Ossetians

Ossetians
(Ирæттæ)

(left to right): Kosta, Gazdanov, Tokaty, Gergiev
Total population
720,000
Regions with significant populations
Russia 515,000 [1] especially in: North Ossetia 445,310 [2]  South Ossetia: (a state with a limited de jure recognition of its independence) 45,000 [3]  Georgia (excluding South Ossetia) 38,028 [4]  Syria 59,200 [5]  Turkey 36,900 [5]  Uzbekistan 8,170 [5]  Tajikistan 5,300 [5]  Ukraine 4,830 [6]  Azerbaijan 2,340 [5]  Turkmenistan 2,170 [5]  Kazakhstan 2,090 [5]  Kyrgyzstan 937 [5]  Belarus 784 [5]  Latvia 419 [5]  Armenia 392 [5]  Moldova 353 [5]  Estonia 116 [7]
Languages
Ossetic, Russian, Georgian
Religion
Mostly Eastern Orthodox (with syncretic elements) with a minority professing Islam
Related ethnic groups
Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans Eastern Iranians and other Iranian peoples along with the Jassic people of Hungary

The Ossetians (Ossetic: ирæттæ, irættæ) are an Iranic ^[8][9][10] Indo-European ethnic group indigenous to Ossetia, a region that spans the Caucasus Mountains. The Ossetians mostly populate North Ossetia-Alania in Russia, and South Ossetia which is now de facto independent from Georgia. They speak Ossetic, an Indo-European language of the Iranian branch, although nearly all also speak Russian as a second language. The Ossetians are mostly Christian, with a Muslim minority.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 History 3 Language 4 Religion 5 Location 6 Gallery 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links

Etymology

The Russian geographic name "Ossetia" and the corresponding ethnic designation "Ossetians" comes from a Georgian root.

The Russians originally called the Ossetians Yas (ясы).

In Late Antiquity, records became much more diffuse and the Iazyges generally ceased to be mentioned as a tribe. In the Middle Ages an Iranian people appeared in Eastern-Europe, the Jazones. The Jazones, or Jász, an Ossetic people who migrated to Hungary, are first mentioned in Hungarian records in the year 1318, and their name, spelled in Greek means "Jasons" (Ιάσωνες). The Jász in Hungary maintained their language until the 18th century. While they have become linguistically Hungarian, descendants in the Jász area of Hungary still maintain some original culture and have folk consciousness of their origins.

In the late 14th century, the Russians adopted the Georgian name of the Ossetians and their nation. In the Georgian language, Alania and the Alans are known as Oseti (ოსეთი) and Osebi (ოსები) respectively. From the Russian language the names Ossetia and Ossetians entered other languages.

Nowadays the Ossetians themselves refer to their nation as irættæ (pl.) or Iron (singular) (< Irān, related to Indo-European آریا ārya 'noble').

History

The Ossetians descend from the Alans–Sarmatians, a Scythian tribe.^[11][12] About A.D. 200, the Alans were the only branch of the Sarmatians to keep their culture in the face of a Gothic invasion, and the Alans remaining built up a great kingdom between the Don and the Volga, according to Coon, The Races of Europe. Between A.D. 350 and 374, the Huns destroyed the Alan kingdom, and a few survive to this day in the Caucasus as the Ossetes. They became Christians under Byzantine^[13] and Georgian influence. A small number adopted Sunni Islam.

In the 8th century a consolidated Alan kingdom, referred to in sources of the period as Alania, emerged in the northern Caucasus Mountains, roughly in the location of the latter-day Circassia and the modern North Ossetia-Alania. At its height, Alania was a centralized monarchy with a strong military force and benefited from the Silk Road.

