Battle of Kanzhal

The Battle of Kanzhal (Kabardian: Къэнжал зауэ, romanized: Qəndjal zawə) was a battle in 1708 fought between Kabardian Circassians led by Kurgoqo Atazhukin Hatekhujiqwe II and Crimean Tatars led by Qaplan I Giray, which resulted in Kabardian victory.[1][2] In 2013, the Russian Academy of Sciences described the battle as "an important event in the history of Circassians and Ossetians".[3]

Battle of Kanzhal
Part of Circassian-Crimean wars
Date1708
Location
Kanzhal, Circassia
Result Circassian (Kabardian) victory
Belligerents

Crimean Khanate

 Ottoman Empire
Kabardia (East Circassia)
Commanders and leaders

Qaplan I Giray

Alegoth Pasha

Hatekhujiqwe II

Jabagh Qazanoqo
Strength
20.000-40.000 7.000
Casualties and losses
11.000 Unknown

General

In 1708, the Circassians paid a great tribute to the Ottoman sultan to be safe from Tatar raids, but the sultan did not take measures and the Tatars raided and plundered all the way to the center of Circassia.[4] For this reason, the Kabardian Circassians announced that they would not pay tribute to the Crimean Khan and the Ottoman Sultan again. The Ottomans sent their army of at least 20,000[5] men to Kabardia under the leadership of the Crimean khan Qaplan I Giray to defeat the Circassians and collect tribute.[6][7] The Ottomans expected an easy victory against the Kabardinians, but the Circassians were victorious with the strategy set up by the Qazaneqo Jabagh.[8][9][10][11][12][13]

Although foreign sources report different figures on the number of the Crimean-Ottoman army, criticalals consider the figure of at least 20-25 thousand people to be reliable. This figure is in particular a reference to the letter of Prince Tatarhan Bekmurzovich, who should know the number of his enemy.[14]

The Crimean-Ottoman army was completely destroyed overnight. Exhausted from the war, the Circassians wandered the battlefield for several days looking for survivors, both of them and their enemies. According to Shora Nogmov, they found Alegot Pasha, who, unconsciously and desperately fled from the battlefield and fell off a cliff, clung to a tree with his feet and died on the spot. Some recent research has claimed that the noble Nogay Murza Allaguvat was hiding under the name Alegoth.[15]

Allegedly, fter the Circassian prince Hatekhujiqwe stripped the Crimean khan Kaplan Giray to his underwear, took his brother, son, field tools, tents and personal belongings from his hand, and then said, "My khan, since you come here often, you must love the Circassian mountains. You can watch our country as much as you want. ", tied him reversed to a horse, and sent him back to a horse in this condition until Crimea.

The Battle of Kanzhal protected the Circassians from the plundering of the Crimean Khan, but even if the Circassians had triumphed, they could not liberate Kabardians from the status of tribute. In the ten years after the Battle of Kanjal, sources stated that the Circassians paid tribute again.

Mentions of the event by foreign sources

Abri de la Motre

Abri de la Motre (agent of the Swedish king Charles XII), who visited the Caucasus in 1711, gave a detailed description of this war.[16] Motre published a description of his travels in London in 1724 in English in two volumes. He republished them in French in 1727.

A brief chronology of events, according to Motre, is as follows:

  • Circassians paid a large annual tribute to the sultan to avoid Tatar raids. However, the sultan did not fulfill this obligation and the Tatars raided all the way to the center of Circassia, robbing everything they could.
  • Circassians thought not only to stop these attacks, but also to refuse to pay tribute. The Sultan formed a Tatar army against the Circassians (about 100 thousand in number, according to Motre).
  • Circassians sent letters to Khan's camp expressing their obedience and asking for peace. Later, for 19 days, the Circassians stalled the enemy troops by negotiating the amount and quality of the tribute to be paid, and then unexpectedly attacked the camp from all sides and killed most of the soldiers.
  • Leading those who escaped to save their lives, the Khan left his brother, son, field tools, tents and belongings.

Xaverio Glavani

Xaverio Glavani, the French consul in Crimea and the first doctor of the Khan in Bakhchysarai, wrote in his book "Circassian Statement" dated 20 January 1724:[17]

The Crimean Khan wanted to compel the Kabardinians to give him more slaves and goods than he had previously agreed. The people took up arms, a bloody battle took place, the Tatars were completely defeated, the Khan himself barely managed to escape and lost his boots; More than 5,000 Tatars died in the war, including many nobles.

