Four years after the Decembrist revolt, Russia signed the Treaty of Adrianople with the Ottoman Empire, acquiring the northern Black Sea coast and including Sochi, which was then the capital of the autonomous region of Circassia. The Circassians, who had converted to Islam as Ottoman subjects refused to accept the absolute authority of Nicholas I or convert to Russian Orthodox Christianity. The Muslim tribes of the Northern Caucasus united under the leadership of Shamil, the Imam of Chechnya and Dagestan.
