National hero of the Caucasian peoples Imam Shamil (biography)

One of the most famous national heroes of the Caucasian peoples is Imam Shamil. The biography of this man allows us to conclude that his life was full of sharp turns and interesting events. He for many years led the uprising of the mountain peoples against the Russian Empire, and now is a symbol of freedom and disobedience in the Caucasus. Imam Shamil's biography will be briefly outlined in this review.

The origin of the hero

Without the family history, Imam Shamil's biography will not be fully accessible for understanding. A brief account of the history of the genus of this hero, we will try to retell below.

Shamil came from a rather ancient and noble Avar or Kumyk noble family. The great-grandfather of the hero Kumyk-Amir-Khan enjoyed great prestige and respect among his fellow tribesmen. Grandfather Shamilya Ali and father Dengav-Magomed were the Uzbeks, which is analogous to the nobility in Russia, that is, they belonged to the upper class. In addition, Dengav-Magomed was a blacksmith, and this profession was considered very honorable among the highlanders.

Shamil's mother was called Bahu-Mesed. She was the daughter of the noble Avar Bek Pir-Budaha. That is, both on his father's and on the maternal line, he had noble ancestors. This is reported by the biography of such a famous person as Imam Shamil (biography). The hero's nationality has not yet been fully clarified. It is only known that he is a representative of the mountaineers of Dagestan. It is precisely established that Avar's blood flowed in his veins. But with some degree of probability, we can say that he was a kumyk by his father.

Birth of Shamil

Imam Shamil's biography, of course, begins with the date of his birth. This event happened in June 1797 in the villages of Gimry in the territory of the accident. This locality is now located in the western regions of the Republic of Dagestan.

Initially, the boy was named after his father's grandfather Ali. But soon he fell ill, and the kid, according to the customs, to protect from evil spirits, changed his name to Shamil. It is a version of the biblical name Samuel and translated as "heard by God." His brother's brother's name was the same.

Childhood and Learning

In childhood Shamil was a rather thin and sickly boy. But in the end, he grew up in a surprisingly healthy and strong youth.

From childhood, the character of the future leader of the uprising began to appear. He was an inquisitive, lively boy with a proud, unyielding and power-hungry character. One of the features of Shamil was unprecedented courage. He began to learn the possession of weapons from early childhood.

Imam Shamil was very anxious about religion. The biography of this man is inextricably linked with religiosity. The first teacher of Shamil was his friend Adil-Muhammad. At the age of twelve, he began to study in Untsukul under the leadership of Jamaluddin Kazikumuhsky. Then he mastered grammar, rhetoric, logic, jurisprudence, Arabic, philosophy, which for the mountain tribes of the first half of the XIX was considered very high level of education.

The Caucasian War

The life of our hero is very closely connected with the Caucasian war , and this is mentioned more than once by Shamil's biography. Briefly describe this military conflict between the mountain peoples and the Russian Empire is also in this review.

The military conflict between the mountaineers of the Caucasus and the Russian Empire began as early as the time of Catherine II, when the Russian-Turkish war was going on (1787-1791). Then the mountaineers led by Sheikh Mansur tried to stop the advancement and strengthening of Russia in the Caucasus, using the help of their co-religionists from the Ottoman Empire. But the Turks lost in this war, and Sheikh Mansur was taken prisoner. After this, Tsarist Russia continued to build up its presence in the Caucasus, oppressing the local population.

In fact, the resistance of the mountain tribes did not stop even after the Russian peace was concluded with the Turks, but the opposition reached a special strength after the appointment of General Alexei Ermolov as commander in the Caucasus and the completion of the Russo-Persian war of 1804-1813. Ermolov tried once and for all to solve the problem of resistance of the local population by force, which led in 1817 to a full-scale war, which lasted almost 50 years.

Despite the rather brutal fighting, the Russian troops acted quite successfully, putting all large territories in the Caucasus under their control and subordinating new tribes. But in 1827 the emperor recalled General Ermolov, suspecting that he had links with the Decembrists, and General Paskevich was sent to take his place.

The emergence of Imamate

Meanwhile, in the fight against the Russian Empire, the consolidation of the Caucasian nationalities began. In the region spreads one of the trends of Islam of the Sunni type - muridism, whose central ideas were gazavat (holy war) against the infidels.

One of the main preachers of the new teaching was the theologian Ghazi-Muhammad who was from the same village as Shamil. At the end of 1828, at a meeting of the elders of the Eastern Caucasus tribes, Ghazi-Muhammad was proclaimed an imam. Thus, he became the de facto head of the newly formed state - the North Caucasian Imamate - and the leader of the uprising against the Russian Empire. Immediately after taking the title of Imam, Ghazi-Muhammad declared a holy war against Russia.

Now the Caucasian tribes were united in a single force, and their actions became especially dangerous for the Russian troops, especially since Paskevich's military command was still inferior to Yermolov's talent. The war broke out with renewed vigor. From the very beginning Shamil also took an active part in the conflict, becoming one of the leaders and assistants of Ghazi-Muhammad. They fought shoulder to shoulder in the battle for Gimry in 1832, for their native village. The rebels were besieged by the tsarist troops in the fortress, which fell on October 18. During the attack, Imam Ghazi-Muhammad was killed, and Shamil, despite the wound, managed to break out of the encirclement, chopping down several Russian soldiers.

