Udi people
Encyclopedia
The Udis are one of the most ancient native peoples of the Caucasus
.
Currently they live in Azerbaijan
, Russia
, Georgia
, Armenia
, Kazakhstan
, Ukraine
and many other countries. The total number is about 10,000 people. They speak the Udi language
. Among them are distributed also Azeri, Russian
, Georgian
and Armenian language
s in part. Their religion is Christianity
.
The Udi people is one of the Caucasian Albania
tribes and are direct descendants of the linguistic tradition of the Caucasian Albania
.
The Udi live mostly in Azerbaijan
, in the village of Nij
of the region of Kabala, Oguz
(former Vartashen) and Baku
. There are also small groups in Russia
in the Rostov region
(Shahty, Taganrog
, Rostov-na-Donu, Azov
, Aleksandrovka), in the Krasnodar territory
(Krasnodar
, areas of Dinskoy, Leningrad, Kushchevsky), in the Stavropol Territory
(Minvody, Pyatigorsk), in the Volgograd region
(Volgograd
, Dubovy Ovrag), and also in Sverdlovsk
, Ivanovo, Kaluga areas, Moscow
, Saint Petersburg
, Astrakhan
, Georgia
, Zinobiani and the outskirts of Tbilisi
, Poti
, Rustavi
, Kazahkstan (city Aktau). Someone is also living in the Ukraine
(Kharkiv oblast
area).
. According to the classical authors, the Udis inhabited the area of the eastern Caucasus along the coast of the Caspian Sea, in a territory extending to the Kura River
in the north, as well as the ancient province of Utik
. Today, most Udis belong to the Orthodox Church. Centuries of life in the sphere of Perso-Islamic culture made a relevant impact on the Udi culture and mentality. This trace is noticeable in Udi folk traditions and the material culture.
The Udis are first mentioned in Herodotus
' Histories (5th century BC). Describing Battle of Marathon
, the Greek Persian war (490 year BC) the author specified that the Udi soldiers also were at war as a part of 9 satrapy of the Persian army. The Udis are mentioned in the Geographica
of ancient Greek writer Strabon (1st century BC) in it's description of the Caspian Sea
and the Caucasian Albany. The ethnic term "Udi" was mentioned first in the Natural history by ancient roman author Pliny the Elder
(1st century CE). Further ancient information about the Udi people can be found in other books by Ptolemy
(2 century), Gaius Asinius Quadratus and many other antique authors. Since 5 century BC the Udi people is often mentioned in the Armenian sources. More extensive information is given in "the History of Aluank" by Movses Kagancatvasiy. The Udis were one of predominating Albanian tribes and they were considered as the creators of the Caucasian Albany.
Not casually both of the capitals of the Caucasian Albany-Kabalak (also called Kabalaka, Khabala, Khazar, today's Qabala
) and Partav (also called Partaw, today's Barda
)--were located on the lands of the Udi peoples' historical residence. In the past the Udi people were settled on extensive territories from the bank of the Caspian Sea to the Caucasian Mountains, on the left and right banks of the Kura. One of the areas of the Caucasian Albany was named "Uti". After the conquer of the Caucasian Albany by Arabs, the territory of residing and number of the Udi people has been gradually reduced. According to the opinion of the famous linguist and researcher of the Udi language – Shultz, the Western Udis had to leave Nagorno-Karabakh
and settle in the village of Nidzh in order to resist against the Armenization.
Today the only places where Udis compactly live and reside are villages Nidzh and Oğuz
(Vartashen) in Azerbaijan, as the village Zinobiani (immigrants from Vartashen in 1922) in Georgia. But in the recent past the Udi people were living in Mirzabeily, Soltan Nuha, Jourlu, Mihlikuvah, Vardanly, Bajan, Kirzan, Yenigkend & etc. Nowadays they have been assimilated with Azerbaijanians.
is a Northeast Caucasian language
of the Lezgic branch
. There are two primary dialects, named Nij and Vartashen. The Azerbaijani
, Russian
, and Georgian
languages are also spoken. Udis are commonly bilingual, and less frequently even trilingual. Udi is used only in daily life, while for official purposes the Udi use the language of the country in which they reside (Azerbaijani and Russian in Azerbaijan and Russia respectively).
in northern Azerbaijan , dates to the year 1880: 10.000. In the year 1897 the number of the Udi people was given around 4.000, in 1910 around 5.900, the census of 1926 resulted in 2.500, in the census of 1959 3.700, in 1979 7.000 and in 1989 the Udi people of the word numbered 8.652. "The Udi people in Azerbaijan" On census of 1999 in Azerbaijan there are 4152 udis.
On census of 2002 Russia Census there are 3721 inhabitants identifying themselves as the Udis. Most of the Udi people (1573 persons) in Russia has been registered in Rostov region.
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...
.
