principality · Caucasus
Tabasaran Maysumate
Origins
Tabasaran, a mountainous district west of Derbent, was home to the Tabasaran people, Muslims since the early Islamic centuries. By the 16th century a hereditary ruler with the title maysum governed part of it from Khuchni, while another part was ruled by a qadi; the origins of the dynasty are obscure.
Rule and society
The maysums ruled villages of farmers and herders through local nobles and customary law, and the district was known for its carpets. Tabasaran was a vassal of the Safavid Empire for much of this period and was drawn into the struggles between the khans of Derbent and Quba, the Ottomans and Russia.
Decline and legacy
The Russian Empire established a protectorate in 1806 and annexed Tabasaran in 1813, recognised in the Treaty of Gulistan with Persia. Its lands were later absorbed into Russian administrative districts of Dagestan.
Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Tabasaran Maysumate was a vassal of Safavid Empire1578 CE – 1722 CE
- Tabasaran Maysumate was a protectorate of Russian Empire1806 CE – 1813 CE
- Tabasaran Maysumate was conquered by Russian Empire1813 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Tabasaran Maysumate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tabasaran-maysumate
- MLA
- “Tabasaran Maysumate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tabasaran-maysumate. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Tabasaran Maysumate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tabasaran-maysumate.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Tabasaran Maysumate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/tabasaran-maysumate (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