Caucasian Avars
Encyclopedia
Avars or Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus
, mainly of Dagestan
, in which they are the predominant group. The Caucasian Avar language
belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language
family (also known as Nakh–Dagestanian).
The Avars inhabit most of the mountain part of Dagestan, and partly also its plains (Buynakskiy, Khasav'yurtovskiy and other regions). They also live in Chechnya
, Kalmykia
and other regions of the Russia
n state, as well as of Azerbaijan
(mainly, the Balakan and Zakatala
rayons - 50,900 (1999) and Georgia
(Kvareli Avars - 2,500).
In 2002, the Avars, who assimilated some peoples speaking related languages, numbered about 1.04 million, of which 814,500 live in Russia, of which more than 750,000 in Dagestan
. 32% of them live in cities (2002 number).
were the Sino-Caucasian. But later Huns were Aryan mixed.
Another theory is classic Aryanist philologists' "Ober" = "the upper" opinion. Caucasian Avarian "War" - "Bar" words means "at the top, superior", and the "Awarag" means "Leader, Prophet". Some scholars think today's Khorasan's old name was "ABAR-Shar" = "The Land of Awars" or "The high lands, the upper lands". Hephthalites were living in that area, and they migrated to Dagestan in the end of 6th century after fighting with Turks and İranians. Hephthalites' royal clan's name was "War".
(or Nakh–Dagestanian) language family. The writing is based on the Cyrillic alphabet
, which replaced the Arabic script used before 1927 and the Latin script used between 1927 and 1938. More than 60% of the Avars living in Dagestan speak Russian
as their second language.
, who declared that in 463 AD a mixed Saragur
, Urog and Unogur embassy asked Byzantium for an alliance, having been dislodged by Sabirs in 461 due to the Avars' drive towards the west.Also mentioned in the Syrian compilation of Church Historian Zacharias Rhetor
bishop of Mytilene According to the head of the Soviet archaeological-ethnographic expedition of 1945 - 1948, these Caucasian Avars migrated to their present location from Khwarezm
, which was originally populated by the Alarodian Hurrians
from Subartu
(which was to the south of Transcaucasian Iberia). The Y-Chromosomal J Haplogroups
typical for Avar men are still common today in the area of ancient Subartu. According to Omeljan Pritsak
and some other scholars, this Avar invasion of the Caucasus resulted in the establishment of the Avar ruling dynasty in Sarir
, a Christian state in the Dagestani Highlands, where the Caucasian Avars now live. It is not clear whether or in what way these Avars are related to the early European Avars of the Dark Ages, but it is known that with the mediation of Sarosios
in 567, the Göktürks
requested Byzantium to distinguish the Avars of Pannonia as "Pseudo-Avars" as opposed to the true Avars of the east who had come under the Göktürk hegemony. The modern Arab Encyclopaedia states that the Magyars originated in this area. The Gokturks might have had a different reason for granting the ethnicon to their subjects in the North-East Caucasus while objecting to their Central European relatives' associating themselves with that illustrious name.
During the Khazar wars against the Caliphate
in the 7th century, the Avars sided with Khazaria. Surakat is mentioned as their Khagan
around 729/30 AD, followed by Andunik-Nutsal at the time of Abu Muslima, then Dugry-Nutsal. Sarir suffered a partial eclipse after the Arabs gained the upper hand, but managed to reassert its influence in the region in the 9th century. It confronted the weakened Khazars and conducted a friendly policy towards the neighbouring Christian states of Georgia
and Alania
.
In the early 12th century, Sarir disintegrated, only to be succeeded by the Avar Khanate
, a predominantly Muslim polity. The only extant monument of Sarir architecture is a 10th-century church at the village of Datuna. The Mongol invasions
seem not to have affected the Avar territory and the alliance with the Golden Horde
enabled the Avar khans to increase their prosperity.
In the 15th century the Horde declined, and the Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh
rose. The Avars could not compete with it until the 18th century, when they increased their prestige by routing the army of Nadir Shah at Andalal. In the wake of this triumph, Umma Khan of the Avars (reigned 1774–1801) managed to exact tribute from most states of the Caucasus, including Shirvan
and Georgia
.
