head; and their boyars have a photo on the shoulder, and a friend on the guzna, princesses walk around with a photo on the shoulder, and a friend on the guzna. And the servants of the princes and boyars - a photo on the guzne, and a shield, and a sword in their hands, and some with sulits, and others with knives, and others with sabers, and others with bows and arrows; and they are all naked, barefoot, and tall, and do not shave their hair. And the women walk around with their heads uncovered and their nipples bare; and boys and girls walk naked until they are seven years old, not covered in rubbish.
The customs and way of life of the Hindus are conveyed in “Walking the Three Seas” in detail, with numerous details and nuances that were noticed by the inquisitive eye of the author. The rich feasts, trips and military actions of the Indian princes are described in detail. The life of ordinary people, as well as nature, flora and fauna, are also well reflected. A. Nikitin gave his assessment of much of what he saw, however, quite objective and unbiased.
Yes, everything is about faith, about their trials, and they say: we believe in Adam, but the buty, it seems, is Adam and his entire race. And there are 80 and 4 faiths in Indians, and everyone believes in Buta. But with faith we neither drink, nor eat, nor marry. But others eat boranin, and chickens, and fish, and eggs, but there is no faith in eating oxen.
Saltan goes out for fun with his mother and his wife, and with him there are 10 thousand people on horses, and fifty thousand on foot, and two hundred elephants are brought out, dressed in gilded armor, and in front of him there are a hundred pipe-makers, and a hundred dancers, and simple horses 300 in gold gear, and a hundred monkeys behind him, and all of them are gauroks.
What exactly Afanasy Nikitin did, what he ate, how he earned his livelihood - one can only guess about this. In any case, the author himself does not specify this anywhere. It can be assumed that the commercial spirit was evident in him, and he conducted some kind of small trade, or hired himself out to serve local merchants. Someone told Afanasy Nikitin that thoroughbred stallions are highly prized in India. Supposedly, you can get good money for them. And our hero brought a stallion with him to India. And what came of it:
And the sinful tongue brought the stallion to the Indian land, and I reached Chuner, God gave me everything in good health, and I became worth a hundred rubles. It has been winter for them since Trinity Day. And we spent the winter in Chunerya, we lived for two months. Every day and night for 4 months there was water and dirt everywhere. On those same days, they shout and sow wheat, and Tuturgan, and nogot, and everything edible. They make wine in great nuts - Gundustan goat; and the mash is repaired in Tatna. The horses are fed with nofut, and the kichiris is boiled with sugar, and the horses are fed with butter, and they are given hornets to wound them. In the Indian land they will not give birth to horses, in their land they will give birth to oxen and buffaloes, the same ones they ride and carry goods on, they carry other things, they do everything.
And in Chuner, the Khan took a stallion from me, and withered away that Yaz was not a Germanic - a Rusin. And he says: ‘I will give a stallion and a thousand golden ladies, and stand in our faith - on Mahmet Day; But if you don’t believe in our faith, in Makhmat Deni, I will take a stallion and put a thousand gold pieces on your head’…. And the Lord God had mercy on his honest holiday, did not leave his mercy on me, a sinner, and did not order me to perish in Chyuner with the wicked. And on the eve of Spasov, the owner Makhmet Khorosanets came and beat him with his forehead so that he would grieve for me. And he went to the khan in the city and asked me to leave so that they wouldn’t convert me, and he took my stallion from him. This is the miracle of the Lord on Savior Day.
As can be seen from the records, A. Nikitin did not flinch, did not exchange his father’s faith for the promises and threats of the Muslim ruler. And in the end, he will sell the horse for almost no gain.
Along with descriptions of the areas that Afanasy Nikitin visited, he included in his notes comments about the nature of the country and its works, about the people, their morals, beliefs and customs, about popular government, the army, etc.
