Grand Principality of Great Kabarda or East Circassia was a historical country in the North Caucasus corresponding partly to the modern Kabardino-Balkaria . It had better political organization than its neighbors and existed as a political community from the fifteenth century until it came under Russian control in the early nineteenth century after the Russo-Circassian War .
31-813: The Kabardians are the eastern branch of the Circassian nation. To the north were the Nogai steppe nomads, vassals of the Crimean Khanate . To the west were the Abazins , the Besleney , another Circassian tribe. In the east the Kabardians were sometimes in contact with the Kumyks . The country's boundaries fluctuated, as did its political unity and degree of control over outlying areas. The core of Kabardia
62-489: A 10-year break after 1519, 1539, 1547, 1554, 1567, 1578, 1606-1635 "seven times’, 1670s, 1708, 1720, 1735, 1740s, 1760–61 and 1777. Since the Crimeans were also raiding Russia (see Crimean–Nogai raids into East Slavic lands ) the two peoples were natural allies. There had been an isolated group of Cossacks on the lower Terek from perhaps 1520. In 1552 a Kabardian embassy reached Moscow. In 1556 Kabardians and Cossacks took
93-602: A major route through the Caucasus from Georgia to Russia . Alternative routes across the mountains include the Ossetian Military Road and the Transcaucasian Highway . The Georgian Military Road runs for 212 kilometres (132 mi) between Tbilisi (Georgia) and Vladikavkaz (Russia) and follows the traditional route used by invaders and traders throughout the ages. From Vladikavkaz,
124-542: A native tradition of written history, most of what is known about Kabardian history comes from their contacts with neighbors. When the Golden Horde broke up about 1500 the steppe nomads became organized as the Nogai Horde . They and the Crimeans began or continued to raid the north Caucasus. Walter Richmond reports raids for the years : ‘no later than 1476’, 1491, 1498, circa 1500 ‘every spring’, 1521, 1518,
155-530: The Georgian Military Highway which passed through Kabardia. Georgia was annexed in 1800. Mozdok was established in 1763 and in 1769 Russia attacked Kabardia for the first time. The 1774 Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca declared Kabardia a vassal of the Crimean Khanate . In 1777 the Mozdok line was begun which was to run from Mozdok northwest to Azov. From 1779 a line of forts was run west along
186-766: The Hanafi school Kabardians also constituted one of the earliest Christian communities in Europe , converting in the late 2nd and early 3rd Centuries. Kabardians living in Mozdoksky District in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania are Orthodox Christians . Some of the Kabardians living in the southern part of the neighbouring Kursky district of Stavropol Krai are also Orthodox Christians. There are also some Roman Catholic Kabardians (possibly descended from families who reportedly converted from Orthodoxy during
217-620: The Malka River , cutting off Kabardian pastures. In 1779 von Shtrandman was sent to the north Caucasus and fought 1500 Kabardians at a place called Fort Pavolosk. There was a major battle on the Malka River and later 3000 Kabardians were defeated in the Baksan country. This led to a treaty but there was more fighting in 1780. By 1783 the Georgian Military Highway had been improved sufficiently to be used by wheeled traffic. In 1785-91 Sheikh Mansur attempted to lead an anti-Russian holy war in
248-798: The North Caucasus Line . In the 1820s Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov led a campaign which is said to have completely depopulated Lesser Kabardia. After about 1830 the Kabardians had been subdued by plague and war and the Russians turned their attention to the Murid War in the east and the Russo-Circassian War in the west. Kabardians Surviving Destroyed or barely existing The Kabardians ( Kabardian : Къэбэрдей адыгэхэр; Adyghe : Къэбэртай адыгэхэр; Russian : Кабарди́нцы ) or Kabardinians are one of
279-452: The 13th century). According to the 2012 survey census, of the 240,000 Catholics who lived in Russia, 1.8% were Kabardians. Georgian Military Highway 42°30′15″N 44°27′14″E / 42.5042°N 44.4538°E / 42.5042; 44.4538 The Georgian Military Road or Georgian Military Highway also known as Ghalghaï Military Road , is the historic name for
310-684: The Caucasus divided the Caucasian War (1817–1864) into the Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864) in the west and the Murid War in the east. After the Russian Empire officially annexed the Kingdom of Georgia in 1801, Tsar Alexander I ordered General Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov , the commander-in-chief of Russian forces in the Caucasus, to improve the road surface to facilitate troop movement and communications. When Yermolov announced
