The first of these ‘real’ Cossacks, as we noted earlier, were expert horsemen, and this expertise was rather borne by necessity – to make fast raids and escape even faster from the garrison towns. The Russian ‘Stock’ –įrom the historical perspective, it was the ‘free’ Cossacks who went on to define the legacy of the romanticized Cossack people as we know them today. Suffice it to say, based on their insubstantial allegiances, some of these horsemen also took to banditry, thus (in few scenarios) facing off against their ‘town’ counterparts. In essence, most of these ‘free’ Cossacks (with sometimes intermingled ethnicities) were conglomerations of fringe groups often divided on basis of their language. But most of the time, they lived and fought as ‘separate’ people with autonomous status and bare-bones jurisdiction. In some seasons, they were temporarily hired as guides and patrols for the caravans treading the dangerous (and often scant) steppe routes. The ‘free’ Cossacks, on the other hand, tended to live and raid beyond the settlements and frontiers. Essentially, much like the late Roman urban militia, these men performed their roles as farmer-soldiers for their frontier commanders while living with their own respective families. One pertinent example would relate to the armed force of Kazan Tatars from the Principality of Ryazan, southeast of Moscow. The former had a semblance of institutions, with most of these ‘town’ Cossacks ( gorodovye kazaki ) plying their trade as warriors and protectors of the frontier towns, often employed (or at least partially aided) by their respective states and princedoms. Illustration by Angus McBrideĪccording to historian Albert Seaton (as referenced in his book The Cossacks ), by late 15th century – early 16th century, the Cossacks could be broadly divided into the ‘town’ Cossacks and the ‘free’ Cossacks.
UKRAINE COSSACKS FREE
The Free Cossacks – Employed Cossack on the right.
By mid 15th century, many such ‘intermingled’ horsemen were employed by proximate powers like Muscovy and Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.ĭuring this time, the (local) Russian and Ukrainian Cossacks gradually began to outnumber their southern Tatar counterparts – and as such, these varied groups, though broadly categorized under a singular name (Cossacks), were hired as guides, mercenaries, border patrols, and guardsmen for the rich folks and caravans that crossed the Wild Fields (or wild plains – dikoe pole ) from the Pontic steppe towards the Don and Volga rivers.
However, over time, the term Cossack was also used for the locals who confronted these raiders, possibly with the aid of similar tactics (of fast raids and deft horsemanship). Typically, these lightly armed horsemen operated as independent groups, thus alluding to their origins as ‘free adventurers’.
To that end, most historians agree that the first of these Cossacks were probably Tatar raiders (possibly composed of Cuman origins and remnants of the Mongol invasion) who conducted their forays and sorties along the southern Pontic steppe. The first recorded use of ‘Cossacks’ was possibly made by the Italian trading colonies along the Black Sea in the 14th century for the bandits and freebooters who operated in the hinterland. The entry in Britannica puts forth the origin of the word ‘Cossack’ as (being derived from) Turkic kazak, meaning ‘freeman’ or ‘adventurer’. Russian Prince fighting against a Mongol Keshik.
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