Biography

Afanasy Nikitin (? - 1472) was a Russian merchant from Tver and one of the first Europeans to travel to India in 1466–1472, a visit which he documented in his travel notes known as 'The Journey Beyond Three Seas'; the first Russian literary work to depict a strictly commercial, non-religious trip. Though Nikitin visited the Caucasus, Persia, India and the Crimea, most of the notes are dedicated to India, its political structure, trade, agriculture, customs and ceremonies. Being full of lyrical digressions and autobiographic passages, the work is known for its strong individual, authorial presence. Its last page is in Turkic and broken Arabic; 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.

Personal Info