Editing Chechnya (section)

===Pre-imperial era===
In the 14th and 15th centuries, there was frequent warfare between the Chechens, [[Tamerlane]] and [[Tokhtamysh]], culminating in the [[Battle of the Terek River]] (see [[Tokhtamysh–Timur war]]). The Chechen tribes built fortresses, castles, and defensive walls, protecting the mountains from the invaders (see [[Vainakh tower architecture]]). Part of the lowland tribes were occupied by Mongols. However, during the mid-14th century a strong Chechen Princedom called [[Princedom of Simsim|Simsim]] emerged under [[Khour II]], a Chechen king that led the Chechen politics and wars. He was in charge of an army of Chechens against the rogue warlord [[Mamai]] and defeated him in the Battle of Tatar-tup in 1362. The kingdom of Simsim was almost destroyed during the Timurid invasion of the Caucasus, when Khour II allied himself with the [[Golden Horde]] Khan Tokhtamysh in the Battle of the Terek River. Timur sought to punish the highlanders for their allegiance to Tokhtamysh and as a consequence invaded Simsim in 1395.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tesaev|first=Amin|date=2018|title=Симсим|journal=Рефлексия|volume=2|pages=61–67}}</ref>

The 16th century saw the first Russian involvement in the Caucasus. In 1558, Temryuk of Kabarda sent his emissaries to Moscow requesting help from [[Ivan the Terrible]] against the Vainakh tribes. Ivan the Terrible married Temryuk's daughter [[Maria Temryukovna]]. An alliance was formed to gain the ground in the central Caucasus for the expanding [[Tsardom of Russia]] against Vainakh defenders.

In 1667 Mehk-Da [[Aldaman Gheza]] defended the borders of Chechnya from invasions of [[Kabardinians]] and [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]] during the [[Battle of Khachara]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://proza.ru/2019/12/30/99|title=Предводитель Гази Алдамов, или Алдаман ГIеза (Амин Тесаев) / Проза.ру|website=proza.ru}}</ref> The Chechens converted over the next few centuries to [[Sunni Islam]], as Islam was associated with resistance to Russian encroachment.<ref name="tsaroieva">{{cite book |last=Tsaroïeva |first=Mariel |title=Anciennes croyances des Ingouches et des Tchétchènes: peuples du Caucase du Nord |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1qtAWyeYOEC |year=2005 |publisher=Maisonneuve et Larose |location=Paris |language=fr |isbn=978-2-7068-1792-2}}</ref><ref name="ilyasov">{{cite book |last=Ilyasov |first=Lecha |title=The Diversity of the Chechen Culture: From Historical Roots to the Present |year=2009 |publisher=UNESCO Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization |author2=Ziya Bazhayev Charity Foundation |isbn=978-5-904549-02-2 |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001860/186004E.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705125530/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001860/186004e.pdf |archive-date=2010-07-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>