The Indians do not eat any meat, neither cowhide, nor boran meat, nor chicken, nor fish, nor pork, but they have a lot of pigs. They eat twice a day, but do not eat at night, and do not drink wine, nor are they full68. And the demons neither drink nor eat. But their food is bad. And one with one neither drinks, nor eats, nor with his wife. They eat brynets, and kichiri with butter, and eat rose herbs, and boil them with butter and milk, and they eat everything with their right hand, but they don’t eat anything with their left hand. But they don’t shake a knife, and they don’t know liars. And when it’s too late, who cooks their own porridge, but everyone has a fork. And they hide from the demons so that they don’t look into the mountain or into the food. But just look, they don’t eat the same food. And when they eat, they cover themselves with a cloth so that no one can see it.
And the Shabbat refuge of the Indian Sea is great... May silk, sandalwood, pearls, and everything be cheap be born on Shabbat.
But in Pegu there is a lot of shelter. Yes, all the Indian derbysh live in it, and precious stones, manik, yes yakhut, and kirpuk will be born in it; but they sell stone derbysh.
But the Chinskoe and Machinskoye refuge is great, but they do repairs in it, but they sell the repairs by weight, but cheaply. And their wives and their husbands sleep during the day, and at night their wives go to bed with the garip and sleep with the garip, and give them alaf, and bring with them sugar food and sugar wine, and feed and give water to the guests, so that they love her, but they love guests of white people, and their people are black velmi. And whose wives conceive a child from a guest, and the husbands give it to Alaf; and a white child will be born, otherwise the guest will pay a fee of 300 teneks, and a black child will be born, otherwise there will be nothing for him, what he drank and ate is free for him.
Understand this paragraph as you wish. Garip is a stranger, a foreigner. It turns out that Indian husbands allowed a white foreigner to sleep with his wife, and if a white child was born, they also paid an extra 300 money. And if it’s black, then only for grub! Such are the morals.
And the land is crowded with velmi, and the rural people are naked with velmi, and the boyars are strong and kind and magnificent with velmi. And all of them are carried on their beds on silver, and in front of them are horses in gold harnesses up to 20: and on the horses behind them there are 300 people, and five hundred people on foot, and 10 people with trumpets, and 10 people with pipe makers, and 10 people with pipes.
In Saltanov's courtyard there are seven gates, and in each gate sits a hundred guards and a hundred Kaffar scribes. Whoever goes is recorded, and whoever leaves is recorded. But the Garips are not allowed into the city. And his courtyard is wonderful, everything is carved and painted in gold, and the last stone is carved and described in gold. Yes, there are different courts in his yard.
Having studied Indian reality from the inside, Afanasy Nikitin came to the conclusion that further “market research” was futile, because from his merchant point of view, the mutual commercial interest of Rus' and India was extremely meager.
The Besermen dogs lied to me, but they said there was only a lot of our goods, but there was nothing for our land: all the white goods for the Besermen land, pepper and paint, were cheap. Others are transported by sea, and they do not give duties. But other people won’t let us carry out duties. And there are a lot of duties, and there are a lot of robbers on the sea.
Therefore, at the end of 1471 - beginning of 1472, Afanasy Nikitin decides to leave India and return home to Rus'.
And that accursed slave Athanasius of the Most High God, creator of heaven and earth, was conceived according to faith, according to Christian faith, and according to the baptism of Christ, and according to the godly saints of the father, and according to the commandments of the apostles, and We set our minds on going to Rus'.
The city of Dabul became the last point of A. Nikitin’s Indian journey. In January 1473, Nikitin boarded a ship in Dabul, which, after an almost three-month voyage calling at the Somali and Arabian peninsulas, took him to Hormuz. Trading spices, Nikitin passed through the Iranian Plateau to Tabriz, crossed the Armenian Plateau and in the fall of 1474 reached Turkish Trebizond. The “customs” of this Black Sea port raked out all the goods acquired by back-breaking labor (including Indian gems) from our traveler, leaving him with nothing. The diary was not touched!
Further along the Black Sea, A. Nikitin gets to Kafa (Feodosia). Then through Crimea and Lithuanian lands - to Rus'. In the Cafe, Afanasy Nikitin apparently met and became close friends with wealthy Moscow “guests” (merchants) Stepan Vasiliev and Grigory Zhuk. When their joint caravan set off (most likely in March 1475), it was warm in Crimea, but as it moved north it became increasingly colder. Apparently, having caught a bad cold, or for some other reason, Afanasy Nikitin fell ill and gave up his soul to God somewhere in the Smolensk region, which is conventionally considered the place of his final resting place.
