Imam Muhammad Shamil bin Dengau of Dagestan (b.26 June 1797 to d.4 Feb 1871)
The information below is from Ad-Dorar Website. Section: Al-Mausuah At-Tareekhiyyah.
(Death – Hijri Year: 1279 Gregorian Year: 1862 (as mentioned in the Dorar website). However most sources mention his year of death as 1871, and Allah knows best, this seems to be more correct.)
Imam Muhammad Shamil of Dagestan was a political leader in the North Caucasus and one of the most famous resisters to the Russian presence in the Caucasus region.
He was born in 1797 CE in the Dagestani village of Gimry. He was the third Imam of Chechnya and Dagestan from 1834-1859 CE and was titled “Lion of the Caucasus” and “Falcon of the Mountains.” He led the resistance against the Russians during the Caucasian Wars when the Mureeds (disciples) chose him after the death of Hamza Bey in 1834 CE.
Shamil reorganized the Mureed army following the pattern of his Cossack enemies in a manner similar to modern federal coordination. The resistance continued under Shamil’s leadership in a continuous series using guerrilla warfare and hit-and-run tactics, until the Russians captured him when he was over sixty years old.
He was captured in a swift war planned by the Russian commander Baryatinsky. Imam Shamil was then transported on a long journey to Moscow in a procession that appeared like a military parade featuring the hero who had finally fallen.
Shamil remained in Moscow until 1869 when he was released on conditions, the most important of which was exile from the country (his Caucasian homeland).
He went to Makkah to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, where he died in Madinah and was buried in Al-Baqi cemetery.
(May Allah have mercy upon him and forgive his shortcomings.)
[Translated by Mohammed Manna.]
Saheehus-Seerah 