Gayur-khan, also known as Khour II or Kyr Bek, was the king of

Simsir Simsim () was either a historical region or kingdom in the North Caucasus during the Middle Ages, existing in the 14th century. Predominantly localized roughly in eastern Chechnya ( Ichkeria), with some also connecting part of . Simsim is also l ...

in the 14th century. He was involved in the Timurid invasion of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and was recorded in the two

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

chronicles: ''Zafarnama'' by

Nizam al-Din Shami Nizam al-Din Shami, also known as Nizam-i Shami or Nizam al-Din Shambi (died before 1409 or before 1411–1412), was a Persian man of letters and a chronicler who flourished in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He wrote the '' Zafarnama'', th ...

and the ''Zafarnama'' by

Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi or Sharif al-Din Ali’ Yazdi (; died 1454, Yazd), also known by his pen name Sharaf, was a 15th-century Persian scholar who authored several works in the arts and sciences, including mathematics, astronomy, enigma, liter ...

Background and historical references

The earliest historical reference to Khour comes in the form of a biography about

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

called Zafarname from the 15th century. The biography was commissioned during the reign of Ibrahim Sultan the grandson of Timur. The Zafarname has two versions from two different Persian authors named Nizam ad-Din Shami and

. Both biographies speak of the campaigns of Timur in the Caucasus, it is here where Simsir and its leader Gayur-Khan are first mentioned. Local Caucasian folklore such as the 19th century Ossetian poem "Alguziani" and 19th century Chechen chronicle "Migration from Naxchuvan" also mention Khour Ela. He is also mentioned in the 18th century book "Russian history" as "Kair-Mek" alongside an Ossetian prince called Altanzibek. The historical sources coupled with local folk tales present Khour Ela as an important figure in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

during the 14th century. His ancestry and genealogy were studied by the Sadoy clan historian Murtazaliev who did fieldwork in Chechnya during 1991–1999 by interviewing several Sadoy clan elders. Their genealogy of the famous folk heroes from clan Sadoy contributed a lot to the Chechen historical sciences. The father of Khour was Khasi I who was the previous king while the son of Khour was a Muslim convert and vassal of Timur named Makhama who is mentioned in the Zafarname as "Muhammad". The Chechen-Arabic manuscript "Migration from Naxchuvan" from 1820 also gives insight into the family and religion of Khour-Ela. It mentions two brothers called "Kagar" (Kahir) and "Surak-khan" who were both Christians. The manuscript that is pro-

Imamate The term imamate or ''imamah'' (, ''imāmah'') means "leadership" and refers to the office of an ''imam'' or a Muslim theocratic state ruled by an ''imam''. Theology *Imamate in Shia doctrine, the doctrine of the leadership of the Muslim commu ...

describes the reach of these two brothers. Kagar rules lands in Chir-Yurt and his brother Surak extends his rule over Avaria. The Dagestani chronicle "Tarikh Dagestan" also notes that the founder of Avar Nutsaldom is a certain Surakat that is descended from the "Urus Sultans".

Early statehood of Simsir

is believed to have started off as a vassal or tributary state of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

and played an important role in its Caucasian politics. Khour-Ela is believed to have been an ally of Khan Khidir. This is noted by the Chechen historian A. Tesaev who refers to the 18th century book "History of Russia" that relates an event during Khan Khidir's rule. The event in question was the 1360

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

pogrom where a mob of Christian

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

robbed and killed several Muslim

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

. The Tatars in return did the same in the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

region. To quell this violence the Khan sent three Christian

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Common meanings *Anything from the Caucasus region or related to it ** Ethnic groups in the Caucasus ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus re ...

