The Ossetians ( or ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label= Ossetic), also known as Ossetes ( ), Ossets ( ), and Alans ( ), are an Iranian

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern sides of the Caucasus Mountains. They natively speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European language family, with most also being fluent in Russian as a second language. Currently, the Ossetian homeland of Ossetia is politically divided between

North Ossetia–Alania The Republic of North Ossetia–Alania; os, Республикӕ Цӕгат Ирыстон — Алани, ''Respublikæ Cægat Iryston — Alani'', ) is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. Its population acco ...

in Russia, and the '' de facto'' country of South Ossetia (recognized by the United Nations as Russian-occupied territory that is '' de jure'' part of Georgia). Their closest historical and linguistic relatives, the

Jász people The Jász (''Latin'': Jazones) are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group who have lived in Hungary since the 13th century. They live mostly in a region known as ''Jászság'', which comprises the north-western part of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county. ...

, live in the Jászság region within the northwestern part of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County of Hungary. A third group descended from the medieval Alans are the Asud of Mongolia. Both the Jász and the Asud have long been assimilated; only the Ossetians have preserved a form of the Alanic language and Alanian identity. The majority of Ossetians are Eastern Orthodox Christians, with sizable minorities professing the Ossetian

ethnic religion In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a pri ...

of Uatsdin as well as

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

Etymology

The Ossetians and Ossetia received their name from the Russians, who adopted the Georgian designation ( – note the personal pronoun), which means 'the land of the Osi'. (, , ) has been used in Georgian since the Middle Ages to refer to the sole Iranian-speaking population of the Central Caucasus and is probably based on the old Sarmatian self-designation ''As'' (pronounced ''Az'') or ''Iasi'' (pronounced ''Yazi''), cognate with Hungarian , both derived from the Latin , which is a latinization of a Sarmatian tribal name of the Alans called *''Yazig'', from

Proto-Iranian Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Pashto, Persian, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandarani ...

''*'', meaning 'those who sacrifice', perhaps referring to a tribe associated with ritual sacrifice, although the broader Sarmatians apparently called themselves "Ariitai" or "Aryan", preserved in modern Ossetic . Since Ossetian speakers lacked any single inclusive name for themselves in their native language beyond the traditional Iron– Digoron subdivision, these terms came to be accepted by the Ossetians as an

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

even before their integration into the Russian Empire. This practice was put into question by the new Ossetian nationalism in the early 1990s, when the dispute between the Ossetian subgroups of Digoron and Iron over the status of the Digor dialect made Ossetian intellectuals search for a new inclusive ethnic name. This, combined with the effects of the

Georgian–Ossetian conflict The Georgian–Ossetian conflict is an ethno-political conflict over Georgia's former autonomous region of South Ossetia, which evolved in 1989 and developed into a war. Despite a declared ceasefire and numerous peace efforts, the conflict r ...

, led to the popularization of ''

Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans (proto-Ossetians) that flourished in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia–Alania, from its independence from th ...

'', the name of the medieval Sarmatian confederation, to which the Ossetians traced their origin and to the inclusion of this name into the official republican title of North Ossetia in 1994. The root ''os/as''- probably stems from an earlier *''ows''/''aws''-. This is suggested by the archaic Georgian root ''ovs''- (cf. ''Ovsi'', ''Ovseti''), documented in the '' Georgian Chronicles''; the long length of the initial vowel or the gemination of the consonant ''s'' in some forms ( NPers. ''Ās'', ''Āṣ''; Lat. ''Aas'', ''Assi''); and by the Armenian ethnic name *''Awsowrk (''Ōsur''-), probably derived from a cognate preserved in the Jassic term ''*Jaszok'', referring to the branch of the Iazyges Alanic tribe dwelling near modern Georgia by the time of Anania Shirakatsi (7th century AD).

Subgroups

* Iron in the east and south form a larger group of Ossetians. They speak

Iron dialect Iron (Ossetic: Ирон, ''Iron'' or Ирон ӕвзаг, ''Iron evzag'') is one of the two main dialects of the Ossetic language along with DigorThordarson, Fridrik. 1989. Ossetic. Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, ed. by Rudiger Schmitt, 456-7 ...

