Overview
Safa Giray ruled the Crimean Khanate for less than a year, from December 1691 to October 1692, in the gap between the second and third reigns of his cousin Selim I Giray. A grandson of Khan Selâmet I Giray, he had served as kalga and nureddin, the khanate's two senior offices below the khan, and came to the throne with long experience of its court. He lost it quickly because he lost the trust of the people he needed most: the Crimean nobility and its fighting men.
Rise to Power
When Selim I Giray resigned in 1691, the Ottomans appointed Saadet III Giray, then removed him within months for military incompetence. Safa Giray replaced him in December 1691, during the long war between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg-led Holy League.
Rule and Achievements
- Took the throne in the middle of a major Ottoman war, when the khanate's main value to Istanbul was its cavalry
- Became unpopular almost at once; contemporaries accused him of drunkenness, extortion and of using his office for private trade in soap and fish and for tax farming
- When the Ottomans summoned the Crimean army to fight the Habsburgs, most of the nobles refused to follow him, and those who did gradually deserted
- Was replaced in October 1692 after the Crimeans asked the Ottomans to restore Selim I Giray
Legacy
Safa Giray's short reign is a clear lesson in authority. He held the title, the Ottoman appointment and the family name, but the nobles who supplied the army would not ride with him, and without an army a Crimean khan was of no use to his overlord. The return of Selim I Giray, who went on to rule twice more, shows the difference trust makes.
After his removal Safa Giray settled on Rhodes and continued trading. He died in 1703 at Karnobat, in present-day Bulgaria, and was buried in the courtyard of the town's mosque.