CAUCASUS
![](618px-Caucasus_topographic_map-en.svg.png)
Topography
of the Caucasus
The
Caucasus, or Caucasia, is a region between the Black Sea and the
Caspian Sea and mainly occupied by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia,
and parts of Southern Russia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains,
including the Greater Caucasus mountain range, which has historically
been considered a natural barrier between Eastern Europe and Western
Asia.
Europe's
highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 metres (18,510 ft) is in
the west part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. On the southern
side, the Lesser Caucasus includes the Javakheti Plateau and grows
into the Armenian highlands, part of which is located in Turkey.
The
Caucasus region is separated into two parts, which fall into two
continents, the North Caucasus of Russia (Ciscaucasia) in Europe,
and the South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) in Asia, respectively. The
Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north is mostly shared by
Russia and Georgia, as well as the northernmost parts of Azerbaijan.
The Lesser Caucasus mountain range in the south is occupied by several
independent states, namely, mostly by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia,
but also extending to parts of northeastern Turkey, northern Iran
and the partially recognised Artsakh Republic.
The
region is known for its linguistic diversity: aside from Indo-European
and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian, and Northeast
Caucasian language families are indigenous to the area.
Origin
of the name :
The term Caucasus is derived from Caucas (Georgian: Kawkasosi) the
son of the Biblical Togarmah and legendary forefather of Nakh peoples.
According to Leonti Mroveli, the XI century Georgian chronicler,
the word Caucasian is derived from the Vainakh ancestor Kavkas.
"The Vainakhs are the ancient natives of the Caucasus. It is
noteworthy, that according to the genealogical table drawn up by
Leonti Mroveli, the legendary forefather of the Vainakhs was "Kavkas",
hence the name Kavkasians, one of the ethnicons met in the ancient
Georgian written sources, signifying the ancestors of the Chechens
and Ingush. As appears from the above, the Vainakhs, at least by
name, are presented as the most "Caucasian" people of
all the Caucasians (Caucasus - Kavkas - Kavkasians) in the Georgian
historical tradition."
Toponymy
:
Mount
Elbrus
![](640px-Bazarduzu_robl.jpg)
Mount
Bazardüzü
![](image1.jpg)
Mount
Shahdagh
The term Caucasus is not only used for the mountains themselves
but also includes Ciscaucasia (which is part of the Russian Federation)
and Transcaucasia. According to Alexander Mikaberidze, Transcaucasia
is a "Russo-centric" term.
Pliny
the Elder's Natural History (77–79 AD) derives the name of
the Caucasus from Scythian kroy-khasis ("ice-shining, white
with snow"). German linguist Paul Kretschmer notes that the
Latvian word Kruvesis also means "ice".
In
the Tale of Past Years (1113 AD), it is stated that Old East Slavic
Kavkasijskye gory came from Ancient Greek Kaúkasos; later
Greek pronunciation Káfkasos, which, according to M. A. Yuyukin,
is a compound word that can be interpreted as the "Seagull's
Mountain" ("a kind of seagull" + the reconstructed
"mountain" or "rock" richly attested both in
place and personal names.)
According
to German philologists Otto Schrader and Alfons A. Nehring, the
Ancient Greek word Kaukasos is connected to Gothic Hauhs ("high")
as well as Lithuanian Kaukas ("hillock") and Kaukarà
("hill, top"). British linguist Adrian Room points out
that Kau- also means "mountain" in Pelasgian.
The
Transcaucasus region and Dagestan were the furthest points of Parthian
and later Sasanian expansions, with areas to the north of the Greater
Caucasus range practically impregnable. The mythological Mount Qaf,
the world's highest mountain that ancient Iranian lore shrouded
in mystery, was said to be situated in this region. The region is
also one of the candidates for the location of Airyanem Vaejah,
the apparent homeland of the Iranians of Zoroaster. In Middle Persian
sources of the Sasanian era, the Caucasus range was referred to
as Kaf Kof. The term resurfaced in Iranian tradition later on in
a variant form when Ferdowsi, in his Shahnameh, referred to the
Caucasus mountains as Koh-i Kaf. "Most of the modern names
of the Caucasus originate from the Greek Kaukasos (Lat., Caucasus)
and the Middle Persian Kaf Kof".