Two years after Umma Khan's death in 1801, the khanate voluntarily submitted to Russian authority. The Russian administration disappointed and embittered the freedom-loving highlanders. The Russians' institution of heavy taxation, coupled with the expropriation of estates and the construction of fortresses, electrified the Avar population into rising under the aegis of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan
, led by Ghazi Mohammed (1828–32), Gamzat-bek
(1832–34) and Shamil (1834–59).
This Caucasian War
raged until 1864, when the Avarian Khanate was abolished and the Avarian District was instituted instead. One portion of the Avars refused to collaborate with Russians and migrated to Turkey, where their descendants live to this day. Although the population was decimated through war and emigration, the Avars retained their position as the dominant ethnic group in Dagestan during the Soviet period. After World War II
, many Avars left the barren highlands for the fertile plains closer to the shores of the Caspian Sea
.
. The most celebrated poet writing in the Avar language was Rasul Gamzatov
(1923–2003). In Azerbaijan
, there was an ethnic Avar Member of the Parliament (MP), Ali Antsukhskiy
(elected in 1995), who was killed in 1996.
Famous Avar artists include Khalil-bek Musayasul, whose drawings were shown at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art
, and Kamil Aliev (a distant cousin of Musayasul) who is noted for his ornamental carpet work.
A famous sportsman of Avar origin is a former WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov
.
The World War II submarine commander and hero of the Soviet Union Magomet Gadzhiyev
was an Avar.
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
, mainly of Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
, in which they are the predominant group. The Caucasian Avar language
Avar language
The modern Avar language belongs to the Avar–Andic group of the Northeast Caucasian language family....
belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language
Northeast Caucasian languages
The Northeast Caucasian languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, northern Azerbaijan, and in northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East...
family (also known as Nakh–Dagestanian).
The Avars inhabit most of the mountain part of Dagestan, and partly also its plains (Buynakskiy, Khasav'yurtovskiy and other regions). They also live in Chechnya
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
, Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
and other regions of the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n state, as well as of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
(mainly, the Balakan and Zakatala
Zaqatala (rayon)
Zaqatala is a rayon of Azerbaijan. The capital and principal town of the rayon is Zaqatala. The rayon is an appendix of Azeri territory wedged between Georgia and Dagestan...
rayons - 50,900 (1999) and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
(Kvareli Avars - 2,500).
In 2002, the Avars, who assimilated some peoples speaking related languages, numbered about 1.04 million, of which 814,500 live in Russia, of which more than 750,000 in Dagestan
Dagestan
The Republic of Dagestan is a federal subject of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and the largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea...
. 32% of them live in cities (2002 number).
Avar name
Avarian Philologists think the Avar name is coming from Caucasian Avarian "Bo" = "the armed nation", and "Or" = "the river" words. Bo-or, is the ancient A-Bar name of the White Huns. İts means that the army is using ferrum and horses. First HunsHuns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
were the Sino-Caucasian. But later Huns were Aryan mixed.
Another theory is classic Aryanist philologists' "Ober" = "the upper" opinion. Caucasian Avarian "War" - "Bar" words means "at the top, superior", and the "Awarag" means "Leader, Prophet". Some scholars think today's Khorasan's old name was "ABAR-Shar" = "The Land of Awars" or "The high lands, the upper lands". Hephthalites were living in that area, and they migrated to Dagestan in the end of 6th century after fighting with Turks and İranians. Hephthalites' royal clan's name was "War".
Language
The Avar language belongs to the Avar-Andi-Tsez subgroup of the Alarodian Northeast CaucasianNortheast Caucasian languages
The Northeast Caucasian languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, northern Azerbaijan, and in northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East...
(or Nakh–Dagestanian) language family. The writing is based on the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
, which replaced the Arabic script used before 1927 and the Latin script used between 1927 and 1938. More than 60% of the Avars living in Dagestan speak Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
as their second language.
History
The earliest mention of the Avars in European history at their current location is from PriscusPriscus
Priscus of Panium was a late Roman diplomat, sophist and historian from Rumelifeneri living in the Roman Empire during the 5th century. He accompanied Maximinus, the ambassador of Theodosius II, to the court of Attila in 448...
