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171-430: "Nakh peoples" and "Vainakh peoples" are two terms that were coined by Soviet ethnographers such as the Russian linguist Nikolai Yakovlev  [ ru ] and Ingush ethnographer Zaurbek Malsagov  [ ru ] . The reasoning behind the creation of these terms was to unite the closely related nations of Chechen and Ingush into one term. The terms "Vainakh" (our people) and "Nakh" (people) were first used as

342-406: A Caucasian people, that is most often associated with the word "ghāla" ( гIала ) – meaning "tower" or "fortress" and the plural form of the suffix of person – "gha" ( гIа ), thus, translated as "people/inhabitants of towers", though according to some researchers the ethnonym has a more ancient origin. Some scholars associate it with the ancient Gargareans and Gelaï mentioned in the 1st century in

513-720: A Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus . They are the largest ethnic group in the region and refer to themselves as Nokhchiy (pronounced [no̞xtʃʼiː] ; singular Nokhchi, Nokhcho, Nakhchuo or Nakhche). The vast majority of Chechens are Muslims and live in Chechnya , an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation . The North Caucasus has been invaded numerous times throughout history. Its isolated terrain and

684-514: A political, economical and cultural golden age , as the Bagrationi dynasty managed to unite western and eastern halves of the country into a single kingdom . To accomplish that goal, kings relied much on the prestige of the Church, and enrolled its political support by giving it many economical advantages, immunity from taxes and large appanages. At the same time, the kings, most notably David

855-536: A 2021 Rosstat study Chechnya ranked as the tallest region in Russia for men (179.1 cm) and second tallest for women (168.2), similar to that of Lithuania and Poland . Prior to the adoption of Islam, the Chechens practiced a unique blend of religious traditions and beliefs. They partook in numerous rites and rituals, many of them pertaining to farming; these included rain rites, a celebration that occurred on

1026-534: A brutal policy of " scorched earth " and deportations; he also founded the fort of Grozny (now the capital of Chechnya) in 1818. Chechen resistance to Russian rule reached its peak under the leadership of the Dagestani leader Imam Shamil . The Chechens were finally defeated in 1861 after a bloody war that lasted for decades, during which they lost most of their entire population. In the aftermath, large numbers of refugees also emigrated or were forcibly deported to

1197-471: A certain Nakhchuvan (near modern-day Kagizman , Turkey ) as the homeland of all Nakhchiy. The etymology of "Nakhchi" is believed to have come from "Nakh" (people) + "-chi" (suffix) or "Nakh" (people) + "Chuo" (territory). Chechen researcher Ahmad Suleymanov  [ ru ] claimed that the terms "Nakh" and "Nakhchi" are not the same, and have different foundations and different origins. Whatever

1368-526: A closer relationship of the Caucasus with Europe (Nasidze et al. 2001), while the Y chromosome indicated a closer relationship with West Asia (Nasidze et al. 2003). A 2004 study of the mtDNA showed Chechens to be diverse in the mitochondrial genome, with 18 different haplogroups out of only 23 samples. This correlates with all other North Caucasian peoples such as the Ingush , Avars , and Circassians where

1539-468: A different etymology for the origin of the ethnonym Nakhchi: In primitive times, having not yet been acquainted with arable farming, for lack of bread they (lowland Chechens) ate a large amount of cheese; boasting of their abundance in front of their compatriots who lived in the meager Argun mountains and populous Ichkeria, they called themselves in Chechen "Nakhchoy". Cheese in Chechen is called "nakhchi";

1710-513: A duration of 11 years, eventually yielding the revered Golden Fleece known as "Dasho Ertal." This legend has explicit parallels with Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah , Grecian Baucis and Philemon , and the Islamic Lot . It relates that there once stood a very rich town at the place where now there is only a lake. Despite their great wealth, the people of this town were afflicted with insatiable greed and covetousness. Thus it came to pass that

1881-478: A kinship to other peoples in some tests. Balanovsky's study showed the Ingush to be the Chechens' closest relatives by far. Russian military historian and Lieutenant General Vasily Potto describes the appearance of the Chechens as follows: "The Chechen is handsome and strong. Tall, brunette, slender, with sharp features and a quick, determined look, he amazes with his mobility, agility, dexterity." According to

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2052-797: A long tradition among the Chechens, and thus it remains the most practiced. Some adhere to the mystical Sufi tradition of muridism , while about half of Chechens belong to Sufi brotherhoods, or tariqah . The two Sufi tariqas that spread in the North Caucasus were the Naqshbandiyya and the Qadiriyya (the Naqshbandiyya is particularly strong in Dagestan and eastern Chechnya, whereas the Qadiriyya has most of its adherents in

2223-571: A military-economic or military-political union of teips. However, this has been heavily disputed by several historians and ethnographers, including Dalgat who claims that most Chechens never used tukkhums. He also claims that they were only used by some societies in the lowlands. The national scale issues were addressed through Mehk-Khel, the People's Council. Representatives of the Council were elected by each Teip Council and had an enormous influence on

2394-652: A number of other geneticists showed that the Y-DNA haplogroup J 2a4b* (a subclade of J2 , located mainly in the Middle East, Caucasus and Mediterranean) was highly associated with Nakh peoples. J2a4b* accounted for the majority of the Y-chromosomes of Ingush and Chechen men, with the Ingush having a much higher percentage, 87.4%, than Chechens, who had 51–58% depending on region (the lowest being in Malgobek ,

2565-457: A result, the indigenous system and democratic values are less deeply ingrained), could be described as one of the few nations in the world with an indigenous system highly resemblant of democracy (others cited are often Scots , Albanians and Basques ; notably, all three, much like the Vainakh peoples, are mountain dwelling peoples with a clan-based social organization and a strong attachment to

2736-515: A second established religion of Iberia after the Peace of Acilisene in 378, and more precisely by the mid-fifth century. The royal baptism and organization of the church were accomplished by priests sent from Constantinople by Constantine the Great . Conversion of the people of Iberia proceeded quickly in the plains, but pagan beliefs long subsisted in mountain regions. The western Kingdom of Lazica

2907-533: A series of monasteries, most notably David Gareja . They were soon joined by local monks, which led to the creation of significant works of hagiographic literature in Georgian, such as the "Life of Saint Nino" and the " Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik ". The golden age of Georgian monasticism lasted from the 9th to the 11th century. During that period, Georgian monasteries were founded outside

3078-433: A sharpened capstone. Buildings combining the functions of residential and military towers were intermediate in size between the two types, and had both loop-holes and mashikuls . Nakh towers used to be sparingly decorated with religious or symbolic petrographs , such as solar signs or depictions of the author's hands, animals, etc. Military towers often bore a Golgotha cross. Lack of arable land in sufficient quantities in

3249-638: A significant power in the region in the first millennium BC. The Vainakh in the east had an affinity to Georgia, while the Malkh Kingdom of the west looked to the new Greek kingdom of Bosporus on the Black Sea coast (though it may have also had relations with Georgia as well). According to a legend, Adermalkh , chief of the Malkh state, married the daughter of the Bosporan king in 480 BCE. Malkhi

3420-563: A system was illustrative of the anarchic nature of the Caucasian ethos. The democratic and egalitarian nature, the values of freedom and equality of Chechen society have been cited as factors contributing to their resistance to Russian rule (in addition, there was no elite to be coopted by Tsarist authorities, as Wood notes). A characteristic feature of Vainakh architecture in the Middle Ages, rarely seen outside Chechnya and Ingushetia,

3591-469: A term to unite two peoples in 1928. It was subsequently popularized by other Soviet authors, poets, and historians such as Mamakaev and Volkova in their research. According to the historian Victor Schnirelmann , the terms "Vainakh" and "Nakh" were introduced more actively during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s. The first documented collective term used to refer to the Nakh peoples in general " Kists "

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3762-480: Is also confirmed by the fact that the Nazrans, who do not speak in the same Chechen language, call cheese "nakhchi", and the Chechens - "Nakhchiy". This version has been criticized by many authors including the Chechen linguist I. Aliroev  [ ru ] who believed the etymology made no sense. Linguists and historians such as Shavlaeva and Tesaev, however, believed the etymology confused "Nakhch" (cheese) with

