Ossetians - Muslims or Christians? Religious worldview of Ossetians. About the origin of the Ossetians

Ossetians photo, Ossetians
Khetagurov Gazdanov Kotsoev Abaev Tokati Gergiev Dudarova Taymazov

self-name

Iron, Digoron

Number and range

Total: 670-700 thousand people.
Russia Russia: 528 515 (2010), 514 875 (2002)

• • North Ossetia North Ossetia: 459 688 (2010)
  • Moscow Moscow: 11 311 (2010)
  • Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria: 9 129 (2010)
  • Stavropol Territory Stavropol Territory: 7,988 (2010)
  • Krasnodar Territory Krasnodar Territory: 4,537 (2010)
  • Moscow region Moscow region: 3 427 (2010)
  • St. Petersburg St. Petersburg: 3 233 (2010)
  • Karachay-Cherkessia Karachay-Cherkessia: 3 142 (2010)
  • Rostov region Rostov region: 2 801 (2010)
  • Tyumen region Tyumen region: 1,713 (2010)
  • Krasnoyarsk Territory Krasnoyarsk Territory: 1,493 (2010)
  • Volgograd region Volgograd region: 1,034 (2010)

Syria Syria: 68,600
South Ossetia South Ossetia (partially recognized state): 45,950 (2012 est.)/65,223 (1989 census)
Turkey Turkey: 37,000
Georgia Georgia: 36,916 (2002 census)

• • Shida Kartli: 13,383 (2002)
  • Tbilisi: 10,268 (2002)
  • Kakheti: 6,109 (2002)

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan: 8,740
Ukraine Ukraine: 4,834 (2001)
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan: 2,620
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan: 2,310
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan: 1,326 (2009)
Abkhazia Abkhazia (partially recognized state): 605 (2011)
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan: 570
Belarus Belarus: 554 (2009)
Tajikistan Tajikistan: 396 (2010)

Language

Ossetian, Russian, Turkish

Religion

Christianity, Islam (according to some sources, at the beginning of the 2000s, the share of Muslims among Ossetians is 30-40%, according to others, Muslims have never been more than 12-15%), traditional Ossetian beliefs

Racial type

Caucasoids

Related peoples ethnic groups

Irons, Digors

Ossetians(Ironian ir, irӕttӕ; digor. digorӕ, digorænttæ) - people living in the Caucasus, descendants of the Alans, the main population of the republics of North Ossetia - Alania (RF) and South Ossetia. They also live in other regions of the Russian Federation, in Georgia, Turkey and other countries. The Ossetian language belongs to the Iranian group (northeastern subgroup) of the Indo-European family of languages. Ossetians are mostly bilingual (bilingual Ossetian-Russian, less often Ossetian-Georgian or Ossetian-Turkish).

The total number in the world is up to 700 thousand people, of which 528.5 thousand are in Russia (according to the 2010 census).)

• 1 Ethnonym
  • 1.1 Renaming Ossetians into Alans
• 2 Self-name
  • 2.1 Self-name of the Digors
  • 2.2 Self-designation of the Irons
    • 2.2.1 Self-name of the ethnographic groups of the Irons
      • 2.2.1.1 Tuals
      • 2.2.1.2 Kudars
  • 2.3 The issue of common self-naming
    • 2.3.1 Translation of "Ossetians, Ossetia" into dialects of the Ossetian language
    • 2.3.2 Self-name in folklore
• 3 Language
  • 3.1 Dialects and sub-ethnic groups
• 4 Origin
  • 4.1 Research history
• 5 History
  • 5.1 Ancient history and the Middle Ages
  • 5.2 Accession of Ossetia to Russia
  • 5.3 Societies of Ossetia
• 6 Religion
  • 6.1 The history of the formation of traditional beliefs
  • 6.2 Modern form
  • 6.3 Share of population
• 7 Genetics and phenotype of Ossetians
• 8 Settlement
• 9 Research
• 10 Ossetian cuisine
• 11 Ossetian architecture
• 12 Ossetian traditional costume
• 13 Photo gallery
• 14 Notes
• 15 See also
• 16 Links
• 17 Literature

Ethnonym

The ethnonym "Ossetians" is derived from the name "Ossetia", which in Russian appeared from the Georgian name of Alania and Ossetia - "Osseti". in turn, "Osseti" is formed from the Georgian names of the Alans and Ossetians - "axis", "ovsi" (Georgian ოსები) and the Georgian topoformant "-eti".

The Georgian name "axis" or "ovsi" comes from the self-name of a part of the Alans - "ases". Also, the Armenian name of the Alans is "osy", the Russian name of the Alans is "yasy" and the name of the people related to the Ossetians yasov comes directly from "asy".

From Russian, the ethnonym "Ossetians" got into other languages ​​of the world.

Renaming Ossetians to Alans

Among some Ossetians there is an idea of ​​renaming into Alans. The renaming was repeatedly discussed, and decisions were made in favor of the renaming.

• In 1992, at a meeting of the Khistærty Nykhas society (Ossetian Khistærty nykhas - the council of elders of North Ossetia), it was decided to rename Ossetians into Alans and North Ossetia into Alania.
• In 2003, the clergy of the Alan diocese of the Greek Old Calendar Church called for the restoration of the original name of the state and the renaming of the Republic of South Ossetia into the Republic of Alania.
• In 2007, at the VI Congress of the Ossetian people, the President of South Ossetia, Eduard Kokoity, called for the adoption of a single anthem of South Ossetia, the return of the historical name of the people and rename South Ossetia into Alania.

self-name

Self-name of the Digors

The self-name of the Digorians is digoron in the plural digorænttæ or digoræ. The ethnonym "digoron" is mentioned in the Armenian geography of the 7th century in the form "tikor" and "astikor".

According to Vaso Abaev, the ethnonym Digoron comes from an old Caucasian tribal name. He identified the root "dig-" ethnonym "digoron" with "-dyg-" from the self-name of the Circassians, "Adyghe". This point of view was criticized by R. Bielmeier and D. Bekoev, who raised the ethnonym to "tygwyr" in the Iron dialect, meaning "assembly, accumulation, group". O. Menchen-Helfen connected "Digoron" with the name of the Tokhars - "Togar". in turn, Aleman, agreeing with V. Abaev, considers the hypotheses of his critics unlikely.

Self-designation of the Irons

The self-name of the Irons is "iron", in the plural "irӕttӕ" or "iron adĕm".

From the point of view of Vsevolod Miller, whose etymology was supported by J. Harmatta (English) Russian, G. Bailey (English) Russian, R. Schmitt (German) Russian. and A. Kristol, the ethnonym "Iron" goes back to other Iran. "arya" (*aryāna- - "arya", "noble"). However, V. Abaev spoke critically about this, pointing out that the natural reflection *aryāna- in the Ossetian language looks like Allon and assumed a Caucasian source for the ethnonym "ir". A detailed counter-argument against Abaev's conclusions was given by T. Kambolov.

In turn, J. Cheng, agreeing with Abaev regarding criticism of Miller's etymology and developing the position of R. Bielmeier, compares "ir" with the ancient Iranian "uira" (man, man), Avestan "vira" (man, warrior), Sogdian "wyr " (man, husband), Yaghnobi "vir" and Sanskrit "vira" (man, hero).

Self-name of the ethnographic groups of the Irons

Tuals

The ethnonym “tual”, “tualtӕ” or “tval”, common among the Ironians of the Naro-Mamison basin, is found in Pliny in the form of “Valli”, Armenian geography (“Ashkharatsuyts”) in the form of “dualk”, in Ibn Rusta as “Tulas” and, in addition, in many Georgian sources identifying the people of the "Dvals" in the region of "Dvaletia" located on both sides of the Caucasus Range (its part of "Urs-Tualta" located in South Ossetia is known in Georgia as "Magran-Dvaleti") . From the point of view of a number of scientists, the ethnicity of this people has changed over time. Originally an autochthonous Caucasian people (assumed to belong to the Nakh or Nakh-Dagestan language group), they were gradually assimilated by the Alans and later by the Ossetians.

Concerning the etymology of "tual", various assumptions are given. Vaso Abaev considered him connected with the local Caucasian ethno-cultural world. Agusti Aleman, recognizing the unknown etymology, erected the ethnonym itself to the Georgian form and the name of a similar people in Ptolemy, and T. Pakhalin connected it with ancient Iran. "t/dwar/la" from an Indo-European root meaning "gain strength, have strength." in turn, the Swedish linguist G. Schöld correlated "tual" with the anthroponym - "Dula", the name of the Alanian prince.

Kudartsy

The ethnographic group of Irons - Kudars, originating from the Kudar Gorge in South Ossetia, retaining a common self-name - Iron, also have their own - kuydayrag (plural kuydayrægtæ or kuydar). The ethnonym "kuydar" is presumably mentioned in the Armenian geography of the 7th century in the form Kowdētk (Kudets). Suren Yeremyan identified it with the toponym of the Kudaro gorge in South Ossetia. Robert Husen defined as an Alano-Ossetian tribe that lived at the source of the Rioni and was known in Georgia as Kudaro. A different understanding was presented by Konstantin Tsukerman, raising the ethnonym to the Georgian name of the ready, translated into Armenian - k "ut" k".

Various assumptions were made to explain the etymology of the topo- and ethnonym Kuydar. V. Khugaev, similarly to the point of view put forward earlier by A. T. Agnaev, compares the ethnonym "kuydar" with the Pamir toponym "Kudar" - the name of the river and gorge, which, when divided into "K'wy + dar", is connected, from his point of view, in the first part with the Persian "kuh 'mountain'", and in the second with the Persian "dar 'door'". Yuri Dzitsoyty, criticizing other versions, offered his own understanding of the origin of the ethnonym from the self-name of the ancient Scythians (from Scyth. *skuda/*skuta/*skuδa).

The problem of common self-naming

N. G. Volkova in her work “Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus” states that there is no common self-name among the Ossetians, despite the presence of a common self-consciousness and a single representation of their ethnic group in contact with other peoples of the Caucasus. She argues that in their own environment, Ossetians clearly distinguish between two groups: Irons and Digors, and also believes that there is no common name for the entire territory of Ossetia in the Ossetian language. As N. G. Volkova notes, although all South Ossetians are Irons, nevertheless the Ossetians of North Ossetia call them “Kudars” - a name that the Ossetians of South Ossetia themselves associate exclusively with those Irons who come from the Kudar Gorge. V. Abaev, in turn, wrote that the ethnonym iron, which researchers consider one of the most important evidence of the Iranian origin of the Ossetian people, is a tribal self-name of the Eastern and Southern Ossetians.

