History of Kabarda and Kabardians

History of Kabarda And Kabardians

The archaeological monuments of material culture which are dated by the epoch of the lower paleolith are indicative of the fact that the territory of Kabarda was populated from ancient times.

The outset of ethnogenesis of the Kabardians goes back to the autochtonic Caucasian tribes of the Bronze & Early Iron epochs. They were the bearers of the North Caucasian (111-11c. BC) & Kobane (11-1c. BC) archaeological cultures. These tribes occupied the foothills & highlands of the North Caucasus & they were occupied with agriculture, cattle-breeding & metallurgy. The archaeological finds are indicative of the highly developed material culture, specifically the bearers of the Kobane culture were able to built complex irrigational constructions, stone & wooden dwellings.

In the III c. BC there took place the decay of the primitive society & conceptions of the military democracy. At the same time rapid rise of culture takes place. But who were these tribes, the creators of the ancient Caucasian cultures? In the highlands of the Black-Sea-littoral's Taurida from the mouth of the Galis river & towards the Western Transcaucasus there lived the Kashks (or Kasks), the kaskayans. The Kasks were the member of the union of the kindred Knatt tribes, which lived to the south of the Galis river. It is believed on the boundary of the III-IIc. BC the Knatts had founded such state-cities as Puruskhandan, Amkuvan, Kussarah (or Kushiar), Khattie, Kanish & others. The kinship of the Knatts & the Kasks with the Abkhazo-Adyghs nations is corroborated by the data of ethnographic sources.

The specific situation of the Caucasus as a border zone between the European & Asian continents was such, that from ancient times it was among the geopolitical interests of the neighbor highly developed civilization & powerful states. Objectively it hampered the forming of the Stable State system & institutions, peculiar to it, among the Caucasian nations (including the Adyghs).

At the same time such attempts took place. For example, in the end of the VI c. BC the ancient adyghs ancestors created the slave-owing state. It was named Sindika (by name of one of the Adygh tribes). Sindika was the first state formation in the territory of the present Russian Federation. The Sind State was situated in the territory which covered (from the North to the South) the Taman peninsula up to Gelenjik, & (from the West to the East) from the shores of the Black Sea to the Kuban river. Many antique authors (such as Hyponant, Hecatey of Milet, Herodot, Skylak of Karyond & others) wrote about the Sind State, about its social & political system, economic structure & culture. Self-dependent development of the Sind State was halted with the outset colonization of the Northern Black-Sea-littoral by the Greeks. So, firstly it was gradually subjected to the Bospor Kingdom influence (IV-III c. BC), & then to the Roman Empire influence. In the I c. AD the Zikhs tribes created the union of the Adygh tribes. From the II c. the Zikhs had established a close connection with the Romans. One of the Zikhs leaders Stakhemfak even declared himself as a subject of the Roman Emperor.

Again the process of forming of the adygh nation was hampered this time by the Hun invasion in the IV c. The Huns had annihilated Sindika. The next stage in the development of State System of the adygh tribes was the rise of 2 unions: the kasogian & abkhazian (in the VIII-Xc. AD) & it was described by the Arabian historian Masoudie.

Kabardians were the members of Kasogs. The first information of the russian chronicles ("The Tale of the Temporal Times") & folk-lore ("The Song of Igor's Campaign") charaterize the contacts of Kasogs with Kiev Russia & with Tmutarakan Principality, specifically.

In the XIII c. the tataro-mongol invasion had annihilated the adyghs formations. Then some peculiarities of the social, economic & political development (which were determined by constant feudal intestine wars & wars against foreign invaders) had led the adygh tribes to such a situation when they were not able to create a united centralized state. And in Kabarda (in XVII-XVIII c.c.) all the signs of the state system were present.

From the XV Crimean Khanate (which was supported by Ottoman Turkey) started to fulfil the plan of seizure & establishment of its rule in the Northern Caucasus. In 1557 the Kabardian princess, being under the direct threat of military expansion, concluded the treaty with Russia.

