RT Article
T1 An Italian Renaissance Gate for the Khan: Visual Culture in Early Modern Crimea
JF Muqarnas
VO 34
IS 1
SP 85
OP 123
A1 Kançal-Ferrari, Nicole 1969-
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2017
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1565007239
AB This article introduces the Renaissance “Iron Gate” erected in 1503–4 in the Khan’s Palace in Bahçesaray, Crimea. It proposes a new interpretation of this famous portal in the residence of the Crimean khans, taking into consideration the broader cultural context of early modernity. The research focuses on the visual appearance of the Iron Gate and the content of its unique inscription. Comparison with other portals and a tomb from the Balkans, on one hand, and with titulature in inscriptions, coins, and diplomatic documents from the Turco-Mongol-Islamic environment, on the other, furnishes enough data to situate the portal within the historical-cultural context of the khanate in the northern Black Sea region. Through an analysis of ways in which envoys were received in the Crimean capital, and an assessment of the architectural environment of the palace, new dimensions are opened into understanding Khan Mengli Geray I’s self-representation as ruler during this historically significant period.

K1 Khan’s Palace : Crimea : Crimean khanate : Ottoman inscriptions : Islamic coins : Turco-Islamic titulature : Renaissance : Renaissance in the Balkans : Sultan Mehmed II : Sultan Selim I : Khan Mengli Geray I : Giray 

DO 10.1163/22118993_03401P005