What group do Ossetians belong to? Faces of Russia. Ossetians. Center of Christianity in the North Caucasus

In the second half of the 18th century, European scientists traveling in the North Caucasus first encountered Ossetians. Who are they? Where did you come from? These questions perplexed pundits who had little knowledge of the history of the Caucasus and its ethnographic genealogy.
Ossetian German, traveler and natural scientist Johann Güldenstedt named the descendants of the ancient Polovtsy. German scholars August Haksthausen, Karl Koch and Karl Gan put forward the theory of the German origin of the Ossetian people. French archaeologist Dubois de Montperet suggested that Ossetians belong to the Finno-Ugric tribes.
According to the point of view of Doctor of Law Voldemar Pfaff, Ossetians are the result of a mixture of Semites and Aryans. The starting point for such a conclusion was the external similarity of the Highlanders with the Jews discovered by Pfaff. In addition, the scientist focused on some common features of the lifestyle of the two peoples. For example, there are such parallels: the son remains with his father and submits to him in everything; brother is obliged to marry the wife of the deceased brother (the so-called "levirate"); with a lawful wife, it is also allowed to have “illegal” ones. However, a little time will pass, and comparative ethnology will prove that such phenomena are very common among many other peoples.
Along with these assumptions, a theory of the Alanian origin of Ossetians was put forward by the German orientalist Julius Klaprot at the beginning of the 19th century. Following him, a Russian researcher, ethnographer Andrei Sjogren on the extensive language material proved the validity of this point of view. And at the end of the 19th century, the prominent Caucasian scholar and Slavist Vsevolod Miller finally convinced the scientific community of the Alano-Iranian roots of the Ossetian people.
Long pedigree
The richest history of the Ossetian nation dates back at least 30 centuries. Today we have enough information to plunge into the study of the pedigree of this people, which shows a clear continuity: Scythians - Sarmatians - Alans - Ossetians.
The Scythians, who declared themselves victorious campaigns in Asia Minor, the creation of grand mounds and the art of making gold jewelry, settled in the regions of the steppe Crimea and areas of the Northern Black Sea region, between the lower reaches of the Danube and the Don, back in the VIII century BC.
In the IV century BC Scythian king Atey, having completed the union of tribal unions, created a powerful power. However, in the III century BC Scythians were attacked by related Sarmatian tribes and were partially dispersed, but a significant group of them were assimilated by the Sarmatians.
In the 3rd century A.D. the Goths invaded the Scythian-Sarmatian kingdom, and a century later the Huns arrived, who involved the local tribes in the Great Migration of Nations. But the weakening Scythian-Sarmatian community did not dissolve in this stormy stream. Energetic Alans stood out from it, some of which, together with the Hunnic horsemen, went to the West and reached Spain. Another part moved to the foothills of the Caucasus, where, combined with local ethnic groups, laid the foundation for the future early feudal state of Alania. In the IX century, Christianity penetrated from Byzantium to the borders of Alanya. It is still practiced by most residents of North and South Ossetia.
In the 1220s hordes of Genghis Khan invaded Alanya, defeating the small Alan army and capturing the fertile plains of the foothills of the Caucasus by the end of the 1230s. The surviving Alans were forced to go to the mountains. Deprived of their former power, the Alans for a long five centuries disappear from the historical scene in order to be reborn in a new world under the name of Ossetians.

The question of who the Ossetians are Muslims or Christians, and which religion is most common in North Ossetia, can be resolved only by considering the history of this people, starting from ancient times, when various tribes and ethnic groups lived on this territory.

History of the Ossetian people

Ossetians belong to the most ancient peoples of the Caucasus, having a specific religious culture, a rather complicated structure of customs and beliefs. For centuries, their religion retained pagan roots, and then under the influence of Christianity, the characters of pagan deities they firmly connected with the Orthodox.

Therefore, the answers to the questions of who the Ossetians were before the adoption of Christianity and what their religious views were, should be sought in their historical roots, which descended from the Scythian-Sarmatians who founded the state of Alania here.

The inhabitants of the territory where North Ossetia is now located were the Sarmatian and Alan tribes, which were still in the 9th-7th centuries. BC. settled here, creating a sufficiently developed "Koban" culture, the language of their communication was Iranian. Later, Scythians and Sarmatians raided these settlements, which assimilated and formed new ethnic groups.

The appearance of the Sarmatian tribe Alans happened in the 1st century. BC. and contributed to the emergence of the Alanian state in the V-VI centuries, the basis of which was served by military democracy. Its structure included not only the current Ossetian territories, but also a large part of the North Caucasus.

The capital of Alanya - the fortification of Tatartup - was located not far from the modern village. Elhotovo. On the territory of the Alan state, 2 ethnic groups formed:

• protodigors (Asdigor) - the western territories of the Kuban, Pyatigory and Balkaria, their population maintained economic and friendly relations with Byzantium;
• proto-Irons (Irkhan) - eastern Alans (North Ossetia, Chechnya and Ingushetia), who were oriented to Iran.

Christianization in the Alan Empire

In the VI-VII centuries. Byzantine preachers appeared in Alanya, introducing the features of Orthodoxy in their life and religion. The process of Christianization was a form of relations with Byzantium, which pursued its political goals. With the help of Christian bishops and priests, the empire began to expand its spheres of influence and power on these lands, acting through local leaders with the help of bribes and gifts, giving them various titles.

This happened in order to reduce the risk of attacks by nomadic tribes on the borders of Byzantium, which at that time inhabited the steppe and mountainous regions from the North Caucasus and Meotida to the Caspian Sea. Therefore, the empire tried to provoke conflicts between them, and also tried to conclude an alliance with the steppe peoples in order to confront Iran.

The strategic position of the territories of the Alanian state contributed to the interest of the empire in its population, which, although they considered barbarians, with the help of Christianity, sought to strengthen relations with it. Until the middle of the 7th century independent Alania was an ally of Byzantium in confronting the Arab caliphate in the Caucasus.

After the end of the Arab-Khazar military operations, the political influence of the Khazar Khaganate greatly strengthened, which was Alania’s tactics not to fall under the power of the Arab conquerors.

The fall of Byzantium, friendship with Georgia

At the end of the X century. the Alans made an alliance with the Russians, thus ensuring the victory of the Khazars to the Kiev prince Svyatoslav, which helped the state free itself from the influence of the Kaganate and Arabs. In independent Alanya in the X-XII centuries. the period of the highest political, military and cultural heyday begins.

Friendship with the Georgian kingdom, where King David IV the Builder and Queen Tamara ruled, greatly influenced the Christianization of the Alans during these years. They pursued active educational, missionary and peacekeeping policies throughout the region. An important moment in the history of the consolidation of Christianity as a religious worldview of Ossetians was the emergence of the Alan metropolis. Georgian missionaries who came to Ossetian lands were engaged in the construction of small Orthodox churches, which later began to turn into pagan shrines.

In the Alanian state in the 2nd half of the 12th century feudal fragmentation begins, and then after the raids of the Tatar-Mongol, it ceases to exist. In 1204, the crusader campaign and the capture of Constantinople led to the fall of Byzantium.

The era of the reign of the Golden Horde led to the isolation of the Ossetian population, which survived only in the areas of mountain gorges, isolated from other peoples and states. In the period XII-XIII centuries. there was a decrease in the influence of Orthodoxy in the region of the North Caucasus, the bulk of the population adhered to semi-pagan beliefs, remaining divorced from civilization.

Ossetian religion - a mixture of Christianity and paganism

Forming mountain communities, Ossetians for many years maintained a pagan religion. Even with the subsequent resettlement on the plains, they adhered to these ancient views. According to the descriptions of travelers who visited them in the past centuries and were interested in what religion the Ossetians profess, it was noted that they adhered to mixed religious rites.

Orthodox religion intertwined in their religion, veneration of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary with semi-pagan holidays. Together with pagan deities (Ovsadi, Alarda, etc.) they worshiped both Christi (I. Christos) and Madi-Mairam (Mother of God), etc. Alans celebrated Orthodox holidays (Easter, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, etc.), strictly kept posts, went to the cemetery to remember the dead.

The national religion of the Ossetians was created by a mixture of Christianity and paganism, partly - Mohammedanism. Moreover, following religious rituals was not always accurate, much was mixed up and mixed up, which was connected with the missionary movements of not only Christians, but also Muslims.

The influence of the Russian Empire

Since the XVIII century. the next stage begins: Christianity comes from Russia. Orthodox missionaries preached religious dogmas in the most remote mountain settlements, bringing with them goods for exchange and money to pay for baptism. Moreover, the highlanders managed to be baptized not only themselves, but also pets, in order to get more coins.

Ossetian Christianity took on a peculiar form: they believed in Jesus Christ, but also in their pagan deities. Ossetians didn’t go to temples built by Georgians, because the service was conducted in Georgian. And only at the end of the XIX century. local priests began to appear. After the founding of the Ardon Theological Seminary in 1880, where Ossetians studied, Orthodox churches also began to be built in the plains on the plains, which were supposed to withstand the Muslim religion that had spread during these years.

Ossetians (Muslims or Christians) lived in mountain gorges in small groups, continued to celebrate their traditional holidays and pray to their pagan deities.

Islam in Ossetia

Information about the preaching and adoption of Islam by some families testifies to its spread in the territory of Alanya in the 7th-10th centuries, after the Arab campaigns. According to some reports, even during the Golden Horde, minarets functioned, one of which - Tatartupsky - was destroyed in the 1980s.

However, in the official history of Ossetians it is generally accepted that rich feudal lords (Digors, Tagaurts, Kurtatins) began to accept Islam from Kabardian princes only in the 16th-17th centuries. Moreover, the poor highlanders at that time remained Christians, but gradually also adopted Islamic ideas. By the beginning of the XIX century. most of the families were Muslims, with the exception of the Alagir and Tual communities.

During the Caucasian War (1817-1864), the propaganda of the Muslim religion began to prevail and came from Dagestan: the arrival of the envoys of Imam Shamil helped spread Islamic ideas to another 4 mountain communities.

In the second half of the XIX century. following an anti-Islamic policy, the Russian government is forcing Muslims to settle separately from Christians in order to prevent further strengthening of the influence of this religion. In the Islamic villages appeared their imams, who were educated in Dagestan and Kabarda, the spread of Arabic writing began, religious editions were published. The Caucasian war, which lasted almost 50 years, caused a partial resettlement of the Highlanders and Ossetians to Turkey.

Active anti-Muslim policy during the Russian Empire continued after the 1917 revolution by the communist government along with the propaganda of atheism. In Soviet times, Islam was subjected to persecution and prohibitions.

Since the end of the 80s of the 20th century, the influence of the Muslim religion has been growing, which is expressed in the adoption of Islam by Ossetians, who came from Muslim families.

