Inal the Great

Before the rise of Inal, the established lords in Circassia had separate territorial administration and an organized structure was not developed. Although the Circassians resisted Timurid forces in the Timur-Circassian wars,{{cite web|url=http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729|title=PRENSLERİN PRENSİ İNAL NEKHU (PŞILERİN PŞISI İNAL NEKHU)|accessdate=|archivedate=29 February 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229142405/http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729|date=2013|url-status=dead|publisher=KAĞAZEJ Jıraslen}} the Circassian region suffered great destruction as a result of this war.

He was born in the Taman Peninsula near modern-day Crimea and was raised among the princely caste. As a young boy, he was well-trained, proficient in martial arts, and educated about the vast land of the Circassian country and the numerous clans that controlled land and power throughout the homeland.

Inal initially owned land in the Taman peninsula.Shora Nogma has 1427 (per Richmond, Northwest Caucasus, kindle@610). In a later book (Circassian Genocide kindle @47) Richmond reports the legend that Inal reunited the princedoms after they were driven into the mountains by the Mongols. In a footnote (@2271) he says that Inal was a royal title among the Oguz Turks A skilled strategist, in the early 1400s, he gathered a force mainly consisting of the Khegayk clan and set out to complete his goal of creating a unified Circassian kingdom under fealty. While Circassian lordships fell into Inal's hands one by one,Cole, Jeffrey E. (2011). Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO, LLC. OCLC 939825134. he fought and defeated warlords and clan chieftains. Despite the many attempts to divide and weaken his army, he used political intrigue to ward off any assassinations and divisions in his military.

Inal's rise disturbed established Circassian lords, and a confederation of 30 Circassian clans opposing Inal formed an alliance to fight him. In a battle near the Mzymta River, the coalition of thirty Circassian lords was defeated by Inal and his supporters. Ten of them were executed, while the remaining twenty lords declared allegiance and joined the forces of Inal's new state.{{cite web|url=https://abkhazworld.com/aw/history/1724-the-legendary-circassian-prince-inal-by-vitaliy-shtybin|title=The Legendary Circassian Prince Inal, by Vitaliy Shtybin|accessdate=24 July 2020|date=17 May 2020|work=Vitaliy Shtybin|publisher=Abkhaz World|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524090358/https://abkhazworld.com/aw/history/1724-the-legendary-circassian-prince-inal-by-vitaliy-shtybin|archivedate=24 May 2020|url-status=dead}}

File:Cherkassky dynasty,HD.png, used by the successors of Inal.]]

Inal, who then ruled Western Circassia, organized a campaign to Eastern Circassia in 1434 and established the Kabardia province, named after his military general, Kabard. Inal organized a new campaign to the north in 1438 and drove out the Turkic nomads near the Circassian settlements north of the Kuban River along the Ten River and expanded his borders to modern-day Azov.Klaproth, Julius Von, 1783—1835. (2005). Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia performed in the years 1807 and 1808 by command of the Russian government. Elibron Classics

John III describes that at the turn of the XIV and XV centuries, Circassia expanded its borders to the north to the mouth of the Don, and he notes that "the city and port of Tana is located in the same country in Upper Circassia, on the Don River, which separates Europe from Asia".{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} His description matches with Inal's expansions.

When his conquests subsided, Inal began to take measures to develop the Circassian nation by introducing reforms, organizing tribes and instituting courts of elders to govern the concerns of the Circassian provinces. He divided his possessions into four counties: Qabard, Beslan, Kemirghoqo, and Zhanaqo-Hatuqwai. He introduced the institution of 40 judges. However, Circassia was split up again after his death into separate feudal principalities.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729|title = Prensleri̇n Prensi̇ İnal Nekhu (Pşileri̇n Pşisi İnal Nekhu)}}Latham, Robert Gordon. Descriptive Ethnology. Londres: Voorst, 1859. Pp. 51