, who declared that in 463 AD a mixed Saragur
Saragur
Santhe Saraguru which is now also called as saraguru or saragur or sargur a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Locally there are two historical story behind the name to this village one,is from the river kabini,it runs as chain around this village.since in kannada chain means...
, Urog and Unogur embassy asked Byzantium for an alliance, having been dislodged by Sabirs in 461 due to the Avars' drive towards the west.Also mentioned in the Syrian compilation of Church Historian Zacharias Rhetor
Zacharias Rhetor
Zacharias of Mytilene , also known as Zacharias Scholasticus or Zacharias Rhetor, was a bishop and ecclesiastical historian....
bishop of Mytilene According to the head of the Soviet archaeological-ethnographic expedition of 1945 - 1948, these Caucasian Avars migrated to their present location from Khwarezm
Khwarezm
Khwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
, which was originally populated by the Alarodian Hurrians
Hurrians
The Hurrians were a people of the Ancient Near East who lived in Northern Mesopotamia and adjacent regions during the Bronze Age.The largest and most influential Hurrian nation was the kingdom of Mitanni. The population of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia to a large part consisted of Hurrians, and...
from Subartu
Subartu
The land of Subartu or Subar is mentioned in Bronze Age literature...
(which was to the south of Transcaucasian Iberia). The Y-Chromosomal J Haplogroups
Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup J is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. It is one of the major male lines of all living men...
typical for Avar men are still common today in the area of ancient Subartu. According to Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Pritsak
Omeljan Pritsak was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director of the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute.-Career:Pritsak began his academic career at the University of Lvov in interwar Poland where he...
and some other scholars, this Avar invasion of the Caucasus resulted in the establishment of the Avar ruling dynasty in Sarir
Sarir
Sarir or Serir was a medieval Christian state lasting from the 5th century to the 12th century in the mountainous regions of modern-day Dagestan. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for "throne" and refers to a golden throne which was viewed as a symbol of royal authority.- Origin :Sarir was...
, a Christian state in the Dagestani Highlands, where the Caucasian Avars now live. It is not clear whether or in what way these Avars are related to the early European Avars of the Dark Ages, but it is known that with the mediation of Sarosios
Sarosios
Sarosios was the King of the Alans in the early 6th century while they were still in Ukraine. He acted as diplomatic negotiator between the Central Asian Pseudo-Avar refugees led by Kandik and Justinian I in 557 and then again between Justin II and the Turks in 569 from whom we learn the Avars who...
in 567, the Göktürks
Göktürks
The Göktürks or Kök Türks, were a nomadic confederation of peoples in medieval Inner Asia. Known in Chinese sources as 突厥 , the Göktürks under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan The Göktürks or Kök Türks, (Old Turkic: Türük or Kök Türük or Türük; Celestial Turks) were a nomadic confederation of...
requested Byzantium to distinguish the Avars of Pannonia as "Pseudo-Avars" as opposed to the true Avars of the east who had come under the Göktürk hegemony. The modern Arab Encyclopaedia states that the Magyars originated in this area. The Gokturks might have had a different reason for granting the ethnicon to their subjects in the North-East Caucasus while objecting to their Central European relatives' associating themselves with that illustrious name.
During the Khazar wars against the Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
in the 7th century, the Avars sided with Khazaria. Surakat is mentioned as their Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
around 729/30 AD, followed by Andunik-Nutsal at the time of Abu Muslima, then Dugry-Nutsal. Sarir suffered a partial eclipse after the Arabs gained the upper hand, but managed to reassert its influence in the region in the 9th century. It confronted the weakened Khazars and conducted a friendly policy towards the neighbouring Christian states of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Alania
Alania
Alania may refer to:*Alania, the medieval state of the Alans or Alani people in the North Caucasus*The short name of the modern North Ossetia-Alania, one of the Caucasian republics in the Russian Federation...
.
In the early 12th century, Sarir disintegrated, only to be succeeded by the Avar Khanate
Avar Khanate
The Avar Khanate was a long-lived Muslim state which controlled Western Dagestan from the early 13th century to the 19th century.Following the downfall of the Christian kingdom of Sarir in the early 12th century, the Caucasian Avars underwent a process of Islamization. Military tensions escalated...