Translation of "Ossetians, Ossetia" into dialects of the Ossetian language

As T. Kambolov notes in his work on the language situation in North Ossetia, a number of Ossetians recognize a certain problem with the translation of “Ossetians, Ossetia” into dialects of the Ossetian language. In particular, he cites the statement of a number of representatives of the Ossetian scientific and creative intelligentsia, who argued that as a result of the discriminatory policy carried out in Soviet times, the words “Ossetian” and “Ironian” became synonymous and the Digor component was excluded from the concept of “Ossetian language”, although the literary language , as they claim, was formed and developed both in the Iron and Digor dialects.

Self-name in folklore

The general self-name "Allon" was preserved among the Ossetians only in the Nart epic and other genres of national folklore. The older form is "allan", which, as a result of a natural transition a in about, switched to Allon. Goes back to other Iran. *aryāna- "Aryan". As Vaso Abaev noted in his works “Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the Ossetian Language” and “Ossetian Language and Folklore”:

“It is not true that the term Alans disappeared from Ossetian. He survived. Preserved in folklore, in fairy tales. Where the ogre speaks of the “Russian spirit” in Russian fairy tales, the “Allonian (=Alanian) spirit” or “the spirit of Allon-Billon” (Allon-Billony Smag) invariably appears in Ossetian ones. Here “Allon” can only mean “Ossetians”, because the people, of course, think of their heroes, Ossetian fairy tales, as Ossetians. If these heroes in fairy tales are called allon, then it is obvious that allon was the self-name of the Ossetians in the past.

As for billon, it represents, rather, an artificial assonant variant to allon (Reimwort), cf. megr. alani-malani (Kapshidze 193). - sӕ iw u allon, se "nnӕ u billon "one of them is allon, the other is billon" (Brit. 86); sometimes allon occurs on its own, without billon: ... fӕlӕ wӕm allony smag cӕwy (Yuop. III 82).

Language

Main article: Ossetian language

The Ossetian language belongs to the northeastern subgroup of the Iranian group of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages ​​and is the only surviving relic of the Scythian-Sarmatian language world. There are two dialects: Digor and Iron.

Dialects and sub-ethnic groups

Currently, Ossetians living in North Ossetia are divided into two sub-ethnic groups: Irons (self-name - Iron) and Digors (self-name - Digoron). The Irons predominate numerically, the Iron dialect is the basis of the Ossetian literary language. The Digor dialect also has a literary form: books and periodicals are published in it, as well as in Iron, and a drama theater functions. The Digor and Iron dialects of the Ossetian language are quite different, mainly in phonetics and vocabulary.

For Ossetians living in South Ossetia (South Ossetia) and people from South Ossetia, the term “Kudars” (kuydayrag) is mistakenly assigned, after the name of the Kudar Gorge in South Ossetia. Only a few Ossetian families come from this gorge. In fact, the population of South Ossetia speaks two dialects of the Iron dialect of the Ossetian language - Kudaro-Jav (distributed in most of the territory of the Republic of South Ossetia) and Chsani (distributed in the east of the Republic of South Ossetia). in the southern dialects there are more Georgian borrowings, in the northern dialects there are Russian roots in place of the same borrowings (for example, “rose” in the north is called rozæ, and in the south it is Wardi). As for the dialects in North Ossetia, it should be noted that as a result of the migration from the mountains to the foothill plains, the spoken differences in the Iron dialect were leveled out with the displacement of other dialects by the “juicing” (according to the pronunciation of the phoneme /c/) Kurtatin.

There is also a long-standing scientific discussion regarding the Kudar-Dzhav dialect in South Ossetia. Although, according to all the main phonetic, morphological and lexical features, it merges with the Iron dialect and opposes the Digor dialect, some authors, such as G. S. Akhvlediani, Yu. (in particular, on the basis of a special paradigm of the future tense of the verb). I. Gershevich (English) Russian, in addition, pointed to the proximity of Kudaro-Javian with a number of Scythian reflexes, considering this dialect a descendant of the Scythian, in contrast to the Iron dialect, which, in his opinion, is a descendant of the Sarmatian. in turn F. Thordarson (Norwegian) Russian. believed that the Kudaro-Dzhavian dialect is in some respects a more archaic dialect, in contrast to the North Iron dialects related to it. A J. Harmatta (English) Russian. expressed an opinion about the possible connection of some reflexes in the Old Kudarojavian directly with the ancient Iranian ones.

Origin

The basis of the ethnogenesis of the Ossetian people was the association of Alanian tribes with the participation of the local Caucasian Koban population, hence the name of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. This is confirmed both by the language and mythology, and by the archaeological and anthropological data of Ossetian burials.

Research history

For the first time, the hypothesis of the Iranian origin of the Ossetians was put forward by Jan Potocki in the 18th century. and developed in the first half of the 19th century by Julius Klaproth and soon confirmed by the language studies of the Russian academician Andreas Sjogren.

Already in the middle of the 19th century, the Russian scientist V.F. Miller wrote:

Story

Main article: History of Ossetia

Ancient history and the Middle Ages

Main article: Alanya Approximate map of Scythia in the 1st millennium AD. e. Caucasus after 1065

According to archeology and ancient authors, in the past, Iranian-speaking nomads occupied large territories from the Danube and the Eastern Baltic to about the Urals, their country was called Scythia after the name of the ruling people - the Scythians. Later, the Sarmatians or Sauromatians took the leading role in Scythia. In the II century BC, in his writings on geography, Ptolemy calls this territory Sarmatia. The Sarmatians, like the Scythians, were not a single people, but a group of related tribes.

Bordering on the Khazars, the Alans were a serious military and political threat to the kaganate. Byzantium repeatedly played the "Alanian card" in its constant imperial ambitions towards Khazaria. Using the geographical location of fellow believers-Alans, she imposed her political plans on the Khazars.

Later, the Khazars were defeated by the Old Russian state and finally finished off by the Polovtsians. By the beginning of the XIII century. Alans were in alliance with the Polovtsians. In 1222 the Mongols invaded the North Caucasus. The Alans, in alliance with the Polovtsy, fought the Mongols, but neither side prevailed over the other.

At the kurultai of 1235 in the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum, a decision was made on a new, grandiose campaign against Rus' and the Caucasus. Batu (Batu, in some sources, Sain Khan) was put at the head of this invasion to the west - the son of Jochi and the grandson of the deceased Genghis Khan.

In 1237, simultaneously with Russia, the Tatar-Mongols attacked the North-Western Caucasus. In the autumn of 1238, the conquest of Alania began. Alania, which was going through a period of political decentralization and fragmentation, could not unite all its forces in the face of the impending danger and offer organized resistance.

The surviving Alanian church in the village of Arkhyz on the territory of modern Karachay-Cherkessia

The fall of Magas in January 1239, the most significant and fortified city of Alania for the Alans, was a heavy blow that finally decided the outcome of the struggle in favor of the conquerors.

As a result of the campaign of 1238-1239. a significant part of the flat Alania was captured by the Tatar-Mongols, Alania itself as a political entity ceased to exist. It was the largest catastrophe for the medieval North Caucasus, which dramatically changed the balance of political forces in the region, reshaped its entire life and marked the beginning of a new historical era of the late Middle Ages.

In 1346-1350. on the territory of the Golden Horde (and in the North Caucasus), a plague epidemic broke out, which claimed thousands of human lives, and from 1356 onwards. The Horde began feudal unrest and civil strife, which marked the beginning of its decline. This predetermined the fate of the Golden Horde state in the face of a new formidable danger that arose in the east in the person of the Central Asian emir Tamerlane (Timur).

Then Timur invaded the territory of modern North Ossetia. This invasion is recorded in Ossetian folklore, in the Digor historical song “Zadaleskaya Nana” (Osset. Zadaleskaya mother): “Bloody rain, bloody rain over Tapan-Digoria, over Tapan-Digoria. From the wolves of Akhsak-Timur with iron mouths their green fields blackened, ”the song says. According to the Digorians, Tamerlane was transformed into a creature with supernatural features, who ascended into the sky and became the North Star. According to other legends, Timur is associated with the end of the world.

Necropolis near the village of Dargavs, North Ossetia. The largest in the North Caucasus.

The Alanian population survived in the mountains, where it mingled with the local autochthonous tribes and passed on their language to them. At the same time, the division of the Ossetian people into gorge societies probably took shape: Tagauri, Kurtatinsky, Alagirsky, Tualgom, Digorsky.

Accession of Ossetia to Russia

In the spring of 1750, the Russian government and the Ossetian embassy began official negotiations. They began at a meeting of the Senate, which was devoted to a special discussion of the development of Russian-Ossetian relations. At this meeting, Zurab Magkaev set the main tasks, which he considered as the most important in the negotiations. among them were: the accession of Ossetia to Russia, ensuring its external security, the resettlement of part of the Ossetian population to the foothill plains of the Central Caucasus and the establishment of mutually beneficial trade relations. established by the middle of the 18th century. In the international situation, the Russian government could not yet take such steps for the sake of Ossetia that would entail diplomatic complications for Russia. Hoping to push the Russian side to more decisive action, Zurab Magkaev announced that Ossetia was ready to send an army of 30,000 soldiers to take part in military operations against Turkey and Iran, Russia's main rivals in the Caucasus. In addition to geopolitical, Russia also had economic interests in Ossetia: due to the frequent wars waged by Russia in the first half of the 18th century and the large shortage of such strategic raw materials as lead, the government was especially interested in the prospect of industrial production of lead ore in Ossetia. .

Tower of the Tsagaraevs (Khallodzhy masyg) and the tower of the Gabisovs (Gabysaty masyg). Tsymyti village, Khalgon township, Kurtatinsky gorge, North Ossetia.

At the end of December 1751, Elizaveta Petrovna officially received the Ossetian embassy. At it, according to a predetermined protocol, specific issues relating to Russian-Ossetian relations were not discussed. The reception was more like a solemn ceremony dedicated to the establishment of Russian-Ossetian diplomatic contacts. Solemn speeches were made on it. Zurab Magkaev thanked the empress for the warm welcome given to the embassy and expressed his hope for the establishment of close relations between Ossetia and Russia.

