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Zichia[a](/ˈzɪkiə/;Adyghe:Адзыгъуэй) was the predecessor ofCircassiaand a medieval kingdom on the northeastern shore of theBlack Sea,inhabited byCircassians.[1]
Kingdom of Zichia Адзыгъуэй(Adyghe) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 100–c. 1500 | |||||||||||||
 Map showing Zichia. | |||||||||||||
| Common languages | Circassian | ||||||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
•c. 100s c. 400s c. 500s668–960 c. 700s–800s c. 800s–900s c. 960s–1000s c. 1000s–1022 c. 1200s c. 1200s–1237 1237–1239 c. 1330s c. late 1300s c. 1427–1453 c. 1453-c. 1470s c. 1470s c. 1530s–1542 | Stachemfak Dawiy Bakhsan Dawiqo Lawristan Weche Hapach Rededya Abdunkhan Tuqar (Tukar) Tuqbash Ferzakht (Verzacht) Berezok Inal the Great Belzebuk Peterzeqo (Petrezok) Kansavuk | ||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||
• Established | c. 100 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 1500 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
History
editThe exact borders of the kingdom are unknown. According to the 10th-centuryByzantine emperorConstantine VII Porphyrogennetos(r. 913–959), it lay south of Tamatarcha (Tmutorokan), separated from it by the river Oukrouch (possibly to be identified with theKuban River), and had a city calledNikopsis.[2]According to a legend about a visit of theApostle Andrewthere, it lay betweenAbasgia(Abkhazia) and the Cimmerian Bosporus (Strait of Kerch).[2]
In historical sources, the area first appears in the 6th century, when the Byzantine historianProcopius of Caesarea(Wars,VIII.4.2) records that the people of theZechoiused to have a king appointed by theRoman Emperor,but that they had since become independent.[2]TheNotitiae Episcopatuumof thePatriarchate of Constantinoplemention anautocephalousarchbishopric of Zichia from the 7th century on, associated with Tamatarcha or the Cimmerian Bosporus.[2]
At the time of Constantine VII, Byzantine dealings with the area were carried out by the inhabitants ofCherson.[2]In the 11th century, the Byzantines may have established control over the region, as attested by the seal of a Michael, "archonof Zichia,Khazaria,andGothia",but this is disputed among modern scholars. In the 12th century, EmperorManuel I Komnenos(r. 1143–1180) used the title "emperor of Zichia, Khazaria, and Gothia", but it is unclear to which extent this claim corresponded to reality.[2]
In the 13th century, the area was visited by Hungarian and Italian travellers, who called itSychia(and other variants thereof). These travellers located Matrica (Tmutorokan) within Sychia.[2]
Known rulers
edit- Arrian(89–146) mentions a king of Zichia named Stachemfak
- In the 500s, King Bakhsan the son of King Daw fought with the Goths.[3]
- King Lawristan is mentioned as the king in the 700s–800.[4]
- King Hapach of Zichia, the son of king Weche, is mentioned to have raided Khazaria in the 900s.[5]
- Rashid-ad-Dinin thePersian Chronicleswrote that the Zichian king Tukar was killed in battle against the Mongols in 1237.[6][7]
- In 1333,Pope John XXIIthanked the King Verzacht (Верзахта inCyrillicscript) of Zichia (Circassia) for his assistance in implementing the Christian faith amongCircassians.[1]
- In 1471, the ruler ofCaffa,Uffizio di San Giorgio signed a contract with the ruler ofCircassia,"the paramount lord of Zichia" for supplying of Caffa with large quantities of grain by Zichia.[8]
- Kansavuk is mentioned by Malbakhov as a king of Zichia in 1542.[9]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^This word is ofGreekorigin. The original Greek word isΖιχία/zi.ˈçi.a/. InEnglish,it can also be spelt asZekchia.[citation needed]
References
edit- ^abКолли Л. Кафа в период владения ею банком св. Георгия (1454—1475) // Известия Таврической Ученой Архивной комиссии. № 47. Симферополь, 1912. С. 86
- ^abcdefgPritsak 1991,pp. 2226–2227.
- ^D, S.Çerkes Krallar, Hükümdarlar"In the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, the Goths settled in the north of the Black Sea. There were constant wars with the Circassian kingdoms. Prince Baksan, one of the 8 sons and eldest of King Daw, was one of the rare leaders who made his mark in the wars against the Goths, was one of the rare leaders to whom a statue was erected, and died with his eighty warriors in a war against the Goths, in which his 7 brothers joined him."
- ^Natho, Kadir.Ancient Circassian History
- ^Zenkovsky, Sergei A.Medieval Russia’s Cronicles, 58-59
- ^Рашид ад-Дин. Сборник летописей. М.-Л., 1952. Т. 2. С. 39
- ^L.I. Lavrov. “Kuzey Kafkasya’da Moğol İstilası”
- ^Kressel R. Ph. The Administration of Caffa under the Uffizio di San Giorgio. University of Wisconsin, 1966. P. 396
- ^Мальбахов Б. К. "Кабарда на этапах политической истории (середина XVI — первая четверть XIX века),Москва,из-во «Поматур», 2002 г.ISBN 5-86208-106-2,ст. 212
Further reading
edit- Pritsak, Omeljan (1991). "Zichia". InKazhdan, Alexander(ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium.Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 2226–2227.ISBN0-19-504652-8.