Early forts: In 1556 Russia occupied Astrakhan at the head of the Caspian Sea and began interacting with Kabardia in the center of the north Caucasus. In 1567 Sunzha Ostrog (1567-1579) was built at the mouth of the Sunzha at the east end of Kabardian territory. It was too far advanced, moved several times, abandoned under Turkish pressure in 1571, rebuilt in 1578 and abandoned the following year. In 1588 Tersky Gorod (1588-1722) Tersky Gorod is Barrett's preferred term and is used here for clarity. Other writers call it Tersky Gorodok, Tersk, Terki and Terka and some confuse it with Tarki in Dagestan. :RU:Терский город says that Tersky Gorod was the original name of Sunzha Ostrog. It was moved several times and its sites have probably been washed away. There was a place called Tyumen nearby which was washed away before Tersky Gorod was built. It is possible that terms like Tersky Gorod and Terki meant something like "our main fort on the Terek" without regard to where it was located in any given year. Walter Richmond, (Northwest Caucasus, 2008) seems to use Tersk in this way. was founded in the Terek delta. In 1623 it had 500 Cosascks on the government payroll. By the late 17th century it is said to have had a population of 20,000,Barrett, page 20, sic mostly non-Russian. In 1708 it was burned by “Kuban Tatars.” It was abandoned in 1722. In 1635 Sunzha Ostrog (1635-1653) was restored. In 1653 Persia forced its abandonment (the so-called Russo-Persian War (1651-1653)).
