In the Ottoman-Russian War of 1828-1829 the Ottoman front in Caucasia could not stand long enough.  Anapa was lost to the Russians. 

            Under the Peace Agreement concluded in Edirne on September 14, 1829 the Ottoman Government ceded Caucasia to Russia.

            Nevertheless the Ottoman statesmen maintained relations with Caucacia by unofficial means. 

            There existed various factors which warranted maintenance of such relations.  The Caucasians had renounced the terms of the Edirne Agreement.  They had taken up arms to fight for their independence.  They had successfully prevented the Russians to advance to the hinterland.  Meanwhile they had been making representations at the Sublime Port,  the Ottoman Central Government in Istanbul,  for support. 

            According to the terms of the Treaty of Treaty of Bucharest the Black Sea was open to international commercial navigation.  Notwithstanding constant interference by Russian fleet, commercial link between Caucasia and Ottoman Empire was sustained by the Caucasian and Ottoman merchants at any cost, while some of the Ottoman statesmen had favorably received Caucasian request for help.  In the process a certain amount of military hardware found their way into Caucacia under cover of merchandise. 

            As a result of  decades of close relations between the peoples of the two countries, they had mixed up together through intermarriage and otherwise.  There were numerous Turks, who had settled down in the coastal areas of Caucasia Similarly there lived  many families of Caucasian extraction, particularly Circassians, in Istanbul and in the Anatolian towns.  Many of the Caucasians were in  government service at various levels. 

            Thus a strong bondage had developed between the two countries.  The Muslim population of Caucasia held allegiance to the Caliph of the Muslims, who was concurrently the Ottoman Sultan. 

                                                              O0O

            Zanıko Karabatır had reported the situation developed in the aftermath of the last Adegum Meeting to his father.  He had also written  to him in some details on the activities of Muhammed Emin. 

            Zanıko Sefer Bey being under a close surveillance, his mail were obviously censored. Zanıko’s letter confirmed the intelligence reports sent by the Ottoman agents in Caucasia.  The Ottoman statesmen were therefore alarmed by the developments.

            The Ottoman Government had never discarded Crimea and Caucasia.  They had always been concerned with those territories. 

            Hence they took notice of what Muhammed Emin had been doing. 

            The Naib had ensured the unity of western Caucasia.  The measures taken by him, in effect, were reformation, involving serious progress towards declaration of a State.  More importantly; He had taken a major stride in spreading Islam all over the land through organizing its functional institutions. 

            Every thing done thus far were positively received.  They inspired confidence.  Nonetheless the Naib had said nothing about the Caliph of Islam seated in Istanbul.  There was not a single reference as to the Naib’s  allegiance to him either as the Caliph or the Ottoman Sultan.  He did not insinuate anything in favor or against him. 

            That caused a vexation in Istanbul. 

            The subject was discussed at length at the  Royal Court, in the presence of the Sultan.  It was decided in principle that measures curbing the Naib’s influence should be taken, subject to the findings of the Government following a through investigation. 

            Certain Cabinet members, however, doubted the wisdom of the decision on two accounts: Firstly; Muhammed Emin was the only bona-fide representative of Imam Şamil in western Caucasia.  Any action against the Naib could be construed as an act against the Imam. 

            Secondly; Imam Şamil’s fame had spread all over the Ottoman Empire.  Muhammed Emin too had attained  eminence in a short time. The two mujahids ¹, intended to be renouned, had been enshrined in the heart of the faithful in three continents.  Any action against either could provoke the entire conservative circles in the empire. 

            Due investigations having been carried out, the subject was discussed at the Royal Court once again.

            The Prime Minister presented an action plan, which stipulated designation of Zanıko Sefer Bey as the Governor General of Caucasia.  He was to be provided with deputies. 

            The Prime Minister added that Sefer Bey had been in exile for twenty years now; that he was conversant in Turkish and Russian, in addition to his own mother tongue, Adiğe language; and that he had been a popular leader in western Caucasia, and was experienced in dealing with the Adiğes as well as the Russians. 

            The plan was supported by the Minister of War, Mehmet Ali Paşa. 

            Fethi Ahmet Paşa, however, opposed the project.  He warned that it would be wrong to assign someone else to replace Muhammed Emin, who happens to have established a stable law and order in the area.  It would be wiser to support him, he recommended. 

            Most of the Cabinet members had been biased against Muhammed Emin.  They were determined to cut him short.  Fethi Ahmet Paşa’s positive approach was not considered.  Reşit Paşa’s proposal was endorsed. 

