At the beginning of 1730, Ilyas Kolchak became governor of Khocim, who was henceforth honoured with the title of pasha and seraskier, i.e. commander-in-chief of the troops in the Khocim fortress. In May 1736, on the other hand, he was given the title of vizier. This was made possible by a rapprochement in Polish-Turkish relations, in contrast to the turbulent previous century.

Evidence of the establishment of relations between the magnates and nobility of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the time and Kolchak Pasha can be found in letters from this time, written mainly by anti-Russian confederates of Dzików and supporters of King Stanislaw Leszczynski, but not only. The correspondence also reflects plans for anti-Russian Polish-Turkish co-operation.

The Polish-language letters selected for publication (more than 300) addressed to the Pasha are an extremely valuable testimony to those times. Among the correspondence are complaints of subjects addressed to the Ottoman authorities, including peasants, Jews, but also women, both Muslim and non-Muslim. Letters of this type are generally little seen in traditional scholarly publications, which focus on the events of 'big' political history.

The wealth of surviving source material makes it possible to show the modern reader the social, cultural and moral life of the borderland between the noble Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century.

The book is a critical study of this correspondence, preceded by extensive commentary from the authors. The value of the material presented is very important for researchers, including those studying the everyday life of the Chocim province in the 18th century. The publication of the letters shows how diverse the material is in the Chocim archive and how it can be used for various historical research in the future.

Author: Mariusz Kaczka, Dariusz Kołodziejczyk

Edited by: Mieczysław Molski

Translation: Dariusz Kołodziejczyk and Mariusz Kaczka (English)
Viktor Brekhunenko (Ukrainian)

Year of publication: 2020

Number of pages: 530

Cover: Softbound

ISBN: 978-83-66172-32-6