Qeytuqo Aslanbech

Qeytuqo Aslanbech
Supreme Prince of Kabardia
The Grand Prince of Kabardia
Reign1737 – 1746
PredecessorTatarkhan
SuccessorBotoko
Bornc. 1657
Kabardia
Died1746 (1747)
Kabardia
IssueSons:[1][2]
Hamirza
Aslanuqo
Doletuqo
Dokhshuqo
Yelbezduqo
Daughters:[3]
One daughter (wife of Arslan Giray)
Names
Qeytuqo yiqo Aslanbech
KabardianКъетыкъуэ Аслъэнбэч
House
  • Inalid dynasty
    • House of Qeytuqo
FatherQeytuqo
ReligionSunni Islam

Aslanbech Qeytuqo or Aslanbek Kaitukin (Kabardian: Къетыкъуэ Аслъэнбэч), was the Supreme Prince of Kabardia between 1737 and 1746. He was the eldest son of Prince Qeytuqo Djembulatiqo. His younger brothers were Qanamet and Djembulat.[4][5]

Biography

Aslanbech believed that the struggles between princes, lords and khans must end and the unity of the tribes should be ensured in order to gather first Kabarda and then the whole Caucasus under a state roof. He gained the support of Jabagh Qazanoqo.[4][5]

In 1711, the Russian Tsar Peter I The Great sent a letter to Kabardia, knowing about the friendly relations between Kalmyks and Kabardians, he proposed for Kabarda to become a Russian subject[6] just like the Kalmyk Khanate. In the letter he said;

"And if you become our subjects, then not only will we not demand any taxes from you, but we will also determine the annual salary to give you, as our subject Ayuka Khan receives from us and as you were previously subjects of our ancestors and received a salary from them; and we will order you to assist him, Ayuka Khan, with the Kalmyks and the Don, Yaik and Greben Cossacks"[6]

Thus, Kabardians, Russians, and Kalmyks formed an alliance.

Aslanbech, with the help of the Russian empire, conducted several successful raids on its neighbors, including Ossetians, Chechens, Balkars, Abazins, and other North Caucasian peoples to strengthen his presence in the region.[7]

In August of 1720, Aslanbech Qeytuqo and other Kabardian princes like Tatarkhan Bekov and Baituk Bek along with the Don Cossacks led a Campaign against the Chechen clans on lower Sunzha, complaining to the Tsar about them being enemies of Russia. Aslanbech ravaged the lands of Chechens and killed many until he had to retreat because of low supply caused by the Crimean raids on Kabarda.[8]

Kashkatau War

Main article: Kabardian Civil War (1720–1726)

In 1720, the Crimean-Circassian war of 1720-1726 started, complicated by the civil strife between the Anti-Crimean Kashkatau Party, which Aslanbech was a part of, and the Pro-Crimean Baksan Party. Earlier that year, Aslanbech from the Qeytuqo dynasty carried out a campaign against Chechen settlements in eastern Kabardia to reduce hostility against the Tsar, capturing many and sending a boy and a girl to the Russian Empire as a gift.[9][10][11][12][13]

In 1720, Saadat II Giray invaded Kabarda with 40,000 troops, demanding allegiance to the Ottoman Empire and Crimean Khanate, 4,000 jasyrs, and restitution for past losses. Pro-Crimean princes capitulated, while Kashkatau party leaders fortified Cherek Fortress.[14] Despite the defection of the Misost's and Hatokhshoqo's to the Crimean side, Aslanbech Qeytuqo’s leadership enabled the Kashkatau forces to successfully repel the onslaught through the end of the year.

By January 1721, Aslanbech Qeytuqo's forces defeated the Crimean Tatars and their Baksan allies at the Nalchik River.[15] In this battle, the Crimeans lost no fewer than 360 men killed. Russia sent Artemy Volynsky to mediate, temporarily restoring peace. On January 3, 1721, Peter I guaranteed assistance to Aslanbech's "Kashkatau people" in a letter, but this aid was never provided.