"The
earliest etymon" of the name Caucasus comes from Kaz-kaz, the
Hittite designation of the "inhabitants of the southern coast
of the Black Sea".
It
was also noted that in Nakh (Kov gas) means "gateway to steppe"
Endonyms
and exonyms :
The modern name for the region is usually similar in many languages,
and is generally between Kavkaz and Kawkaz.
•
Abkhazian : Kavkaz
• Adyghe : K"auk"az/s
• Arabic : Al-Qawqaz
• Armenian : Kovkas
• Avar : Kawkaz
• Azerbaijani : Qafqaz
• Chechen : Kavkaz
• Georgian : K'avk'asia
• German : Kaukasien
• Greek : Káfkasos
• Ingush : Kawkaz
• Karachay-Balkar : Kavkaz
• Kumyk : Qawqaz
• Kurdish : Qefqasya/Qefqas
• Lak : Kkawkkaz
• Lezgian : K'awk'az
• Mingrelian : K'avk'acia
• Ossetian : Kavkaz
• Persian : Qafqaz
• Russian : Kavkaz
• Rutul : Qawqaz Kavkaz
• Turkish : Kafkas/Kafkasya
• Ukrainian : Kavkaz
Political geography :
The North Caucasus region is known as the Ciscaucasus, whereas the
South Caucasus region is commonly known as the Transcaucasus.
![](632px-Caucasus-political_en.svg.png)
Political map of the Caucasus region (2008)
The Ciscaucasus contains most of the Greater Caucasus mountain range.
It consists of Southern Russia, mainly the North Caucasian Federal
District's autonomous republics, and the northernmost parts of Georgia
and Azerbaijan. The Ciscaucasus lies between the Black Sea to its
west, the Caspian Sea to its east, and borders the Southern Federal
District to its north. The two Federal Districts are collectively
referred to as "Southern Russia".
The
Transcaucasus borders the Greater Caucasus range and Southern Russia
to its north, the Black Sea and Turkey to its west, the Caspian
Sea to its east, and Iran to its south. It contains the Lesser Caucasus
mountain range and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan
(excluding the northernmost parts) and Georgia (excluding the northernmost
parts) are in the South Caucasus.
The
watershed along the Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived
to be the dividing line between Europe and Southwest Asia. The highest
peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 meters) located in western
Ciscaucasus, and is considered as the highest point in Europe.
The
Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse
regions on Earth. [citation needed] The nation states that comprise
the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia (including
Adjara and Abkhazia), Azerbaijan (including Nakhchivan), Armenia,
and the Russian Federation. The Russian divisions include Dagestan,
Chechnya, Ingushetia, North Ossetia–Alania, Kabardino–Balkaria,
Karachay–Cherkessia, Adygea, Krasnodar Krai and Stavropol
Krai, in clockwise order.
Three
territories in the region claim independence but are recognized
as such by only a handful of entities: Artsakh, Abkhazia and South
Ossetia. Abkhazia and South Ossetia are recognized by the world
community as part of Georgia, and Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan.
Demographics
:
![](528px-Caucasus-ethnic_en.svg.png)
Ethno-linguistic
groups in the Caucasus region
The region has many different languages and language families. There
are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region. No fewer than
three language families are unique to the area. In addition, Indo-European
languages, such as East Slavic, Armenian and Ossetian, and Turkic
languages, such as Azerbaijani, Kumyk language and Karachay–Balkar,
are spoken in the area. Russian is used as a lingua franca most
notably in the North Caucasus.
The
peoples of the northern and southern Caucasus tend to be either
Sunni Muslims, Eastern Orthodox Christians and Armenian Christians.
Twelver Shi'ism has many adherents in the southeastern part of the
region, in Azerbaijan which extends into Iran.
History
:
Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region
has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural
rivalries and expansionism for centuries. Throughout its history,
the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world. At
the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquered
the territory from Qajar Iran.
