Talostan’s Kabardia

Telostaney (Talostan’s Kabardia) was one of the key specific principalities that emerged as a result of the feudal fragmentation of Kabardia in the 16th century, becoming the political core of what later became known in Russian and Ottoman sources as Little Kabardia. The appanage got its name from its founder, Prince Talostan (Tatlotsan) Zhankhotov, the great-grandson of the legendary Inal the Bright.
Territory and geographical influence
During its heyday (16th to the first half of the 17th centuries), Telostaney occupied a strategically important space in the Central Ciscaucasia. The lands of the appanage stretched from the interfluve of the Lesken and Terek rivers to the entrances of the mountain gorges inhabited by Ossetian societies. The principality maintained under its influence the northern entrances to the Darial Gorge, which allowed it to control the main road connecting the North Caucasus with Georgia. Later, by the 18th century, the possessions of the Talostanovs made up the western part of the Little Caucasian Plain, bounded by the flow of the Terek in the north and the left bank of the Kurp River in the east.
Telostaney in the system of unity of Kabardia and Circassia
It is important to emphasize that Telostaney was never conceived as something separate from the pan-Adyghe world; it was an organic part of Kabardia (Eastern Circassia) and part of the unified space of “Adyghe Kheku” (Land of the Adyghe).

• Dynastic unity: The rulers of Telostaney were Inalids—direct descendants of Grand Prince Inal, who in the 15th century united the Adyghe and Abazin lands into a single state.
• Unified political space: Despite feudal fragmentation, Telostaney, Idaray, and other appanages felt ethnopolitical unity, representing a kind of confederation of Circassian principalities.
• Common institutions of power: Even after territorial demarcation, the princes of Little Kabardia participated in national affairs and coordinated foreign policy with the princes of Greater Kabardia.
• Unity of law and culture: The foundation of Telostaney’s unity with the rest of Circassia was the “Adyghe Khabze” code, which created a unified legal and ethical field from the Sea of Azov to the Caspian Sea.
  Political influence and external relations
  Talostan’s Kabardia historically acted as an influential center of power. In the 16th century, the Talostanovs were in fierce rivalry with the pro-Russian Idarov clan. They often adhered to an independent or pro-Crimean orientation, intermarrying with the khan’s court in Bakhchysarai.
  Telostaney, like other Kabardian princes, considered the neighboring mountain tribes (Ossetian, Balkar, Ingush) its vassals, exacting tribute from them for the right to use pastures on the plains. Prince Talostan Zhankhotov went down in history as the leader of the famous Bakhchysarai campaign (“Bakhchysarei zek’we”), when Circassian cavalry crossed the sea on ships and destroyed the khan’s residence.
  Social structure
  A classical Adyghe class hierarchy operated in Telostaney, enshrined by the Adyghe Khabze code:

1. Pshy (Princes): The Talostanov dynasty, equal in blood to other Inalids.
2. Uorks (Nobles): Divided into degrees (tlekolesh, dezhenugo, etc.), making up the core of the professional army.
3. Tfokotl: Free farmers, who by the 18th century became more dependent on the princes in Kabardia.
4. Pshitli and Unauts: Serfs and domestic slaves.
   Population and military strength
   In the mid-18th century, the possessions of “Tauz-Sultan” (the western part of Little Kabardia) counted about 600–800 households, which amounted to 10–12 thousand people. The appanage could field from 700 to 1,500 armored horsemen, and all of Little Kabardia combined—up to 3,000 warriors. The army consisted of elite armored cavalry (werk’ydze), whose training and weaponry (chainmail-afe, helmets-tash) were considered the standard in the region.
   By the beginning of the 19th century, the Talostanov family weakened, and their lands were gradually incorporated into the administrative system of the Russian Empire. However, the memory of Telostaney as part of a united and sovereign Circassia has been preserved in historical acts and folk songs.