In accordance with the new agreements reached after the meeting with Elizaveta Petrovna, the Russian government declared the foothill plain of the Central Caucasus, the basins of the Ardon, Fiagdon and Terek rivers "free and free". The resettlement of Ossetians to these lands, who considered them as their historical territory, was supported by official St. Petersburg.

After Russia's victory in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, Russia could openly declare its interests in the Caucasus.

As an urgent measure, Astrakhan Governor P.N. Krechetnikov was asked to negotiate with Ossetia regarding its accession to Russia. in turn, the governor instructed the Kizlyar and Mozdok commandants to send officials to Ossetia who would be engaged in the preparation of Russian-Ossetian negotiations. The Kizlyar commandant sent a geological and political expedition to Ossetia, led by captain Afanasy Batyrev. For several days, Afanasy Batyrev was ahead of the envoy of the Mozdok commandant, captain Kazykhanov, who arrived in Ossetia with the translator Pitskhelaurov.

In the Kurtatinsky gorge in the house of Andrey (Aleguki) Tsalikov, a council of influential elders from the Alagirsky and Kurtatinsky societies gathered. It discussed the issue of joining Ossetia to Russia. The Council meeting was attended by Captain Kazykhanov and Afanasy Batyrev. The day before, Afanasy Batyrev managed to meet with the inhabitants of the Alagir Gorge. He told the council of elders, who had gathered at Andrey Tsalikov’s, that “he heard from many a desire to make from Russia, where there used to be an Ossetian farmstead, a fortress and have a commandant with a team in it, where many of them would settle and, without fear of anyone, lived” .

After the meeting of the council, the Ossetian elders went to Mozdok for negotiations with the governor. the composition of the embassy, ​​formed by the council, included 20 people. The Ossetian ambassadors carried with them a “Petition” prepared in advance addressed to the Astrakhan governor, consisting of a “preamble” and “provisions”. The preamble emphasized the adherence of the Ossetian people to the "Christian law" and expressed gratitude to Russia for the revival of Christianity. its ascertaining part noted the political independence of Ossetia from any other country, and the raids of the Circassian princes were called the main external danger. The desire of the Ossetians for an alliance with Russia was formulated as a hope that "we will not be abandoned against our desire and will be under the patronage of our most merciful sovereign."

The accession of Ossetia to Russia met the national interests of Ossetia. It brought closer the solution of such important issues as the resettlement of Ossetians to the foothill plains, the provision of external security and the establishment of trade relations with Russia. Ossetians participated in many wars in Russia, there were many Ossetian Cossacks in the Terek Cossack army

Societies of Ossetia

Main article: Societies of Ossetia

Previously, the Ossetians were divided into separate societies with self-government. Most of the societies of Ossetia were democratic - they were controlled by the people's assembly (Ossetian nykhas). some were ruled by princes.

Religion

Ossetians are considered Orthodox. Christianity was acquired by the Alans from Byzantium in the period from the 4th-9th centuries. Then Orthodoxy was revived in the period from the 18th to the 19th centuries. Ossetians are adherents of traditional Ossetian beliefs that have pre-Christian roots.

The history of the formation of traditional beliefs

The Ossetian religious worldview system was inherited from distant ancestors and basically has Indo-European roots, but in the absence of the clergy, religious organization and writing, it underwent significant changes over time.

The process of Ossetian ethnogenesis on the basis of the Caucasian Alans with the participation of the local Caucasian-speaking substrate (tribes of the Koban culture), obviously, became the main component for the formation of their religious and cult ideas.

Christian elements in the folk religion of the Ossetians were partly inherited from the Alans themselves, who during the period of the political heyday of Alania in the 10th-11th centuries actively spread Orthodoxy on their territory. This policy was also actively supported by the allied Byzantium.

As a result of the Mongol invasion in the XIII century, these processes were interrupted and never completed. the period after the collapse of Alania and up to the entry into Russia, the Ossetians lived in isolation in conditions of hard-to-reach mountain gorges. Under these conditions, the process of formation of the religious culture of the Ossetians, characterized by the syncretism of national monotheistic beliefs with Orthodox Christianity, took place.

Modern form

At the present stage, the folk religion of Ossetians has the form of a complex system of worldview and cults based on ancient Ossetian mythology (reflected in particular in the Ossetian Nart epic), which is characterized by the presence of a single God (Ossetian Huytsau), having the epithets Great (Styr) and United (Iunæg ).

He created everything in the Universe, including the lower heavenly forces that patronize various elements, the material world and spheres of human activity and make up the pantheon subject to him: patron saints (Ossetian dzuar); heavenly angels (Osset. zæd) and earthly spirits (Osset. dauæg).

In the Ossetian folk calendar there are holidays celebrated in honor of the Great God and most of the saints, which are accompanied by prayer feasts (Ossetian kuyvd) and sacrifices, often held at the sanctuaries dedicated to them (Ossetian dzuar).

Sanctuaries can be both certain places of worship, and sacred groves, mountains, caves, ruins of ancient chapels and churches. Some of them are revered in separate gorges or settlements, and some are all-Ossetian.

Share of population

According to a large-scale survey by the Sreda research service conducted in 2012, 29% of respondents were classified in the category “I profess the traditional religion of my ancestors, worship the gods and forces of nature” in North Ossetia - the highest percentage in the Russian Federation (the next - only 13%).

Genetics and phenotype of Ossetians

Most Ossetians belong to the central cluster of the Caucasian type of the Caucasoid race.

Ossetians are characterized by dark shades of hair, most often brown, rarely black hair, often blond or red hair is also found. The shape of the head is elongated, the brain section significantly predominates over the facial one. The eye color is mostly brown, but green, gray and blue are also common.

resettlement

According to the All-Russian population census of 2010, 528.5 thousand Ossetians lived in Russia, including:

• North Ossetia North Ossetia - ▲ 459.7 thousand (2010)
• Moscow Moscow - ▲ 11.3 thousand (2010)
• Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria - ▼ 9.3 thousand (2010)
• Stavropol Territory Stavropol Territory - ▲ 8.0 thousand (2010)
• Krasnodar Territory Krasnodar Territory - 4.5 thousand (2010)
• Karachay-Cherkessia Karachay-Cherkessia - ▼ 3.2 thousand (2010)
• St. Petersburg St. Petersburg - 3.2 thousand (2010)
• Rostov region Rostov region - 2.6 thousand (2010)
• Moscow region Moscow region - 3.4 thousand (2010)

Ossetians make up the majority of the population of 77% of South Ossetia. 46,000 people.

In Georgia (excluding South Ossetia) in 2002 there were about 37,000 Ossetians.

Between 30,000 and 46,000 Ossetians live in Turkey. The Ossetians of Turkey and Syria are the descendants of the Muslim Muhajirs of the 19th century who moved to the Ottoman Empire.

There are also Ossetian diasporas in France, Canada (Toronto), the USA (Florida, New York).

Since the 13th century, the Yas people, who are of Ossetian origin, have been living in Hungary. Modern Yases are largely assimilated by the Hungarians and have completely switched to the Hungarian language, but recently there has been a rise in national self-consciousness among them and ties between the Yases and Ossetians are strengthening.

Research

The first to describe in detail the economic life, traditional life and culture of the Ossetians were the expeditions of S. Vanyavin (1768), A. Batyrev (1771, 1774) and I.-A. Guldenstedt (1770-1772). Even then, scientists noted both the “Caucasian features” of Ossetians and their obvious dissimilarity with neighboring peoples. This explains the special interest in the scientific study of Ossetia.

An important contribution to the study of the Ossetian people was made by the prominent Russian scientist P. S. Pallas: he established the similarity of the Ossetian language not only with Old Persian, but also with the Slavic and German languages. So, already in the 18th century, the belonging of the Ossetian language to the Indo-European language branch was noticed.

The French scholar Georges Dumézil (1898-1986) discovered striking correspondences between the Ossetian epic and the legends of the Celts.

The works of Russian and foreign scientists, along with scientific expeditions, served as the beginning of a comprehensive study of Ossetia and the Ossetian people.

Ossetian cuisine

Main article: Ossetian cuisine

The main dishes of Ossetian cuisine are Ossetian pies (Ossetian chiritæ),

• Osset. lyvzæ - meat stew with potatoes and other vegetables;
• Osset. dzhykk-lyvzæ - meat stewed in sour cream;
• Osset. dzærna - a dish of boiled beans and corn;
• Osset. dzykka - a dish (cheese porridge) made from Ossetian cheese boiled with flour,
• Osset. tsykhtydzykka - a kind of dzykka dish - made from fresh cheese, butter, corn flour, salt.
• Osset. uælkjæy dzykka - corn dough, curd cheese, sour cream, salt.
• Osset. dzæhæra - thick cornmeal soup, chopped beet leaves, parsley, nettle leaves, herbs, coriander, sour cream, 7 chicken eggs, salt.
• Osset. sir - a dish (sweet porridge) made from ghee, sugar or honey,
• Osset. tsyvzy-tsækhdon - a sauce of boiled and pickled pepper leaves with sour cream or cream,
• Osset. nury-tsækhdon - a sauce of minced garlic with sour cream or cream.
• From drinks, one can single out beer (Ossetian bægæny) and Osset. kuymæl - kvass from bread or fruit,
• as well as the traditional strong alcoholic drink oset. arakhh - whiskey (araka).
• As in the entire Caucasus, shish kebab (Ossetian fizonæg) is common in Ossetia.
• and also in Ossetia, Ossetian pies are very common.

Ossetian architecture

Main article: Ossetian architecture

The most significant and interesting monuments of the culture of the Ossetian people, without a doubt, are towers, castles, fortresses, crypt necropolises and barrier walls. They were built in all, without exception, the gorges inhabited by Ossetians. These buildings were a reliable guarantor of the freedom of clans and families, providing shelter to their owners.

Ossetian traditional costume

The Ossetian traditional costume is now preserved only as an element of festive ceremonies, especially weddings. The women's costume consisted of a shirt, a corset, a light Circassian dress with a long lobed sleeve, a cap in the form of a truncated cone and a veil-veil. Numerous pairs of fasteners depicting birds flaunted on the chest. Men wore hats and Circassians. Burgundy color was popular, over which gold embroidery was applied. in winter, a cloak served as outerwear.

