Imam Shamil- The Lion of Dagestan

Shamil is still a Hero in the Mountainous Regions of Georgia, and of course in the whole Northern Caucasus. The title Imam made him the Religious and Common Leader of the Mountain People of Dagestan and Chechnya. He was famous for his courage, honesty and resistance, his devotion to Religion and to his Homeland: Dagestan and Chechnya. The Army of 200.000 Tsarist troops under the command of Prince Bariatinski couldnt defeat him before they took the help of the Georgian Generals Vakhtang and Grigol Orbeliani and their troops including the Mountain experienced Khevsurs and Tushs between others. Shamil got driven to his Mountain fortress Gunib in Dagestan, where he surrendered in front of the superiority. He met later with the Tsar, got exiled to Kaluga, but in 1869 permission to retire to the Holy town Mecca. He died while visiting Medina in 1871. Read further on the heroic Imam Shamil at Wikipedia in English
and in Deutsch
This is a photo of Shamil and his son from 1859 by the Photographer Alexander Ivanitski
found on Photomuseum Georgia.



The famous Georgian Painter Niko Pirosmani (1862-1918) made two impressive paintings on Shamils history, they belong today to the State Museum of Fine Arts of Georgia, Tbilisi and I found those images on the profound website on Pirosmani by Tatiana and Vera Kofyan : The Russian Avant- Garde Gallery


Shamil with a Bodyguard. Oil on oil-cloth, 112x90 cm. The State Museum of Fine Arts of Georgia, Tbilisi


Sheteh Helps Prince Bariatinsky to Apprehend Shamil. Oil on oil-cloth, 113x89 cm. The State Museum of Fine Arts of Georgia, Tbilisi

Sheteh is dressed like a Khevsur, but I am not sure, who he was. More Information kindly appreciated.

17.10. Thanks to an anonymous commenter we know now, that Shete was a Tushetian warrior:

"Shete Guluhaidze was famos tushetian warrior and chieftain. With his mobile group of highlanders he made hundreds of raids into territory of Shamil's imamat... Together with detachments of khevsurian, mtiuletian and pshavian warriors he carried out many military operations considered impossible by commanding staff of Russian Generals. Some of the local stories about Shete Guluhaidze were recorded by famous russian intelligence service agent and spy Zisserman ( "25 years in Caucasus" and " History of K. regiment", and also by Alexander Duma in his " Kaukasus"