Jebağı Kezenoko

Infobox religious biography honorific_prefix = Hajji ThamadeQadi name = Jabagh Qazanoqo image = caption = native_name = Къэзэнокъуэ Жэбагъы native_name_lang = kbd birth_name = birth_date = 1685 birth_place = Zeiqo, Kabardia death_date = 1750 death_place = Zeiqo, Kabardia resting_place = Nalchik citizenship = Princedom of Kabardia occupation = influenced = influences = period = 17th and 18th century religion = Islam battles = Battle of Kanzhal allegiance = Princedom of Kabardia office1 = Advisor of the Kabardian Supreme Prince term_start1 = Early 1700s term_end1 = 1748 office2 = Chief Qadi of Kabardia term_start2 = 1737 term_end2 = 1750 school = official_name = parents = Jembulat (father) denomination = Sunni jurisprudence = Hanafi creed = Maturidi nickname = Solon of the Caucasus As the chief qadi (of Khabze and Sharia) and advisor to the Supreme Prince of Kabardia, he was known for his reforms reconciling Adyghe Khabze with Sunni Islam as well as his support for Pan-Caucasianism, inspiring the Sheikh Mansur movement and laying the ideological foundation for the Mountanious Republic. family, which was affiliated with the Qeytuqo princely dynasty. He got an Islamic education and quickly became a revered thamade (elder) in Kabardia. He served as an advisor to the Supreme Prince Kurghoqo Hatokhshoqo during the pivotal Battle of Kanzhal, where his counsel is credited with contributing to the Kabardian Circassian victory.

Due to his rising fame, he was appointed as the teacher of the Kabardian noble and future Supreme Prince Aslanbech I. He personally led the election campaign for Aslanbech, resulting in his victory. In 1731, he managed to secure a defence agreement with Russia against Tatar raids. However, this alliance came to an end 15 years after his death when Russia attacked Kabardia, starting the Russo-Circassian War.

A significant reform of Adyghe Khabze is attributed to Qazanoqo. Qazanoqo defined Khabze as "that which is appropriate" or "harmonious" . He systematically stripped away obsolete practices, restricted the absolute power of the princes over the free peasantry, advocated for increased rights for women, and completely transformed the system of blood revenge . To break the cycle of vendettas, he formalized a reconciliatory ritual wherein a murderer could adopt and raise a child from the victim's family, thereby forging an artificial kinship that peacefully and legally terminated the feud. The reforms he implemented facilitated the incorporation of Islam’s spiritual and moral values into the customary law of the Kabardians in particular. Within Circassian studies, there is an academic field called "Qazanoqo studies" (казаноковедение). Qazanoqo is sometimes erroneously credited with creating the Khabze code. In one study, a Circassian man from the Uzunyayla region of Turkey has been quoted as saying "our Uzunyayla Khabze was established by Qazanoqo Jabagh" (Узун-Яйлэм ди хабзэр зыухуар Къэзэнокъуэ Жэбагъыс). With the death of Qazanoqo, the intellectual and administrative awakening in the North Caucasus as well as the planned development initiatives were interrupted.

In 2014, the house where Qazanoqo was buried was identified in the Qazanoqey Kumb plain, located above the village of Zayukovo in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, on the right bank of the Baksan River. The burial site, preserved only in oral tradition, was definitively confirmed with the research of local historians from Nalchik, Maria Kotlyarov and Viktor Kotlyarov, as well as contributions from the villagers. On the initiative of the local people, two tombstones made of tuff were erected of Qazanoqo and his wife. This endeavor, which was met with indifference by official authorities, was realized entirely through the voluntary efforts and financial support of the local community.

In the Republics of Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia, families of Qazanoqo's descendants are still alive.