Haji Dogomuko Kerenduko — the last “prince” of the Ubykhs
In one of the last articles you could read about the history of the great leader of the Adyghe (Circassian) Ubykh people, Circassian “Washington” — Haji Ismail Berzeg. After his death in 1846, the people chose the leader of his nephew — Dogomuko Kerenduko Berzeg. It was he who was destined to become the last leader of the Ubykh people. Berzeg Kerenduko was remembered by the most active years of resistance to the Russian Empire. Under him for a short time, all the seaside and mountain communities of Adygs (Circassians), Abazin and Abkhazians united, a Circassian parliament and a constitution were created. Under him, the Ubykhs chose a mass exodus from their native lands after the defeat in the Caucasian war. He remained in memory as a controversial figure.
Hero’s nephew
Dogomuko Berzeg was born in 1804 in the family of Khatazhuk Berzeg. Probably in his youth he was brought up in a different family by tradition of atalism. In art sources, he is usually described as a man with little ability to control the people, idle and dishonorable. It is believed that he has agreed with the Russian generals, received the rank and title of a Russian officer, while his uncle had uncompromising war with Russia. So it was or not, but the subsequent years of his life have refuted this opinion. In 1839, Hadji Dogomuko first went to Hajj to Mecca, after which he received the title of Haji, as did his famous uncle. In those years, they for the first time begin joint actions — make raids, plan attacks on Russian detachments and forts. In the fall of 1841 year Dogomuko Berzeg tasked to lead the militia of Ubykhs in the campaign against Abkhazia to make Sadz (Djigets) refuse to take the oath of Russia and disturb the coastal forts. In that campaign, Dogomuko defeated a large detachment of General Anrep — the largest battle in the region for all the years of the war.
In 1846, after the death of his uncle and election as the main prince, Hadji Dogomuko continued negotiations with the coastal communities of Adygs (Circassians) about a union of tribes to fight against Russia. By this he showed the people that he continues the policy of his predecessor. In those years, a messenger of Imam Shamil, Magomed-Amin, appeared in the mountain Circassia, who gathered Adygs (Circassians) under the banner of Sharia and religious war against the infidels. He received tremendous support among ordinary people, especially for the liberation of the peasants from princely power. Many allied societies of Russia went over to his side. Peasants fled to the mountains and replenished detachments of murtazaks — a kind of people’s militia in Amin’s imamate.
Years of internal strife
In 1850, the Circassians-Shapsugs — the most numerous subethnos swore Mohammed-Amin, and he directed his efforts on the Black Sea coast. Amin’s policy of supporting free peasants led to hatred of him by the aristocracy. Noble families Ubykhs and coastal Circassian-Shapsugs saw Mohammed-Amin enemy equal to Russia. Amin made a mistake in favor of the princes. The Ubykh peasantry was outraged by the fact that he burned the Christian crosses, demanding the refusal to perform pagan and Christian rites in the sacred groves. In 1851, the popular uprising of the Ubykhs led to the destruction of mosques and the expulsion of supporters of Amin. In the spring of 1852, Magomed-Amin addressed a speech at the people’s assembly at the Circassian-Abadze meeting, in which he spoke very vividly about the complications of relations between Russia and Turkey. He mentioned the inevitable war between empires that the Turks are ready to defend the independence of Caucasian Muslims and called for rallying under his authority on the basis of Sharia. History repeated itself.
The effect of that speech was short-lived. Personally solve the issues of war and peace, Amin without the consent of the princes had no right. He was disappointed in Adygs (Circassians) of coast and at the end of the year 1856 went from Ubykhia to Constantinople for support. In those years in Anapa the Natukhay prince Sefer-bey appeared with the idea of an alliance of Adygs (Circassians) on the basis of princely power. The confrontation between Magomed-Amin and Sefer-bey involved Adygs (Circassians) in internecine war, in which the Ubykhs were on Amin’s side. This is what saved Russia from the mass action of Adygs (Circassians) in the Crimean War. After a major battle of the parties in January 1857 near Tuapse, Amin lost. With the remnants of the troops, he withdrew to the land of the Circassian-Abadzekhs and from there continued to incite the Ubykhs to speak against the Russian troops, but without special results. In 1859, he surrendered to the Russian authorities after the conquest of Shamil in Dagestan. And what about the Ubykh princes?
Ubykh Parliament
While Amin was dealing with Sefer Bay, Haji Dogomuko and Ubykh nobleman Ismail Dziash in April 1857 collected a detachment for raiding the possessions of Abkhaz princes Inal-ipa. In May, they attacked the Russian troop landing force, which was occupied by the Gagra fortress left during the Crimean War. At that time, the people learned about the secret trip of Haji Berzeg Dogomuko to Sukhum to conclude an alliance with Russian generals. The campaign fell through. Ubykhs looted the property of Prince — they thought that he had received expensive gifts from the Russian. It took several years for the Berzegs to restore their reputation. Hadji Kerenduko did not stop — over the years he managed to enlist the support of the Western powers and succeeded in this matter more than his opponents. In 1861, the Ubykhs had their first Muslim parliament — the Majlis headed by Haji Berzeg, who was already 60 years old. The parliament represented a collection of Adyghe (Circassian) peoples of the coast and was located in a wooden capital building on the left bank of the Psakh River valley (now Mamayka). Within the walls of this building Adygs (Circassians), under the leadership of the British, adopted the declaration of independence of Circassia. The special delegation went to London, Paris and Istanbul with a request to recognize the declaration and assistance in the war with Russia. Prior to this, Adygs (Circassians) appealed to St. Petersburg with a request to suspend military operations. Some were ready to surrender on the terms of Russia, so that they were left on their native land.