ambassadors to negotiate a peace with the Russians. These three ambassadors were called Urus, Altanzibek and Kair-Mek. The last two Ambassadors are noted for their similarity in name with the Ossetian prince Altanzibek and Chechen king Khour-Ela. The use of Caucasian Christian ambassadors to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

was not an uncommon thing to do by the Khan of the Golden Horde as it happened in a similar situation in 1327 as well. Chechen folk tales also report that Khour convened with the Mekhk-Khela (National Council) and after successfully completing the tasks given to him by the Siyr's (Sages) he was elected as the leader of the whole Chechen nation. The folktales about Khour are recorded far and wide in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

so much so that he is considered as the main leader of the Chechens in the late 14th century by modern historians. It is also due to this that Khour is connected with an 18th century manuscript by Russian-Tatar general Sultan Kazi-Girey about a certain "Lamkerist" war with a certain "Mamai". The Chechen historian A. Tesaev notes that the manuscript coincides with events in the 14th century during the "Great Troubles" of the Golden Horde, when the rogue warlord

Mamai Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, ; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful Turco-Mongol tradition, Turko-Mongol military commander in Beylerbey rank of the Golden Horde from Kiyat clan. Contrary to popular misconcep ...

fought in several wars during this period. The 18th century manuscript by Kazi-Girey goes into detail about how a force of "Lamkerist" ("Mountain Christians" in Chechen) went to a certain fortress called "Tatar-Tup" and defeated Mamai but did not take the fortress. Later it is described how the same army goes and defeats Nogay and Oirat garrisons in the area near the Kuma river. The folktale gives us a date of the event as 1361–1362. This date is also accepted by the Russian historian V. Kuznetsov who notes that the attack showed the weakening of the Golden Horde in the

. It is therefore the date 1362 that is considered important by A. Tesaev for the Simsir kingdom as archaeological research shows that Golden Horde minted coins cease to exist on the territory of Chechnya after 1362 (after Khan Khidir's reign) and only resurfaced during the reign of Khan

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( Turki/ Kypchak and Persian: توقتمش; ; ; – 1406) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1380 to 1395. He briefly succeeded in consolidating the Blue and White Hordes into a single polity. Tokhtamysh belonged to the House of Bo ...

(an ally of Khour). Another important factor to note was the

Georgian Kingdom The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar the Great ...

which supported Khour in his campaigns according to folklore and Georgian reports from the reign of

George V the Brilliant George V the Brilliant ( ka, გიორგი V ბრწყინვალე, tr; also translated as the Illustrious, or Magnificent; 1286–1346) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the List of monarchs of Georgia, king (''mepe'') of the Kingdom ...

Timurid invasion and fate of Khour

The 18th century document from Kazi-Girey also mentions that the ancestors of

Chechens The Chechens ( ; , , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kistin, Kisti'' and ''Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus. ...

were the main allies (in the vanguard) of the

army against the Timurid invasions of the Caucasus. It was due to this fact that Timur decided to invade

with such ferocity after the

Battle of the Terek River The Battle of the Terek River was the last major battle of the Tokhtamysh–Timur war. It took place on 14 April 1395, at the Terek River, North Caucasus. The result was a victory for Timur. Battle Tokhtamysh's cavalry attacked the right flank ...

in 1395. The invasion of Simsir is described in the Zafarname by both Nizam ad-Din Shami and Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi. In that invasion Khour loses his power and Timur grants the title of vassalage to his son Muhammad (Makhama). Timur's campaign in Simsir went even further into the mountains where Timur himself is described to have climbed the mountains and defeated the highlanders of Simsir. The fate of Khour and his son is unknown in historical references but folk tales speak of an assassination of Makhama. They also mention how Khour kept a resistance against vassals of Timur and eventually fought in another invasion of Timur where he was treacherously murdered during negotiations. The Ossetian poem "Alguziani" gives a different version of the fate of Khour, the poem refers to Khour as "Kairkhan the Chechen" who was a powerful king that fought against the prince Alguz for the power of

Ossetia Ossetia ( , ; or , or , ) is an Ethnolinguistics, ethnolinguistic region on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian b ...

. In the poem Alguz is victorious in a battle and defeats Khour. The poem is believed to have been regarded as a valuable source for North Caucasian folk tales.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * {{morecat, date=March 2025 Chechen politicians