In spite of this, Turkey, Crimean Khanate, Persia, seeking to establish their control over the important military-strategic & trade routes (from Europe to the Transcaucasus, Middle & Fore-Asia) going through the Caucasian isthmus & the territory of Kabarda in particular, didn't refuse their plans to invade the adygh motherland. At the same time Russia & some European States declared their interests about the region. In 1739, as a result of the Russia-Turkish wars & in accordance with the paragraph ?6 of the Belgrade Peace Treaty between Russia & Turkey Kabarda was recognized as an independent state. But then, on the basis of the Kutchuk-Kaynargie Treaty between Russia & Turkey (1774) there was the redistribution of the spheres of influence & Kabarda was recognized as a component part of the Russian spheres of interest, but Kabarda itself didn't take part in this deal & didn't recognize it.

From the close of the XVIII c., with the beginning of the Russian Tzarism war expansion to the Caucasus, the adyghs found themselves involved in the war. This war is known as the Russian-Caucasian & it lasted for almost 100 years, up to 1864. Kabarda was the first to be subjected to the expansion. For decades it had been resisting the vast military forces of the Russian Tzarism, just starting from the building of the Azov-Mozdok fortified line in 1775 & up to 1822. 9/10 of Kabarda population was annihilated. In 1822 Kabarda was invaded once & for all. And after that, in 1829, Chechnya, Dagestan & Western Adyghs were subjected to the military actions.

In the 1 part of the XIX c. The adyghs nations (kabardians, abadzekhs, abazins, bjedugs, beslaneyans, egarukeys, mamkhegs, makhoshes, natukhays, ubikhs, khatukays, tchemergoys, shapsugs) occupied the territory (under the general name Circassia) from the N-W extremity of the Grand Caucasus Mountains to Hie both sides of the watershedding range, in the South- along the Caucasian Range to the East up to the Sunjie & further to the North, along the Terek, the Malka, the Cuma& up to the Cuban. As a result of the colonial policy which was carried out by the Tzarism( & mukhadjirism - the expulsion of the Circassians on a mass scale to the Osman Empire - as its consequence) there were just 150000 people left of the Circassian, population of many millions Even according to the officialinformation, during the quarter of the century(the end of the XVIII c-the beginning of the XIX c.) the population of Kabarda had been reduced for 10 times: from 300 to 37 thousands. More than 1 mln of the adyghs were moved under compulsion to the Osman Empire. After its disintegration adyghs were scattered over the countries of the Near East, Europe & America. Now the adyghs live compactly in Turkey(2 mln), Syria(80 th.), Jordan(90 th.), Germany(20 th), Holland(10 th), USA(10 th)& other countries.

After the end of the Caucasian War & the final annexation of the Caucasus, the Tzarism had carrien out the local administrative reform. The whole northern territory from the Main Caucasian Ridge was named the North Caucasus & it was divided into the Terek & the Cuban regions & the Stavropol province. All the North Caucasian nations with their territories were designated as districts & were included into the Terek region. The Kabardians & 5 Balkaryan parties together with had formed the territorial unit: the Kabardian District.
In 1869 (in connection with the following administrative reform of the Terek Region) the Kabardian District was given a new name-the Georgian( Georgievsky) District(then the Nalchik District).

After the October Revolution, on January 20,1920, Here was formed the HASSR in the N.C. by the decree of the AUEC). Kabarda & Balkarya (having the rights of the self-dependent national-administrative districts) became its part. On September 1, 1921 Kabarda had left the HASSR & created the separate Kabardian Autonomous Region as a member of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic(RSFSR). On January, 1922 there was created the united Kabardino-Balkaryan Autonomous Region(KBAR). On December 5,1936, the KBAR was changed into the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic(KBASSR).

On June 24,1937,the first Constitution of the KBASSR was adopted.

In 1944 the Balkaryan nation suffered the departation to the Middle Asia & Kazachstan. Some parts of Kabardino-Balkaria were transferred to the Northern Osetya & Georgia. The Balkaryans had spent 13 years in exile & in 1957 they were exonerated & they came back. On March 28,1957, the Supreme Soviet of the KBASSR adopted the law "About the Transformation of the Kabardian ASSR into the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic").
On January 31, 1991, after the disintegration of the USSR, the Supreme Soviet of the KBASSR adopted the Declaration about the sovereignty of the republic. It was named the Kabardino-Balkaryan Republic (KBR).

The status of the KBR is determined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation & the one of the KBR.

Source: Jurt Hasan, Nalchik, Kabardino - Balkaria