Chola was ancient province, as well as its capital city located western coast of Caspian Sea in Toprakhgala () archaeological site of Derbent.

Names and meaning

Several Byzantine, Armenian and Syriac authors recorded the name of province in their manuscript. Most common of those names is Čor (), known from Agathangelos,

Moses of Chorene Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late an ...

Yeghishe Yeghishe (, , AD 410 – 475; also spelled Eghishe or Ełišē, latinized Eliseus) was an Armenian historian from the time of late antiquity, best known as the author of ''History of Vardan and the Armenian War'', a history of a fifth-centu ...

Lazar Parpetsi Ghazar Parpetsi ( hy, Ղազար Փարպեցի, translit=Łazar P῾arpec῾i) was a 5th to 6th century Armenian chronicler and historian. He had close ties with the powerful Mamikonian noble family and is most prominent for writing a history of ...

Ananias of Shirak Anania Shirakatsi ( hy, Անանիա Շիրակացի, ''Anania Širakac’i'', anglicized: Ananias of Shirak) was a 7th-century Armenian polymath and natural philosopher, author of extant works covering mathematics, astronomy, geography, chronol ...

, Movses Daskhurantsi and

Sebeos Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian. Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one o ...

. All other exonyms are variants of Armenian ones. A Greek variant of this name, Tzoúr () was used by Byzantine authors like Procopius. Less used variants were Khorutzon () or Tzon by

Menander Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His rec ...

and Zouár (). 5th century Georgian author Iakob Tsurtaveli names the city as Čora () in his '' Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik''. Islamic authors like Tabari and Ibn Khordadbeh referred to the city as Ṣūl (), another derivation from Armenian version. Native endonym appears to be of Caucasian origin, Čoˁ ( Caucasian Albanian: 𐕖𐕒𐔽). Though some authors also offered an Iranian source with meaning cognate to 'narrow gorge'.Murtazali Gadjiev, �
ŠAHRESTĀN YAZDEGERD
''” Encyclopædia Iranica'', online edition, 2016 (accessed on 30 April 2017).

Identification with Derbent

First researchers to equate Chola with Derbent were Nikolai Kuznetsov and

Josef Markwart Josef Markwart (originally spelled Josef Marquart: December 9, 1864 in Reichenbach am Heuberg – February 4, 1930 in Berlin) was a German historian and orientalist. He specialized in Turkish and Iranian Studies and the history of the Middle ...

in 19th-20th centuries. Some

Northeast Caucasian language The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Nakh-Daghestani or ''Vainakh-Daghestani'', is a language family, family of languages spoken in the Republics of Russia, Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia and ...

speakers still refer to Derbent closer to this word, all meaning 'wall', such as or .Murtazali Gadjiev, �
ŠAHRESTĀN YAZDEGERD
''” Encyclopædia Iranica'', online edition, 2016 (accessed on 30 April 2017).

History

Chola was located in domains of Maskut Principality, where St. Grigoris was martyred in

4th century The 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini/Common era) was the time period which lasted from 301 (Roman numerals, CCCI) through 400 (Roman numerals, CD). In the West, the early part of the century was shaped by Constantine the Grea ...

. It was mostly populated by possibly Caucasian speaking Chilb people (), often equated with the Silvi in Pliny's '' Natural History''. It was later incorporated to

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

in 448 by Vachagan III and served as center of

Church of Caucasian Albania The Church of Albania or the Albanian Apostolic Church was an ancient, briefly autocephalous church established in the 5th century. Igor KuznetsoUdis/ref> In 705, It fell under the religious jurisdiction of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the Cat ...

until 552 when Catholicos Abas transferred the seat to Partav (modern Bərdə, Azerbaijan). A pedestal found in

Mingachevir Church Complex Mingachevir Church Complex ( az, Mingəçevir Kilsə Kompleksi) is a Caucasian Albanian Apostolic Church complex belonging to the 4th and 7th centuries which were discovered during the construction of Mingachevir Hydroelectric Power Plant in 1946. ...

from 558, refers to the city as the seat of a bishopric. Head of the Church was officially called ''Catholicos of Albania, Lupenia and Chola''.{{Cite journal, last=Hewsen, first=Robert H., title=On the Location of the Lupenians, A Vanished People of Southeast Caucasia , date=1997, url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23658211, journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, volume=50, issue=1/3, pages=111–116, jstor=23658211 , issn=0001-6446 The city was sacked by

Böri Shad Böri Shad (fl. c. 627) ( otk, 𐰋𐰇𐰼𐰃𐱁𐰑, böri šad, , "Wolf governor") was a Turkic prince or general who fought the Persians south of the Caucasus during the Third Perso-Turkic War. In this war the Western Turkic Khaganate was al ...

in 627, captured by

Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman (), or pronounced Huthaifah or Huzaifah (died in 656), was one of the Sahabah (companion) of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Early years in Medina At Medina, Hudhayfah became a trusted and great companion of Muhammad, part ...

in 654. The city had a considerable Christian population when it was visited by Bishop Israel, ambassador of Albania to Alp Iluetuer in 681–682.Murtazali Gadjiev, �
ŠAHRESTĀN YAZDEGERD
''” Encyclopædia Iranica'', online edition, 2016 (accessed on 30 April 2017). Arabs later renamed Chola to Bab-al-Abwab and it became center of an emirate in 869.

References

Caucasian Albania History of Dagestan Derbent