Kabardian Civil War (1720–1726)

Kabardian Civil War (1720–1726)
Part of Civil Wars in Kabardia and Crimean–Circassian wars
Date1720–1726
Location
Kabardia (Circassia)
Result

Kashkatau Faction's victory

  • Capitulation of the Bakhsan faction
Belligerents
  • Phase 1 (1720-1724):
  • Kashkatau party
    • Qeytuqo dynasty
    • Bekmirza dynasty

Supported by:

  • Phase 2 (1724-1726):
  • Kashkatau party
    • Qeytuqo dynasty
    • Bekmirza dynasty

Supported by:

  • Phase 1 (1720-1724):
  • Bakhsan party
    • Misost dynasty
    • Hatokhshoqo dynasty

Supported by:

  • Phase 2 (1724-1726):
  • Bakhsan party
    • Misost dynasty
    • Hatokhshoqo dynasty

Supported by:

Commanders and leaders
Aslanbech Qeytuqo
Kanamat Qeytuqo †
Tatarkhan Bekmirza (WIA)
Meñli II Giray (post-1724)
Bakhti Giray (post-1724)		 Islambek Misost
Aledjuqo Ali 
Uzda Misost 
Qasey Hatokhshoqo 
Muhammad Hatokhshoqo 
Saadet IV Giray
Salikh-Giray Sultan
Strength
~20,000 ~40,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Unknown Heavy

Kabardian Civil War (1720–1726) was a civil conflict between the Kashkatau Party, led by Aslanbech Qeytuqo, and the Bakhsan Party, led by Islambek Misost in Kabardia. The civil strife was complicated by the intervention of Russian and Crimean polities in the conflict, which eventually ended in the favour of Kashkatau princes.[2][3][4][5][6]

Background

In 1720, Aslanbech from the Qeytuqo dynasty (who were a part of the Kashkatau party) carried out a campaign against the Chechen settlements on the east of Kabardia to "reduce hostility against the Tsar in the region", he killed and captured many, sending a boy and a girl to the Russian Empire as a gift.[7][8] However, this angered the Shamkhals of Tarki, Aksal, and Endirey, who claimed Chechens as their subjects. The Shamkhals, who reacted harshly, reported this to the Crimean Khan for him to launch a punitive campaign against the Kabardians. Upon hearing this, the Kabardian princes appealed to Russia for help in repelling the Crimean invasion, and for the construction of a new fortress in Beshtamak area near Terek, to protect Kabardia.[9]

History

In the spring of 1720, the 40,000-strong Crimean army of Saadet IV Giray appeared on the borders of Kabardia. According to sources, the Crimean Khan undertook his campaign “upon the news and call of his eldest son, Salikh Giray.” In early June 1720, Saadet Giray, through his ambassadors, demanded that the rulers of Greater Kabardia recognize themselves as subjects of the Ottoman Sultan, resettle in Kuban, pay 4,000 yasyrs “for the dishonor of the former khan” (Qaplan I Giray), and return all the military spoils captured by the Kabardians over the previous twenty years. Attempts by the Kabardian princes to negotiate more lenient terms were rejected, and the Crimean–Ottoman army invaded Kabardia.[6]

The Jembulats actively resisted, resettling with their subjects in the Kashkhatau tract and building a small fortress there. Despite their relatively small numbers and the defection of the Misost's and Hatokhshoqo's to the Crimean side, the Jembulats, thanks to the leadership and ability of their leader Qeytuqo Aslanbech, successfully repelled the onslaught of their enemies until the end of the year. In December 1720, Saadet Giray was forced to retreat beyond the Kuban.[10] Only in mid-January 1721, after the battle on the Nalchik River, during which most of the Bakhsan nobles went over to the side of Qeytuqey village, were the Crimean troops expelled from the center of Kabarda. In this battle the Crimeans lost no fewer than 360 men killed. Despite the apparent success of the Kashkatau party, Crimea resumed its offensive against the descendants of Jembulat (the Bekmirza's and Qeytuqo's) in the spring of 1721.[11]

