Georgia
43-518: 43°N 44°E / 43°N 44°E / 43; 44 Ossetia ( / ɒ ˈ s ɛ t i ə / o- SET -ee-ə , less common: / ɒ ˈ s iː ʃ ə / o- SEE -shə ; Ossetian : Ирыстон or Ир , romanized: Iryston or Ir , pronounced [iˈrəston] ) is an ethnolinguistic region located on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by
86-470: A Sarmatian tribal name of the Alans called * Yazig , from Proto-Iranian * Yaz , meaning 'those who sacrifice', perhaps referring to a tribe associated with ritual sacrifice, although the broader Sarmatians apparently called themselves "Ariitai" or "Aryan", preserved in modern Ossetic Irættæ . Since Ossetian speakers lacked any single inclusive name for themselves in their native language beyond
129-929: A direct transliteration of the Greek text, scholars have attempted a phonological reconstruction using the Greek as clues, thus, while τ ( tau ) would usually be given the value "t", it instead is "d", which is thought to be the way the early Ossetes would have pronounced it. The scholarly transliteration of the Alanic phrases is: "dӕ ban xʷӕrz, mӕ sfili, (ӕ)xsinjӕ kurθi kӕndӕ" and "du farnitz, kintzӕ mӕ sfili, kajci fӕ wa sawgin?"; equivalents in modern Ossetian would be "Dӕ bon xwarz, me’fšini ‘xšinӕ, kurdigӕj dӕ?" and "(De’) f(s)arm neč(ij), kinźi ӕfšini xӕcc(ӕ) (ku) fӕwwa sawgin" . The passage translates as: The Alans I greet in their language: "Good day to you my lord's lady, where are you from?" "Good day to you my lord's lady, where are you from?" and other things: When an Alan woman takes
172-759: A great kingdom between the Don and Volga Rivers, according to Coon , The Races of Europe . Between 350 and 374 AD, the Huns destroyed the Alan kingdom 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 as Orléans, France , Iași, Romania , Alenquer, Portugal and Jászberény, Hungary . The other Alans fled to
215-516: A new inclusive ethnic name. This, combined with the effects of the Georgian–Ossetian conflict , led to the popularization of Alania , the name of the medieval Sarmatian 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. The root os/as - probably stems from an earlier * ows / aws -. This
258-476: A priest as a lover, you might hear this: "Aren't you ashamed, my lordly lady, that you are having sex with a priest?" "Aren't you ashamed, my lady, to have a love affair with the priest?" Marginalia of Greek religious books, with some parts (such as headlines) of the book translated into Old Ossetic, have recently been found. It is theorized that during the Proto-Ossetic phase, Ossetian underwent
301-401: A process of phonological change conditioned by a Rhythmusgesetz or "Rhythm-law" whereby nouns were divided into two classes, those heavily or lightly stressed . "Heavy-stem" nouns possessed a "heavy" long vowel or diphthong , and were stressed on the first-occurring syllable of this type; "light-stem" nouns were stressed on their final syllable. This is precisely the situation observed in
344-720: A region situated across the northern and southern sides of the Caucasus Mountains . They natively speak Ossetic , an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European language family , with most also being fluent in Russian as a second language. Currently, the Ossetian homeland of Ossetia is politically divided between North Ossetia–Alania in Russia , and the de facto country of South Ossetia (recognized by
387-728: A strong economy that benefited from the Silk Road . After the Mongol invasions of the 1200s, the Alans migrated further into Caucasus Mountains, where they would form three ethnographical groups; the Iron, the Digoron and the Kudar. The Jassic people are believed to be a potentially fourth group that migrated in the 13th century to Hungary . In more-recent history, the Ossetians participated in
430-593: Is a monthly magazine Max dug (Мах дуг, "Our era"), mostly devoted to contemporary Ossetian fiction and poetry. Ossetian is taught in secondary schools for all pupils. Native Ossetian speakers also take courses in Ossetian literature . The first modern translation of the Qur’an into Ossetic took place in 2007, initiated by an Ossetian Robert Bolloev, who at that time resided in St. Petersburg. The first Ossetian language Bible
473-680: Is an Eastern Iranian language that is spoken predominantly in Ossetia , a region situated on both sides of the Russian-Georgian border in the Greater Caucasus region. It is the native language of the Ossetian people , and a relative and possibly a descendant of the extinct Scythian , Sarmatian , and Alanic languages. The northern half of the Ossetia region is part of Russia and is known as North Ossetia–Alania , while
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#1732765915249516-485: Is believed to be the only surviving descendant of a Sarmatian language. The closest genetically related language may be the Yaghnobi language of Tajikistan, the only other living Northeastern Iranian language. Ossetian has a plural formed by the suffix - ta , a feature it shares with Yaghnobi, Sarmatian and the now-extinct Sogdian; this is taken as evidence of a formerly wide-ranging Iranian-language dialect continuum on
559-689: Is divided into two main dialect groups: Ironian ( os . – Ирон) in North and South Ossetia and Digorian ( 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 the Scytho-Sarmatian dialect group, which was once spoken across the Pontic–Caspian Steppe. The Ossetian language
602-433: Is not mutually intelligible with any other Iranian language. Prior to the 10th century, Ossetians were strictly pagan, though they were partially Christianized by Byzantine missionaries in the beginning of the 10th century. By the 13th century, most of the urban population of Ossetia gradually became Eastern Orthodox Christian as a result of Georgian missionary work. Islam was introduced shortly after, during
645-585: Is suggested by the archaic Georgian root ovs - (cf. Ovsi , Ovseti ), documented in the Georgian Chronicles ; the long length of the initial vowel or the gemination of the consonant s in some forms ( NPers . Ās , Āṣ ; Lat . Aas , Assi ); and by the Armenian ethnic name * Awsowrk' ( Ōsur -), probably derived from a cognate preserved in the Jassic term *Jaszok , referring to the branch of
688-528: Is the official language in both South and North Ossetia (along with Russian), its official use is limited to publishing new laws in Ossetian newspapers. There are two daily newspapers in Ossetian: Ræstdzinad (Рӕстдзинад / Рӕстꚉінад, "Truth") in the North and Xurzærin (Хурзӕрин, "The Sun") in the South. Some smaller newspapers, such as district newspapers, use Ossetian for some articles. There
731-620: The 2010 Russian census only 36% of North Ossetians claimed to be fluent in Ossetian, with the number decreasing year by year. Ossetian is the spoken and literary language of the Ossetians , an Iranian ethnic group living in the central part of the Caucasus and constituting the basic population of North Ossetia–Alania , which is part of the Russian Federation , and of the de facto country of South Ossetia (recognized by
774-549: The Central Asian steppe . The names of ancient Iranian tribes (as transmitted through Ancient Greek ) in fact reflect this pluralization, e.g. Saromatae ( Σαρομάται ) and Masagetae ( Μασαγέται ). The earliest known written sample of Ossetian is an inscription (the Zelenchuk Inscription [ ru ] ) which dates back to the 10th–12th centuries and named after the river near which it
817-734: The Ossetians . The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages . Most countries recognize the Ossetian-speaking area south of the main Caucasus ridge as lying within the borders of Georgia , but it has come under the control of the de facto government of the Russian-backed Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania . The northern portion of
860-561: The Ossetian–Ingush conflict (1991–1992) and Georgian–Ossetian conflicts ( 1918–1920 , early 1990s ) and in the 2008 South Ossetia war between Georgia and Russia. Key events: Ever since de facto independence, there have been proposals in South Ossetia of joining Russia and uniting with North Ossetia. The Ossetian language belongs to the Eastern Iranian ( Alanic ) branch of the Indo-European language family . Ossetian
903-631: The Saka , the Sarmatians , the Alans , and the Roxolani . The more easterly Khwarazm and Sogdians were also closely affiliated in linguistic terms. Ossetian, together with Kurdish , Tat , and Talysh , is one of the main Iranian languages with a sizable community of speakers in the Caucasus. As it is descended from Alanic, spoken by the Alan medieval tribes emerging from the earlier Sarmatians, it
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#1732765915249946-930: The United Nations as de jure part of the Republic of Georgia ). The Ossetian language belongs to the Iranian group of the Indo-European family of languages (as hinted by its endonym: ирон , irōn ). Within Iranian, it is placed in the Eastern subgroup and further to a Northeastern sub-subgroup , but these are areal rather than genetic groups . The other Eastern Iranian languages such as Pashto (spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan ) and Yaghnobi (spoken in Tajikistan ) show certain commonalities, but also deep-reaching divergences from Ossetian. From
989-747: The United Nations as Russian-occupied territory that is de jure part of Georgia ). Their closest historical and linguistic relatives, the Jász people , live in the Jászság region within the northwestern part of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County of Hungary . A third group descended from the medieval Alans are the Asud of Mongolia . Both the Jász and the Asud have long been assimilated; only