Deities of folk religion

The native Ossetian religion believes in the existence of God who rules the world (God of the gods). Below him there are other deities:

• Huazilla - god of thunder and light (Thunder), the name comes from the biblical prophet Elijah;
• Uastirdzhi or St. George - the most important deity, is the patron saint of men and travelers, the enemy of all murderers and thieves;
• Tutir is the ruler of wolves, people believe that, respecting him, they take wolves away from attacks on livestock and people;
• Falvara is the most peaceful and good deity, protector of livestock;
• Afsati - manages wild animals and patronizes hunters, looks like a white-bearded old man sitting on a high mountain, it is for him that they bake traditional 3 pies, invoking good luck in life;

• Barastyr is the deity of the afterlife who cares for the dead both in paradise and in hell.
• Don Battier is a water ruler who owns fish and patronizes fishermen.
• Rynibardug is a deity that causes and cures diseases.
• Alard - the evil spirit that sends mass diseases - a monster with a scary face.
• Huitsauy Dzuar - patronizes the family and the elderly.
• Madi-Mairam - protects and patronizes women, the image is taken from St. Mary in Christianity.
• Sau Dzuar - “black” patron of the forest, protecting from fire and deforestation, etc.

Religious holidays in Ossetia

Numerous holidays in Ossetia differ in form and content, and in mountain villages they differ in their rules and customs. The main religious festivals of Ossetians are as follows:

• Nog Az (New Year) is celebrated on January 1 with the whole family, when treats are put on the table: traditional 3 pies, physonag, fruits and holiday dishes. For children put a Christmas tree with toys. The eldest, sitting at the head of the table, reads a prayer to God for the benefits expected in the coming year.
• Donskafan - celebrated after 6 days, in the morning all women take “basylta” jugs and go for water, where they pray for prosperity and happiness in the family, bring water home and spray all walls and corners, wash it. It is believed that such water helps to cleanse the soul, it is procured for the future.
• Khairajyty Ahsav - is celebrated at night to appease the devils who, according to ancient legends, once lived with people. In “Devils Night” it is customary to cut a kid (chicken, etc.), and bury its blood so that no one can find it. A table set by midnight with refreshments was left first for the "unclean", and then they feasted with the whole family.
• Kuazan (corresponds to Easter) - marks the end of fasting on the first Sunday after the full moon in April. All preparations are identical to the Orthodox holiday: they paint eggs, prepare pies, meat. At the festive table, the eldest in the family prays, turning to Jesus Christ for everything that the Ossetians believe in: for the good for the family, for the commemoration of the deceased relatives, etc. A holiday is organized for the whole village (Kuvd), general fun, dancing, visiting neighbors .
• Tarangeliasis - refers to the oldest traditional celebrations, celebrated 3 weeks after Easter. Tarangeloz is the name of the fertility deity whose sanctuary is located in the Trusovsky Gorge. A sacrificial lamb is brought to him, a holiday is celebrated for several days, horse races are organized for young people.
• Nikkola - the name of an ancient saint, known since the time of Alanya, is considered the deity of cereals, which helps to harvest. The holiday falls on the second half of May.
• Recom is a men's holiday named after the sanctuary, especially revered among the highlanders of the Alagir Gorge. According to tradition, the sacrificial lamb is slaughtered, national festivals and sports are held. At the time of holding (7 days), many families move to temporary buildings located near Rekom, ritual dances and processions are organized around the sanctuary, neighbors from other villages are invited to tables with refreshments.

• Huazilla - Thunder God, caring for everything that grows from the earth, a traditional holiday of agriculture since the time of Alanya. Its sanctuaries are located in different places, mainly in Dargavs on Mount Tbau. For the festive table, they bake cakes, slaughter a ram, during the feast they offer prayers. Only a priest can enter the sanctuary, who brings offerings and a bowl of beer brewed specially for this day.
• Khetaji Bon is the day of Uastirdzhi, which helped the Kabardian prince Khetag to flee from the enemies pursuing him for the adoption of Christianity. Celebrated in the Holy Grove near the village. Suadag on the 2nd Sunday of July, is a national holiday with a ritual of the sacrifice of a ram and a feast.

Religions in Ossetia: XXI Century

The question of whether the Ossetians are Muslims or Christians can be answered accurately by looking at statistics that confirm that 75% of Ossetians are Orthodox Christians. The rest of the population professes Islam and other religions. However, ancient pagan customs are still practiced and have firmly entered into household and family relationships of representatives of the people.

In total, 16 religious denominations are now represented in Ossetia, among which there are also Pentecostals, Protestants, Jews, etc. In recent years, attempts have been made to create a “neopagan” religion, alternative to traditional beliefs, but based on tribal rites and way of life of the population.

Center of Christianity in the North Caucasus

North Ossetia is the only Christian republic in the North Caucasus; the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) are located in Vladikavkaz, which unite the believers of this region.

The native religion of Ossetians has its own national identity and can become the basis for the existence of Orthodoxy in this country, which preserves Christian values \u200b\u200band the heritage of the Alans. The Russian Orthodox Church in Vladikavkaz begins work on the development of an Ossetian-language worship, starting the translation of Christian texts into Ossetian. Perhaps, in the native language, the traditions of conducting Orthodox services will return to the ancient churches scattered in mountain settlements.

The policy of the government of North Ossetia within the Russian Federation is aimed at preaching and strengthening the Orthodox faith among Ossetians (Muslims or Christians).

Today, the minds of our neighbors are widely captured by the idea that they are descendants of the Alans, and we are supposedly the descendants of the "Iranian Mazdakite Jews." This idea runs through the red thread in all their history books and articles written on this topic. If you do not take into account many, then especially on the Internet there are articles written by some: Denis Baksan and Yusup Temirkhanov. The latter, by the way, in his articles mainly refers to the famous Ingush historian Kodzoyev (we are not going to criticize his works because his works, with all the hooks and crooks, have a historical and descriptive character and, in contrast to the articles of Yu. Temirkhanov, and, in generally not directed against Ossetians).
The books and articles they wrote are full of all scientific terms, for the most part arrogant, as well as a whole bunch of “facts” (actually used to falsify the idea), which for an inexperienced outside reader who is not well versed in the intricacies of historical science, may seem like a completely truthful research work having a newer, truthful outlook on things and containing a whole arsenal of irrefutable facts and evidence, all the more for the majority of the fellow tribesmen of these writers who are not sufficiently knowledgeable in historical science, for whom one idea, whether it is true or not, flatters their immeasurable national pride, because it belittles Ossetians’s eyes depriving them of their glorious ancestors, and more importantly, makes them some evil aliens who have rightfully taken “not their lands”.
In a huge number of scientific works written over the centuries, it has been established and proved for a long time that the Alans are Iranian-speaking as well as their predecessors: Sarmatians, Scythians, Cimmerians. Iranian-speaking Alans, Sarmatians, Scythians is an axiom that does not even require any evidence, as well as the fact that they are direct ancestors of Ossetians. However, some adventurers and falsifiers of history "turn everything upside down." Let us understand their untruthful propaganda and expose them.

