Simsim Explained

Conventional Long Name:Ulus Simsim
Common Name:Simsim
Image Map Caption:Medieval map of Simsim
Life Span: 1395–1470
Religion:Sunni Islam[1]
Vainakh religion
Leader1:Gayur-khan
Year Leader1: 1395–1396
Today:Russia

Simsim (Persian: سیمسیم) 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 localized in both Chechnya and Ingushetia. Its name may have been derived from the Chechen village of . However, according to folklore, the King Gayur-khan was chosen as the leader of all Chechens by the Mehk-Khel (National Council). In its later years it allied itself with the Golden Horde before being destroyed in 1395 by Timurlane, which was recorded in Zafarnama by Nizam al-Din Shami and the Zafarnama by Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi.

Name

The historical region or the kingdom is referred in the two Persian chronicles, Zafarnama (Shami) and Zafarnama (Yazdi), as Simsim. Fasih Khwafi referred Simsim as "Ulus Simsim".

Localization

Simsim is usually localized in Ichkeria, a region located in eastern Chechnya,[2] with some authors localizing it both in the Ichkeria and . It's also localized in both Chechnya and Ingushetia.[3] [4] [5] [6]

Society

Simsir existed at a time when Chechens had a feudal system; in the early modern era, they overthrew their feudal rulers in a "revolutionary" event and established in its place a quasi-democratic taip system by which representatives of teips voted in a national council, but while this differentiated Chechens from their neighbors more recently, it was not the case in the Middle Ages when Simsim existed.

In the Middle Ages, Chechen societies such as Simsir had a hierarchical and pyramidal structure. The Principality of Simsir's prince (the eela) sat at the top, followed by nobility and vassals (uzden), followed by free commoners (halxoi), followed by servants (yalxoi, including gharbashash, i.e. bond women), followed by serfs (lesh, lai in the singular), with only slaves and war captives (yiisarsh) beneath them; additionally, clerics were placed in the uzden nobility class. The wife of a prince was called a stuu and addressed as stulla.

History

Alliance with the Golden Horde

In the 14th century, its rulers became tributaries of the Golden Horde, which brought Islamic influence with it, the ruler of Simsir was a powerful prince called Gayur-khan from the Sado-Orsoy clan. He was a Christian ruler who was very close to the Khan Khidir who at times used him as an ambassador to the Rus cities for negotiations and peace. After the death of Khan Khidir the Golden Horde fell into chaos for over 20 years. One of the main figures of this era was the warlord Mamai who was defeated by a Chechen army led by Gayur-khan in 1362.[7] This is believed to have resulted in an independent Simsir kingdom ruled by Gayur-khan. He was also an important ally to Khan Tokhtamysh which is seen from the 18th-century manuscript by the general Sultan Kazi-Girey which notes that the Chechens were in the vanguard of the Tokhtamysh against the Timurid empire during the Battle of the Terek river. The defeat of the Golden Horde led to disastrous consequences for the Simsir kingdom as Timur decided to invade it due to their alliance with Tokhtamysh.

Timurid invasion

See main article: article and Timurid invasion of Simsim. In the reign of its last ruler, Gayur-khan, the Principality of Simsir was destroyed by Timurlane in 1395 as part of his campaign against the Golden Horde. Its population fled south, into the mountains, in order to escape the attacks of the Mongols. In the Zafarnama it states that Timurlane chased these escapers south into the mountains and subdued them.[8] Timur placed Makhama, the son of Gayur-khan, as vassal and converted him to Islam. The fate of Makhama is described in Chechen folklore collected by the Sadoy clan historian Murtazaliev. Makhama was assassinated by the Chechens who replaced him with the previous Gayur-khan who continued to resist Timur until he was treacherously murdered during negotiations by the Timurids.[9]

See also

Bibliography

English sources

Russian sources

Notes and References

  1. "Правитель области Симсим, вероятно, был представителем власти Золотой Орды, и, судя по тому, что его сын носил имя Мухаммед, часть населения этой области исповедовала ислам."

  2. (whilst referring to, ;)

  3. "Вслед за тем Тимур покорил область Симсим, расположенную, по-видимому, на территории современной Чечено-Ингушетии."

  4. "(...) а правителем области Симсим в Чечено-Ингушетии был Гаюрхан."

  5. "Разорив земли Чечни и Ингушетии (“область Симсим”) (...)"

  6. "Разорив земли Чечни и Ингушетии (область Симсим) (...)"

  7. Tesaev. Amin. 2018. Симсим. РЕФЛЕКСИЯ. 2. 61–67.
  8. Book: Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi . Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi . Zafar Nama (Book of the victories of Amir Timur, translated from Persian to Uzbek by Muhammad Ali ibn Darvesh Ali Bukhari (16th century)) . Tashkent: Academy of the Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. "Abu Rayhan Beruni" Institute of Oriental Studies. SAN'AT . 2008 . 203.
  9. Book: Муртазалиев, В. К вопросу об истории государства и права чеченцев.

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