Mehmed Indaraqo Shuwpagwe
Mehmed Indaraqo Shuwpagwe (Adyghe: Мэхьмэд Индаракъо Шупаго, romanize: Məhməd Indaraqo Shupago, Prince of Pshada, a noble of the Natukhai, and a Circassian leader, is mentioned as "Indar-oku" in James Bell's book.
Mehmed Indaraqo | |
|---|---|
| Мэхьмэд Индаракъо | |
| Prince of Pshada | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1737 Natukhaj, Circassia |
| Died | 1838 Circassia |
| Children | Nogai Indaraqo Shuwpagwe |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Circassia |
| Battles/wars | Russo-Circassian War |
Biography
[edit]Not much is recorded about İndaraqo, as Circassians did not write down their history, and all knowledge comes from Russian and British sources. He was the largest landowner in the Pshada Valley and is known to have vassal nobles under his command. He is occasionally mentioned in the books of James Bell and Eduard Taitbout de Marigny.[1] His religion was Christianity.[2]
As he aged, the leadership of the Shuwpagwe family passed from Indaraqo to Hawdiqo Mansur.[1]
Name
[edit]Mehmed's surname is Shuwpagwe, and "Indaraqo" means "son of Indar." The Circassians had both surnames and titles ending with the "-qo" suffix, which is equivalent to the "-son" in English.
Russo-Circassian War
[edit]He actively participated in battles against the Russians. He had a boat that he commissioned and commanded, but it was involved in an accident near Pshada in 1819. On July 8, 1837, during clashes in Pshada, Indaraqo's grandson and two of his vassals were injured. Later that year, his village was attacked and destroyed by a detachment under General Alexey Veliaminov. Consequently, Indaraqo and his family migrated to Ts'emez (modern-day Novorossiysk).[1]
"We are too poor to recompense the English properly for thinking us in our distress; but God will reward them; and every day in my prayers, I pray God to do so. I am now old and very infirm, and my only wish before I die is, that I may see my country free and at peace."
— Mehmed Indaraqo, Journal of a Residence in Circassia during the Years 1837, 1838 and 1839, Volume I, Page 82
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Samir, Hotko (2022-01-01). "Çerkesya'nın batı vilayeti Nathokuac". Jineps Gazetesi (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2024-09-10. Retrieved 2024-09-10.
- ^ Bell, James Stanislaus (1840). Journal of a residence in Circassia during the years 1837, 1838, and 1839. Robarts - University of Toronto. London E. Moxon. pp. 82, 84–85.