In his work “The Trail of Satan on the Secret Paths of History” full of ideas of anti-Semitism, nationalism and religious chauvinism, in chapter 11 under the intricate title “Mazdakites on the Terek”, Denis Baksan writes about Ossetians: “Ossetians themselves are not a single legend, not a single tradition, one idiom of their language does not speak of their descent from the Alans. "
He is echoed by another pseudo-historian Yusup Temirkhanov, who writes in his article “Motherland is waiting” on ingush.ru: “Using a systematic approach, we determined that Ossetians who do not have Alanian ethnic identity (self-determination) and an Alanian stereotype of behavior never were Alans and cannot be their descendants, and the search for the ethnic roots of Ossetians led us to Iranian Mazdakite Jews who fled from the repression of Khosrov Anushirvan in 529 between the Terek and Sulak rivers, and then, using the Khazars, who occupied part of the territory of the Alans on the plain and the foothills. "
About the Alans, both one and the other say that these are direct ancestors of the Ingush.
Here is what Yu. Temirkhanov writes: “Kodzoev convincingly etymologizes the ethnonym“ Alan ”on the basis of the Ingush word“ Ala ”with the suffix“ n ”and, therefore, ala + n \u003d Alan - God’s, belonging to God.” etc. etc.
What do these “historians” rely on? To which sources and facts, whether archaeological or historical, putting forward ideas that are clearly contrary to generally accepted historical science? Is there really any truth in their ideas? What are the goals pursuing such ideas?
As the main source for interpreting their ideas, these “historians” chose the work of the medieval Georgian writer-monk of the 11th century Leonti Mroveli “Kartlis Tskhovreba” or translated into Russian as “The Life of the Kartli Kings”, which Denis Baksan referred to as “the only source which reflects the circumstances of the emergence of Ossetians in the Caucasus. "
Well, since there are no other sources, let’s look at whether the fact that Leonti Mroveli speaks about the Ossetians in the “Life of the Kartelian Kings” really means and what the “historians” of the neighboring national administrative entity so eloquently refer to, right?
Before sorting out the issues, let us briefly review Leonty Mroveli's book, The Life of the Kartis Kings.
So, “The Life of the Kartlian Kings” is undoubtedly a valuable historical work that has absorbed a lot of valuable historical information, at the same time containing a part (this mainly relates to the origin of all Caucasian peoples from one mythical ancestor, their kinship and initial resettlement in the Caucasus) of clearly mythological character. However, this is characteristic of almost all the works of the Middle Ages, given the worldview and views of the people of that time, in whom it was closely intertwined with religion (which by no means diminishes the significance of what Mroveli wrote for us today). Therefore, our goal is not a critical analysis (a small part of the interweaving of myths with some realities, bias in the description of some events or some inaccuracies) of the work of a medieval historian, (this has already been done by eminent scholars a long time ago and detailed written analyzes of the work of Mroveli are given) the ethnic origin of modern Ossetians from the Alans based on the labor of Mroveli, who (using the same source) cast doubt on the Ingush “historians”.
The narrative of The Lives of the Kartli Kings begins with a description of the origin of all the mythical ancestors of the Caucasian peoples from one mythical ancestor and their subsequent settlement in the Caucasus. The following describes their joint struggle against Unskilled (by which we should mean the mythical founder Babylon Nimrod, which is reported in the Bible in Genesis chapter 10) and their victory over him.
If you follow the biblical chronology, then Nimrod reigned in the East in the last quarter of the third millennium BC. Thus, the events that begin the narrative of The Life of the Kartlian Kings can be hypothetically attributed to the last quarter of the third millennium BC. AD
Further, the book of Leonty Mroveli describes in detail the process of the formation of the ancient Kartlian nation from the born descendants of the ancestor of the Georgians or Kartlis of Kartlos. After this, the invasion of the peoples inhabiting the Caucasus Khazars and the struggle of the "related" Caucasians with them are described. Then, the defeat that Caucasians suffered from the Khazars and the settlement of the central part of the Caucasus to the west of the Lomeki River by the son of the Khazar king Uobos, who is the ancestor of oats or Ossetians, is described.
After that, the book of Leonti Mroveli describes the invasion of Alexander the Great on Kartli. Of course, in real history, Alexander the Great never went to the Caucasus with a campaign.
After this, the reign in Kartli of Azon is described. Thus, . the time when Alexander the Great reigned is the third quarter of the 4th century BC. BC, Azon reigned in Kartli in the last quarter of the 4th century BC. AD
I would like to note that the kings described by Mroveli after Alexander are personalities whose existence is historically proven in contrast to the mythical ancestors of the Caucasian tribes, which Mroveli reports at the beginning of his book.
So, according to Mroveli, Farnavaz, who is considered the first king of Kartli, replaced Azon, the time of his reign in official historiography is 299-234. BC. Next comes Saurmag (234-159 BC), followed by Mirwan (159-109 BC), then Farnaj (109-99 BC), followed by Arshak (90-78 BC), Artag (78-63gg. BC), Bartom (63-30 BC), Mirvan (30-20gg. BC) .). Why such a detailed description of the chronology of the Kartli kings and what significance does it have in the refutation of “pseudo-historical facts about Ossetians” we will learn later.
In the continuation of the chronology of the Kartli kings from the book of Leonty Mroveli, kings Arshak (20 BC) and Aderka (1-35 BC) are mentioned, after which kings Azork and Armazel are mentioned, the reign of which is nothing known from Greco-Roman sources, in contrast to the above-mentioned rulers of Kartli. Further, according to Mroveli, there is a description of the reign of Farsman (135-185 CE) and Amazasp (185-189 CE), after him the reign of Rev (189-216 CE) and his successors, among which the most significant Aspagur (256-284 years BC) and Mirian (284-361 BC), a description of the reign of which completes the book of the Kartli kings. The second book, written by Mroveli, “The Life of Vakhtang Gorgasal” also refers to the codebook “The Lives of the Kartli Kings” and contains information about the reign of King Kartli Vakhtang Gorgasal (447-506 AD). Thus, Leonti Mroveli’s book covers the period from ancient times (at least from the end of the 3rd millennium BC) through the 5th century. AD Moreover, the chronological sequence in the description of historical events (as we have already considered) in Mroveli is obvious.
Based on the main purpose of the analysis of the work of Leonty Mroveli in the light of biased statements, let us pay attention to the description of the Ossetians in Mroveli, starting from their origin, ending with their deeds.
So, according to Mroveli, the Ossetians are the descendants of the son of the Khazar king, Uobos. This cannot but cause a lot of questions. But before describing and considering these issues, we will briefly analyze what the Khazars were like in history.
According to the Great Encyclopedic Dictionary: “The Khazars are a Turkic-speaking people that appeared in Europe after the Hunnic invasion (which occurred in the 4th century AD) and wandered in the Western Caspian steppe. They formed the state of the Khazar Kaganate. ”
We note that the first real mention of the Khazars in the Caucasus is contained in the “Church History” of the Pseudozachary, and judging by the mention of the Avars (another nomadic Turkic tribe), it dates from no earlier than 560-562. But it was in the 60s. VI century in the Caucasus, in pursuit of the Avar, the Turki (i.e., the Khazars) also first entered. Sources simultaneously use the ethnonyms “Türks” and “Khazars”, and there is not a single text where these two ethnonyms differ. Mid VI century It was noteworthy that on the expanses of the Eurasian steppe from the Black Sea and almost to the Pacific Ocean, the state of the Turkic Haganate was created, the dominant ethnic group of which was the Turki, some of whose tribes after the collapse of the Turkic Haganate, created the state in the western part - the Khazar Haganate, as many consider by the name of the main tribe or people - the Khazars.
It is interesting that the name of this people is the Khazar, like two drops of water similar to the Ossetian word "hædzar" which means home. A very suitable name for a union of tribes or public education in the era of antiquity or the early Middle Ages. For clarity, I would like to refer to the Bible where nations, unions of tribes, states are called the word "house": "House of Israel, House of Judah, House of Fogarma. It is possible that in this case, when the state was formed, the Khazar Khaganate in 670 A.D. the word was included in its name, the explanation of which can only be found in the Ossetian language: “haedzaer”, and the Khazar Kaganate or “Khædzar Kagan” in translation is literally “Kagan’s House” or “Kagan’s Possession” - a kind of Iranian-Turkic symbiosis in the name of the state , and perhaps that is why the people of this state were called the Khazars, because initially they were Turkic peoples. However, the question may arise: And here is the word "Khзdzar", explained in Ossetian, if we are talking about Turkic-speaking tribes linguistically belonging to the Altai language family, and in any way Iranian tribes that belong to the Indo-European language family?
The answer, of course, is in numerous conclusions based on rigorous research done by eminent scientists and recorded by them in scientific works. I would like to bring some of them. Famous anthropologist G.F. A debate about the origin of the Khazars claims that the latter came “from the ancient population of Eastern Europe, assimilated by the Türks in language” and further “How and where is that ancient people that was assimilated by the Türks in language ..., it’s hard to say. Most likely, it was one of the peoples known to the ancient Greeks under the combined name of the Savromats or Sarmatians ... "
Another statement of the writer L. Gumilyov in his book “Opening of the Khazars”, p. 155: “because the Khazars are descendants of the Hunnic warriors and Sarmatian women”, p. 159: “The Khazars are to some extent, albeit small, descendants of the Sarmatians.”
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that the Khazars are an ethnic group of Turkic-Iranian origin. Of course, this does not mean at all that the Ossetians descended from the Khazars, the familiarization information about which we are completing and returning to the main goal of our article.
So Mroveli described the origin of oats or Ossetians from the son of the Khazar king, however, the Khazars first appeared in the Caucasus only in the middle of the 6th century A.D. as recorded in the “Church History” of the Pseudosaccharium, and based on the description of Leonty Mroveli in a strict chronological sequence of which we were convinced, having briefly examined its contents, the Khazars appeared in the Caucasus somewhere at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. (according to the interpretation of Georgian historians - 2032 BC) - a clear discrepancy between history. And if you pay attention to the time of the events described in the book by Mroveli from antiquity to the middle of the 5th century AD, then the Khazars generally have no place there. Let's see where Leonty Mroveli then got these Khazars, at the same time attributing to them the origin of Ossetians from them.