            It was decreed to designate Zanıko Sefer Bey as the Governor General of Caucasia, with four deputies to assist him. 

            Hacı Ismail, a merchant by profession, was designated as Governor of the Şapsığ Region; Behzat Efendi, an  ex-secretary of Reşit Paşa, as Governor of the Ubih Region; and Prince Aleksnadir as the Governor of Abhazya. 

            Considering the possible repercussions if he were done away with completely, Muhammed Emin was designated as the Governor of the Abzeh Region. 

            Each of the Governors was awarded the title of   “Paşa” by a Royal Edict. 

            The Governor General designate and three of his deputies, the Regional Governors, set out for Caucasia on board of a sail.  Prince Aleksandir was already in Caucasia.  The group stopped in Sokhom, where they delivered the Decree of the Istanbul Government to Prince Aleksandir of  Abhazya.

            Aleksandir’s principality had been confirmed by the Russians too, subject to his loyalty to the Czar of Russia.  His designation came as a surprise; for he was not consulted.  The Abhaz people were also confused over the appointment.

            Behzat Paşa was only twenty five years old, was of Caucasian origin, and had been a private secretary to Prime Minister Reşit Paşa.  He had no other qualification to deserve his new post. In his childhood he had been kidnapped and sold   by slavers to Reşit Paşa’s residence.  The Ubihs detested his return home, bearing the titles of a governor and a Paşa.  They were bemused for he did not remember his own family. There was no appreciable reaction to Hacı Ismail’s position. He had been amongst the Şapsığs for a long time.  His wife was a Şapsığ.  She had her relatives there.  Since long he had been contributing  to the struggle for liberation, both physically and financially.  Significantly, he had not changed his orientation even after his designations as Paşa and governor.

            Of the governors designates, Muhammed Emin had a special position.  He fully controlled the whole of north-western Caucasia, excluding Sokhom and its neighborhood..  The decree of the Ottoman Government was intended to narrowed the scope of his jurisdiction.   He was incensed by the undesirable external interference.  He was sorry for his people. 

            Zanıko Sefer Bey settled down in his own farm, which  he chose as the seat of his government.  His staff comprised of his son Karabatır, his son-in-law Basti Ahmet, and a few of the local leaders. 

            When he departed from Istanbul, he was accompanied by a handful of domestic servants.  There was no military escort with him.  According to the plan he was supposed to avail the services of the local forces. 

            As a first step, Zanıko Sefer Paşa issued a directive, notifying that by virtue of the Edict of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire he was the Governor General and the Military Commander of the region; and that everybody concerned was expected to obey him. 

            The decentralized system so introduced through the Sultan’s edict, soon destroyed the unity built by Muhammed Emin. A chaotic condition emerged.  The authorities in each region began acting independently. 

            To test the effect of his Directives, Zanıko Sefer Paşa convened a Congress.  Very few of the invitees, mostly the antagonists of Muhammed Emin, attended the Congress.

            The Paşa didn’t expect such a poor turn out.  He was highly incensed by the apathy towards him so manifested.  He held Muhammed Emin responsible for the situation. 

            Muhammed Emin was absent at the Congers.  The Paşa was outrageous.  To him it was a defiance, a rebellion.  He decided to punish the Naib. 

            Accompanied by Behçet Paşa, he marched on to the Abzeh Region with a two thousand strong force. 

            The Paşa had seized the abandoned guns, which the Naib had rendered operational.  A few of the guns were also dragged along with the punitive force..  It was too difficult a job to pass the heavy guns through the dense forests and mountainous terrain on his path, which was no more than a narrow trail.  As a result, the cavalry force was totally exhausted before it entered the Abzeh Region. 

            The two Paşas had to call off the operation in dismay. 

            Sefer Paşa finally understood that he could not succeed in his mission so long as Muhammed Emin existed.  He intimated Istanbul accordingly.  He reported that whatever he had tried to do had been aborted by the Naib. 

            Nearly two years passed in such an absurd tug-of-war between Zanıko Sefer and Muhammed Emin.  The people were generally divided;  some of them sided with the representative of the Sultan, and some favored the Naib. 

            There were people who did not take side with either of the contenders.  The Şapsığ highlanders, who had rebelled against Muhammed Emin, stayed independent of both the rivals. 

                                                                O0O

            Basti Osman had been satisfied upon the confirmation of Muhammed Emin as the Naib  and Commander by the Congress held at Adegum in the autumn of 1848.  What had delighted Osman was not relative to the person of the youthful Abzeh. For   he had neither met him nor had any idea about him before.

