Collapse of Caucasian Albania. How Albania appeared and where it went in the Caucasus. The politics of Rome and Iran in the fate of Albania
[Greek ̓Αλβανία; Arm. Աղռւաճղ, Aluanq; cargo. რანი, Rani; parf. Arda n; sir. , Aran; Arab-Persian , Ar-Ran, Arran], an ancient country in the East. Transcaucasia on a territory roughly coinciding with the borders of modern times. Azerbaijan.
Ancient authors speak of A.K. as a country lying between the Kura and the Caspian (for example, Strabo. Geogr. XI). In early Arm. historians Aluank (A.K.) III - early. V century appears within approximately the same boundaries. From the 5th century the idea of the “country of Aluank” arises as the territory of the Albanian marzpanate (viceroyage) of the Sassanid power, which included, in addition to the territory of the Albanian kingdom, also the former. provinces of Greater Armenia on the right bank of the Kura; finally, in a number of Armenians. texts, only these right-bank regions are called this way. In the “History of the Country of Aluank” by Movses Kalankatuatsi (Dashurantsi), written in the 10th century. in Armenian language, A.K. means the territory from Araks to Derbent, which was under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Albanian Catholicos. The geographical boundaries of the term AK (Arana) also changed in Arabic. era. In most contemporary works. Researchers are developing this view, according to the cut from the 5th century. A.K. is a church-political entity inhabited both by Albanians themselves (Albanians) and other peoples (Armenians of the Right Bank of the Kura River, Georgians of the northwestern regions). Since it is not possible to unambiguously determine the boundaries of A.K. for different eras, further we will talk about the region coinciding with the territory of the Albanian province (5th century).
Political history. The most ancient region of A.K. was the north. part of the river valley Kura south of the confluence of the river. Alban (Armenian Aluan, Georgian Alazani). In the 1st millennium BC, early urban communities began to form here, including the ancient capital of A.K. - Kapalak. The population of the country was multi-ethnic; its basis, apparently, was made up of peoples who spoke Nakh-Dagestan. languages (eras-rans, suji, gels, oten-uts, etc.). Albanians were first mentioned among the participants in the battle of Alexander the Great with the Persians at Gaugamela (331 BC) as part of the army of the satrap of Media. After the defeat of the Achaemenid power, A.K., as part of the Atropatene satrapy, was part of the Seleucid and Parthian kingdoms. By the 2nd century. BC, based on the unification of 26 tribes (Strabo. Geogr. XI 4.7), a single Albanian kingdom was formed. In 65 BC, Rome. The commander Pompey defeated the Albanian army. King Oroz, forcing him to conclude a treaty of peace and alliance. Later the Albanians rebelled against Rome, but in 36 BC Rome. the protectorate over A.K. was restored. Alban. the kings acted as allies of Rome in the wars with Parthia, which, however, did not interfere with the development of relations with this country: finds of silver Parthian coins indicate extensive trade relations between A.K. and Parthia at the turn of Christ. era. In the 1st century BC north-west part of A.K. (Hereti in Georgian sources) falls into the sphere of influence of the Kingdom of Kartli (Iberia).
In the first centuries AD, the Mazkuts (Massagets) who settled in the Caspian regions formed a state with its center in the city of Chol (Chor); The Arsacid dynasty that ruled there at times extended its power to the river. Chickens. In mid. III century Transcaucasia was conquered by the Iranians, and A.K., along with Armenia, Kartli and Balasakan, became part of the Sassanid state (as stated by the victorious inscription of Shapur I on the “Kaaba of Zoroaster”). In fact, A.K. was ruled by kings from the local dynasty, dependent on the Sasanian Shahanshahs, on whose side the Albanians acted in the wars against Armenia and the Roman Empire.