Scientists have long analyzed this description, and here is what conclusion they came to regarding the Khazars at the beginning of the Mroveli book: “Then follows the description of the“ Khazar invasion ”. The core of this legend was the information existing in the Georgian historical tradition about the campaigns of the Scythians through the Caucasus to Western Asia in the 7th century. BC e. 2 and the related formation of the ethnic map of the North Caucasus, the main point of which the author of the chronicle considers the appearance of oats here and the appearance on the political arena of the ancestors of the modern Nakh-Dagestan peoples - durdzuks, leks, etc. " (Leonti Mroveli. The life of the Kartlian kings. Foreword. Moscow. Publishing House "Science" 1979). In the work of Mroveli, the ethnonym Scythian is not mentioned anywhere, although it is known that in the 7th century BC Scythians were very actively involved in political events taking place both in Transcaucasia and in Asia Minor, which could not but leave a mark in the historical memory of Georgians. Another thing is that by the time of Mroveli the word “Scythian” was pretty much forgotten, for the absence of the ethnos itself (since at least a thousand years passed since the Scythians left the historical arena) and Herodotus, along with other ancient historians, did not study Mroveli (i.e. nowhere in the work of Mroveli there is no reference to any historian) in order to revive the memory of the Scythians in his work, limiting himself only to the written or oral information of his nameless contemporaries, but the memory of the Khazars of almost contemporary Mroveli was alive and this is not surprising, because Khazarsky the kaganate was a strong state that extended its power to the entire North Caucasus, the Volga region and the Don region and opposed such a superpower of the time as the Arab caliphate for several centuries. This confrontation was accompanied by numerous, sometimes victorious, military campaigns of the Khazars both in Transcaucasia and in Asia Minor, which were at that time under the rule of the Arab caliph.
By the time of Mroveli, the Khazars were the last tribe that was very influential and owned territories north of the Caucasus. Before the Khazars there were Huns, Sarmatians, Scythians, Cimmerians, who almost all made campaigns in Transcaucasia, without ignoring the ancient Kartli: Mroveli have not a word about them since they have already been forgotten, and instead Khazars are mentioned, as if personifying all these tribes, although according to the history and the correspondence of time to the description of certain events, it becomes clear who appears in the work of Mroveli under the name of the Khazars. In addition, in the early Middle Ages, historians often wrote down the names of peoples as they heard from contemporaries, and not always in reliable form.
For example, medieval Arab and Persian historians called Franks all Europeans, although at first this word was used to mean the tribes that formed the kingdom and people of France. European historians called all the inhabitants of the East the Saracens, although initially this name meant Arabs, etc. For example, the Armenian historian Matvey of Edes calls the Seljuk Turks, who came from Iran - Persians.
Thus, it is clear that the "Khazars" in the work of Leonty Mroveli are Scythians. The origin of oats from the Khazars, that is, Scythians, is the most accurate interpretation made by scientists during the analysis of the book of Mroveli, because the Scythians are to some extent the ancestors of Ossetians.
However, our opponents look at Leonti Mroveli’s book in a completely different way: Y. Temirkhanov and D. Baksan, believing that the Khazars by Mroveli are the Khazars, and the oats are the descendants of some Iranian Mazdakite Jews who made friends with the Khazars because they as you know, they adopted the religion of Judaism, although Mroveli himself does not have anything close to which would indicate the origin of oats from Iranian Jews (if that were the case, Mroveli was worthless to reflect this in his work). It is clear that both Y. Temirkhanov, and D. Baksan and the like have already thought of this themselves. For what purpose - consider later. However, let us return to the opinion of these "historians" who consider the Khazars described by Mroveli as real Khazars. If this is so, then the question arises: Why did Leonty Mroveli's work, which is characterized by a chronological order, suddenly (with the light hand of pseudo-historians) have such inconsistency that events that, according to the interpretation of "historians" occurred much later, for no reason began to be described much earlier.
But here D. Baksan hurries with an answer, who, referring to the opinion of the scientist Gadlo, draws his axiom: “Leonti Mroveli’s work is built not according to the chronological principle, which assumes a phased description of events in their mutual sequence, but blocks of stories, each of which has its own subjects, internal logic, and a special chronology due to the deployment of an isolated plot. ” If you follow the philosophy of this “interpretation”, doesn’t it seem strange that at first Leonti Mroveli begins the description of his story by populating the Caucasus with mythical ancestors, their life, then he is dragged a little, much, and about two and a half thousand years in advance, to mention Khazars, then returns to hoary antiquity, already by the time of Alexander the Great, from the time of which a smooth and consistent chronological description of the dynasty of kings that ruled in Kartli began, and so on until the very end of its description, until the 5th century. AD, while Mroveli, as it were, absolutely ignores the historical events of the times of the real Khazars no less and more important, in which Kartli was involved, than the message about the “Invasion of the Khazars”, such as the Iranian-Byzantine wars, or the conquest of Georgia by Arabs and its accession to the Arab caliphate, which cannot be ignored together with a description of the real Khazars. The same applies to the Scythians, whose campaigns and indeed their existence is reduced to zero in the history of Georgia and the Caucasus, if we consider the “Khazar Invasion” described by Leonty Mroveli as real Khazars.
If you do not take into account the controversial message about the “Khazars,” then about any “story blocks with their own special chronology”, of which, supposedly, the narrative “Kartlis Tskhovreba” (which actually has a harmonious, consistent chronology) consists of out of the question.
Thus, the questions raised by us shake the untenable assertion of the Ingush “historians” that the “Khazars” described by Mroveli are real Khazars and not Scythians, and at the same time they are shaking the untenable, invented by “historians” theory of supposedly Jewish-Mazdakite origin Ossetian. It is just that which is shaking.
But there is something that negates all this false theory, which at the same time bursts like a soap bubble. This is information that is directly contained in the book of Leonti Mroveli, “The Life of the Kartli Kings,” a book that Ingush “historians” have identified as the main argument against the Alanian origin of the Ossetians. Well, as they say "do not dig a hole for another ...". Before considering this information, I would like to draw attention to the sarcastic-mocking and deceitful statement advocating for the false theory of the origin of the Ossetians Yu. Temirkhanova in her article “Motherland is waiting” on ingush.ru regarding Ossetians: “Ossetians, although they have lived in the Caucasus a little less than 15 centuries and in 2029 they can celebrate the 1,500th anniversary of life in the Caucasus ... ”
Well then, will we really consider 15 centuries or how actually a lot more.
So, if at the beginning of Mroveli’s work the appearance of oats as part of the Khazars in the Caucasus is described, then they are mentioned more than once and this mention is connected with events that took place long before the appearance of real Khazars in the Caucasus.
After describing the invasion of the Khazars (ie, Scythians), oats continue to be mentioned in Mroveli in connection with the accession of the famous Farnavaz Kartlosian (299-234 BC), to whom they supported the overthrow of Azon and the accession: They teamed up and conspired with oats and leks. Those rejoiced, for it was very hard for them to pay tribute to Azon. Oats and fishing lines came to them, and troops multiplied 95. In Egrisi, they called a countless army and went to Azon ... ", for which they were honored to be related with Farnavaz" Then Farnavaz gave his sister for the king of oats. " Then, under the son of Farnavaz Saurmag (234-159 BC), oats are referred to as allies of Saurmag “Then Saurmag conspired with the king of oats - his cousin (Literally:“ the son of his father’s sister ”) - and asked for his help ".
Under King Kartli Aderka (1-35 AD), Ovseti was mentioned as a country of missionary activity of the apostles of Christ: “At the same time, Aderki came to Abkhazia and Egrisi, Andrei and Svimon Kananit, two of the twelve holy apostles. The Great Andrei, together with Swimon, entered the lands of Ovset, reached a city called Fostafor. ”
Further obvious in the second half of the 1st century AD oats are mentioned as allies of the Kartlis in their campaign against the Armenians: "kings 123 Kartli - Azork and Armazel - called oats and leks, brought kings of Ovs - Goliath brothers named Bazuk and Anbazuk - with the Ovs army." In another campaign against the Armenians, oats are also mentioned: “But the Kartlians and oats gathered and met the Armenians in Javakheti. The Kartlians and oats [Armenians] were friendly overpowered, they took the Armenian prince Zaren to flight, destroyed his entire army and pursued them to the very borders of Armenia. Desiring to avenge the death of their king, the oats demanded the blood of Zaren. ”
Under King Amazasp (185-189 CE), oats already act as opponents of the Kartlis, (“During his reign of Amazasp, 128 reign came 129 Dvalets army numerous oats. Amazasp did not smell the onset of oats before they crossed mountains [Caucasian]. Oats appeared and eight days they stood over Liahvi in \u200b\u200ba halt, not making any raids, because they came [only] to crush the city of Mtskheta ") and the allies of Armenians (" Here the king of Armenia called the army from Greece and with a large army went to Kartli. [In addition] they conspired with oats. And oats gladly came to them, for they were the bloodlines of Amazasp ”).
Further, the Ovseti are mentioned under King Aspagur (265-284 AD): “the Kartlian king Aspagur went to Ovseti in order to bring troops from Ovseti and strengthen the fortified cities. But after the advent of Ovseti, Aspagura overtook death ", and under King Mirian (284-361 AD):" Mirian rounded Ovseti and [from the rear] invaded it. Devastated Ovseti and reached the [borders] of Khazareti. Then he returned to Dvaletsky way. ”
Further, in the continuation of his chronicle “The Lives of Vakhtang Gorgasal” describing the initial stage of the life of the famous king Kartli Vakhtang Gorgasal (447-506 CE), Mroveli describes in detail two events related to the Ossetians - “Campaign in Ovseti” and “Fight with Oats Bakatar. "
Thus, the evidence of Mroveli himself refutes the false theory of all pseudo-historians that the ancestors of Ossetians appeared in the Caucasus in the VI century. AD, and even as part of some Jews-Mazdakites.
Finally buries the false theory of the origin of Ossetian language analysis.
Descendants of Jewish Mazdakites resettled by the Shah of Iran Khosrov Anushirvan in the VI century. the Caucasus is now living mountain Jews - Juhuras living in the southern regions of Dagestan. The language of Mountain Jews is a dialectical branch from the language of all Iranian Jews - zeboni imrani and belongs to the Iranian group (the Jews living in Iran for centuries have lost their Jewish language, like, like in Germany, having switched to German and thereby creating the Yiddish language) Indo-European family of languages, however, like Ossetian. The Iranian group of languages \u200b\u200bitself includes more than 50 languages, dialects and dialect groups, and to a certain extent so different and at first glance unlike the simple listener, as well as the languages \u200b\u200bof other groups. Proof of this is the position of the Mountain-Jewish and Ossetian languages \u200b\u200bin the Iranian group (the Iranian group of languages \u200b\u200bis divided into western and eastern branches; in turn, the western branch is divided into south-western and north-western subgroups, and the eastern into north-eastern and south-eastern subgroups ) If the Mountain-Jewish and indeed the language of all Iranian Jews, zeboni-imrani belong to the southwestern subgroup of the Iranian group of languages \u200b\u200b(this subgroup also includes the languages \u200b\u200bFarsi, Dari, Tajik, etc.), then the Ossetian language is referred to by scientists as the north-eastern subgroup Iranian group (the Pamirian language of the yagnobi also belongs to this subgroup). And this, as they say, is “heaven and earth”, therefore empty talk about the allegedly Jewish origin of Ossetians is unscientific and simply groundless. To confirm the differences, we present several colloquial expressions and their sound in one and the other languages:

