--- indravayu <
sonno3@...> wrote:
> Does anyone on the list know anything about a
> medieval kingdom
> called Alania? I have read that it was in the
> Caucasus, not far away
> from where the modern Ossetes live (and that the
> kingdom was founded
> by the Ossetes Alanic ancestors), but I have come
> across some that
> believe that there was no such kingdom in the
> Caucasus, and that the
> Ossetes originated in a region called Alania on the
> _western_ shores
> of the Black sea, and migrated to the Caucasus at
> some later period.
> Can anyone help settle this matter?
>
> Thanks,
> Chris Gwinn
******GK: I looked up the articles on North and South
Ossetia in my old Soviet encyclopaedia. The
information on early days is very succinct and one has
to read between the lines a bit. (There are references
suggested but I haven't these at hand). The line here
is that there definitely existed a "feudal state"
called Alania in the 9th and 10th centuries, and later
too. Its borders are not precisely defined, but the
implication is that the state (ruled by "patriarchal
clans" claiming much autonomy) included large segments
of the Caucasian foothills. Not until the time of the
"Mongolo-Tatars" were they forced out, migrating to
the Caucasian interior. (One unanswered question is
whether they already controlled some of this
interior). This takes us to the 13th-14th centuries.
Today's Ossetians are said to be the result of a
fusion between these Alans and the local Caucasian
populations of the mountains. The article identifies
"Alania" with the Yassi of the Primary Chronicle.====
Hope this helps just a little bit++++
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