Name The name Qizbech is standart Circassian. In his own Shapsug dialect, it is Qizbek (Къызбэкь), which is a shortened form of Qizilbek and is recorded as Guz Bek, Qizbech's original surname was Sheretluqo, while Tughuzhuqo means "son of Tughuzh".
Early life Not much is recorded about Qizbech's early life, as Circassians did not write down their history, and all knowledge comes from Russian sources. Tughuzhuqo was born in 1777 in the village of Beannash A theory suggests that the Sheretluqo family comes from Bekkan/Bechkan, which was a branch of
Zhaney princes. He was born into a family of seven children. Qizbech was 192–193 cm tall. Historical accounts describe Qizbech as a man of enormous physical stature with a loud voice and audacious, rough mannerisms. After the revolution, Qizbech does not appear in written sources between 1796 and 1810. According to Circassian oral traditions, during this period Qizbech met with Hasan Pasha, the Ottoman governor of
Anapa, and went on a pilgrimage to
Mecca. After that, he stayed for a time in Egypt, where at some point he met
Muhammad Ali of Egypt and served in the Egyptian army against the
French invasion of Egypt and Syria. He returned to Circassia definitively in 1810 and began to appear again in written records. After this, he continued to fight for the Circassian army. In the June of the same year, Qizbech attacked the Alexandriyske Fortress with 1,000 men. In October 1822, he was wounded during the assault on the Yelizavetinskaya Fortress. The Circassians believed that Qizbech had met
Khidr (Alebiy in Circassian). On March 12, 1823, Qizbech crossed the
Kuban River with an army of 1,500 and attacked a Russian stanitsa in construction near Yelizavetinsky. While he was fighting the 200-strong Cossack unit stationed there, 200 Cossacks and two cannons arrived from Alexandrovsky Fortress, and the artillery fire halted the Circassians. As Qizbech prepared for an attack, General Vlasov’s army approached to the battlefield, prompting the Circassians to retreat. The Cossacks pursued and attacked the retreating forces. During the clashes, Qizbech captured a sergeant and two soldiers. Russian artillery took position and opened fire and Qizbech’s eldest son was killed by the artillery, and his body was captured by the Cossacks. However, after receiving news of approaching Russian reinforcements, Qizbech headed back to Circassia. The Russians intercepted his forces twice, leading to heavy casualties on the Circassian side; however, Qizbech managed to get back to Circassia, heavily wounded and with 3 captives. Sultan Khan-Giray had said the following about him:Qizbech was part of the team that designed the Shapsug flag.Englishman Favell Lee Mortimer said these: On January 23, 1825, Qizbech gathered a 2,000-strong army and crossed the frozen Kuban River to avenge the Russian attacks on Circassian villages in 1824. Qizbech attacked two Cossack units there and shortly afterwards, General Vlasov and reinforcements from the surrounding positions joined the battle, and intense fighting lasting 6 hours took place. At the beginning of June 1837, he attacked the guards of the Nikolaevsky fortress (now Shapsugskaya village) alone, captured a soldier, and seized 9 rifles. The song written for Qizbech by the Circassian bard Osman the Blind, who was a contemporary of Qizbech, goes like this:
Fame British adventurer
James Bell was impressed by the courage of Qizbech. He witnessed the fear in the hearts of Russian soldiers when hearing Qizbech's name, and how they dispersed before him after they had seen him. Bell said that Qizbech had crossed the Kuban River into Russian territory "annually and almost monthly," consistently bringing back captured Russian horses and spoils.
Death Qizbech Tughuzhuqo died of wounds received in action on February 28, 1840, during the
Siege of Veliaminovsky. He had six different fatal wounds at the time. Some other sources claim he died in battle. According to other sources, he died on December 12, 1839 or March 12, 1840. Oral history recorded his final words: According to oral sources, two more people were buried next to his grave, in accordance with his will. After his death, he appeared in Cossack legends as a figure that haunted the Cossacks. In Circassian legends, he was a figure dressed in white with armor who supported the Circassians in battles. == Private life and hobbies ==