, a predominantly Muslim polity. The only extant monument of Sarir architecture is a 10th-century church at the village of Datuna. The Mongol invasions
Mongol invasions
Mongol invasions progressed throughout the 13th century, resulting in the vast Mongol Empire which covered much of Asia and Eastern Europe by 1300....
seem not to have affected the Avar territory and the alliance with the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
enabled the Avar khans to increase their prosperity.
In the 15th century the Horde declined, and the Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh
Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh
Shamkhalate of Kazi-Kumukh — Lak state that existed on the territory of present-day Dagestan in 11th-17th centuries. The capital of Shamkhalate was Kazi-Kumukh...
rose. The Avars could not compete with it until the 18th century, when they increased their prestige by routing the army of Nadir Shah at Andalal. In the wake of this triumph, Umma Khan of the Avars (reigned 1774–1801) managed to exact tribute from most states of the Caucasus, including Shirvan
Shirvan
Shirvan , also spelled as Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times...
and Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
Two years after Umma Khan's death in 1801, the khanate voluntarily submitted to Russian authority. The Russian administration disappointed and embittered the freedom-loving highlanders. The Russians' institution of heavy taxation, coupled with the expropriation of estates and the construction of fortresses, electrified the Avar population into rising under the aegis of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan
Imamate of Dagestan
The Caucasian Imamate also known as the Caucasus Imamate was the state established by the imams in Dagestan and Chechnya during the early and middle of the 19th century in the Northern Caucasus, to fight against the Russian Empire during the Caucasian War, where Russia sought to conquer the...
, led by Ghazi Mohammed (1828–32), Gamzat-bek
Gamzat-bek
Gamzat-bek , Hamza-Bek, was the second imam of the Caucasian Imamate, who succeeded Ghazi Mollah upon his death in 1832.Gamzat-bek was a son of one of the Avar beks...
(1832–34) and Shamil (1834–59).
This Caucasian War
Caucasian War
The Caucasian War of 1817–1864, also known as the Russian conquest of the Caucasus was an invasion of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire which ended with the annexation of the areas of the North Caucasus to Russia...
raged until 1864, when the Avarian Khanate was abolished and the Avarian District was instituted instead. One portion of the Avars refused to collaborate with Russians and migrated to Turkey, where their descendants live to this day. Although the population was decimated through 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
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, many Avars left the barren highlands for the fertile plains closer to the shores of the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
.
Famous Avars
The most prominent figures in Avar history were Umma Khan, Hadji Murat, and Imam ShamilImam Shamil
Imam Shamil also spelled Shamyl, Schamil, Schamyl or Shameel was an Avar political and religious leader of the Muslim tribes of the Northern Caucasus...
. The most celebrated poet writing in the Avar language was Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatov
Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov was probably the most famous poet writing in the Avar language. Among his poems was Zhuravli, which became a well-known Soviet song....
(1923–2003). In Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, there was an ethnic Avar Member of the Parliament (MP), Ali Antsukhskiy
Ali Antsukhskiy
Ali Antsukhskiy was an Avar native of Zaqatala Rayon, member of National Assembly of Azerbaijan who claimed to be the leader of the Avar people. He was assassinated in the center of Baku in 1996-Assassination:...
(elected in 1995), who was killed in 1996.
Famous Avar artists include Khalil-bek Musayasul, whose drawings were shown at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, and Kamil Aliev (a distant cousin of Musayasul) who is noted for his ornamental carpet work.
A famous sportsman of Avar origin is a former WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov
Sultan Ibragimov
Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov, is a retired professional boxer and a former WBO heavyweight champion. He is of Avar Dagestani Muslim descent...
.
The World War II submarine commander and hero of the Soviet Union Magomet Gadzhiyev
Magomet Gadzhiyev
Magomet Imadutinovich Gadzhiyev was a Soviet Navy submarine commander and Hero of the Soviet Union. He fought and died during World War II.-Biography:...
was an Avar.
See also
- UarUarThe Uar were the largest of three ethnic components constituting the confederation known to the west as the Hephthalites and to the Chinese as Yanda and the dominant ethnicity of Khwarezm...
- Vainakh