Hatuqway Principality

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Hatuqway Principality
Хьатыкъуае Пщыгъо
c. 15th century–1864
Shedzheryk'o.svg
The tamga of the princes belonging to the Shezheruqo sub-branch of the Cherchanuqo family, who ruled the Hatuqway.
Hatukay.svg
Hatuqway region in 1789, at its smallest borders as a vassal of Bzhedug Principality
StatusPrincipality
Official languages Adyghe (Hatuqway dialect)
Common languages Adyghe, Crimean Tatar
Religion
Khabzeism (c. 15th century – 17th century)
Eastern Orthodoxy (c. 15th century – 17th century)
Sunni Islam (Hanafi) (17th century – 1864)
Demonym Hatuqway
GovernmentPrincipality (c. 15th century – 1861)
Province of Circassia (1861–1864)
Prince 
• c. 15th century [1]
Hatuqo
• c. 1532 [1]
"Pale"
• c. 16th century [2]
Elok
• c. 16th century [2]
Antenuk
• c. 1664 [3]
Janbe-Girey
• c. 18th century [1]
Aslan-Giray
• c. 1842 [4]
Cherchanuqo Jan-Giray (Dyancherie)
• c. 1852 [4]
Cherchanuqo Talustan
History 
• Established
c. 15th century
• Disestablished
1864
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Blank.png Zichia
Russian Empire Blank.png
Today part ofFlag of Russia.svg Russia (Republic of Adygea, Krasnodar Krai)

The Hatuqway Principality [a] was a historical principality and a province of Circassia. It was inhabited by the Hatuqway Circassian tribe [1] and was ruled by the Cherchanuqo clan, which was the largest aristocratic family of the Hatuqways. [5] [4] The Hatuqway Principality was marked on period maps with various names (Hatukai, Codioci, Gatyukai), including the 1787 map by Johann Anton Güldenstädt [6] and the 1675 map by Frederik de Wit. [7] [8]

Contents

History

Foundation

The village of Khatukay (Khatukai / Kh'atik'uai) in the Republic of Adygea, where the Hatukay people no longer reside. Khatukay01.jpg
The village of Khatukay (Хатукай / Хьатикъуай) in the Republic of Adygea, where the Hatukay people no longer reside.

Almost all knowledge about the founding of the Hatuqway Principality comes from oral history. According to these oral accounts, the founding dynasty of the Hatuqway Principality descends from king Inal, who ruled Circassia. After his death, his lands were divided over time. [9] The Hatuqways initially resided in the Zhaney region and separated from this region. The name Hatuqway derives from Prince Hatuqo (Adyghe : Хьатыкъо), a prince descended from King Inal. Prince Hatuqo was the brother of Prince Boletoqo (Adyghe : Болэтыкъо), the first prince of the Chemguy Principality. [1] In the period following Inal's death, the Chemguy Principality was divided into two principalities. One became the land of Prince Boletoqo, and the other, Prince Hatuqo. The elder brother, Prince Boletoqo, remained in his principality in the region between the Greater Laba and Shkhakoshem rivers, retaining the name Chemguy. Prince Hatuqo, however, moved west and established the new principality of Hatuqway in the Zhaney lands. [1] Some historians suggested that the Hakuch tribe separated from the Hatuqway. [1]

Medieval Period

The area of authority of the Hatuqway Princes and therefore the area where the Hatuqway tribe lived was for a long time on the southern banks of the Kuban, a little further down from where the Afips River flows. The Hatuqway Principality had a strong army and was one of the most warlike of Circassian principalities, known for its princes who were engaged in ceaseless internal wars against other Circassians. [10] In addition to wars against other Circassians, they actively participated in wars against the Crimean Tatars. [1] They also took part in the looting of Astrakhan. One of the Hatuqway princes, nicknamed "Pale," looted Astrakhan in alliance with the Kabardians. [1]

The Hatuqway maintained control over fertile lowlands and crucial trade routes in the northwestern Caucasus, resisting both Tatar incursions and Ottoman-backed pressure. [11] [12] Tensions escalated throughout the 1540s as the Hatuqway leadership increasingly resisted demands for tribute and subordination [13] and sought alliances. Hatuqway princes Elok and Antenuk were involved in these acts. [2] They are quoted as saying the following: [2]

The Khan, they say, is coming to raid us, but we are not like the Zhaney and Kabardians. He is strong because of his zarbuzan cannons, but our cannons and rifles are the steep mountains and the warhorses. We have no need for his cannon carts. Does the Khan have the courage to attack us? If he comes, we will become a curse to him.

