Lekianoba
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The term Lekianoba ( Georgian ლეკიანობა ) describes a series of armed attacks, of looting and campaigns by some residents of Dagestan to Transcaucasia , especially to eastern Georgia ( Kakheti , Kartlien ) and northern Azerbaijan from the 16th to the beginning of the 19th century.
The term Lekianoba comes from Georgian and is derived from the old geographical name Leki for Dagestan, supplemented by the attributive suffix -anoba. In the Middle Ages, Leki was a kingdom predominantly inhabited by Dagestani Laken , Lesgiern and Darginern . In addition to these peoples, Avars and some smaller ethnic groups of Dagestan were also involved.
The attacks began sporadically after the collapse of the Kingdom of Georgia , with the Dagestans taking advantage of the military weakness of the numerous, mutually hostile successor principalities in Georgia and Azerbaijan. After the collapse of the Persian Safavid Empire in 1722, which previously had sovereignty over Azerbaijan and eastern Georgia, they became much more frequent in the 18th century and more Dagestani warriors took part. At times, several Azerbaijani khanates and Georgian kingdoms paid tributes to the Dagestani princes and tribes in order to be spared from the Lekianoba or to release hostages. The slave trade in the whole of the Caucasus and generally in large parts of the world was also significant at this time . The dynasty of Megrelia , Dadiani , were particularly involved in this lucrative business ; they acted as middlemen and were contractually able to sell up to 15,000 boys to the High Porte each year , other noble families sold serf peasants, young women and prisoners of war for goods and To be able to pay for weapons.
There were several causes for the Lekianoba. On the one hand, they served to enrich the less affluent and warlike mountain people of Dagestan. On the other hand, especially in the late period, the Lesgians founded new villages all over Azerbaijan, which is to be seen as an indication that Dagestan was overpopulated. In contrast to the rest of the Caucasus, the inhabitants of the eastern and south-eastern parts of the mountainous region of Dagestan live in a relatively dry climate and on poorly fertile soils, which is why they could not subsist on arable farming. For a long time they compensated for this disadvantage by more extensive livestock farming, by handicrafts (goldsmithing and blacksmithing, leatherwork and skinning, pottery and glaze painting ), by trading in these products and, up to the 19th century, occasionally by the “income” of the Lekianoba. This fundamental problem was especially solved in the 20th century by the imperial Russian, by the Soviet government of Dagestan, the parts of the Dagestani mountain population settlements in Dagestan foothills zuwiesen what after the collapse of the Soviet Union nationalist also protests groups of previously living there among themselves Kumyks led. Today most of the Dagestanis live in cities anyway.
The Lekianoba was the occasion for the temporary conquest of Dagestan by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah . At the beginning of the 19th century, it was also an important occasion for the protracted conquest of the Caucasus , which also includes the mountainous region of Dagestan, in the Caucasus War (1817–1864) . Another reason were further campaigns by some Circassians and Chechens, who were enemies of the expanding Russian Empire and its Cossacks , against what is now the Russian North Caucasus. Eastern Georgia and Azerbaijan had already been annexed by Russia in 1801, which is why the Russian administration was also confronted with the Lekianoba. However, strategic considerations for the Russian security of the new possessions were also a cause of this war.
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- ↑ Brief mention in a textbook text of the Georgian language
- ↑ a b Tessa Hofmann : Armenia - Georgia: Between Ararat and the Caucasus . Mundo-Verlag, Leer 1990, ISBN 3-87322-001-6 , Der Zerfall der Reichseinheit; The connection to Russia, p. 218-220 .
- ↑ See e.g. B. the article by Robert Wixman: “Laḳ” in: “The Encyclopaedia of Islam. New Edition ”(EI2), Volume V., pp. 617–18, which explicitly refers to the low level of arable farming and the high rate of livestock and handicrafts in the sheets, or the article by Richard Nelson Frye :“ Darghin ”in: EI2 , Volume II., Pp. 141–142, who also distinguishes between the cattle breeding and the handicrafts and trade operating Dargin tribes, as well as many other authors.
- ↑ See e.g. B. This map of the Caucasian languages from the Encyclopaedia Britannica , on it the Dagestan branch in yellow. The settlement areas north of the main settlement area in the mountains.