The period of Maksud Giray Khan in the light of Pierre Ruffin's Crimean Diary (1767-1768)

In the period leading up to the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the European States, which were trying to mobilise the Porte against Russia's policy towards Poland, tried to restrain Russia led by Catherine II by sending diplomats to the Ottoman Empire. Since the northern policy of the Ottoman Empire was shaped through the Crimean Khanate, it became impossible for the issues between Poland and Russia not to spill over to the Crimea and thus to the Ottoman lands. Fleeing from the Russian oppression, the Poles took refuge in the castles and towns on the Ottoman border, and the Russian soldiers following them attacked the borders of the Crimean Khanate. While the Poles asked for help from the Crimean Khan and the Ottoman Sultan, the uprising of the Yedisan Nogais, who were worried about Russian oppression, put the Crimean Khan in a difficult situation. With the approach of the war, first the Ottoman Grand Vizier was changed, then the Crimean Khan was dismissed, and the war was officially started with the new Khan's raid to Ukraine. The French Consul General Baron de Tott, who was in Bahçesaray during the aforementioned period, held daily meetings with the state officials on the events mentioned above, and his interpreter Pierre Ruffin wrote down the information he obtained from the meetings in a diary. The second volume of the diary in question has been studied and the social, political, commercial, diplomatic, religious and cultural relations within the Crimean Khanate during the reign of Maksud Giray are narrated through the eyes of a French diplomat from the palace. The author is not limited to the history of Crimea, but also provides information on the expansion policy of Empress Catherine II of Russia, the perspectives of Europe and the Ottoman Empire on the Polish Question, and the first steps of the French in the Black Sea trade. The relevant volume of this work has been transcribed, compared with contemporary sources of the period and evaluated. With the work we have put forward, the period of Maksud Giray Khan has been tried to be enlightened in every aspect. Keywords: Crimea, Poland, Russia, Consul, Baron de Tott