The ancestors of the Permians originally inhabited the land calledPermia covering the middle and upperKama River. Permians split into two groups, probably during the 9th century.[4]
The Komis came under the rule of theNovgorod Republic in the 13th century and were converted toRussian Orthodoxy in the 1360s and 1370s. From 1471 to 1478, their lands were conquered by theGrand Duchy of Moscow, which would later become theTsardom of Russia. In the 18th century, the Russian authorities opened the southern parts of the land to colonization and the northern parts became a place to which criminal and political prisoners were exiled.
The Udmurts came under the rule of theTatars, theGolden Horde and theKhanate of Kazan until their land was ceded to Russia, and the people were Christianized at the beginning of the 18th century.[5]
A connection between Permians andBjarmians, a northern people mentioned in Old Norse sources, has been suggested.[6] Recent research on theFinno-Ugric substrate in northern Russian dialects suggests that in Bjarmaland there once lived speakers of other Finno-Ugric languages beside the Permians.[7]