Photo gallery

Kosta Khetagurov

Ossetian in national costume (1883)

Ossetians at work (19th century)

Ossetians of the North Caucasus in 18th century costume (Vano Ramonov, 19th century)

Three Ossetian teachers (XIX century)

Ossetian woman in traditional national dress (photo from the beginning of the 20th century)

Ossetians in traditional national clothes (photo from the beginning of the 20th century)

Ossetians - participants in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878

Sisters Dudarov (1881)

Bega Kochiev

• Ossetian (Koban, 1881)

Ossetians of the village of Makhchesk (1905-1907)

Notes

Comments

1. regarding the Scythian, see, however, the discussion.
2. A number of scholars, however, present the Kudaro-Java dialect of the Iron dialect as the third dialect in the Ossetian language. Some also note its archaism and the presence of Scythian or ancient Iranian reflexes (in particular, see in the article references to I. Gershevich (English) Russian, F. Thordarson (Norwegian) Russian and J. Harmatta (English) Russian .).

Sources

1. 1 2 Perevalov S. M. Alans // Russian Historical Encyclopedia. Ed. acad. A. O. Chubaryan. T. 1: Aalto - Aristocracy. M.: OLMA MEDIA GROUP, 2011. S. 220-221.
2. "Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus", Year: 1973,
3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census in relation to the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of individual nationalities
4. All-Russian population census 2002. Retrieved December 24, 2009. Archived from the original on August 21, 2011.
5. Ossete in Syria // Joshua Project. A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission.
6. Syrian Ossetians ask for their historical homeland
7. The Republic of South Ossetia on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
8. Application. Handbook of statistical indicators // Demoscope Weekly
9. Ossete in Turkey // Joshua Project. A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission.
10. 1 2 Population census of Georgia (without South Ossetia and Abkhazia) 2002 With part of Akhalgori (now Leningor region of RSO), controlled by Georgia until August 2008 - 38,026 Ossetians.
11. According to the 1989 census, there were 164,055 Ossetians in the Georgian SSR, including 65,223 Ossetians in the South Ossetian Autonomous Region and 98,832 in the rest of the Georgian SSR ()
12. 1 2 3 Population census of Georgia (excluding South Ossetia and Abkhazia) 2002
13. Ossete in Uzbekistan // Joshua Project. A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission.
14. All-Ukrainian population census 2001. Russian version. Results. Nationality and mother tongue. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011.
15. Ossete in Azerbaijan // Joshua Project. A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission.
16. Ossete in Turkmenistan // Joshua Project. A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission.
17. Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on statistics. Census 2009. (National composition of the population.rar)
18. National composition of Abkhazia 2011 census
19. Ossete in Kyrgyzstan // Joshua Project. A ministry of the U.S. Center for World Mission.
20. Results of the population census in Belarus in 2009 National composition.
21. Volume 3. Ethnic composition and language skills, citizenship of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan
22. Malashenko A. V. Islamic landmarks of the North Caucasus. - M., 2001. - S. 7.
23. Khairetdinov D. Z. Islam in Ossetia. Information material of the Islamic Congress of Russia. - M., 1997. - S. 2.
24. R. S. Bzarov: “At the time of the maximum spread of Islam in Ossetia, the Muslim minority did not exceed 12-15% of the population. According to official data for 1867, the population of North Ossetia was 47,673 people, of which 36,367 were Christians, and 11,306 were Muslims. In the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, two dozen mosques operated in Ossetia, the number of people who received an Islamic education and pilgrims who made the Hajj was constantly growing. North Ossetia still has an Islamic minority. South Ossetia did not exist, and does not exist. Of course, the number of "canonical" Muslims performing rituals in North Ossetia hardly correlates with the mentioned historical indicators of 12-15%. Residents of "Muslim villages" and urban descendants of "hereditary" Muslims are no different from the Christian majority of Ossetians, who also became very distant from religious life during the seven decades of the Soviet atheistic regime. - "Moslems have never been more than 12-15% of the population in Ossetia": Interview // REGNUM, 03/24/2010
25. Ethnoatlas
26. 1 2 Tskhinval started its work the Congress of the Ossetian people
27. Victor Shnirelman, The Politics of a Name: Between Consolidation and Separation in the Northern Caucasus. p. 40
28. H. G. Dzanaita. National Doctrine of Alanya
29. Augusti Alemany. Alans in ancient and medieval written sources - Moscow: Manager, 2003. p. 370
30. Armenian geography
31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 V. Abaev, Historical and etymological dictionary of the Ossetian language
32. Augusti Alemany. Alans in ancient and medieval written sources - Moscow: Manager, 2003. p. 39
33. 1 2 Studies in the Historical Development of the Ossetic Vocalism By Johnny Cheung / J. Cheng printing company. V. Gassiev, pp. - 271
34. G. Bailey (English) Russian. Arya, an ethnic epithet in the Achaemenid inscriptions and in the Zoroastrian Avestan tradition. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved October 21 October 21, 2014.
35. R. Schmitt (German) Russian. Aryans, self designation of the peoples of Ancient India and Ancient Iran who spoke Aryan languages. Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved October 21, 2014. Archived from the original on October 21, 2014.
36. 1 2 V. Miller, Ossetian studies
37. Kambolov T. T. Essay on the history of the Ossetian language: a textbook for universities. - Vladikavkaz, 2006, pp. 413-414
38. "Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus", Year: 1973, Author: Volkova N. G., Publisher: "Nauka" (Main edition of Eastern literature, Moscow), pp. - 109, 113
39. "Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus", Year: 1973, Author: Volkova N. G., Publisher: "Nauka" (Main edition of Eastern literature, Moscow), pp. - 115, 116
40. "Essays on the history of the Alans", Year: 1992,
41. Augusti Alemany. Alans in ancient and medieval written sources - Moscow: Manager, 2003. pp. 39 - 40, 233
42. Essay on the history of the Ossetian language, Year: 2006,
43. Pahalina T.N. Scytho-Ossetian etymologies // Nartamongae. Vladikavkaz / Dzaewdzyqaew - Paris, 2002. Vol.1. No. 1.
44. Russian Ethnographic Museum: Explanatory Dictionary
45. III. South Ossetia as part of medieval Alania.
46. 1 2 3 Jizzoyty Yu. A. On the etymology of the toponym K’wydar
47. SOWREN EREMYAN, "Asxarhac'uyc "i" skzbnakann bnagri verakangnman p'orj, in: Patmabanasirakan Handes, 2 (1973), p.261-274
48. Hewsen, R. H. 1992. The Geography of Ananias of Sirak, Wiesbaden, p.115
49. Brief communications of the Institute of Archeology. Issue 218 / M.: Nauka, 2005; K. Zuckerman. Alans and Ases in the Early Middle Ages
50. Miller VF Ossetian studies. Part 3. - M., 1887, S. 174-175
51. Alborov B. A. The term "Nart" (on the question of the origin of the Nart epic) // Scientific Society of Ethnography, Language and Literature at the Gorsky Pedagogical Institute. - Vladikavkaz, 1930, p. 281
52. Agnaev A. T. On the history of the Ossetian people // zhurn. "Fidiuæg", No. 1. - Ordzhonikidze, 1959, p. 88 (Ossetian)
53. 1 2 Khugaev V. To the etymology of the word "Kuydar" // zhurn. "Fidiuæg", No. 2. - Ordzhonikidze, 1966, p. 72 (Ossetian)
54. Agnaev A. T. Kuydar // Gas. "Ræstdzinad", part I. No. 81. - Vladikavkaz, 1992, p. 3 (Ossetian)
55. "Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus", Year: 1973, Author: Volkova N. G., Publisher: "Nauka" (Main edition of Eastern literature, Moscow), pp. - 116, 117, 118
56. Abaev V. I. Ossetian language and folklore. M.-L., 1949. S. 245.
57. 4.8. Activities for language building in North Ossetia, Kambolov T.T. The language situation and language policy in North Ossetia: history, modernity, prospects: Monograph / Edited by Doctor of Philology M.I. Isaev; Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, North Ossetian State University named after K.L. Khetagurov. Vladikavkaz: SOGU Publishing House, 2007, 290 p.
58. Studies in the Historical Development of the Ossetic Vocalism By Johnny Cheung / J. Cheng printing company. V. Gassieva, pp. - 210
59. 1 2 Arias, E. A. Grantovsky, TSB, 1969-1978
60. Encyclopedia Iranica, "Alans", V. I. Abaev, H. W. Bailey
61. Explanatory dictionary of the Ossetian language: in 4 volumes / ed. ed. N. Ya. Gabaraeva; Vladikavkaz scientific. center of RAS and RNO-A; South Ossetian scientific research. in-t im. Z. N. Vaneeva. - M.: Nauka, 2007 - ISBN 978-5-02-036243-7
62. 1 2 Abaev V. I. Ossetian language and folklore. M.-L., 1949. S. 45.
63. Yu.Dzitsoyty - Who are the sledges?
64. Encyclopedia Britannica Scytho-Sarmatian language
65. TSB Scythian language
66. Abaev V. I. Ossetian language and folklore. - M.-L., 1949. ss. 487-496
67. Akhvlediani G.S. Collection of selected works on the Ossetian language. - Tbilisi, 1960. S. 116
68. Jizzoyty Yu. A. On the etymology of the toponym K’wydar // Nartamongae. The Journal of Alano-Ossetic Studies: Epic, Mythology, Language, History. Vol. IV, No. 1,2. 2007.
69. Gershevitch I. Fossilized imperatival morphemes in Ossetic//Studia Iranica et Alanica. Festschrift for Prof. Vasilij Ivanovich Abaev on the Occasion of His 95th Birthday. Rome, 1998, p. 141-159
70. Kambolov T. T. Essay on the history of the Ossetian language. - Vladikavkaz, 2006, p. 421
71. Harmatta, J., Studies in the History and Language of the Sarmatians, Szeged 1970, p. 75-76
72. 1 2 PALEOANTHROPOLOGY OF NORTH OSSETIA RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PROBLEM OF THE ORIGIN OF OSSETIANS
73. http://ossethnos.ru/history/297-etnogenez-osetin.html The ethnogenesis of Ossetians
74. City of the dead
75. Abaev V.I. Selected works: 4 vols. / Ed. ed. and comp. V. M. Gusalov. - Vladikavkaz: Ir, 1995.
76. Alan Slanov // Monuments of the Kurtatinsky Gorge
77. Used materials from the site iratta.com
78. Hereinafter, M. M. Bliev, R. S. Bzarov "History of Ossetia" was used
79. V. A. Kuznetsov. Essays on the history of the Alans. Vladikavkaz "IR", 1992.
80. Janita S. H. Three Tears of God. - Vladikavkaz, 2007
81. Abaev V. I. Ossetian language and folklore. - M.-L., 1949
82. Bliev M. M., Bzarov R. S. History of Ossetia from ancient times to the end of the 19th century. - Vladikavkaz, 2000
83. Kambolov T. T. Language situation and language policy in North Ossetia: history, modernity, prospects. Chapter IV. - Vladikavkaz, 2007
84. Dzadziev A. B., Dzutsev Kh. V., Karaev S. M. Ethnography and mythology of Ossetians. Brief dictionary. - Vladikavkaz, 1994
85. Agnaev G. Ossetian customs. - Vladikavkaz, 1999
86. Main page of the project "Arena": Non-commercial Research Service "Sreda"
87. Footnote error?: Wrong tag ; joshua footnotes have no text
88. About Ossetian migrations on the website of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania under the President of the Russian Federation
89. http://www.ossetia.ru/ir/ass-oss
90. Up to three thousand Ossetians live in Canada
91. USA. The first meeting of the "Alan Union"
92. Material culture of the Ossetians of the past
93. Ossetian national costumes