Ossetian Mountain-Jewish expression
Good morning dae rice hors sebahae hair boo
Bon voyage Faenderast Ryah tuy nick
Good Horse Hub

Son Firt Cook
Daughter Chyzg Duhtar
Very good tyng horses barn hubo

I think that is enough, because everything, obviously, is clear that to seek the roots of Ossetians among Iranian Jews is not only an adventurous occupation, but also a stupid one, and therefore meaningless.
From all this we can conclude that the "theory" of the supposedly Semitic origin of the Ossetians put forward by the Ingush "historians" is the "theory of the Inca mummy"; just as the Incas kept the mummies of their rulers, and in honor of their festivals they carried their mummies out, put them on the throne together with the living, or at the festive table they talked with them, fed and watered, and thereby showed that they were alive, so historians try to be virtually unviable , the inanimate fictional "theory" of the origin of Ossetians to give the appearance of objectively reflecting historical reality, but the Inca mummy will not come to life, just like this theory, as well as all others like it. In this connection, I would like to finally pay attention briefly to another similar false version of our origin, posted on one of the Vainakh sites: “Ossetians - Yagnobs from the Pamirs, slaves of Timur” “Timur thoroughly prepared for a mountain war in the Caucasus, having driven for this purpose Thousands of Tajik slaves from the highlands of the Pamirs. Any war tends to end; Tajik slaves from the Pamirs remained in the deserted gorges, fulfilling the wishes of the conquerors, possibly to protect the Darial Gorge. ”
“The lamb men came to the Caucasus in the Timur wagon train in the 13th century, like slaves who helped the troops rise behind the Alans-Nakhs to the mountains” ... Well, if our enemies from our neighbors lie about our origin (we are from Iranian Jews, then from Tajiks- the Yaghnobets) let them at least do it sequentially so that they don’t contradict each other so frivolously. And although linguistically the Yagnobians are close to the Ossetians from any historical sources, especially Timur’s chroniclers - Shami and Yezdi - nothing about using the Pamir Tajiks in the war against the Alans not said. Yes, if that were so, would it not be reflected not only in the memory of the people (from Timur to the first Ossetian deputation to Petersburg only a little more than 350 years have passed), but also in the historical works of the same Georgians mentioning the origin of the peoples of the Caucasus in t .h. and Ossetians, at least for the same Vakhushti Bagrationi (on the contrary, the same Mroveli mentions oats as existing already in the 3rd century BC). In addition, Timur was a Muslim and did not tolerate pagans, and all his soldiers and auxiliary units were Muslims. It is unclear how, according to this false version, Pamiri Muslims became Ossetian pagans, there was no such religion as Ossetians in the Pamirs, and at the same time etiquette, customs, cuisine and other national attributes, not to mention the appearance Pamiris belonging to the Pamir-Fergana racial type.
Now we find out who, in reality, contrary to the version invented by the Ingush "historians", is the ancestors of the Ossetians. Let's turn to the Alans. According to the interpretation of Temirkhanov with reference to Kodzoyev Alans - these are direct ancestors of the Ingush.
He explains the ethnonym Alan as follows: “ala + n nah - god’s people”, where “ala” is supposedly a god, and the ending “n” is supposedly a plural indicator - the abbreviated name of the word “nah” is “people”, and together “Ala” and “n”, allegedly, form the Alan (at the same time it is completely incomprehensible if this is so, then why the word “nah”, supposedly in the ethnonym “Alan” is reduced to only one, the first letter “n”, because even in modern ethnic the name is “vainakh”, and not some “vine” there, in the name of which the word “nah” could similarly be reduced to one letter “n” in the “explained” ethnonym “Alan”). However, such a primitive interpretation is not able to really reflect the meaning of the ethnonym "Alan" for many reasons. If you look at the Russian-Ingush dictionary, then the word “ala” translated into Russian as “God” does not exist at all, but it is known that “God” in Vainakh languages \u200b\u200bis “Cases” (of course, in the days of paganism, Cases was the supreme god of the ancient Vainakh pantheon, the Most High, the creator and the creator of everything that is, therefore, in modern times among the Nakh peoples, who are Muslims, “Cases” is the Vainakh name of the Most High). Thus, it is completely incomprehensible how “Cases” in the “interpretation” of the ethnonym “Alan”, thanks to “venerable historians”, turned into more like the Arabic-Muslim name of the Almighty, which has a similar pronunciation in all Semitic languages. It follows that literally “God's people” - in reality, would have sounded like “delanah,” but not like “Alan”. But not a single ancient or medieval historian reports about any people living in the Caucasus with that name. But they report about the Dzurzuki, Nakhchomatyan and other Vainakh tribes, without confusing them with the Alans. And the very name "God's people" means that the people who wear it should be engaged in religious affairs to a greater extent, being a certain class of priests, like the Celtic Druids, and not wars and everyday life. In addition, the translation of the ethnonym "Alan" as "God's people" does not reflect the entire depth, and therefore the accuracy of the name. The question is, what kind of god is this people, if the ancient Vainakhs worshiped many gods: first of all, the Supreme God of the Cause, then Sel, Tusholi, Myatzil, Erdy, Molyz-Erdy, Bella, Gela, Elda, etc.
It is clear that in the presence of so many revered gods, as indeed with all other ancient peoples, the Vainakhs could not call themselves simply “God's people”, and “etymologizing” the ethnonym “Alan”, thus, such “historians” actually manipulate the truth The fictional fact that the Alans are not the ancestors of the Ossetians, but the Ingush. As for etymology, the etymologization of ancient names with the help of modern languages \u200b\u200bis not only adventurous, but sometimes implausible, and therefore unscientific. Even in ancient times, the language of one people was noticeably different from the language of modern representatives of this people. In each time period there are outdated and obsolete words, over the centuries, not only these words are forgotten, but also what they denoted. The same applies to the ethnonym "Alan", which, in our opinion, was the only correctly explained by Vaso Abayev, as descended from the ethnonym "Arian", i.e. Aryan or Iranian, and spread, as well as come to us in a somewhat distorted form of "Alan". There are a great many examples of how people call themselves one by one, and they are called differently. For example, the Chinese call themselves "Han", and in English widely spread throughout the world they are called the rank or teahouse, and in Russia they are known by the name of the Chinese, from the nomad Khitan tribe who ruled in northern China in the 12th century. If we take into account the Finns, they call themselves “Suomi”, while they are called Finns all over the world, the same applies to the ethnonym Alans, which among the Iranian-speaking nomads sounded like “Arian” (hence the linguistic chain - a modification of one word: Arian - Iran - iron) and then, by some chance, through Armenian authors, since Armenia was the first to be invaded by the Alans in the 1st century. n e., and the Armenians were the first to encounter this people, the ethnonym "Arian", was referred to as "Alan", since then the name "Alan" has been firmly entrenched in ancient historical works for the Iranian nomadic tribes living in the I-IV centuries. AD in the steppe lands west of the present Volga River in its lower reaches, as well as north of the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea. Of course, the ancestors of the Georgians, not Armenians, came into contact with the Iranian-speaking nomads, but the Kartvels or the ancestors of the Georgians sometimes acted as allies of the Iranian-speaking nomads of the Alans, as they held the mountain pass in their power and used it to pass the Alan troops in Transcaucasia and the Front Asia, for raids or wars of the latter, and thereby benefited for themselves in the then Great Geopolitical Game in the struggle for hegemony in the Caucasus. As for the written sources of the Kartvels, the only one at that time (when the Alans were among the Georgians, as we have already discussed above, was “The Life of the Kartli Kings”, but nothing is said about the Alans, there is not even such an ethnonym. Of course, this is not means that the ancient Georgians who had the closest contact with the Alans did not know them at all as Alans, simply the Georgians had a different name for the Iranian-speaking nomads long ago, even before the ethnonym “Alan” appeared. Leonti Mroveli’s book “Kartlis of Tskhovreba" is the name of oats. Of course, oats from Georgian sources and Alans are one and the same. For as it comes from the Life of the Kartli Kings oats are most often referred to as a nation that makes military campaigns, raids and participates in wars both between the Kartvels and between the Kartvels and Armenians D. Baksan, however, considers that the Dzurzuks should be considered Alans in the labor of Mroveli, however, in Mroveli, the dzurzuki only once opposed the Kartwe fishing under king Kartli Mirvan and were defeated. In another mention, the dzurzuki as part of the ovs army, under the leadership of the ovs leaders, participated in a raid on Armenia. More than that, nothing was said about the dzurzuks in the work of Mroveli, unlike the oats, which are presented in the work of Mroveli as the most influential and passionate ethnos, whose representatives constantly participated in military campaigns in Transcaucasia and Front Asia. By virtue of this, of course, the Alans are oats, and not dzurzuki.
As for the name of oats, this is apparently the Georgian pronunciation of the ancient pre-Alan ethnonym of the Sarmatian tribe of Aors “oats” - “Aors”, hence other forms of this name are ossi, wasps, aces, yasas, etc.
Another argument in favor of the identity between the Alans and the oats is the historical chronicles. If we compare the description of the campaign of oats to Armenia in the same “Life of the Kartlian kings” with the description of the campaign of the Alans in the “History of Armenia” by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, then without a doubt it becomes clear that both descriptions relate to the same historical event.
Falsifiers of the history of the origin of Ossetians (ending)