. Irons are divided into several subgroups: Alagirs, Kurtats, Tagaurs,

Kudar The Kudar ( os, къуыдайрæгтæ) are an ethnographic group of the Iron people historically occupying Kudar Gorge, located in the northwest of Dzau district of South Ossetia. They speak Kudaro-Dzau subdialect (one of the subdialects of t ...

, Tual, Urstual and Chsan. **

are the southern group of Ossetians. ** Tual are in the central part of Ossetia. **Ksan are in the east of South Ossetia. * Digor people in the west. Digors live in Digora district, Iraf district and some settlements in Kabardino-Balkaria and Mozdok district. They speak Digor dialect. * Iasi, who settled in the Jászság region in Hungary during the 13th century. They spoke the extinct Jassic dialect. * Asud, a nomadic clan from Mongolia of Alanic-Ossetian origin. They, like the Iasi, thoroughly assimilated, and it is unclear what type of Ossetic dialect they used to speak before adopting the Mongolian language.

Culture

Mythology

The native beliefs of the Ossetian people are rooted in their Sarmatian origin, which have been

syncretized Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

with a local variant of

Folk Orthodoxy Folk Orthodoxy (russian: народное православие; sr, народно православље; lv, narodno pravoslavlje) refers to the folk religion and Religious syncretism, syncretic elements present in the Eastern Orthodox commun ...

, in which some pagan gods have been converted into Christian saints. The Narts, the Daredzant, and the Tsartsiat, serve as the basic literature of folk mythology in the region.

Music

Genres

Ossetian folk songs are divided into 10 unique genres: * Historic songs * War songs * Heroic songs * Work songs * Wedding songs * Drinking songs * Humorous songs * Dance songs * Romantic songs * Lyrical songs

Instruments

Ossetians use the following Instruments in their music: * String Instruments: ** Plucked strings: *** ''Dyuuadæstænon'' – a twelve-stringed

Harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

*** ''Fændyr'' – a Harp with two or three plucked strings ** Bowed strings *** ''Hysyn'' – two or three string

Fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

*** ''Hyyrnæg'' – is a double-bridged instrument, a kind of Cello * Wind instruments ** ''Uadyndz'' –

Flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

** Khyozyn –

Reed Flute The bamboo flute, especially the bone flute, is one of the oldest musical instruments known. Examples of Paleolithic bone flutes have survived for more than 40,000 years, to be discovered by archaeologists. While the oldest flutes currently kno ...

** Lalym –

Bagpipes Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, No ...

** Udaevdz – Double-reeds ** Fidiuæg – some kind of instrument made from a bull's horn * Percussion instruments ** Kartsgænæg – Rattles ** Gymsæg –

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

** Dala – Tambourine

History

Pre-history (Early ''Alans'')

The Ossetians descend from the Iazyges tribe of the Sarmatians, an Alanic sub-tribe, which in turn split off from the broader Scythians itself. The Sarmatians were the only branch of the Alans to keep their culture in the face of a Gothic invasion (c. 200 AD) and those who remained built a great kingdom between the Don and Volga Rivers, according to

Coon Coon may refer to: Fauna Butterflies * Coon, common name of the butterfly ''Astictopterus jama'' * Coon, species group of the butterfly genus ''Atrophaneura'', now genus ''Losaria'' * Coon, common name of the butterfly '' Psolos fuligo'' Ma ...

, ''The Races of Europe''. Between 350 and 374 AD, the Huns destroyed the Alan kingdom and the Alan people were split in half. A few fled to the west, where they participated in the Barbarian Invasions of Rome, established short-lived kingdoms in Spain and North Africa and settled in many other places such as Orléans, France, Iași, Romania,

Alenquer, Portugal Alenquer () is a municipality in the Lisbon District, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 43,267,Jászberény, Hungary. The other Alans fled to the south and settled in the Caucasus, where they established their medieval kingdom of Alania.

Middle Ages

In the 8th century, a consolidated Alan kingdom, referred to in sources of the period as

, 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 had a strong economy that benefited from the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

. After the Mongol invasions of the 1200s, the Alans migrated further into Caucasus Mountains, where they would form three ethnographical groups; the Iron, the Digoron and the Kudar. The Jassic people are believed to be a potentially fourth group that migrated in the 13th century to Hungary.

