Ejderhan Campaign and Don- Volga Canal Project

The XVI century was the period when the Ottoman State was institutionalized in every aspect and one of the strongest states in the region. However, from the second half of the century, the Ottoman Empire began to suffer from the changing conditions and developing Europe. In this period the Ottoman Empire was in intense struggles with the Safavids in the east and the Habsburg Empire in the west. Simultaneously, in the north, Russia had emerged as a new threat. The weakening power of Alt？nordu State, which was a guarantee for the Russian threat in the north of Black Sea and Caucasus until then, changed the status quo in the region. As a matter of fact, the occupation of Kazan in 1552 and Astrakhan in 1556 by the Russians caused the Ottoman Empire to feel the Russian threat closely in the north. As a result of the loss of Kazan and Astrakhan, the Ottoman Empire was damaged both in the north of the Black Sea and the activities of the Sunni Turkestan Khanates in Central Asia were interrupted. Therefore, in 1569, the Ottoman Empire planned to open a channel in the region where the Don and Volga Rivers were closest to each other and first planned to take Astrakhan back and then connect the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea to have naval and military superiority in that region. However, due to reasons such as seasonal conditions, geographical difficulties, reluctance of the Crimean National Army, and inadequate equipment, the canal excavation work was not done and the Ottoman State could not complete this huge project. In this study, the reasons for the Don-Volga Canal Project, the canal digging process and the Ejderhan Campaign were discussed by taking the lead from the provisions of Mühimme Registries, located in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives