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45-466: The distribution of Cossack settlements was determined by three roughly parallel lines. The first was the line between the Caucasus foothills and the lowlands. The second was the line between forest and steppe. It is difficult to trace this line, as much of the forest has been cleared for agriculture, but it is clear that a belt of forest steppe extended north of the foothills onto the plain. The third line

90-568: A bend before flowing east. Inside this bend, the Sunzha River flows northeast into the Terek and catches most of the mountain rivers. Once the Terek was controlled, it became the next military line. In the west, the Kuban also flows north before swinging west. Inside this curve, the north-flowing Laba River was the next military line. In the east, along the Terek, the soil is poor and rainfall

135-852: A caravan belonging to the Khan of Shamakhi . He demanded compensation from the Astrakhan governor and threatened to eliminate both the Cossacks and Astrakhan. First campaign: In 1651 the Shamakhi Khan received a decree from the Shah telling him to destroy the Sunzha fort and march on Astrakhan. 12,000 men were gathered from all over Dagestan along with 800 Persian regulars. They marched to the Sunzha River. Between 25 October and 7 November, there were

180-556: A number of battles which the Russians won. After looting the surrounding country the Dagestanis withdrew, taking with them thousands of horses, cattle, sheep, and camels as well as human captives. Second campaign: When the then incumbent Safavid king ( shah ) Abbas II learned of the events, he ordered the governors of Ardabil, Chokhur-e Sa'd (Erivan), Qarabagh , Astara and parts of Azerbaijan to send forces in order to assist

225-644: A peaceful settlement of the conflict. Shah Abbas II agreed, stating that the conflict was initiated without his consent. From the 1520s there had been Cossacks on the Terek River . They were more-or-less controlled by the Russian governor at Astrakhan , the intervening land being nomad country. South of the Terek in Dagestan were various khanates who recognized the supremacy of Persia. The main Cossack town

270-755: Is low. Dense peasant settlement became possible only when the line was pushed west to the Stavropol highland in the center in the late 18th century. Around 1500, Russia began to push south from its heartland in Muscovy. Everything south of the Black Sea and the Caucasus was controlled by the Nogai nomads. In 1556, Russia moved down the Volga, capturing Astrakhan at the north end of the Caspian Sea. The land south of

315-482: Is questionable. Few records are available from this period, those which do exist pertain mostly to matters of warfare. Early forts: In 1556, Russia occupied Astrakhan at the head of the Caspian Sea and began interacting with Kabardia in the center of the North Caucasus. In 1567, Sunzha Ostrog (1567–1579) was built at the mouth of the Sunzha at the east end of Kabardian territory. It moved several times. It

360-626: The Caspian Sea . It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and the Khokh Range , to the southwest of Mount Kazbek , winding north in a white torrent between the town of Stepantsminda and the village of Gergeti toward the Russian region North Ossetia and the city of Vladikavkaz . It turns east to flow through Chechnya and Dagestan before dividing into two branches which empty into

405-704: The Dariali Hydropower Plant with a planned installed capacity of 108 MW started in 2011 on the territory of Kazbegi municipality near the Russia–Georgia border. Leo Tolstoy 's novel The Cossacks is set on the Terek and amongst its Cossacks . The Terek's source is in the Truso Gorge and drains most of the northeast Caucasus east into the Caspian just as its sister, the Kuban , drains

450-642: The Fiagdon flow north and the Gizeldon drains the north slope of Mount Kazbek and reaches the Terek near the mouth of the Ardon. Then there is the north-flowing part of the Terek with the Darial Pass , with two eastern tributaries: Kistinka and Armkhi , flowing into the mountainous region of Ingushetia . The great northwest bend of the Terek is cut off by the northeast-flowing Sunzha which catches most of

495-751: The 1680s, 1,500 Don Cossack Old Believers settled on the Kuma River . Around 1711, the Greben Cossacks moved to a more defensible position on the north bank of the Terek. In 1717, some 500 of them participated in Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky 's campaign against the Khanate of Khiva in Central Asia. Only two returned. In 1720, the Greben Cossacks were placed under the governor of Astrakhan, then under

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540-613: The Bulavin Rebellion and lived in Crimean-Nogai territory. They seem to have gradually broken up and merged with other groups. In 1783, the same year that Georgia became a Russian vassal, Russia annexed the Khanate of Crimea and thereby inherited its claim over the Nogai nomads. In 1787, the Black Sea Cossack Host was given the land between Azov and the Kuban. By 1794, 25,000 people had settled along