3933-431: Is based on the central lowland dialect. Other related languages include Ingush , which has speakers in the neighbouring Ingushetia , and Batsbi , which is the language of the people in the adjoining part of Georgia . At various times in their history, Chechens used Georgian , Arabic and Latin alphabets; as of 2008, the official script is Russian Cyrillic . Traditionally, linguists attributed both Ingush and Batsbi to

4104-450: Is better to use the (traditional) name that existed in antiquity. It is with this in mind that I choose to present this group of languages – Chachnuri (Chechen), Kisturi (Ingush) and Tsovuri (Tsova, i.e. Batsbi) — under the general name "Ghilghuri" (Ghalghaï) Traditionally, Nakh peoples were known as a society with a highly developed and complex clan system. Individuals are united in family groups called "Tsa" – house. Several Tsa's are part of

4275-488: Is distantly related to Hurro-Urartian, which they included as a branch of the Northeastern Caucasian language family (which were dubbed Alarodian languages by Diakonoff). Several studies argue that the connection is probable. Other scholars, however, doubt that the language families are related, or believe that, while a connection is possible, the evidence is far from conclusive. Various interpretations of

4446-529: Is intertwined with the discussion of the mysterious origins of Nakh peoples as a whole. The only three surviving Nakh peoples are Chechens, Ingush and Bats , but they are thought by some scholars to be the remnants of what was once a larger family of peoples. They are thought to be descended from the original settlers of the Caucasus (North and/or South). Ancestors of the modern Chechens and Ingush were known as Durdzuks . According to The Georgian Chronicles , before his death, Targamos [Togarmah] divided

4617-489: Is known about Alarodians except that they "were armed like the Colchians and Saspeires ," according to Herodotus . Colchians and Saspeires are generally associated with Kartvelians or Scythians . Additionally, leading Urartologist Paul Zimansky rejected a connection between Urartians and Alarodians. Genetic tests on Chechens have shown roots mostly in the Caucasus and Europe. Studies on North Caucasian mtDNA indicated

4788-539: Is not found in any other report, however, the Russian historian A. I. Krasnov connected this battle with two Chechen folktales he recorded in 1967 that spoke of an old hunter named Idig who with his companions defended the Dakuoh mountain for 12 years against Tatar-Mongols. He also reported to have found several arrowheads and spears from the 13th century near the very mountain the battle took place at: The next year, with

4959-908: Is notable that J2 suddenly collapses as one enters the territory of non-Nakh Northeast Caucasian peoples, dropping to very low values among Dagestani peoples. The overwhelming bulk of Chechen J2 is of the subclade J2a4b* (J2-M67), of which the highest frequencies by far are found among Nakh peoples: Chechens were 55.2% according to the Balanovsky study, while Ingush were 87.4%. Other notable haplogroups that consistently appeared at high frequencies included J1 (20.9%), L (7.0%), G2 (5.5%), R1a (3.9%), Q-M242 (3%) and R1b-M269 (1.8%, but much higher in Chechnya itself as opposed to Dagestani or Ingushetian Chechens). Overall, tests have shown consistently that Chechens are most closely related to Ingush, Circassians and other North Caucasians , occasionally showing

5130-567: Is one of the Chechen tukkhums . During the Middle Ages , the lowland of Chechnya was dominated by the Khazars and then the Alans . Local culture was also subject to Georgian influence and some Chechens converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity . With a presence dating back to the 14th century, Islam gradually spread among the Chechens, although the Chechens' own pagan religion

5301-591: Is still considered to be completely foreign) have often had divergent responses to events (for example, the Qadiri authorities initially backing the Bolsheviks who promised to grant freedom to the Chechens from Russia; while the Naqshbandis were more sceptical of the Bolsheviks' sincerity). Burial vaults or crypts remained from the pagan period in the history of Vainakhs, before some of them converted to Islam in

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5472-600: Is structured around tukkhums (unions of clans ) and about 130 teips , or clans. The teips are based more on land and one-side lineage than on blood (as exogamy is prevalent and encouraged), and are bonded together to form the Chechen nation. Teips are further subdivided into gar (branches), and gars into nekye ( patronymic families). The Chechen social code is called nokhchallah (where Nokhchuo stands for "Chechen") and may be loosely translated as "Chechen character". The Chechen code of honor and customary law ( adat ) implies moral and ethical behaviour, generosity and

5643-674: Is the collective body of bishops of the church. In addition to the Patriarch, the Synod comprises 38 members, including 25 metropolitan bishops , 5 archbishops and 7 simple bishops . As of 2012, the following bishops are members of the Holy Synod, in such hierarchical order: The first head bishop of the Georgia Church to carry the title of Patriarch was Melkisedek I (1010–1033). Since 1977, Ilia II (born in 1933) has served as

5814-560: Is unlikely as Strabo and other ancient Greek writers considered the Gargareans to be Greeks. The following is a list of historical or prehistoric peoples who have been proposed as speakers of Nakh languages. According to Georgian scholars I. A. Djavashvili and Giorgi Melikishvili the Urartuan state of Supani was occupied by the ancient Nakh tribe Tzov, the state of which is called Tsobena in ancient Georgian historiography. Sophene

5985-651: Is used for this community — "the Vainakh people ". Although Chechan (Chechen) was a term used by Chechens to denote a certain geographic area (central Chechnya), Chechens called themselves Nakhchiy (highland dialects) or Nokhchiy (lowland dialects). The oldest mention of Nakhchiy occurred in 1310 by the Georgian Patriarch Cyril Donauri, who mentions the 'People of Nakhche' among Tushetians , Avars and many other Northeast Caucasian nations. The term Nakhchiy has also been connected to

6156-485: The Bagrationi dynasty consolidated this evolution by the end of the 10th century: in a single, unified Kingdom of Georgia , there would be a unified Georgian Church. During the first centuries of Christianity, the South Caucasus was culturally much more united than in later periods, and constant interactions between what would become the Georgian and Armenian churches shaped both of them. The Armenian Church

6327-724: The Caucasus War , which led to the annexation of Chechnya by the Russian Empire in 1859, and the forcible transfer of Chechens from Terek Oblast to the Ottoman Empire in 1865. Those in Kazakhstan originate from the ethnic cleansing of the entire population carried out by Joseph Stalin and Lavrentiy Beria in 1944. Tens of thousands of Chechen refugees settled in the European Union and elsewhere as

6498-612: The Chechan-are ("Chechen flatlands or plains") located in contemporary central Chechnya. The name "Chechens" is an exoethnonym that entered the Georgian and Western European ethnonymic tradition through the Russian language in the 18th century. From the middle of the 19th century to the first few years of the Soviet state , some researchers united all Chechens and Ingush under the name "Chechens". In modern science, another term

6669-770: The Geographica of Strabo (1st century BCE) and in Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder (1st century CE). Strabo wrote that "... the Amazons live close to Gargarei, on the northern foothills of the Caucasus Mountains ". Gaius Plinius Secundus also localizes Gargarei as living north of the Caucasus, but calls them Gegar. Some scholars (P. K. Uslar, K. Miller, N. F. Yakovleff, E. I. Krupnoff, L. A. Elnickiy, I. M. Diakonoff , V. N. Gamrekeli) supported

6840-469: The Georgian Patriarch Cyril Donauri, who mentions the "People of Nakhche" among Tushetians , Avars and many other Northeast Caucasian nations. The term Nakhchiy has also been connected to the city Nakhchivan and the nation of Nakhchamatyan (mentioned in the 7th-century Armenian work Ashkharhatsuyts ) by many Soviet and modern historians. Chechen manuscripts in Arabic from the early 1820s do mention

7011-579: The Georgian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Georgia , is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with the other churches of Eastern Orthodoxy . It is Georgia 's dominant religious institution, and a majority of Georgian people are members. The Orthodox Church of Georgia is one of the oldest churches in the world. It asserts apostolic foundation, and that its historical roots can be traced to

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7182-579: The Itum-Kale region of Chechnya. Georgian historian Giorgi Melikishvili posited that although there was evidence of Nakh settlement in Southern Caucasus areas, this did not rule out the possibility that they also lived in the North Caucasus. The state of Durdzuketi has been known since the 4th century BC. The Armenian Chronicles mention that the Durdzuks defeated Scythians and became

7353-489: The Kazakh and Kirghiz SSRs; and their republic and nation were abolished. At least one-quarter—and perhaps half—of the entire Chechen population perished in the process, and a severe blow was made to their culture and historical records. Though " rehabilitated " in 1956 and allowed to return the next year, the survivors lost economic resources and civil rights and, under both Soviet and post-Soviet governments, they have been

