Bloody Kanzhal. Reasons and course of the battle
According to official historiography, the battle took place in 1708, when the territory of Kabarda was subordinate to the Crimean Khanate. The Crimean khans and the Ottoman Empire considered Kabarda only as a supplier of slaves and slaves, and this was a very large item of income and the khanate, and Ports. The presence of beautiful Circassians in the harem was considered a sign of the high status of the owner. In those days, the title of prince-valiy (i.e. the elder prince) of all Kabarda was worn by the eldest son of Hatokshoko (Atazhuko) Kaziev - Kurgoko Atazhukin. Now this prince is the national hero of the Kabardins, who defied the Turkish-Tatar hordes.
From the very beginning of his reign, Kurgoko witnessed how the Crimean Tatars and the Nogais who joined them ruined his territory year after year. Supported by the almighty Porta, the united khan's troops met almost no resistance, although rebellions against the invaders rose in Kabarda with constant frequency. That is how in 1699, in the Beslenev lands, the kalg of the Crimean Khanate Shahbaz Girey was killed by local Circassians because of an attempt to take a beautiful girl of a noble family as a concubine in excess of the agreed number of people.
Punisher Kaplan I Giray
According to one version, part of the Besleeneites who killed the kalgas took refuge in Kabarda, which became the reason for the campaign of the Crimean Khanate against the Kabardians. However, there were many reasons to refuse to issue tribute and fugitives to the insatiable khans. For example, each new khan and his kalga traditionally began their reign with a robbery of Kabardians. And since the Crimean khans rarely sat on the throne for more than two years since the end of the 17th century, Kabarda fell into decay.
The punitive expedition for the murder and, in fact, the riot was postponed for several years for a variety of reasons - from internal strife in the khanate to the plague. As a result, the sultan brought to power the son of one of the most respected rulers of the Selim Giray, Kaplan I Giray.
Nogai and Crimean Tatar horsemen (from left to right)
The new Kaplan Khan I Giray instantly demanded from the Kabardians three thousand souls of the redemption and complete submission. Having been refused, he informed his highest "authorities" in the Port of the fact of disobedience. The Ottoman sultan Ahmed III, who ascended the throne of the empire during its stagnation, when the Porta lost its position and was torn by intrigues at court, did not want to lose influence in the North Caucasus. Therefore, he ordered Kaplan to personally lead a punitive expedition, ruin the Kabardians and burn their huts. According to various sources, obeying the will of the Sultan, Kaplan gathered an army of 30 to 40 thousand soldiers. The army was motley in composition, it consisted of the Crimean Tatars, and Turks, and Nogais. Also, some sources mention the presence of the Circassians directly in the ranks of the army, and more precisely, the Kemirgoites (West Adyghe tribe). This will later cause a lot of controversy, although at that time the practice of raiding even against kindred tribes was commonplace.
In the spring of 1708, the real horde of khan appeared in the Caucasus. At the beginning of the summer of that year, the troops of Kaplan I Girey broke into Kabarda, when most of the highlanders gathered their belongings and took the cattle high up into the mountains, already waiting for the usual ruin. The arrogant khan, completely confident in his abilities, was located in the Kanzhalsky plateau region, abundant in the small rivers and rich pastures necessary for his army of many thousands.
Desperate decisions, desperate measures
Kurgoko Atazhukin, while deciding to give the enemy a fight, was in the most difficult, even desperate situation. From the time of the first Kabardian embassy in 1565, headed by Mamstryuk Temryukovich Cherkassky, to the court of John IV Vasilievich, the Kabardian princes could count on the help of Russian troops. But after the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople by Peter the Great, the northern ally simply did not have the right to help, since the 7th article of the treaty fixed the Nogais and Circassians as peoples conquered by the Ottomans. Thus, any assistance to Moscow to the rebellious Kabardian prince-val would be interpreted as declaring war on Constantinople, and Peter I was already waging a heavy Northern War.
Kurgoko Atazhukin
Prince Atazhukin did not have allies in front of an enemy superior in numbers, whose army was better armed and trained. Total mobilization was carried out starting with a young man of 14 years old. A special role was given to the cavalry, which consisted of Warks, i.e. Circassian aristocracy. They were “armored” riders, wearing relatively light chain mail in the form of a “shirt” with short sleeves above their elbows. This Circassian cavalry lasted until the second half of the 19th century.
But the total number of soldiers that Kurgoko could put up did not exceed 20-30 thousand people. Therefore, an extremely competent and cunning plan of warfare in the created conditions was required. According to legend, the author of this plan was the legendary Zhabagi Kazanoko, who later entered history as an outstanding diplomat, poet, enlightener, personal adviser to the Kabardian princes and a supporter of the indispensable rapprochement between Kabarda and Russia.
