Caucasian Imamate - The War and The Surrender of The Imamate

The War and The Surrender of The Imamate

The war with Russia had several great victories early on, but Russia hadn't really been taking the war seriously. Intoxicated with their great victory over Napoleon's army, the Russian people had little concern for the petty Asiatic resistance occurring on their border. However the Caucasians did reach a point where they pushed the Russians hard enough to incite a full scale attack. In 1832 Shamil and Ghazi led a failed attack on Vladikavkaz, at the time a Russian military fort brazenly named "Ruler of The Caucasus". The Russians countered, launching an assault on what was as close to a capital as the Imamate had, Gimry. This resulted in the seizure of the town by the Russians and the death of Ghazi Muhammad. reportedly, Shamil was the only man to escape the battle, after which he went into hiding to evade the Russians. Everyone assumed him to be dead.

In the absence of Shamil, an imam by the name of Gamzat-bek ruled. Gamzat-bek was an imam who had played a vital role in securing the Avar Khans for the Imamate, and had since been a naib to Shamil and Ghazi. Shamil returned a year later, only to have Gamzat-bek assassinated by the same Avar Khanates he had defeated. With no one else to take the position, Shamil became the 3rd leader of the Imamate. Shamil would turn out to be the greatest of the Imams by far, and would rule for 27 years. He would conquer the Western Muslim tribes, and transform a group of small bickering villages into a united country. However, he would also see great casualties to his people too, particularly in the Siege of Akhoulgo where he would personally loose around 4500 of his own people. But he would continue to rule until 1859, when the Emperor of Russia would offer Shamil a peaceful surrender, he would even be a guest of the royal palace. Shamil agreed, and The Caucasian Imamate was no more. However, fighting did not immediately cease.