—  [2]

In response, Crimean Khan Sahib I Giray organized a punitive expedition in 1551, aiming to break Hatuqai resistance and reassert Crimean authority in the region. [14] The region faced difficulty with the Crimean campaign in Hatuqway (1551), as the Crimean Tatars defeated the army of the Hatuqway and ravaged the Bzhedug lands. [15] Although the Hatuqway army was defeated, allied Kabardians led by Temruq Idar managed to defeat the Crimeans, thus the war technically ended in a victory. [16] Sahib Giray had inflicted severe blows on almost all major principalities of Circassia: Zhaney, Hatuqway, Bzhedug, Kabardia. It is after this that the Circassians started to seek alliances with Russia to fight against Tatar incursions. [2]

Early Modern Period

Giovanni Lucca mentioned the Hatuqway Principality in the early 1600s. [8] Evliya Çelebi visited the Hatukay region in the 1660s [4] and met Prince Janbe-Girey (Adyghe : Джаныбэджэрый). [3]

The great Hatukay country. Its prince's name is Jangirey, which is to say, Janbe Giray. When Janbe Giray Sultan was a guest here, a child was born to the prince that night, and they named him Jangirey after Janbe Giray Sultan. It is still a Circassian custom that when a guest is in their home and a son is born, they name him after the guest present in the house, and immediately, the boy is taken away by another wet nurse from the very next day. They feed and raise him better than his own mother and father. We still observed this practice. If they have no guest in the house, they name the boy after their neighbor; this is their ancient custom. This Prince of Hatukay is wealthy, possessing many animals and 8,000 fully-armed soldiers.

Since this land is a vast, fertile, and beautiful country, the Nevruz Imirza Tatars, who killed the son of the Muscovy king and, fighting their way through the Kalmyk infidels, crossed the Edil (Volga) River and the Heyhat Steppe, came and settled on the bank of the Kuban River in this Hatuqway Circassian land. They have married Circassians and become brothers with them. They number 10,000 soldiers and 6,000 tents in total. They are extremely loyal, experienced, armed, and brave soldiers.

...

If you call this Circassian nation 'infidel,' they will instantly kill you without mercy or delay. They say 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god but Allah), but they eat fat pigs from the tail, they do not fast or perform prayers, and they do not allow anyone without a pig into the village. They absolutely have no churches, markets, inns, or bathhouses. All travelers who come and go stay in private homes. If you are a guest in a house and leave your possessions openly, not a single straw of it will be harmed. No matter how much of an enemy you have, the neighbors near the host will die for your sake. They will not allow any harm to befall you.

...

The Circassian language, even now, cannot be written down; it is a language based on listening, produced from the throat, cheeks, and under the tongue, a sound that is like a sparrow's chirp and cannot be committed to paper. This humble servant of Allah, a traveler of the world and companion to man, the unpretentious Evliya, has traveled for 51 years, setting foot in 18 kingdoms across seven climes, and has written down 147 languages with my gem-scattering pen, including their eloquence, rhetoric, and poems, in order to converse with the people of every region. But I could not write down this Circassian language with its magpie-like sound.Inshallah, we will write that language as best as we can. They have a peculiar dialect, for they are not literate. That is why it cannot be committed to paper; it is a bird's language, and that is that.

— Evliya Çelebi, Seyahatname

One of the most famous Hatukay princes was Aslan-Girey (Adyghe : Аслъанджэрый), known for his character and oratorical skill despite being physically weak. [1] Circassians would give a subsequent baby born in a village the name of a Crimean Khan if the Khan stayed in that village, [3] which is likely why he was named after the Crimean Khan Arslan-Girey, who had stayed in Circassia. The Hatuqway Principality reached its zenith during Aslan-Girey's reign. On his deathbed, surrounded by elders and nobles, Aslan-Girey's will stipulated that every slave in the Hatuqway Principality be freed according to Islamic obligations, and that no Hatuqway would be a slave thereafter. Following this, slave families in the Hatuqway region were emancipated. [1] Hatuqway, which used to be an important Circassian principality of West Circassia, lost this status with Aslan-Girey's death, as the Hatukay Principality split into two warring factions. [1]

In the late 18th century, the Hatuqway Principality was located west of the Bzhedughs, near the Black Sea coast and between the left bank of the Kuban River and the right bank of the Belaya. However, in the first half of the 19th century, they shifted further east, settling between the Bzhedughs and the Chemguy. [10]