From 1722 to 1724, conflicts continued. The Bekmirza's and Qeytuqo's remained besieged in the Kashkatau area, defending themselves entirely with their own resources. Aslanbech Qeytuqo allied with Mengli II Giray, new Khan, against the Baksan faction, but local Kabardian resistance remained strong.[16] This alliance followed a period where Aslanbech received no answer to his military aid requests from Peter I, leading to a major strategic shift where the Kashkatau party and Bakhsan faction effectively swapped their international allegiances.

By 1725–1726, Baksan party leaders Islambek Misost and the Hatokhshoqo princes capitulated to Bakhte-Giray and Aslanbech Qeytuqo. Kabardia achieved a Kabardian victory over the Crimean Khanate and pro-Crimean Kabardians, Baksan party. With the surrender of the Hatokhshoqo princes to Aslanbech, the Kashkatau faction secured a final victory against the Russian-supported Bakhsan party.

Aslanbech participated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739 in the favor of Russia. in 1739, together with the Kalmyks, he launched a counterattack against the Crimeans, and defeated them near the Laba river.

His son Hamirza and grandson Ismail were killed in 1779 while fighting against the Russians during the Seven Months' War.[2]

References

  1. ^ БОЛЬШАЯ ОБЩАЯ СХЕМА ГЕНЕАЛОГИИ КАБАРДИНСКИХ КНЯЗЕЙ ОТ ИНАЛА (ВСЕ ВЕТВИ) ДО XVIIIВ. ВКЛЮЧИТЕЛЬНО [The General Genealogy Scheme of the Kabardian Princes from Inal (All Branches) up to and Including the 18th Century] (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-11-30.
  2. ^ a b Hasırcı, Metin. Büyük Osmanlı Tarihi (in Turkish). p. 1043.
  3. ^ БОЛЬШАЯ ОБЩАЯ СХЕМА ГЕНЕАЛОГИИ КАБАРДИНСКИХ КНЯЗЕЙ ОТ ИНАЛА (ВСЕ ВЕТВИ) ДО XVIIIВ. ВКЛЮЧИТЕЛЬНО [The General Genealogy Scheme of the Kabardian Princes from Inal (All Branches) up to and Including the 18th Century] (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-11-30.
  4. ^ a b Doğbay, Orhan. "Türkiye'de Çerkes diasporasının siyasi tarihi" üzerine notlar.
  5. ^ a b Мальбахов Б. К. "Кабарда на этапах политической истории (середина XVI — первая четверть XIX века), Москва, «Поматур», 2002 г. ISBN 5-86208-106-2
  6. ^ a b "Kabarda and Russia in Relations with the Kalmyk Khanate: From Clashes to Cooperation". www.kbigi.ru. Retrieved 2025-12-15.
  7. ^ Феномен политического отчуждения в исторических судьбах черкесского народа [The Phenomenon of Political Alienation in the Historical Fate of the Circassian People]. pp. 182–183.
  8. ^ "1720 г. августа в последних числах. Письмо кабардинских князей Арсланбека Кайтукина и других Петру I о походе их с донскими казаками на чеченцев, и о нападении на них крымского хана и разорении их, с просьбой прислать на помощь донских и терских казаков и калмыков, а также построить в их крае город" [August 1720, the last days of the month. Letter from the Kabardin princes Arslanbek Kaitukin and others to Peter I about their campaign with the Don Cossacks against the Chechens, and about the Crimean Khan's attack and destruction of their land, requesting the Don and Tersk Cossacks and Kalmyks to come to their assistance and to build a city in their land.]. Studfile (in Russian). Retrieved 7 November 2025.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Dzamikhov, K. F. (2008). Adygi: Milestones of History (PDF) (in Russian). Elbrus. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-5-7680-2176-4.
  15. ^ A. Kh. Abazov; Yu. D. Anchabadze; A. V. Kushkhabiev; M. M. Pashtova, eds. (2022). Adygi: Adygs, Kabardians, Cherkess, Shapsugs (in Russian). Nauka. p. 62. ISBN 978-5-02-040924-8.
  16. ^ 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.
  • Мальбахов Б. К. "Кабарда на этапах политической истории (середина XVI — первая четверть XIX века), Москва, «Поматур», 2002 г. ISBN 5-86208-106-2
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