585-587: The Caspian Sea. Below the city of Kizlyar it forms a swampy river delta around 100 kilometres (62 mi) wide. The river is a key natural asset in the region, providing irrigation and hydroelectric power in its upper reaches. The main cities on the Terek include Vladikavkaz , Mozdok , and Kizlyar . Several minor hydroelectric power stations dam the Terek: Dzau electrostation (in Vladikavkaz), Bekanskaya, and Pavlodolskaya. The construction of

630-689: The Cossacks were no longer needed for local fighting, but they remained a rather distinct community. A proper account of peasant settlement north of the line on the Black Sea-Caspian Steppe would require census figures which do not seem to exist. Terek River The Terek ( / ˈ t ɛr ɪ k / ) is a major river in the Northern Caucasus . It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into

675-610: The Kuban. Krasnodar was founded in 1794. The Kuban line became the base for the Russo-Circassian War . The line was pushed west to the Laba River . In the center, the line was pushed south from the Terek to the Sunzha. Grozny was founded in 1818. In 1824, general Aleksey Yermolov created the Mountain Cossack regiment between the Volga and Mozdok regiments. These new "Cossacks" were created by decree,

720-581: The North Caucasus. By 1851, there were 86,538. Westward expansion was associated with the annexation of Georgia south of the mountains. In 1769, Totleben crossed the mountains to fight the Turks. In 1783, eastern Georgia became a Russian protectorate, and in 1800 it was annexed. Since the only good road south was through Darial Pass , the Russians had to hold what would later become the Georgian Military Highway . Mozdok (1763–present) at

765-806: The Persian ambassador said that the Shemakhi Khan had acted on his own authority but he could not be punished because he had suddenly died. The situation was complicated for both states. Troops of the Mughal Empire attacked the far eastern borders of Persia, besieging Kandahar . Persia could not fight on two fronts. Peace was needed, both for Persia and Russia, which was preparing for war with Poland (the Russo-Polish War (1654-67) ). In August 1653 Prince Ivan Lobanov-Rostovsky and Ivan Komynin traveled from Astrakhan to Iran. In April 1654

810-650: The Russian War College ( Russian : Военная коллегия ) the following year. In 1722, the Russian Emperor Peter the Great tried to conquer the west side of the Caspian Sea. The entire garrison of Tersky Gorod was moved 130 miles south to Svyatoy Krest (Holy Cross) Fort (1722–1736) on the lower Sulak River . Tersky Gorod was abandoned and only the Greben Cossacks remained on the Terek. In 1723-24, 1,000 families of Don Cossacks were moved to

855-529: The Safavid governor of Shirvan, Khosrow Khan . Further reinforcements were sent by the governor of Derbent , the Shamkhal of Kumukh , as well as the ruler of Kara Qaytaq. On 7 March 1653 a 20,000 man Persian army, made up of Persians, Kumyks, Nogais, and Dagestani mountaineers began a siege of the Sunzha fort. On 25 March the remains of the garrison managed to slip out and make it to Terki. After devastating

900-683: The Sulak and its Agrakhan branch, forming the Agrakhan Cossack Host. Svyatoy Krest was too far advanced and even more unhealthy than the lower Terek. When it was abandoned in 1735–36, only 200 of its garrison had survived to be moved to the new fort at Kizlyar . The Cossacks who moved back north became the Terek-Semeinoe Host (between the Greben Cossacks and Kizlyar) and the Terek-Kizlyar Host (east of Kizlyar on

945-490: The Terek along the Caspian Sea was controlled by various Khanates nominally subject to Persia, the northernmost of which later became the Shamkhalate of Tarki . Cossacks lived all along the southern Russian frontier; most were of non-Russian ancestry. Originally runaway serfs and adventurers who went to the frontier to live a free life, they were gradually brought under government control by being hired as mercenaries. By

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990-589: The Terek basin. During the Russian conquest of the Caucasus it was part of the North Caucasus Line . During World War II, German forces at the end of August 1942 reached the Terek near Mozdok – the farthest extent of German conquests in the Soviet Union – but aside from a small bridgehead were unable to forge further toward the oil fields of Baku , Hitler's objective. The Germans penetrated

