UDC

94(470.67)

Authors

Akbiev Arsen Soltanmuradovich
Dagestan State Pedagogical University (Makhachkala, Russia)
Abdusalamov Magomed-Pasha Balashovich
Dagestan State Institute of National Economy (Makhachkala, Russia)

Abstract

This article deals with the political relations between Kumyk feudal lords and Kabardian princes. Having performed an in-depth analysis of a wide range of sources and historical literature, the authors found that Kumyk and Kabardian feudals were the key rivals for the hegemony in the North-East Caucasus. On several occasions, they turned to Russia, Iran and Porte for help. In the 16th century, the confrontation between the Kumyk and Kabardian princes swayed back and forth. Only in the early 17th century did the situation change in favour of the Kumyk princes, when the powerful Endirey possession was formed in Northern Dagestan. The relations between the Kabardian and Kumyk feudal lords can be described as multi-faceted, including military clashes due to the feudals’ constant claims on the adjacent territories. These facts formed the basis for the written sources of the period under study, which primarily recorded extraordinary events that had left a deep trace in the peoples’ memory, i.e. wars, raids, and the like. Yet, despite the obvious contradictions between the Kumyk and Kabardian feudal lords, they both preferred diplomacy to weapons. Not infrequently did the representatives of the two warring factions end their feudal strifes by means of congresses and dynastic marriages. A number of Kumyk and Kabardian feudal lords concluded treaties of alliance.

Keywords

North-East Caucasus, Ivan the Terrible, Safavid Iran, Dagestan, Kabardia, shamkhal of Tarki, Kumyk feudals, Kabardian princes, feudal strife

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