Azov

Azov is a town in the Rostov Oblast of the Russian Federation, situated on the Don River just 4 miles from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Its population is 81,700 (2002). Azov's geographical location is {{coor dm|47|5|N|39|28|E|}}.

Fortress of Azov

In what is known as one of the more legendary pages of Cossack history, the Don Cossacks captured the fortress with its Turkish garrisson of 4000 soldiers and 200 cannons in the summer of 1637 and held it for 5 years. In June 1641 they withstood a long siege by an Ottoman army. In 1642, when the Turks retreated, the Tsar summoned a popular assembly, or Zemsky Sobor, which decided to surrender the fortress in order to avoid the full-scale war with Turkey. Before leaving the castle, the Cossacks annihilated all the fortifications.

Related Topics:
Don Cossacks - 1637 - Ottoman - Zemsky Sobor

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The town, however, had yet to pass through many vicissitudes. During the so-called Azov campaigns (1696), Peter the Great managed to recover the fortress but the disastrous Pruth Campaign constrained him to hand it back to the Turks in 1711. A humorous description of the events is featured in Voltaire's Candide. During the Great Russo-Turkish War it was taken by the army under Count Rumyantsev and finally ceded to Russia under the terms of Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji (1774). For 7 years Azov was a capital of a separate government but, with the growth of neighbouring Rostov-on-the-Don, gradually declined in importance.

Related Topics:
Azov campaigns - Peter the Great - Pruth Campaign - 1711 - Voltaire - Candide - Great Russo-Turkish War - Count Rumyantsev - Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji - Rostov-on-the-Don

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