The Avars (), also known as Maharuls' (), are a Northeast Caucasian

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

. The Avars are the largest of several ethnic groups living in the Russian republic of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

. The Avars reside in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

between the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

and the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

. Alongside other ethnic groups in the North Caucasus region, the Avars live in ancient villages located approximately 2,000 meters above sea level. The

Avar language Avar (, , "language of the mountains" or , , "Avar language"), also known as Avaric, is a Northeast Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian language of the Avar–Andic languages, Avar–Andic subgroup that is spoken by Avars (Caucasus), Av ...

spoken by the Caucasian Avars belongs to the family of

Northeast Caucasian languages The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Nakh-Daghestani or Vainakh-Daghestani, or sometimes Caspian languages (from the Caspian Sea, in contrast to ''Pontic languages'' for the Northwest Caucasian languages), is a langu ...

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

has been the prevailing religion of the Avars since the 14th century.

Ethnonyms

According to 19th-century Russian historians, the Avars' neighbors usually referred to them with the

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

Tavlins (''tavlintsy''). Vasily Potto wrote, "The words in different languages have the same meaning... fmountain dwellers rhighlanders."''В. А. Потто.'
Кавказская война в отдельных очерках, эпизодах, легендах и биографиях
в 5 т. – СПб.: Тип. Е. Евдокимова, 1887–1889. Potto claimed that members of Avarian tribe also often referred to themselves by the alternate

endonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

, also meaning "mountaineer". Most of those known as Tavlins trace their lineage to the upper parts of two tributaries of the

Sulak River The Sulak (, , Lepiev A.S., Lepiev İ.A., Türkçe-Çeçençe sözlük, Turkoyŋ-noxçiyŋ doşam, Ankara, 2003) drains most of the mountainous interior of Dagestan northeast into the Caspian Sea. It and most of its branches flow in canyons. It ...

: the Andiyskoe Koisu and Avarskoye Koisu.

History

Between the 5th and 12th centuries, Georgian

Orthodox Christianity Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

was introduced to the Avar valleys. During the Islamic conquests,

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

invaded the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

, conquering

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in 639 and

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

in 643. They also founded the

Emirate of Tbilisi The Emirate of Tbilisi ( ka, თბილისის საამირო ', ') was a Islam, Muslim emirate in Transcaucasia. The Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today's eastern Georgia (country), Georgia from their base in the city ...

in 736. Later, the Christian kingdom of Sarir governed much of modern-day Dagestan. The

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia (), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a Middle Ages, medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in Anno Domini, AD. It reached Georgian Golden Age, its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign ...

was also Christian. However, when Sarir fell in the early 12th century and

Mongol invasions The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire, the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), which by 1260 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastati ...

led by

Subutai Subutai (c. 1175–1248) was a Mongol general and the primary military strategist of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He ultimately directed more than 20 campaigns, during which he conquered more territory than any other commander in history a ...

and

Jebe Jebe (or Jebei, , pronounced as ''Zev''; birth name: Jirqo'adai (Modern Mongolian: Zurgaadai), , ) (death: approximately 1224) was one of the most prominent Noyans (generals) of Genghis Khan. He belonged to the Besud clan, part of the Taichud ...

weakened Georgia, Christian influence in the area ended. The

Avar Khanate The Avar Khanate, the Avar Nutsaldom (; ), also known as Khundzia or Avaria, was a long-lived Avar state, which controlled mountainous parts of Dagestan (in the North Caucasus) from the early 13th century to the 19th century. History of Avar ...

, a predominantly Muslim polity, succeeded Sarir.''An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires'', by James Stuart Olson, Lee Brigance Pappas, Nicholas Charles Pappas, p. 58. The only extant monument of Sarir architecture is the 10th-century Datuna Church in the village of Datuna. The Mongol invasions seem not to have affected the Avar territory, and the alliance with the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

enabled the Avar khans to increase their prosperity. In the 15th century, the Horde declined, and the Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh rose to power. The Shamkhalate absorbed the Avar Khanate. From the 16th century onwards, the

Safavids The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

and

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

began expanding their territory in the Caucasus. By the mid-16th century, what is now

, eastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, and

were under

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

rule. The area that is now western Georgia fell under Ottoman Turkish control. Although the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

briefly gained Dagestan during the Ottoman-Safavid War of 1578–1590, Dagestan and many of its Avar inhabitants stayed under Safavid suzerainty for many centuries. Despite Safavid rule, many ethnic groups in Dagestan, including many Avars, retained relatively high amounts of freedom and self-governance. After the Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723, Russia briefly took Dagestan from the Safavids. The Afsharids reestablished full control over the Caucasus again in the early 18th century under

Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...

