Devlet I Giray vs Ernest Louis of Hesse

Devlet I Giray, in coordination with the Ottoman Empire, led a campaign to capture Astrakhan from Russia. The combined Ottoman-Crimean force failed to take the city and was forced to retreat. This failure weakened Ottoman influence in the region.

Devlet I Giray led a large Crimean army, estimated at 40,000-60,000 men, on a campaign against Russia. He bypassed Russian defenses and set fire to Moscow. The city burned for several hours, with massive casualties and destruction. Only the Kremlin survived.

Devlet I Giray attempted to repeat his success by invading Russia again with a large army. However, the Russian army under Prince Mikhail Vorotynsky decisively defeated the Crimean forces at the Battle of Molodi. This victory ended the Crimean threat to Moscow for decades.

Ernest Louis became Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine on 13 March 1892, succeeding his father Louis IV. His reign was noted for cultural patronage and artistic innovation.

Ernest Louis founded the Darmstadt Artists' Colony (Mathildenh

Ernest Louis suffered the deaths of his first wife Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (divorced 1901) and his daughter Princess Elisabeth (1903). These personal losses influenced his later artistic patronage and reclusive tendencies.

On 9 November 1918, during the German Revolution, Ernest Louis abdicated the throne of Hesse. He was the last grand duke, and his abdication ended the House of Hesse-Darmstadt's rule.