The results of “Walking across Three Seas” by the Tver merchant Afanasy Nikitin
Without planning a trip across three seas in advance, Afanasy Nikitin turned out to be the first European who gave a valuable description of medieval India, depicting it simply and truthfully. His records are devoid of a racial approach and are distinguished by religious tolerance, rare for that time. With his feat, A. Nikitin proved that at the end of the fifteenth century, a quarter of a century before the Portuguese “discovery” of India, even a not rich, but purposeful person could travel to this country.
As was said, A. Nikitin did not find anything interesting or profitable in India from the point of view of trade for the Russian merchants. It is interesting that the Portuguese naval expedition of Vasco da Gama, who was the first European to approach the same western Indian shores, only by sea around Africa in 1498, came to the same result.
And how much effort was put in by the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs, as well as their sailors, to open a sea route to fabulous India! What names: Bartolomeo Dias, Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Ferdinand Magellan... Oh, if only all these gentlemen of good luck would read the notes of the Russian merchant Afanasy Nikitin... You see, they wouldn’t break spears and crash ships to search for a “fabulously rich country” called India!
“And here is the Indian country, and ordinary people walk naked, and their heads are not covered, and their breasts are bare, and their hair is braided in one braid, everyone walks with bellies, and children are born every year, and they have many children. Of the common people, men and women are all naked and all black. Wherever I go, there are many people behind me - they are amazed at the white man” (Afanasy Nikitin. Walking across the three seas).
Second half of the 15th century. became a decisive moment for the unification of Russian lands into a centralized state, which took place against the background of the final liberation from Mongol rule and under constant pressure from the West. The significantly strengthened Moscow, which gradually extended its power to the surrounding principalities, mainly northern and eastern, did not intend to stop there. And Moscow’s main rival in the struggle for primacy was not the Novgorod Republic, stretching from the Baltic to the Urals, which was only thinking about independence, but the small but wayward Tver Principality located nearby. From time to time, the Tver princes made peace with the Moscow princes and helped the latter defeat someone - for example, the Novgorodians, but then again broke with Moscow and, in search of an ally against it, flirted first with the Horde, and later with Lithuania.
However, this struggle did not have the character of constant confrontation - with regular military operations, offensives and mass destruction. If it had an effect on the economic life of the principalities, in particular on trade, it was to a small extent. The development of cities, trade and the growth of the merchant class, undermined by the Mongol invasion and resumed at the beginning of the 14th century, led to the emergence of merchant fraternities - rich and influential groups of “guests” (as merchants who traded with other cities and countries were called in Rus') in Novgorod, Moscow, Tver, Nizhny Novgorod and Vologda.
In the summer of 1466, two merchant ships set off from Tver on a long voyage down the Volga: their route lay to the Caspian Sea, or, as it was called in the old days, the Derbent Sea. The head of the caravan was Afanasy Nikitin (strictly speaking, Nikitin’s son, i.e. Nikitich) - apparently an experienced man, who had walked and swam a lot. From the first days of the journey, Afanasy began keeping diary entries. It is clear from them that the Volga route was well known to him. The caravan proceeded past Kalyazin, Uglich, Kostroma, Ples, and stopped for a long time in Nizhny Novgorod. Here the merchants were waiting for the caravan of Ambassador Shirvan (historical region on the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea): he was returning from Moscow to his homeland. The Tver residents decided to join him: it was unsafe to sail further along the Volga because of the Tatars, but with the embassy it seemed somehow safer.
Without any problems, the merchants and the embassy passed Kazan, passed almost all the Tatar lands, but in one of the branches of the Volga delta they were attacked by a detachment of Astrakhan Tatars. Merchants at that time knew how to do a lot, including defending their property. A fight ensued. They would have gotten through, but unfortunately, one ship was stuck aground, and the other on a fishing boat. The Tatars plundered them and captured several people. Two ships, including a large embassy ship, on which Athanasius and ten other merchants were, managed to go to sea. Here another misfortune awaited them: a storm came and the smaller ship ran aground near Tarka (now Makhachkala). Local residents, kaitaki, and merchants were captured and their goods were plundered. Afanasy got to Derbent and immediately began to work for the release of the prisoners and the return of the goods. A year later, the people were released, but the goods were not returned.
