Simsim () was either a historical region or kingdom in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, existing in the 14th century. Predominantly localized roughly in eastern

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

( Ichkeria), with some also connecting part of . Simsim is also localized in both Chechnya and

Ingushetia Ingushetia or Ingushetiya, officially the Republic of Ingushetia, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. The republic is part of the North Caucasian Federal District, and shares land borders with the country o ...

. Its name may have been derived from the Chechen village of . However, according to folklore, the King Gayur-khan was chosen as the leader of all Chechens by the Mehk-Khel (National Council). In its later years it allied itself with the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

before being destroyed in 1395 by

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

(Timurlane), which was recorded in ''Zafarnama'' by

Nizam al-Din Shami Nizam al-Din Shami, also known as Nizam-i Shami or Nizam al-Din Shambi (died before 1409 or before 1411–1412), was a Persian man of letters and a chronicler who flourished in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. He wrote the '' Zafarnama'', th ...

and the ''Zafarnama'' by

Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi Sharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi or Sharif al-Din Ali’ Yazdi (; died 1454, Yazd), also known by his pen name Sharaf, was a 15th-century Persian scholar who authored several works in the arts and sciences, including mathematics, astronomy, enigma, liter ...

Name

The historical region or the kingdom is referred in the two Persian chronicles, ''Zafarnama'' (Shami) and ''Zafarnama'' (Yazdi), as ''Simsim''. Fasih Khwafi referred Simsim as "''Ulus'' Simsim".

Localization

Simsim is usually localized in Ichkeria, a region located in eastern

, with some authors localizing it both in the Ichkeria and . It's also localized in Chechnya.

Society

Simsir existed at a time when Chechens had a feudal system; in the early modern era, they overthrew their feudal rulers in a "revolutionary" event and established in its place a quasi-democratic '' taip'' system by which representatives of teips voted in a national council, but while this differentiated Chechens from their neighbors more recently, it was not the case in the Middle Ages when Simsim existed. In the Middle Ages, Chechen societies such as Simsir had a hierarchical and pyramidal structure. The Principality of Simsir's prince (the ''eela'') sat at the top, followed by nobility and vassals (''uzden''), followed by free commoners (''halxoi''), followed by servants (''yalxoi'', including ''gharbashash'', i.e. bond women), followed by serfs (''lesh'', ''lai'' in the singular), with only slaves and war captives (''yiysarsh'') beneath them; additionally, clerics were placed in the ''uzden'' nobility class. The wife of a prince was called a ''stuu'' and addressed as ''stulla''.

History

Alliance with the Golden Horde

In the 14th century, its rulers became tributaries of the

, which brought Islamic influence with it, the ruler of Simsir was a powerful prince called Gayur-khan from the Sado-Orsoy clan. He was a Christian ruler who was very close to the Khan Khidir who at times used him as an ambassador to the Rus' cities for negotiations and peace. After the death of Khan Khidir the Golden Horde fell into chaos for over 20 years. One of the main figures of this era was the warlord

Mamai Mamai (Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian Cyrillic: Мамай, ; 1325?–1380/1381) was a powerful Turco-Mongol tradition, Turko-Mongol military commander in Beylerbey rank of the Golden Horde from Kiyat clan. Contrary to popular misconcep ...

who was defeated by a Chechen army led by Gayur-khan in 1362. This is believed to have resulted in an independent Simsir kingdom ruled by Gayur-khan. He was also an important ally to Khan

Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( Turki/ Kypchak and Persian: توقتمش; ; ; – 1406) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1380 to 1395. He briefly succeeded in consolidating the Blue and White Hordes into a single polity. Tokhtamysh belonged to the House of Bo ...

which is mentioned in the 18th-century manuscript by the general Sultan Kazi-Girey who notes that the Chechens were in the vanguard of the Tokhtamysh against the

Timurid empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

during the

Battle of the Terek river The Battle of the Terek River was the last major battle of the Tokhtamysh–Timur war. It took place on 14 April 1395, at the Terek River, North Caucasus. The result was a victory for Timur. Battle Tokhtamysh's cavalry attacked the right flank ...

. The defeat of the Golden Horde led to disastrous consequences for the Simsir kingdom as

decided to invade it due to their alliance with Tokhtamysh.

Timurid invasion

In the reign of its last ruler, Gayur-khan, the Principality of Simsir was destroyed by

(Timurlane) in 1395 as part of his campaign against the

. Its population fled south, into the mountains, in order to escape the attacks of the Mongols. In the Zafarnama it states that Timur chased these escapers south into the mountains and subdued them. Timur placed Makhama, the son of Gayur-khan, as vassal and converted him to Islam. The fate of Makhama is described in Chechen folklore collected by the Sadoy clan historian Murtazaliev. Makhama was assassinated by the Chechens who replaced him with the previous Gayur-khan who continued to resist Timur until he was treacherously murdered during negotiations by the

Timurids The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contem ...

References

Bibliography

English sources

Russian sources

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