Ruling techniques of the Ottoman Empire in Western Caucasus on the early XIX century (based on the document from the Ottoman State Archive of the President of the Republic of Turkey Hattı Hümayün 1103/4569-R

Abstract

The subject of this article is the policy and ruling techniques of the Ottoman Empire in Western Caucasus as a whole, and Abkhazia in particular, implemented due to expansion of military and economic presence of the Russian Empire in Caucasus in the early XIX century. Such methods include bringing local population (mostly representative of aristocracy – princes and noblemen) to the side of the Ottoman Empire for returning their dominance in the countries and cities (fortresses), considered by the Sublime Porte as the territories of their authority, and unlawfully annexed by the Russian Empire (namely the Principality of Abkhazia). This resulted in clash of interest of both superpowers that unfolded in Abkhazia and neighboring Circassia in the early XIX century. The scientific novelty consists in introduction into the scientific discourse of previously unpublished sources from the Ottoman State Archive of the President of the Republic of Turkey, as well as the Russian State Military-Historical Archive, which shed light on the methods of Ottoman control over the territories of Western Caucasus (Principality of Abkhazia, Circassia), as well as on the complicated questions regarding the clash of interests of the Russian and Ottoman empires in the region. The relevance of this work is substantiated by usage of both, Russian and Ottoman unpublished archival materials for describing the Ottoman ruling techniques in the region.