Daryal war
 | This article may incorporate text from a large language model. (May 2025) |
| The Daryal Gorge War | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Circassian conquest of the Central Caucasus | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Kabardia (East Circassia) |
 Vainakh tribes Kingdom of Kartli | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Shorok Aitek-Murza |
Sultan-Murza Alexander II of Kakheti | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy; many killed or taken prisoner | ||||||||
The Daryal War (1596–1597) was a military conflict in the Caucasus involving the Kabardians and their incursion through the Daryal Gorge into the territories of the Vainakh tribes and the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Kartli.[1][2][3][4][5]
Background
[edit]In 1557, Kabarda voluntarily accepted Russian suzerainty, which strengthened Kabardian influence in the North Caucasus and established formal political ties with the Tsardom of Russia. These relations were further solidified in 1561 by the marriage of Maria Temryukovna, daughter of the Kabardian prince Temryuk Idar, to Tsar Ivan IV.[6][7][8][9]
In October 1562, an army under the command of Temryuk Idar, composed of Kabardians, Nogais, and Cossacks, launched a campaign into the central Caucasus. According to historical sources, including the Nikon Chronicle, the objective was to seize the lands inhabited by the Ingush people between the Terek and Sunzha rivers.[10][11][12][13][14]
In the 16th century, the Ingush lived primarily in the plains, but a series of invasions by the Mongols, Timur, and later regional powers forced much of the population into the mountains.[15][16][17][18]
The campaign was supported by Nogai murzas and a Russian detachment of 1,000 Cossacks under Grigory Pleshcheev, sent by Ivan IV. According to Russian chronicles, a total of 164 settlements were destroyed. The Ingush population again retreated into the mountains, and Kabardian settlers occupied the depopulated lowlands.[12][13][19][20][21]
The war
[edit]In 1596, Kabardian forces led by princes Shorok and Aitek-Murza advanced through the Daryal Gorge, seizing fortified settlements (’‘kabaki’’) belonging to the Vainakh noble Sultan-Murza. After establishing control in the highlands, they moved southward into Kartli's mountainous borderlands, specifically targeting the Sioni and Ksani regions.[1][2][3][4][5]
In May 1597, King Alexander II of Kartli reported the incursion to Russian envoys Kuzma Savin and Andrei Polukhanov. According to their account, Alexander informed them that “Solokh, the Kabardian ruler, and Aitek-Murza” had invaded the “land of Soni,” killing many and taking numerous captives. The term “ruler” (’‘gosudar’’) used by Alexander in reference to Solokh suggests a recognition—possibly tactical—of his authority among the Kabardians.[1][2][3][4][5]
Role of Alexander II of Kakheti
[edit]The same report noted that another Kabardian noble, referred to as “Gosudar Alkas,” had warned King Alexander about Solokh's actions and even released many of the captives taken during the raid. In retaliation, Solokh attempted to incite Russian voivodes stationed in Terek to join him in military action against Alkas.[5]
In response, Alexander sent a letter to the Russian commanders urging them not to act against Alkas. He assured them that if Alkas had offended the Russian Tsar in any way, he would soon “correct his mistake, fully submit to the Tsar, and remain eternally loyal.”[5]
Aftermath
[edit]Kabardian Expansion in the Early 17th Century
[edit]In the early 17th century, the most active political and military force in the central Caucasus region was represented by the Kabardian princes. Supported by loyal retainers and allied nobles, they sought to gain control over strategic routes leading into eastern Georgia.[22]
By 1604, Kabardian influence had expanded to the vicinity of the Daryal Gorge, a key passage connecting the North Caucasus with the Kingdom of Kartli. Prince Aitek secured control over an alternative mountain route leading to the "land of Soni"—a designation referring to the domain of the Ksani eristavi.[23][3][4]
Kabardian feudal lords conducted raids into Georgian territory, attacking the lands of the Ksani eristavi, capturing inhabitants, and asserting intermittent military pressure on border regions.[23][3][4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Мизиев, И. М. (2008-06-28). "Исторические и политические страницы балкарского народа [Historical and Political Pages of the Balkar People]". Balkaria.info (in Russian). Wayback Machine (Internet Archive). Archived from the original on 28 June 2008.