The merchants returned to their homeland. Only a few - those who borrowed goods for trade - went anywhere in search of possible income: returning home without funds would mean shame and a debt trap. And what about Afanasy? He went south to Baku. According to one version, he also borrowed goods and did not want to fall into a hole. According to another, Afanasy did not owe anything to anyone, but still decided not to return empty-handed. From Baku in September 1468 he sailed to Persian Mazandaran and spent about eight months there. Then, having crossed the Elburz ridge, Afanasy continued his journey south. Gradually, from city to city, sometimes staying in them for a long time (in total, the merchant stayed in Persia for two years), he reached Hormuz, a port on the shores of the Persian Gulf, where busy trade routes from Egypt, Asia Minor, India and China converged.
Here Afanasy heard that horses are very highly valued in India. He bought a good horse, boarded the ship and a month and a half later arrived in Indian Chaul (south of modern Bombay). Apparently, India surprised the traveler quite a bit. This country was unlike any land he had seen before. Everything seemed amazing - the huge snakes crawling along the streets of the cities, and the hordes of monkeys jumping on the walls and heads of the inhabitants, whom the population treated with respect, and the gastronomic preferences of this very population, and the incredible number of religious beliefs widespread here... But what struck the merchant most of all was The local residents themselves are dark-skinned and completely naked, except for those who are richer, who covered their heads and hips with cloth. But everyone, including the poorest, wore gold jewelry: earrings, bracelets, necklaces. However, Afanasy quickly got used to the nakedness of those around him, but the abundance of gold did not give him peace.
The merchant could not sell the horse purchased in Hormuz - neither in Chaul, nor in Junnar, already in the interior of the country. Moreover, the governor of Junnar took the stallion from Athanasius by force. And having found out that the stranger was not a Muslim, the governor presented him with a difficult choice: either he converts to Islam and gets his horse back, and even money in addition, or he is left without a stallion, and he himself becomes a slave. Fortunately for Afanasy, in Junnar he met his old acquaintance Muhammad, who, having learned about the Russian’s misfortune, asked the governor to have mercy. The ruler turned out to be accommodating: he did not convert, did not enslave, and returned the horse.
After waiting out the rainy season, Athanasius led the horse to distant Bidar, the capital of the huge Bahmani state, and then to the fair in Alland. And it was all in vain: it was impossible to sell the stallion. Returning to Bidar, he finally got rid of it in December 1471 - almost a year after the purchase. From Bidar, Athanasius went to the holy city of Parvat, where he witnessed the majestic night festival dedicated to the god Shiva.
From Parvat he returned again to Bidar, and a year later he went to Kallur, a city in the diamond-bearing province, where he lived for about six months.
During the three years that Athanasius spent in India, he became an eyewitness to many events, including bloody wars, religious holidays and much more. The Sultan’s festive departure made a great impression on him: “...with him came twenty great viziers and three hundred elephants... Yes, a thousand riding horses in golden harness, and a hundred camels with drums, and three hundred trumpeters, and three hundred dancers, and three hundred concubines...”. He also collected valuable information about places where he himself had not visited: about the capital of the state of Vijayanagar and the port of Kozhikode, about the island of Sri Lanka, about the large port of Pegu at the mouth of the Irrawaddy, where Buddhist monks lived who traded in precious stones.
It’s hard for one in a foreign land, especially among people of a different faith. Apart from the mysterious Muhammad, Afanasy did not find any close people in all these years. After all, casual acquaintances, traders and women don’t count. Finally exhausted, he decided to return to his homeland. The commercial results of the trip, according to the traveler himself, turned out to be disappointing: “I was deceived by the infidel dogs: they talked about a lot of goods, but it turned out that there was nothing for our land.” In Dabul, located on the western coast of India, the merchant boarded a ship bound for Hormuz.