7524-816: The Khakhuli triptych , and the "Georgian cross-dome style" of architecture, which characterizes most medieval Georgian churches. The most celebrated examples of Georgian religious architecture of the time include the Gelati Monastery and Bagrati Cathedral in Kutaisi , the Ikalto Monastery complex and Academy, and the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta . Outstanding Georgian representatives of Christian culture include Peter

7695-656: The Patriarch of Constantinople recognized and approved the autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church (which had in practice been exercised or at least claimed since the 5th century) as well as the Patriarchal honour of the Catholicos . Georgia's subsequent independence in 1991 saw a major revival in the fortunes of the Georgian Orthodox Church. The special role of the church in the history of

7866-556: The independence of the church from the state. Government relations are further defined and regulated by the Concordat of 2002 . The Georgian Orthodox Church is the most trusted institution in Georgia. According to a 2013 survey, 95% respondents had a favorable opinion of its work. It is highly influential in the public sphere and is considered Georgia's most influential institution. According to Georgian Orthodox Church tradition,

8037-439: The mountainous areas forced Vainakhs to use their territory of residence as efficiently as possible. They leveled the steep slopes, organized terraces suitable for agriculture . On the barren rocky slopes of rocks, which are unsuitable for agriculture, Vainakhs hew foundations for terraces. On carts harnessed donkeys and oxen, they brought black soil of the lowlands , and filled artificial terraces with it. For maximum harvest

8208-471: The "Gar" -branch or "Nekh"-road, a group of Gar's is in turn called a teip , a unit of tribal organization of Vainakh people. Teip has its own Council of Elders and unites people from the political, economic and military sides. Teips leave all cases to the democratically elected representatives of houses i.e. "Tsa". The number of participants of Teipan-Kheli depends on the number of houses. Some believe that most teips made unions called shahars and tukkhums ,

8379-473: The 13th century and Tamerlane in the 14–15th century greatly disrupted Georgian Christianity. The political unity of the country was broken several times, and definitely in the 1460s. Churches and monasteries were targeted by the invaders, as they hosted many treasures. As a result of those devastations, many fell into disrepair or were abandoned. In the western half of Georgia, the Catholicate of Abkhazia

8550-411: The 16th century (Islam has spread throughout the entire region only in the 17th century). They were built either a bit deepening into the ground or half underground and on the surface. The latter formed whole "towns of the dead" on the outskirts of the villages and reminded sanctuaries from the outside, with a dummy vaults constructed of overlapping stones. The deceased were placed on the special shelves in

8721-594: The 1970s, when Eduard Shevardnadze , then secretary of the Georgian SSR 's Communist Party, adopted a more tolerant stance, and new Patriarch Ilia II could from 1977 renovate derelict churches, and even build new ones. At the same time, nationalist dissidents such as Zviad Gamsakhurdia emphasized the Christian nature of their struggle against Communist power, and developed relations with Church officials that would come to fruition after 1989. On 25 January 1990,

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8892-569: The 2002 census. In 2002, it was reported that there were 35 eparchies (dioceses) and about 600 churches within the Georgian Orthodox Church, served by 730 priests. The Georgian Orthodox Church has around 3,600,000 members within Georgia (no sources attempt to count members among the Georgian diaspora). The Georgian Orthodox Church is managed by the Holy Synod , headed by the Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia . The Holy Synod

9063-578: The 4th century is still poorly known. The first documented event in this process is the preaching of Saint Nino and its consequences, although exact dates are still debated. Saint Nino, honored as Equal to the Apostles , was according to tradition the daughter of a Roman general from Cappadocia . She preached in the Caucasian Kingdom of Iberia (also known as Kartli ) in the first half of the 4th century, and her intercession eventually led to

9234-458: The 7th century, after the wide political and cultural changes brought about by the Muslim conquests . This new menace for local culture, religion, and autonomy, and the difficulties to maintain constant contact with other Christian communities, led to a drastic cultural change inside the church, which became for the first time ethnically focused: it evolved into a " Kartvelian Church". The bishops and Catholicos were now all ethnic Georgians, as were

9405-415: The Alans had successfully resisted a Mongol siege on a mountain for 12 years: When they (the Mongols) begin to besiege a fortress, they besiege it for many years, as it happens today with one mountain in the land of the Alans. We believe they have been besieging it for twelve years and they (the Alans) put up courageous resistance and killed many Tatars, including many noble ones. This twelve-year-old siege

9576-415: The Armenian Church and important portions of the Church of Antioch , as well as the Coptic Church based in Alexandria. At first, the Catholicoi of Iberia chose the anti-Chalcedonian camp together with the Armenians, even though diversity of opinions was always present among the clergy, and tolerated by the hierarchy. The king of Iberia, Vakhtang Gorgasali , who sought an alliance with Byzantium against

9747-438: The Armenian Church. Confessional disputes remained impossible to overcome, and were a staple of theological literature in both areas. The integration of western and eastern Georgian churches from the 9th century also sealed the Orthodox nature of the Georgian Church, as Byzantine liturgy and cultural forms spread to the detriment of traditional Oriental practice. Between the 11th and the early 13th centuries, Georgia experienced

9918-445: The Bible, ecclesiastical literature in Georgian was produced in Iberia, most prominently biographies of saints, such as the " Martyrdom of the Holy Queen Shushanik " and the "Martyrdom of Saint Abo ". Many of the saints from the first centuries of the church were not ethnic Georgians ( Shushanik was an Armenian princess, Abo an Arab), showing that the church had not yet acquired a strictly national character. This changed only during

10089-474: The Builder (1089–1125), used state power to interfere in church affairs. In 1103, he summoned the council of Ruisi-Urbnisi , which condemned Armenian Miaphysitism in stronger terms than ever before, and gave unprecedented power, second only to the Patriarch, to his friend and advisor George of Chqondidi . For the following centuries, the Church would remain a crucial feudal institution, whose economical and political power would always be at least equal to that of

10260-465: The Byzantine Church, then to find stronger allies against invaders. Between 1328 and the early 16th century, a Catholic bishop had his see in Tbilisi to foster those contacts. However, formal reunion with Rome never happened, and the church remained faithful to Eastern Orthodoxy. In the next centuries, Georgia, weakened and fragmented , fell under the domination of the Ottoman and successive Persian ( Safavid , Afsharid , and Qajar ) Empires: mostly,

10431-428: The Byzantine territories. From the 6th century, those churches, whose language remained Greek , were headed by a metropolitan in Phasis . The integration of the Black sea coastal regions into what came to be known as Georgia was a long process. A first step came with the Arab invasions of the 7th and 8th centuries, which mostly affected Iberia. Refugees, among them noblemen such as Archil of Kakheti , took shelter in

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10602-421: The Catholicos of Mtskheta, Kirion I , leaned towards the Byzantine, Chalcedonian side of the debate, as Iberia was once again seeking imperial support against the Sassanid Empire , who had abolished the Kingdom in 580. The Third Council of Dvin , in 607, sanctioned the rupture with the Armenian Church. The following centuries confirmed the Byzantine orientation of the Georgian Church, and its estrangement from

10773-456: The Chechen language (as its dialects) before the endoethnonym Vainakh appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Most Chechens living in their homeland can understand Ingush with ease. The two languages are not truly mutually intelligible, but it is easy for Chechens to learn how to understand the Ingush language and vice versa over time after hearing it for a while. In 1989, 73.4% spoke Russian, though this figure has declined due to

10944-784: The Chechen people. Chechen manuscripts in Arabic from the early 1820s do mention a certain Nakhchuvan (near modern-day Kağızman , Turkey ) as the homeland of all Nakhchiy. The etymology of the term Nakhchiy can also be understood as a compound formed with Nakh ('people') attached to Chuo ('territory'). The Chechens are mainly inhabitants of Chechnya . There are also significant Chechen populations in other subdivisions of Russia , especially in Aukh (part of modern-day Dagestan ), Ingushetia and Moscow . Outside Russia, countries with significant diaspora populations are Kazakhstan , Turkey and Arab states (especially Jordan and Iraq ). Those in Turkey, Iraq, and Jordan are mainly descendants of families who had to leave Chechnya during