1032-653: The United States (primarily New York City , Florida and California ), Canada ( Toronto ), Australia ( Sydney ) and other countries all around the world. The vast majority of Ossetians live in Russia (according to the Russian Census (2002) ): The Ossetians are a unique ethnic group of the Caucasus, speaking an Indo-Iranian language surrounded mostly by Vainakh-Dagestani and Abkhazo-Circassian ethnolinguistic groups, as well as Turkic tribes such as
1075-731: The 1500s and 1600s, when the members of the Digor first encountered Circassians of the Kabarday tribe in Western Ossetia, who themselves had been introduced to the religion by Tatars during the 1400s. According to a 2013 estimate, up to 15% of North Ossetia’s population practice Islam. In 1774, Ossetia became part of the Russian Empire , which only went on to strengthen Orthodox Christianity considerably, by having sent Russian Orthodox missionaries there. However, most of
1118-817: The 1980s. Outside of South Ossetia , there are also a significant number of Ossetians living in Trialeti , in North-Central Georgia . A large Ossetian diaspora lives in Turkey and Syria . About 5,000–10,000 Ossetians emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, with their migration reaching peaks in 1860–61 and 1865. In Turkey, Ossetians settled in central Anatolia and set up clusters of villages around Sarıkamış and near Lake Van in eastern Anatolia. Ossetians have also settled in Belgium , France , Sweden ,
1161-514: The 7th–8th centuries BCE, the languages of the Iranian group were distributed across a vast territory spanning present-day Iran ( Persia ), Central Asia , Eastern Europe , and the Caucasus . Ossetian is the sole survivor of the branch of Iranian languages known as Scythian . The Scythian group included numerous tribes, known in ancient sources as the Scythians , the Massagetae ,
1204-608: The Iazyges Alanic tribe dwelling near modern Georgia by the time of Anania Shirakatsi (7th century AD). The native beliefs of the Ossetian people are rooted in their Sarmatian origin, which have been syncretized with a local variant of Folk Orthodoxy , in which some pagan gods have been converted into Christian saints. The Narts , the Daredzant, and the Tsartsiat, serve as the basic literature of folk mythology in
1247-699: The Osi'. Osi ( ოსი , pl. Osebi , ოსები ) has been used in Georgian since the Middle Ages to refer to the sole Iranian -speaking population of the Central Caucasus and is probably based on the old Sarmatian self-designation As (pronounced Az ) or Iasi (pronounced Yazi ), cognate with Hungarian Jasz , both derived from the Latin Iazyges , which is a latinization of
1290-502: The Ossetian folk religion, is also widespread among Ossetians, with ritual traditions like animal sacrifices, holy shrines, annual festivities, etc. There are temples, known as kuvandon, in most villages. According to the research service Sreda , North Ossetia is the primary center of Ossetian Folk religion and 29% of the population reported practicing the Folk religion in a 2012 survey. Assianism has been steadily rising in popularity since
1333-537: The Ossetians have preserved a form of the Alanic language and Alanian identity. The majority of Ossetians are Eastern Orthodox Christians , with sizable minorities professing the Ossetian ethnic religion of Uatsdin as well as Islam . The Ossetians and Ossetia received their name from the Russians, who adopted the Georgian designation Oseti ( ოსეთი – note the personal pronoun), which means 'the land of
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1376-657: The earliest (though admittedly scanty) records of Ossetian presented above. This situation also obtains in Modern Ossetian, although the emphasis in Digor is also affected by the "openness" of the vowel. The trend is also found in a glossary of the Jassic dialect dating from 1422. The first printed book in Ossetian was a short catechism published in Moscow in 1798. The first newspaper, Iron Gazet , appeared on July 23, 1906, in Vladikavkaz . While Ossetian
1419-534: The missionaries chosen were churchmen from Eastern Orthodox communities living in Georgia, including Armenians and Greeks , as well as ethnic Georgians . Russian missionaries themselves were not sent, as this would have been regarded by the Ossetians as too intrusive. Today, the majority of Ossetians from both North and South Ossetia follow Eastern Orthodoxy . Assianism ( Uatsdin or Aesdin in Ossetian),
1462-475: The political settlement of the conflict. Meanwhile, the South Ossetian secessionist authorities demand independence or unification with North Ossetia, which itself is located in Russia , while the international community instead recognizes it and Abkhazia as a part of Georgia. On Sunday 12 November 2006, South Ossetians (mostly ethnic Ossetians ) went to the polls to vote in a referendum regarding