Firstly, the description of the beginning of this campaign (probably taking place in the second half of the 1st century AD) at Mroveli begins as follows: “And Sumbat killed Bivritian Yarvand, the king of Armenians, and raised his brother iarvandov, whose name was Artashan, as king. Then the kings of Kartli - Azork and Armazel - called oats and leks, brought the kings of Ovs - Goliath brothers named Bazuk and Anbazuk - with the Ovs army. And they brought with them pachanikov and dzhiks. The king of leks also came to them and brought the durdzuks and didoids. And the kings of Kartli gathered their ratification - and the multitude was gathered (troops). They gathered secretly, hastily and skillfully, before the troops of the Armenians could gather. And they invaded Armenia unexpectedly. ” In Khorenatsi, several stories above describe the murder of the Armenian ruler Yervand in a clash with the detachment of military commander Smbat. Further, as a reaction to the murder of the ruler, the invasion of the neighbors: “About this time, the Alans united with all the highlanders, attracted half of the Iverian country to their side and penetrated our country in a huge crowd”
Further, after the raid, with the booty, the Alans and their allies, pursued by the Armenians, are located on the banks of the Kura River; at Mroveli: “the Armenians, hastily gathered, began to persecute [the Kartlis and their allies]. "The northerners completely crossed over the Kura and entered Kambechoani, set up a camp over Iori and set about sharing prisoners and booty." In Khorenatsi: "The Alanian people are a little inferior and, having departed, crosses the Kur River and camps on the northern bank of the river."
The ending of the story being described is true; from Mroveli, the Armenians, led by the commander Sumbat (or in another Smbat) defeat the northerners, from Khorenatsi, the Armenian king Artashes captivating the Alanian prince on the advice of his commander Smbat asks the hands of the daughter of the Alanian king Satinik (Alansk. Satan), after which he paid a ransom, makes peace with the Alans and marries Satinic.
Thus, it becomes clear that oats and Alans are one and the same tribe.
In evidence that the Alans, like the Scythians, were precisely the Iranian-speaking people, I would like to give the testimonies of ancient authors.
First, the historian of the 1st century. AD Josephus Flavius: “I, it seems to me, mentioned the Alanian people even higher as a Scythian tribe living on the shores of Tanais and Lake of Meotia.” Josephus, The Jewish War, Book 7, Ch. 7 p. 4.
Secondly, the historian of the 4th century AD Ammian Marcellin: “All of them [about the Alans] become magnificent warriors as a result of various exercises. Therefore, the Persians, being of Scythian origin, are very experienced in military affairs. ” Ammianus Marcellinus "Roman History" book XXI chapter. 2, paragraph 17-25.
So, from Flavius \u200b\u200bwe learned that the Alans were of Scythian origin, and from Marcellin, that the Persians were clearly of Iranian origin from the Scythians (and if we decipher more precisely, not directly from the Scythians, but from Iranian-speaking nomads related to the Scythians) it follows that Scythians are Iranian-speaking people, and if so, then the Alans descended from Iranian-speaking Scythians, as comes from Flavius, are also Iranian-speaking. By the way, Yu. Temirkhanov in his article “When myths become reality”, on the statement of Marcellin on the origin of the Persians from the Scythians (ie nomadic Iranian-speaking tribes) speaks as follows: “The Scythian origin is mistakenly attributed to the Persians.” Why is it wrong (because, of course, we are not talking about the Scythians proper, from the 7th-6th centuries BC, the Persians were already there, but as we understand today, about the Iranian-speaking nomads of the ancient, Srubnaya, and catacomb cultures, from which they came in fact, the Persians, Parthians, Cimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans, and whom ancient historiography referred to by their collective name - Scythians, since the latter preserved to the greatest extent the features of the material culture inherent in their distant ancestors), are not substantiated and can not be proved in any way. And why it is mistakenly said “it’s clear to the fool”: if we recognize that the Iranian-speaking Persians descended from Scythians, a logical chain arises in which belonging to the Iranian-speaking community of Persians-Scythians-Alans is an indisputable fact and here the false theory of non-Alan origin of Ossetians collapses by itself, and to prevent this, Yu. Temirkhanov admits the message of the ancient historian Ammian Martselin as erroneous, unlike some other statements of the same historian.
There you go! The desire to ascribe to ourselves a direct passage from the Alans is not only among our close neighbors, but also among other peoples of the North Caucasus (Karachais, Balkars, part of Kabardins).
In fairness, it should be recognized that desire is not unfounded.
The fact is that the Alans of the 1st century. AD - this is one, and the Alans of the XIV century is already somewhat different. In the 1st century, the Alans are directly Iranian-speaking nomads. And in the XIV century it is a conglomerate or confederation of North Caucasian tribes, called foreigners by the general name Alans, because the latter, from ancient times, played a consolidating role among the North Caucasian tribes, as the most powerful and powerful tribe. An example of this is the above-quoted message from The Life of the Kartish Kings about the campaign of oats (Alans) together with the Iberians against the Armenians. Representatives of other Caucasian peoples also entered the oats army (Alan): "The king of the Leks also came to them and brought the durdzuks and didoids." And over time, this consolidation could intensify, to the point that representatives of the majority of the North Caucasian tribes (especially during the Mongol period of the 13th-14th centuries) are called by foreigners by one name: Alans, not seeing the differences in them. This is similar to how all residents of Russia in the West are called Russians, or the fact that, for example, all residents of Russia, despite their national characteristics, are called by a common name: Russians. And all this continues until the time of Tamerlane, which destroys the remnants of Alanya.
As for the tribes of Koban culture, opinions about their ethnicity among scientists are versatile. Some scholars argue that the Kobans belonged to the Indo-European language community, remembering the outcome of the Indo-European community (Slavs, Germans, Celts, Romance peoples, Indo-Iranian peoples, Greeks, Armenians, Albanians) from Asia Minor to Europe, according to one version in transit through the Caucasus ( here it is not superfluous to recall that the name of the greatest peak of Europe of Mount Elbrus is Indo-European, Iranian (Elbrus - “sparkling with ice”) by the ancient Slavs is the name “Alabyr”, which is derived from “Elbrus.” It is not superfluous to mention that the name of the race is “Caucasian” Western European peoples are referred to as “Caucasians.” Although these are only indirect facts of the Indo-Europeans being in the Caucasus, there is no doubt in their reliability.
Many scholars argue that the Kobans most likely belonged to purely Caucasian-speaking tribes, which also mean pagan-speaking tribes. In particular, Gamkreli argues that the "Dvals" or "Tuals" are clearly a pagan tribe. In addition, a number of toponyms on the territory of our republic, according to scientists, linguistically come from the Nakh languages.
Other scholars claim that Kobans are representatives of other ethnic groups. For example, the ethnographer Ya.A. Fedorov claims that in the name of the Ossetian-Digorians “diguron” the prefix “dig” or “dig” indicates a substrate influence on the ethnic map of the Caucasus from the time of Koban culture, ancient Adyg tribes.
Well, it is entirely possible that all options could take place. Moreover, Koban culture is just a material culture of the tribes of the Central Caucasus, which could well be multilingual. And the arrival from the depths of Asia of Iranian-speaking nomads, the last of whom were Alans, served as the language of the latter became generally accepted for quite different-speaking tribes of the Central Caucasus. This helped Aboriginal people to communicate both among themselves and with the rulers of the steppes - the Alans (just as today, with the help of the Russian language, we communicate both with representatives of other nationalities of the Caucasus and Russia and with the Russians themselves). Subsequently, taking into account the unifying consolidating role that the Alans played with respect to the tribes of the North Caucasus (as Mroveli reports) and especially with respect to the tribes of the central part with whom they contacted most, the local autochthonous tribes of the Central Caucasus began to perceive the Alan language as their native language , and later in the course of a historical process of a certain duration merged into a single people, now represented by Ossetians, whose language today is the Alan language with some purely Caucasian linguistic inclusions. Thus, it is clear that the local tribes of the central Caucasus are also our ancestors (and not the ancestors of Yu. Temirkhanov and D. Baksan) along with the Alans.
By the way, anthropology confirms this even more. Here is what the well-known anthropologist V.P. Alekseev writes on this subject. in his article “Anthropological data in the origin of the Ossetian people”: “What are the craniological features of the Ossetian people as a whole and its ethnographic groups? First of all, a clear manifestation of the signs of the European race and rather sharp profiling of the facial skeleton is striking ... The large width of the facial skeleton, but some flattening in the upper part ... brachykrania, the cranial relief of the superciliary arches, over-portions is extremely developed ... According to these signs, as well as according to to others repeating cephalometric, Ossetian skulls show a complete resemblance to the skull of Balkars, Khevsurs, Ingush, alpine Laks and other representatives of the Caucasian type. ” And what about the Alans, whose physical appearance was different from the Caucasus, as confirmed by the same Alekseev: “All the burial grounds, which can be fully attributed to the Alans in the North Caucasus, gave craniological series differing in an artificially deformed skull box and a narrow facial skeleton. Artificial deformation of the head of a specifically Alanian type (by the way, confirming the hypothesis of the Central Asian origin of the Alans, since the greatest concentration detecting such a deformation falls on the ancient population of Central Asia) a cultural trait that could disappear in a thousand years, separating the Middle Ages from the present. But narrow-facedness and gracility make us consider the Alans representatives of a different anthropological type, compared with modern Ossetians. ” Alekseev cites the Zmeisky burial ground as the only exception, in which skulls were found deformed according to the Alanian type but with a facial indicator characteristic of the brachycephalic Caucasian type, but this exception is explained by ethnic assimilation and integration processes. Thus, according to anthropology, Alans-dolichokephals are craniologically different from modern Ossetians, which are generally identical (with the exception of some anthropological subtle features that we will discuss below) to modern Caucasians. This is important information because then, all the statements of our opponents that we came either from the Jews, or from someone else (whose alleged presence in the distant past in the territories that make up modern Ossetia is not proven) is an absolute myth because . anthropologically, Ossetians are very different from all those from whom, according to the Ingush "historians", Ossetians originate. Moreover, anthropology directly exposes the myth that the Alans (dolichocephalic) are direct ancestors of the Ingush people, whose representatives have a purely Caucasian appearance that differs in anthropology from the appearance of the Alans. It is clear that at the same time the question itself arises: Why then are the Alans considered ancestors of Ossetians? The answer is obvious based on the linguistic originality, according to which Ossetians with a Caucasian appearance do not speak Caucasian, with their guttural phonetics, language, but Indo-European, which belongs to the Iranian group. According to the famous archaeologist E.I. Krupnov, "When one of the Sarmatian tribes - the Alans - advanced towards the Central Caucasus, it mixed with the local autochthonous population and transmitted its language to it."
Well, it’s also worthwhile to pay attention to the anthropological features that were mentioned above and which show that in addition to the proper Caucasian anthropological features, which generally determine their affiliation, the Ossetians are also characterized by the presence of characters that are not so common and characteristic of the Northern Iranian nomadic tribes: This and dolichocephalus, characteristic of Alanian skulls, which is found in some Ossetians, and no less importantly, the structure of the palpebral fissure, which is characterized by features that are present in varying degrees of development in all peoples who lived or now live on the expanses of the Great Eurasian steppe from the Danube in the west to the Gobi Desert and the Greater Khingan Range in the east.
The similar structure of the palpebral fissure found in many Ossetians and expressed to a greater or lesser degree belongs to scientists to an element characteristic of the North Iranian racial type (which belonged to both the Alans and their predecessors Sarmatians, Scythians, etc.) which itself is a mixture Paleo-European with a cordid-like, Mongoloid and Near Asian, and which has been preserved today only by the Ossetians, as a North Iranian element within the Caucasian region of the Caucasus, to which today's Ossetians generally belong. The North Iranian element in the structure of the eye sockets is characterized to some extent by the almond-shaped narrowed palpebral fissure (this is not a Mongoloid trait, since there is no epicanthus characteristic of the Mongol-like type) with an average degree of development of the upper eyelid fold, and, most importantly, the outer corner of the palpebral fissure higher than the inside, which is typical only for the North Iranian type.
A similar sign indicating to a certain extent the steppe origin, almost (because due to mutual contacts some, almost a few from the Alans, settled among the Ingush ancestors and married their genes to new descendants) is missing from our Ingush neighbors: they are 100% racially highlanders and therefore can not be considered as descendants of the steppes - Sarmatians and Alans.