Religion

The Circassians were Christianized between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD under the influence of the Byzantines and Georgians. [17] [18] [19] However, Christianity was not fully entrenched among the Circassians, having mixed with the local pagan religion, resulting in a semi-pagan, semi-Christian faith. [20] The Virgin Mary was both the Mother of God and the Goddess of Bees, while Jesus was syncretized with the Circassian high god Thashkho. [20] With the start of the Russo-Circassian War, Christianity began to be seen as the Russian religion among the Circassians, and the remaining Christians gradually converted. [21] Consequently, Christianity faced severe reactions among the populace. [20] [21] [22] The Hatuqway Circassians converted to Islam in the 17th century. [21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Adyghe: Хьатыкъуае Пщыгъо, Russian: Хатукайское княжество

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Amjad Jaimoukha (April 7, 2015). The Circassians: A Handbook. ISBN   978-1138874602.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Samir Khotko. "Campaigns of Sahib Gerey I to Circassia in 1539–1551 on information of Remmal Khoja" (PDF). Adyghe Republican Institute of Humanitarian Researches (PDF). Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  3. 1 2 3 Evliya Çelebi. Seyahatnâme (PDF) (in Turkish). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Didem Çatalkılıç (2021). "Kafkasya'dan Uzunyayla'ya Taşınan Hafıza Mekânları: Köy Toponim ve Sülale Tarihleri". Karadeniz Araştırmaları (XVIII/69: 71-120). Archived from the original on August 24, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ Kadir Natho (December 3, 2009). Circassian History. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN   978-1441523884 . Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ «Новая карта Кавказа», составленная Иоганном Антоном Гильденштедтом, академиком-ориенталистом на русской службе. (Neue Carte des Caucasus grostentheils aus Guldenstaedts nachgelassenen handschriftlichen Entwurfen zusammengezetzt. [Санкт-Петербург]: [Географический департамент АН]: [1787]. 1 л.: Грав.; 41х73 (59х81). Масштаб приблизительно 33 версты в 1 дюйме. Российская Национальная Библиотека (Санкт-Петербург). Отдел картографии. К 1-Кав 3/10)
  7. ↑ Turcium Imperium. - Amstelodami: apud F. de Wit: [1675].
  8. 1 2 Samir Khamidovich Khotko (2015). Открытие Черкесии. Картографические источники XIV—XIX вв (in Russian). Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  9. ↑ "PRENSLERİN PRENSİ İNAL NEKHU (PŞILERİN PŞISI İNAL NEKHU)". KAĞAZEJ Jıraslen. 2013. Archived from the original on February 29, 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Kafkasya'nın etnik mozaiği". Archived from the original on April 8, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  11. ↑ Кушева Е.Н. Народы Северного Кавказа и их связи с Россией. Вторая половина XVI – 30-е годы XVII века. М.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1963. Стр 137-138
  12. ↑ Хотко, Самир Хамидович (2008). Цивилизация Кабарды (in Russian). Санкт-Петербург: Издательство С.-Петербургского университета. ISBN   978-5-288-04689-6.
  13. ↑ Некрасов А.М. Международные отношения и народы Западного Кавказа (последняя четверть XV – первая половина XVI в.). М.: Наука, 1990.
  14. ↑ Tārih̲-i Ṣāḥib Giray H̲ān. Histoire de Sahib Giray, khan de Crimée de 1532 à 1551: edition critique, traduction, notes et glossaire. Dr. Özalp Gökbilgin. Ankara: Baylan Matbaası, 1973. 257
  15. ↑ Б. К. Мальбахов (2002). Кабарда на этапах политической истории (середина XVI — первая четверть XIX века). Москва: Издательство «Поматур». pp. 240–246. ISBN   5-86208-106-2.
  16. ↑ Мальбахов Б. К. "Кабарда на этапах политической истории (середина XVI — первая четверть XIX века), Москва, из-во «Поматур», 2002 г. ISBN   978-5-86208-106-0, ст. 246
  17. ↑ The Penny Magazine. London, Charles Knight, 1838. p. 138.
  18. ↑ Minahan, James. One Europe, Many Nations: a Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Westport, USA, Greenwood, 2000. p. 354.
  19. ↑ Amjad M. Jaimoukha (2005). The Chechens: A Handbook. Psychology Press. p. 32. ISBN   978-0-415-32328-4 . Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 Taitbout de Marigny, Edouard (1836). Voyages en Circassie (in French). Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 Mustafa Özsaray (February 20, 2012). Çerkeslerin İslamlaşması (in Turkish). İz Yayıncılık. ISBN   9789753558716.
  22. ↑ James Stanislaus Bell (1840). Journal of a Residence in Circassia: During the Years 1837, 1838 and 1839. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
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