A Journey Beyond the Three Seas
Encyclopedia
A Journey Beyond the Three Seas is a Russian
literary monument in the form of travel notes, made by a merchant
from Tver
Afanasiy Nikitin during his journey to India
in 1466-1472.
A Journey Beyond the Three Seas was the first Russian literary work to depict a strictly commercial
, non-religious trip. The author visited the Caucasus
, Persia, India and the Crimea
. However, most of the notes are dedicated to India, its political structure, trade
, agriculture
, custom
s and ceremonies. The work is full of lyrical digression
s and autobiographic
passages. Its last page is in Turkic
and the broken Arabic language
; these are, in fact, typical Muslim prayers, indicating that Nikitin might have converted to Islam while he was in India, although his lapse from Christianity bothered him as he mentions several times in the text.
On the other hand, however, Nikitin all time prays to Blessed Virgin Mary as Theotokos
, Christian Orthodox Saints, tries to observe Christian rights, and so on.
In 1475, the manuscript
made its way to Moscow
into the hands of a government official Vasili Mamyrev. Later on, it was incorporated into the annalistic code of 1489, the Sofia Second Chronicle
and the Lvov Chronicle
.
Russian literature
Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...
literary monument in the form of travel notes, made by a merchant
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
from Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
Afanasiy Nikitin during his journey to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1466-1472.
A Journey Beyond the Three Seas was the first Russian literary work to depict a strictly commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
, non-religious trip. The author visited the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, Persia, India and the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
. However, most of the notes are dedicated to India, its political structure, trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, custom
Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
s and ceremonies. The work is full of lyrical digression
Digression
Digression is a section of a composition or speech that is an intentional change of subject. In Classical rhetoric since Corax of Syracuse, especially in Institutio Oratoria of Quintilian, the digression was a regular part of any oration or composition...
s and autobiographic
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
passages. Its last page is in Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
and the broken Arabic language
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
; these are, in fact, typical Muslim prayers, indicating that Nikitin might have converted to Islam while he was in India, although his lapse from Christianity bothered him as he mentions several times in the text.
On the other hand, however, Nikitin all time prays to Blessed Virgin Mary as Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
, Christian Orthodox Saints, tries to observe Christian rights, and so on.
In 1475, the manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
made its way to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
into the hands of a government official Vasili Mamyrev. Later on, it was incorporated into the annalistic code of 1489, the Sofia Second Chronicle
Sofia Second Chronicle
The Sofia Second Chronicle is a Russian chronicle from the 16th century. It is found in two redactions: The Archival redaction, from the first quarter of the 16th century and now in the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents The Sofia Second Chronicle is a Russian chronicle from the 16th...
and the Lvov Chronicle
Lvov Chronicle
The Lvov Chronicle is a Russian chronicle from the sixteenth century that was originally published in the eighteenth century by Nikolay Lvov, for whom it is named....
.