Yu. Temirkhanov very often in his articles mentions the term formulated by L. N. Gumilyov "passionarity", which he refers to his fellow tribesmen.
According to L.N. Gumilyov, “passionarity” is an indisputable internal desire (conscious or, more often, unconscious) for activities aimed at the realization of any goal. In other words, this is a property of an ethnos or individual, in which people manifest themselves as strong-willed, decisive and purposeful individuals. They are very energetic, courageous to the point of selflessness, so that it seemed that in the most hopeless situations, showing all their strong qualities, they endure the test and sometimes succeed. In a word, these are strong people in every respect. And if these people are many in one ethnic group, then the ethnic group begins to fight with other ethnic groups for power and territory, claiming a dominant position among all other ethnic groups.
A similar thing happened and is happening with all ethnic groups, but according to L.N. Gumilyov not always, but only at a certain period of time from the entire period of existence of the ethnic group. The same thing happened with Ossetians during the Sarmatian-Alan period.
Quoting L.N. Gumileva “Passionarity is a inherited phenomenon” Yu. Temirkhanov wrongly concludes that if passionarity is invariably and constantly transmitted from generation to generation, then representatives of this ethnic community are always passionate throughout the history of the existence of an ethnic group, which is primarily manifested through their increased militancy.
However, as history testifies, ethnic groups experienced various phases, and if in one period of time the ethnos was highly passionate, then in another period of time it could be distinguished by insignificant passionarity. There are many examples of this, for example, the Mongols, who at the time of Genghis Khan were known as formidable conquerors, and today they are completely peaceful and harmless people. Or Swedes Norwegians and Danes, descendants of the legendary Vikings, whose name inspired fear in the peoples of early medieval Europe, today they are peaceful and completely civilized nations.
The same applies to Ossetians, whose ancestors the Sarmatians, and then the Alans were quite militant, so their name was widely known to the then ancient world, while their descendants were quite peaceful and civilized, modern people.
If we follow the dense logic of neighboring "historians", then the Ossetians, just like the Mongols and Scandinavians, "no matter how ironic it may sound," probably should like their ancestors constantly raid neighbors, rob and kill, so that it just served direct evidence, according to neighboring "historians", that we really come from the warlike ancestors, who were the Alans, otherwise it would be a mistake to consider them descendants of the Alans. Thus, the character and passionarity of peoples never remains eternal unchanged, but constantly undergoes changes throughout history, depending on certain circumstances.
The fact that the character of a people can change from warlike to peaceful and at the same time the degree of passionarity is changing - this history has shown on the example of the above-mentioned peoples, it can also change and, conversely, from peaceful to warlike and passionarity is also changing, as can be seen in the example the Vainakhs and together with them the Ingushs as we learn from V.I.Potto from his book “The Caucasian War”: “Shelters, sheltered from predatory neighbors by centuries-old forests and fast mountain streams, lived quietly and peacefully for a long time, while the predatory Kumyks who began to spread along Sulaku and Aksay did not meet them on Michik. Then the Kumyks, and after them the Nogais and Kabardins - peoples who were originally militant, having heard about rich neighbors, made them the subject of their constant bloody attacks and robberies. These grave circumstances, the eternal need for protection and rebuff, according to legend, quickly changed the character of the Chechens themselves and made the shepherd’s tribe the most severe and warlike people of all the tribes that then lived in the Caucasus. ”
Now I would like to draw attention to the goal pursued by “historians” from the neighboring republic, considering, unlike the Ossetians, themselves and their fellow tribesmen the descendants of the Alans.
The similar opinion that the Ingush are supposedly descendants of the Alans, and there are no Ossetians, is not caused by its appearance so much as to get to the truth or even belittle the Ossetians in retaliation for events of past conflicts, but is completely and completely connected with the issue of the eastern territories included in the current Prigorodny district, which our neighbors consider to be theirs and on which (exactly, as in the territories of the very, flat Ingushetia) there are Alan burial mounds and other monuments of the Alan era. Proceeding from this, if the Ingush, and not the Ossetians, are descendants of the Alans (as Ingush historians believe and are trying to instill this in their fellow tribesmen), then the demands for the return of the territories where the Alanian archaeological sites are located can be said to be more than justified in the eyes of those around, and if not the Ingush, and Ossetians are direct descendants of the Alans (as confirmed by official historical science), the existence of Alan monuments in the eastern territories of the Prigorodny district shows that the ancestors of the Ingush were not the first of those who settled in these territories, and if so, the political demands of our neighbors on the revision of administrative boundaries today are not justified and inappropriate.
But "our" neighboring "historians" think differently, because they believe that their ancestors, being Alans, supposedly lived in the territories of ancient and medieval Alania and which today are part of the republics of North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Here is what Yu. Temirkhanov said with reference to the “work” of another neighboring “historian” ND Kodzoev. “On the origin of the ethnonyms“ Alan ”and“ GIalgIa ”:“ The weakening of the Kabardinians, who had survived on the plane and in the foothills of the Alan (Ingush) tribes, who had just begun to restore the forces of the surviving on the plane and in the foothills of the Alan (Ingush) tribes ... As a result of the first 164 taverns (settlements) of Mshansky and Sonskys were defeated by the Kabardin’s campaign and their “cities” Alagir, Koban and Mohan (Stepantsminda) were conquered (ibid.) Therefore, it is said in the Ossetian legends that these lands (Tagaursky, Kurtatinsky and Darial gorges) were free and they occupied these places migrating from west to east (Kurtatinskoe and Tagaura gorges) in the XVI-XVIII centuries. "Just think ... Uallag ”- the upper“ Ir ”- from iron, the abbreviated self-name of the Ossetians ... or Koban ... or Stepantsminda is the old name of Kazbegi located in Georgia.
Leonti Mroveli in his work “Kartlis Tskhovreba” describes the settlement of the North Caucasus in this way: “he chose Targamos from the many heroes of the two - Lekan (Lekos) and the Caucasus. Gave Lekan land from the Daruband Sea to the Lomeka River (Terek), to the north - to the Great Khazareti River. Caucasus - from the Lomeka River to the borders of the Caucasus in the West. "
According to the interpretation of Denis Baksan, “the descendants of Lekos” are Dagestanis, and “the descendants of the Caucasus” are Vainakhs.

Almost a million people now have the Ossetian people.
He gave Russia many famous people, especially in military affairs.
Its history is older than the history of Russia and the famous history of the Slavs in general, and its origin goes back to the times of the first states of Eurasia.
So who are the "fathers" of this ancient nation?

Ossetians differ from most other peoples of the Caucasus in that they are not a native group and are not descendants of Turkic tribes that have passed through this region or the natives of the highlands.
There is little direct information about the origin of Ossetians; there is no written information about them. Most of what was supposed to be based on linguistic research, archaeological evidence and the study of folklore.

The main version - Ossetians are direct descendants of the Iranian-speaking nomads of the steppe: Scythians and Sarmatians. This confirms the proximity of their languages, developed horse breeding and the ability to conduct horse fighting.
But there are nuances!
Since the Scythian language is fragmented, and their disappearance is associated either with the Sarmatians or natural causes, the ancestors of the Ossetians can be reliably distinguished only from the Sarmatian tribe Alans. And this is also much closer to the times of the Middle Ages.

The Alans were a free tribal confederation in the Pontic steppe region. First mentioned in classical Roman sources, the Alans were expelled into the mountains by the Huns. Together with the vandals, they passed through the whole of Europe and settled in Africa.
The Romans describe them as tall and fair-haired people, desperate war lovers who fight on heavy horses, building with wedges and wielding long peaks.

Scientists engaged in the study of the Ossetian language and the history of the people: Miler, Shegren, Khufshman, Akhvlediani and others recognize that Ossetians are people of Iranian origin. And although Ossetians belong to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European group, they did not come directly from Iran.
They lived in the Urals and in the territories of the Don, and then in the territories of the western and northern Caucasus and eventually settled in the South Caucasus.

For some time, after the fall of Rome and the Huns, Alania experienced a flourishing. Their horsemen were often hired by Byzantium, Khazaria and Persia for wars, and the state, although it was not homogeneous, but lived quite prosperously.

The Mongol invasion changed their fate.
Having become completely Christian, but the remaining warlike people suffered a terrible blow!
Having no comparable strength to defend, the Alans locked themselves in impregnable mountain fortresses, at every opportunity tormenting the rear of the Mongols with raids. But the constant fragmentation into clans and tribes prevented joining forces, and many simply "worked for the Mongols."

In the fall of 1238, the Tatar-Mongol conquest of Alanya began.
At the head of the Mongolian troops sent to Alanya, the largest leaders from Batu’s entourage, his cousins \u200b\u200bMengukaan, Guyuk, Kadan, were appointed. The troops were equipped with throwing guns, therefore, they were preparing for the siege of cities.
Magas was taken, and to count the dead, the Mongols cut off the ears of the fallen, counted 270,000 ears ..

In the mountains, the Mongols were easily vulnerable. But the Alans themselves could not live in the mountains, because they were nomads and horse breeders! As soon as they went to the plain and established life, the Mongols attacked.
So in 1278, the Alanian city of Dedyakov was destroyed, by the forces of the Mongols and subordinate Russian troops. The survivors fled to the mountains, and there, moving away from hunger and resettlement, were forced to go to the South Caucasus.

The death of Alanya

The Great Jammer that allowed the Russians to win the Battle of Kulikovo turned out to be disastrous for Alanya.
Tamerlan went on a campaign against Khan Tokhtamysh, through the Caucasus, into his Volga nomadic lands. With a huge army, Tamerlan marched through Derbent, overthrew the vanguard of the Tokhtamyshev army and approached the Terek from the south.
From the north, an equally enormous army of Tokhtamysh approached him.The general battle began on April 15, 1395.
The army of Tokhtamysh suffered a complete defeat. This was one of the largest battles of that time, which decided the fate of not only Tokhtamysh, but also the Golden Horde, in any case its great-power position.

Timur exterminated citizens of Tokhtamysh, and especially Christians. The Alans were at the very center of this massacre and they were almost completely destroyed!

Jacopo da Bergamo: “The Alans are a people who lived in Alanya, a region of Sarmatia of Europe, near the Tanaisa (Don) River and in the neighborhood with it. Their country is a plain without mountains, with small hills and hills. There are no settlers and inhabitants in it, since they were driven out and scattered into foreign areas during the invasion of enemies, and there they died or were destroyed. Fields of Alanya are wide open. This is a desert in which there are no owners - neither Alans, nor aliens ”

And so that the Alans would not be reborn, Timur took most of the combat-ready men with him, giving them to China to protect the borders. Where this army, although it was in good standing, it quickly disappeared into the local population ...
The rest were forcedly mixed with the aborigines of the Caucasus and forever lost the status of a strong kingdom in this region.

Russian Alanya

Being surrounded by Muslim neighbors, the Alans were constantly subjected to raids by Circassian feudal lords.
In the 18th century, Ossetians asked the Russian throne to take them into their possession, motivating a common religion and a desire to be in the orbit of a close state, not the Ottoman Empire.
The petition was granted and Russia annexed Ossetia, and the descendants of the Alans massively joined the Russian army, often making up its most combat-ready units.

But, as was the case with other peoples, Ossetians quickly realized that Russian tsarism and serfdom were little better than Mongol slavery. At the beginning of the 19th century there were numerous peasant uprisings, which were crushed hard by the Russian army, and Ossetians habitually went into the mountains.
In fact, this was a response to the openly colonial policy of Russia in the Caucasus.
Speeches were quickly suppressed, as Ossetians were few and scattered, and they were also given temporary relief, which were then canceled after the region was calmed down. Throughout the 19th century, the region periodically faced a war against tsarism ...

Bega Kochiev, one of the leaders of the uprisings, became famous for holding a multi-day defense against a thousand-strong Russian detachment with a detachment of 30 people, locked in a tribal tower. The assault and siege did not give effect, only after setting the tower on fire did they manage to lure the rebels from there ...

Ossetian anthropology and genetics

Infrequently, these two sciences converge in one so much as in Ossetians!
Both claim that the Ossetians have a peculiar type, consisting of several components.
Initially, the North European, large, fair-haired type of Iranians, with a broad and large face, sharp features, during the period of residence in the Caucasus received a powerful influence of indigenous tribes.
Ossetians can also have typical Caucasian features, more asthenic constitution and dark hair, but they often have people who can be more likely to be recognized as the Baltic states or Germans than the inhabitants of the south. These are those who retained their original type, or in whom the combination of ancestral genes produced the one that was more typical for great-grandfathers ...
According to genetics, the Ossetians are dominated not only by the R1A group typical of the Iranians, but also by the Middle East G group - no less typical of the inhabitants of the Caucasus.
That is, the current genome of Ossetians is far from all that goes back to the Iranian nomads, and it does not depend on the community and ethnic group: Digorians and Ironians do not differ in this regard.

So what is the result?

Ossetians are now the only descendants of the Sarmatian tribe Alans, hardly Scythians. They are seriously mixed with the indigenous population of the Caucasus, but nevertheless retain their original type of medieval times.
And they have the right to consider themselves people who once owned the southern Russian steppes!