11115-403: The Chechen term "Nakhch" (processed), which has the same root. In their version, the etymology would mean "the processed ones" (i.e. the people who are accepted in society due to their qualities and lineage). Authors such as Berge mentioned also that the term "Nakhchi" could mean "the people of excellence". Ghalghaï ( Ingush : ГIалгIай , [ˈʁəlʁɑj] ) is the self-name of the Ingush ,

11286-493: The Chechens, whom they call Natschkha. The 19th century historian Bashir Dalgat  [ ru ] published several works about Chechen and Ingush ethnography. He proposed to use the term "Nakhchuy" for both the Chechens and Ingush. This, however, had no fruition in Caucasology, mainly due to the fact that the Ingush commonly referred to themselves as " Ghalghaï ", while the Chechens called themselves "Nakhchoy" or "Nokhchoy". The oldest mention of Nakhchiy occurred in 1310 by

11457-479: The Fuller (ca. 488). Even so, the church in Iberia did not gain complete independence from the mother church of Antioch ." The church remained subordinate to the Antiochian Church; the Catholicos could appoint local bishops , but until the 740s, his own election had to be confirmed by the synod of the Church of Antioch, and even after the 8th century, annual payments were made to the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. "This situation of continuing canonical dependence

11628-487: The Georgian Church] would not be achieved [...] until the Arab conquest or later." At the beginnings of the church history, what is now Georgia was not unified yet politically, and would not be until the beginnings of the 11th century. The western half of the country, mostly constituted of the kingdom of Lazica , or Egrisi, was under much stronger influence of the Byzantine Empire than eastern Iberia, where Byzantine, Armenian and Persian influences coexisted. Such division

11799-406: The Greek myth of Prometheus and the Georgian myth of Amirani . The legendary war of Pkhalberi (hare riders) dwarves against the Narts can be compared to the Greek myth of "Cranes and Pygmies war". The Golden Fleece myth appears to be intricately intertwined with the Nakh 11-year calendar tradition. According to this myth, a ram's skin was ceremonially placed within an oak frame known as "Jaar" for

11970-447: The Iberian (Petre Iberieli, 5th century), Euthymius of Athos (Ekvtime Atoneli, 955–1028), George of Athos (Giorgi Atoneli, 1009–1065), Arsen Ikaltoeli (11th century), and Ephrem Mtsire , (11th century). Philosophy flourished between the 11th and 13th century, especially at the Academy of Gelati Monastery, where Ioane Petritsi attempted a synthesis of Christian, aristotelician and neoplatonic thought. The Mongol invasions in

12141-427: The Ingush gave to the Chechens and not as the self-name of the Ingush. Starting in the second half of the 19th century, the term was used by some Russian officers, historians and linguists for both the Chechen and Ingush nations (and sometimes for the Batsbi, notably by Peter von Uslar ). Today, the term is in its modern lowland version of "Nokhchi" and is only used by Chechens and Pankisi Kists . In 1859, Adolf Berge

12312-604: The Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti (Eastern Georgia) was occupied and annexed by the Russian Empire . On 18 July 1811, the autocephalous status of the Georgian Church was abolished by the Russian authorities, despite strong opposition in Georgia, and the Georgian Church was subjected to the synodical rule of the Russian Orthodox Church. From 1817, the metropolitan bishop, or exarch , in charge of the church

12483-538: The Mediterranean and Georgia). The Vainakh have been referred to by various names, including Durdzuks in medieval Arab, Georgian and Armenian ethnography. Historical linguists, including Johanna Nichols , have connected ancestral Nakh languages and their distant relatives to a Neolithic migration from the Fertile Crescent . Igor Diakonoff and Sergei Starostin have suggested that Nakh

12654-642: The Mehk-Khel (National Council). The Mehk-Khel was in charge of appointing the Mehk-Da (ruler of the nation). Several of these appeared during the late Middle Ages such as Aldaman Gheza , Tinavin-Visa, Zok-K'ant and others. The administration and military expeditions commanded by Aldaman Gheza during the 1650–1670s led to Chechnya being largely untouched by the major empires of the time. Alliances were concluded with local lords against Persian encroachment and battles were fought to stop Russian influence. One such battle

12825-467: The Mongol-Tatars treacherously killed the majority, and the rest were taken into slavery. This fate was escaped only by Idig and a few of his companions who did not trust the nomads and remained on the mountain. They managed to escape and leave Mount Dakuoh after 12 years of siege. Tamerlane's late 14th-century invasions of the Caucasus were especially costly to the Chechen kingdom of Simsir which

12996-523: The Nakh-Urartian relationship exist: another, held by Kassian (2011), is that Urartian and Nakh's common vocabulary instead reflects a history of intense borrowing from Urartian into Nakh. According to Amjad Jaimoukha , the mythological Gargareans , a group who migrated from eastern Asia Minor to the North Caucasus mentioned by Greek writer Strabo , are connected to the Nakh root gergara , meaning "kindred" in proto-Nakh. However, Jaimoukha's theory

13167-513: The North Caucasus, and "Tsovuri" (Tsova) – i.e. "Batsburi" (Batsbi) in Georgia, in the Tushin community, constitute another separate group, which currently does not have its own common distinct name. In ancient times, Greek and Roman geographers called the native inhabitants of the middle and eastern parts of the North Caucasus – "Geli" and "Legi". The name Geli (Gelae) is the equivalent of the modern "Ghalgha", as pronounced in their own language and in

13338-637: The Ottoman Empire. Since then, there have been various Chechen rebellions against Russian/Soviet power in 1865–66, 1877, during the Russian Civil War and World War II , as well as nonviolent resistance to Russification and the Soviet Union 's collectivization and anti-religion campaigns. In 1944, all Chechens, together with several other peoples of the Caucasus , were ordered by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to be deported en masse to

13509-620: The Ottomans ruled the West of the country, the Persians the East, while generally allowing autonomous Georgian kingdoms to subsist under their control. With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Georgian Christians had lost their traditional recourse against Muslims, and were left to themselves. New martyrs were canonized by the church after each invasion, most notably Queen Ketevan of Kakheti, who

13680-852: The Persians, accepted the Henotikon , a compromise put forward by the Byzantine Emperor Zeno in 482. Such conciliation was attempted again at the First Council of Dvin in 506, and the status quo was preserved during the 6th century. Around 600 however, tensions flared between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the church in Iberia, as the Armenian Church attempted to assert prominence in the Caucasus, in both hierarchical and doctrinal matters, whereas

13851-593: The Russian oppressors in order to feed Chechen children in a Robin Hood -like fashion). A common greeting in the Chechen language, marsha oylla , is literally translated as "enter in freedom". The word for freedom also encompasses notions of peace and prosperity. Chechnya is predominantly Sunni Muslim . Most of the population follows either the Shafi'i or the Hanafi schools of jurisprudence, fiqh . The Shafi'i school has

14022-455: The Shafi`i school. Kists (about 15,400 people) are mainly Sunni Muslims with a Georgian Orthodox minority, while Bats (approx. 3,000 people) are Christian (Georgian Orthodox). By rite, most Chechens are Qadiris , with a considerable Naqshbandi minority. There is also a tiny Salafi minority (Sunni sect). The two main groups (Salafism is more of a modern introduction to the region, and

14193-455: The Tushin language; and the equivalent of Legi is the Georgian "Lekebi" (Leks, Avars). In Georgian, the first corresponds to "Gh il ghvi" (singular) and "Gh il ghvelebi" (plural), which are often found in old Tushin folk poems. And in other regions of Georgia, it is customary to designate them as "Gh li ghvi". Since there is no common name for the above three languages, such a name is necessary, therefore, instead of an artificially invented name, it

14364-605: The Urarto-Hurrians. Other scholars, however, doubt that the language families are related, or believe that, while a connection is possible, the evidence is far from conclusive. Uralicist and Indo-Europeanist Petri Kallio argues that the matter is hindered by the lack of consensus about how to reconstruct Proto-Northeast-Caucasian, but that Alarodian is the most promising proposal for relations with Northeast Caucasian, greater than rival proposals to link it with Northwest Caucasian or other families. However, nothing

14535-607: The West as Simon the Zealot), said to have been buried near Sokhumi , in the village of Anakopia , and Saint Matthias , said to have preached in the southwest of Georgia, and to have been buried in Gonio , a village not far from Batumi . The church also claims the presence in Georgia of the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus , coming north from Armenia . . The propagation of Christianity in present-day Georgia before

