Formation of large feudal property on Kumyk Plain of Dagestan from the 16th to the mid 18th centuries

The article is devoted to a detailed analysis of the history of the formation of the feudal land ownership of the Kumyk princes of Dagestan, its features, the role of the family and clan factor. The caution and foresight of the Russian Tsarist authorities in establishing contacts with the rulers of Dagestan, including the Kumyk princes, is noted. In addition, data are provided on the formation of mutually benefi cial relations between the Kumyk princes of Dagestan and Russian power. It is noted that by 1722, the land on Kumyk Plain of Dagestan had already been in full ownership of the princely house. Later, the documents issued by the imperial authority only confi rmed and to a certain extent regulated the land tenure of the princes. The article concludes that long before the 18th century the lands of the Kumyks had been in hereditary possession of the Kumyk princes. In the fourth generation after Sultan Mut – the ancestor of the Kumyk princes – (approximately in the early 18th century) his lands were divided into allotments according to the number of princely clans who owned them together, not dividing them among themselves.