Sheikh Mansur

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This article is about the Chechen Islamic and military leader. For the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, see Sheikh Mansour.
Sheikh Mansur (Ushurma)
Шейх Мансур (2).jpg
Born2 June 1732 (1732-06-02)
, Chechnya
Died13 April 1794 (1794-04-14) (aged 61)
Shlisselburg, Russian Empire

Sheikh Mansur ("The-Victorious"; born Mansur Ushurma, Mansur Ucherman; 2 June 1732 – 13 April 1794) was a Chechen military commander and Islamic religious leader who was influential in the resistance against Catherine the Great's imperialist expansion into the Caucasus during the late 18th century. Sheikh Mansur is considered the first leader of the resistance in Caucasus against Russian imperialism. He remains a hero of the Chechen and Caucasian peoples in general, and their struggle for independence.[1]

Biography[]

Mansur Ushurma was born in the aul of Aldi, centered in the Sunja River valley. Later on, he ventured to the Dagestan hill country for education, eventually settling for a madrasa following the Naqshbandi school of Sufi Islam.[2]:56

In 1784, Sheikh Mansur, now a clouted imam, journeyed back to Chechnya and became upset with the Russian encroachment in the North Caucasus. He ordered the remaining non-Muslim Chechens to stop practicing many of their old pagan traditions with the cult of the dead, to stop smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol, influenced Islamic concepts into social conventions (adat) and to attempt Islamic unity. This was not easy in a land where people had lived under ancient traditions, customs and religions. Islamic tradition in Chechnya, especially in the mountainous areas, was not as strong as it was in Dagestan. But the holy war that he declared was an attempt at unity among the Chechen teips.

As Mansur's message became popular with the Chechen people, the Russian Empire attempted to discredit him and ultimately arrest him. In 1785, the Russians sent a punitive expedition of up to 5,000 soldiers[2]:57 to his home in Aldi-aul, only to find the village bare and desolate. Angered, the Russian troops plundered and burned the village to the ground. Upon returning to Aldi-aul with others, Mansur proclaimed a holy war (gazavat) against the Russians. Soon, Chechen fighters won the Battle of the Sunja, killing and taking hundreds of Russian soldiers captive.[2]:57[3] After that, Sheikh Mansur rallied resistance fighters from Dagestan through Kabarda. Most of the forces were young Chechen and Dagestani men numbering more than 12,000 by December 1785. However, Mansur suffered a defeat when he tried to infiltrate Russian territory and failed to seize the fort of Kizlyar.

After this, the Russian people refortified their settlements and the Russian Empress Catherine the Great withdrew her forces from Georgia to the Terek River line. In 1786, Russian forces abandoned the new fort of Vladikavkaz, and would not occupy it again until 1803. From 1787 to 1791, during the Russian-Turkish War, Sheikh Mansur moved to the northwestern Caucasus region of Adygea, strengthening Islamic practice there. He led the Adyghe and Nogai peoples in assaults against Russian forces, but they were pushed back many times.

In June 1791, Sheikh Mansur was captured at the Turkish fortress of Anapa on the Black Sea when it came under siege. He was brought to Saint Petersburg and imprisoned for life. In April 1794, he died at the Shlisselburg Fortress.

Appearance[]

Description by Russian historian Prozitelev:[4]

Tall, handsome, slender brunette with a pale face and passionate speech. Fanatic. His name became a threat to the Russians. The young missionary's powerful speech and ardent to self-forgetfulness, with his handsome, outstanding appearance, quickly gave him admirers of both sexes.

— Grigory Prozritelev, Шейх Мансур

Description by the 3rd Imam of the Caucasian Imamate Imam Shamil:[4]

"Sheikh Mansur had a courageous, fascinating appearance and, despite the fact that he did not know literacy, possessed an extraordinary gift of speech. He was so tall that in a crowd of people he seemed to be sitting astride a horse."

— Imam Shamil, Шейх Мансур, From veterans of the Caucasian wars that met or fought alongside Mansur.

Legacy[]

  • Sheikh Mansur was the subject of two Romantic novels in the mid-19th century, one in Russian by V. I. Savinov and one in English by E. Spencer.[5]:314
  • Akhmat Kadyrov Square was formerly named after Sheikh Mansur until 1996.
  • Many songs have been dedicated to Sheikh Mansur, e.g. by artists such as Timur Mutsurayev, Turpal Djabrailov, Hasmagomed Hadjimuradov and Rizavdi Ismailov.
  • Streets have been named after Sheikh Mansur, inter alia, in the Dagestani city, Khasavyurt.
  • Sheikh Mansur belonged to the Elistanzkhoy teip and was married to Chachi, from whom he had three children at the time of his arrest - a son Yasa (8 years old), and two daughters Ragmet (4 years old) and Namet (1 year old).[6] The descendants of Sheikh Mansur also took a Y-DNA test which showed a typical Elistanzkhoy Y-DNA result in L-M20 [7]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Askerov, Ali (2015). Historical Dictionary of the Chechen Conflict. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 3.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Robert W. Schaefer (2010). The Insurgency in Chechnya and the North Caucasus: From Gazavat to Jihad. ABC-CLIO.
  3. ^ Baddeley, John Frederick (1999). The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus. Curzon Press. p. 49.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b https://flibusta.site/b/382111/read[bare URL]
  5. ^ Gammer, Moshe (2013). Muslim Resistance to the Tsar: Shamil and the Conquest of Chechnia and Daghestan. Routledge.
  6. ^ Akhmadov, Sh. B. (2002). Beningsen A. Sheikh Mansur's "Holy War" in the Caucasus in 1785-1791. Little-known period and rivalry in Russian-Turkish relations. Manuscript collection of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Dagestan Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, file 1, item 469-a. : Sh. B. Akhmadov Chechnya and Ingushetia in the 18th — early 19th century. Grozny, 2002. Grozny. p. 386.
  7. ^ "Элистанжой - J1 - Гаплогруппа - Тайпнаш - Орамаш".
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