14706-528: The West, either in Abkhazia or Tao-Klarjeti , and brought there their culture. Such movements led to the progressive merge of western and eastern churches under the latter, as Byzantine power decreased and doctrinal differences disappeared. The western Church broke away from Constantinople and recognized the authority of the Catholicos of Mtskheta by the end of the 9th century. Political unification under

14877-547: The armed Chechen separatist movement has become dominated by Salafis (popularly known in Russia as Wahhabis and present in Chechnya in small numbers since the 1990s), mostly abandoning nationalism in favor of Pan-Islamism and merging with several other regional Islamic insurgencies to form the Caucasus Emirate . At the same time, Chechnya under Moscow-backed authoritarian rule of Ramzan Kadyrov has undergone its own controversial counter-campaign of Islamization of

15048-476: The autocephaly of the Georgian Orthodox Church on 25 March 1917. These changes were not accepted by the Russian Orthodox Church. After the Red Army invasion of Georgia in 1921, the Georgian Orthodox Church was subjected to intense harassment. Hundreds of churches were closed by the atheist government and hundreds of monks were killed during Joseph Stalin 's purges. The independence of the Georgian Orthodox Church

15219-577: The autocephaly was given to the Church at other dates. Ronald Roberson gives 467 for the year the Church became autocephalous. The Encyclopedia Britannica states that the autocephaly of the Church "was probably granted by the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno (474–491) with the consent of the patriarch of Antioch, Peter the Fuller." Other sources indicate 484 for the year the Church became autocephalous. Rapp states that "Fully-fledged autocephaly [of

15390-711: The beginning of the 11th century, the main characteristics that it has retained until now. Those processes concern the institutional status of the church inside Eastern Christianity, its evolution into a national church with authority over all of Georgia, and the dogmatic evolution of the church. In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Church of Iberia was strictly subordinated to the Apostolic See of Antioch : all of her bishops were consecrated in Antioch before being sent to Iberia. Around 480, "[i]n an attempt to secure K'art'velian support and to acknowledge local support of

15561-460: The bulk of the Caucasus, namely Eastern Georgia, Southern Dagestan , Azerbaijan , and Armenia . The Chechens, however, never really fell under the rule of either empire. As Russia expanded slowly southwards as early as the 16th century, clashes between Chechens and Russians became more frequent, and it became three empires competing for the region. During these turbulent times, the Chechens were organized into semi-independent clans that were loyal to

15732-422: The case, contemporary historians and linguists agree that the ethnonym includes the term "Nakh" (people). Many historians such as Potto, Berge, Gan, Dubrovin believed that it meant "the nation". Linguists like Arbi Vagapov have also pointed out that similar terms are found in other Northeast Caucasian languages such as Rutul where "Nukhchi" translates to "Tribesman". Chechen ethnographer Umalat Laudaev offered

15903-520: The church. However, modern historiography considers this account mythical, and the fruit of a late tradition, derived from 9th-century Byzantine legends about the travels of St. Andrew in eastern Christendom. Similar traditions regarding Saint Andrew exist in Ukraine , Cyprus and Romania . Other apostles claimed by the church to have preached in Georgia include Simon the Canaanite (better known in

16074-666: The church: the Eparchy of Sukhumi, regrouping Abkhaz clergy, proclaimed in 2009 its secession from the Georgian Orthodox Church to form a new Abkhazian Orthodox Church ; this move remained however unrecognized by any other orthodox authorities, including the Russian Orthodox Church . The relations with the neighboring Armenian Apostolic Church have also been uneasy since independence, notably due to various conflicts about church ownership in both countries. 83.9% of Georgia's population identified themselves as Orthodox in

16245-546: The city Nakhchivan and the nation of Nakhchamatyan (mentioned as one of the peoples of Sarmatia in the 7th-century Armenian work Ashkharhatsuyts ) by many Soviet and modern historians, although the historian N. Volkova considers the latter connection unlikely and states that the term Nakhchmatyan could have been mistaken for the Iaxamatae , a tribe of Sarmatia mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography , who have no connection to

16416-471: The concept of freedom). In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a couple of Circassian tribes overthrew their traditional aristocracy and established a democratic, egalitarian society, with some adoptions from the Nakh system. This advance, which may have spread eventually to all of the Circassian tribes, was halted by their political state being annihilated by Russian conquest, a fate later shared by

16587-587: The constitution. The members of all three of the main national councils of the nation were elected, producing an indigenous democracy of the Nakh peoples. During the Soviet Union period, as well as during the Ramzan Kadyrov 's regime, the Teip-Council system was strongly criticized by the federal and local administration installed in Chechnya and Ingushetia, who viewed it as a destabilizing force and an obstacle to maintaining order. They said that such

16758-467: The conversion of King Mirian III , his wife Queen (later Saint) Nana and their family. Cyril Toumanoff dates the conversion of Mirian to 334, his official baptism and subsequent adoption of Christianity as the official religion of Iberia to 337. From the first centuries C.E., the cult of Mithras , pagan beliefs, and Zoroastrianism were commonly practiced in Georgia. However, they now started to gradually decline, even despite Zoroastrianism becoming

16929-491: The country amongst his sons, with Kavkasos [Caucas], the eldest and most noble, receiving the Central Caucasus. Kavkasos engendered the Chechen tribes, and his descendant, Durdzuk, who took residence in a mountainous region, later called "Dzurdzuketia" after him, established a strong state in the fourth and third centuries BC. Among the Chechen teips, the teip Zurzakoy , consonant with the ethnonym Dzurdzuk, live in

17100-761: The country is recognized in the Article 9 of the Constitution of Georgia ; its status and relations with the state were further defined in the Constitutional Agreement , or Concordat , signed by President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze and Patriarch Ilia II on 14 October 2002. The Concordat notably recognizes church ownership of all churches and monasteries, and grants it a special consultative role in government, especially in matters of education. Many churches and monasteries have been rebuilt or renovated since independence, often with help from

17271-727: The country, most notably on Mount Sinai , Mount Athos (the Iviron monastery , where the Theotokos Iverskaya icon is still located), and in Palestine . The most prominent figure in the history of Georgian monasticism is judged to be Gregory of Khandzta (759–861), who founded numerous communities in Tao-Klarjeti . Specific forms of art were developed in Georgia for religious purposes. Among them, calligraphy , polyphonic church singing, cloisonné enamel icons, such as

17442-400: The crypts, in clothes and decorations and arms. The general Islamic rituals established burials with the further penetration of Islam inside the mountainous regions of Chechnya and Ingushetia. Stone steles, churts, inscribed with prayers and epitaphs, began to be erected at the graves and more prosperous mountaineers were honoured with mausoleums after death. The Borgha-Kash Mausoleum dating to

17613-568: The destiny of the people. They could start a war or prohibit and prevent any teip from starting one. Mehk-Khel could gather in different places at different times. It used to gather in Terloy-Mokhk and Akkhi-Mokhk's Galain-Chozh region. A gigantic Mehk-Kheli stone still stands in Galain-Chozh, around which Mehk-Kheli members solved issues. Chechen-Ingush society has always been egalitarian, unstratified, and classless. Traditionally, there

17784-654: The devastation of the country by Tamerlane , Christianity was extinguished (due to the temporary loss of contacts between Georgia and Nakh Christians) and gradually the Chechens and Ingush returned to their native, pagan beliefs (while the Bats were permanently Christianized). Islam began to spread on Nakh peoples lands from 16th and 17th centuries. Vainakhs are predominantly Muslim of the Shafi`i school of thought of Sunni Islam . The majority of Chechens (approx. 2 million) and Ingush (approx. 1 million people) are Muslim of

17955-474: The early and late Christianization of Iberia and Colchis by Andrew the Apostle in the 1st century AD and by Saint Nino in the 4th century AD, respectively. As in similar autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, the church's highest governing body is the holy synod of bishops. The church is headed by the Patriarch of All Georgia , Ilia II , who was elected in 1977. Eastern Orthodox Christianity

18126-744: The empire, the Byzantine government recognized – and perhaps itself instigated – the change in status of the K'art'velian chief prelate from archbishop to catholicos ". "According to the Antiochene canonist and patriarch Theodore Balsamon (1140–95), 'When the Lord Peter was the Holy Patriarch of the great and godly city of Antioch, the Synod decided to make the Church of Iberia autocephalous.' The patriarch he refers to must be Peter