341-814: The Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria , which partly corresponds to the historic region. Despite the Soviet administrative divisions that placed Circassians under four different designations and political units, namely Adygeans (Circassians in Adygea ), Cherkessians (Circassians in Karachay-Cherkessia ), Kabardians (Circassians in Kabardino-Balkaria), and Shapsugs (Circassians in Krasnodar Krai ), all four groups are essentially
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#1732773346578372-677: The Turkish fort Temryuk on the Taman peninsula. When Astrakhan was captured in 1556 Russia had a base 250 miles northeast of Kabardia. A few Kabardians entered Russian service. Temryuk came to power some time before 1558 and in 1561 his daughter married Ivan the Terrible . In 1567 Russia founded Sunzha Ostrog at the junction of the Terek and Sunzha in Lesser Kabardia. In 1569, after
403-529: The Turks failed to take Astrakhan , their retreating troops were killed by the Kabardians. In 1570 Temryuk was killed fighting the Crimeans. In 1588 there was another treaty of alliance. With the death of Temryuk and losses in the Livonian War Russia disengaged from the Caucasus for about 200 years. Sunzha Ostrog was abandoned in 1571, rebuilt in 1578 and abandoned a year later. In 1645 a regiment
434-694: The Uzunyayla plateau of Kayseri Province and around central Turkey. However, there are Kabardian villages in Balıkesir , Düzce , Eskişehir in northwest Turkey, Çorum , Samsun , and Tokat in the Black Sea region, amongst many others. Significant populations of Kabardians also live in Jordan , and there are communities in the United States. In Israel and Jordan, respectively, Shapsugs and Abzakhs are
465-476: The border as a result of Armenian demands, the road has once again become an important transport artery, mainly for trailer trucks linking Armenia and Russia. Various restrictions, however, remained (and still remain) in place, particularly for Georgian citizens, but by 2013 a representative of the Russian side of the border could tell the Interfax news agency that around three million people had passed through
496-514: The completion of work in 1817, the highway was heralded as the "Russian Simplon ". However, work continued until 1863. By this stage, it had cost £4 million (equivalent to £483 million in 2023) but according to Lord Bryce in 1876 the work was of a high quality, with two or three lanes and "iron bridges over the torrents", something he considered astonishing given that within Russia proper at this time decent roads were virtually non-existent. The Georgian Military Road played an important role in
527-491: The early nineteenth century a plague struck the north Caucasus which lasted until the 1830s. It is estimated that Kabardia lost 90% of its population, falling from 200,000 in 1790 to 30,000 in 1830. In 1804 there was a general uprising all over the north Caucasus. The Russians won at least three battles mainly because of their artillery. One involved 13000 men on both sides and another involved 7000 Kabardians. Around 1810 Russia destroyed 200 villages. In 1822 new forts were built on
558-579: The economic development of Transcaucasia and in the Russo-Circassian War. The importance of the Georgian Military Road as a through route has diminished in recent years, primarily due to delays at the border crossing between Russia and Georgia , natural disasters such as landslides, and the outright closure of the border crossing by Russia in 2006. However, since 2013, when Russia finally agreed to re-open its side of
589-477: The largest groups. Religions historically practiced by Kabardians include the native Adyghe Xabze faith, Christianity and Islam . The majority of Kabardians had converted to Islam by the early 19th century. There are also still some adherents to traditional Xabze beliefs, with 1,8% being practiced in Kabardino-Balkaria, although most Kabardians are either Non-denominational or Sunni Muslims of
620-591: The most beautiful mountain roads in the world', and mentions the fact that, as early as its date of publication, 'motor omnibuses of the Société française des transports automobiles du Caucase ply regularly from April 15 to Oct. 15th, [accomplishing] the journey in 10 hrs.' People have used this route since antiquity—both Strabo (in his Geographica ) and Pliny the Elder mention it. Russian troops first travelled it in 1769. Pavel Potemkin sent 800 troops to improve
