Inal the Great of Circassia

Inal Nef (; ) was the folkloric Supreme Prince (King) of Circassia who unified all Circassians into one state. He led campaigns into several areas and expanded borders on all directions. Inal's descendants are narrated to have been the founders of princely dynasties within Circassian groups, mainly Kabardia, Besleney, Chemguy, Zhane, and Hatuqay.

Name The name Inal is of Turkish origin; among Turks, it was given to people whose mother was noble and father was common. "Inal" is pronounced as "Yinal" in Circassian languages; if a word begins with the letter "i", it is pronounced with a "yi" sound.

Inal's title in Circassian was пщым я пщыж meaning "prince of princes." Inal's nickname was "blind" referring to his one-eyed condition. Inal also had another nickname: "Akabgu." According to one theory, this nickname is of Turkic origin, derived from ak-yabgu, meaning "western ruler," and was possibly given to him by the Turks. Another theory suggests that Akabgu is actually a Circassian nickname. In Kabardian, акӏэ means "topknot" (a hair tuft left on the shaved head), and бгъуэ means "wide"; together, акIэбгъуэ refers to a "wide topknot."

Although some accounts Khurfatley (Хъурыфэлъей) is a Kabardian word, as most of the information about Inal was recorded by the Kabardians. It means 'sheepskin leggings'. The word derives from хъурыфэ (sheepskin) and лъей (leggings). In the Western dialects, the sound f shifts to sh, resulting in the form Khurshotley (Хъурышъолъей). While Circassian lordships fell into Inal's hands one by one, 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. Afterwards, a prince named Wozdemir rebelled and gathered a large force, with which he defeated the Khegayk. Upon learning that Inal had raised an army and was marching against them, they withdrew to Abkhazia. Inal pursued them into Abkhazia, and in the ensuing battle Wozdemir was killed. Inal, who then ruled Western Circassia, organized a campaign to Eastern Circassia. After the downfall of the Alans following the Timurlane invasion, the powerful Genoese lords and Tatar nomads were ruling the central Caucasian plains. In the mountainous regions to the east lived the Vainakh, while the Ossetians inhabited the Terek basin. Since the early Middle Ages, Circassian communities have also been present in the central Caucasus. Inal captured the Genoese fortresses with sieges and assaults in the upper reaches of the Kuban River (except for the strongest one, Khumar). Kabard Tambiy then surrounded the settlement with a fortress and built a watchtower. This fortress served as a base for further expansions. According to Kagazhev, the 1412 campaign of Grand Duke Vytautas the Great of Lithuania against the Pyatigorsk Circassians in Central Caucasia might be associated with this period. The dominance of the Circassians into Central Caucasia conflicted with the Tatar rule. By the second quarter of the 15th century, Tatar nomads had been pushed northward from Central Caucasia by Inal. The Circassians gradually migrated to Kabardia from the west. At first, they concentrated around the westernmost which was the Kuban River, eventually spreading eastward to the Terek basin. According to the account of J. Barbaro in 1438, during a campaign by the Tatar khans against Khan Ulumahmet, the Tatar army bypassed the Circassian territory. This might suggest that by this time, the Circassians had already secured the region. His description matches Inal's expansions.

After unifying Circassia, Inal turned his attention to Abkhazia, where the Abkhaz clans Anchabadze and Sharvashidze pledged allegiance to him. The Abkhaz people recognized Inal's rule, and he consolidated his authority in the region. Inal married twice. His first marriage was to a Circassian princess, and his second to an Abkhaz princess from the Anchabadze clan. This second marriage can be interpreted as a move to strengthen political ties with the Abkhaz. From his first marriage, he had a son named Chemrug, and from his second, he had two sons: Tabuldu and then Beslan. 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. 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. In the north, fake hills were built to gain an advantage over the enemy. Klaproth visited the ruins of the city of Shanjir, met the Circassian elders and gathered detailed information about the city. According to the information he learned, Shanjir was in an area close to Anapa. Although the city's exact location is unknown, the general opinion is that the Krasnaya Batareya region fits the descriptions by Klarapoth and Pallas.

The circumstances and years of Inal's death are unknown. According to the Abkhaz claim and Nogmov, Inal died in Northern Abkhazia. 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.

Many separate legends have been recorded about the sons of Inal. According to the most accepted view, that after the death of Inal, his sons divided his lands in this way: Tabuldu and his brother Beslan, who were Inal's sons from the Abkhaz princess, settled in Kabardia, the eastern region; Chemrug took the main area between the Kuban River and the Black Sea as Inal's eldest son, where he founded the Principality of Chemguy and assumed Inal's title, "Prince of Princes"; meanwhile, Inal's other relatives remained in the Khegayk tribe in Taman. According to one account, when Inal grew old, he divided his lands among his four sons; Temruk, Beslan, Kabard, and Zanoqo, then stayed in the region governed by Temruk. Although the administration was in the hands of his sons, the highest power still rested with him. Temruk, nicknamed the iron-heart rebelled against Inal, seized his authority, and declared himself the Prince of Princes. Inal's other sons did not accept Temruk's rule. On his deathbed, Inal instructed his sons that Temruk should be recognized as the Prince of Princes. Thus, the Chemguy Principality, closest to being Inal's successor, retreated between the Kuban and Laba rivers. In the first half of the 16th century, Beslan's son Qanoqo migrated west with one-sixth of the Kabardian people and founded the Besleney Principality.

According to Samir Khotko, the head of the Department of Ethnology and National Art of the Humanitarian Research Institute of the Republic of Adygea, there might have been two different Inals in history. Inal, the ancestor of the Western Circassian (Chemguy, Zhaney and Hatuqay) princes, lived in the early 14th century, while Inal, the ancestor of the Eastern Circassian (Kabardian and Besleney) princes, lived in the 15th century. This suggestion is based on two main points. In the 1310s, Özbek, who would become the khan of Golden Horde, was sent to Circassian region for protection and he was protected and trained by a leader named Inal Bek, according to the Ötemiş Hacı Tarihi, written by Ötemiş Hacı in the 16th century.

In a letter sent by the Kabardian princes to Elizaveta Petrovna in 1753, they stated that Inal lived during the reign of Canbek-Khan I of Crimea. This suggests that two different Inals may have lived at different times, and over time these figures could have been merged in collective memory. Variations of Inal (Yinal, Inal, Yanal, etc.) are common names among Circassians and Abkhazians. There are many statues of Inal, especially in Abkhazia.

According to Circassian legends, Inal was regarded among the Circassians as a prudent, just, wise, and capable leader. He was declared a saint, and the saying "May God grant Inal's day(s)" became widespread among the people.