Ossetian people is the result of a mixture of the ancient Iberian population of the Caucasus and the Alans - the descendants of the inhabitants of the Eurasian steppe.
In the X-III millennia BC Europe was inhabited by Iberian peoples who wore the Y-haplogroup G2. They were brown-eyed (blue-eyed people appeared later), had brown hair and did not digest milk food. By occupation, they were goat-dangers - they ate goat meat, and dressed in goat skins.
After the invasion of Europe by the Indo-Europeans, the Iberians, who had previously been attached to the mountainous and foothill areas due to the presence of goats there, remained highlanders. Now their descendants are common only in the Pyrenees and on the islands of the Mediterranean. The only place where Iberians survived in large numbers is the Caucasus. As arable land due to the mountainous terrain, nobody needed it, except for the carriers of the haplogroup G2 themselves, which were just attached to the mountain pastures.
It is this haplogroup that prevails among Ossetians. However, it prevails not only among them. It is most prevalent among Svans (91%) and Shapsugs (81%). In Ossetians, its carriers are 69.6% of men.
Many of our readers ask why ossetians, whose language is considered a descendant of Alan, have a Caucasian haplogroup, while alans - descendants of the Scythians and Sarmatians - were supposed to have the haplogroup R1a1. The fact is that ossetians are descendants of not so much Alans as Alans - carriers of the mitochondrial haplogroup H. The male part of the Alans was polished off by Tamerlane, and the remaining women entered into marriages with Caucasian autochthons. It was they who transferred the Y-haplogroup G2 to the Ossetians.
As you know, children speak the language of mothers. therefore ossetians and preserved the Aryan language. The Ossetian language belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family, more precisely - to the northeastern group of Iranian languages, which include the Khorezm, Sogd and Sak languages, as well as the languages \u200b\u200bof the ancient Scythians and Sarmatians. True, this language is now clogged with borrowings from the Adyghe, Nakh-Dagestan and Kartvel languages.
Significantly enriched the Ossetian language, especially its vocabulary, the influence of the Russian language. The modern Ossetian language is divided into two main dialects: Iron (Eastern) and Digor (Western). By the definition of linguists, the Digor dialect is more archaic. The literary language is based on the ironic dialect spoken by the vast majority of Ossetians. Digorian and Ironian dialects of the Ossetian language differ mainly in phonetics and vocabulary, to a lesser extent in morphology. In Digor, for example, there is no vowel [s] - ironic [s] in the Digor dialect correspond to [y] or [i]: cod - mud "honey", cheese - surkh "red", tsych - cikht "cheese". Among the words that are completely different in two dialects, one can name Gudy - tikis “cat”, tæbægъ - tefseg “plate”, æвзæр - лæгуз “bad”, rudzing - кææразгæ “window”, æmbaryn - lædærun “understand”.

Ossetian wedding
In 1789, Ossetia adopted writing based on the Church Slavonic alphabet. Modern Ossetian writing was created in 1844 by Russian philologist of Finnish origin Andreas Sjogren. In the 1920s, the Latin alphabet was introduced for Ossetians, but already in the late 1930s, the North Ossetians were again transferred to Russian graphics, and the Georgian alphabet was imposed on the southern, administrative subordinates of the Georgian SSR, but in 1954 the southern ossetians made the transition to the alphabet used in North Ossetia.
All ossetians speak Russian. Education in elementary school is conducted in Ossetian, and after the fourth grade - in Russian with continued study of the Ossetian language. In everyday life, many families use the Russian language.
The Ossetian self-name is upon, and they call their country Iristoi or Ir. However, the inhabitants of Digor Gorge and natives of it call themselves digoron. The former tribal divisions of the Ossetian people were reflected in these self-names. In the past, residents of individual gorges also called themselves special names (according to the names of the gorges) - Alagna, Kurtatpntsyi, etc.

Orthodox service in the Ossetian church
Most believing Ossetians are considered Orthodox, who converted to Christianity in several stages from Byzantium, Georgia and Russia. Some Ossetians profess Sunni Islam, adopted in the XVII – XVIII centuries from Kabardians. Many Ossetians retain elements of traditional beliefs. So, among the Ossetians, under the guise of St. George, the god of war Uastirdzhi is revered, and under the guise of Elijah the prophet, the god of thunders Wacilla is revered.

Dzheorguyba - a traditional holiday dedicated to St. Uastirdzhi, only men celebrate.
In the old days ossetians lived in rural settlements called kau (hagu). In the mountain zone, relatively small villages prevailed, often scattered along the mountain slopes or along the banks of the rivers. The location of the villages on the steep slopes of the mountains was due to the fact that convenient land was used for arable land and hayfields.
The buildings were built of natural stone, and in the gorges rich in forests, houses were built of wood.

The remains of the Ossetian watch tower in South Ossetia
Stone houses were built on one or two floors. In a two-story house, the lower floor was intended for livestock and utility rooms, the upper - for housing. The walls were laid dry with filling the voids between the stones with the earth, less often with clay or lime mortar. For floors and doors, wood was used. The roof is flat earthen, the walls were often raised above the roof, so that a platform was obtained, which was used to dry grain, wool and to relax. The floor was made earthen, less often - wooden. The walls of the living quarters inside were coated with clay and whitened. Instead of windows, small holes were made in one of the walls of the house, which were covered with stone slabs or boards in the cold season. Often from the front of the two-story houses there were balconies or open verandas. In the conditions of the existence of large families, houses were usually multi-room.

Ossetian house-fortress Ghana in the context

The largest room "Hadzar" (Hӕdzar) was both a dining room and a kitchen. Here the family spent most of the time. In the center of the Hazar was a hearth with an open chimney, which made the walls and ceiling a thick layer of soot. A chain for the boiler was suspended above the hearth to a wooden beam in the ceiling. The hearth and chain were considered sacred: near them sacrifices and prayers were performed. The hearth was considered a symbol of family unity. At the hearth, wooden pillars, which were richly ornamented with carvings, were installed, supporting the ceiling crossbeam. The outbreak divided the Hazar into two halves - male and female. In the male half, weapons, turi horns, musical instruments were hung on the walls. There was a semicircular wooden chair decorated with carvings, intended for the head of the house. On the female side was household utensils. For married family members in the house there were separate rooms - bedrooms (oat). In the homes of prosperous Ossetians, the Kunatskaya (ӕӕӕӕgdon) stood out.

Ossetian village
Homemade food, starting with bread and ending with drinks, was prepared by a woman in the Ossetian village. Bread in the mountains in the distant past was baked from millet and barley flour. In the XIX century. used barley, wheat and corn bread. Corn chureks were baked without yeast, and wheat bread was also mostly unleavened. Currently, the most common wheat bread. Of the national flour products, pies with meat and cheese, stuffed with beans and pumpkin, are especially common.
Of the dairy products and dishes, cheese, ghee, kefir, milk soups and various cereals in milk (especially corn porridge) are most commonly used. From the cheese mixed with flour, the national Ossetian dish - dzikka is prepared.

Modern Ossetians

At home, cheese is made in an old and simple way. It is not boiled: freshly milk, unstopped milk, still warm or warmed up, is filtered and fermented. Sourdough is prepared from a dried lamb or calf stomach. Fermented milk is left for one to two hours (until it coagulates). Casein is carefully crushed by hands, separated from the serum and knocked into a lump, after which it is salted and cooled. When the cheese hardens, it is placed in brine. In the same way ossetians make cottage cheese.
In Digoria, the production of kefir has spread. Kefir is made from fresh milk, which is fermented with special fungi. Ossetian kefir has healing properties and is very useful for tuberculosis patients.
Ossetian national drink is mountain beer Бӕӕӕны made from barley and wheat. Along with southern beers ossetians produce wine.
Back in the Middle Ages ossetians, living south of the Caucasian ridge, fell under the power of Georgian feudal lords. The bulk of the South Ossetian peasants were serfly dependent on them. In the mountains of South Ossetia ruled by the princes Machabeli and the Kristian eristavs. The best lands in the plain strip were owned by princes Palavandishvili, Kherkheulidze and Pavlenitvili.

Ossetian agricultural implements
With the accession of Georgia to Russia, many southern ossetians moved to the north.
The vast majority of working Ossetians adhered to monogamy. Among feudal lords, polygamy was common. To a certain extent, it existed among the wealthy peasantry, despite the struggle of the Christian clergy against it. Most often, the peasant took his second wife when the first was childless. The landlords, along with their legal wives, who were of equal social origin, also had illegal wives - nomilus (literally “wife by name”). Nomylus were taken from the families of peasants, since the peasants themselves could not marry them - there was no money for the kalym, which was called Ossetians iredu. Children from nomylus were considered illegitimate and from them a feudal-dependent estate of cavadasards (in Tagauria) or Kumayags (in Digoria) was formed. In the remaining regions of North and South Ossetia, the cavadasards did not constitute a specific social group and in their position were almost no different from other highlanders.

The capital of North Ossetia, the city of Ordzhoikidze (now Vladikavkaz) in Soviet times

The traditional clothing of Ossetian men was tsuhha - Ossetian Circassian. Dark cloth - black, brown, or gray was used for tailoring. Under the Circassian wore a beshmet made of satin or other dark fabric. Beshmet is much shorter than Circassians and has a standing stitched collar. In cut, the beshmet, as well as the Circassian, represents oar clothes tailored to the waist. The beshmet sleeves, unlike the Circassian sleeves, are narrow. Harem pants were sewn from cloth, and for work on the field - from canvas, very wide. Harem pants were also found from sheep's skins. In winter they wore a sheepskin coat sewn to a figure with collections at the waist. Sometimes they wore sheepskin coats. They put a cloak on the road.
The winter hat was a sheepskin or astrakhan hat with a cloth or velvet top, and the summer was a light felt hat with wide brim. Woolen socks, leggings and duffles made of morocco or lined cloth were put on the legs. The soles of the dude were made of smoked cowhide. In winter, they put hay in the dudes for warmth. Legs made of morocco or cloth were served as bootlegs. Very often they wore boots, Caucasian or Russian. Invariable accessory and decoration of the national costume was a dagger. Circassian decorated gazyry.

Male choir of the North Ossetian Philharmonic
Women's festive long dress (kaba), reaching to the toes, was cut into the waist with a solid front cut. Usually it was made of light silk fabrics: pink, blue, cream, white, etc. The sleeves of the dress were very wide and long, but sometimes straight narrow sleeves, beveled at the brush, were made. In the latter case, velvet or silk sleeves were put on a straight sleeve, wide and long, descending about one meter down from the elbows. Under the dress they wore a lower silk skirt of a different color than the dress, which was visible from the front due to the continuous cut of the dress. Gilded jewelry was sewn to the bib from the same as the lower skirt, material. The mill was pulled together by a wide belt (most often of gilded gimp), decorated with a gilded buckle. With a dress with sleeves in front, a short apron was strengthened under the belt.
A round, low velvet hat embroidered with a golden tangle was put on his head. Over the hats, a light scarf or a scarf tied from white silk threads was thrown over, and often limited to one scarf. They wore morocco dudes or factory shoes.

See