Processes of interethnic integration of Christians. Monophysite population of the former. A.K. led to the Armenianization of local peoples. From the 12th century The awareness of the right-bank population of their general army is intensifying. accessories; in the end XII - XIII centuries liberation from the Seljuk yoke led to the flourishing of Armenian culture. culture in the Principality of Khachen (about the Christian culture and monuments of Artsakh and Utik from the 12th century, see article Armenia).
The majority of residents of the former territory. The Albanian province (including part of the Right Bank) underwent Islamization, carried out first by the Arabs, and from the 11th century by the Turks. peoples. Invasions of the Seljuks and other Turks. tribes changed the ethnic appearance of the country, the ancient name was preserved only as a designation of the region, which was covered by the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Albanian Catholicoses.
Albanian Church- one of the oldest Christians. Churches in the Caucasus. According to local tradition, the beginning of Christ. Sermons in these parts date back to the 1st-2nd centuries. and is associated with the name of the ap. Elisha, a disciple of St. Thaddeus. After the martyrdom of Thaddeus in Armenia, St. Elisha (Elishai) returned to Jerusalem, where he received ordination as a bishop from James, the brother of the Lord, and headed to A.K. The Apostle began preaching the faith of Christ in Chola (Chora) (Ist. Al. I 6; II 4; III 16/ 17; III 23/24). There, “in the land of the Mazkuts,” ap. Elisha suffered martyrdom; Later his relics were discovered. Although the veneration of Elisha was established, apparently, only in the 6th-7th centuries, he became a true symbol of the Albanians. Christianity: the local Church invariably honored his memory, the life of Elisha is included in Armenian. synaxar. In the same east. parts of the bud. The Albanian province was also preached by another disciple of St. Thaddeus, Dadi, over whose grave in the 2nd half. I century Dadivank Monastery was founded.
A.K.’s “second baptism” took place under St. Gregory the Illuminator in the beginning. IV century According to one of the editions of his life, when the saint sent priests and bishops to neighboring countries, Albania went to the pious bishop. Foma from the city of Satali (M. Armenia). According to Armenian sources, in the 30s. IV century the grandson of Gregory the Illuminator, Grigoris, ordained “Bishop of Iberia and Aluanka,” arrived in Albania from Armenia, “renovated” churches, preached among the local population and also suffered martyrdom among the Mazkuts (c. 338); his tomb is located in Amaras. Cargo messages date back to the same time. sources about the Baptism of Hereti to St. Nino (Nina), the newly converted king of Kartli Mirian, accompanied him with an army led by eristav (KTs. T. 1. P. 125). In the documents of the Persian Councils. Churches of the East (410, 420) Aran (AK) is mentioned among the dioceses subordinate to the Patriarch-Catholicos with his residence in Seleucia-Ctesiphon, but this subordination was apparently purely nominal.
Resumption of the preaching of Christianity among the peoples of A.K. c. 420 is associated with the name of Mesrop Mashtots and Daniel, to which Crimean sources attribute the creation of the Albanians. alphabet (see section Language and Literature below). Judging by the materials of the First Dvina Council (506), Albanian. was an official the language of the Church (Book of Epistles, p. 51). Arm. Catholicos Babgen wrote about Caucasian Christianity. countries to their Persians. co-religionists: “We have the same faith as we wrote to you earlier, in agreement with the Georgians and Albanians, each in their own language.” The assumption of a number of scientists about the existence of liturgical monuments in Albanian. language was confirmed: more than a hundred pages of Albanian. texts, apparently for liturgical purposes, were recently discovered in cargo in Sinai. palimpsest. From the 7th century the process of Armenianization of the Albanian Church intensified, and in a later era, worship in it was conducted in Armenian. language. However, Albanian. writing continues to be used for a long time in the left bank part (excavations of the complex near Mingachevir revealed both Albanian and Armenian inscriptions from the mid-7th century).
