When Russia annexed Georgia in 1801, it needed to control the Georgian Military Road in the central Caucasus – the only practical north–south route across the mountains.

A large force with its baggage train would string out for a mile or more along a forest path where it would be attacked from both sides as soon as the mountaineers gathered enough men.

Of these, the Naqshbandi order was noted for their strict adherence to religious law (Shariat) and the duty of a Murid or disciple to his teacher or Murshid.

Religion was important for holding together the many independent clans and villages, but note that the Circassians held out even longer without the aid of a theocratic state.

On 4 February he led 3000 men to Andi (50 km W), gained more support and marched on Khunzakh where he was defeated with a loss of 200 dead and 60 prisoners.

Taking advantage of this, in May 1831 Kazi Mulla captured Tarki (60 km E) under the guns of Fort Burnaya but was driven back to Chumkeskent by reinforcements.

[6] The Russians responded by sending 3000 men to the roadless Galgai country (180 km W) near the mountain crest southeast of Vladikavkaz.

1837, June: Fese's Ashitla-Tilitl campaign: Akhmet Khan of Mekhtuli (?modern Dzhengutai, 33 km E), the temporary ruler of the Avar Khanate, fearing Shamil, arranged for the Russians to occupy Khunzakh.

A fresh horde of mountaineers, said to be 12,000, appeared near Igali and Fese, around the 15th, performed a "strategic movement to the rear", losing 7 officers and 160 men.

Shamil went north, surveyed the ruins of Ashitla and set about building a stronger fort at Akhulgo (9 km NW on the Andi Koysu).

He raided a disloyal Ingush village near Mozdok and demanded the release of two Chechen prisoners held by a man named Gubish.

On 5 February the aul was almost taken, Bakunin, Haji Murad's father and two brothers were killed, but the Russians lost a third of their men and Passek led a successful retreat.

On 28 August Shamil reached Untsukul from Dylym (50 miles in 24 hours), Kibit Mahoma from Tilitl (40 km SW) and Haji Murad from Avaria, for a united force of 10,000 men.

Since 27 August the Russian loss was 92 officers, 2528 men, 12 forts, 27 guns, 2152 muskets, 13816 shells, 819 kilograms of gunpowder and hundreds of horses.

1844: Dagestan stabilized: At the end of 1843 Nicholas ordered Neidhardt, who replaced Golovin in 1842, to scatter Shamil's hordes and occupy the mountains.

Argutinsky won on the upper Samur, Chirkey was destroyed, Shamil was defeated at Akusha (70 km SE), and an attack on Tilitl (40?

Daniel Beg, Sultan of Elisu (150 km SSE near the mountain crest between Dagestan and Georgia), had been a faithful vassal of Russia.

1845: The Dargo disaster: Nicholas left the extra troops in the Caucasus for another year, replaced Neidhardt with Vorontsov and made ambitious demands.

In early April Freitag got wind that something was brewing and, against explicit orders from the Czar and Vorontsov, retained several battalions that were scheduled for withdrawal.

The plan had been for Nur Ali to raise the Galgai clans, advance from Tsori to Dzheyrakh (175 km W) and block the Darial defile.

General Gurko, on his way home to Russia, took command at Vladikavkaz, called troops from Georgia and guarded the road so well that Nur Ali gave up.

1845–1850: Road Cutting: Gammer, if not Baddeley, sees this as a major period of road-cutting and forest-clearing, especially in Lesser Chechnya south and west of Grozny.

Vorontsov planned to push west and occupy the line of the Kazikumukh Koysu, thereby cutting off the fertile eastern side of Dagestan.

The siege continued for four days, cholera broke out and Vorontsov, short of shells and glad of an excuse, retired south up the Kazikumukh Koysu.

At one point he falsely told the villagers that a Russian supply train was the remnant of a defeated army which they could easily loot, which they did.

Shamil, who had recently proclaimed his son Kazi Muhammad his successor, saw Haji Murad as a threat to his family and possibly himself and secretly sentenced him to death.

The next day (4 July 1854) his son Kazi Muhammad raided the Prince's country seat and carried off his wife and sister-in-law, the granddaughters of the last king of Georgia.

An avenue 1400 yards wide was cut to the crest of the 6000-foot eastern mountain from which one could see Shamil's capital at Veden 10 miles east.

Kazi Muhammad, learning that Wrangel had crossed the Andi near Igali (15 July) abandoned his forts and withdrew south to Karata (45 km WSW).

His rather egalitarian theocracy clashed with the more aristocratic and religiously lax systems of the Kabardians and the Dagestan Khanates, which made expansion difficult.