For the meeting with the delegates to the Caucasus in 1861 came the Russian Emperor Alexander II. On a meeting with him on behalf of the coastal Adygs (Circassians) Haji Berzeg came personally. Negotiations failed — on the one hand Alexander II put forward strict demands for immediate surrender and eviction to the Kuban plains. On the other hand, among delegates from different tribes and societies there was no unity — some were willing to make concessions, others remained fundamentally on their own. In addition, Hadji Dogomuko himself could not make decisions without discussing them at the people’s meeting. The people were determined hard against Russia. The delegates parted with nothing — the war continued. At the same time in France and Britain were reported refusal Circassians (Circassians) in military aid. The Turks only given a portion of another promise, but they no longer believed. Parliament caused concern of the Russian government. To eliminate it Kutaisi Governor-General Kulyubakin specifically sent a military landing, which, during a punitive expedition in June 1862, burnt the building to the ground. Further meetings were held in the native village of Haji Berzeg — Mutyhua (now the village of Plastunka) on the Sochi River. His last meeting was held in the village of Kbaad (now Krasnaya Polyana) in the last year of the war.
Collapse of the last stronghold of Circassia
The Ubykh prince from the valley of Vardane, Izmail Barakay Dziash, served in the Turkish army in his youth. Thanks to connections, he managed to bring in Vardan a detachment of European mercenaries, rifled guns and military equipment. The mercenaries promised help from England with the support of Magomed-Amin, who at that time emigrated to Turkey. Less than a year later they fled and returned to Turkey without noticing in any of the battles. The war was developing rapidly. Russian troops were advancing from all sides and by the spring of 1864 Ubykhiya was the last stronghold of the struggle. After the conquest of the Circassian-Abadzekhs and the complete capitulation of the Circassian-Shapsugs, the majority of the Ubykhs understood that their resistance would lead the people to complete ruin. To show publicly about conquest without a fight, nobody dared — this contradicted the notion of the Ubykh about honor. Ubykh youth, educated in the spirit of superiority over neighbors, acted militantly. The young Ubykhs constituted the support of a militant part of the princes, who were gathering strength to repel Russian troops. A detachment of 3000 people was headed by Haji Berzeg. All of them gave the oath to die, but did not miss the Russians for the Shahe River.
By that time, the largest princes of the Ubykhs — Elbuz Khapakh, Haji Babukov and Izmail Barakay refused to resist. They agreed on eviction to Turkey, agreed on terms and led people to the coast. Haji-Berzek Kerantukh went to Abkhazia for several weeks for another advice to the ruler Mikhail Shervashidze. The detachment of the Ubykhs without it went to meet the Russian army independently, without experienced leaders. On March 18, in the last major battle of the Caucasian War, they suffered a crushing defeat on the Godlyk River. The next day by the evening Hadji Dogomuko returned from Abkhazia. He did not yet know the results of the battle in the way telling the people that it was time to give the Russians a rebuff, take up arms and prepare for defense. The news of the battle brought him out of himself. He ordered the survivors in the battle to immediately meet again and called for replenishing the ranks of the fighters. Efforts were useless. Fear, caused by defeat in the battle, spread throughout the auls. People became apathetic. Young people, who lost the battle under Godlik, obeyed reluctantly, most princes surrendered to Russia.
Exile
In the evening of March 24, Haji Berzeg sent several prominent officers to General Geiman to the Dagomyssky camp of Russian troops and asked permission to come through them personally. On behalf of the Ubykh people, he declared complete submissiveness of Russia, handed over his checker to the general as a sign of the end of the war and prepared to execute the orders of the Russian military administration. From May 25 to June 9, the Ubykhs, led by Haji Kerenduko, left their native coast and were completely evacuated to Turkey. The average number of evicted persons was about 75,000 people. Many perished in the process of relocation from disease, famine and overload of boats drowning in the sea. Before determining the Ubykhs places on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, the Turks long kept them in quarantine camps. Individual families remained in Circassia. They had to change their names and hide in the families of Abkhazians, Kabardians, and the Kuban Adygs (Circassians).
After arriving in Istanbul, Haji Berzeg was summoned by Sultan Abdul-Aziz. The Turkish authorities offered him, together with the family, a house in Istanbul. Haji Dogomuko thanked the monarch for his attention and politely declined the offer. He chose the district of Manyas, where he settled in the village of Yenikyoi, surrounded by other Ubykh settlements. It was this episode that served later to accuse Haji Berzeg of betraying the people-he allegedly arranged with the Sultan in advance about his fate and avoided the quarantine camps. At the same time, he convinced the people to make a decision about the loss of their homeland. All the circumstances say that the people themselves made the choice and Hadzi Berzeg had no opportunity to influence him. The choice of living in the villages of the Ubykhs confirms the people’s support for the rest of his lives.
In 1877–1878 Khadzhi Berzeg commanded 5 thousand horse detachments of the Ubykhs in the Russian-Turkish war in the Balkans. He died in 1881 at the age of 80, the funeral was held at a family cemetery in the village of Yenikyoi.
Of his four sons, two died in the fighting during the Caucasian War.
The other two — Islam-bey and Tevfik-bey remained in the Ottoman Empire. The last carrier of the Ubykh language died in 1992.
Read also:
- The rite of supporting the wounded from the Adyge (Circassians) — chapsch;
- Circassian Armenian (Circassgai);
- The Adventures of Agent 007 in Circassia (James Stanislaus Bell);
- Adigean, Circassian or Kabardin — a single ethnic group;
- Haji Ismail Berzeg — “Circassian Washington” from the Ubykh clan.
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