His fame was largely due to the association of his name with the alliance with Ivan IV and the marriage of his daughter, Maria Temryukovna.

He noticed the increasing military support from the Ottomans to the Tatars and feared this would affect the Circassians' ability to thwart any possible assault.

Ivan supported Temroqwa's goal to extend his power inside Circassia and to unify the lands of Circassians under his reign.

Temroqwa established a fort in Mozdok that enabled the Circassian and Russian forces to perform joint training.

In 1569, in an attempt to push back the Russian forces, Tatar-Ottoman joint troops attacked the city of Astrakhan in the Khanate of Kazan.

He disregarded that Tatars had mounted an enormous army of 130,000 soldiers from Qazan, Astrakhan and the Ottoman Empire, and that Russia would not assist him in his counterstrike due to the severe losses.

The battle took place on the banks of the Kuban where Temroqwa was killed and two of his sons, Mashoqwa and Bulat Gery, were captured.