The nameOssetians andOssetia come from RussianOsetin, which in turn borrowed the Georgian termOseti (ოსეთი), a toponymic formation meaning 'the land of the Osi'.[36][37][page needed]
In Georgian,Osi (ოსი, pl.Osebi ოსები) has been used since the Middle Ages to refer to theIranian-speaking population of the central Caucasus, ancestors of the modern Ossetians. The term ultimately derives from theSarmatian ethnonymAs (also attested asĀs in classical and medieval sources), the self-designation of an eastern Iranian tribe belonging to theAlanic branch of the Sarmatians.[36][37][page needed]
The rootos/as- is thought to descend from an earlier form *ows/aws-. This is supported by several parallels: the archaic Georgian rootovs- (as inOvsi,Ovseti), recorded in theGeorgian Chronicles; thegemination ofs and/or lengthening of the preceding vowel in related forms (Ās,Āṣ inMiddle Persian;Aas,Assi in Latin sources); and the Armenian ethnic nameŌsur- (reconstructed as *Awsowrk' ), which appears to be connected to theJassic term*Jaszok, reflecting descendants of an Alanic branch of the Sarmatians attested near the Caucasus by the 7th century AD.[38]
The ethnonymIasi (pronounced 'Yazi'), cognate with HungarianJász (designating theJasz people), stems from the LatinIazyges, itself a rendering of the Sarmatian tribal name *Yazig, used among among western groups related to the Alans. The name is generally traced to theProto-Iranian root *yaz- ('to worship' or 'to sacrifice'), perhaps originally signifying 'those who perform sacrifices'. In contrast, the broader Sarmatian confederation is thought to have called themselvesArii-tai ('Aryans'), a term preserved in modern Ossetian asIrættæ ('the Aryans', also the ethnonym underlyingIron, the main Ossetian subgroup).[36][37][page needed]
Since Ossetian speakers lacked any single inclusive name for themselves in their native language beyond the traditionalIron–Digoron subdivision, these terms came to be accepted by the Ossetians as anendonym even before their integration into theRussian Empire.[39]
This practice was put into question by the new Ossetian nationalism in the early 1990s, when the dispute between the Ossetian subgroups of Digoron and Iron over the status of theDigor dialect made Ossetian intellectuals search for a new inclusive ethnic name. This, combined with the effects of theGeorgian–Ossetian conflict, led to the popularization ofAlania, the name of the medievalSarmatian confederation, to which the Ossetians traced their origin and to the inclusion of this name into the official republican title of North Ossetia in 1994.[39]
Ossetian tribes (according to B. A. Kaloev).[40][41]
Iron in the east and south form a larger group of Ossetians. They speakIron dialect, which in turn is divided into several subgroups: Alagirs, Kurtats, Tagaurs,Kudar, Tual, Urstual and Chsan.
Asud, a nomadic clan fromMongolia of Alanic-Ossetian origin. They, like the Iasi, thoroughly assimilated, and it is unclear what type of Ossetian dialect they used to speak before adopting theMongolian language.
The native beliefs of the Ossetian people are rooted in theirSarmatian origin, which have beensyncretized with a local variant ofFolk Orthodoxy, in which some pagan gods have been converted into Christian saints.[42] TheNarts, the Daredzant, and the Tsartsiat, serve as the basic literature of folk mythology in the region.[43]
The Ossetians descend from theIazyges tribe of theSarmatians, anAlanic sub-tribe, which in turn split off from the broaderScythians itself.[35] The Sarmatians were the only branch of the Alans to keep their culture in the face of a Gothic invasion (c. 200 AD) and those who remained built a great kingdom between the Don and Volga Rivers, according toCoon,The Races of Europe. Between 350 and 374 AD, the Huns destroyed the Alan kingdom in theBattle of the Tanais River and the Alan people were split in half. A few fled to the west, where they participated in the Barbarian Invasions of Rome, established short-lived kingdoms in Spain and North Africa, and settled in many other places such asOrléans, France,Iași, Romania,Alenquer, Portugal andJászberény, Hungary. The other Alans fled to the south and settled in the Caucasus, where they established their medieval kingdom of Alania.[citation needed]
Figurine of "Zadaleski Nana" ("the mother of Zadalesk"), also known as "mother of the Ossetes", who is said to have hid orphaned children in a cave duringTimur's invasion in the late 14th century.
