The history of Chechnya may refer to the history of the Chechens, of their land Chechnya, or of the land of Ichkeria.
Circassia, also known as Zichia, was a country and a historical region in the North Caucasus, along the northeast shore of the Black Sea. It was conquered by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864), after which 90% of the Circassian people were either exiled from the region or massacred in the Circassian genocide.
Circassians, also called Cherkess or Adyghe are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and a nation; native to the historical country-region of Circassia in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the Circassian genocide perpetrated by the Russian Empire in the 19th century during the Russo-Circassian War, most Circassians were exiled from their homeland in Circassia to modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East, where most of them are today. In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.
The Chechens, historically also known as Kisti and Durdzuks, are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. They are the largest ethnic group in the region and refer to themselves as Nokhchiy. The vast majority of Chechens are Muslims and live in Chechnya, an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation.
The Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria is a federal subject of Russia, located in the Caucasus region.
Grand Principality of Great Kabarda or East Circassia was an 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.
The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus.
Munkh Tumur or Möngke Temür was a son of Toqoqan Khan and Köchu Khatun of Oirat, daughter of Toralchi Küregen and granddaughter of Qutuqa Beki, and the grandson of Batu Khan. He was a khan of the Golden Horde, a division of the Mongol Empire in 1266–1280.
The Russo-Circassian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Circassia, was the invasion of Circassia by Russia, starting in 1763 (O.S) with the Russian Empire assuming authority in Circassia, followed by the Circassian refusal, and ending 101 years later with the last army of Circassia defeated on 21 May 1864 (O.S), making it exhausting and casualty-heavy for both sides. The Russo-Circassian War was the longest war both Russia and Circassia have ever fought and the longest war in the Caucasus region.
Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans (Proto-Ossetians) that flourished between the 9th–13th centuries in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia–Alania. With its capital at Maghas, the location of which is still disputed, it became independent from the Khazars in the late 9th century. It was Christianized by a Byzantine missionary soon after, in the early 10th century.
The Vainakh peoples of the North Caucasus were Islamised comparatively late, during the early modern period, and Amjad Jaimoukha (2005) proposes to reconstruct some of the elements of their pre-Islamic religion and mythology, including traces of ancestor worship and funerary cults. The Nakh peoples, like many other peoples of the North Caucasus such as Circassians, practised tree worship, and believed that trees were the abodes of spirits. Vainakh peoples developed many rituals to serve particular kinds of trees. The pear tree held a special place in the faith of Vainakhs.
Amjad M. Jaimoukha was a Jordanian Circassian writer, publicist, and historian, who wrote several books on North Caucasian – specifically Circassian and Chechen – culture and folklore.
Inal Nekhu was the Supreme Prince (King) of Circassia from 1427 to 1453 who unified all Circassians into one state. He led campaigns into several countries and expanded borders on all directions. He was the founder of several Circassian tribes, mainly Kabardia, Besleney, Temirgoy, Zhaney, and Hatuqwai.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongols launched two long, massive invasions of the territory of modern Chechnya and Ingushetia, which included the lands of Alania in the west, Simsir in the northeast, and the Georgian-allied polity of Durdzuketia in the south. They caused massive destruction and human death for the Durdzuks, but also greatly shaped the people they became afterward. However, this came at great cost to them, and the states they had built were utterly destroyed, as were their previous organized systems. These invasions are among the most significant occurrences in Chechen and Ingush history, and have had long-ranging effects on Chechnya, Ingushetia and their peoples.
Chechnya was first incorporated as a whole into the Russian Empire in 1859 after the decades-long Caucasian War. Tsarist rule was marked by a transition into modern times, including the formation of a Chechen bourgeoisie, the emergence of social movements, reorientation of the Chechen economy towards oil, heavy ethnic discrimination at the expense of Chechens and others in favor of Russians and Kuban Cossacks, and a religious transition among the Chechens towards the Qadiri tariqa of Sufism.
Endirey is a village (selo) in the Khasavyurt District of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia. It is the center of the Endireyskoe Rural Settlement and has a population of 7,863 (2015). Endirey - important historical center of the Kumyks.
This article summarizes the History of the western steppe, which is the western third of the Eurasian steppe, that is, the grasslands of Ukraine and southern Russia. It is intended as a summary and an index to the more-detailed linked articles. It is a companion to History of the central steppe and History of the eastern steppe. All dates are approximate since there are few exact starting and ending dates. This summary article does not list the uncertainties, which are many. For these, see the linked articles.
The almaz, roughly translated as various "feral forest-man" or "stone spirit", is a mythical beast that is considered to be an evil forest creature with magical powers residing in its hair that exists in Chechen and Ingush folk beliefs and Circassian folk beliefs. The first "attestation" of it in writing was by a Bavarian captive of the Mongols, but it is present in the national folklore of Chechens and Ingush and of Circassians. The male almaz is said to be hairy and hideous, and have an axe embedded in its chest, while the female is very beautiful with large breasts and golden hair, and has a "favorite pastime" of dancing naked at night under the moon. The almaz is said to have magical powers residing in its hair, but if the hair is removed or even grabbed, it may be rendered helpless. It has been theorized by some to have arisen under Mongolian influence, either during the Mongol invasions of Dzurdzuketia or the intervening period where the northern Dzurdzuk state of Simsir was subjugated to the Mongol-controlled Golden Horde. The word almaz is a loan from Mongolian where it originally meant "forest man". Amjad Jaimoukha however suggested that the name "almaz" may have started to have been used by North Caucasians for an already existent native concept during the sojourn of the Golden Horde of Simsir.
Religion in Circassia refers to religious presence in historical Circassia and modern-day Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Krasnodar Krai and Karachai-Cherkessia. The majority of ethnic Circassians today are Muslim while a minority retain Orthodox Christian or pagan beliefs.
The Sheikh Mansur Movement, also known as the 1785–1791 Insurgency in the North Caucasus, was a major war between the Russian Empire and the North Caucasians, caused by the Chechen religious and military leader Sheikh Mansur, who opposed the Russian expansionist policies and wanted to unite the North Caucasians under one, single, Islamic state.
Mongol Empire 
Zichia (Circassia) 
Kingdom of Alania 
