principality · Caucasus

Principality of Besleney

1500 CE – 1864 CE (approx.)

An eastern Circassian princely tribe on the upper Kuban and Laba, closely related to the Kabardians, whose descendants are the Cherkess of Karachay-Cherkessia.

Origins

The Besleney lived on the upper Kuban, Laba and Urup rivers, between Kabarda and the western Circassians. Tradition links their princely house to the Kabardian aristocracy, and their speech is close to Kabardian. They appear as a distinct community from the 16th and 17th centuries; earlier history is not separately recorded.

Rule and society

Princes and nobles ruled over free peasants and serfs according to the Adyghe code of conduct. The Besleney were horse breeders and herders, and their princes alternately allied with Kabarda, the Crimean Khanate and Russia. Their position on the routes between east and west Circassia gave them influence beyond their size.

Decline and legacy

The Russian Empire brought them under its control in the course of the Russo-Circassian War, completed in 1864. Many emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, but part remained, and their descendants form much of the Cherkess people of Karachay-Cherkessia.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

  • Principality of Besleney was part of Circassia1500 CE – 1864 CE
  • Principality of Besleney was conquered by Russian Empire1864 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Besleney. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-besleney
MLA
“Principality of Besleney.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-besleney. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Besleney.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-besleney.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Besleney’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-besleney (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