In the 7th century, in the well-known chronicle,Ashkharhatsuyts, the Alans were mentioned under the ethnonym Alanac, As-Digor[44]
In the 8th century, a consolidated Alan kingdom, referred to in sources of the period asAlania, emerged in the northern Caucasus Mountains, roughly in the location of the latter-dayCircassia and the modern North Ossetia–Alania. At its height, Alania was a centralized monarchy with a strong military force and had a strong economy that benefited from theSilk Road.
Before the Mongol invasion, the Alans lived in the territory from theLaba (river) to theArgun River.[47]In 1220, Genghis Khan sent his commanders Subutai and Jebe on a campaign, ordering them to reach "eleven countries and peoples", among whom were the "Kibchaut" (Kipchaks), "Orusut" (Rus'), "Machjarat" (inhabitants of the city Majar), "Asut" (Alania), "Sessut" (Durdzuks), "Serkessut" (Circassians) and others[48]The Mongols, led by the generalsJebe andSubutai, met the Alansfor the first time in1222 after passing throughShirvan and Dagestan. They were confronted by a Kipchak-Alan alliance, which they defeated by scheming with the Kipchaks.
As a result of the second campaign of1238-1239, a significant part of the Alania plain was captured by theMongol Empire, and Alania itself ceased to exist as a political entity.[49]
Alania after the Mongol invasion of 1245
After theMongol invasions of the 1200s, the Alans migrated further intoCaucasus Mountains, where they would form three ethnographical groups; the Iron, the Digoron and the Kudar. TheJassic people are believed to be a potentially fourth group that migrated in the 13th century toHungary.
In 1292, the Alanian king Os-Bagatar attacked the territory of Georgia and captured the territory ofGori, and a significant part ofShida Kartli. He tried to restore the statehood of Alania.[50] But in 1306, Os-Bagatar died, and in 1326,George V of Georgia, after several attempts, was able to take Gori and drive the Alans out of theSouth Caucasus and Dvaletia.[51][52]
20 September 1990 – The independent Republic of South Ossetia is formed. Though it remained unrecognized, it detached itself from Georgiade facto. In the last years of theSoviet Union,ethnic tensions between Ossetians andGeorgians in Georgia's formerAutonomous Oblast of South Ossetia (abolished in 1990) and between Ossetians andIngush in North Ossetia evolved into violent clashes that left several hundred dead and wounded and created a large tide of refugees on both sides of the border.[57][58]
Ossetian is divided into two main dialect groups:Ironian[35] (os. – Ирон) in North and South Ossetia andDigorian[35] (os. – Дыгурон) in Western North Ossetia. In these two groups are some subdialects, such as Tualian, Alagirian and Ksanian. The Ironian dialect is the most widely spoken.
Ossetian is among the remnants of theScytho-Sarmatian dialect group, which was once spoken across the Pontic–Caspian Steppe. The Ossetian language is not mutually intelligible with any other Iranian language.[citation needed]
Prior to the 10th century, Ossetians were strictly pagan, though they were partiallyChristianized byByzantine missionaries in the beginning of the 10th century.[61] By the 13th century, most of the urban population of Ossetia gradually becameEastern OrthodoxChristian as a result ofGeorgian missionary work.[35][62][63]
Islam was introduced shortly after, during the 1500s and 1600s, when the members of theDigor first encounteredCircassians of theKabarday tribe in Western Ossetia, who themselves had been introduced to the religion byTatars during the 1400s.[64]
Left: The pagan Rekom shrine, said to be established in the late 14th centuryRight: Gift offerings from the Rekom shrine
According to a 2013 estimate, up to 15% of North Ossetia’s population practice Islam.[65]
In 1774, Ossetia became part of theRussian Empire, which only went on to strengthenOrthodox Christianity considerably, by having sentRussian Orthodox missionaries there. However, most of the missionaries chosen were churchmen from Eastern Orthodox communities living in Georgia, includingArmenians andGreeks, as well as ethnicGeorgians. Russian missionaries themselves were not sent, as this would have been regarded by the Ossetians as too intrusive.