Prehistory
:
![](Gobustan_ancient_Azerbaycan_full.jpg)
Petroglyphs
in Gobustan, Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BC. It is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
The territory of the Caucasus region was inhabited by Homo erectus
since the Paleolithic Era. In 1991, early human (that is, hominin)
fossils dating back 1.8 million years were found at the Dmanisi
archaeological site in Georgia. Scientists now classify the assemblage
of fossil skeletons as the subspecies Homo erectus georgicus.[citation
needed]
The
site yields the earliest unequivocal evidence for presence of early
humans outside the African continent;and the Dmanisi skulls are
the five oldest hominins ever found outside Africa.
Antiquity
:
Kura–Araxes culture from about 4000 BC until about 2000 BC
enveloped a vast area approximately 1,000 km by 500 km, and mostly
encompassed, on modern-day territories, the Southern Caucasus (except
western Georgia), northwestern Iran, the northeastern Caucasus,
eastern Turkey, and as far as Syria.
Under
Ashurbanipal
(669–627 BC), the boundaries of the Assyrian Empire reached
as far as the Caucasus Mountains. Later ancient kingdoms of the
region included Armenia, Albania, Colchis and Iberia, among others.
These kingdoms were later incorporated into various Iranian empires,
including Media, the Achaemenid Empire, Parthia, and the Sassanid
Empire, who would altogether rule the Caucasus for many hundreds
of years. In 95–55 BC, under the reign of Armenian king Tigranes
the Great, the Kingdom of Armenia included Kingdom of Armenia, vassals
Iberia, Albania, Parthia, Atropatene, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Cilicia,
Syria, Nabataean kingdom, and Judea. By the time of the first century
BC, Zoroastrianism had become the dominant religion of the region;
however, the region would go through two other religious transformations.
Owing to the strong rivalry between Persia and Rome, and later Byzantium.
The Romans first arrived in the region in the 1st century BC with
the annexation of the kingdom of Colchis, which was later turned
into the province of Lazicum. The next 600 years was marked by a
conflict between Rome and Sassanid Empire for the control of the
region. In western Georgia the eastern Roman rule lasted until the
Middle Ages.
Middle
Ages :
![](640px-Georgian_empire_with_tributaries.png)
Kingdom
of Georgia at the peak of its might, early 13th century
As the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia (an eponymous branch of the Arsacid
dynasty of Parthia) was the first nation to adopt Christianity as
state religion (in 301 AD), and Caucasian Albania and Georgia had
become Christian entities, Christianity began to overtake Zoroastrianism
and pagan beliefs. With the Muslim conquest of Persia, large parts
of the region came under the rule of the Arabs, and Islam penetrated
into the region.
In
the 10th century, the Alans (proto-Ossetians) founded the Kingdom
of Alania, that flourished in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in
the location of latter-day Circassia and modern North Ossetia–Alania,
until its destruction by the Mongol invasion in 1238–39.
During
the Middle Ages Bagratid Armenia, Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, Kingdom
of Syunik and Principality of Khachen organized local Armenian population
facing multiple threats after the fall of antique Kingdom of Armenia.
Caucasian Albania maintained close ties with Armenia and the Church
of Caucasian Albania shared same Christian dogmas with the Armenian
Apostolic Church and had a tradition of their Catholicos being ordained
through the Patriarch of Armenia.
In
the 12th century, the Georgian king David the Builder drove the
Muslims out from Caucasus and made the Kingdom of Georgia a strong
regional power. In 1194–1204 Georgian Queen Tamar's armies
crushed new Seljuk Turkish invasions from the south-east and south
and launched several successful campaigns into Seljuk Turkish-controlled
Southern Armenia. The Georgian Kingdom continued military campaigns
in the Caucasus region. As a result of her military campaigns and
the temporary fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, Georgia became
the strongest Christian state in the whole Near East area, encompassing
most of the Caucasus stretching from Northern Iran and Northeastern
Turkey to the North Caucasus.
The
Caucasus region was conquered by the Ottomans, Mongols, local kingdoms
and khanates, as well as, once again, Iran.
![](640px-Ejmiadzin_Cathedral2.jpg)
Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia, original building completed in
303 AD, a religious centre of Armenia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site
![](589px-Svetitskhoveli_Cathedral,_Mtskheta,_Georgia_P._Liparteliani.jpg)
Svetitskhoveli
Cathedral in Georgia, original building completed in the 4th century.
