The Kabardians - a knol by Amjad Jaimoukha 11-05-12 12:07 The Kabardians Къэбэрдейхэр, Qeberdeyxer Capsule Summary Location: Central North Caucasus, mainly inin the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the Karachai-Cherkess Republic, the Stavropol Krai inin the Russian Federation, and diaspora, principally inin Turkey, Syria, and Jordan. Total population: Approximately 1 million. Sub-designations: Greater Kabardians (Western Kabardians), Lesser Kabardians (Eastern Kabardians, Jilax'steney), Mozdok Kabardians (in North Ossetia). Religion: Native religion and beliefs (98%), Orthodox Christianity (2%). Contents The Kabardians History of Kabarda from the Middle Ages Kabardian Society Kabardian Religion The Kabardian Language Notes [13] In the 16th/17th centuries, Prince Sanjalay, who sired seven sons and two daughters, had 400 men in his town and a further 600 Tatars in Otary.... References & Bibliography The Kabardians Къэбэрдейхэр, Qeberdeyxer Essay: Ethnically, the Kabardians form one of the main tribal divisions of the Circassians. Presently, they occupy the middle and northern regions of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (12,500 sq. km; ~ 1 million) making 55.3% of the population (according to 2002 Russian population census; but estimated now to make up almost 60% of the population of the Republic), form the majority of the Cherkess population of 60,000 in the Karachai-Cherkess Republic (14,100 sq. km; ~ 450,000) and the Stavropol Krai, and are found in a few villages in Adigea and the Krasnodar Krai. A significant Christian Kabardian community is found in the area of the town of Mozdok in North Ossetia. There are about 750,000 Kabardians in the Caucasus, forming almost three-quarters of the Circassian population and almost 0.5% of total population in Russia. There are http://knol.google.com/k/the-kabardians# Page 1 of 23 The Kabardians - a knol by Amjad Jaimoukha 11-05-12 12:07 Kabardian diaspora communities scattered in the Middle East, especially in Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, with a total number estimated at 300,000. This diaspora formed mainly as a result of the Russian-Circassian War of the 19th century. The Circassians and the closely related Abkhaz-Abaza and Ubykh had been the dominant nationalities in the Northwest Caucasus until the middle years of the 19th century, prior to the mass exodus and expulsion visited upon them by the Russians. Slowly but surely the sizes of these nationalities (except the Ubykh, who had been extirpated from their ancestral homeland) are being restored through active procreation and the (slow) return of the diaspora. The Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, where some 600,000 Kabardians (Eastern Circassians) live. Other areas of the North Caucasus where Kabardians are found in significant numbers are the Mozdok area in North Ossetia to the east, the Stavropol Krai (part of the historical land of the Kabardians, or the Circassians of the 'Five Mountains'), and the Karachai-Cherkess Republic in the west, where the Kabardians are the main constituent of the Circassian population. The historical land of the Kabardians was much larger than that covered by present-day Kabarda, which lost large territories to the Stavropol Krai and North Ossetia. The restoration of Greater and Lesser Kabarda (as an interim towards the eventual establishment of Greater Circassia) is one of the demands of Kabardian nationalists. The Karachai-Cherkess Republic has a Circassian, mainly Kabardian, population of about 100,000. The Abaza, who number about 50,000, are closely related and allied with the Circassians. The kindred Abkhaz are just across the border to the south. The Cherkess and Abaza have been at loggerheads with the Karachai people in the Republic for more than a decade. There is an unwritten law that the leadership in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic is made up of Kabardians, whereas in the Karachai- Cherkess Republic the Karachai, who make up more than a third of the population, are given the upper hand. This unnatural situation could be resolved by uniting kindred peoples in the two republics: the Karachai and Balkar on the one hand and the Kabardians, Cherkess, and Abaza, on the other. This is seen as a first step towards the establishment of a Northwest Caucasian Federation (which would also include the Adigeans, Shapsugh, and Abkhazians) by first resolving bones of contention. Linguistically, Kabardian, together with the closely related Beslanay, forms the eastern branch of Circassian. It has the status of an official and literary language in both Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachai-Cherkessia. Cyrillic orthography is used, although Arabic and later Latin adaptations had been used until 1923 and 1937, respectively. Kabardian in Kabardino-Balkaria is divided into four sub- dialects named after the main rivers in the republic: Balhq (Malka), Bax’sen (Bakhsan), Terch (Terek), and Shejem (Chegem). Some authorities divide the language into Greater and Lesser Kabardian, the dialects spoken in Kabarda to the west and east of the Terch (Terek), respectively. Lesser Kabardian is also