see also

• Ossetia
• Alanya
• Alans
• Sarmatians
• Digortsy
• Irons
• Kudartsy
• Societies of Ossetia
• Ossetian language
• North Ossetia
• South Ossetia
• Trialeti Ossetia
• Ossetians in Turkey
• Ossetians in Georgia
• Nart epic
• Scythians

Links

• Osetini.com - Ossetians and their History.
• alanica.ru - Alans. Alan's story.
• Irӕtӕ.com - news, history, articles, forum, music, literature, culture
• Ossetia.ru - news, comments, information
• Iriston.ru - site of the Ossetian diaspora
• Ossetians.com - site about prominent Ossetians
• Ossetian traditional music (heroic songs)
• Iriston.com - history and culture of Ossetians

Literature

• Kaziev Shapi, Karpeev Igor. Daily life of the highlanders of the North Caucasus in the 19th century.
• Ossetians // Peoples of Russia. Atlas of cultures and religions. - M.: Design, Information. Cartography, 2010. - 320 p.: with illustrations. ISBN 978-5-287-00718-8
• Ossetians // Ethnoatlas of the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Council of Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Public Relations Department; ch. ed. R. G. Rafikov; editorial board: V. P. Krivonogov, R. D. Tsokaev. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - Krasnoyarsk: Platinum (PLATINA), 2008. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-98624-092-3.
• The peoples of Russia: a picturesque album, St. Petersburg, printing house of the Association "Public Benefit", December 3, 1877, art. 421.
• Bliev, M. M. Ossetian embassy in St. Petersburg (1749-1752). Accession of Ossetia to Russia. Vladikavkaz, 2010.

culture	Literature Music Cuisine Dancing Art Architecture Nart epic Names
Ossetians by country	North Ossetia South Ossetia Ossetians in Georgia: Trialeti Ossetia, Trusovskoye Gorge Ossetians in Turkey
Attitude towards religion	Christianity in Ossetia Islam
Ossetian language	Iron dialect (including Kudaro-Java dialect) Digor dialect
Sub-ethnic groups	Digorians Irons (Alagirs, Kudars, Kurtatins, Tagaurs, Trusovs, Tuals, Urstuals, Chsans)
Miscellaneous	History Ethnonyms Ethnogenesis

Modern Iranian peoples
Southwestern subgroup	Bakhtiars Lurs Persians Tajiks Tats Farsivans Hazaras Charaimaks
Northwestern subgroup	Balochi Gilyans (Galeshes) Zazas Kurds (Yazidis) Mazenderans Talyshs
Southeastern subgroup	Pamir peoples (Badzhuvs Bartangs Vakhans Ishkashims Munjans Rushans Sarykols Khufs Shughnans Yazgulyams) Pashtuns Pashai
Northeastern subgroup	Ossetians Yaghnobis
Ethno-confessional groups	Zoroastrians: (Parsis of the Hebras) Ahl-e Haqq

The peoples of Russia with more than 100 thousand people

Russian | Tatars | Ukrainians | Bashkirs | Chuvash | Chechens | Armenians | Avars | Mordva | Kazakhs | Azerbaijanis | Dargins | Udmurts | Mari | | Belarusians | Kabardians | Kumyks | Yakuts | Lezgins | Buryats | Ingush | Germans | Uzbeks | Tuvans | Crimean Tatars | Komi | Karachays | Gypsies | Tajiks | Kalmyks | Laks | Georgians | Jews | Moldovans | Koreans | Tabasarans | Adyghe people | Balkars | Turks | Nogais | Kyrgyz Template: View Discussion Edit

Ossetians, Ossetians in Donetsk, Ossetians Wikipedia, Ossetians and Vainakhs, Ossetians of Kazakhstan, Ossetians of what faith, Muslim Ossetians, Ossetians in Donbas, Ossetians origin, Ossetians photo

Ossetians Information About

OSSETIANS

Ossetians are the descendants of the ancient Alans, Sarmatians and Scythians. However, according to a number of well-known historians, the presence of the so-called local Caucasian substratum in the Ossetians is also obvious. At present, Ossetians mostly inhabit the northern and southern slopes of the central part of the main Caucasian ridge. Geographically, they form the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania (area - about 8 thousand square kilometers, the capital - Vladikavkaz) and the Republic of South Ossetia (area - 3.4 thousand square kilometers, the capital - Tskhinvali).

Despite the geographical and administrative division in both parts of Ossetia, a single people lives, with the same culture and language. The separation took place by a strong-willed decision from the Kremlin in 1922, without any consideration of the opinion of the Ossetians themselves. According to this decision, North Ossetia was assigned to Russia, and South Ossetia - to Georgia. For seven decades, if you do not take into account the feelings of the poor stepdaughter and attempts to instill Georgian culture and language, the citizens of South Ossetia did not experience any particular inconvenience from this division, since they lived in a single family of fraternal peoples of the USSR.

But times have changed. Russia and Georgia have become separate states with very strained relations. The Ossetians found themselves on opposite sides of the state border. Moreover, even many families whose members live in different parts of Ossetia have become divided. But more on that below.

At present, the total number of Ossetians in the world is about 640-690 thousand people. Of these (according to unofficial data) live:

In North Ossetia - 420-440 thousand people

In South Ossetia - 70 thousand people

In the republics and regions of Russia - 60-80 thousand people

In Georgia - 50-60 thousand people

In the states on the territory of the former USSR - 20-30 thousand people,

In Turkey and Syria - 11-12 thousand people,

In Europe, America, Australia - about 12-15 thousand people.

Ossetia borders: in the east - with the Republic of Ingushetia, in the northeast - with Chechnya, in the west and northwest - with the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, in the south - with Georgia and in the north - with the Stavropol Territory.

The nature of Ossetia is rich and varied: sultry steppes, flourishing foothill plains, the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains, the highest in Europe, eternally covered with ice, deep gorges and swift rivers.

Ossetians are a people, due to their uniqueness (the absence of related peoples close in language and culture), which has long attracted the close attention of Russian and well-known foreign historians and researchers of the Caucasus, such as Miller, Shegren, Klaproth, Vernardsky, Dumezil, Bahrakh, Sulimirsky, Littleton, Bailey, Cardini, Abaev, Rostovtsev, Kuznetsov and many others.

The history of Ossetia from the Alans, Sarmatians and Scythians to the present day is quite well described in the books of many reputable scientists, and in particular M. Bliev and R. Bazrov "History of Ossetia", as well as in the preface cited in this section, academician M. Isaev "Alans . Who are they?" to the Russian edition of the book "Alans in the West" by Bernard S. Bahrakh. This book itself (“A history of the Alans in the West”, by Bernard S. Bachrach)* brightly illuminates the history of the Western Alans, who settled in large numbers in the countries of Western and Central Europe, and left a noticeable mark on the development of the culture of the peoples of these countries, from the British Isles and northern Italy to the Balkan countries and Hungary. There, the descendants of the Alans (Asses) later formed a separate Iasi region, preserving the culture and language of their ancestors for many centuries. By the way, most studies of the history of the Western Alans completely refute the theories of some North Caucasian historians that the Alans were not Iranian-speaking. The Iranian-linguality of the Western Alans is recognized without much effort.

Throughout its history, the Ossetian people went through periods from rapid prosperity, strengthening of power and huge influence in the first millennium of our era, to almost complete catastrophic extermination during the invasions of the Tatars - the Mongols and the lame Timur in the 13-14 centuries. The comprehensive catastrophe that befell Alania led to the mass destruction of the population, undermining the foundations of the economy, and the collapse of statehood. The miserable remnants of the once powerful people (according to some sources, no more than 10-12 thousand people) were locked up in the high mountain gorges of the Caucasus Mountains for almost five centuries. During this time, all "external relations" of the Ossetians were reduced only to contacts with the closest neighbors. However, there is no evil without good. According to scientists, largely due to this isolation, the Ossetians have preserved their unique culture, language, traditions and religion almost in their original form.

Centuries passed and the people rose from the ashes, grew noticeably in numbers. And by the first half of the 18th century, due to the tightness, severity and limited conditions of the highlands and the difficult geopolitical situation in the region, the Ossetian people faced the urgent need to join Russia and resettlement to the flat lands. Through elected ambassadors - representatives of various Ossetian societies, a corresponding petition was sent to St. Petersburg addressed to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. After the defeat of Turkey in the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. Russia's influence in the region increased markedly and it was able to act more decisively than before in the implementation of its colonial goals in the Caucasus. And following the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty in 1974, a decision was made to annex Ossetia to the Russian Empire. However, the administrative subordination of Ossetia at first had a formal character. And the people continued to maintain independence from the Russian administration for a long time. In the Ossetian gorges, uprisings like Digorsky in 1781 broke out every now and then, which were of a national liberation character.

However, in general, joining Russia was in the national interests of Ossetia. It brought closer the solution of such important issues as resettlement to the foothill plains, ensuring external security and the establishment of trade relations in Russia.

