Kumyks - History and Cultural Relations

The Kumyks are one of the indigenous peoples of Daghestan. The ethnonym itself is mentioned by Ptolemy (second century A.D. ), Mohammed of Kashgar (eleventh century), P. Carpini (thirteenth century), and others. At various historical periods, the ancestors of the Kumyks must have entered into the Hunnic Confederacy, and those of the Sabirs, the Barsils, the Bulgars, the Khazars, the Kipchaks, and others. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the following political formations existed: the Tarkov Shamkhalate, the Mekhtul Khanate, and the Endireev, Kostekov, and Aksai domains. The southern Kumyks became part of the Kaitag utsmiate (principality). A special place was occupied by the Tarkov shamkhal, who was called the vali (ruler) of Daghestan. He commanded unlimited power although periodically he gathered a council ( majlis ) together for decisions on important goals. The shamkhal did not have a standing army but did have a large number of men-at-arms; his vassals included appanage princes ( biy, bek ) and ministers ( vazir ) . Almost the same system was observed in other domains of Kumykia. After the union with Russia the supreme power was concentrated in the hands of the czarist military command.