From Hormuz he went along the already familiar road to the Caspian Sea. Having passed through the possessions of Uzun-Hasan and lingering in his camp, the traveler moved to the Black Sea port of Trebizond, which belonged to the Ottoman ruler Muhammad II, who at that time was at war with Uzun-Hasan. Afanasy was suspected of spying for the latter. He was thoroughly searched and released, but “everyone stole the property.” Only in the late autumn of 1474 (according to other sources - 1472), with great adventures, he crossed the Black Sea and reached the Genoese Kafa (now Feodosia). It’s almost home, Russian speech can be heard here... At this point the traveler’s notes end. It can be assumed that he spent the winter in Cafe, and in the spring he went north. He went through the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, friendly to Tver, but hostile to Moscow. On the way, before reaching Smolensk, Afanasy died.
The notebooks, covered with his handwriting, ended up in Moscow, to the Grand Duke's clerk Vasily Mamyrev, who ordered their inclusion in the chronicle. Subsequently, the traveler’s notes, called “Walking across the Three Seas,” were rewritten several times. This is a valuable geographical and historical document containing information about the population, economy, customs, and nature of India and other countries.
In “Walking”, as in the journey itself, there is a lot of mystery. Almost nothing is known about Afanasy himself, not even his age. It is amazing that, having lost his goods, he managed to travel all over Persia, buy an expensive horse, and then, unable to immediately sell it, maintain it for a whole year. Who is Muhammad, who was always there in times of need for Athanasius and who had the gift of a genie in a bottle to take all troubles away from the traveler? In “Walking,” along with Christian prayers, equally numerous Muslim prayers are scattered. Perhaps, finding himself in a non-Orthodox country, Afanasy was forced to secrecy and follow local rules, but it is known that he put his notes in order already in the Cafe. Another mystery. The death of the traveler also seems mysterious.
In search of a sea route to India, Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, and five years later Vasco da Gama began the conquest of Hindustan. Afanasy son Nikitin visited India 30 years before the Portuguese and left the best description of this amazing country for his time.
FIGURES AND FACTS
Main character: Afanasy Nikitin (Nikitich), Tver merchant
Other characters: Ambassador of Shirvan; Muhammad, patron of Athanasius; Vasily Mamyrev, clerk
Time period: 1466-1474. (according to other sources, 1466-1472)
Route: From Tver along the Volga to the Caspian Sea, from Derbent to India
Purpose: Trade and possibly some kind of secret mission
Meaning: The best description of India in the 15th century.
Afanasy Nikitin - traveler and pioneer from Tver Afanasy Nikitin - Russian traveler, merchant and writer, was born in 1442 (the date is not documented) and died in 1474 or 1475 near Smolensk. He was born into the family of the peasant Nikita, so Nikitin, strictly speaking, is not the traveler’s surname, but his patronymic: at that time, most peasants did not have surnames.
In 1468 he undertook an expedition to the countries of the East and visited Persia, India and Africa. He described his journey in the book “Walking across Three Seas.”
Afanasy Nikitin - Biography. Afanasy Nikitin, whose biography is only partially known to historians, was born in the city of Tver. There is no reliable information about his childhood and youth. It is known that at a fairly young age he became a merchant and visited Byzantium, Crimea, Lithuania and other countries on trade matters. His commercial enterprises were quite successful: he returned safely to his homeland with overseas goods.
He received a letter from the Grand Duke of Tver, Mikhail Borisovich, which allowed him to develop extensive trade in the area of present-day Astrakhan. This fact allows some historians to consider the Tver merchant a secret diplomat and spy for the Grand Duke, but there is no documentary evidence for this assumption.
Afanasy Nikitin began his journey in the spring of 1468, traveling by water past the Russian cities of Klyazma, Uglich and Kostroma. According to the plan, having reached Nizhny Novgorod, the pioneer's caravan was supposed to join another caravan, led by Vasily Papin, the Moscow ambassador, for safety reasons. But the caravans missed each other - Papin had already gone south when Afanasy arrived in Nizhny Novgorod.
Then he waited for the Tatar ambassador Hasanbek to arrive from Moscow and, with him and other merchants, went to Astrakhan 2 weeks later than planned. Afanasy Nikitin considered it dangerous to set sail in a single caravan - at that time Tatar gangs ruled along the banks of the Volga. The caravans of ships safely passed Kazan and several other Tatar settlements.