18297-430: The epic hero, Turpalo-Nokhchuo ("Chechen Hero"). There is a strong theme of representing the nation with its national animal , the wolf . Due to their strong dependence on the land, its farms and its forests (and indeed, the national equation with the wolf), Chechens have a strong affection for nature. According to Chechen philosopher Apty Bisultanov, ruining an ant-hill or hunting Caucasian goats during their mating season

18468-474: The first Chechen ethnographer and historian, Nazranians (a subgroup of Ingush) used this ethnonym occasionally: The Shatois and Nazranians are reluctant to call themselves Nakhchoy, which stems from their previous hostile attitudes towards the Chechens. But with the outpouring of heartfelt feelings at meetings, at a party, on the way, etc. they always confirm their unity of tribe, expressing themselves: "We are common brothers (wai tsa vezherey detsy)" or "We are

18639-601: The first day of plowing, as well as the Day of the Thunderer Sela and the Day of the Goddess Tusholi. In addition to sparse written record from the Middle Ages, Chechens traditionally remember history through the illesh , a collection of epic poems and stories. Chechens are accustomed to democratic ways, their social structure being firmly based on equality, pluralism and deference to individuality. Chechen society

18810-530: The first military encounter between Imperial Russia and the Chechens. Sheikh Mansur led a major Chechen resistance movement in the late 18th century. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, Russia embarked on full-scale conquest of the North Caucasus in the Caucasian War . Much of the campaign was led by General Yermolov who particularly disliked the Chechens, describing them as "a bold and dangerous people". Angered by Chechen raids, Yermolov resorted to

18981-635: The first preacher of the Gospel in Colchis and Iberia (modern-day Western and Eastern Georgia ) was the apostle Andrew , the First-called . According to the official church account, Andrew preached across Georgia, carrying with him an acheiropoieta of the Virgin Mary (an icon believed to be created "not by human hand"), and founded Christian communities believed to be the direct ancestors of

19152-421: The following Spring torrential rain began to fall upon the fields which the sacred animal had ploughed. This pelting rain continued to flood the fields until at last they disappeared beneath the waters of a new lake, into which Tusholi gratefully disappeared, rejoicing in the purity of her newly-formed abode. In ancient Nakh cosmology, the universe was created by the supreme god Dela. Earth, created in three years,

19323-512: The form of a supernatural bull, and began systematically to destroy the villages that dotted the hillside. This destruction continued until, at last, the bull was tamed in the aul of Ame in the area named Galain-Chazh (after the Galay - teip , a clan later deported en masse to Kazakhstan in 1944). The inhabitants of Galain-Chazh harnessed the energies of the newly-tamed animal, availing themselves of its mighty strength to plough their fields; but

19494-430: The grateful strangers told the family that after some time had passed, water would begin to form puddles outside their front door, and that when this happened they should gather up only the barest of necessities, leave their home, and go to the mountains. The poor family heeded this advice, but, before departing for higher ground, warned the rich of the town of the impending disaster, and begged them to follow them, but, such

19665-513: The highest in Dagestan and Achkhoy-Martan ). In their paper, Balanovsky et al. speculated that the differences between fraternal Caucasian populations may have arisen due to genetic drift , which would have had a greater effect among the Ingush than the Chechens due to their smaller population. The Chechens and the Ingush have the highest frequencies of J2a4b* yet reported (other relatively high frequencies, between 10 and 20 percent, are found in

19836-724: The languages of the Avars , Dargins , Lezghins , Laks , Rutulians , etc. However, this relationship is not a close one: the Nakho-Dagestani family is of comparable or greater time-depth than Indo-European , meaning Chechens are only as linguistically related to Avars or Dargins as the French are to the Russians or Iranians . Some researchers suggest a linguistic relationship between the Nakhsk-Dagestani languages and

20007-458: The legends of Pkharmat , Lake Galanchozh, the epic war of Pkhagalberi (hare riders) dwarves against the Narts, Lake Kezenoyam, and myths about how sun, moon and stars appeared. The Nakh myth recounts the tale of the legendary figure Pkharmat, who was purportedly shackled atop Mount Kazbek by God Sela as punishment for his audacious theft of heavenly fire. This narrative bears notable similarities to

20178-406: The local population) which they applied to a Nakh people who had migrated north across the mountains to settle in modern Chechnya and Ingushetia. Chechen people The Chechens ( / ˈ tʃ ɛ tʃ ɛ n z , tʃ ə ˈ tʃ ɛ n z / CHETCH -enz, chə- CHENZ ; Chechen : Нохчий , Noxçiy , Old Chechen: Нахчой, Naxçoy ), historically also known as Kisti and Durdzuks , are

20349-539: The main noble families. During the Middle Ages, Christianity was the central element of Georgian culture. The development of a written Georgian culture was made possible by the creation of the Georgian alphabet for evangelization purposes. Monasticism played a major role in the following cultural transformation. It started in Georgia in the 6th century, when Assyrian ascetic monks, known as the Thirteen Assyrian Fathers , settled in Iberia and founded

20520-675: The mitochondrial DNA is very diverse. The most recent study on Chechens, by Balanovsky et al. in 2011, sampled a total of 330 Chechens from three sample locations (one in Malgobek , one in Achkhoy-Martan , and one from two sites in Dagestan) and found the following frequencies: A weak majority of Chechens belong to Haplogroup J2 (56.7% ), which is associated with Mediterranean , Caucasian and Fertile Crescent populations. Other notable values were found among North Caucasian Turkic peoples ( Kumyks (25%) and Balkars (24%) ). It

20691-492: The objects of both official and unofficial discrimination and discriminatory public discourse. Chechen attempts to regain independence in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union led to the first and the second war with the new Russian state, starting in 1994. The main language of the Chechen people is Chechen . Chechen belongs to the family of Nakh languages ( Northeast Caucasian languages ). Literary Chechen

20862-416: The onset of summer, the enemy hordes came again to destroy the highlanders. But even this year they failed to capture the mountain, on which the brave Chechens settled down. The battle lasted twelve years. The main wealth of the Chechens – livestock – was stolen by the enemies. Tired of the long years of hard struggle, the Chechens, believing the assurances of mercy by the enemy, descended from the mountain, but

21033-479: The plural form of the word is "nakhchiy", hence the popular name "Nakhchoy", that is, "people abounding with cheese." It is also possible that this name was ascribed to the lowland Chechens as a mockery, calling them raw foodists, just as today the Nadterechny Chechens are mockingly called “kaldash yuts nakh”, that is, people who eat cottage cheese. That the Chechens got the name "Nakhchoy" from cheese

21204-501: The population. A similar dynamic led to the creation of the Armenian alphabet . The exact origin of the script is still debated, but must have happened in the second half of the 4th century or the early 5th century. The introduction of monasticism, and its tremendous development, in Iberia in the 6th century encouraged both foreign cultural inputs and the development of local written works. From that moment, together with translations of

21375-466: The prehistoric mountain settlements dating to 8000 BC. Military ("combat") towers were 25 meters high or more, with four of five floors and a square base approximately six meters wide. Access to the second floor was through a ladder. The defenders fired at the enemy through loopholes . The top of the tower had mashikul – overhanging small balconies without a floor. These towers were usually crowned with pyramid-shaped roofing built in steps and topped with

21546-497: The proposal that Gargarei is an earlier form of the Vainakh ethnonym. Jaimoukha notes that "Gargarean" is one of many Nakh root words - gergara, meaning, in fact, "kindred" in proto-Nakh. If this is the case, it would make Gargarei virtually equivalent to the Georgian term Dzurdzuk (referring to the lake Durdukka in the South Caucasus, where they are thought to have migrated from, as noted by Strabo, before intermixing with

21717-456: The purest water to be found near their village, and that this water proved to be that of the sacred Lake Galain-am, abode of Tusholi , daughter of the Vainakh supreme deity Dela. The goddess, outraged at such sacrilege, punished the offenders by turning them into two stones. This, however, did not solve the problem of the ritually impure lake and the enraged goddess could no longer bear to dwell in its sullied waters. Emerging from them, she assumed

