The Caucasian Imamate also known as the Caucasus Imamate was the state established by the imams in Dagestan and Chechnya during the early and middle of the 19th century in the Northern Caucasus, to fight against the Russian Empire during the Caucasian War, where Russia sought to conquer the Caucasus in order to secure communications with its Southern territories, with the long term goal of the conquest of the "riches of Persia and the Middle East".