Assianism (Uatsdin orAesdin in Ossetian), the Ossetian folk religion, is also widespread among Ossetians, with ritual traditions like animal sacrifices, holy shrines, annual festivities, etc. There are temples, known askuvandon, in most villages.[67] According to the research serviceSreda, North Ossetia is the primary center of Ossetian Folk religion and 29% of the population reported practicing the Folk religion in a 2012 survey.[68] Assianism has been steadily rising in popularity since the 1980s.[69]
The first data on the number of Ossetians dates back to 1742. According to the Georgian Archbishop Joseph, the number of Ossetians was approximately 200 thousand[70]
Outside ofSouth Ossetia, there are also a significant number of Ossetians living inTrialeti, in North-CentralGeorgia. A large Ossetiandiaspora lives inTurkey andSyria. About 5,000–10,000 Ossetians emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, with their migration reaching peaks in 1860–61 and 1865.[71] In Turkey, Ossetians settled in central Anatolia and set up clusters of villages around Sarıkamış and near Lake Van in eastern Anatolia.[72] Ossetians have also settled inBelgium,France,Sweden, theUnited States (primarilyNew York City,Florida andCalifornia),Canada (Toronto),Australia (Sydney) and other countries all around the world.
Like many other ethnolinguistic groups in the Caucasus, the genetic heritage of the Ossetians is both diverse yet distinctive. While Ossetians share genetic traits with neighboring populations, they have retained a distinct identity. With 70% of Ossetian males belonging to the Y-chromosomal haplogroup G2, specifically the G2a1a1a1a1a1b-FGC719 subclade. AmongIron people, this percentage rises to 72.6%, compared to 55.9% amongDigor people.[73][74]
This haplogroup has been identified in Alan burials associated with theSaltovo-Mayaki culture. In a 2014 study by V. V. Ilyinsky on bone fragments from ten Alanic burials along theDon River, DNA analysis was successfully performed on seven samples. Four of these belonged to Y-DNA Haplogroup G2, while six exhibited mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup I.[75][76] The shared Y-DNA and mtDNA among these individuals suggest they may have belonged to the same tribe or were close relatives. These findings strongly support the hypothesis of direct Alan ancestry for Ossetians. This evidence challenges alternative theories, such as Ossetians being Caucasian speakers assimilated by the Alans, reinforcing that Haplogroup G2 is central to their genetic lineage.[77]
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Chaudhri, Anna (2003). "The Ossetic Oral Narrative Tradition: Fairy Tales in the Context of other Forms of Oral Literature". In Davidson, Hilda Ellis; Chaudhri, Anna (eds.).A Companion to the Fairy Tale. Rochester, New York: D. S. Brewer. pp. 202–216.
Munkácsi, Bernhard (1932).Blüten der ossetischen Volksdichtung (in German). Otto Harrassowitz.
Осетинские народные сказки [Ossetian Folk Tales]. Запись текстов, перевод, предисловие и примечания Г. А. Дзагурова [Grigory A. Dzagurov [ru] ]. Moskva: Главная редакция восточной литературы издательства «Наука», 1973. (in Russian)
Ulrich Benzel, ed. (1976).Kaukasische Märchen aufgezeichnet von Ulrich Benzel bei dem ossetischen Hirten Mussar Omar [Caucasian Fairy Tales collected by Ulrich Benzel from Ossetian shepherd Mussar Omar] (in German). Wiesbaden: Verlag F. Englisch.
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