Surakat I or Suraka
Origin
The discussion about the dates of Surakat's life has not yet been fully resolved. There are various opinions, which are mainly based on
Arabic sources.
Most authors say that Surakat lived most likely at the end of the 11th – beginning of the 12th century.
and Alexander Crishtopa based on the message of the historical work "The story of Argvani" suggests that he was born around 1190 and died in 1250 years, a few years before the first campaign of the ghazis on
Khunzakh.
Biography
According to the "
Notes of the Imperial Geographical Society", Surakat "ruled over the peoples from
Shamakhi to the borders of
Kabardia region and the
Chechens and
Tushetians were in dependence on him".
Muhammad ar-Rafi writes about Surakat in "Tarikhi Dagestan" that he was the lord of the Avar lands, an apostate strong tyrant, a bearer of evil, violence and misfortune with the title nutsal (ruler) – the son of Sirtan.
19th-century scientist Abbasgulu Bakikhanov writes that "in the city of Tanusi, the ancient capital of Avar lands there was a powerful and formidable emir, whose name was Suraka and he owning lands from the borders of Shamakhi to the lands of the Circassians and Chechens, levied tribute from all principalities and societies in cash, livestock, goods, bread, fruits and even chicken eggs”.
One of the legends says that during the reign of Surakat in Khunzakh, its population professed Christianity.
Religion
According to Abbasgulu Bakikhanov, Surakat is a convert from
Muslims to
Paganism,
according to another version, to
Christianity.
Regarding the faith of Surakat and the entire population of
Avar Khanate, the majority indicates that the population was Christian of the Georgian-Greek Orthodox Church. In the "
Muhammad ar-Rafi", Surakat is simply called "
infidel", that is, not a Muslim, but the population as
Idolatry. In the later compiled sources of the "Chronicle of the Nakhchu Tribe" and "Tarikhi Argvani" of the 18th century, he and his brother are called
Jews at all. However, in the village of
Khunzakh two Arabic inscriptions were found on a local stone of Islamic content, which according to the handwriting can be attributed to the 11th–12th centuries.
See also
Sources
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Muhammad ar-Rafi. "Tarihi Dagestan — History of Dagestan".
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Bakikhanov, Abbasgulu. "Golestan-e Eram (The Blooming Flower Garden)". Baku: Elm. p. 31.
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Записки Кавказского отдела Императорского русского географического общества — Notes of the Caucasian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Vol. 7 (1st ed.). Tbilisi. 1866. p. 52.
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Aitberov, Timur; Ivanov A. A. (1981). New Arabic inscriptions of the 12th–16th centuries. from Dagestan // Written monuments and problems of the history of culture of the peoples of the East. pp. 38–41.
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Aliev, Bagmomed (2002). "The struggle of the peoples of Dagestan against foreign invaders". Makhachkala. ISBN 5-94434-009-6.