1505-658: The region consists of the, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania within the Russian Federation . Although a Russian-mediated and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe -monitored ceasefire was implemented in South Ossetia in 1992, the Georgian-Ossetian conflict still remains unresolved even though a recent peace plan proposed by the government of Georgia promised the South Ossetians larger autonomy and pledged expanded international involvement in
1548-830: The region's independence from Georgia . The result was a "yes" to independence, with a turnout above 95% from those among the territory's 70,000 people who were eligible to vote at that time. There was also a vote in favor of a new term for Eduard Kokoity , who was the de facto state's president at the time. There have been proposals from South Ossetia for joining the Russian Federation and uniting with North Ossetia. Ossetian language Partially recognised state Ossetian ( / ɒ ˈ s ɛ t i ən / o- SET -ee-ən , / ɒ ˈ s iː ʃ ən / o- SEE -shən , / oʊ ˈ s iː ʃ ən / oh- SEE -shən ), commonly referred to as Ossetic and rarely as Ossete ( ирон ӕвзаг , romanized: iron ӕvzag pronounced [iˈron ɐvˈzäɡ] southern; [iˈron ɐvˈʒäɡ] northern),
1591-429: The region. Ossetian folk songs are divided into 10 unique genres : Ossetians use the following Instruments in their music: The Ossetians descend from the Iazyges tribe of the Sarmatians , an Alanic sub-tribe, which in turn split off from the broader Scythians itself. 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
1634-418: The south and settled in the Caucasus, where they established their medieval kingdom of Alania. In the 8th century, a consolidated Alan kingdom, referred to in sources of the period as Alania , emerged in the northern Caucasus Mountains, roughly in the location of the latter-day Circassia and the modern North Ossetia–Alania. At its height, Alania was a centralized monarchy with a strong military force and had
1677-425: The southern half is part of the de facto country of South Ossetia (recognized by the United Nations as Russian-occupied territory that is de jure part of Georgia ). Ossetian-speakers number about 614,350, with 451,000 recorded in Russia per the 2010 Russian census . Despite Ossetian being the official languages of both North and South Ossetia, since 2009 UNESCO has listed Ossetian as "vulnerable". In
1720-404: The traditional Iron – Digoron subdivision, these terms came to be accepted by the Ossetians as an endonym even before their integration into the Russian Empire . 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 the Digor dialect made Ossetian intellectuals search for
1763-517: The two lines of "Alanic" phrases appearing in the Theogony of John Tzetzes , a 12th century Byzantine poet and grammarian : Τοῖς ἀλανοῖς προσφθέγγομαι κατὰ τὴν τούτων γλῶσσαν Καλὴ ἡμέρα σου αὐθέντα μου ἀρχόντισσα πόθεν εἶσαι Ταπαγχὰς μέσφιλι χσινὰ κορθὶ κάντα καὶ τ’ ἄλλα ἂν ὃ ἔχῃ ἀλάνισσα παπᾶν φίλον ἀκούσαις ταῦτα οὐκ αἰσχύνεσαι αὐθέντρια μου νά μου γαμῇ τὸ μουνί σου παπᾶς τὸ φάρνετζ κίντζι μέσφιλι καίτζ φουὰ σαοῦγγε The portions in bold face above are Ossetian. Going beyond
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1806-712: Was found: the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River in Arkhyz , Russia. The text is written in the Greek alphabet , with special digraphs . ΣΑΧΗΡΗ Saxiri ΦΟΥΡΤ Furt ΧΟΒΣ Xovs ΗΣΤΟΡΗ Istori ΦΟΥΡΤ Furt ΠΑΚΑΘΑΡ Bӕqӕtar ΠΑΚΑΘΑΡΗ Bӕqӕtari ΦΟΥΡΤ Furt ΑΝΠΑΛΑΝ Æmbalan ΑΝΠΑΛΑΝΗ Æmbalani ΦΟΥΡΤ Furt ΛΑΚ Lak ΑΝΗ Ani ΤΖΗΡΘΕ čirtī ΣΑΧΗΡΗ ΦΟΥΡΤ ΧΟΒΣ ΗΣΤΟΡΗ ΦΟΥΡΤ ΠΑΚΑΘΑΡ ΠΑΚΑΘΑΡΗ ΦΟΥΡΤ ΑΝΠΑΛΑΝ ΑΝΠΑΛΑΝΗ ΦΟΥΡΤ ΛΑΚ ΑΝΗ ΤΖΗΡΘΕ Saxiri Furt Xovs Istori Furt Bӕqӕtar Bӕqӕtari Furt Æmbalan Æmbalani Furt Lak Ani čirtī "K., son of S., son of I., son of B., son of A.; [this is] their monument." The only other extant record of Proto-Ossetic are
1849-779: Was published in 2010. It is currently the only full version of the Bible in the Ossetian language. In May, 2021, the Russian Bible Society announced the completion of a Bible translation into Ossetian; fundraising continues in order to have it printed. Ossetians The Ossetians ( / ɒ ˈ s iː ʃ ə n z / oss- EE -shənz or / ɒ ˈ s ɛ t i ən z / oss- ET -ee-ənz ; Ossetic : ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ , romanized: ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ ), also known as Ossetes ( / ˈ ɒ s iː t s / OSS -eets ), Ossets ( / ˈ ɒ s ɪ t s / OSS -its ), and Alans ( / ˈ æ l ə n z / AL -ənz ), are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia ,
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