behind Yermak's campaign while the Yesipov Chronicle fails even to mention the family. Perhaps the Stroganovs told the story in a way that would inspire the Russian people to feel just as indebted to them as to Yermak for the conquest of Siberia. Siberian historians are divided on the matter, some believing that the Stroganovs were behind Yermak's campaign and others believing that they played no part in it. Conquest of Siberia Yermak was officially enlisted by the Stroganovs in the spring of 1582. His quest was “to take de facto possession of the country along the Tobol and the Irtysh, which was already de jure in the Stroganovs’ possession under the Tsar's charter of 1574.” The Stroganovs’ ultimate goal was to open up a southern passageway to Mangaseya to access its furs. The Khanate of Sibir blocked the road from the Urals to Mangaseya. After overthrowing the khanate, the intended final destination of Yermak's five thousand mile journey was the Bering Strait. Yermak led a small army of 840 men, made up of 540 of his own followers and three hundred supplied by the Stroganovs. His army was composed of “Russians, Tatars, Lithuanians, and Germans.” The Lithuanians and Germans of the crew came from the Lithuanian front. Nikita and Maksim Stroganov spent twenty thousand rubles of their riches to outfit the army with the best weapons available. This was especially to the advantage of the Russian detachment because their Tatar opponents did not have industrial weapons. According to Russian history specialist W. Bruce Lincoln, the Tatars’ “bows, arrows, and spears” went up against Yermak's team's “matchlock muskets, sabers, pikes, and several small cannons.” However, according to the Russian author Yuri Semyonov, “Yermak had no cannon, and only a small number of his men carried firearms. The Cossacks had not a single horse, while Kuchum and his men were mounted. His cavalry could move quickly in any direction, while the Cossacks were tied to their rafts, which were laden with all their supplies.” Yermak first embarked on his journey through Siberia from a frontier fort in Perm on the Chusovaya River on September 1, 1582, though other sources claim that he may have started his campaign in 1579 or 1581. When navigating down rivers, the crew used high-sided boats that originated in Russia. Throughout their journey, they encountered violent opposition from Kuchum Khan's native allies but the high sides of