But just before arriving in Astrakhan, the caravan was robbed by local robbers - these were Astrakhan Tatars led by Khan Kasim, who was not embarrassed even by the presence of his compatriot Khasanbek. The robbers took away all the goods from the merchants, which, by the way, were purchased on credit. The trade expedition was disrupted, Afanasy Nikitin lost two of the four ships. Then everything turned out not in the best way either. The two remaining ships were caught in a storm in the Caspian Sea and washed ashore. Returning to their homeland without money or goods threatened the merchants with debt and shame.
Then the merchant decided to improve his affairs, intending to engage in intermediary trade. Thus began the famous journey of Afanasy Nikitin, described by him in his literary work “Walking across Three Seas.”
Information about the travel of Afanasy Nikitin.
Persia and India. Nikitin went through Baku to Persia, to an area called Mazanderan, then crossed the mountains and moved further south. He traveled without haste, stopping for a long time in villages and engaging not only in trade, but also studying local languages. In the spring of 1469, he arrived in Hormuz, a large port city at the intersection of trade routes from Egypt, Asia Minor (Turkey), China and India.
Goods from Hormuz were already known in Russia, Hormuz pearls were especially famous. Having learned that horses were being exported from Hormuz to the cities of India, which were not bred there, Afanasy Nikitin decided on a risky commercial venture. He smoked an Arabian stallion and, in the hope of reselling it well in India, boarded a ship heading to the Indian city of Chaul.
The voyage took 6 weeks. India made a strong impression on the merchant. Not forgetting about the trade affairs for which he, in fact, arrived here, the traveler became interested in ethnographic research, recording in detail what he saw in his diaries. India appears in his notes as a wonderful country, where everything is not like in Rus', “and people walk around all black and naked.” Athanasius was amazed by the fact that almost all the inhabitants of India, even the poor, wear gold jewelry. By the way, Nikitin himself also amazed the Indians - local residents had rarely seen white people here before.
However, it was not possible to sell the stallion profitably in Chaul, and he went inland. He visited a small town on the upper reaches of the Sina River and then went to Junnar.
In his travel notes, Afanasy Nikitin did not miss everyday details, and also described local customs and attractions. This was hardly the first truthful description of the life of the country not only for Rus', but even for the whole of Europe. The traveler left notes about what food is prepared here, what they feed domestic animals, how they dress and what goods they sell. Even the process of making local intoxicating drinks and the custom of Indian housewives to sleep with guests in the same bed are described.
I had to stay in the Junnar fortress against my own will. The “Junnar Khan” took the stallion from him when he learned that the merchant was not an infidel, but an alien from distant Rus', and set a condition for the infidel: either he converts to the Islamic faith, or not only will he not receive the horse, but will also be sold into slavery. Khan gave him 4 days to think. The Russian traveler was saved by chance - he met an old acquaintance, Muhammad, who vouched for the stranger to the khan.
During the 2 months spent by the Tver merchant in Junnar, Nikitin studied the agricultural activities of the local residents. He saw that in India they plow and sow wheat, rice and peas during the rainy season. He also describes local winemaking, which uses coconuts as a raw material.
After Junnar, he visited the city of Alland, where there was a large fair. The merchant intended to sell his Arabian horse here, but again it didn’t work out. At the fair, even without his stallion, there were many good horses for sale.
Only in 1471 Afanasy Nikitin managed to sell his horse, and even then without much benefit for himself, or even at a loss. This happened in the city of Bidar, where the traveler arrived after waiting out the rainy season in other settlements. He stayed in Bidar for a long time, becoming friends with the local residents.
The Russian traveler told them about his faith and his land, the Hindus also told him a lot about their customs, prayers, and family life. Many entries in Nikitin's diaries concern issues of Indian religion.
In 1472, he arrived in the city of Parvat, a sacred place on the banks of the Krishna River, where believers from all over India came for the annual festivals dedicated to the god Shiva. Afanasy Nikitin notes in his diaries that this place has the same meaning for Indian Brahmins as Jerusalem for Christians.