- ^ a b c Belokurov, S. A. (1888). Сношения России с Кавказом [Relations of Russia with the Caucasus] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Типография Императорской Академии наук. pp. 304–305.
- ^ a b c d e Gutnov, F. Kh. (2015). "Северный Кавказ в статейных списках конца XVI — середины XVII в. [The North Caucasus in the article lists of the late XVI - mid XVII century]". Izvestiya Yuzhnogo Otdeleniya Instituta Nauk O Rannei Rossii RAN (in Russian).
- ^ a b c d e Gutnov, F. Kh. (2015). "Северный Кавказ в статейных списках конца XVI - середины XVII в [The North Caucasus in the Posol'skiye Spiski of the Late 16th – Mid-17th Centuries]". Izvestiya Yuzhnogo Otdeleniya Instituta Nauk O Rannei Rossii RAN (in Russian). 16 (55). Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ a b c d e Brosset, M. (1861). Переписка, на иностранных языках, грузинских царей с российскими государями от 1639 г. по 1770 г. [Correspondence in Foreign Languages of Georgian Kings with Russian Sovereigns from 1639 to 1770] (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences Press.
- ^ Demidova, N.F. "Temruk Idarovich". Hrono. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Domestic and foreign policy of Ivan the Terrible". Bibliotekar. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ Bronevsky, S.N. "Historical summary on Russia's relations with Persia, Georgia and with the mountain peoples of the Caucasus". Vostlit. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ "Повесть о женитьбе Ивана Грозного на Марии Темрюковне". Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
- ^ Кабардино–русские отношения в XVI–XVIII вв. Т. 1. 1957. pp. 10–11.
- ^ Белокуров С. А. Сношения России с Кавказом (1578–1613 гг.)
- ^ a b "Кабардинские завоевания в Ингушетии". Ghalghay. February 22, 2010.
- ^ a b "Завоевательный поход кабардинского". Ghalghay. March 15, 2010.
- ^ Белокуров, Сергей Алексеевич (1889). Сношения России с Кавказом. 1578-1613 гг (in Russian) (Вып. 1 ed.). Москва: Университетская типография. pp. 60–61.
- ^ Minorsky, Vladimir, "Tiflis", in: M. Th. Houtsma, E. van Donzel (1993), E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, p. 757. Brill, ISBN 90-04-08265-4.
- ^ D. V. Zayats (2001). "Maghas – 'The Sun City' – New Capital of Ingushetia". Archived from the original on March 7, 2003.
- ^ G. Rubruquis. 1753. Cited in Jaimoukha's The Chechens, p. 35
- ^ Jaimoukha, Amjad. The Chechens. pp. 34–35
- ^ Kodzoev, N.D. The History of the Ingush People. Nazran.
- ^ История ингушского народа. Глава 4. "История ингушского народа. Глава 4. ГЛАВА 4 ИНГУШЕТИЯ В XV–XVIII ВВ. § 1. Жизнь ингушей на равнинах и в горах". Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Gazikov, B.D. (2002). Articles on the History of Ingushetia. Based on the Nikon Chronicle and Ingush Folklore. Nazran.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Borov, A. Kh.; Muratsova, E. G.; Azikova, Yu. M. "Социально-политические взаимосвязи владений и обществ Центрального Кавказа в XVI – первой трети XIX в.: документальный обзор [Socio-Political Relations of the Domains and Societies of the Central Caucasus in the 16th – First Third of the 19th Century: A Documentary Review]" (PDF). Caucasology (in Russian). 2020 (1). KBSU: 79–119. doi:10.31143/2542-212X-2020-1-79-119. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
- ^ a b Belokurov, S. A. (1888). Сношения России с Кавказом [Relations of Russia with the Caucasus] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Типография Императорской Академии наук. pp. 453–456.