Throughout the 13th and 14th century, the ancestors of the ingushes — Nakh people, the Durdzuks, among different states and factions, waged a brutal and fierce war against the Mongol Empire, who sought to occupy the lands of the Vaynakh. Despite the inferiority in numbers and weapons, the Durdzuks managed to mostly keep their independance, although this also came at a heavy cost, as their resistance resulted in mass amounts of death among the Durdzuks and the destruction of their states, but also greatly shaped the people they would later become. The access to the lowlands was also lost, thus forcing the Durdzuks adapt to their new situation, such as terracing plots of land and covering them in soil. The Sado-Orsoy dynasty, a clan which had been ruling the medieval Nakh state known as "Durdzuketi" in Georgian sources, was also driven to near extinction. Due to their constant resistance, at the end of the third Mongol campaign in 1240, an active result of heirs began, after which the royal house of Orsoy survived through only two royalties. Caucasus raid Background In 1220, Genghis Khan sent his commanders Subutai and Jebe on a campaign to reach "eleven countries and peoples", among whom were "Kibchaut" (Kipchak Turks), "Orosut" (Kievan Rus), "Serkesut" (Circassia), "Asut" (Alania), "Sessut" (Durdzuketi) and others. Prelude In 1221, the Mongol army, counting around 30.000 Mongols, excluding their allies, led by Subutai and Jebe, invaded and defeated some 30,000 Georgians and Armenians in the Battle of Khunan. After their victory, the Mongols advanced north, plundering today's northern Armenia and Azerbaijan, including the city Shemakha. Following their victory in Georgia, the Mongols advanced north, eventually reaching Derbent. However, the nomads did not succeed in taking the city, thus they treacherously killed Lezgin ambassadors, allowing them to capture the city. After passing the Derbent pass, the Mongols entered the Andiy range, ravaging and killing civilians on the way, until they eventually entered the medieval Nakh peoples state Durdzuketi. Following their route, the Mongols passed by modern-day Kharachoy, Vedeno, then the Khulkhulau gorge, Shali, and lastly, modern-day Grozny. Sunzha clash On their way through the Caucasus, the Mongols struck fear into the locals with "massacres, robbery and devastation". These Mongols, according to Ibn al-Asir, "had pity on no one, they beat men, women, babies, ruptured the wombs of pregnant women and killed the fetuses." According to legends, the ancestors of the Ingushes used