The Tver merchant traveled around India for another year and a half, studying local customs and trying to conduct trade business. However, the traveler’s commercial endeavors failed: he never found goods suitable for export from India to Rus'.
Africa, Iran, Türkiye and Crimea. On his way back from India, Afanasy Nikitin decided to visit the east coast of Africa. According to entries in his diaries, in the Ethiopian lands he barely managed to avoid robbery, paying off the robbers with rice and bread.
He then returned to the city of Hormuz and moved north through war-torn Iran. He passed the cities of Shiraz, Kashan, Erzincan and arrived in Trabzon (Trebizond), a Turkish city on the southern shore of the Black Sea. It seemed that the return was close, but then the traveler’s luck turned away again: he was taken into custody by the Turkish authorities as an Iranian spy and deprived of all his remaining property.
According to the traveler himself, which has come down to us in the form of notes, all that was left with him at that time was the diary itself, and the desire to return to his homeland.
He had to borrow money on his word of honor for the journey to Feodosia, where he intended to meet fellow merchants and with their help pay off his debts. He was able to reach Feodosia (Cafa) only in the fall of 1474. Nikitin spent the winter in this city, completing notes on his journey, and in the spring he went along the Dnieper back to Russia, to his hometown of Tver.
However, he was not destined to return there - he died in the city of Smolensk under unknown circumstances. Most likely, the years of wandering and hardships suffered by the traveler undermined his health. Afanasy Nikitin's companions, Moscow merchants, brought his manuscripts to Moscow and handed them over to clerk Mamyrev, adviser to Tsar Ivan III. The records were later included in the chronicles of 1480.
In the 19th century, these records were discovered by the Russian historian Karamzin, who published them in 1817 under the author’s title. The three seas mentioned in the title of the work are the Caspian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Black Sea.
Discoveries of Afanasy Nikitin. A merchant from Tver ended up in India long before representatives of European states arrived there. The sea route to this country was discovered by the Portuguese merchant Vasco da Gama several decades later than the Russian trade guest Afanasy Nikitin arrived there. What did he discover in distant lands and why are his records so valuable to posterity?
Although the commercial goal that prompted the pioneer to undertake such a dangerous journey was not achieved, the result of the wanderings of this observant, talented and energetic man was the first real description of an unknown distant country. Before this, in Ancient Rus', the fabulous country of India was known only from legends and literary sources of that time.
A man of the 15th century saw the legendary country with his own eyes and managed to talentedly tell his compatriots about it. In his notes, the traveler writes about the state system of India, the religions of the local population (in particular, about the “belief in the buts” - this is how Afanasy Nikitin heard and wrote down the name of Buddha, sacred to the majority of the inhabitants of India at that time).
He described the trade of India, the armament of the army of this country, talked about exotic animals (monkeys, snakes, elephants), local customs and Indian ideas about morality. He also recorded some Indian legends.
The Russian traveler also described cities and areas that he himself had not visited, but which he had heard about from the Indians. Thus, he mentions Calcutta, the island of Ceylon and Indochina, places that at that time were still completely unknown to Russian people. The information carefully collected by the pioneer allows us today to judge the military and geopolitical aspirations of the Indian rulers of that time, the state of their armies (down to the number of war elephants and the number of chariots).
His “Walking across Three Seas” was the first text of its kind in Russian literary literature. The fact that he did not describe only holy places, as pilgrims did before him, gives the work a unique sound. It is not the objects of the Christian faith that fall into the field of his attentive vision, but people with a different religion and a different way of life. His notes are devoid of any officiality and internal censorship, and this is why they are especially valuable. The story about Afanasy Nikitin and his discoveries - video Map of Afanasy Nikitin's travels
Afanasy Nikitin's journey began in Tver, from there the route ran along the Volga River through Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan to Astrakhan. Then the pioneer visited Derbent, Baku, Sari, and then moved overland through Persia. Having reached the city of Hormuz, he again boarded the ship and arrived on it at the Indian port of Chaul.
In India, he visited many cities on foot, including Bidar, Junnar and Parvat. Further along the Indian Ocean he sailed to Africa, where he spent several days, and then, again by water, returned to Hormuz. Then on foot through Iran he came to Trebizond, from there he reached the Crimea (Feodosiya).