Kabardian nobleman, horseman "shell"
Kazanoko suggested lulling the attention of the khan and his troops by expressing the humility of part of the Kabardins, in order to upset the unity of the Crimean forces, so that the khan would send part of the cavalry to punish the small rebels. According to this version, this cavalry was lured into the gorge and shot by Kabardian archers. And at night, the main forces of the Kabardins defeated the Khan’s troops remaining in the camp with a surprise attack.
The more versions, the louder the argument
However, this is only one of the many versions of the Battle of Kanzhal. Here, for example, what version is put forward by the first Adyghe historian, scholar and enlightener Shor Nogmov (“The History of the Adychean people”):
On the same day, Haleliy, a Tatar spy who had lived with Prince Kurgoko, came to the Kabardian camp. He informed the prince in detail about the intention of the khan, while mentioning that if the Kabardins did not attack the Crimeans the next night, then another or third night they would certainly be attacked. Kurgoko immediately ordered to collect about 300 donkeys and to attach two bales of hay to each.
Night fell, he went to the enemy and, approaching him, ordered all donkeys to light hay and drive them to the enemy camp, with several shots. The donkeys, with their terrible cry, frightened the enemy so much that he began to chop each other in unconsciousness and confusion; with dawn, the Kabardins rushed at them swiftly and completely defeated them. ”
The last phrase “completely defeated them” in itself speaks of the end of hostilities. But here the psi (younger prince) Tatarhan Bekmurzin, the future prince-valiy and a supporter of the alliance with Russia, who is credited with direct participation in the battles at Kanzhal, later wrote that the battles with the "Crimeans" lasted almost two months. Thus, the Kanzhal battle, although not denied, is becoming one of the stages of a peculiar mountain-guerrilla war with the Turkish-Tatar invaders. And this is quite justified, since in the general battle the Kabardins would inevitably be defeated.
However, another historical source assigns an important role to Kanzhal - Dmitry Kanteminovich Kantemir, the ruler of Moldova, His Grace Prince of Russia, senator and historian. He echoes Shore Nogmov somewhat, indicating that there really was a night attack, but the bundles of brushwood were not tied to donkeys, but to a herd of horses of 300 goals. So, a flaming herd as if from the sky came down to the enemy camp, making a monstrous confusion. As soon as panic reigned, the Kabardinians rained down on the Khan's camp, encircling and carving out most of the invaders.
In general, references to the Battle of Kanjal can be found in many authors: Abri de la Motre in the work “Travel of Mr. A. de la Motre to Europe, Asia and Africa”, Xaverio Glavani in the work “Description of Circassia”, Seyid Mohammed Riza (Turkish historian and a writer of the 18th century), Mihailo Rakovica (ruler of Moldova) and others.
If we summarize the basic information, then the picture appears as follows. As Shora Nogmov pointed out, the Kanzhal battle took place in two places, so to speak, in two stages. At first, either by diplomatic cunning or by a fraudulent maneuver, part of the Khan's army was lured into a gorge suitable for an ambush, where Kabardian archers killed the invaders. Most often, it is believed that the ambush site was now the tourist and extremely picturesque Tyzyl Gorge, in which, according to superstition, genies live.
The final stage of the battle took place precisely in the area of the Kanzhal plateau in the khan camp. Since the night sorties for the highlanders were not out of the ordinary, it was at night that the Kabardians surrounded the enemy and, letting the red rooster out thanks to the horses, defeated the main forces of Kaplan Girey. And the fact that the battles lasted up to two months is quite explainable. First, maneuvering in mountainous areas with small skirmishes with small groups of troops could last for weeks. Secondly, as you know, the khan survived, although he received a wounded arm, and retreated with the surviving warriors through hostile territory, and the highlanders generally have a passion to pursue a retreating enemy, delivering quick horseback strikes.
Oddly enough, but the bloody battle that took place near the plateau lost in the Caucasus Mountains will affect the international politics of the most powerful states of its time. In addition to the wounded Crimean Khanate, which received a severe blow to its reputation, the Battle of Kanzhal will reduce the degree of influence of the powerful Ottoman Empire and unwittingly become a help to Peter the Great himself. The most surprising thing is that even now the debate over the Battle of Kanzhal can result in negative political consequences or, even worse, in a paramilitary confrontation, because the view on this landmark historical event in the Caucasus is more than ambiguous.
To be continued ...
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