1035-580: The ambassadors met with the Shah in Iran. As a result of the Russian-Iranian negotiations and compromises, the conflict was extinguished. In October 1654 the "Great Embassy" moved back. The fall of the Sunzha fort led to some strengthening of Persia's position. Shah increased the pressure on the Highlanders, and in 1658 announced the construction of two fortresses on lands of Kumyk . This provoked

1080-666: The banks of the river Terek. The Terek river was the site of the final defeat of the army of Hulagu , khan of the Ilkhanate , at the hands of the army of Berke , khan of the Golden Horde , led by Berke's nephew, Nogai Khan , in the first civil war of the Mongol Empire , the Berke–Hulagu war of 1262. Also on the river Timur defeated Tokhtamysh in 1395. The Terek Cossack Host (1577–1832 and 1860– ) had its base in

1125-532: The early 19th century, the Caucasus Cossacks were almost another local tribe. Free Cossacks were living on the lower Terek by the first half of the 16th century. The usual dates are 1520 and 1563, but the matter is very obscure. To the west of the Terek Cossacks lived the Greben Cossacks. They were formally distinguished in 1736. Before that date, a distinction between Greben and Terek Cossacks

1170-671: The expansion of a Russian garrison on the Koy Su River , as well as the construction of several new fortresses, in particular the one built on the Iranian side of the Terek River . The Safavid government then sent troops, and destroyed the fortress while expelling its Russian garrison. In 1653 Alexis of Russia and the Russian government, which thought about sending the Russian Zaporozhian Army, but did not want to disperse its forces, sent an embassy to Persia for

1215-467: The government declaring that various Cossacks, state peasants, and natives were now Cossacks. During the Murid War , Chechens were driven north or south of the two rivers. The Sunzha Regiment was founded in 1845. During the Russo-Circassian War (until 1864) in the west and the Murid War (1830–1859) in the east, the line was the northern base for the conquest of the mountains. When the fighting ended,

1260-491: The later period, the Cossack was basically a fighting farmer who supported himself but was available for military service. Their usual duties were guarding villages against raiders, protecting convoys, especially along the Georgian Military Road , and serving as auxiliaries to the regular army. Cossack villages attracted locals who were slowly absorbed into the Cossack community. Georgians and Armenians moved to

1305-675: The left bank of the Terek reaching Vladikavkaz suburbs and West Gizel, near the now built weather station. Russo-Persian War (1651-1653) Persian victory The Russo-Persian War of 1651–1653 was an armed conflict in the North Caucasus fought between the Safavid Empire and the Tsardom of Russia , associated with the Safavid plans to strengthen its position in the region and to exclude Russia. The main issue involved

1350-404: The lower Terek). The Terek-Kizlyar Host had the worst land and less than 200 men on active duty. About a third of them were converted natives. The Terek-Semeinoe Host had about 450 men for most of the period, most of whom were descended from Don Cossacks. They were merged with the Greben Cossacks in 1745 and separated again in 1755. Kizlyar (1735–present) was founded on the Terek when Svyatoy Krest

1395-403: The mountaineers. In 1828, Cossacks were forbidden to approach peasants working in the fields because they could not be distinguished from native raiders. Raiding between Cossacks and natives was common. The local people also raided each other, but reports of Cossacks raiding other Cossacks are few. When they were not raiding each other there was a good deal of economic and personal interaction. This

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1440-620: The north end of the highway was founded in 1763. In 1770, it became a fortress independent of Kizlyar. It quickly attracted a large native population, many of whom were fugitive serfs from the mountains. In 1765, the Mozdok Mountain Command was formed from converted natives. They were used mostly for convoy duty along the Military Highway. Ossets were encouraged to settle along the highway and efforts were made to re-convert them (many had formerly been Christians). There

1485-405: The north side of the mountains, some of them becoming Cossacks. In 1829, vagrants ( brodyagi ) were rounded up and made to work in Cossack villages for three years, after which they might become Cossacks. Although they normally had to be Orthodox, a number of Cossacks, including military officers, were Muslim. They adopted the local dress and economic methods. Horses and weapons were often bought from

1530-655: The north-flowing rivers. These are the north-flowing upper Sunzha, the Assa , the Argun and Khukhulau. East of these are the Aksay and the Aktash which formerly dried up in the lowlands between the Sulak and the Terek. In the east the Sulak drains most of interior Dagestan and turns east to the Caspian before it reaches the Terek. The capital of Khazaria , Samandar , may have stood on