After taking over the entire Circassian land with effective expansions, Inal declared the Grand Principality of Circassia, taking the title of the Grand Prince/King and the Leader of the Circassian Highlanders.{{cite web|date=2013|title=PRENSLERİN PRENSİ İNAL NEKHU (PŞILERİN PŞISI İNAL NEKHU)|url=http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729|url-status=dead|publisher=KAĞAZEJ Jıraslen|accessdate=|archivedate=29 February 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229142405/http://www.cherkessia.net/news_detail.php?id=5729}}{{cite web|date=17 May 2020|title=The Legendary Circassian Prince Inal, by Vitaliy Shtybin|url=https://abkhazworld.com/aw/history/1724-the-legendary-circassian-prince-inal-by-vitaliy-shtybin|url-status=dead|work=Vitaliy Shtybin|publisher=Abkhaz World|accessdate=24 July 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524090358/https://abkhazworld.com/aw/history/1724-the-legendary-circassian-prince-inal-by-vitaliy-shtybin|archivedate=24 May 2020}}{{cite book|last=Natho|first=Kadir|url=|title=Circassian History|publisher=Nadir I. Natho|year=2009|isbn=978-1441523884|location=|page=|pages=|accessdate=}} The capital of this new Circassian state became the city of Shanjir also known as Jansher, founded in the Taman region where Inal was born and raised.

Peter Simon Pallas and Julius von Klaproth were the first researchers to draw attention to the city of Shanjir in history, they both described the city of Shanjir similarly.Dubois de Montpéreux, F., Voyage autour du Caucase, chez les Tcherkesses et les Abkhases, en Colchide, en Géorgie, en Arménie et en Crimée: Avec un atlas géographique, pittoresque, ... géologique, etc., Paris: Gide, 1839-43; reprinted: Adamant Media Corporation, Elibron Classics, 2002 (6 vols). According to them, Shanjir was very "cleverly designed", had the shape of a rectangle surrounded by walls and moats, and had four gates, thus reminiscent of Roman strategic architecture.— Voyages dans les gouvernements méridionaux de l'empire de la Russie, Paris, 1805 (3 vols). In the north, fake hills were built to gain an advantage over the enemy.Klaproth, J.-H. (von), Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia, Performed in the Years 1807 and 1808, by Command of the Russian Government', translated from the German by F. Shoberl, London: Richard and Arthur Taylor for Henry Colburn, 1814. reprinted: Adamant Media Corporation, Elibron Classics, 2002. [Klaproth (1783-1835), born in Berlin in 1783, devoted his energies to the study of Asiatic languages, and published in 1802 his Asiatisches Magazin (Weimar, 1802-1803). He was consequently called to St. Petersburg and given an appointment in the academy there. In 1805 he was a member of Count Golovkin's embassy to China. On his return he was despatched by the academy to the Caucasus on an ethnographical and linguistic exploration (1807-1808), and was afterwards employed for several years in connection with the Academy's Oriental publications.] Klaproth visited the ruins of the city of Shanjir, met the Circassian elders and gathered detailed information about the city.Броневский, Семён, Новейшие географические и исторические известия о Кавказе, Москва, 1823. According to the information he learned, Shanjir was in an area close to Anapa.{{cite web|url=http://circasvoices.blogspot.com/search?q=Inal|title=Prince Inal the Great of Circassia, II: Shanjir, the Fabled Capital of Inal's Empire|accessdate=|date=2013|publisher=|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604132632/http://circasvoices.blogspot.com/search?q=Inal|archivedate=4 June 2020|url-status=dead}}Kokov (K'wek'we), J. N., Iz adigskoi (cherkesskoi) onomastiki [From Circassian Onomastics], Nalchik: Elbrus Book Publishing House, 1983.

