Imam Shamil, once recovered, had emerged from…

Imam Shamil, once recovered, had emerged from hiding and rejoined the Murids, led by the second imam of Dagestan, Gamzat-bek.

A son of one of the Avar beks, Gamzat-bek had been educated under the supervision of Muslim preachers and become an avid follower of a sufi order.

In August 1834, Gamzat-bek launches an assault on Avar khans who had been supporting the Russian government and who had been hostile towards the sufism movement.

He succeeds in capturing the Avar capital of Khunzakh and executes its female ruler Pakhubike and her sons.

Gamzat-bek had been actively fighting against the Russians, but supporters of the Avar khans, including Hadji Murad, conspires against Gamzat-bek and kill him (Leo Tolstoy's story Hadji Murat is based on this event).

After his death, Shamil takes his place as the premier leader of the Caucasian resistance and the third Imam of Daghestan.