The new imam was Gamzat-bey. This choice was dictated by the fact that Shamil was seriously injured at the time. But Gamzat-bek remained an Imam for less than two years and died in a bloody battle with one of the Avarian tribes.

The election of the Imam

Thus, the main candidate for the role of the head of the North Caucasian state was Shamil. He was elected at the meeting of the elders at the end of 1834. And until the end of his life he was called only Imam Shamil. Biography (brief in our presentation, but very full in fact) of his reign will be presented by us below.

It was the election by the imam that marked the beginning of the most important stage in Shamil's life.

Struggle against the Russian Empire

All his strength was laid on the fact that the fight against the Russian troops was successful, Imam Shamil. His biography completely says that this goal became almost the main thing in his life.

In this struggle, Shamil showed considerable military and organizational talent, he was able to inspire warriors with confidence in victory, did not make hasty decisions. The latter quality distinguished him from previous imams. It was these characteristics that allowed Shamil to successfully resist the numerically superior to his Russian army.

Imamat administration under Shamil

In addition, using Islam as an element of propaganda, Imam Shamil managed to unite the tribes of Chechnya and Dagestan. If, with his predecessors, the union of the tribes of the Caucasian peoples was rather loose, then with the advent of Shamil, he acquired all the features of statehood.

As a law, he introduced the Islamic Sharia in place of the ancient canons of the mountaineers (adat).

The North Caucasian imamate was divided into districts, at the head of which Naim Imam Shamil put them. His biography is full of similar examples of attempts to maximize the centralization of management. The judicial authority in each district was in charge of the mufti, who appointed the judges-qadi.

Captivity

Twenty-five years of relatively successful rule in the North Caucasus, Imam Shamil. The biography, a brief excerpt from which will be placed below, indicates that 1859 was a turning point in his life.

After the end of the Crimean War and the conclusion of the Paris peace , the actions of Russian troops intensified in the Caucasus. Against Shamil, the emperor tossed experienced commanders-generals Muravyov and Baryatinsky, who in April 1859 managed to capture the capital of the imamate. In June 1859, the last groups of insurgents were suppressed or forced out of Chechnya.

The national liberation movement broke out among the Adighes, and also moved to Dagestan, where Shamil himself was. But in August, his unit was besieged by Russian troops. Since the forces were unequal, Shamil was forced to surrender, however, on very honorable terms.

In captivity

And what can tell us about the period when Imam Shamil was in captivity, a biography? A brief biography of this person will not draw us a picture of his life, but will make up at least an approximate psychological portrait of this person.

Already in September 1859, the imam first met with the Russian Emperor Alexander II. This happened in Chuguev. Soon Shamil was transported to Moscow, where he met with the famous general Ermolov. In September, the imam was taken to the capital of the Russian Empire, where he was introduced to the Empress. As we see, the leader of the insurrection at the court was very loyal.

Soon, Shamil and his family were assigned permanent residence - the city of Kaluga. In 1861, there was a second meeting with the emperor. This time Shamil asked to be released for the pilgrimage to Mecca, but was refused.

Five years later, Shamil and his family swore allegiance to the Russian Empire, thus accepting Russian citizenship. Three years later, according to the decree of the emperor, Shamil received a noble title with the right to transfer it by inheritance. A year before this, the imam was allowed to change his place of residence and move to a more favorable Kyiv by the climatic conditions.

It is impossible to describe in this short review all that Imam Shamil experienced in captivity. Biography briefly says that this captivity was, however, quite comfortable and honorable, at least from the point of view of the Russians.

Death

Finally, all in the same year, 1869, Shamil managed to ask the Emperor's permission for a hajj to Mecca. The trip took more than a year.

After Shamil embodied the plan, and it happened in 1871, he decided to visit the second holy city for Muslims - Medina. There he died on the seventy-fourth year of life. He was buried by the imam not in his native Caucasus land, but in Medina.

Imam Shamil: biography, family

The family occupied a significant place in the life of this man, however, like every Caucasian mountaineer. Let's learn more about the relatives and friends of the great fighter for the independence of his people.

According to Muslim customs, Shamil had the right to have three lawful wives. He used this right.

The eldest of the sons of Shamil was called Jamaluddin (born in 1829). In 1839 he was taken hostage. He studied in St. Petersburg on a par with the children of clan noblemen. Later Shamil managed to exchange his son for another prisoner, but Jamaluddin died at the age of 29 from tuberculosis.

One of his father's main assistants was his second son, Ghazi-Muhammad. During Shamil's reign, he became a naiba of one of the districts. He died in 1902 in the Ottoman Empire.

The third son - Said - died in infancy.

The younger sons - Muammad-Shefi and Muhammad-Kamil - died in 1906 and in 1951, respectively.

Description of Imam Shamil

We have traced the life path that went through Imam Shamil (biography, photos are presented in the article). As you could see, this man's appearance betrays the real mountaineer, a native of the Caucasus. It is evident that this is a bold and resolute personality, ready for the sake of the supreme goal to put a lot on the line. His contemporaries testified about the hardness of Shamil's character more than once.

For the mountain peoples of the Caucasus, Shamil will always remain a symbol of the struggle for independence. At the same time, some methods of the famous Imam do not always correspond to modern concepts of the rules of warfare and humanity.