{{Blockquote|text=Between Psif and Nefil there is a quadrilateral with four exits, lined with ramparts and moats, reminiscent of a Roman camp. Remains of the walls and ditches are still visible and stretches eastward about half a German mile (3 km) in diameter. According to what I heard, this place was formerly the residence of the king and was called Shanjir. Circassians express that their ancestors lived here. |author=Julius von Klaproth}}

Although the city's exact location is unknown, the general opinion is that the Krasnaya Batareya region fits the descriptions by Klarapoth and Pallas.Pallas, Peter Simon, Travels Through the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire, in the Years 1793 and 1794, London: John Stockdale, Piccadilly, 1812 (2 vols). [Peter-Simon Pallas' (1741-1811) second and most picturesque travel]Абрамзон, М. Г., Фролова, Н. А., "Горлов Ю. В. Клад золотых боспорских статеров II в. н. э. с Краснобатарейного городища: [Краснодар. край]", ВДИ, № 4, 2000, С. 60-68.

Inal divided his lands between his sons and grandchildren in 1453 and died in 1458. Following this, Circassian tribal principalities were formed. According to the Abkhaz claim, Inal died in Northern Abkhazia. This place is known today as Inal-Quba and is located in the Pskhu region.Asie occidentale aux XIVe-XVIe siècles, 2014. Although most sources used to accept this theory, recent researches and excavations in the region show that Inal's tomb is not here.

According to Russian explorer and archaeologist Evgeniy Dimitrievich Felitsin, Inal's tomb is not in Abkhazia. In a map published in 1882, Felitsin attached great importance to Inal but placed his grave in the Ispravnaya region in Karachay-Cherkessia, not Abkhazia. He added that this area has ancient sculptures, mounds, tombs, churches, castles and ramparts, which would be an ideal tomb for someone like Inal.Археологическая карта Кубанской области, Фелицын, Евгений Дмитриевич, 1882.

File:The supreme princes of the Circassian princedom of Kabarda.jpg

{{ahnentafel|Inal|Khurfatal|4=Adu-Khan|8=Kess|16=Abdun-Khan|boxstyle_1=background-color: #E0ECF8;|boxstyle_2=background-color: #CEE3F6;|boxstyle_3=background-color: #A9D0F5;|boxstyle_4=background-color: #81BEF7;|boxstyle_5=background-color: #2E9AFE;}}Ян Потоцкий, Этнография кавказа{{Cite web |title=Ян Потоцкий |url=http://kmvline.ru/lib/24/27.php |access-date=2022-12-23 |website=kmvline.ru}}

File:Inal-Kuba.jpg in Pskhu is the burial site of Inal the Great|171x171px]]

The Circassian and Abkhazian princes in following centuries claimed to be descendants of Inal and regarded him as their progenitor. Inal's name is also present in many geographical names in the Caucasus, as many places were named after him following his death. Place names associated with the name of Inal are found in Adygea, Krasnodar Krai, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and Abkhazia. On the Black Sea coast of Circassia, there is the Inal Bay. In the Zolsk region of the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, not far from Mount Kanzhal, there is mount Inal (2990 m) between Baksan River and Tyzyl valleys.{{cite web | url=http://kabardians.com/en/content/horse-farm-2500-meters-high | title=Horse Farm at 2500 meters high | publisher=Kabardians.com | date=2009 | accessdate=2015-01-24 | author=Pawel Krawczyk | archive-date=2015-01-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128114847/http://kabardians.com/en/content/horse-farm-2500-meters-high | url-status=dead }} Variations of Inal (Yinal, Inal, Yanal, etc.) are common names among Circassians and Abkhazians. There are many statues of Inal, especially in Abkhazia.

{{reflist}}

• Caucasian Review. Vol. 2. Munich (München), 1956. Pp.; 19; 35.
• {{Cite book|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/742325358|title=Travels in the Caucasus and Georgia performed in the years 1807 and 1808 by command of the Russian government|last=Klaproth, Julius Von, 1783-1835.|date=2005|publisher=Elibron Classics|oclc=742325358}}
• Latham, Robert Gordon. Descriptive Ethnology. London: Voorst, 1859. Pp. 51.
• [https://online.publuu.com/532774/1193813/page/2 تاريخ الادغة القديم /The old history of the Adiga 1866 Chapter 5 or from page 79-86]

Category:Monarchs of Circassia

Category:1450s deaths

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