            What interested the young Basti had been the communal unity achieved under Muhammed Emin’s leadership.  For the Congress had almost unanimously declared allegiance to him.  To Osman it was the beginning of the path that would lead the Adiğes to liberation.

            Osman’s confidence in Muhammed Emin was reinforced by  the Naib’s achievements in the aftermath of the Congress.  He had continually supported him, and had lobbied for him. 

            Basti Osman received  the return of Zanıko Sefer in the capacity of the Governor General and the Commander-in-Chief with mixed feelings.  He was not sure whether he should be pleased or be sorry over it.

            Basti Osman was a child when the Adiğe Embassy Mission to the Ottoman Court, headed by Zanıko Sefer Bey, had departed to Istanbul.  He had never seen Zanıko Sefer before, but had heard much about him from  the elders.  He had listened to detailed narration of his arrest in the Ottoman Capital and his life in exile. 

            Sefer Bey, once a legendary personality widely talked about, was almost to be forgotten after his long years of absence from the scene, when he suddenly reappeared on the stage.  Osman was surprised, perhaps more than any one else, over the incident. 

            When the Şeretluk came in with the news of Sefer Bey’s arrival, he could not believe his ears.  He turned his eyes to his cousin Shanaş and had asked, “Is he saying the truth?”

            Şeretluk was a voletile person like his late father Şemız.  It was difficult to make out whether he was serious or kidding. Sahnaş was not much different then him. Both were unrestrained in behavior.  Though elder to Osman by age, both of them exhibited a childish temperament. 

            Şeretluk smiled and responded, “It is nonsense of you to ask such a question?”

            Osman protested, “Well, what would Muhammed Emin be doing then?”

            Şeretluk suddenly turned gloomy.  He commented, 

            -  The Naib is finished.  He is doomed to stay in Abzeh Mountains; for the Caliph has ordained so!

            The young Basti was depressed.  He guessed there would be a commotion. 

            Sefer Bey was the father-in-law of Osman’s brother.  He was obliged by traditions and by moral standards to visit him and to offer him his greetings. 

            His brother Ahmet lost no time to enter the service of his father-in-law; because her was staying with Zanıko Karabatır  at that time. 

            Osman, accompanied by Şeretluk and Geriyiko Shanaş, set out for Adegum, went up to Sefer Bey’s farm, and paid him a courtesy visit, and congratulated him. He stayed at the residence of the Paşa and the Governor General for three days. 

            The Zanıko Farm was full of visitors from far and wide.

            Basti Osman listened in disdain to what were being talked about at the farm-house.  He was troubled by the gloomy prospect. 

            Sefer Bey continually talked ill about Muhammed Emin.  He talked about a large Ottoman army which he hoped  would come to Caucasia soon.  He prophesied that very soon the Russians would be thrown out of Caucasia. 

            Meanwhile he repeatedly emphasized that any success would depend on the allegiance to be manifested in his favor. He also underlined that all authority in Caucasia had been legitimately vested in himself, and concluded that everybody ought to rally under his command. 

            The old man seemed to have been up to exact satisfaction from his people to redeem his sufferings in exile.  Some times he harshly raised his voice, and some times he compassionately gazed at the people around himself. 

            When he smiled, he invariably seemed to be ascending up into the sky in a happy dream.  When faced with the biter reality of life upon receipt of disappointing new, the wrinkles over his face would deepen. 

            Osman returned to Tsemez with a shattered morale.  On the very first evening of his return home he narrated to his mother in details every thing that he had seen or heard at Zanıkos place.  He concluded his narration by saying, “Perhaps yet another catastrophe is about to hit the Adiğes.” 

            Şayze cast a sorrowful look at his son.  “God forbid!”, she said.  She tried to console him. 

            -  May be things would not turn to the worse as you think.  May be the situation improves.  May be there would be peace, and the distress of our people would end.  Any way the war wouldn’t last for ever; would it!

            Şayze had grown very old.  Her movements had slowed down.  Her breathe was weak.  She spoke with difficulty.  Most of the time she was quiet and melancholic.  Occasionally she would raise her head, and try to smile at those around her. 

            Soon afterwards Sefer Bey and Muhammed Emin confronted.  Instead of uniting against the common enemy, they began fighting with each other. 

            As Osman was in turmoil over the regrettable developments, Şayze quietly passed away.