Tatars are often discussed in context of the diversity and tolerance of the former Republic of Poland, that they were the only Muslim minority with a constant European presence.
This is a phenomenon indeed, no similar example can be found in Europe. Islam in the Balkans appeared much later, after Ottoman Turkey's territorial takeovers. Tatars, who arrived in Poland as Muslims, preserved their language for two, three centuries, but the spoken language was disappearing. In the 16th century, Polish Tatars turned to Sultan Suleiman for him to send over imams and mullahs, because the native language was vanishing and there weren’t enough clerics. Nonetheless, for a long time Tatar texts were copied from old manuscripts, what proves that the Tatar scribes knew the Tatar language very well. A similar situation occurred among the Polish Armenians, who preserved Armenian liturgies, but spoke the Kipchak-Armenian language on a daily basis.
Did the Polish Tatars feel a connection with Turkey?
Most likely yes, there’s evidence of trips, pilgrimages to Mecca via Turkey; Tatars remained in contact with Central Asia, especially with Crimea. Mullahs were sent away for education; manuscripts, from which Arabic and Turkish text would be copied, were brought over. In the 19th century Tatars also emigrated to Turkey.
Fashion and customs
A portrait of Stanisław Krasiński, author unknown, from before 1654, from the collection of The National Museum of Warsaw In the common imagination of Poles, the area of Polish culture most influenced by Turkish influences was Sarmatian fashion.
European fashion was regarded by the Sarmatians as foppish, not suited to the nature and temper of the nobility, which wanted to have everything rich and elegant: ample fur coats, long golden caftans, magnificent weapons and groomed horses. The splendour of the oriental, Persian and Turkish products acted on the imagination and suited the idea of impressing and “showing off”.
What is interesting is that the influence of oriental fashion migrated to different social classes – also to the middle class and peasantry. An example of a loanword from Turkish is the word kieca ( meaning a dress), which comes from the Turkish word kecze, defining cloth and cloth works. The inventories of the middle class are full of words describing clothes and fabrics, of Turkish origin. The earliest influence in male fashion appears in the 15th century; Kodeks Baltazara Behema / The Balthasar Behem Codex from the 16th century contains many miniatures which show townsmen wearing oriental outfits.
Where else should one look for Turkish influences?
In the most unexpected areas. The dialect of the highlanders is full of Turkish loanwords. The Tatra mountains were a part of a communication route from the Balkans, where loanwords from Turkish shepherds’ language would arrive the earliest. These mainly relate to equipment, clothing and animals, like baran (meaning: a ram) or baca (meaning: a head shepherd).
What things, other than fashion, migrated to Poland from Turkey?
This topic is not well covered yet, but the sphere of influence is large – customs, like smoking tobacco or drinking coffee, sociable games, the gentry's custom of shaving their heads. There are also some typical summons, like kurdesz (from the Turkish kardesz, meaning brother), associated with brotherhood.
War and peace
Stanisław Chlebowski, Battle of Vienna, 1882, photo: The National Museum in Kraków The image of our contacts with Turkey is dominated by war. Was Poland considered the bulwark of Christianity?
The numbers are against this image – the wars took only about a quarter of the 600 years of Polish-Turkish relations. Of course the most popular battles are remembered – the battles of Khotyn or Zbarazh, or the acquisition of Kamieniec. The Turkish invasion and siege of Podole (the defence of Kamieniec) was the most severe for Poland. It was the most difficult period in Polish-Turkish relations, which ended with the Battle of Vienna and victory for Poland. The Treaty of Karlowitz signed in 1699 was the caesura. A period of lasting peace and friendly relations began.
Territories acquired by Turkey were inhabited by many nations. How were Turkish politics on those territories?
The Turks organised garrisons, introduced their own administration, levied taxes from the non-Muslim population. Turks from Anatolia also inhabited the Balkans. They tolerated followers of other religions – Christians and Jews.
In the 19th century, Turkey transforms from an enemy to Poland’s friend. Istanbul becomes one of the most desired destinations for Polish emigration. Over there, Poles often turned to Islam…
After the November and January Uprising, and the Hungarian revolution, Turkey granted asylum to thousands of Polish political emigrants. Poles who wished to hold important positions had to turn to Islam, but it wasn’t considered treason. It was the case with Władysław Kościelski – Sefer Paşa – who was able to realise his ambitions after becoming Muslim – he attained the rank of general in the Ottoman army. Polish emigrants wished to strengthen Turkey, the ally of Polish interests against Russia.
Polish Orientalism
Mickiewicz’s try at Turkish writing, source: Muzeum Literatury in Warsaw Mickiewicz thought alike when he came to Istanbul in 1865. One of the last lines Mickiewicz wrote was in Turkish – as the Migrating University of Mickiewicz, one of the Polish Year in Turkey projects, reminds us.
Polish activists in Turkey wanted to communicate in the local language. Among the elite, one could’ve used French, but some expertise in Turkish was indispensable.
Mickiewicz belonged to the environment from which many later Orientalists originated. As a young man he wanted to study the languages of the East.
Vilnius was the strongest centre of Orientalism. The Institute of Oriental Languages at the University of Vilnius, in its short period of activity, shaped many notable Orientalists: translators, writers, professors. One of them was Józef Sękowski, the author of translations used by Mickiewicz in his poems Szanfary and Almotennabi.
