Kumyks

The Kumyks are a Turkic people native to the North Caucasus, concentrated mainly in Dagestan. Their traditional language is Kumyk.

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Kumyk language: A Kipchak Turkic language traditionally spoken by the Kumyk people, especially in Dagestan. The language is a central marker of Kumyk identity and historical continuity.
Dagestan: A republic of Russia on the western coast of the Caspian Sea in the North Caucasus. Most Kumyk communities live within Dagestan’s diverse regional and linguistic landscape.
Shamkhalate of Tarki: A historical Kumyk-led polity centered on Tarki in Dagestan. Its rulers organized major Kumyk political power and diplomacy in the eastern Caucasus.
Russian conquest of the Caucasus: The Russian Empire’s nineteenth-century military and political subjugation of the Caucasus. Imperial expansion ended Kumyk political arrangements and brought their homeland under Russian rule.
Avars: A Northeast Caucasian people concentrated mainly in the mountains of Dagestan. Avars share Dagestan with Kumyks but speak a language from a different family.
Kipchak languages: A branch of Turkic languages that includes Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tatar, and Kumyk. Kumyk belongs to this branch, reflecting historical links across the Eurasian steppe.
Turkic peoples: Peoples connected by languages in the Turkic language family and varied historical traditions. The Kumyks are one Turkic people among many, not an ethnic synonym for all Turkic speakers.
Tarki: A historic settlement near present-day Makhachkala, associated with Kumyk political life. Tarki served as a longstanding center of Kumyk authority and settlement.
Caucasian War: A prolonged nineteenth-century conflict between the Russian Empire and peoples of the North Caucasus. The war affected Kumyk lands and unfolded alongside the annexation of their political centers.
Lezgins: A Northeast Caucasian people native mainly to southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. Lezgins are close regional neighbors whose language is unrelated to Kumyk.