Karamırza Aliy

Qaramirza Aliy Misost (, ), was a Circassian commander and prince who partook in the Russo-Circassian War.

Biography Family Aliy belonged to the Qaramirza family of the princely house of Misost in Kabardia. One of her sisters was the wife of the last Kabardian Grand Prince, Jankhot Qushuq. Her nephew Jembulat from this sister was killed by the Russians during a Circassian raid on Nalchik. Another sister of Aliy was the mother of the famous Hajret Kabardian prince Ajdjeriyiqo Kushuk. Another sister was the mother of the famous Hajret Kabardian prince Muhammad Asha. In 1822, together with his subjects, he established the village of Qaramirzey in the lands of the Besleney Circassians, beyond Mount Akhmet and at the source of the Laba River, in a hard-to-reach mountain pass (near present-day Akhmetovskaya). Within a short time, many warrior nobles and princes, along with their subjects, settled in Qaramirzey. As a result, the village's population grew to at least 200–250 households.

While Veliaminov's troops crossing the Lesser Zelenchuk River, the Circassians continued to follow them. Some Circassian units repeatedly ambushed the Russians, but Veliaminov's unit continued to advance, taking up defensive positions in the wide valley. The Circassians began their attack repeatedly charged the Russian positions on the hills, dispersed the Navaginsky Infantry Regiment and approached Veliaminov, but each time they withdrew with heavy losses.

During the two-hour massacre, the village of Qaramirzey was destroyed, and a small number of survivors including Qaramirza Aliy's two wives Haniy and Yelmiskhan, were taken captive. Haniy was later given as a gift to Astemirov, the police chief of Little Kabarda. Astemirov was killed in a duel by Ajdjeriyiqo Kushuk as revenge for Qaramirzey. Another Circassian who helped the Russians in the massacre, Shagur, was killed by Muhammad Asha.

Legacy The killing of Prince Qaramirza Aliy, an important and famous commander, with the destruction of his village left a deep cultural mark among the Circassians, and many laments were sung about the event. Some of these laments have survived to the present day.