Note 12 — INDEX
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Footnote 12:
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The story of Zacharias de Guizolfi deserves to be given at greater length. He was a prince and ruler of the Taman peninsula near the Black Sea (1419). After he had been unsuccessful in a war against the Turks, Czar Ivan III sent him a message sealed with the gold seal (March 14, 1484) as follows:
"By the grace of God, the great ruler of the Russian land, the Grand Duke Ivan Vassilyevich, czar of all the Russias, to Skariya the Hebrew.
"You have written to us through Gabriel Patrov, our guest, that you desire to come to us. It is our wish that you do so. When you are with us, we shall give you evidence of our favorable disposition toward you. Should you wish to serve us, we will confer honors upon you. But should you not wish to remain with us, and prefer to return to your country, you shall be free to go."
For some reason or other, Zacharias never accomplished his contemplated trip, notwithstanding the many inducements repeatedly offered by the czar during a period of eighteen years. Perhaps it was because of the disturbances which rendered transportation dangerous; possibly because he preferred to serve the khan rather than the czar, for we find him, in 1500, a resident of Circassia. See JE, vi. 107-108; vi. 12.