Currently they live 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and many other countries. The total number is about 10,000 people. They speak the Udi language
Udi language
The Udi language, spoken by the Udi people, is a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It is believed an earlier form of it was the main language of Caucasian Albania, which stretched from south Dagestan to current day Azerbaijan.The language is spoken by about...
. Among them are distributed also Azeri, 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...
, Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
and Armenian language
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
s in part. Their religion is Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
The Udi people is one of the Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
tribes and are direct descendants of the linguistic tradition of the Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
.
The Udi live mostly 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...
, in the village of Nij
Nij, Azerbaijan
The town of Nij , located forty kilometers south west of Gabala in the Republic of Azerbaijan, is the only place in the world that has had a settlement of Udi people...
of the region of Kabala, Oguz
Oguz
Oghuz is a rayon of Azerbaijan. The population of the region consisted of Azerbaijanis....
(former Vartashen) and Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
. There are also small groups in 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...
in the Rostov region
Rostov Oblast
Rostov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located in the Southern Federal District. Rostov Oblast has an area of and a population of making it the sixth most populous federal subject in Russia...
(Shahty, Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
, Rostov-na-Donu, Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
, Aleksandrovka), in the Krasnodar territory
Krasnodar Krai
-External links:* **...
(Krasnodar
Krasnodar
Krasnodar is a city in Southern Russia, located on the Kuban River about northeast of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai . Population: -Name:...
, areas of Dinskoy, Leningrad, Kushchevsky), in the Stavropol Territory
Stavropol Krai
Stavropol Krai is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Stavropol. Population: -Geography:Stavropol Krai encompasses the central part of the Fore-Caucasus and most of the northern slopes of Caucasus Major...
(Minvody, Pyatigorsk), in the Volgograd region
Volgograd Oblast
Volgograd Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Volgograd. Population: -Geography:*Area: 113,900 km²;*Borders length: 2221,9 km²....
(Volgograd
Volgograd
Volgograd , formerly called Tsaritsyn and Stalingrad is an important industrial city and the administrative center of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. It is long, north to south, situated on the western bank of the Volga River...
, Dubovy Ovrag), and also in Sverdlovsk
Sverdlovsk
Sverdlovsk is a city in Luhansk Oblast of south-eastern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Sverdlovskyi Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located approximately 80 km from the oblast capital, Luhansk.The current estimated...
, Ivanovo, Kaluga areas, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
, 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...
, Zinobiani and the outskirts of Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Poti
Poti
Poti is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near the site of the ancient Greek colony of Phasis, the city has become a major port city and industrial center since the early 20th century. It is also...
, Rustavi
Rustavi
Rustavi is a city in the southeast of Georgia, in the province of Kvemo Kartli, situated southeast of the capital Tbilisi. It stands on the Mtkvari River at...
, Kazahkstan (city Aktau). Someone is also living in the Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(Kharkiv oblast
Kharkiv Oblast
Kharkiv Oblast is an oblast in eastern Ukraine. The oblast borders Russia to the north, Luhansk Oblast to the east, Donetsk Oblast to the south-east, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the south-west, Poltava Oblast to the west and Sumy Oblast to the north-west...
area).
History
The Udis are considered to be the descendants of the people of Caucasian AlbaniaCaucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
. According to the classical authors, the Udis inhabited the area of the eastern Caucasus along the coast of the Caspian Sea, in a territory extending to the Kura River
Kura River
Kura is a river, also known from the Greek as the Cyrus in the Caucasus Mountains. Starting in north-eastern Turkey, it flows through Turkey to Georgia, then to Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras River as a right tributary, and enters the Caspian Sea...
in the north, as well as the ancient province of Utik
Utik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
. Today, most Udis belong to the Orthodox Church. Centuries of life in the sphere of Perso-Islamic culture made a relevant impact on the Udi culture and mentality. This trace is noticeable in Udi folk traditions and the material culture.
The Udis are first mentioned in Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
' Histories (5th century BC). Describing Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...
, the Greek Persian war (490 year BC) the author specified that the Udi soldiers also were at war as a part of 9 satrapy of the Persian army. The Udis are mentioned in the Geographica
Géographica
Géographica is the French-language magazine of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society , published under the Society's French name, the Société géographique royale du Canada . Introduced in 1997, Géographica is not a stand-alone publication, but is published as an irregular supplement to La...
of ancient Greek writer Strabon (1st century BC) in it's description 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...
and the Caucasian Albany. The ethnic term "Udi" was mentioned first in the Natural history by ancient roman author Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(1st century CE). Further ancient information about the Udi people can be found in other books by Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
(2 century), Gaius Asinius Quadratus and many other antique authors. Since 5 century BC the Udi people is often mentioned in the Armenian sources. More extensive information is given in "the History of Aluank" by Movses Kagancatvasiy. The Udis were one of predominating Albanian tribes and they were considered as the creators of the Caucasian Albany.
Not casually both of the capitals of the Caucasian Albany-Kabalak (also called Kabalaka, Khabala, Khazar, today's Qabala
Qabala
Qabala is a rayon of Azerbaijan. Its administrative center is the historic town of Qəbələ, which in ancient times was known as the capital of Caucasian Albania....
