Sheikh Mansur

Not to be confused with Sheikh Mansour

Sheikh al-Mansur ("The-Sustained") (1732–1794) was a Chechen leader who lead the resistance against Catherine the Great's imperialist expansion into the Caucasus during the late 18th century. He remains a legendary national hero of the Chechen people^{[citation needed]}.

Early life

He was born in the aul of Aldy, near the Sunja River and given the name Ushurma. He became known as Sheikh Mansur.

According to another version, he was actually an Italian monk, Giovanni Battista Boetti born in Camino (Monferrato, Piedmont) on June 2, 1743^[1]. He was sent as missionary in Mosul where he caused a scandal for a love affair with the daughter of the local pasha. Following a lack of vocation, he converted to Islam^[2]. Last traces of Boetti date back to 1780 and then he disappeared.

Chechen leader

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In 1784 Sheikh Mansur, now an Imam, became upset with the Russian encroachment in the North Caucasus. He proclaimed a holy war, called Ghazawat (offensive), against the Russians to the north. Having been trained in Daghestan under strict Islamic law, he returned to the land of the Noxche. He ordered the people of Noxche to stop practicing many of their old pagan traditions with the cult of the dead, to stop smoking tobacco, to replace the customary laws (adats) with Islamic law (shari'ah) and to attempt Islamic unity. This was not easy in a land where people had lived under ancient traditions, customs and religions. Islamic tradition in the land of the Noxche, especially in the mountains, was not as strong as it was in Daghestan. But the holy war that he declared was an attempt at unity. In 1785 Sheikh Mansur destroyed Russian forces in the Battle of the Sunja River. Historical documents show that Russian Colonel Pieri and more than 600 Russians were killed in this battle.^[3] Sheikh Mansur rallied resistance fighters from Daghestan through Kabarda. Most of the forces were Daghestani and Chechen, numbering more than 12,000 by December 1785. However, Mansur suffered a defeat when he tried to enter Russian territory and failed to take over the fort of Kizlyar. He subsequently lost a battle in [Kabarda]. After this, the Russians refortified their settlements, but Catherine the Great withdrew her forces from Georgia to the Terek River line. In 1786 Catherine the Great abandoned the new fort of Vladikavkaz, and would not occupy it again until 1803. From 1787-1791, during the Russian-Turkish War, Sheikh Mansur moved to the northwestern Caucasus region of Adygei, strengthening the Islamic traditions there. He led the Adygei and Nogai peoples in assaults against the Russians, but they were defeated many times. In June 1791, Sheikh Mansur was captured at the Turkish fortress of Anapa on the Black Sea. He was brought to St. Petersburg and imprisoned for life. In 1794 Sheikh Mansur died in prison. He became a legend and hero of the Chechen people.

Cultural references

• Leo Tolstoy's Hadji Murat describes Mansur as a great and revered imam.

1. ^ Robert C. Melzi, The conquering monk, Giovanni Battista Boetti
2. ^ Serena Vitale, L'imbroglio del turbante
3. ^ John Frederick Baddeley, The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus, London, Curzon Press, 1999, p. 49.