Albanian first. The ruler who converted to Christianity was King Urnair, who was baptized in Armenia c. 370 g. At the end. V century Albanian King Vachagan III the Pious, in alliance with Armenia and Georgia, opposed the Sassanid attempt to ban Christianity, solemnly accepted Baptism and declared Christianity official. religion, taking harsh measures against pagans (Zoroastrianism was also widespread in the country until the 10th century). The Albanian (Aluen) Council (487-488), convened on his initiative, was of great importance, which developed a number of canons that protected the legal and economic interests of the clergy and nobility (one of the first monuments of Armenian legal literature). Probably, already at this time the Albanian Church enjoyed actual autocephaly; at the same time, both the “Aluen Canons” and “The Tale of Vachagan” (2nd half of the 6th century) continue the historical traditions of the Armenian Church.
In mid. VI century the status of the Albanian Church in the triad of Churches of Transcaucasia was designated: ca. 551/52 its primate Abas received the title of “Catholicos of Aluanka, Lpnik and Chola” with a see in the city of Partav (the summer residence was located in the Berdakur fortress). From the “Book of Messages” we know the names of the dioceses that were part of the Albanian Catholicosate: Partav, Chol, Kapalak, Amaras, Hashu, Taldzank, Salian, Shaki. The seal of the “Great Catholicos of Albania and Balasakan”, made in Pahlavi (Middle Persian) writing and dating back to the 6th century, has been preserved. The joint action of the Armenian and Albanian Churches was a failed attempt at the Baptism of nomads north of Derbent in the beginning. 80s VII century. Through A.K. Christianity penetrated into the territory of modern times. North Dagestan, where it was widespread in the 12th century.
In the beginning VII century The Georgian Church accepted Orthodoxy (Chalcedonianism), and in 631/32 the Armenian Church for some time also accepted the Diphysite dogma. The commitment of the Albanian Church to the dogmas of the Ecumenical. IV Council in Chalcedon was preserved, apparently, until the Council of Partavs (706), when the Armenian. Catholicos Elijah I Archishetsi with the support of the Arab. authorities achieved the deposition of the Albanians. Catholicos-Chalcedonite Nerses. In the 2nd half. X century the population of the left bank of A.K. (Hereti) reunited with Orthodoxy in the bosom of the Georgian Church.
Arab era. conquests (from the middle of the 7th century) marked the beginning of a stubborn struggle between Islam and Christianity, which ended by the 11th century. Islamization of most of the population of the Caspian region. Having established their power in Transcaucasia, the caliphs installed the Albanians. Catholicos depending on the Monophysite Armenian Church (from the 20s of the 8th century).
During the period of political fragmentation (IX-XII centuries), the Monophysite Albanian Catholicosate entered a period of decline. Catholicos in the 9th-10th centuries. stayed in the Khamshi monastery (Miapor region); the centers of church life were Artsakh (11th century) and Kakhi-Zagatala (12th century). Since 1240, the role of the bishops of Gandzasar from the Hasan-Jalalyan family increased. In con. XIV - beginning XV century The monastery of Gandzasar, which was actually the spiritual and political center of the Artsakh melikate, became the see of the Albanian Catholicoses. After joining the beginning. XIX century North Azerbaijan to the Russian Empire The Albanian Catholicosate (Gandzasar Patriarchate) was abolished by royal decree in 1815, and in its place 2 dioceses (Artsakh-Shusha and Shemakha) were formed under the jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholicosate (Etchmiadzin Patriarchate) and the Vicarage of Ganja as part of the Tiflis consistory of the Armenian Church.