21888-457: The region and beyond. Products of Vainakh masters brought power not only to the Caucasian peoples , but also by such excess power to the established industry of Russia . To support non-competitive domestic producers, Russia overlaid Vainakh manufacturers with large fees. At this complaining Terek Cossacks in their letters to Russian Government, despite the fact that they are a natural enemy of

22059-462: The region in the 18th century, noticed that Chechen and Ingush women skillfully manufactured carpets and fringes . Vainakh carpets were divided among themselves into different groups dependent on patterns: During the Middle Ages , Vainakh society felt a strong Byzantine influence that led to the adoption of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in some parts of the country (particularly the mountainous South). However, Christianity did not last long. After

22230-1007: The republic, with the government and the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of the Chechen Republic actively promoting and enforcing their own version of a so-called "traditional Islam", including introducing elements of Sharia that replaced Russian official laws. Georgian Orthodox Church Autocephaly recognized by some autocephalous Churches de jure : Autocephaly and canonicity recognized by Constantinople and 3 other autocephalous Churches: Spiritual independence recognized by Georgian Orthodox Church: Semi-Autonomous: The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( Georgian : საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია , romanized : sakartvelos samotsikulo avt'ok'epaluri martlmadidebeli ek'lesia ), commonly known as

22401-416: The rest of Chechnya and Ingushetia). There are also small Christian and atheist minorities, although their numbers are unknown in Chechnya; in Kazakhstan, they are roughly 3% and 2% of the Chechen population respectively. A stereotype of an average Chechen being a fundamentalist Muslim is incorrect and misleading. By the late 2000s, however, two new trends have emerged in Chechnya. A radicalized remnant of

22572-552: The rest of the Caucasus. It is notable that the Chechen and Ingush systems, as well as the system later adopted from them by some Eastern Circassian tribes, resembles the typical Western democratic republic. It has a central government with a legislative body (the Mehk-Khel), a body resemblant of an executive branch (the Mehk-Khetasho) as well as a judicial branch (the other councils). The adat and other bodies have served as

22743-519: The result of the recent Chechen Wars , especially in the wave of emigration to the West after 2002. The Chechens are one of the Nakh peoples , who have lived in the highlands of the North Caucasus region since prehistory. There is archeological evidence of historical continuity dating back to 3000 B.C. as well as evidence pointing to their ancestors' migration from the Fertile Crescent c. 10,000–8,000 B.C. The discussion of their origins

22914-528: The saints whose "Lives" were written from that period. In the western half of Georgia, ancient Colchis , which had remained under stronger Roman influence, local churches were under jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople , and were culturally and linguistically Hellenistic. Bishops from the port cities took part in ecumenical councils, from the Council of Nicea (325) together with those from

23085-578: The same Nakhchoy (wai tsa nakhchoy du)". However, it was mentioned by Peter Simon Pallas in the late 18th century that a clear distinction between self-designation of the Ingush and Chechens had already existed: There is a tribe of people differing entirely from all other inhabitants of the Caucasus, in language as well as in stature, and features of the countenance: the Galgai or Ingush, also referred to as Lamur, meaning "inhabitants of mountains". Their nearest relatives, both by consanguinity and language, are

23256-432: The second half of the 16th century, in the form of "Kolkans"/"Kalkans", "Kolki"/"Kalki", "Kalkan people". The famous Georgian historian and linguist Ivane Javakhishvili proposed to use Ghalghaï ( Georgian : Ghilghuri or Ghlighvi ) as a general name or classification for the Ingush, Chechen and Bats languages: "Chachnuri" (Chechen) – i.e. "Nakhchouri" (Nakhchoy), "Ingushuri" (Ingush) – i.e. "Kisturi" (Kist) in

23427-573: The shaping of the Chechen nationhood and their martial-oriented and clan-based society. The Caucasus was a major competing area for two neighboring rival empires: the Ottoman and Turco-Persian empires ( Safavids , Afsharids , Qajars ). Starting from 1555 and decisively from 1639 through the first half of the 19th century, the Caucasus was divided by these two powers, with the Ottomans prevailing in Western Georgia , while Persia kept

23598-848: The state or wealthy individuals. The church has enjoyed good relations with all three Presidents of Georgia since independence was restored. However, tensions subsist within the Church itself regarding its participation in the ecumenical movement, which Patriarch Ilia II had endorsed (he served as head of the World Council of Churches between 1977 and 1983). Opposition to ecumenism was fueled by fears of massive proselytizing by Protestant denominations in Georgia. In 1997, faced with open dissension from leading monks, Ilia II rescinded church participation in international ecumenical organizations, though he stopped short of denouncing ecumenism as "heresy". Opposition against Protestant missionary activity has remained strong in contemporary Georgia, and even led to episodes of violence. Separatism in Abkhazia has also affected

23769-509: The strategic value outsiders have placed on the areas settled by Chechens has contributed much to the Chechen community ethos and helped shape its national character. Chechen society is largely egalitarian and organized around tribal autonomous local clans, called teips , informally organized into loose confederations called tukkhums . According to popular tradition, the Russian term Chechency (Чеченцы) comes from central Chechnya , which had several important villages and towns named after

23940-401: The supreme god Dela sent his representatives in the guise of beggars, to test them. They begged the wealthy citizens to give them food, but were driven away with only blows and curses in return. Only one poor family in the village shared their food with them, keeping only a morsel of burnt bread for themselves, while giving an unburnt loaf of fine white bread to their guests. On leaving the house,

24111-487: The tradition of an ancient settlement associated with the lake is borne out by the archeological record for the area: traces of human habitation dating back as far as 40,000 BC have been found near Kouzan-am. Cave paintings, artifacts, and other archaeological evidence bear witness to continuous habitation for some 8,000 years. People living in these settlements used tools, fire, and clothing made of animal skins. Legend has it that two women once decided to wash their laundry in

24282-400: The tree. In 1722 the Russian Army bought 616 vehicles for 1308 rubles, at a time when the annual salary of the governor of the three villages was only 50 rubles. Since ancient times Ingush and Chechens have been producing thin felt carpets called Isting (Ingush) or Istang (Chechen). Ingush and Chechen rugs are distinguished by a peculiar pattern and high quality. Jacob Reineggs, who visited

24453-405: The trust of people in the institution was diminished by its Russification and corruption. Calls for autocephaly became heard again only after the intellectual national revival that started in the 1870s; the local clergy made such calls during the 1905 revolution , before being repressed again. Following the overthrow of the Tsar Nicholas II in March 1917, Georgia's bishops unilaterally restored

24624-423: The very beginning of the 15th century and built for a Noghai prince is a good example of this. Only a few fragments of Vainakh mythology have survived to modern times. These fragments consist of the names of deities personifying elements of animist ideas, the Nart sagas , cosmogonic tradition, remnants of stock-breeding and landtilling, totemic beliefs, and folk calendar. The greatest samples of Nakh mythology are

24795-465: The wars for a large number of reasons (including the lack of proper education, the refusal to learn the language, and the mass dispersal of the Chechen diaspora due to the war). Chechens in the diaspora often speak the language of the country they live in ( English , French , German , Arabic , Polish , Georgian , Turkish , etc.). The Nakh languages are a subgroup of Northeast Caucasian , and as such are related to Nakho-Dagestanian family, including

24966-456: The weakened local church for Catholicism, as missionaries were bringing the printing press and western culture to Georgia around 1700. Only the emergence of a strong Orthodox power, the Russian Empire , could reinforce during the 18th century the status and prestige of the Church among the elites, and the shared Orthodoxy was a potent factor in the calls for Russian intervention in the Caucasus, to liberate Georgia from Muslim domination. In 1801,

25137-426: The will to safeguard the honor of women. The traditional Chechen saying goes that the members of Chechen society, like its teips, are (ideally) "free and equal like wolves". Chechens have a strong sense of community, which is enforced by the old clan network and nokhchalla – the obligation to clan, tukkhum, etc. This is often combined with old values transmuted into a modern sense. They are mythically descended from

25308-514: The word Chechen . These places include Chechan, Nana-Checha ("Mother Checha") and Yokkh Chechen ("Greater Chechena"). The name Chechen occurs in Russian sources in the late 16th century as "Chachana", which is mentioned as a land owned by the Chechen Prince Shikh Murza. The etymology is of Nakh origin and originates from the word Che ("inside") attached to the suffix - cha / chan , which altogether can be translated as "inside territory". The villages and towns named Chechan were always situated in

