Islam III Giray (1604-10 July 1654) was Khan of the Crimean Khanate from 1644 to 1654, succeeding Mehmed IV Giray's terms.
Biography[]
Islam Giray was born in Crimea in 1604, the son of Khan Selamet I Giray; he was the brother of three khans and the uncle of four. He was a captive in Poland from 1629 to 1632, served as Kalga (regent) under his brother Bahadir I Giray, and led the Budzhak Horde back to Crimea in 1637. In the winter of 1639-40, he captured 8,000 Ukrainian slaves for the Turkish galleys, and, in 1641, Islam went to Turkey after his brother Mehmed IV Giray succeeded Bahadir. In 1644, the Ottoman sultan deposed Mehmed and placed Islam on the throne of the Crimean Khanate, and Islam appointed his brother Kyrym Giray as his kalga. He supported the Khmelnytsky Uprising against Poland-Lithuania, and Kyrym was killed at the 1651 Battle of Berestechko, and Gazi Giray succeeded him as kalga. He was victorious over the Poles at the 1652 Battle of Batih, and, in 1653, he ravaged the Polish countryside around Bar and Kaminetz. He also fought at the 1653 Battle of Zhvanets, and he died in 1654.
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