Forced out of their medieval homeland (south of the River Don in present-day Russia) during Mongol rule, Alans migrated towards and over the Caucasus mountains, where they formed three ethnic groups:

• Iron and Digor in the north became what is now North Ossetia-Alania, under Russian rule from 1767. Iron dialect is the literary and written language of the Ossetian language.
• Digor in the west came under the influence of the neighbouring Kabard people who introduced Islam. Today the two main Digor districts in North Ossetia are Digora district or Digorskiy rayon (with Digora as its centre) and Irafskiy rayon or Iraf district (with Chikola as its centre). Digora district is Christian while some parts of Iraf district are Muslim. The dialect spoken in Digor part of North Osetia is Digor, the most archaic form of Ossetian language.
• Kudar (sometimes misspelled Tual, after the indigenous Dvals people), the southern Ossetic tribe. Initially they lived in the upper course of the Ardon River and the Darial Pass.^[14] Subsequently, around the 17th century, part of them started to migrate over the Caucasus and into Georgia.^[15] After the Russian annexation of Georgia in 1801, an Ossetian okrug was formed within the Tiflis governorate from 1846 to 1859. In 1922 the surrounding region received an autonomy within the Georgian SSR as South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast. In 1991 Republic of South Ossetia declared independence from Georgia in aftermath of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.^[16]

In recent history, the Ossetians participated in Ossetian-Ingush conflict (1991–1992) and Georgian–Ossetian conflicts (1918–1920, early 1990s) and in the 2008 South Ossetia war between Georgia and South Ossetia.

Language

The Ossetic language belongs to the Indo-European language family. It belongs to the Iranian branch of that language family. Ossetic is divided into two main dialect groups: Ironian (os. - Ирон) in North and South Ossetia and Digorian (os. - Дыгурон) of western North Ossetia. There are some subdialects in those two: like Tualian, Alagirian, Ksanian, etc. Ironian dialect is the most widely spoken.

Ossetic is classified as Northeastern Iranian, the only other surviving member of the subgroup being Yaghnobi, spoken more than 2,000 km to the east in Tajikistan. Both are remnants of the Scytho-Sarmatian dialect group which was once spoken across Central Asia.

Religion

Most of the Ossetians became Christians in the 10th century under Byzantine influence.

As the time went by, Digor in the west came under Kabard and Islamic influence. It was through the Kabardians (an East Circassian tribe) that Islam was introduced into the region in the 17th century.

Kudar in the southernmost region became part of what is now South Ossetia, and Iron, the northernmost group, came under Russian rule after 1767, which strengthened Orthodox Christianity considerably.

Today the majority of Ossetians, from both North and South Ossetia, follow Eastern Orthodoxy, although there is a sizable number of adherents to Islam.

Traces of paganism are still very widespread among Ossetians, with rich ritual traditions, sacrificing animals, holy shrines, non-Christian saints, etc.

Location

The vast majority of Ossetians live in Russia (according to the Russian Census (2002)):

• North Ossetia-Alania — 445,300
• Moscow — 10,500
• Kabardino-Balkaria — 9,800
• Stavropol Krai — 7,700
• Krasnodar Krai — 4,100
• Karachay-Cherkessia — 3,200
• Saint Petersburg — 2,800
• Rostov Oblast — 2,600
• Moscow Oblast — 2,400

There is a significant number living in north-central Georgia (Trialeti). A large Ossetian diaspora lives in Turkey, and Ossetians have also settled in France, Sweden, Syria, the USA (New York City, Florida and California as examples), Canada (Toronto) and other countries all around the world.

Gallery

Ossetian woman in traditional clothes, early years of the 20th century.	Ossetian women working (19th century)	Ossetian Northern Caucasia dress of the 18th century, Ramonov Vano (19th century)	Three Ossetian teachers (19th century)
Kosta Khetagurov	Ossetian girl 1883	South Ossetian performers.	Ruslan Karaev, professional kickboxer
Vladimir Gabulov, Ossetian goalkeeper	Gaito Gazdanov, émigré writer	Veronika Dudarova, symphony conductor

See also

• Jassic people
• Alans
• Sarmatians
• Scythians
• Iron (people)
• Digor (people)
• Iranian peoples
• Ossetians in Turkey
• Peoples of the Caucasus

References

Bibliography

• Nasidze et al., Mitochondrial DNA and Y-Chromosome Variation in the Caucasus, Annals of Human Genetics, Volume 68 Page 205 - May 2004
• Nasidze et al., Genetic Evidence Concerning the Origins of South and North Ossetians (2004) [2]

External links

• Ossetians.com: a site about famous Ossetians