Khanate of Crimea in the context of Hacı I Giray

The House of Giray (Crimean Tatar: Geraylar, كرايلر; Ottoman Turkish: آل جنكيز, romanized: Âl-i Cengiz, lit. 'Genghisids'), also the Girays, were a Genghisid Turkic dynasty that reigned in the Khanate of Crimea from its formation in 1431 until its downfall in 1783. The dynasty also supplied several khans of Kazan and Astrakhan between 1521 and 1550. Apart from the royal Girays, there was also a lateral branch, the Choban Girays (Çoban Geraylar).

Before reaching the age of majority, young Girays were brought up in one of the Circassian tribes, where they were instructed in the arts of war. The Giray Khans were elected by other Crimean Tatar dynasts, called myrzas (mırzalar). They also elected an heir apparent, called the qalgha sultan (qalğa sultan). In later centuries, the Ottoman Sultan obtained the right of installing and deposing the khans at his will.

The Great Horde (اولوغ اوردا, Uluğ Orda) was the rump state of the Golden Horde that existed from the mid-15th century to 1502. It was centered at the core of the former Golden Horde at Sarai on the lower Volga.

Both the Khanate of Astrakhan and the Khanate of Crimea broke away from the Great Horde throughout its existence, and were hostile to the Great Horde. According to later Russian tradition, the retreat of the forces of the Great Horde at the Great Stand on the Ugra River opposed by Ivan III of Russia marked the end of the "Tatar yoke" over Russia.