Isa of Ghendargen (; 1795 – 1845) was a Chechen General during the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War () or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series o ...

, who commanded the Eastern and Central Fronts of

Caucasian Imamate The Caucasian Imamate, also known as the North Caucasus Imamate (), was a state founded by Muslim imams in the early-to-mid 19th century across Dagestan and Chechnya. It emerged during the Caucasian War (1817–1864) as a resistance movement a ...

. He is also one of the great commanders in Chechen history. Isa was of the

Ghendargnoy Ghendargnoy () is a Chechen teip (clan). Its center is the village of . There is a hypothesis that it originated from the historic area in Chechen Republic Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a republic of Russia. It is situated ...

teip A ''teip'' (also ''taip'', ''tayp'', ''teyp''; Chechen language, Chechen and Ingush language, Ingush: тайпа, romanized: ''taypa'' , ''family'', ''kin'', ''clan'', ''tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dict ...

and Appaz-Nek'e (Branch of a teip).

Early life

Isa was born in 1795 in the village of , in the east of

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 ...

.Эльмурзаев Ю. М. Страницы истории чеченского народа. — Гр.: Книга, 1993. — С. 57—71. His father Ela had great influence among the Chechens.Блиев М. М. Россия и горцы Большого Кавказа: на пути к цивилизации. — М.: Мысль, 2004. — С. 472—473. — 800 с. When the boy was ten, the family moved to

Urus-Martan Urus-Martan (; , ''Ẋalxa-Marta'' or , ''Martanthi'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Urus-Martanovsky District of the Chechen Republic, Russia, located on the Martan River. Population: Geogr ...

. In his youth Isa stood out among his peers for his leadership and bravery.Гапуров Ш. А. Исторические личности Чечни (XI—XXI вв.). — Гр.: Грозненский рабочий, 2020. — С. 236—240. — 720 с. — .

Caucasian war

Battle of the Valerik River The Battle of the Valerik River on 11 July 1840 was fought as part of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It occurred about southwest of the fortress of Groznaya (now Grozny) between forces of the Imperial Russian Army and North Caucasian moun ...

In May 1840, detachments of Isa and defeated Russian troops near the village of

Achkhoy-Martan Achkhoy-Martan (, , ''Jaşxoy-Marta'' or Тӏехьа-Март, ''Theẋa-Mart'') is a town and the administrative center of Achkhoy-Martanovsky District, Chechnya. Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Achkhoy-Martan is incorporate ...

, and a month later attacked the Russian fortress of

Nazran Nazran (; ) is the largest city in Ingushetia, Russia. It served as the republic's capital from 1991 to 2000, until it was replaced by Magas, which was built for this purpose. It is the most populous city in the republic: Etymology The name ...

. General Galafeev's expedition into western Chechnya, commanded by 4,000 infantrymen and 1,500 Cossacks, was the answer. Isa and others ambushed the troops on the

Valerik River Valerik (, ) is a little river in Chechnya, a tributary of the Sunzha. The river's lower stream becomes dry in summer. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . Etymology The name of the river means "river of the dead" in Chechen. Possibly th ...

. The battle took place on 11 July 1840. Both sides suffered significant losses.

Battle of Ichkeria

In the summer of 1842 General Grabbe organised a military campaign in eastern Chechnya with the intention of capturing Dargo and defeating Shamil's residence. A ten-thousand-strong detachment of Russian troops got bogged down in the dense Chechen forests and was constantly attacked by Chechens. In this battle Isa and his detachment supported Shuaib-Mulla of Tsentara. The Chechens defeated Grabbe's expeditionary detachment. He lost about 1,800 soldiers and 66 officers in that battle.

Battle of Dargo (1845)

In his last battle, Isa inflicted a major defeat on the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n general of the Russian service, , destroying 1,700 soldiers and officers near the village of Dargo.

Death

Isa of Ghendargen died after a serious short illness in December 1845. It is said that his last words were:

References

{{reflist 1845 deaths Chechen politicians Chechen warlords People of the Chechen wars 1795 births Gendargenoy North Caucasian independence activists Naibs of Imam Shamil