651-575: The north Caucasus. During the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) Russian forces thrice crossed Circassian territory attempting to take the Black Sea fort of Anapa . Late in this war Batal Pasha invaded the north Caucasus and was defeated. In 1791 Ust-Labinsk was established in Circassia at the junction of the Kuban and Laba rivers. By 1793 25000 Cossacks were settled along the Mozdok line. In
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#1732773346578682-645: The pass the road passes the Russia–Georgia Friendship Monument , a large concrete monument built in 1983 to commemorate relations between the two countries and the bicentennial of the Treaty of Georgievsk . The road then turns south-eastwards, following the Tetri Aragvi River through Mtiuleti down to the town of Pasanauri , before heading due south. It then passes below the walls of the medieval fortress of Ananuri before cutting across
713-545: The phrase "he dresses, or rides, like a Kabardian" was an expression of high praise. Yermolov said that the Kabardians were the best fighters in the Caucasus but in his day they were much weakened by plague. Inal the Great , the King of Circassia from 1427 to 1453 who unified all Circassians into one state, divided Circassia into several provinces, Kabardia being one of them. After his death, Kabardia became independent. Without
744-588: The road so that by October 1783 he was able to drive to Tiflis in a carriage drawn by eight horses. The Georgian Military Road in its present form was begun by the Russian military in 1799, after the Georgians had abjured centuries of Persian suzerainty and became a Russian protectorate under the 1783 Treaty of Georgievsk . Russian control of the Georgian Military Highway in the center of
775-668: The road stretches southwards up the valley of the Terek before passing through the Darial Gorge (which marks the border between Russia and Georgia). It then passes Mount Kazbek and Gergeti Trinity Church before heading south-west through the Georgian region of Khevi to the Jvari Pass, where it reaches its maximum altitude of 2,379 metres (7,805 ft) ( 42°30′15″N 44°27′14″E / 42.5042°N 44.4538°E / 42.5042; 44.4538 ). Not long after
806-579: The same people (Circassians). Furthermore, Cherkessians are mostly of the Kabardian and Besleney tribes. Kabardians are the largest Circassian group in the world in general and form the largest group in Russia, Turkey, Egypt, and other countries. As of 2002 Kabardians numbered around 520,000 in Kabardino-Balkaria , Russia. and about 50,000 in Karachay-Cherkessia in Russia. In Turkey, where more than 1 million live, they are concentrated on
837-471: The twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag . They are also commonly known by the plural terms Kabardin , Kebertei , or Kabarday . Along with the Besleney tribe, they speak a distinctive dialect of Circassian . Historically the Kabardians lived in Kabardia , a region of the north Caucasus . In modern times the Kabardians live mostly in
868-631: The wide floodplain of the Tetri Aragvi down to a point just north of Georgia's historic capital, Mtskheta , where it merges into Georgia's main East-West highway (the E60). In this guise, the Georgian Military Road technically continues along the right bank of the Kura (Mtkvari) River before reaching nearby Tbilisi. The 1914 edition of Baedeker's Russia describes the Georgian Military Road as 'one of
899-587: Was Great Kabardia which extended from somewhat east of the north-flowing part of the Kuban River to somewhat east of the north-flowing part of the Terek River . To the east was Lesser Kabardia between the Terek and Sunzha Rivers in what is now Chechen country. According to the Russian historian V. I. Potto, in the eighteenth century the Kabardians were greatly admired and copied by their neighbors, such that
930-493: Was declared a buffer state between the Russian and Ottoman empires. In 1744 Koltsov and 400 Cossacks arrived to support the Baksan faction. Another force was sent in 1753. Kabardia came under Russian control between about 1769 and 1830. They moved west from the Terek country, southwest from Astrakhan and to a lesser degree southeast from Azov. From 1769 Russia intervened in Georgia south of the mountains. This required them to hold
961-488: Was moved to Tersk (it has been re-established early in the century). Kabardia split into two factions, the pro-Russian Baksan and pro-Crimean Kashkatau (originally the alliances were opposite, but they switched sides some time after 1722.). One side brought in Russians from Astrakhan. The Nekrasov Cossacks settled on the Kuban about 1711. More Cossacks settled on the Terek and Kizlyar was founded in 1736. In 1739 Kabardia