Over the next 100-150 years, hundreds of educated teachers, educators, writers, military leaders, statesmen and public figures grew up in Ossetia. Most of them received a good education in St. Petersburg, Moscow and other major Russian cities. By the beginning of the last century, there were already dozens of Ossetian military generals, and thousands of officers awarded the highest military awards of Russia. Faithfully, with Alanian honor, they defended the interests of the Fatherland throughout, from the Far East to the Balkans and Turkey.

Years passed and the political events of the beginning of the 20th century dealt a new blow to our people, as well as to all other peoples of the country. The revolution of 1917 and the civil war that followed it split the Ossetian society into hostile irreconcilable camps for a long time. They significantly undermined the foundations of intra-social relationships, foundations and traditions. Often on different sides of the barricades were neighbors, relatives, and even members of the same family. Many advanced people of their time were killed in battles, others emigrated abroad forever. Well, the greatest damage to Ossetian culture was inflicted during the well-known repressions of the 30-40s, when the color of the nation was almost completely destroyed.

The famous Alanian military art and craving for feats of arms did not go down in history with them. Through the centuries, they were reborn in their descendants, for whom military service and the defense of the Fatherland have always been in special honor. The craving for officer service is manifested in Ossetians from early childhood. And the fact that this project includes information about 79 generals and admirals of the Soviet period and modern Russia convincingly confirms this conclusion.

Most clearly, the Ossetian people showed their best qualities, inherited from proud ancestors, during the Second World War.

With a total population of 340 thousand people in 1941:

90 thousand Ossetians left to defend their homeland from the fascist invaders.

46 thousand of them died in the battles for the freedom and independence of our Motherland.

34 Ossetians became Heroes of the Soviet Union. This is the highest figure in relation to the total population, among all the peoples of the USSR (See the table in the "Heroes of the Soviet Union" section).

More than 50 people became generals and admirals

The Ossetian Gazdanov family lost all 7 on the war fronts

Two families lost 6 sons each,

In 16 families, 5 sons did not return from the war,

52 Ossetian families lost 4 sons in this war,

The defeat of the fascist troops in the Caucasus began with their defeat in fierce battles on the outskirts of Vladikavkaz in the winter of 1942, and the liberation of the regions of North Ossetia occupied by the Nazis.

In the ranks of the commanders of the Red Army, dozens of military generals - Ossetians fought bravely. The most famous of them are twice Hero of the Soviet Union Army General Issa Pliev, Hero of the Soviet Union, Army General Georgy Khetagurov, Hero of the Soviet Union, Colonel General, one of the most prominent Soviet intelligence officers, who was called the father of Soviet special forces, Khadzhi-Umar Mamsurov and commander famous Soviet air aces, Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Ibragim Dzusov.

The post-war period in the history of Ossetia is characterized by the rapid development of industry, economy, agriculture, culture and sports. Owing to the rich natural resources, such large mining and processing enterprises as the Sadon and Kvaisinsky lead-zinc plants, the Electrozinc and Pobedit plants, whose products were widely used in the country and abroad, the Tskhinvali plants "Emalprovod" have grown in Ossetia. and Vibromashina, the Alagir resistance plant, the largest Beslan maize plant in Europe, the Kazbek furniture company, a number of large electronics enterprises, etc.

The capital of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania, Vladikavkaz (population - a little over 300 thousand people) is one of the most beautiful cities in the region, a cultural, economic and transport center. Here, as well as throughout the republic, people of many nationalities live in peace and harmony. Vladikavkaz is famous for its prestigious higher educational institutions, including the North Ossetian State University named after K.L. Khetagurov, Gorsky State Agrarian University, North Caucasian State Technological University, North Ossetian State Medical Academy, higher military schools and others. The cultural life of Ossetia is varied and rich. There are several state theaters, a philharmonic society, the state academic ensemble of folk dance "Alan", the equestrian theater "Narty", known in the country and abroad.

Ossetian culture and art gave the country and the world such famous people as one of the best conductors in the world, head of the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater Valery Gergiev, the world's first female conductor, People's Artist of the USSR Veronika Dudarova, Bolshoi Ballet soloist, People's Artist of the USSR Svetlana Adyrkhaeva, the dynasty of circus artists Kantemirovs, headed by the founder of the Soviet equestrian circus art Alibek Kantemirov, theater and film artists, People's Artists of the USSR Vladimir Tkhapsaev and Nikolai Salamov, famous pop singers Felix Tsarikati and Akim Salbiev and many others.

At competitions of the highest rank, Ossetian athletes glorify their homeland in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, judo, karate, tae kwon do, weightlifting, arm wrestling, football, rhythmic gymnastics and many other sports. Ossetians are rightly proud of 12 champions of the Olympic Games, several dozen champions of the world, Europe, the USSR and post-Soviet Russia.

So at the last Olympics in 2004 in Athens, Ossetians won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals. This result is truly unique for a people of less than 700 thousand people and is unlikely to be surpassed anywhere in the world in the foreseeable future.

The achievements of representatives of Ossetia in various fields of science and economics are truly invaluable. Suffice it to mention one of the pillars of world aerodynamics and rocket technology, Grigory Tokati, who worked on NASA space programs in England and the USA, Vaso Abaev, the well-known patriarch of Russian linguistics and Iranian studies in the scientific world, the captain of the Arktika nuclear-powered ship, Yuri Kuchiev, who conquered the North Pole for the first time in the world, Taimuraz Bolloev, former General Director of the Baltika Brewing Concern.

Today's Ossetia is developing, establishing contacts, achieving success in all areas and looking to the future with hope, praying to God for peace, tranquility and prosperity.

About interethnic conflicts.

Together with all the positive things described above, not everything is so cloudless over the sky of Ossetia, as the Ossetians themselves wish.

In the early 90s of the last century, the nationalists who came to power in Georgia led a policy of ousting the Ossetian population, and then under the slogan "Georgia for Georgians!" unleashed a new bloody conflict on the territory of South Ossetia, intending to repeat the acts of the Ossetian genocide of 1920. By his decree of December 11, 1990, the then leader of Georgia, Z. Gamsakhurdia, abolished the South Ossetian Autonomous Region. South Ossetians, by way of a referendum, decided to secede from Georgia and form the Republic of South Ossetia. Georgian armed formations invaded the territory of South Ossetia and began to “put things in order” in their own way. Later, having received a worthy answer, they went home, sowing poisonous seeds of hatred and distrust between peoples for a long time. The war was short, but with a large number of victims, including among the civilian population. The Ossetian people will never forget their sons who died at the hands of national chauvinists while defending their Motherland. He will not forget the brutally tortured civilians, the shooting by Georgian militants of a bus with old people, women and children on the Zar road, as well as other acts of monstrous crimes against our people. The thoughtless, great-power chauvinistic policy of the Georgian leadership has led to the emergence of hatred and irreconcilable discord between the once most friendly peoples in the region. But in spite of everything, the Ossetians do not see the enemy in the Georgian people. They know that years will pass, history will send national chauvinists of various stripes to the dustbin, and ordinary people will live the way their ancestors lived for centuries - in peace and harmony, helping each other.

The events of those days were widely covered in the press and in other materials. And in this brief historical review there is no way to describe everything in detail.

Years have passed. Leaders have changed both in Georgia and Russia, as well as in Ossetia. But the conflict has not yet been settled. The new Georgian leadership, as in the past, is pursuing a policy of fighting separatism by any available means, including through threats, blockades, political pressure through third countries, and organizations, in particular the United States and the OSCE. At the same time, it is increasingly moving away from Russia, which for many years has been the guarantor of stability, peace and prosperity in the region.

The Ossetian side resolutely and irrevocably took a course towards the restoration of historical justice* - reunification with its brothers in North Ossetia as part of the Russian Federation and, having survived three waves of genocide (in 1920, 1990 and 2004), does not intend to return to the administrative bosom of Georgia. In 2004, the leadership of the Republic sent a petition to the State Duma of the Russian Federation for the admission of South Ossetia to Russia. To date, the question remains open, the problems are unresolved, and the conflict is smoldering.

Separatism rarely brings positive results. And at first glance, the Georgian leadership has the right to fight the separatism of their former regions. But this is only at first glance, since the intentions of the people of South Ossetia cannot be called separatist for two reasons.

Firstly, the Ossetian people, having lived on this land for many centuries, never expressed a desire to be part of Georgia, and was attached to it only by a strong-willed decision of the then leaders of the Soviet state, without taking into account the opinion of the Ossetians themselves. Prior to this, there was not a single state-legal act that would have fixed the belonging of South Ossetia to Georgia. The age-old claims of the princes Machabeli and Eristavi to the possession of this territory, as well as the frequent complicity of the Russian elite, have never been recognized by the people of Ossetia.

Secondly, every nation has the right to be “undivided” and choose its own destiny. The artificially divided peoples of Germany, Vietnam and other states were reunited. And by force, political pressure or blockade to keep one people on different sides of the state border is nothing but a crime against this people.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a no less difficult situation developed in North Ossetia. In the 1990s, interethnic problems and contradictions, which had been accumulating and driven deep into the depths for decades, in the face of the weakening of the central government, began to result in conflicts on ethnic grounds between the Ossetians and their closest neighbors in the east - the Ingush. The reason for them was several villages in the Prigorodny district of North Ossetia, inhabited by a mixed Ossetian-Ingush population and for 6 decades being a disputed territory between the two peoples. The history of these villages dates back to the time of the mountaineers' migration to the plain. In the same years, the settlement of the North Caucasus with Russian Cossacks began, carried out by the tsarist authorities to maintain order and pacify the local peoples. These disputed villages were basically founded by the Terek Cossacks. The Cossacks lived prosperously, freely, and when the years of revolution and civil war came, for the most part they sided with the White Guard, fighting against the Communists. In response, local communist leaders, led by Lenin's ally, the "fiery" Sergo Ordzhonikidze, began to incite the Ingush to punitive operations against the Cossack population. There were quite a lot of raids on their villages in order to force the Cossacks beyond the Terek and seize land (see the article about Georgy Bicherakhov in the section "Ossetians Abroad"). The Ingush tried in every possible way to eliminate the "strips" of Cossack lands on their territory in order to strengthen their influence in the "rounded" territories. In the end, in 1922, the Ingush, together with the soldiers of the Red Army, managed to implement this idea and settle in these villages for 22 years. Such is the history of the territories now called by the Ingush side "primordially - Ingush".

