Ingi-Kent of the Kumyk plain

Cities of Khazaria. Kromos Estatium
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     The khazar cities here include not only those cities that were built by the khazar architects, but also those that were built before the arrival of the khazars, were used by the khazars for their needs and tasks for a long time.
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Ingi-Kent of the Kumyk plain **
     Also Andgy-Kala.
     It was one of the important trading cities of the Kumyk valley, which arose in the middle of the 4th century after the birth of Christ, when the kings of the Kingdom of the huns came to the region. The city continued its development during the Khazar Khaganate. It existed also in the times of the Golden Horde.
     The territory between Terek and Sulak, where the city of Inderi was founded, has always had a mild climate, which allowed the local population to graze cattle on pastures all year round. The population was mainly engaged in agriculture, which was based on arable farming, gardening, and rice planting. Wheat, barley, millet, oats, rice, cotton, and silk were grown here, mostly for their own use. Also, people here were engaged in fishing and viticulture.
     Artisans of the city were considered excellent gunsmiths, since the city had a military garrison for several centuries.
     The main peoples here before the arrival of the huns and khazars were the highlanders, from which it is difficult to distinguish a special tribe. Since the 7th century after the birth of Christ, the core of a local autochthonous tribe was formed on the Kumyk platform between Sulak and Terek in the bowels of Khazaria, the ethnic basis of which was the kumyks, who later added the kipchak-oguz-bulgar conglomerate.
     Kumyks have always been in authority among the mountaineers, they formed the basis of the military garrisons of a unified system of cities along the caravan route through the Kumyk plain. Their khagans, khans and shamkhals, as a rule, were the basis of military and trade campaigns of the eastern highlanders to the Transcaucasian region. From these campaigns, the kumyks brought new cultural trends to their cities, which they borrowed from the slavic, turanian, and aryan tribes, being cultural guides from Asia through the Eastern Caucasus to Europe.
     On the ethnic territory of the kumyk people there were many ancient cities and fortresses that arose many centuries before the formation of the kumyk ethnic core, which the kumyks settled in the huns, khazars, arab and persian times.
     The fortress walls and foundations of dwellings were made of glinobit blocks or torn stone.
     Historians consider this city to be the second capital of the Khazar Khaganate, but this is only for those authors who identify this city with Semender.
     It was a major commercial and political city of the khazars. The city was a fortress with a Citadel and a posad, surrounded by two rows of fortress walls with towers. These walls stretched from the heights of Tarki-Tau to the sea. These walls have survived to the present day, and in the 17th century their remains were seen by Peter the Great.
     Derbent Nameh calls Andji or Indji a great city standing on the seashore three farsakhs from Tarhu. The city was subordinate to the Khazar Khakan, like Semendar, Tarhu, Iran, Gelbach, Madjars, Dzhulat, Shehr-and-Tatars.
     According to ancient information confirmed in Derbent-Name, Andji-Kala was located three kilometers below the city of Tarhu.
     Chronicles note that the city is large and well fortified. The remains of mud brick walls, ramparts, and stone foundations of dwellings have been preserved on the hillfort, which is attributed to the city. The home was built of glinobit or of ragged stone wall.
     This wall stretched from the heights of Tarki-Tau to the sea. The city had strong walls that had secret passageways leading to mountain paths that provided food and water to the city in the event of a siege. And the defenders of the city, half assembled from the local highlanders, fought desperately and bravely.
     There was a Citadel in the city, which makes it possible to judge the presence of important nobles in the city. The city was closed by two fortress walls with towers.
     The walls were so strong that a thousand years after the destruction, Peter the Great had the opportunity to observe its remains.
     In its khazar past, the city was a major trade and political center, since it was close to one of the branches of the Silk Road, as well as a strategic road from Derbent to the pre-Caucasian steppes.
     The arabs were able to take the city with great difficulty, building a wall of their wagons, from which they were able to penetrate the fortress.
     The city was destroyed in the 12th century, reporting about this event historians called the city Engi-Kent.
     After the restoration, the city became known as Andji-Kala, which continued the history of its predecessor, but in a different historical paradigm.
     Some historians believe that the name of Indji, the city had since ancient times, since the people called the whole country of it, the river, another city with the name Indji-Kalesi.
     According to some sources, Semender, Tarkha and Indji were given by the persian Shah Isfendiyar to his ruler, who was called Tuman Shah. These lands were considered his inzhu, specific possession.
     The name of the city is derived from the term «hill», since Anzhi-mountain, Anzhi-slope, and Anzhi-gorge are located nearby.
     According to another version, the name of the city comes from the concept of «ingi», meaning possession, ulus.
     Kumyks and other peoples of the Kumyk plain fortifications near the city of Makhach-Kala are still called Andji-Kala. There are the remains of two fortress walls that stretch from mount Tarki-Tau to the sea, enclosing the territory of the ancient city. This city with its lands around it was the ulus, the inju of the Khazarian kings.
     Linguists find the word «Andji» in the vocabulary of the polovtsians of the 12th century. They had a family association anj-oglu, mentioned in «the Word about Igor's regiment».
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