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 .
29-776: 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
58-484: 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
87-507: A Muslim Digor community there which still exists today. The Brothers Dubinin created the world's first oil refining apparatus in Mozdok in 1823. On August 23, 1942, it was conquered by German troops during Case Blue . It was recaptured by the Red Army on January 3, 1943. In June 2003, a suicide bomber struck a bus full of Russian air force personnel with their car. On August 1, 2003,
116-740: A Russian fort, settling the families of the Volga Cossacks in stanitsas around it. Thus, the Russo-Circassian War began. In 1764, the Kabardian leaders' request to the Russian government that the fortress be destroyed went unanswered. In the years that followed, the Kabardians tried to besiege the town, but they were eventually compelled to retreat. With the foundation of Mozdok, Russian authorities encouraged Ossetians , Georgians , Armenians , Spiritual Christians and other Christians to populate
145-526: A military hospital in the city was targeted by a suicide bomber driving a large truck bomb. The building was substantially damaged and over fifty people were killed in the blast. These attacks are just two of a string of attacks on Russian facilities in Mozdok since the start of the Second Chechen War . Within the framework of administrative divisions , Mozdok serves as the administrative center of Mozdoksky District . As an administrative division, it
174-530: 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,
203-537: Is incorporated within Mozdoksky District as Mozdok Town Under District Jurisdiction . As a municipal division , Mozdok Town Under District Jurisdiction is incorporated within Mozdoksky Municipal District as Mozdokskoye Urban Settlement . The Museum of Regional Studies in Mozdok holds an assortment of displays and artifacts related to Mozdok's history. As of 2002, the ethnic makeup of Mozdok
232-779: The Darial Gorge . Mozdok remained the northern terminal of the Georgian Military Road leading to Tbilisi until being succeeded by Vladikavkaz , founded in 1784 midway between Mozdok and the Darial Pass. During the Russian Empire , the town was the administrative capital of the Mozdoksky Otdel of the Terek Oblast . In the beginning of the 19th century, some Muslim Ossetian families from Digoria settled in Mozdok establishing
261-466: 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
290-745: 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
319-610: 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
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#1732851865459348-708: 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
377-577: The 13th century). According to the 2012 survey census, of the 240,000 Catholics who lived in Russia, 1.8% were Kabardians. Mozdok Mozdok or Kurugada ( Russian : Моздо́к ; Ossetian : Мæздæг , Mæzdæg ) is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District in North Ossetia–Alania , Russia , located on the left shore of the Terek River , 92 kilometers (57 mi) north of
406-727: 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
435-652: 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
464-567: 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
493-673: 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
522-491: 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
551-469: 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
580-558: 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
609-537: 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
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#1732851865459638-526: The republic's capital Vladikavkaz . As of the 2010 Census , its population was 38,768. The town's name comes from " мэз дэгу (mez dugu)" , a Kabardian word meaning "the dense forest". During the reign of Catherine II the Russian army started entering Circassian soil and Russia started building forts in an attempt to quickly annex Circassia . In 1763, Russian forces occupied the village of Mezdeug in Eastern Circassia, and established Mozdok as
667-514: 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
696-599: The town. It soon emerged as a key Russian military outpost linked to Kizlyar with a fortified line as well as the center of local trade, ethnic diversity, and Russian-Caucasian interchange. In 1789, 55.6% of its population was Armenian and Georgian. Ossetian settlement particularly increased in the 1820s when the Russian commander Yermolov began removing Kabardians from the area of the Georgian Military Road and settling Ossetians there. Moving south from Mozdok, Russia established contact with eastern Georgia through
725-466: 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
754-518: 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
783-612: Was as follows: There is an airbase near the town. From 1961 to 1998, the 182nd Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment of Long Range Aviation , flying Tupolev Tu-95s , was based there. The airbase has been used to support military operations in Chechnya during the First Chechen War , Second Chechen War , and in the Russo-Georgian War . In June 2003, a female suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying pilots and other personnel employed at
812-488: 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
841-484: 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
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