It was a religious centre of monarchical Georgia. It is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
![](Caftan_MET_DT1115.jpg)
Northwest
Caucasus caftan, 8 - 10th century, from the region of Alania
![](Ushguli_towers_in_Svaneti,_Georgia.png)
Svaneti
defensive tower houses
![](image2.jpg)
Palace
of the Shirvanshahs, 13 - th - 15th centuries
![](image3.jpg)
Imamzadeh
of Ganja, 7th - 9th centuries
Modern
period :
![](640px-CircassianCoastBattle.jpg)
Circassian
strike on a Russian military fort in Caucasus, 1840
Up to and including the early 19th century, the Southern Caucasus
and southern Dagestan all formed part of the Persian Empire. In
1813 and 1828 by the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchay
respectively, the Persians were forced to irrevocably cede the Southern
Caucasus and Dagestan to Imperial Russia. In the ensuing years after
these gains, the Russians took the remaining part of the Southern
Caucasus, comprising western Georgia, through several wars from
the Ottoman Empire.
In
the second half of the 19th century, the Russian Empire also conquered
the Northern Caucasus. In the aftermath of the Caucasian Wars, an
ethnic cleansing of Circassians was performed by Russia in which
the indigenous peoples of this region, mostly Circassians, were
expelled from their homeland and forced to move primarily to the
Ottoman Empire.
Having
killed and deported most of Armenians of Western Armenia during
the Armenian Genocide, the Turks intended to eliminate the Armenian
population of Eastern Armenia. During the 1920 Turkish–Armenian
War, 60,000 to 98,000 Armenian civilians were estimated to have
been killed by the Turkish army.
In
the 1940s, around 480,000 Chechens and Ingush, 120,000 Karachay–Balkars
and Meskhetian Turks, thousands of Kalmyks, and 200,000 Kurds in
Nakchivan and Caucasus Germans were deported en masse to Central
Asia and Siberia. About a quarter of them died.
![](640px-1993_Georgia_war1.svg.png)
Georgian Civil War and the War in Abkhazia in August–October
1993
The Southern Caucasus region was unified as a single political entity
twice – during the Russian Civil War (Transcaucasian Democratic
Federative Republic) from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under
the Soviet rule (Transcaucasian SFSR) from 12 March 1922 to 5 December
1936. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia became independent nations.
The
region has been subject to various territorial disputes since the
collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the Nagorno-Karabakh War
(1988–1994), the East Prigorodny Conflict (1989–1991),
the War in Abkhazia (1992–93), the First Chechen War (1994–1996),
the Second Chechen War (1999–2009), and the 2008 South Ossetia
War.
Mythology
:
In Greek mythology, the Caucasus, or Kaukasos, was one of the pillars
supporting the world. [citation needed] After presenting man with
the gift of fire, Prometheus (or Amirani in the Georgian version)
was chained there by Zeus, to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle
as punishment for defying Zeus' wish to keep the "secret of
fire" from humans.
In
Persian mythology, the Caucasus might be associated with the mythic
Mount Qaf which is believed to surround the known world. It is the
battlefield of Saoshyant and the nest of the Simurgh.[citation needed]
The
Roman poet Ovid placed the Caucasus in Scythia and depicted it as
a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger.
The Greek hero Jason sailed to the west coast of the Caucasus in
pursuit of the Golden Fleece, and there met Medea, a daughter of
King Aeëtes of Colchis.
Folklore :
The Caucasus has a rich folklore tradition. This tradition has been
preserved orally—necessitated by the fact that for most of
the languages involved there was no alphabet until the early twentieth
century—and only began to be written down in the late nineteenth
century. One important tradition is that of the Nart sagas, which
tell stories of a race of ancient heroes called the Narts. These
sagas include such figures as Satanaya, the mother of the Narts,
Sosruquo a shape changer and trickster, Tlepsh a blacksmith god,
and Batradz, a mighty hero. The folklore of the Caucasus shows ancient
Iranian Zoroastrian influence, involve battles with ancient Goths,
Huns and Khazars, and contain many connections with ancient Indian,
Norse Scandinavian, and Greek cultures.