informally called 'Jilax’steney'. Outside the nominal republic there are two more dialects, one spoken by the Christian community in Mozdok in North Ossetia, and Kuban Kabardian in Adigea, spoken in a few villages. The status of Kabardian has been slowly improving since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is not thought that the language is under threat of extinction. History of Kabarda from the Middle Ages Armenian sources of the seventh century AD mention that the people ‘Kash’ (the Kassogs, or early mediæval Kabardians) lived ‘between the Bulgars and the Pontus’, i.e. in the area between that of Kubrat Bulgaria (north of the Kuban River and Sea of Azov) and the Black Sea. The Kassog dominion also comprised the lands between the Don and Kuban. The Kassogs were close (westerly) neighbours of the Alans. These sources indicate that the differentiation of the Circassians (Adiga) into Kassogs and Zikhis had been completed by the seventh century AD. The Kabardians had developed a runic alphabet of the Murfatlar type (found in Bulgaria and Romania) in the sixth-seventh centuries AD.[1] Most probably this intellectual development was an adjunct to the spread of Christianity in Kassogia (Kabarda), where there was need to spread the good word, so to speak. According to The Book of Administration of the Empire (De Administrando Imperio; Πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον υἱὸν Ρωµανόν [To My Own Son Romanus]), written in the tenth century in Greek by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (905-959), the Circassian nations of Kasakhs (modern-day Kabardians; also Kassogs) and Papaghis lived in the hinterland of Circassia. The Zikhis (Western Adiga) and Abkhazians occupied the eastern Black Sea littoral. http://knol.google.com/k/the-kabardians# Page 2 of 23 The Kabardians - a knol by Amjad Jaimoukha 11-05-12 12:07 The Tmutarakan Principality In the 11th century, the Russians under Mstislav the Bold (son of Vladimir the Great) took part in routing the Khazar army in the Crimea. They then crossed the Taman Strait and defeated the Kassogs, or Kabardians, under their legendary leader Prince Reidade (Редедя, Rededya, in Russian sources). Legend has it that at first Mstislav was unsuccessful and was forced to take refuge in a swamp, whence he sold his soul to the Devil (promised the heavens to erect a church, according to Russian sources). The Demon counselled him to challenge the invincible Reidade (Редедя, Rededya, in Russian sources) to a wrestling match. An epic duel was fought in 1022 AD, in which the Circassian giant was slain.[2] Mstislav then subjugated the Iron, or Ossetes. He founded a small principality, Tmutarakan («Тмутаракань» in Russian), or Tamtarkan, under the suzerainty of Russia, with the Kabardians and Ossetes, amongst other peoples, as subjects. Mstislav was the prince of Tmutarakan in the period 988-1036, that is until his sudden death in a hunting accident. The Kassogs took part in Mstislav’s military campaigns. The town of Tmutarakan was situated on the Taman Peninsula, opposite Kerch. The Tmutarakan Principality lasted for a few centuries, but with diminishing influence in Circassia. According to Shora Nogmov (1861), Tamtarkan was destroyed at the hands of the Circassians, who still have the saying, ‘May the lot of Tamtarqay befall you!’ («Тамтаркъай (Тамтаркъей) и махуэр къыпхукIуэ!», е «Тамтаркъай (Тамтаркъей) ухъу!»).[3] Georgian suzerainty over parts of Circassia The Circassians had kept their independence until the early years of the 13th century, when part of their country and Abkhazia were subjected by the Georgians under Queen Tamara (1184-1213) and (re- )Christianized in part. This was the heyday of Georgian domination, which extended over most of the Caucasus. Georgian historians referred to Circassia as ‘Djiketia’ (variation on ‘Zikhia’, mediæval name of [Western] Circassia). Churches were built during this time whose remains can still be found scattered in some parts of Circassia. Important and mutually enriching cultural exchanges took place between the Circassians and Georgians in this era, cementing their cultural connections that have lasted until this day. The Adiga rebelled against Georgian rule towards the end of the 14th century, but around 1390 AD, during the rule of King Bagrat VI, the Georgians mounted a punitive campaign against the insurrectionists, and took many hostages. Around 1424 AD, after the demise of King Alexandre of Georgia and the division of his lands among his sons, the subjugated peoples of the kingdom revolted. The Circassians threw off the Georgian yoke for good. The Mongols devastate Circassia Genghis Khan’s Mongol hordes crossed the Caucasus in the 13th century and laid waste to the North Caucasus. The Mongols subdued the Circassians (and Alans) in 1238. Some lucky natives escaped the onslaught by taking refuge in the mountains. Batu, grandson of Genghis, established the Khanate of the Golden Horde in the North Caucasus (and other areas) in the 1240s. The Kipchak Khanate, as was the powerful state also known, dominated the North Caucasus until the late 14th century, when Tamerlane conquered the Caucasus and ended Mongol rule.