Hapach (Adyghe: ХьэпэкI) was a king of Circassia (Zichia) in the 900s.[1][2] Not much is known about Hapach's life or much of his reign.

Hapach
King of the Circassians
PredecessorUnknown (Known predecessor: Weche)
SuccessorRededya
Bornc. 900s
Zichia
Diedc. 900s
Zichia
AdygheХьэпэкI
HouseUnknown
ReligionKhabzeism or Orthodox Christianity

Reign edit

Life and reign edit

Not much is known about Hapach's life or much of his reign, only that he, with his army of horsemen and allied principalities, attacked Sarkel, a city of the Khazars, in the 900s. The Khazar army was defeated and the Sarkel prince and his surviving army were imprisoned.[1][2]

Borders edit

The exact borders of the kingdom during his reign is also unknown. In historical sources, the area first appears in the 6th century, when the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea[3] records that the people of the Zechoi used to have a king appointed by the Roman Emperor, but that they had since become independent.[4] The Notitiae Episcopatuum of the Patriarchate of Constantinople mention an autocephalous archbishopric of Zichia from the 7th century on, associated with Tamatarcha or the Cimmerian Bosporus.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Zenkovsky, Sergei A. Medieval Russia’s Cronicles, 58-59
  2. ^ a b D, S. Çerkes Krallar, Hükümdarlar "The leader of the Circassian tribes, Hapach, with his army of horsemen and allied principalities, attacked Sarkel, a city of the Khazars. The Khazar army was defeated and the Sarkel prince and his surviving army were shackled by their feet and imprisoned."
  3. ^ Wars, VIII.4.2
  4. ^ a b Pritsak 1991, pp. 2226–2227.

Works cited edit

  • Pritsak, Omeljan (1991). "Zichia". In Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 2226–2227. ISBN 0-19-504652-8.