Links
with Greek mythology :
Caucasian folklore contains many links with the myths of the ancient
Greeks. There are resemblances between the mother goddess Satanaya
and the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. The story of how the trickster
Nart Sosruquo, became invulnerable parallels that of the Greek hero
Achilles. The ancient Greek Amazons are connected with a Caucasian
"warrior Forest-Mother, Amaz-an".
Caucasian
legends include stories involving giants similar to Homer's Polyphemus
story. In these stories, the giant is almost always a shepherd,
and he is variously a one-eyed rock-throwing cannibal, who lives
in a cave (the exit of which is often blocked by a stone), kills
the hero's companions, is blinded by a hot stake, and whose flock
of animals is stolen by the hero and his men, all motifs which (along
with still others) are also found in the Polyphemus story. In one
example from Georgia, two brothers, who are being held prisoner
by a giant one-eyed shepherd called "One-eye", take a
spit, heat it up, stab it into the giant's eye, and escape.
There
are also links with the ancient Greek myth of Prometheus. Many legends,
widespread in the Caucasus, contain motifs shared with the Prometheus
story. These motifs include: a giant hero, his conflict with God
or gods, the stealing of fire and giving it to men, being chained,
and being tormented by a bird who pecks at his liver (or heart).
The Adyge/Circassian Nart Nasran, the Georgian Amirani, the Chechen
Pkharmat, and the Abkhazian Abrskil, are examples of such Prometheus-like
figures.
Ecology
:
![](View_of_the_village_Zrikh_in_Dagestan,_RF.jpg)
View
of the Caucasus Mountains in Dagestan, Russia
The Caucasus is an area of great ecological importance. The region
is included in the list of 34 world biodiversity hotspots. It harbors
some 6400 species of higher plants, 1600 of which are endemic to
the region. Its wildlife includes Persian leopards, brown bears,
wolves, bison, marals, golden eagles and hooded crows. Among invertebrates,
some 1000 spider species are recorded in the Caucasus. Most of arthropod
biodiversity is concentrated on Great and Lesser Caucasus ranges.
The
region has a high level of endemism and a number of relict animals
and plants, the fact reflecting presence of refugial forests, which
survived the Ice Age in the Caucasus Mountains. The Caucasus forest
refugium is the largest throughout the Western Asian (near Eastern)
region. The area has multiple representatives of disjunct relict
groups of plants with the closest relatives in Eastern Asia, southern
Europe, and even North America. Over 70 species of forest snails
of the region are endemic. Some relict species of vertebrates are
Caucasian parsley frog, Caucasian salamander, Robert's snow vole,
and Caucasian grouse, and there are almost entirely endemic groups
of animals such as lizards of genus Darevskia. In general, species
composition of this refugium is quite distinct and differs from
that of the other Western Eurasian refugia.
The
natural landscape is one of mixed forest, with substantial areas
of rocky ground above the treeline. The Caucasus Mountains are also
noted for a dog breed, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog (Rus. Kavkazskaya
Ovcharka, Geo. Nagazi). Vincent Evans noted that minke whales have
been recorded from the Black Sea.
Energy
and mineral resources :
Caucasus has many economically important minerals and energy resources,
such as alunite, gold, chromium, copper, iron ore, mercury, manganese,
molybdenum, lead, tungsten, uranium, zinc, oil, natural gas, and
coal (both hard and brown).
Sport
:
Rosa
Khutor alpine ski resort near Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi, Russia, the
site of the 2014 Winter Olympics venue Krasnaya Polyana is a popular
centre of mountain skiing and a snowboard venue.
The 2015 European Games is the first in the history of the European
Games to be held in Azerbaijan.
Mountain-skiing
complexes include :
•
Alpika-Service
• Mountain roundabout
• Rosa Hutor
• Tsaghkadzor Ski Resort in Armenia
• Shahdag Winter Complex in Azerbaijan
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix (motor racing) venue was the first in
the history of Formula One to be held in Azerbaijan. The Rugby World
Cup U20 (rugby) was in Georgia 2017. In 2017 U-19 Europe Championship
(Football) was held in Georgia.
Source
:
https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Caucasus