Inal the Bright (Инал Нэху)

Inal, known in Circassian (Adyghe) historiography as Inal the Bright or the Radiant (Adyghe: Инал Нэху), is a central figure in the late medieval history of the Caucasus. (Reign circa 1427-1453)
He is recognized as the legendary ancestor of most Circassian princely dynasties: Kabardian, Besleney, Temirgoy, Khatukay, and part of the Khegak clans. Most researchers date his life and activities to the first half or middle of the 15th century.
Origin and sources
The question of Inal’s origin is shrouded in legends reflecting Circassia’s complex ties with the Middle East:

• Mamluk version: According to the most popular legend, Inal arrived in the Caucasus from Egypt. Some sources identify him with the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria, al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Inal (ruled 1453–1461), who was of Circassian origin and commanded the Egyptian fleet.
• Circassian (autochthonous) origin: Modern researchers note that despite the “Middle Eastern” literary processing of the legends, Inal was a real Circassian leader born in the Caucasus. In Russian documents of the 17th century, he occasionally appears under the name Акабгу; the anthroponym Акабгу consists of two Adyghe words: “акIэ” (forelock, scalp lock) and “бгъуэ” (broad). Thus, the name literally translates as “broad forelock”.
  This detail has deep cultural significance: the акIэ (a forelock on a shaved head) was a mandatory attribute of an adult Circassian warrior up to the 19th century, serving as a symbol of valor, pride, and nobility. It was believed that the broader the forelock, the higher the social status of its owner.
  Unification of Circassia and state achievements
  Inal went down in history as a “gatherer of lands” who managed to briefly overcome feudal decentralization:
• Creation of a unified state: He united the Adyghe and Abazin lands into a single territorial ethnopolitical structure. His power extended from Taman to the Caspian steppes and the southern borders of Abkhazia.
• Military expansion: Inal successfully fought against external threats, pushing the Tatar hordes from the Ciscaucasian steppes beyond the Don and Volga. He waged prolonged wars with the Genoese (“Franks”), capturing their fortified cities, such as Khumaran. In 1433–1434, he launched a campaign into Abkhazia, liberating it from the dependence of Mingrelian rulers. In the first half of the 15th century, Inal managed to overcome feudal fragmentation and unite the Adyghe, Abazin, and Abkhazian lands into a single ethnoterritorial structure.
  Regarding the southern borders of his influence and the access to the Inguri river (the border between Abkhazia and Mingrelia), the following is reported:
• Southward expansion of influence: Inal pursued an active foreign policy in the southern direction. Thanks to an alliance with powerful Abkhazian clans (Achba and Chachba) and a marriage to the daughter of Prince Chachba, he entrenched himself in the Abkhazian lands to such an extent that he was called the “prince of the Abkhazian lands”.
• Border with Mingrelia: Sources indicate that during his campaigns, Inal extended his influence over all of Abkhazia, reaching the borders of Mingrelia. The Venetian diplomat Giosafat Barbaro, who visited the region a few decades after Inal, included Abkhazia as part of Circassia, drawing the southern border at the Phasis (Rioni) river.
• Battle of the Bzyb: Sources mention the defeat of the armies of the rulers of Mingrelia and Guria, which secured the southern borders of the country. Although after Inal’s death and the collapse of his state, the southern border of Circassia was established along the Bzyb river for many centuries, during his reign, political control actually reached the Inguri (the natural border of Abkhazia and Mingrelia) and even advanced further south.
  Thus, Inal not only united related tribes but also created a powerful political momentum that allowed the Adyghe to dominate the Caucasus over the following centuries.
• Judicial and social reforms: Inal established the institution of the “forty judges” (хеящIэ), which became the supreme organ of justice and an instrument for fighting the arbitrariness of the princes. He divided the country into 40 appanages, creating an effective administrative system for that time.
• Residence and memory: The main city of his state was Shanjir (in the area of modern Taman).
  Inal died around 1453 and was buried in Pskhu. His tomb, Inal-kuba, remained a holy site and a symbol of Circassian unity for a long time.
  Inal’s significance in the history of the Circassians is hard to overestimate: he provided a powerful historical impetus that allowed the Adyghe to dominate the North Caucasus for several centuries, and his personality was transformed in the popular consciousness into the image of an ideal ruler who lived according to the Адыгэ Хабзэ.