On January 3, 1721, Peter I of Russia, in a letter presented to the Kabardian ambassador Saalettirey Sulgan-aliev, guaranteed assistance to the “Kashkatau people.” However, this assistance was never provided. From 1721 to 1724, the Bekmirza's and Qeytuqo's, besieged by the Crimeans in the area of the city of Kashkatau, defended themselves entirely at the expense of their own resources.[11]

In 1724, Aslanbech Qeytuqo asked for military aid for Peter I, after receiving no answer to his request, he started to strengthen his ties with the new Crimean khan, Mengli II Giray. At this point, Peter the Great was in favour of the Bakhsan faction and the Kashkatau party allied with the Crimeans, both parties changing sides in the conflict.[12] In 1726, the Bakhsan leaders Islambek Misost and other Hatokhshoqo princes capitulated and surrendered to Aslanbech. Thus the Kashkatau faction achieved victory against the Russian supported party of Bakhsan.[10]

References

  1. ^ Malbakhov B. K. "Kabarda at the Stages of Political History (Mid-16th to Early 19th Century)", Moscow, Pomatur Publishing, 2002. ISBN 5-86208-106-2, p. 251
  2. ^ Fidarova, Rita Zelimkhanovna (2008). "Conflict of Princely Coalitions in Kabarda, 1720–1774" (PDF) (in Russian). Institute of Humanities Research, Government of Kabardino-Balkaria and Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. pp. 23–26. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  3. ^ Fidarova, Rita Zelimkhanovna (2007). "Conflict of Feudal Factions and Its Influence on the Decline of Kabarda's Independence (1720–1757)". Izvestiya VUZ. North Caucasus Region. Social Sciences. Special Issue (in Russian). ISSN 0321-3056. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  4. ^ Shumkin, A. V. (2019). Turks of the Central Caucasus in the 16th–18th Centuries (Problems of Ethnic History) (PDF) (in Russian). Chelyabinsk State Institute of Culture. pp. 93–94. ISBN 978-5-94839-705-4.
  5. ^ Naloeva, E. D. (2015). A. S. Mirzoev (ed.). Kabarda in the First Half of the 18th Century: Genesis of the Adyghe Feudal Society and Problems of Socio-Political History (PDF) (in Russian). Printing House OOO "Pechatny Dvor". pp. 54–59. ISBN 978-5-905770-52-4.
  6. ^ a b Bgazhnokov, Barasbi Kh. (2008). Kanjal Battle and Political History of Kabarda in the First Half of the 18th Century: Studies and Materials (PDF) (in Russian). M. & V. Kotlyarov Publishing. pp. 89–93. ISBN 978-5-93680-225-6.
  7. ^ Кабардино-русские отношения. Документы XVIII века (in Russian). Наука. 1976. pp. 24–29.
  8. ^ "Letter from the Kabardian princes Arslan-bek Kaitukin and others to Peter I". www.vostlit.info. Retrieved 2026-03-16.
  9. ^ "Феодальные междоусобицы в Кабарде в начале XVIII века". blago-kavkaz.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-11-30.
  10. ^ a b Bgazhnokov, Barasbi Kh. (2008). Kanjal Battle and Political History of Kabarda in the First Half of the 18th Century: Studies and Materials (PDF) (in Russian). M. & V. Kotlyarov Publishing. pp. 89–93. ISBN 978-5-93680-225-6.
  11. ^ a b Fidarova, Rita Zelimkhanovna (2008). "Conflict of Princely Coalitions in Kabarda, 1720–1774" (PDF) (in Russian). Institute of Humanities Research, Government of Kabardino-Balkaria and Kabardino-Balkarian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. p. 7. Retrieved 2025-09-06.
  12. ^ Kipkeeva, Z. B. (2017). Descendants of Genghis Khan in the History of the North Caucasus, 18th–19th Centuries (PDF) (in Russian). North-Caucasus Federal University Press. pp. 23–25. ISBN 978-5-9296-0891-9.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.