Caucasus campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...

and Dagestan campaign. During that same time, the Avars routed one of Nader Shah's armies at Andalal during the later stages of his Dagestan campaign. In the wake of this triumph, Umma Khan of the Avars (reigned 1774–1801) managed to extract tribute from most states of the Caucasus, including

Shirvan Shirvan (from ; ; Tat: ''Şirvan'') is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, as known in both pre-Islamic Sasanian and Islamic times. Today, the region is an industrially and agriculturally developed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan ...

and Georgia. Umma Khan died in 1801. Two years later, the khanate voluntarily submitted to Russian authority following the Russian annexation of

and the Treaty of Georgievsk. This was only confirmed after considerable Russian successes and the victory in the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, after which Persia lost southern

and many of its other Caucasian territories to Russia. The 1828

Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay (; ) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). It was second of the series of treaties (the first was the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the last, the ...

indefinitely consolidated Russian control over Dagestan and other areas where the Avars lived. The Russians instituted heavy taxes, expropriated estates, and constructed fortresses in the Avar region. The Avar population revolted under the flag of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan. Ghazi Mohammed (1828–1832), Hamzat Bek (1832–1834), and Shamil (1834–1859) led the revolts. This

Caucasian War The Caucasian War () or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series o ...

raged until 1864, when the Avarian Khanate was abolished and replaced by the Avarian District. Some Avars refused to collaborate with Russians and migrated to Turkey, where their descendants live to this day. Despite war and emigration, the Avars retained their position as the dominant ethnic group in Dagestan during the Soviet period. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, many Avars left the barren highlands for the fertile plains closer to the shores of the

Description

The Avarians are a Northeast Caucasian people who speak Avar, a Northeast Caucasian language. According to ''

Encyclopedia Britannica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

'', the Turanian nomads also share the name Avar. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Turanian nomads as "a people of undetermined origin and language." As of 2002, the Avarians numbered about 1.04 million. 912,020 Avarians lived in Russia during the 2010 census; 850,011 of them lived in Dagestan. Only 32% lived in cities. Avarians inhabit most of the mountainous part of Dagestan as well the plains (

Buynaksk Buynaksk (; ; ; ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located at the foothills of the Greater Caucasus on the Shura-Ozen River, southwest of the republic's capital city, capital Makhachkala. P ...

Khasavyurt Khasavyurt is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Dagestan, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1846 and granted town status in 1931. During the Russian Empire, the settlement was the administrative capital of the Khas ...

Kizilyurt Kizilyurt (; ; , ''Qızıl-yurt'') is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, about northwest of Makhachkala. Population: It is located where the north-flowing Sulak River leaves the mountains and enters the Terek-Sulak Lowland. Etymology ...

and other regions). Outside of Dagestan, Russian Avars also live in

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

and

Kalmykia Kalmykia, officially the Republic of Kalmykia,; , ''Khalmg Tanghch'' is a republic of Russia, located in the Volga region of European Russia. The republic is part of the Southern Federal District, and borders Dagestan to the south and Stavr ...

. As of 1999, 50,900 Avarians lived in the Balakan and Zakatala

rayon Rayon, also called viscose and commercialised in some countries as sabra silk or cactus silk, is a semi-synthetic fiber made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose fiber, cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has t ...

s of Azerbaijan. The Avarian population of Azerbaijan had decreased to 49,800 by 2009.Devlet İstatistik Komitesi

Azərbaycan Milli Elmlər Akademiyası İqtisadiyyat İnstitutu
/ref> In 2002, 1,996 Kvareli Avars lived in Georgia. Flag of Avars

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, Avarians are considered "ethnic Turks", and so aren't counted as their own ethnic group on the census. This makes it difficult to know exactly how many Avarians live in Turkey. According to Ataev B.M., who referenced A.M. Magomeddadaev's research, the Avarian population there should have been around 53,000 in 2005.

