234 HISTORY OF KAMSCHATKA. [chap. 



of which was to render tributary many tribes between the Petschora 

 and the Obi. Although the invading force scarcely passed the 

 Ural range, and its effect was rapidly lost by the second conquering 

 of the same tribes by a descendant of Yenghis Khan, the Czar was 

 more fortvmate to the south, and ha^dng subdued the Tartars of 

 Astrakhan and the Volga, he somewhat prematurely assumed the 

 title of Lord of all Siberia in 1558. 



About this time a certain Yermac Timovieff came into notice. 

 He was a Cossack of the Don, and at best little more than a robber 

 chief, who, at the head of six thousand men, had been beaten by the 

 forces of the Czar and driven from the country. Eetiring to the 

 north and east, he came into contact with Kuchum Khan, whose 

 dominions extended over a vast tract of country in the region of 

 the Irtish and the Obi ; and though his forces had been considerably 

 reduced, he formed the bold project of conquering that monarch 

 and estabHshing for himseK a new kingdom in western Siberia. 

 The result was a complete success. The deciding battle was fought 

 close to where the town of Tobolsk now stands, and though 

 Yermac's forces numbered scarcely fifteen hundred men, his victory 

 was complete, and the Tartars were routed with great slaughter. 

 From this moment the tide of fortune was uninterrupted. The 

 neighbouring tribes at once submitted, and in 1579, after barely 

 two years' wanderings, the exiled robber found himself transformed 

 into a powerfu.1 monarch. 



His further action shows him to have been as far-seeing as he 

 was bold. Backed by a mere handful of his own men, he could 

 not hope to retain the crown without assistance, and that assistance 

 could only be obtained from the Czar. To him accordingly he 

 offered his new kingdom, stipulating for immediate aid. The Czar 

 accepted, pardoned Yermac, and sent a body of five hundred troops 

 to the Irtish, where Kuchum Khan was still giving some trouble to 

 his successor ; and thus Paissia laid the eastern foundation of the 

 vast empire which now bounds one half of the circumference of the 

 Polar Sea. 



