Sheikh Mansur

Sheikh Mansur (born Ushurma or Uchermak, – 13 April 1794) was a Chechen military commander and Islamic leader who led a resistance movement against Russian expansion into the Caucasus from 1785 until his capture in 1791. Sheikh Mansur is considered the first leader of the resistance in the North Caucasus against Russian imperialism. He remains a hero of the Chechen and North Caucasian peoples in general, and their struggle for independence.

Biography

Sheikh Mansur, whose birth name was Ushurma or Uchermak, Since he described himself as being a little over 30 years old to his Russian captors in 1791, it is assumed that he was born around 1760. He came from a family of poor Chechen farmers His father's name was Shebesse or Shahbaz, and his family had previously lived in the village of Khattuni before settling in Aldi. which was a significant center of Islamic learning. It is frequently assumed that he joined the Naqshbandi Sufi order, but, according to Michael Kemper, there is no evidence of this.

When Ushurma was 26 years old or older, he renounced ordinary life, divorced his wife, and secluded himself. He saw a vision of two mounted messengers from the prophet Muhammad who tasked him with preaching Islam to the Chechens and nearby peoples. Islamic scholar Alexander Knysh states that it is remarkable that Sheikh Mansur was able to resist the Russians for so long despite a number of personal disadvantages: he lacked the "Sufi credentials" of later Caucasian leaders, apparently lacked a formal religious education, and came from the lower classes (like most of his followers), which at first made the Ottomans ignore him and caused the nobility to either reject him or abandon him once there were setbacks. Knysh concurs with Baddeley that Mansur was "a born leader of men, endowed with some high qualities to a very remarkable degree".