Ethnic groups

Avarian is a collective term; among the Avarians there are around 15 sub-ethnic groups, including the Avar, Andi, and Tsez (Dido) peoples.

Genetics

According to genetic studies in 2023, the following haplogroups are found to predominate among Avars: * J1 (60%) *

R1b Haplogroup R1b (R-M343), previously known as Hg1 and Eu18, is a human Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is the most frequently occurring paternal lineage in Western Europe, as well as some parts of Russia (e.g. the Bashkirs) and across the Sahel in ...

(15%) * G2 (12%) * J2 (6%) * L (2%)

Avarians as highlanders and armed people

, transliterated as means "inhabitants of the top grounds, mountaineers." Another group of Avarians is described as belonging to a different category, ( with a soft "χ"). This term means "inhabitants of plains (warm valleys) and gardeners". The name "Avarians" has a narrower meaning; it has a national meaning connected with former statehood. "Avar" is a significant part of the word "Avaria," which refers to the Khunzakh Khanate. The Khanate formed in the 12th century after the disintegration of Sarir. From the middle of the 19th century, this territory was the Avarian District of the Daghestan area. This area is now referred to as

Khunzakhsky District Khunzakhsky District (; ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the western central part of the republic. The area of the district is . Its adm ...

of Dagestan. Khunzakhsky District is referred to as in literary Avarian and in a local dialect. The modern literary language of Avarias (), both in the past and today, is known among Avarians as the language of (). The Avarian word means "army, armed people." According to reconstructions, this word descends from in the proto-Avarian language ("ʔ" represents a

glottal stop The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic ...

Names for the Avars

In modern Avarian, three words retain the ancient basis of . They include , meaning "envoy, prophet, messiah"; , meaning "pommel of a saddle"; and , meaning "obstacle, opposition". means "to make an obstacle, to resist." There is also an Avarian river called in Avarian and in Russian. All three listed words are found in ancient lexicons of the

Iranian languages The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian langu ...

. The Parthian word and the

Middle Persian Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...

word both mean "up, on, over" and "higher, superior." The Middle Persian word means "acclivity," or uphill slope. Similar Middle Persian words include , meaning "superior"; , meaning "god, divinity"; , meaning "noble"; , meaning "to surpass", and , meaning "to attack". At the same time, according to the

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of the Middle Persian language, the word , meaning "superior" can also be translated as "Aβarian", "Khurasanian", and "Parthian" as seen, for example, in a Middle Persian word, , meaning "Iranian". The first known use of the term "Avar" was in the 10th century. According to

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

author Ibn Rustah, a so-called governor of Sarir, Johannes de Galonifontibus was the first person to write about Avars under the name "Avar." He wrote in 1404 that "

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

, Leks, Yasses,

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

, Avars, ndKazikumukhs" live in the Caucasus. According to Vladimir Minorsky, one account from 1424 called the Daghestanian Avars the Auhar. Azerbaijani writer

Abbasgulu Bakikhanov Abbasgulu agha Bakikhanov () (, – January 1847), Abbas Qoli Bakikhanov, or Abbas-Qoli ibn Mirza Mohammad (Taghi) Khan Badkubi was an Azerbaijani writer, historian, journalist, linguist, poet and philosopher. He was son of the third khan of Baku ...

wrote that the "inhabitants of vicinities of Agran have been moved here from

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. A residence of this emir also was Agran". The editor of this book, an academician of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Z.M. Buniyatov, confirms that this "Agran" corresponds to the

. The word "Agran" is unknown to modern Avars. According to the ''Altiranisches Wörterbuch,'' written by Christian Bartholomae, "agra" means in his language, German. This corresponds to "first, upper, beginning, tip" in English. He also wrote that "agra'va" meant in German, which translates to "from the top, coming from the upper side." Nöldeke, Hübschmann, Frye, Christensen and Enoki identify Aparshahr/Abarshahr/Abharshahr/Abrashahr with

, a historical region of Iran, or with

Nishapur Nishapur or Neyshabur (, also ) is a city in the Central District (Nishapur County), Central District of Nishapur County, Razavi Khorasan province, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Ni ...