Xaverio Glavani, Circassian Statement

Johann Gustav Gerber

Johann Gustav Gerber, who made a map of the Caucasus for Tsarist Russia in 1728 and a depiction of the peoples living in the Caucasus, also reported this war:[18]

The people in two regions, Western Circassia and Kabardia, are the same nation and have been free people since ancient times. In different centuries, the Crimean Khan asked them to send him a gift every year, namely a good horse, a conch, a sword, an expensive bow or a beautiful girl that would not be found everywhere. However, the Circassians decided to leave this and killed the Crimean officials who were sent to receive the gift. After that, the Crimean Khan sent 30,000 soldiers and his vizier to raze their land against the Circassians. However, the Circassians pretended to escape from the Tatars, and led them along an unknown road until the middle of Kabardia and completely destroyed the Crimean army. Since then they have again gained complete freedom.

Johann Gustav Gerber, Map of Caucasus

Engelbert Kämpfer

German traveler Engelbert Kämpfer also mentioned the event:[19]

“At the end of 1708, the Khan of the Little Tatari (Crimea) demanded twice the tax from neighboring Circassians for no reason; When the Circassians refused, they attacked with a large army. The Circassian prince did a trick and agreed with 30 young strong soldiers to kill the Khan's most noble officers and sent them as spies. At the same time, the Circassians attacked the enemy in such a way that, thanks to such confusion, a complete victory was achieved and the Tatar Khan was saved only with great difficulty.

Engelbert Kämpfer

Other sources

In addition to the above, in the 18th century Ottoman writer Mehmet Funduklu, the former Moldovan ruler and scientist Dimitrie Cantemir and many others wrote about the victory of the Kabardinians over the Crimean Khan in 1708, although their reports agreed on the main point, sometimes differing in detail.[20]

Effects

The Battle of Kanzhal protected the Circassians from the plundering of the Crimean Khan, but even if the Circassians had triumphed, they could not liberate Kabardians from the status of tribute. In the ten years after the Battle of Kanjal, sources stated that the Circassians paid tribute again.

Legacy

In 2008, Circassians celebrated the 300th anniversary of their victory in the Battle of Kanzhal.[21] Circassian activists organized a trip in the direction of the war and a monument was erected in the area.[22]

In 2018, events were organized for the 310th anniversary of the war. However, in the village of Kendelen, the local people of Balkar origin blocked the path of a Circassian flag group and attacked the celebrating Circassians, and Russian forces intervened as clashes between Circassians and Balkars intensified.

Similar clashes occurred in 2008 when the people of Karachay-Balkar hung posters "There was no battle in Kanzhal".[23]

References

  1. "Подборка статей к 300-летию Канжальской битвы". kabardhorse.ru. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  2. Все монархи мира. Мусульманский Восток. XV-XX вв (Все монархи мира ed.). М.: «Вече». 2004. p. 544. ISBN 5-9533-0384-X.
  3. "РАН о Канжальской битве: "В отношении её достоверности нет никаких сомнений"". Натпресс.инфо. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  4. "Путешествие господина А. де ла Мотрэ в Европу, Азию и Африку". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  5. Василий Каширин. "Ещё одна «Мать Полтавской баталии»? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года". www.diary.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  6. "Подборка статей к 300-летию Канжальской битвы". kabardhorse.ru. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  7. Рыжов К. В. (2004). Все монархи мира. Мусульманский Восток. XV-XX вв. «Вече». p. 544. ISBN 5-9533-0384-X.
  8. "Путешествие господина А. де ла Мотрэ в Европу, Азию и Африку". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  9. Василий Каширин. "Ещё одна «Мать Полтавской баталии»? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года". www.diary.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  10. "Описание Черкесии". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2019.. 1724 год.
  11. ""Записки" Гербера Иоганна Густава". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  12. "Энгельберт Кемпфер". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  13. Cw (15 October 2009). "Circassian World News: Documentary: Kanzhal Battle"". Circassian World News.
  14. Василий Каширин. "Ещё одна «Мать Полтавской баталии»? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года". www.diary.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  15. ветер, Восточный. "Bloody Kanzhal. Reasons and course of the battle".
  16. "Путешествие господина А. де ла Мотрэ в Европу, Азию и Африку". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  17. "Описание Черкесии". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 December 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2019.. 1724 год.
  18. ""Записки" Гербера Иоганна Густава". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  19. "Энгельберт Кемпфер". www.vostlit.info. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  20. Василий Каширин. "Ещё одна «Мать Полтавской баталии»? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года". www.diary.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  21. "Подборка статей к 300-летию Канжальской битвы". kabardhorse.ru. Archived from the original on 17 April 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  22. Василий Каширин. "Ещё одна «Мать Полтавской баталии»? К юбилею Канжальской битвы 1708 года". www.diary.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 4 July 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  23. Полина Еременко. "Кабардинцы и балкарцы поссорились из-за битвы 1708 года, которой, возможно, не было. Есть задержанные, омоновцу проломили голову". meduza.io. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019. Meduza, 20 September 2018
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