Reconstruction of the Last Stage of the Spread of Islam in Dagestan on the Basis of Local Arabic-language Written Sources (16th-17th Centuries)

Authors

  • Shakhban M. Khapizov Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 12, ul. Daniyalova, Makhachkala, 367000, Russian Federation
  • Magomed G. Shekhmagomedov Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnography of Dagestan Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 12, ul. Daniyalova, Makhachkala, 367000, Russian Federation

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2022.104

Abstract

The article examines the process of the spread of Islam in Tsunta, i. e., in the southwestern part of Highland Dagestan, which is now part of the Tsuntinsky district of the Republic of Dagestan. By the end of the XV Century Tsunta was the only micro-region in Dagestan whose inhabitants did not yet adhere to Islam. The study is based on a comprehensive approach to the issue: the authors use information from epigraphic monuments, narratives, already published written sources, as well as oral traditions recorded by them. The latter are used only as an auxiliary source, which helps to bring additional facts to the reconstructed picture. The basic sources are local Arabic-language written sources, epitaphs of memorial monuments and written correspondence of representatives of the spiritual and political elite of Dagestan with the rural societies of mountain Dagestan. The former were identified by the authors in the Kortan locality, located in the Antsukh Gorge, Tlyaratinsky district. During the archaeographic expedition the authors also identified three Arabic-language letters, which contain answers to some key questions related to the topic under study. One of them, as it turned out, had already been previously published, but the authors offer their own version of the translation, as well as publish a copy of the letter for the first time. The other two letters are being researched for the first time. The authors have managed to identify a previously little-known phenomenon of the functioning of the Ghazi center in medieval Dagestan. From Kortan, with the involvement of volunteers from other settlements, military campaigns were organized against “pagan” communities that did not want to convert to Islam. From there, Qadis and other representatives of the Islamic clergy were appointed to Tsunta to carry out missionary work on the spot. We were also able to date the process of the spread of Islam in Tsunta, which took place from the end of the sixteenth century to the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Keywords:

Dagestan, Islam, Ghazis, epigraphy, Arabic

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
 

References

Ajtberov T. M. Dagestan documents of XV–XVII centuries. Pismennye pamyatniki Vostoka. 1975. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1982, рр. 4–11. (In Russian)

Ajtberov T. M. Anonymous of Muslim from Urada (XV–XVI Centuries). Pismennye pamyatniki i problemy istorii kul’ury narodov Vostoka. XIII godichnaya nauchnaya sessiya LO IV AN SSSR (doklady i soobshcheniya po arabistike). Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1978, pp. 62–70. (In Russian)

Shekhmagomedov M. G., Khapizov Sh. M. “History of Ankratl” (translation from Arabic, comments and historical context). Vestnik DNC RAN, 2016, no. 61, pp. 23–37. (In Russian)

Vahushti Bagrationi. History of the Kingdom of Georgia. Transl., foreword, dictionary and notes N. T. Nakashidze. Tbilisi, Mecniereba Publ., 1976. 340 p. (In Russian)

Ajtberov T. The Gebek Siukhsky Compilation as a source for the history of Dagestan of the XV–XVI Centuries. Vsesoyuznaya shkola molodyh vostokovedov (tezisy dokladov i soobshchenij molodyh uchenyh). Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1980, vol. 2, iss. 2: Istoriia. Ideologiia. Istochnikovedenie, pp. 131–134. (In Russian)

Yusupova L. P. Antsukh: socio-economic development in the XVIII–XIX Centuries. Makhachkala, Alef Publ., 2015. 132 p. (In Russian)

Ajtberov T. M. From Dagestan memorial records. Vostochnye istochniki po istorii Dagestana. Makhachkala, Dagestanskiĭ filial AN SSSR Publ., 1980, pp. 109–129. (In Russian)

Vahushti Bagrationi. Description of the Kingdom of Georgia (Geography of Georgia). Ed. by T. Lomouri, N. Berdzenishvili. Tbilisi, Mecniereba Publ., 1941. 356 p. (In Georgian)

Nordenstam I. I. Description of Antl-Ratl. 1832. Istoriia, geografiia i etnografiia Dagestana. XVIII–XIX vv. Arhivnye materialy. Eds M. O. Kosven, H.-M. Hashaev. Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1958, pp. 319–328.(In Russian)

Musaev M. A., Shekhmagomedov M. G. Life and creativity of Daghestan scholars-theologians of the XVIII Century (al-Usishi, al-Uradi, al-Aymaki and al-Machadi) in the local Arabic-language biographical works of the XIX — early XX Century. Sovremennye problemy nauki i obrazovaniia, 2013, no. 3, p. 390. (In Russian)

Musaev M. A. The View of “lekianoba” in the context of the study of legal opinions of Daghestan scholars-theologians of the XVIII Century, Fundamentalnye issledovaniia, 2013, no. 10–14, pp. 3223–3228. (In Russian)

Ajtberov T. M., Abdulkerimov M. M. Review of some manuscript collections of Dagestan. Izuchenie istorii i kultury Dagestana: arheograficheskij aspekt. Mahachkala, Dagestanskiĭ filial AN SSSR Publ., 1988, pp. 44–62. (In Russian)

Downloads

Published

2022-05-26

How to Cite

Khapizov, S. M., & Shekhmagomedov, M. G. (2022). Reconstruction of the Last Stage of the Spread of Islam in Dagestan on the Basis of Local Arabic-language Written Sources (16th-17th Centuries). Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies, 14(1), 54–70. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu13.2022.104

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2022)

Section

History and source studies

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.