, an Iranian city. The Khurasan () in Iranian studies is known as "rise of Sun." The Parthian word (

, meaning "up, on, over") and Parthian/Middle Persian are cognate with

Old Iranian The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian language ...

, which means "empire, power, the sovereign house.") In summary, Aparšahr/Aβaršahr is very similar to the German word . According to historian H.W. Haussig, Aβaršahr means ("Kingdom of the Abar") and should be sought in the south-western territory of the

Western Turkic Khaganate The Western Turkic Khaganate () or Onoq Khaganate () was a Turkic khaganate in Eurasia, formed as a result of the wars in the beginning of the 7th century (593–603 CE) after the split of the First Turkic Khaganate (founded in the 6th century o ...

. A

Dahae The Dahae, also known as the Daae, Dahas or Dahaeans (; ; , ; , ; , ; ; zh, t=大益, p=Dàyì; Persian language, Persian: ) were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian nomadic tribal confederation, who inhabited the steppes of Ce ...

tribe, the Aparnak (

Parni The Parni (; , ''Parnoi''), Aparni (; Ἄπαρνοι, ''Aparnoi'') or Parnians were an East Iranian people who lived around the Ochus ( ''Okhos'') ( Tejen) River, southeast of the Caspian Sea in Central Asia. It is believed that their origina ...

) moved from the south-eastern shore of the Caspian Sea (part of modern

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

), into the territory of Khurasan, where they founded a confederation of Dahae tribes that Avestani texts referred to as "barbarians" and "enemies of Aryans," according to Christian Bartholomae. On the border of Khurasan, the

Sassanid Persians The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

built a strong wall, named the " Great Wall of Gorgan" or "The Red Snake." The wall was built to protect Iran from invasion by the

White Huns The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to 8th centuries CE, ...

( Hepthalites; called Khionites, X'iiaona and Xyôn in

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

texts). Later another wave of White Huns conquered Khurasan and occupied it for a long time. According to Richard Helli: "By such reasoning, the Ephthalites are thought to have originated at Hsi-mo-ta-lo (southwest of

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

and near the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

), which tantalizingly, stands for Himtala, 'snow plain', which may be the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

ized form of Hephthal." In 484, the Hephthalite chief Akhshunwar led his army to attack the Sassanian King

Peroz I Peroz I () was the Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings () of History of Iran, Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II (), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne after a ...

, who was defeated and killed in Khurasan. After the victory, the Hephthalite empire extended to

Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...

and

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

. Some of the White Huns drew up a peace treaty with Iran and the two became allies, both fighting against the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. Thus, Hephthalites lived in the Khurasan/Khorasan area. According to the Chinese classic Liang chih-kung-t'u, (

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

: ) was the name the Hephthalites used for themselves, and that is probably a Chinese transfer of a similar-sounding word, war/Uar. Mehmed Tezcan writes that according to a Chinese record, the Hephthalites descended from a

Rouran The Rouran Khaganate ( Chinese: zh, c=, p=Róurán, label=no), also known as Ruanruan or Juan-juan ( zh, c=, p=Ruǎnruǎn, label=no) (or variously ''Jou-jan'', ''Ruruan'', ''Ju-juan'', ''Ruru'', ''Ruirui'', ''Rouru'', ''Rouruan'' or ''Tantan'') ...

tribe called Hua in the Qeshi region (near

Turpan Turpan () or Turfan ( zh, s=吐鲁番) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 693,988 (2020). The historical center of the ...

). This tribe came to

Tokharistan Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is a historical name used by Islamic sources in the early Middle Ages to refer to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. By the 6 ...

and soon settled also in eastern regions of Khorasan at the beginning of the 5th century. About the same time, the name Avars/Awards appears in the sources. Again, in his well-known Atlas of China, A. Herrmann shows the eastern regions of Khorasan, Tokharistan, etc. as the dominions of Afu/Hua/Awards/Hephthalites between ca. 440 and 500 A.D., relying on the identification Hua = Uar = Awar. The German researcher

