North Caucasus Line

Originating in the mid-16th century with a small number of free Cossacks near the Caspian Sea, from the mid-18th century the line was pushed west and used as a base to conquer the mountains to the south and to settle the steppes to the north.

Dense peasant settlement became possible only when the line was pushed west to the Stavropol highland in the center in the late 18th century.

Everything south of the Black Sea and the Caucasus was controlled by the Nogai nomads.

In 1556, Russia moved down the Volga, capturing Astrakhan at the north end of the Caspian Sea.

The land south of the Terek along the Caspian Sea was controlled by various Khanates nominally subject to Persia, the northernmost of which later became the Shamkhalate of Tarki.

Originally runaway serfs and adventurers who went to the frontier to live a free life, they were gradually brought under government control by being hired as mercenaries.

By the later period, the Cossack was basically a fighting farmer who supported himself but was available for military service.

Their usual duties were guarding villages against raiders, protecting convoys, especially along the Georgian Military Road, and serving as auxiliaries to the regular army.

In 1828, Cossacks were forbidden to approach peasants working in the fields because they could not be distinguished from native raiders.

Before the Russian state began a serious attempt at conquest in the early 19th century, the Caucasus Cossacks were almost another local tribe.

Early forts: In 1556, Russia occupied Astrakhan at the head of the Caspian Sea and began interacting with Kabardia in the center of the North Caucasus.

In 1560, four years after the capture of Astrakhan, Cheremisinov attacked Tarki, burned it and withdrew.

In 1594, Prince Khvorostinin led 5,000 Terek, Astrakhan and Yaik Cossacks south to attack Tarki, but was soundly defeated.

In both of these conflicts, the Dagestanis allowed the Russians to take the town, only to surround, harass, and attack them when they were forced to retreat.

Around 1711, the Greben Cossacks moved to a more defensible position on the north bank of the Terek.

In 1717, some 500 of them participated in Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky's campaign against the Khanate of Khiva in Central Asia.

In 1722, the Russian Emperor Peter the Great tried to conquer the west side of the Caspian Sea.

The entire garrison of Tersky Gorod was moved 130 miles south to Svyatoy Krest (Holy Cross) Fort (1722–1736) on the lower Sulak River.

Kizlyar (1735–present) was founded on the Terek when Svyatoy Krest was abandoned and remained the largest Russian town in the Caucasus until Stavropol surpassed it in the early 19th century.

Since the only good road south was through Darial Pass, the Russians had to hold what would later become the Georgian Military Highway.

It quickly attracted a large native population, many of whom were fugitive serfs from the mountains.

Ossets were encouraged to settle along the highway and efforts were made to re-convert them (many had formerly been Christians).

In 1777, Russia began building a line of forts between Mozdok and Azov.

In 1783, the same year that Georgia became a Russian vassal, Russia annexed the Khanate of Crimea and thereby inherited its claim over the Nogai nomads.

A proper account of peasant settlement north of the line on the Black Sea-Caspian Steppe would require census figures which do not seem to exist.