25479-433: The work of the ancient historian and geographer Strabo . In Georgian sources, in the form of Gligvi , modern researchers mention them living in the Darial Gorge at the time of the deployment of Mirian I 's forces into the Darial Pass in the 1st century. They are also mentioned in the 18th century edition of Georgian Chronicles during the reign of Kvirike III . In Russian sources, "Ghalghaï" first becomes known in

25650-481: Was altered after the 11th century, when the catholicos of Mtskheta spread out his jurisdiction over western Georgia . Since then, the head of the Autocephalous Church of Georgia has been the catholicos-patriarch of all Georgia, and the church has been fully independent in its domestic and foreign affairs, with the exception of the period between 1811 and 1917. Melchisedek I (1010–33) was the first catholicos-patriarch of all Georgia." However, other sources state that

25821-417: Was an ally of the Golden Horde and anti-Timurid. Its leader Khour Ela supported Khan Tokhtamysh during the Battle of the Terek River . The Chechens bear the distinction of being one of the few peoples to successfully resist the Mongols and defend themselves against their invasions; not once, but twice, though this came at great cost to them, as their states were utterly destroyed. These events were key in

25992-401: Was an ethnic Russian, with no knowledge of the Georgian language and culture. The Georgian liturgy was suppressed and replaced with Church Slavonic , ancient frescoes were whitewashed from the walls of many churches, and publication of religious literature in Georgian heavily censored. The 19th century was a time of decline and disaffection, as the church buildings often fell into disrepair, and

26163-405: Was considered extremely sinful. The glasnost era Chechen independence movement Bart (unity) originated as a simple environmentalist organization in the republic's capital of Grozny. Chechen culture strongly values freedom. This asserts itself in multiple ways. A large majority of the nation's national heroes fought for independence (or otherwise, like the legendary Zelimkhan , robbed from

26334-407: Was established following the Mongol rule. It seceded from the Mtskheta see as the Kingdom disintegrated, and the western Catholicos thereafter assumed the title of Patriarch. This rival seat, based first in Pitsunda , then at the Gelati Monastery near Kutaisi , subsisted until 1795. During those times, contacts with the Catholic Church increased, first as a way to liberate itself from meddling by

26505-413: Was finally recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church on 31 October 1943: this move was ordered by Stalin as part of the war-time more tolerant policy towards Christianity in the Soviet Union . New anti-religious campaigns took place after the war, especially under Nikita Khrushchev . Corruption and infiltration by the security organs were also plaguing the church. First signs of revival can be seen from

26676-433: Was founded two decades earlier, and, during the 4th century, was larger and more influential than the Church in Iberia. As such, it exerted strong influence in the early doctrine of the church. The influence of the Church of Jerusalem was also strong, especially in liturgy. The Georgian-Armenian ecclesial relationship would be tested after the Council of Chalcedon (451), whose christological conclusions were rejected by

26847-404: Was introduced by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in the 1770s. Julius von Klaproth believed the term Kists only applied to the Kistin society of Ingushetia , and instead used the Tatar term "Mizdschegi" to refer to the Nakh peoples. The term Nakhchiy (in the form of Natschkha, Nakhchui and Nacha) at the end of the 18th and beginning of 19th centuries was mentioned as the name (i.e. exonym ) that

27018-448: Was no formal political organization and no political or economic ranking. Many observers, including famous Russians such as Leo Tolstoy , have been very impressed by the democratic nature of the indigenous Chechen governments prior to Russian conquest. According to the Western Ichkerophile Tony Wood, the Vainakh peoples, in particular the Chechens (as the Ingush and the Batsbi have fallen under foreign domination much more frequently and as

27189-524: Was not an evil realm of the dead or undead, but not far removed in morality from the upper world – even superior to it in some respects – most notably in its social structures. Unlike in certain other religions, there was no judgment in the afterlife. Dela-Malkh was the sun god playing a central role in religious celebrations. On December 25, Nakhs celebrated the Sun Festival in honour of the Sun God's birthday. The names of stars and constellations were also connected to myths: A 2011 study by Oleg Balanovsky and

27360-585: Was organized by the entire irrigation system, which consisted of a small artificial stream canals connected with the mountain rivers, these canals were called Taatol, they also built a small stone canals called Epala, and quite small wooden troughs Aparri. Some scholars notably I. Diakonov and S. Starostin proposed that Epala and Aparri may correspond to Urartian irrigation canal name "pili" and Hurrian "pilli/a". Some irrigation structures were built also on lowlands but they were less complicated. Carts and carriages made by Vainakh masters were highly valued in

27531-430: Was part of the kingdom of Urartu from the 8th to 7th centuries BCE. After uniting the region with his kingdom in the early 8th century BCE, king Argishtis I of Urartu resettled many of its inhabitants to his newly built city of Erebuni . However, Djavashvili's and Melikishvili's theory is not widely accepted. Jaimoukha argued that the Vainakhs are descended from the Gargarei , a mythological tribe who are mentioned in

27702-414: Was politically and culturally distinct from Iberia at that time, and culturally more integrated into the Roman Empire ; some of its cities already had bishops by the time of the First Council of Nicea (325). The conversion of Iberia marked only the beginnings of the formation of the Georgian Orthodox Church. In the following centuries, different processes took place that shaped the church, and gave it, by

27873-404: Was reflected in major differences in the development of Christianity. In the east, from the conversion of Mirian, the church developed under the protection of the kings of Iberia, or Kartli. A major factor in the development of the church in Iberia was the introduction of the Georgian alphabet . The impulse for a script adapted to the language of the local people stemmed from efforts to evangelize

28044-399: Was still strong until the 19th century. Society was organised along feudal lines. Chechnya was devastated by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century and those of Tamerlane in the 14th. The Mongol invasions are well known in Chechen folktales which are often connected with military reports of Alan-Dzurdzuk wars against the Mongols. According to the missionary Pian de Carpine , a part of

28215-402: Was the Battle of Khachara between Gheza and the rival Avar Khanate that tried to exert influence on Chechnya. As Russia set off to increase its political influence in the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea at the expense of Safavid Persia, Peter I launched the Russo-Persian War , in which Russia succeeded in taking much of the Caucasian territories for several years. The conflict notably marked

28386-401: Was the Vainakh tower . This was a kind of multi-floor structure that was used for dwelling or defense (or both). Nakh tower architecture and construction techniques reached their peak from the 15th to 17th centuries. Residential towers had two or three floors, supported by a central pillar of stone blocks, and were topped with flat shale roofing. These towers have been compared in character to

28557-450: Was the avarice of the rich folk, that they would not abandon their treasures – not even to save themselves from a watery grave. That evening, the family watched from the mountains as a terrible catastrophe unfolded: they saw the water cover their house and with it the greedy folk who had stayed behind. To commemorate the terrible flood, the Vainakhs named the newly-formed lake Kouzan-am/Kezenoyam 'lake of sorrow and cruelty'. Interestingly,

28728-404: Was the state religion throughout most of Georgia's history until 1921, when the country, having declared independence from Russia in 1918, was conquered by the Red Army during the Soviet invasion of Georgia , becoming part of the Soviet Union . The current Constitution of Georgia recognizes the special role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country's history, but also stipulates

28899-439: Was the second one to use this term for both the Chechens and Ingush. The famous Russian linguist Peter von Uslar, who studied the North Caucasian languages, also referred to both nations in 1888 as "Nakhchuy"/"Nakhchiy". This classification was also used by Potto , Veidenbaum  [ ru ] , Gan  [ ru ] , Dubrovin  [ ru ] and many others during the 19th century. According to Umalat Laudaev ,

29070-402: Was three times larger than the heavens and was propped up on gigantic bull horns. The realm of the Vainakh Gods lay above the clouds. Ishtar-Deela was the ruler of the subterranean world, Deeli-Malkhi. Deeli-Malkhi was larger than the human realm and took seven years to create. Nakhs believed that when the sun sets in the west it goes to the netherworld and rises out of it in the east. Deeli-Malkhi

29241-427: Was tortured to death in 1624 for refusing to renounce Christianity on the orders of Abbas I of Persia (Shah-Abbas). Not all members of the royal families of Kartli and Kakheti were so faithful to the church, though. Many of them, to gain Persian favor, and win the throne over their brothers, converted to Islam, or feigned to, such as David XI of Kartli (Daud Khan). Other noblemen, such as Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani , left

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