In 1944, on the part of the central Soviet government, there was an absolutely no less serious crime, but already against the Ingush, Chechens and some other peoples. For, mass desertion from the ranks of the Red Army and support for banditry in the rear, these peoples, in a matter of hours, were completely loaded into freight wagons and deported to the barren steppes of Kazakhstan. Many innocent people died along the way, including frail old people, women and children. For a small Ingush people, this resettlement was almost catastrophic. Severe conditions and the struggle for survival from scratch have delayed for a long time the formation of statehood, the development of education, culture and other spheres of life. At the same time, Ossetians were almost forcibly relocated to the territory of the former Ingushetia from the mountainous regions of South and North Ossetia.

In 1957, the already new Kremlin leadership, headed by Nikita Khrushchev, decided to correct the mistakes of their predecessors and returned the repressed peoples to their historical homeland. With the return of the Ingush, the Ossetians, who had managed to settle down in a new place (some had already managed to build new houses in 12 years), were forced to leave it and start everything from scratch, settling in wastelands on the outskirts of other settlements in North Ossetia. At the same time, part of the Prigorodny district was not returned to Chechen-Ingushetia, mainly those villages that were taken from the Cossacks in 1922 and from the Ossetians in 1926. This territory was left under the jurisdiction of North Ossetia. In return, three regions of the Stavropol Territory were annexed to Checheno-Ingushetia.

This part of the Prigorodny district became the cause of the outbreak of a bloody conflict between North Ossetia and Ingushetia. Tension has been building for a long time, now and then baring its teeth. So in the autumn of 1981 in Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz), after the murder of a young taxi driver by the Ingush, mass unrest broke out, brutally suppressed by special forces with a large number of victims and several victims. After such facts, the central authorities in Moscow, without delving into the essence of the problem, usually tried to treat the symptoms of the disease, driving the disease itself deep inside.

About how, sent from Moscow by the new leader of the republic, V. Odintsov, this “treatment” was carried out in North Ossetia, history has yet to say its weighty word. Out of a desire to rise and make a name for himself, allegedly by putting things in order, in a short time in the republic by the hands of visiting heads of law enforcement agencies, with a dubious reputation, and local servants, Odintsov created a situation similar to the years of repression of the 30s. Through trumped-up accusations and other unworthy methods, many major leaders were arrested, including a number of those who enjoyed great prestige and respect among the people. They stood in the way of the rampant lawlessness of Odintsovo and paid the price for it. And although, after several months, after thorough checks by the authoritative commissions of the Prosecutor General's Office, justice prevailed and all those illegally accused were fully acquitted, the harm done to the people of Ossetia over the years was already irreparable. Unfortunately, today's younger generation does not know the truth about the facts of lawlessness and repressions committed in North Ossetia in those years, because very little has been written about this period in the history of Ossetia.

The years of Odintsovo's rule deepened and aggravated the Ossetian-Ingush contradictions as well. Those who were at the head of the republic cared little about the real relationship between the two peoples. It was important for them to use force to create an outer shell of well-being and report to Moscow that order in this matter had been restored by heroic efforts. Time has shown that the creation of the most favored nation regime for representatives of one people living in the territory of another was an additional detonator for subsequent bloody events.

Signed by B. Yeltsin in June 1992, at first glance, the humane and fair “Law on the Rehabilitation of Repressed Peoples”, having neither a constitutional basis nor a mechanism for implementation, became only a catalyst in the aggravation of Ossetian-Ingush relations. In villages with a mixed population, armed skirmishes, murders, and robberies became more frequent. On the squares of the then capital of Ingushetia - the city of Nazran, thousands of rallies were held every now and then demanding the return of these several villages and the right-bank part of Vladikavkaz by any means, including military actions. There were open threats against the Ossetians. In this situation of impending danger, the leadership of North Ossetia has set a course for a comprehensive strengthening of the defense capability and preparation to repel possible aggression. The situation escalated to the limit.

After a series of mutual "exchanges of bloody courtesies", on the night of October 30-31, 1992, Ingush military units, consisting of mobile, well-armed detachments, crossed the border of North Ossetia and began hostilities to capture the villages of the Prigorodny district. They were joined by many residents of North Ossetia of Ingush nationality. In these villages, Ossetian houses were set on fire, property and cattle began to be taken out, vehicles of Ossetians, as well as enterprises, were stolen. At the slightest resistance, people were destroyed. The first to fight were the employees of the Chermen settlement police department, but the forces were unequal. The surviving, wounded policemen were pelted with anti-tank grenades, and the disfigured corpses lay under the rubble of the building for several days. Another atrocious crime was committed in the village of Kartsa, where 25 Ossetian hostages were shot by the Ingush in a local club. And these were far from isolated cases.

The suddenness of the blow played its part. In 2-3 days Ingush militants advanced 10-15 km and reached the outskirts of Vladikavkaz. In these bloody days for Ossetia, more than 100 people were killed, a large number of civilians were taken and taken hostage to Ingushetia. Many went missing and their fate is unknown to this day. Many Ossetian houses were destroyed and burned in the occupied villages of the Prigorodny district. All these events stirred up the people, caused a reciprocal rage and a thirst for revenge for what they had done. Thousands of young people rushed to defend the republic from all settlements, joining the National Guard, the people's militia and the forces of the Ministry of the Interior, which were previously created in case of aggression. A well-armed and combat-experienced battalion of 400-500 men arrived from South Ossetia to help the brothers. Under the menacing pressure of the indignant masses, the army leadership also provided some assistance in arming the militias and law enforcement agencies of the republic (see the article about G. Kantemirov in the section "Generals and Admirals"). All this had its effect, and by the end of the new week, the entire territory of the Prigorodny district was cleared of the attackers. Anger for what they had done, in some cases, overflowed and there were noticeably more victims from the Ingush side. Moreover, for the sake of justice, it must be admitted that due to the high intensity of the fire and the use of heavy weapons, among these victims were also civilians.

Earlier, Russian troops were brought into the conflict zone, which, having taken a neutral position, entered the battle only in response to acts of direct attack on them. By November 5, the troops took up positions between the opposing sides in order to prevent a further escalation of hostilities.

The results of this, the first on the territory of Russia, armed conflict are sad for both the Ossetians and the Ingush.

-A total of 546 people died (including 105 Ossetians and 407 Ingush)

About a thousand people were injured and maimed

Hundreds of hostages were taken, which were then mostly exchanged between the parties to the conflict.

In the war zone, many houses and buildings, both Ingush and Ossetian, were completely destroyed.

Almost the entire Ingush population of the Prigorodny district and Vladikavkaz (more than 30 thousand people) left their homes and became refugees for a long time.

Over the past 14 years, most refugees have returned to their villages. They were given land plots for the construction of new houses, cash loans and compensation. But the problem of the Prigorodny district is raised by the Ingush side again and again, not allowing the tension to ease. The Ossetian side rejects any options for redrawing the existing borders, in view of the fact that for more than 60 years, by the will of fate, Ossetians have been living in these villages. More than one generation has been born of those for whom this land is their homeland, and they have no other. And they are determined to defend it resolutely from any encroachment.

In the Caucasus, all conflicts have always been resolved peacefully through dialogue between people, between peoples. So far this dialogue between Ossetians and Ingush has not been achieved. And the bloody events that are played out every now and then in many ways contribute to the strengthening of distrust and hostility between neighboring peoples. One of these events was an explosion in the crowded central market of Vladikavkaz on March 19, 1999, arranged by 4 young Ingush - residents of the Prigorodny district. Then 52 people died on the spot and another 168 people were injured, mostly women, old people, students. Subsequently, a number of explosions were carried out in the markets and other crowded places in the capital of North Ossetia, in which many people also died.

But the most monstrous and inhumane act that stirred up the whole world was the seizure of the Beslan secondary school on September 1, 2004. Early in the morning on Knowledge Day, a large group of heavily armed militants, driving from the territory of Ingushetia in a truck, surrounded the school with children, teachers and parents and, locking them in the school gym, held them hostage for three days, without food or drink. Many of the children, unable to withstand hunger and stuffiness, ate flowers, traditionally brought for teachers, drank their own urine, and lost consciousness. Immediately after the capture, many young people were shot. The bandits brought suicide bombers with them, stuffed the entire building of the school with mines. After the explosion of two of them, a chaotic assault began. In these most mournful days for the Ossetian people over the past few decades, 331 hostages died, of which 186 were children of different ages, from one to 16 years old. The monsters encroached on the most sacred thing for every nation - children, our future.

According to the official version today, almost all of them, except for one, were destroyed during the assault. But those who organized and planned this act of intimidation with the aim of unleashing a big war in the North Caucasus are still alive. For some reason, they are still at large and threaten with new terror.

It is rightly said that bandits have no nationality. But at the same time, the fact that the vast majority of the identified militants turned out to be Ingush cannot hide anywhere. And Ossetians are unlikely to be able to force themselves to close their eyes to this in the near future and extend a hand of friendship towards Ingushetia. Moreover, so far from that side, neither at the official nor at the national level, not a word of repentance has been sounded for those who came to Beslan to kill children.

Years will pass and generations will change before the pain of wounds and losses subsides. Before all people understand that peace and tranquility in the region is vital for all peoples and every person. Before wisdom triumphs over ambition, political and national adventurism.

*The Russian edition of this book is printed in the library of the magazine "Daryal"

Review prepared by R. Kuchiev

September 2005

List of some interesting books on the history of the Scythians, Alans, Ossetians:

1. Scythians. Grakov V.M. (Russian)

2. To the problem of the genesis of the Ossetian Nart epic. Guriev T.A (rus)

3. Ossetians. B.A. Kaloev (rus)

4. A grammatical sketch of Ossetic./ by V.I. Abaev. Edited by Herbert H. Paper, Translated by Steven P. Hill,

5. A history of the Alans in the West. / by Bernard S. Bachrach

6. The Sarmatians./ by T. Sulimirsky

7. The world of the Scythians./ by Renate Rolle

8. Iranians and Greeks in South Russia./ by M. Rostovtsev

9. The Scythians./ by Tamara Talbot Rice

10.From Scythia to Camelot./ by C.Scott Littleton&Linda A.Malcor

11.Alle Radici Della Cavalleria Medievale. / by Franco Cardini (in Italian)

12.Searching For The Scythians/ by Mike Edwards/ National Geographic, September 1996

13. Alans in Gaul. / by Bernard S. Bachrach

14. Sources on the Alans. A critical compilation./ by Agusti Alamany

15. The Sarmatians 600 BC - AD 450. / by R. Brzezinski & M. Mielczarek

16. The Scythians 700-300 BC / by Dr. E.V. Cernenko

Ossetians are a people in the Russian Federation. The number in the Russian Federation is 402275 people. They speak the Ossetian language of the Iranian group of the Indo-European family.

