Laks - Sociopolitical Organization

The Laks are reported to have been the first Daghestani people to establish a feudal system. Their feudal society was comprised of the khans; the bagtal ( beks ), who were the khan's family and the nobility; the chankri (children of marriages between beks and women of lower social orders); the uzdental ( uzden ), who were free peasants (numerically the largest of all classes); the rayat (serfs); and the laghart (slaves). This feudal system coexisted with a system of free societies, which were comprised of the more democratic tukhums. These free societies were military and economic arrangements that were fluid in structure and worked on a democratic and voluntary basis. The laws governing the relations of groups within these free societies were codified in adat.