Karl Heinrich Menges Karl Heinrich Menges (April 22, 1908 – September 20, 1999) was a German linguist known for his advocacy of the Altaic hypothesis. He was a faculty member at Columbia University in New York and subsequently at the University of Vienna. Bio ...

considered Eurasian Avars to be one of the ancient Mongol peoples, who "were the first to use the title ga gan (later qān, ḵān) for their supreme ruler." He describes the "traces of a Mongol residue in Daghestan". Supporters of the so-called old

Turan Turan (; ; , , ) is a historical region in Central Asia. The term is of Iranian origin and may refer to a particular prehistoric human settlement, a historic geographical region, or a culture. The original Turanians were an Iranian tribe of th ...

ian nomad horde "infiltrate" point of view (with various clauses) include the following scientists:

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 Middl ...

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak (; 7 April 1919 – 29 May 2006) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of History of Ukraine, Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director (1973–1989) of the Harvard Ukrainian Rese ...

Vladimir Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (; – 25 March 1966) was a White Russian academic, historian, and scholar of Oriental studies, best known for his contributions to the study of history of Iran and the Iranian peoples such as Persians, Lurs, and ...

, Vladimir Baileys,

Harald Haarmann Harald Haarmann (born 16 April 1946) is a German linguist and cultural scientist who lives and works in Finland. Haarmann studied general linguistics, various philological disciplines and prehistory at the universities of Hamburg, Bonn, Coimbra ...

, Murad Gadjievich Magomedov, Alikber Alikberov, and Timur Aytberov.''I avarskij jazyk nuzhdaets'a v gosudarstvennoj podderzhke'' // Magazine ''Narody Dagestana''. Makhachkala, 2002. № 5. S. 33–34.

Language

The Avar language belongs to the Avar-Andi-Tsez subgroup of the Northeast Caucasian (or Nakh–Dagestanian) language family. The writing is based on the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...

, which replaced the

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

used before 1927 and the

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

used between 1927 and 1938. More than 60% of the Avars living in Dagestan speak

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

as their second language.

Notable Avars

Imam Shamil Imam Shamil (; ; ; ; ; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in the 1800s, the third Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (1840–1859), and a Sunni Muslim ...

, resistance leader during the

* Ghazi Muhammad, Islamic scholar * Hamzat Bek, imam * Rasul Gamzatov, poet * Hadji Murad, military leader during the

, waged by of the peoples of

and

from 1811–1864 against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He was also a rival to Imam Shamil. * Magomet Gadzhiyev, World War II submarine commander and hero of the Soviet Union * Kadi Abakarov, a

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

sergeant who fought during

. Abakarov was awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

for his actions in the

Battle of the Seelow Heights The Battle of the Seelow Heights () was part of the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation (16 April – 2 May 1945). A pitched battle, it was one of the last assaults on large entrenched defensive positions of the Second World War. It was fough ...

. * Ali Aliyev, a

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

who won five world titles and was the first wrestler from Dagestan to win a world title in freestyle wrestling. * Murad Gaidarov, freestyle wrestler representing Belarus. * Magomedkhan Gamzatkhanov, martial artist * Mustafa Dağıstanlı, Turkish freestyle wrestler of Avar descent *

Sultan Ibragimov Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov (, ; born 8 March 1975) is a Russian former professional boxer. He competed from 2002 to 2008, and held the WBO world heavyweight title from 2007 to 2008. He was ranked by '' The Ring'' as the world's s ...

, retired boxer who was a former

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

heavyweight champion * Mansur Isaev, judoka from Russia. He won gold in the finals at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in the class 73 kg. * Tagir Khaybulaev, judoka from Russia. He won gold in the finals at the

in the class 100 kg. *

Karimula Barkalaev Karimula Magomedovich Barkalaev (born 23 January 1973) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist, Judoka, and Sanda Kung Fu practitioner. He is the first and only Russian national to have won the ADCC Submission Fighting World Cha ...

, former MMA fighter who is the only Russian national to have won at the

ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tou ...

Khabib Nurmagomedov Khabib Abdulmanapovich Nurmagomedov (born 20 September 1988) is a Russian former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight (MMA), Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He was the longest-rei ...