Ossetians are a people in the Russian Federation. The main part of the population of North Ossetia, numbering about 335,000 people, and Georgia (the main population of South Ossetia). They also live in Kabardino-Balkaria, in Karachay-Cherkessia. The number in Russia is 402,000 people.

Main sub-ethnic groups: Irons and Digors (in the west of North Ossetia).

They speak the Ossetian language of the Iranian group of the Indo-European family. It has two dialects: Iron (formed the basis of the literary language) and Digor. Writing since the 19th century based on the Russian alphabet.

Believers - Orthodox, there are Muslims. Most Ossetians profess Orthodoxy, which penetrated in the 6th-7th centuries from Byzantium, later from Georgia, from the 18th century from Russia. The minority is Islam (accepted in the 17th - 18th centuries from the Kabardians); preserved pagan beliefs and rituals. Among the various genres of folklore, the epic about Narts, heroic songs, legends, and lamentations stand out.

The ethnonym Digor (Ashdigor) was first mentioned in "Armenian Geography" (7th century). Dvals are named in the same source. The Georgian historian Leonty Mroveli (XI century) points to the significance of the "Great Dval Road", which passed from Georgia through the territory of the Dvalians to the North Caucasus.

Ossetians are one of the most ancient peoples of the Caucasus. Since the time of the Scythian campaigns in Asia Minor, they are referred to in the Georgian chronicle as ovs (wasps, hence the Russian name for Ossetians). The formation of the Ossetian people is associated with the aboriginal population of the North Caucasus and with the newcomer Iranian-speaking peoples - the Scythians, Sarmatians and especially the Alans (in the 1st century AD). As a result of the settlement of the latter in the Central Caucasus, the indigenous population adopted their language and many cultural features. The powerful union of the Alans (was - in Georgian and yases, dormouse in Russian medieval sources) that developed here laid the foundation for the formation of the Ossetian people.

In the XIII century, the Alanian state was defeated by the Mongol-Tatars, the Alans were pushed back from the fertile plains to the south, into the mountain gorges of the Central Caucasus. On its northern slopes, four "societies" were formed, dating back to the tribal division (Digorsky, Alagirsky, Kurtatinsky, Tagaursky), on the southern slopes - many smaller "societies" that were dependent on the Georgian princes.

A lot of Ossetian-Alans went to Mongolia and especially to the countries of Eastern Europe (a large compact group of descendants of the Alans settled in Hungary, which calls itself Yass, but has lost its native language). Since the forties of the XVIII century, Russian-Ossetian relations have been developing. The Russian government created the Ossetian Spiritual Commission. Members of the commission organized the Ossetian embassy in St. Petersburg (1749 - 1752), contributed to the resettlement of Ossetians in Mozdok and the Mozdok steppes and the development of new lands. Ossetians, experiencing an acute need for land, repeatedly applied through a commission with a request to the Russian government to resettle them in the foothill regions of the North Caucasus. In 1774, Ossetia became part of Russia. The consolidation of the Ossetian people has intensified. At the end of the 18th - 19th centuries, part of the Ossetians began to migrate from the mountains to the plains. The lands transferred to the Ossetians by the Russian government were assigned mainly to the Ossetian nobility.

After 1917 there was a mass migration of Ossetians to the plain. On April 20, 1922, the South Ossetian Autonomous Region was formed as part of the Georgian SSR, in 1924 - the North Ossetian Autonomous Region, which on December 5, 1936 was transformed into the North Ossetian ASSR as part of the RSFSR. In 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the Republic of North Ossetia.

Ossetians traditionally engage in agriculture. There is a rich national cuisine. The most revered drink is beer, made in the mountains exclusively from barley, and in the plains, in addition, from wheat and corn. Beer is an ancient Ossetian drink; according to legend, it was invented by the Nart heroine Satana.

Ossetian society was divided into several social groups. Ossetians have preserved elements of many ancient institutions in everyday life. Among them, blood feuds especially stood out, spreading to close and distant relatives and dragging on for years. It arose because of the land, insulting the honor of the house or individual family members, abducting women, etc. Reconciliation ended with the payment by the guilty party of a large number of livestock and valuables (weapons, a brewing kettle, etc.) and the arrangement of a "blood table" for treating the parties to the victims. The customs of hospitality, kunachestvo, twinning, mutual assistance did not differ much from those of other peoples of the North Caucasus.

On the territory of the countries of South and. However, they live in Russia and other countries. In total, there are about 700 thousand Ossetians in the world, 515 thousand of which live in Russia.

Residents speak Russian, Georgian and Ossetian languages, all three are state languages. If we talk about religions, then the Ossetians adopted Christianity from Byzantium back in the period of the 4th-9th centuries. There is a small part of the population professing Islam. Ossetians are attributed to the Caucasian type of the Caucasian race. They are characterized not only by dark hair, fair-haired, red-haired people are also often found. The shape of the head of the people of Ossetia is elongated, the color of the eyes is brown, sometimes gray or blue.

National composition of South Ossetia in 1926-2008:

Ossetians - 46,289 (64.3%)

Georgians - 18,000 (25.0%)

Russians - 2016 (2.8%)

Armenians - 871 (1.21%)

Jews - 648 (0.9%)

others - 4,176 (5.8%) (Armenians, Tatars, Gypsies, Kyrgyz, Tajiks)

According to South Ossetia, now (in 2009) the majority of the population are Ossetians (80%)

Speaking about architecture, it is worth noting that the most interesting monuments created by Ossetians are fortresses, towers, castles, barrier walls, etc. They built such structures in all the gorges that they inhabited. Since ancient times, such buildings have been a reliable guarantor of freedom of childbirth, providing shelter to the owners. However, during the hostilities, a large number of architectural monuments were destroyed.

The main dishes of the cuisine of South Ossetia are local pies, meat stew with potatoes, meat stewed in sour cream, beans and corn boiled together, pepper leaves sauce with cream or sour cream. Of the drinks, it is necessary to highlight beer, kvass, as well as the local alcoholic drink araka, which is like whiskey. Of course, as in any other Caucasian country, people in South Ossetia love and know how to cook barbecue.

Since ancient times, the main occupation was cattle breeding and agriculture. Also, in the earlier stages, the locals were engaged in hunting.

In the economy, the most developed were the preparation of cheese and butter, the production of cloth, the manufacture of wood and metal products, Ossetians were engaged in wool processing. The costume of the inhabitants of Ossetia had the following appearance: tight trousers that reached the shoes, and a beshmet. In the mountains, a kind of footwear was used - archita, as a headdress they used a hat made of sheep fur, and in summer - a mountain hat. In everyday life, women wore dresses with collections at the waist, with a stand-up collar, a straight slit on the chest to the waist.

The applied and fine arts of the Ossetian people are extremely rich. So, local craftsmen were engaged in wood carving, ornamental embroidery, metal processing, stone carving, etc. Ossetian musical instruments are basically similar to Caucasian musical instruments. Among these, one can distinguish a shepherd's flute, a harp, a two-stringed violin. They were played only by men. A little later, in Ossetia, a two-row harmonica was brought from Russia.

Ossetians are a very hospitable, tolerant and friendly nation.

Most believing Ossetians are considered Orthodox, who converted to Christianity from Byzantium in the period from the 4th-9th centuries (which, however, somewhat contradicts the testimony of the Ossetians themselves, who have oral traditions from the relatively recent past, the 19th century, about baptisms "for red shirts", and the motive for accepting baptism several times to replenish the wardrobe is also reflected in folklore [source not specified 193 days]). Some Ossetians profess Sunni Islam, adopted in the 17th-18th centuries from the Kabardians. But a significant part of the Ossetians are actually adherents of traditional Ossetian beliefs, which have pre-Christian roots.
The history of the formation of traditional beliefs
The system of the religious worldview of the Ossetians was inherited from distant ancestors and basically has Aryan roots.
The process of ethnogenesis of Ossetians on the basis of the Caucasian Alans with the participation of the local Caucasian-speaking substrate (tribes of the Koban culture), obviously, became the main component for the formation of their religious and cult ideas.
The spiritual culture of the South Ossetians was continuously enriched due to the neighborhood with Christian Georgia and long-term, continuous contacts with its population [source not specified 849 days]. These processes were most intensive during the reign of Queen Tamara in Georgia.
Christian elements in the folk religion of the Ossetians were partly inherited from the Alans themselves, who during the period of the political heyday of Alania in the 10th-11th centuries actively spread Orthodoxy on their territory. This policy was also actively supported by the allied Byzantium.
As a result of the Mongol invasion in the XIII century, these processes were interrupted and never completed. In the period after the collapse of Alania and up to joining Russia, the Ossetians lived in isolation in the conditions of hard-to-reach mountain gorges, already without participation in the spiritual life of world civilization. Under these conditions, the process of the final formation of the modern religious culture of the Ossetians, now characterized as a universal monotheistic religion of Orthodox Christianity, took place [What?].
[edit] Modern form
At the present stage, the folk religion of Ossetians has the form of a complex system of worldview and cults based on ancient Ossetian mythology (reflected in particular in the Ossetian Nart epic), which is characterized by the presence of a single God (Ossetian Huytsau), having the epithets Great (Styr) and United (Iunæg ).
He created everything in the Universe, including the lower heavenly forces that patronize various elements, the material world and spheres of human activity and make up the pantheon subject to him: patron saints (Ossetian dzuar); heavenly angels (Osset. zæd) and earthly spirits (Osset. dauæg).
In the Ossetian folk calendar there are holidays celebrated in honor of the Great God and most of the saints, which are accompanied by prayer feasts (Ossetian kuyvd) and sacrifices, often held at the sanctuaries dedicated to them (Ossetian dzuar).
Sanctuaries can be both certain places of worship, and sacred groves, mountains, caves, heaps of stones, ruins of ancient chapels and churches. Some of them are revered in separate gorges or settlements, and some are all-Ossetian.