Astrakhan Tatars


Astrakhan Tatars are an ethnic subgroup of the Tatar.
In the 15th to 17th-centuries, the Astrakhan Tatars inhabited the Astrakhan Khanate, which was also inhabited by the Nogai Horde, and the Astrakhan Tatars exerted a profound effect on Nogais. Since the 17th century, there has been an increased interaction and ethnic mixing of the Astrakhan Tatars with Volga Tatars.

Population

The Astrakhan Tatars are a group of Tatars, descendants of the Astrakhan Khanate's nomadic population, who live mostly in Astrakhan Oblast. For the Russian Census in 2010, most Astrakhan Tatars declared themselves simply as Tatars and few declared themselves as Astrakhan Tatars. A large number of Volga Tatars live in Astrakhan Oblast and differences between them have been disappearing.
According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, writing in 1911, "The Astrakhan Tatars are, with the Mongol Kalmucks, all that now remains of the once so powerful Astrakhan empire. They also are agriculturists and gardeners..."
While Astrakhan Tatar is a mixed dialect, around 43,000 have assimilated to the Middle dialect. Their ancestors are Kipchaks, Khazars, and some Volga Bulgars.
The Astrakhan Tatars also assimilated the Agrzhan.
The Astrakhan Tatars are further divided into the Kundrov, Yurt, and Karagash. The latter are also at times called the Karashi Tatars.

Notable Astrakhan Tatars