Second Murid War 1834

By the time of the death of the first imam, Ghazi Muhammad, in 1832, the Murids had already lost significant support among the peoples of the eastern Caucasus and a pause in the holy war against Russia ensued as the Murids concentrated on reasserting their authority amongst local religious and political authorities. Hamzad Bek, a loyal and fanatical supporter of Ghazi Muhammad, was quickly chosen to replace the first imam. Attempts to negotiate with the Russians during 1833 proved fruitless possibly because the Russians knew the weakness of the Murids. Opposition to the Murids was widespread and most of the next year was spent attacking leaders who refused to submit and villages that declined to impose Islamic law (Sharia). This campaign to extend Murid authority was fairly successful and, by the summer of 1834, the Murids under the leadership of the second imam had put together enough support to again challenge the Avar Khanate which had defeated a similar effort in 1830.

Most of the Avar Khanate had already submitted to Murid authority by the time the capital of Khunzakh was besieged by the forces led by Hamzad Bek. The regent of Avar, Pakhu Bike, aware of the futility of violent resistance, offered to submit to Murid authority but she refused the call to holy war. She sent her youngest son to Hamzad Bek as a hostage with the offer. The second imam then demanded she send her remaining two sons as well. Pakhu Bike did as Hamzad Bek demanded and, shortly afterward, the two older siblings were executed. Murid forces then stormed the citadel of Khunzakh and proceeded to massacre all the members of the ruling house, including beheading Pakhu Bike. Afterward, Hamzad Bek declared himself khan of Avar.

What happened in Avar unsettled Murid supporters and reinforced opposition to Hamzad Bek among the local religious and political leaders; attempts to impose a prohibition on tobacco further undermined his authority among the common people. In September, Hamzad Bek and some of his followers were killed by opponents after entering a mosque for Friday prayers. Up to 100 of the Murids with him were killed in the ensuing violence. Hadji Murad, leading the conspirators, was chosen to be khan of Avar and he quickly professed loyalty to Russia. The assassination served to reinforce the authority of the traditional leadership which tended to align with Russia and, once again, the Murids were forced to retreat and regroup, aborting their holy war. Russian punitive expeditions during this period encountered minimal resistance.

Notes

[1] The war, as presented here, was mainly fought between Murids and their local opposition (all considered Russians here).

[2] The termination date is based on the the death of Hamzad Bek rather than the limited Murid resistance to selective Russian punitive expeditions..

[3] Correlates of war provides an estimate of 1,000 battle deaths although this seems to include Russian military intervention. Other available sources do not provide any sound alternative estimate.

References

Baddeley, 283-8; Brownstone and Franck, 326, 340; COW523; Dixon and Sarkees, 252-4; King, 71-3.

John F Baddaley. The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus. Longmans, Green and Company. 1908.

Charles King. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus. Oxford University Press. 2008.

Category

Intra-State War

Region

Central Asia

Belligerents

Russians^[1], Murids

Dispute

Governance, Interests

Initiation Date

August 20, 1834

Termination Date

September 19, 1834^[2]

Duration

31 days

Outcome

Unresolved Truce
(Russian victory)

Fatalities

Total: 1,000^[3]

Magnitude

3.0