The Caucasus

A high mountain range extending across the land between the Caspian and Black Seas, this region has collected a tremendously varied number of small enclaves of cultures who have found life on the steppes to the north or the semi-arid plateau regions to the south too inhospitable.

This has: Abasgia (Abkhazia), Albania, Arme-Supria (Nairi), Armenia, the Armenian Patriarchs, Armenian Catholic Patriarchs, Arminyah, Arran, Avaristan, Ayrarat, Azerbaijan, Baku, Balkaria, Besh Tau El, Chechnya, Circassia, Colchis, Dagestan, Derbend, Diaokhi, Dizak, Dzheraberd, East Svanet'i, Ganja, Georgia, the Georgian Patriarchs, Ghazi-Ghumuq, Girdyaman (Kuchen), Girdyaman (Siuna), Gulistan, Guria, Hereti, Ilisu, Imereti, Ingushetia, Kabarda, Karachai, Kartli, Kaytak, Khakheti, Khavkhazia, Kuba, Kutakashen, Lak Imamate, Lazica, Lenkoran, Lori, Matznaberd, Mingrelia, Mtskheta, Nakhchivan, Qarabagh, Sarir, Sheka, Shirak, Shirvan, the Sinds, Siuna, Svanet'i, Tarki, Tashir, Varanda, West Svanet'i, Xachen, and Yerevan.

Files for neighboring regions: Anatolia, (Western) Central Asia, the Crimea, Iran, Russia.

 
ABASGIA Also known as Abkhazia or Akhazia, it is a mountainous district along the east coast of the Black Sea, to the northeast of Georgia.


ARMENIAArmenia has nearly always been a client or province to some great empire or other, but it has always survived as well. A client-Kingdom of Rome during late Classical times, a Principality was established in the Dark Ages, which was raised to the status of a Kingdom in 885. Note carefully that there have been several Armenias, often with the same or very similar names. This list begins with Greater Armenia, which was based around the Ararat valley. Sophene was a state located between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. Lesser Armenia was between the Euphrates and the upper reaches of the Lycos, in Galatia and southern Pontus. An entirely different Lesser Armenia, often called Armenia Minor, was in southern Anatolia around the province of Cilicia.


ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE As can be appreciated above, the Armenian people have seldom held a secure and independent realm of their own, but have often been at the mercy of the neighbours. In some ways resembling Diaspora Jewry in that Armenians have normally been found as isolated communities throughout the Middle East, their religion has been a powerful source of unity to them, and has been enormously influential in preserving the identity of the culture. Since the 15th century, the seat of the Patriarchate has been in the ancient city of Etchmiadzin, about 10 miles west of the current Armenian capital of Yerevan, and about 7 miles north of the Armenian/Turkish frontier. The Armenian Church is a Monophysite communion, and therefore is most closely related to Syrian, Coptic and Ethiopian branches of Christianity. See also, the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem. For a neighbouring Church hierarchy, Eastern Orthodox in it's theology, see below, the Georgian Patriarchate. Also note, just following, the Armenian Roman Catholic communion.

ARMINYAH A province of the Caliphs, based at Dvin and covering much of modern Armenia and northeastern Turkey, along with portions of modern Azerbaijan. These rulers were essential district governors, and should be viewed alongside local nobility of the era, in Armenia (primarily Bagratunids and Mamikonians), and Azerbaijan (the Mihranids).


ARMENIAN PATRIARCHATE (Roman Catholic) In the late 1600s and early 1700s, Rome began to send missions to various Eastern churches in an attempt to bring them into communion with the Catholic church. One such mission led to the schism between the Assyrian and Chaldean churches. Another, less successful one was sent to Armenia and culminated with the appointment of an Armenian Catholic patriarch.


ARRAN  Western Azerbaijan, south of Chechnya.


AVARISTAN The Caucasian Avars are an ethnic group living in southern Dagestan. Any connection between them and the Avars who invaded central Europe and the Balkans in the early Dark Ages is problematic: these Avars speak a Caucasic tongue akin to Circassian and Lak rather than the Turko-Mongolic language the Balkan Avars are thought to have used. Still, the name is suggestive - sundered folk do sometimes adopt divergent speech, and the issue is not satisfactorily resolved. They were Georgian Orthodox Christians during the early Middle Ages, but Sunni Islam is the dominant faith today. The Avars number approximately 600,000 and are now scattered throughout Georgia, Southern Russia, and Azerbaijan.


AZERBAIJAN  The eastern end of the Caucasus Mountains, aside the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea. See also Baku, the modern capital, and Atropatene for the southern reaches of this area.


BAKU A Khanate created after the death of of Persian Emperor Nadir Shah Afshar in 1747 and abolished at the beginning of the 19th century by the Russians. Today's capital city of the Republic of Azerbaijan.


BALKARIA The Balkars are a Turkic-speaking people of the North Caucasus with heavy Persian lingusitic influence. They are of diverse origin, including Hunnic, Cuman, Khazar, Alan and Caucasic elements. They were pastoral nomads until the 1700s, when Islam was introduced and they settled in the highlands of northwest Circassia. In 1921 the Balkar District was established under Soviet power. In 1922, it became part of the Kabardino-Balkar Autonomous province, that in 1936 was made an autonomous republic. In 1943/44, many Balkars were deported and scattered throughout Kazakhstan and Central Asia, accused of having cooperated with the Germans. They returned in 1957. Their limited influence in Kabardino-Balkaria has led to a rise in Pan-Turkic ideology among the Balkars. In 1991, they joined the Assembly of Turkic peoples, a regional economic consortium which consists of Azerbaijanis, Kumyks, Nogay and Balkars.


CHECHNYA An upland district in north central Caucasus, lying just to the west of Dagestan. The region has always been situated on the very edge of great empires either to the north, the south, or both; consequently, it has seen incessant raids and occupations from many sources for most of it's history.