Modern history

In more-recent history, the Ossetians participated in the Ossetian–Ingush conflict (1991–1992) and Georgian–Ossetian conflicts ( 1918–1920, early 1990s) and in the

2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

between Georgia and Russia. Key events: *1774 — Expansion of the Russian Empire on Ossetian territory. *1801 — After Russian annexation of the east Georgian kingdom of

Kartli-Kakheti The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti ( ka, ქართლ-კახეთის სამეფო, tr) (1762–1801 ) was created in 1762 by the unification of two eastern Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti. From the early 16th century, accord ...

, the modern-day territory of South Ossetia becomes part of the Russian Empire. *1922 — Creation of the South Ossetian autonomous oblast.

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

remains a part of the Russian SFSR, while South Ossetia remains a part of the Georgian SSR. *20 September 1990 – The independent Republic of South Ossetia is formed. Though it remained unrecognized, it detached itself from Georgia ''de facto''. In the last years of the Soviet Union, ethnic tensions between Ossetians and

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...

in Georgia's former Autonomous Oblast of South Ossetia (abolished in 1990) and between Ossetians and

Ingush Ingush may refer to: * Ingush language * Ingush people The Ingush (, inh, ГIалгIай, translit=Ghalghaj, pronounced ) per Oxford dictionary "a member of a people living mainly in Ingushetia in the central Caucasus." Ingushetia is a federa ...

in North Ossetia evolved into violent clashes that left several hundred dead and wounded and created a large tide of refugees on both sides of the border. Ever since ''de facto'' independence, there have been proposals in South Ossetia of joining Russia and uniting with North Ossetia.

Language

The Ossetian language belongs to the Eastern Iranian ( Alanic) branch of the Indo-European language family. Ossetian is divided into two main dialect groups: Ironian ( os. – Ирон) in North and South Ossetia and Digorian ( os. – Дыгурон) in Western North Ossetia. In these two groups are some subdialects, such as Tualian, Alagirian and Ksanian. The Ironian dialect is the most widely spoken. Ossetian is among the remnants of the Scytho-Sarmatian dialect group, which was once spoken across the Pontic–Caspian Steppe. The Ossetian language is not mutually intelligible with any other Iranian language.

Religion

Prior to the 10th century, Ossetians were strictly pagan, though they were partially Christianized by Byzantine missionaries in the beginning of the 10th century. By the 13th century, most of the urban population of Ossetia gradually became Eastern Orthodox

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

as a result of Georgian missionary work.

was introduced shortly after, during the 1500s and 1600s, when the members of the Digor first encountered Circassians of the Kabarday tribe in Western Ossetia, who themselves had been introduced to the religion by Tatars during the 1400s. According to a 2013 estimate, up to 15% of North Ossetia’s population practice Islam. In 1774, Ossetia became part of the Russian Empire, which only went on to strengthen Orthodox Christianity considerably, by having sent Russian Orthodox missionaries there. However, most of the missionaries chosen were churchmen from Eastern Orthodox communities living in Georgia, including Armenians and Greeks, as well as ethnic

. Russian missionaries themselves were not sent, as this would have been regarded by the Ossetians as too intrusive. Today, the majority of Ossetians from both North and South Ossetia follow Eastern Orthodoxy. Assianism (''Uatsdin'' or ''Aesdin'' in Ossetian), the Ossetian folk religion, is also widespread among Ossetians, with ritual traditions like animal sacrifices, holy shrines, annual festivities, etc. There are temples, known as ''kuvandon,'' in most villages. According to the research service ''Sreda'', North Ossetia is the primary center of Ossetian Folk religion and 29% of the population reported practicing the Folk religion in a 2012 survey. Assianism has been steadily rising in popularity since the 1980s. * side¹ *

Demographics

Outside of South Ossetia, there are also a significant number of Ossetians living in Trialeti, in North-Central Georgia. A large Ossetian

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

lives in Turkey and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. About 5,000–10,000 Ossetians emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, with their migration reaching peaks in 1860–61 and 1865. In Turkey, Ossetians settled in central Anatolia and set up clusters of villages around Sarıkamış and near Lake Van in eastern Anatolia. Ossetians have also settled in Belgium, France,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the United States (primarily New York City, Florida and California), Canada ( Toronto),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) and other countries all around the world.

