Ghazi Muhammad

Ghāzī Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿil al-Gimrāwī al-Dāghistānī (Arabic: غازي محمد ابن إسماعيل الڮمراوي الداغستاني; Avar: ГъазимухIамад; c. 1790 – 29 October [O.S. 17 October] 1832), called Kazi-Mulla (Кази-Мулла) or Kazi-Magoma (Кази-Магома) in Russian sources, was a North Caucasian religious and political leader who served as the first imam of Dagestan and Chechnya from 1828 to 1832. He led armed resistance against Russian expansion into the Caucasus until his death in battle in 1832. The imamate founded by Ghazi Muhammad continued fighting against the Russians and their local allies under his successors Hamzat Bek and Shamil until its final defeat in 1859.

After studying under several notable teachers, Ghazi Muhammad joined the Naqshbandi Sufi order and became a reputed Islamic scholar. He promoted adherence to sharia over customary law (adat), attracting many followers but often clashing with local secular and religious leaders. He initially advocated for passive resistance to Russian expansion, but further Russian encroachment in 1829 caused him to change his position. He was proclaimed imam in late 1829 and declared the beginning of a holy war (called ghazavat) against the Russians in 1830. At the peak of his power in 1831, he ruled over most of Chechnya and Dagestan. After a number of military setbacks in late 1831 and 1832, Ghazi Muhammad lost most of his supporters and was killed in a last stand against a Russian force in his native village of Gimry in October 1832. He was immediately succeeded by one of his followers, Hamzat Bek.