principality · Caucasus

Principality of Temirgoy

1500 CE – 1864 CE (approx.)

A princely Circassian tribe on the Laba and Belaya rivers, whose dialect became the basis of the modern Adyghe literary language.

Origins

The Temirgoy, or Kemirgoy, were one of the aristocratic Adyghe tribes of Circassia, living along the Laba and Belaya rivers. Their princely house, the Bolotoko, rose to prominence among the western Circassians by the 16th and 17th centuries. Earlier history is not recorded separately.

Rule and society

Society was ranked into princes, nobles, free peasants and serfs, bound by the Adyghe code of honour. The Temirgoy were among the strongest western tribes and often led coalitions against the Crimean Khanate and later Russia. Prince Jambulat Bolotoko led raids and negotiations with Russia in the early 19th century.

Decline and legacy

Russia gradually forced the Temirgoy princes into submission, and the Russian Empire completed its conquest of their land in 1864. Many emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, but some remained in what became Adygea, and their dialect underlies literary Adyghe.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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

More states of Caucasus →

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