Russian Census of 2002

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

— 445,300 * Moscow — 10,500 * Kabardino-Balkaria — 9,800 * Flag of Stavropol Krai

Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a Krais of Russia, krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North ...

— 7,700 *

Krasnodar Krai — 4,100 * Karachay–Cherkessia — 3,200 * Flag of Saint Petersburg Russia

Saint Petersburg — 2,800 * Flag of Rostov Oblast

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

— 2,600 *

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

— 2,400

Genetics

The Ossetians are a unique ethnic group of the Caucasus, speaking an Indo-Iranian language surrounded mostly by Vainakh-Dagestani and Abkhazo-Circassian ethnolinguistic groups, as well as

Turkic Turkic may refer to: * anything related to the country of Turkey * Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages ** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation) ** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language * ...

tribes such as the Karachays and the Balkars. The Ossetians (Alans) formed as a nation in the Caucasian region and are the result of mixing Sarmatians with the native North Caucasian (Ossetian) population. According to Y-haplogroup, Alans are the descendants of Native Ossetian-Caucasian population and According to MtDNA Alano-Ossetians are the descendants of Sarmatians. This is also suggested by their language, which has both North Caucasian and Iranian influence, therefore Ossetians-Alans are the Iranian speaking Caucasian people and their formation as an ethnic group happened between I-lV centuries. According to this study, Ossetians are more related to Georgians (60–70%) than to most other Caucasian ethnic groups.

Gallery

File:Osetino komXXjc.jpg, Ossetian woman in traditional clothes, early years of the 20th century File:Osetia woman working.jpg, Ossetian women working (19th century) File:Ramonov vano ossetin northern caucasia dress 18 century.jpg, Ossetian Northern Caucasia dress of the 18th century, Ramonov Vano (19th century) File:Three ossetian teachers.jpg, Three Ossetian teachers (19th century) File:Ossetian girl 1883.jpg, Ossetian girl in 1883 File:Gazdanov-192?.jpg, Gaito Gazdanov, writer File:Sergei Guriev.jpg, Sergei Guriev, economist File:Bagraev.jpg,

Nikolay Bagrayev Nikolay Georgievich Bagrayev is a Ukrainian businessman in the fields of media and show business, and is a public figure. Personal life Nikolay Bagrayev was born on 19 June 1964, in the Digora village in North-Ossetian ASSR, Russia. His mothe ...

, politician File:South Ossetian performers.JPG, South Ossetian performers File:Barry (capitaine). F. 17. Ossèthe (Ossète), Koban. Mission scientifique de Mr Ernest Chantre. 1881.jpg, Ossetian man in 1881 File:Soslan Ramonov 2015.jpg,

Soslan Ramonov Soslan Lyudvikovich Ramonov ( os, Рæмонаты Людвичы фырт Сослан; russian: Сослан Людвикович Рамонов; born 1 January 1991 in Tskhinval) is a retired, Russian freestyle wrestler of Ossetian origin. He ...

, wrestler File:Shota Bibilov 2011.jpg,

Shota Bibilov Shota Gennadyevich Bibilov (russian: Шота Геннадьевич Бибилов; born 6 August 1990) is a Russian former professional footballer of Ossetian descent. Club career He made his professional debut in the Russian First Divisio ...

, professional footballer File:Ruslan Karaev.JPG,

Ruslan Karaev Ruslan Savelyevich Karaev (Karayev) (russian: Русла́н Саве́льевич Кара́ев, Ruslan Savelyevich Karayev; os, Хъараты Савелийы фырт Руслан, Qaraty Savelijy fyrt Ruslan; born May 19, 1983) is a Russ ...

, professional kickboxer File:Gabulov.JPG, Vladimir Gabulov, Ossetian goalkeeper File:Valery Gergiev David Shankbone 2010.jpg, Valery Gergiev, conductor

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Ossetians.com – a site about famous Ossetians
{{Authority control Alans Ethnic groups in Russia Ethnic groups in Turkey Ethnic groups in Syria Iranian ethnic groups Iranian peoples in the Caucasus Peoples of the Caucasus