1575-669: The northwest Caucasus west into the Black Sea. Its major tributaries are the following. In the west a fan of rivers flows east and northeast into the Terek. These are the east-flowing Malka , the Baksan , the Chegem and the Cherek with its two branches. These three join the Malka just before it reaches the Terek. The Liashen, Urukh , Duradur and Duradon flow northeast, the Ardon and its tributary,

1620-414: The surrounding area the army returned to Tarki in Dagestan (1 April). By the end of the campaign, the Russians (and the Nogais who assisted them) were driven out of the fort, and the fort was destroyed by the Safavid forces. The Shah planned a third campaign but this was prevented by the Mughal siege of Kandahar . A Russian ambassador went to Persia and settled the matter (April–October 1654). In Moscow,

1665-406: Was Terki on the lower Terek. The Cossack towns had local allies who were a major part of their military force. In 1634 they built a new fort on the lower Sunzha River near the modern city of Grozny , in support of the Georgian ruler Teimuraz I , who had been deposed by his Safavid suzerains and had turned to the Russians for aid. The immediate pretext was the plundering, by a group of Cossacks, of

1710-458: Was a gap of about 65 miles between Mozdok and the westernmost Greben Cossacks. From 1770 to 1799, this area was settled by Don and Volga Cossacks. Vladikavkaz , at the north end of the pass, was founded in 1784. It was partly abandoned at the time of Sheikh Mansur and was re-established in 1803. In 1777, Russia began building a line of forts between Mozdok and Azov. In that year, Stavropol and Georgievsk were founded along this line (Georgievsk

1755-422: Was abandoned and remained the largest Russian town in the Caucasus until Stavropol surpassed it in the early 19th century. In 1773, Kizlyar had a garrison of 1,277 men and a civilian and Cossack population of 4,197. Only 8% of the population was Russian. The town had three Orthodox churches, one monastery, four mosques, and one Armenian church. In the mid-18th century, there were only 1,162 active-duty Cossacks in

1800-429: Was abandoned under Turkish pressure in 1571, rebuilt in 1578, then was abandoned again the following year. In 1588 Tersky Gorod (1588–1722) was founded in the Terek delta. In 1623, it had 500 Cossacks on the government payroll. By the late 17th century, it is said to have had a population of 20,000, mostly non-Russian. In 1708, it was burned by "Kuban Tatars". It was abandoned in 1722. In 1635, Sunzha Ostrog (1635–1653)

1845-413: Was also defeated. In both of these conflicts, the Dagestanis allowed the Russians to take the town, only to surround, harass, and attack them when they were forced to retreat. The first war was requested by the Kabardians and the last two by the Georgian kings who did nothing to help. In 1605, the rebel Ilya Muromets was on the Terek. In 1614, some Terek Cossacks helped attack Ivan Zarutsky at Astrakhan. In

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1890-414: Was especially true in the early period, in which there were many free Cossacks, whom the government were unaware of. In 1744, the Greben Cossacks had 450 men but could round up 1,500 more if they recruited using financial incentives. Free Cossacks usually appear in the records as “criminal fugitive Cossacks” when they engaged in raiding or piracy. Before the Russian state began a serious attempt at conquest in

1935-498: Was marked by three, and later five, rivers. In the east, the Terek River catches the rivers that flow north from the Caucasus and drains them into the Caspian. In the west, the Kuban River drains the Caucasus rivers west into the Sea of Azov. In the center, the Malka River catches the mountain rivers and flows east into the Terek. The Terek, Malka, and Kuban made a natural military line. Later two other rivers became important. The Terek first flows north, turns somewhat west, and makes

1980-479: Was restored. In 1653 Persia forced its abandonment (the so-called Russo-Persian War (1651-1653) ). Early Wars: Russian relations with Kabardia were more diplomatic than militaristic. In 1560, four years after the capture of Astrakhan, Cheremisinov attacked Tarki, burned it and withdrew. In 1594, Prince Khvorostinin led 5,000 Terek, Astrakhan and Yaik Cossacks south to attack Tarki, but was soundly defeated. Later on in 1604–05, Ivan Buturlin attacked Tarki as well, but

2025-411: Was the seat of the Caucasus Governorate from 1802 to 1822). That same year, the Volga regiment was formed from Volga Cossacks on the eastern part of this line. Each new fort became a magnet for both legal and illegal settlers. 68,000 peasants were settled in 1781–84, and 68,000 more by the end of the century. Far to the west, in 1708, the Nekrasov Cossacks settled on the Kuban. They were refugees from

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