) and Partav (also called Partaw, today's Barda
Barda, Azerbaijan
Barda is the capital city of the Barda Rayon in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Terter river. Once an Armenian town, and later the capital of Caucasian Albania perhaps since the end of the fourth century, Barda became the chief city of the Islamic province of Arran,...
)--were located on the lands of the Udi peoples' historical residence. In the past the Udi people were settled on extensive territories from the bank of the Caspian Sea to the Caucasian Mountains, on the left and right banks of the Kura. One of the areas of the Caucasian Albany was named "Uti". After the conquer of the Caucasian Albany by Arabs, the territory of residing and number of the Udi people has been gradually reduced. According to the opinion of the famous linguist and researcher of the Udi language – Shultz, the Western Udis had to leave Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, lying between Lower Karabakh and Zangezur and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains...
and settle in the village of Nidzh in order to resist against the Armenization.
Today the only places where Udis compactly live and reside are villages Nidzh and Oğuz
Oguz
Oghuz is a rayon of Azerbaijan. The population of the region consisted of Azerbaijanis....
(Vartashen) in Azerbaijan, as the village Zinobiani (immigrants from Vartashen in 1922) in Georgia. But in the recent past the Udi people were living in Mirzabeily, Soltan Nuha, Jourlu, Mihlikuvah, Vardanly, Bajan, Kirzan, Yenigkend & etc. Nowadays they have been assimilated with Azerbaijanians.
Language
The Udi languageUdi language
The Udi language, spoken by the Udi people, is a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It is believed an earlier form of it was the main language of Caucasian Albania, which stretched from south Dagestan to current day Azerbaijan.The language is spoken by about...
is a 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...
of the Lezgic branch
Lezgic languages
The Lezgic languages are one the seven branches of the Northeast Caucasian language family. Lezgian and Tabasaran are literary languages.-Classification:* Peripheral: Archi – 1200 speakers* Samur ** Eastern Samur*** Udi – 5000 speakers...
. There are two primary dialects, named Nij and Vartashen. The Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani language
Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
, 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...
, and Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
languages are also spoken. Udis are commonly bilingual, and less frequently even trilingual. Udi is used only in daily life, while for official purposes the Udi use the language of the country in which they reside (Azerbaijani and Russian in Azerbaijan and Russia respectively).
Dialects
The Udi language has 2 dialects: Nidzh and Vartashen. Nidzh dialect has its subdialects which divides into 3 subgroups- bottom, intermediate, top. There is an opinion that these subdialects historically existed as separate dialect corresponding to different group of the Udi people from the Tauz region, the village Kirzan & Artzah (Karabah, v.seysylla, Gasankala) moved to Nidzh and Oguz. Vartashen dialect has 2 subdialects- actually Vartashen & Oktomberry. "Ancient Writing" AS the majority linguists consider in the past the udi language was one of widespread languages of the Caucasian Albany on the basis of which, in the 5th century the Albanian writing was created, having put in pawn the bases of the Udi people literary language. The Alphabet consists of 52 letters. Further this alphabet has received wide application: major Bible texts were translated into the Albanian language. Church service was conducted on it. However subsequently , owing to the historical reasons the Albanian writing stopped being used & gradually had disappeared.Dynamics of the number
First information about the number of the Udi people, living in the area around QabalaQabala
Qabala is a rayon of Azerbaijan. Its administrative center is the historic town of Qəbələ, which in ancient times was known as the capital of Caucasian Albania....
in northern Azerbaijan , dates to the year 1880: 10.000. In the year 1897 the number of the Udi people was given around 4.000, in 1910 around 5.900, the census of 1926 resulted in 2.500, in the census of 1959 3.700, in 1979 7.000 and in 1989 the Udi people of the word numbered 8.652. "The Udi people in Azerbaijan" On census of 1999 in Azerbaijan there are 4152 udis.
On census of 2002 Russia Census there are 3721 inhabitants identifying themselves as the Udis. Most of the Udi people (1573 persons) in Russia has been registered in Rostov region.
Notable Udis
- George KechaariGeorge KechaariKechaari George Avetisovich was an Udi writer, educator, public figure and scientist. He was born in the settlement of Nij, in the Kabala area of the Azerbaijan republic. In 1952 he came to Baku to pursue Oriental studies at the Baku State University. After finishing his studies, he returned to...
, Udi writer, educator, public figure and scientist. - Voroshil GukasyanVoroshil GukasyanVoroshil Levonovich Gukasyan was a Soviet linguist, caucasologist and specialist in Udi language and Caucasian Albanian inscriptions. He was born in the village Nij, Azerbaijan and was Udi by ethnicity....
was a Soviet linguist, caucasologist and specialist in Udi language and Caucasian Albanian inscriptions. - Patvakan A. Kushmanyan distinguished educator of former Armenian SSR, linguist.