THE PRUSSIAN TATARS: MIGRATION AND TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES IN THE PRUSSIAN ARMY IN THE EARLY MODERN PERIOD (1795 – 1800) AND THE ROLE OF THE LIPKA TATARS
Stephan Theilig,
Brandenburg-Preußen Museum,
Institute for Caucasian, Tatar and Turkestan Studies
(Berlin-Magdeburg) (ICATAT),
Eichenallee 7a, 16818 Wustrau, Germany.
stephan-theilig@web.de.
The knowledge of resettlement history of separate individuals and small groups of Brandenburg-Prussia Muslims who were either deported or migrated voluntarily, contributes to a new understanding of the processes of oriental borrowings in German. It also provides the foundation to studies of the lives of those Muslim soldiers who served as “foreigners” in military units of “Bosniaks” or “Tatar regiments”. Some of them lived with families, while others set up new families in the garrisons. The article is aimed at thorough and systematic description of Muslim soldiers’ resettlement in Brandenburg-Prussia.
Key words: Brandenburg-Prussia, Prussian army, Muslim soldiers, Lipka Tatars, migration, Muslim colonies.