, mixed martial artist, two-time Combat Sambo World Champion, and an undefeated former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

champion *

Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov Abdulmanap Magomedovich Nurmagomedov (; 10 December 1962 – 3 July 2020) was a Russian Soviet Army, military veteran, former judoka and combat sports coach. In September 2019, he was named by the ''Russian Book of Records'' as the most succe ...

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

military veteran, former judoka and combat sports coach, and father of former

Undisputed Lightweight Champions

, coach of the current Undisputed Lightweight Champion

Islam Makhachev Islam Ramazanovich Makhachev (; born 27 October 1991) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist and former sambo competitor. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the cu ...

Ramazan Emeev Ramazan Dadaevich Emeev (; born May 20, 1987) is a Russian mixed martial artist. He is Combat Sambo World Champion who currently fights in the Welterweight division. He is a former M-1 Global middleweight champion and fought in the Ultimate Fig ...

, mixed martial artist currently competing in the

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

. He is a former

M-1 Global M-1 Global (Mixfight-1) or MMA-1 (Mixed martial arts-1) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in St. Petersburg, Russia which organizes between 10 and 20 competitions per year. It hosted its first major show (rather than co-promoting with oth ...

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

champion. * Zagalav Abdulbekov, first Avar Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling * Abdulrashid Sadulaev, wrestler who won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling for Russia during the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He also won a gold medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in the 97 kg category. *

Mavlet Batirov Mavlet Alavdinovich Batirov (, born December 12, 1983) is a Russian freestyle wrestler, world and two-time Olympic champion, who competed in the men's freestyle 55 kg category at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won the gold medal. In April 2 ...

, two-time Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling * Khadzimurad Magomedov, Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling * Sagid Murtazaliev, Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling * Makhach Murtazaliev, Olympic bronze medalist and two-time world champion in freestyle wrestling *

Alisa Ganieva Alisa Arkadyevna Ganieva (or Ganiyeva; , born 1985) is a Russian author, writing novels, short prose and essays. Life Ganieva was born in Moscow in an Avar people (Caucasus), Avar family but moved with her family to Dagestan, where she lived i ...

, author who writes in Russian but identifies herself as an Avar * Gadzhimurat Kamalov, investigative journalist who reported on corruption in the

area * Ali Shabanau, freestyle wrestler representing Belarus * Magomed Tolboyev, Soviet-era test pilot for the Buran space shuttle, also a Hero of Russia * Abdullah Daghestani, spiritual guide of Shaykh Nazim; buried on

Mount Qasioun Mount Qasioun () is a mountain overlooking the city of Damascus, Syria. It has a range of restaurants, from which the whole city can be viewed. Due to its high elevation, several communications and broadcasting networks constructed relay stat ...

, Damascus * Magomed Ankalaev, professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, current

Light heavyweight (MMA) champion. * Shamil Abdurakhimov, professional

, former

fighter * Magomed Magomedkerimov, professional

, currently competes in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

(PFL). * Usman Nurmagomedov, professional

, current

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Lightweight (MMA) The lightweight division in mixed martial arts contains different weight classes: * The UFC's lightweight division, which groups competitors within 146 to 155 lb (66 to 70 kg) * The Shooto lightweight division, which limits competitors to 145&nbs ...

champion.

Media files

File:Murad Magomedov about Old Bulgars N-Caucasus.ogg, Avarian archeologist Dr. Murad Magomedov speaks in

about ancient migration of Iranians, Turks and

Proto-Mongols The proto-Mongols emerged from an area that had been inhabited by humans as far back as 45,000 years ago during the Upper Paleolithic. The people there went through the Bronze Age, Bronze and Iron Ages, forming tribal alliances, peopling, and com ...

to the Caspian-Dagestan area. File:Adallo interview Sound 1a.ogg, Famous in Dagestan and the Dagestani diaspora in Turkey, the Avarian poet Adallo Ali (also known as Adallo Aliev) speaks about the Avar language and Avar poetry and literature. Part 1. File:Adallo interview Sound 1b.ogg, Adallo Ali speaks about the Avar language and Avar poetry and literature. Part 2.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avars Ethnic groups in Dagestan Ethnic groups in Azerbaijan Ethnic groups in Georgia (country) Muslim communities of Russia Peoples of the Caucasus Muslim communities of the Caucasus