Albanian Catholicoses (based on the list from ArmSE. T. 1. P. 263): Abas (551-595); Viro (595-629); Zechariah (629-644); John (644-671); Ukhtanes (671-683); Eliazar (683-689); Nerses (689-706); Simeon (706-707); Mikael (707-744); Anastas (744-748); Hovsep (748-765); Dawit (765-769); Dawit (769-778); Matte (778-779); Movses (779-781); Aaron (781-784); Solomon (784); Theodoros (784-788); Solomon (788-799); Hovhannes (799-824); Movses (824); Dawit (824-852); Hovsep (852-877); Samuel (877-894); Hovnan (894-902); Simeon (902-923); Dawit (923-929); Sahak (929-947); Gagik (947-958); Dawit (958-965); Dawit (965-971); Petros (971-987); Movses (987-993); Markos, Hovsep, Markos and Stepanos (from 993 to 1079); Hovhannes (1079-1121); Stepanos (1129-1131); Grigoros (c. 1139); Bezhgen (c. 1140); Nerses (1149-1155); Stepanos (1155-1195); Hovhannes (1195-1235); Nerses (1235-1262); Stepanos (1262-1323); Sukyan and Petros (c. 1323-1331); Zakaria (c. 1331); Presses (?); Karapet (1402-1420); Hovhannes (c. 1426-1428); Matteos (c. 1434); Athanas, Grigor and Hovhannes (1441-1470); Azaria (?); Fuma (c. 1471); Aristakes (?); Stepanos (c. 1476); Nerses (c. 1478); Shmavon (c. 1481); Arakel (1481-1497); Matthew (c. 1488); Aristakes (1515-ca. 1516); Sarkis (c. 1554); Grigor (c. 1559-1574); Petros (1571); Davit (c. 1573); Philippos (?); Hovhannes (1574-1586); Davit (c. 1584); Athanas (c. 1585); Shmavon (1586-1611); Aristakes Kolataktsi (c. 1588); Melkiset Arashetsi (c. 1593); Simeon (c. 1616); Petros Chondzkieci (1653-1675); Simeon Khotorashentsi (1675-1701); Eremia Hasan-Jalalyants (1676-1700); Yesayi Hasan-Jalalyants (1702-1728); Nerses (1706-1736); Israel (1728-1763); Nerses (1763); Hovhannes Gandzasaretsi (1763-1786); Simeon Khotorashentsi (1794-1810); Sargis Gandzasaretsi (1810-1828; from 1815 with the title of metropolitan).
E.N.G.
The culture of A.K. was formed in line with the development of historical processes common to the countries of Transcaucasia. The coexistence of different traditions was predetermined by the unification of many nationalities in this political formation. Neither during the era of the Albanian kingdom, nor in subsequent centuries, judging by the surviving monuments, a sufficiently coherent culture was formed on this territory. Turning on the former regions Vel. Armenia (Artsakh and Utik on the Right Bank of the Kura) to the Albanian province of Iran marked the beginning of a shift in the processes of cultural development of A.K., which was facilitated by other events of the 5th-6th centuries: the abolition of royal power, the transfer of the center of the province and Catholicosate to the city of Partav the right bank of the Kura, the coming to power of the Armenians. Mikhranid dynasty. These circumstances require a different understanding of the geographical framework of the development of Christ compared to the previous period. culture of this formation, within which starting from the 5th century. the jurisdiction of the Albanian Church extended.
Understanding such a complex, somewhat conditional phenomenon as the culture of the Middle Ages. A.K. (V-XI centuries), requires a balanced approach to the monuments of different regions of the country and a cumulative consideration of the factors of development of an ethnically heterogeneous culture in the north and northeast of A.K., i.e. in historical Albania and its Caspian lands - from Derbent in the north to the mouth of the Kura in the south (northern and eastern parts of modern Azerbaijan, the south of the Republic of Dagestan of the Russian Federation, the extreme southeast of Georgia), as well as Armenian. culture in the west and southwest (territories bounded from the west by the Kura, Araks and eastern borders of Armenia, with the exception of the Lachin region, as well as part of the Tavush region in the northeast of modern Armenia). At the same time, it is necessary to abandon as it has become a tradition. for essays on the history of medieval art. A.K. representation of the monuments only of “Albania proper”, and from the principle of studying the monuments of Artsakh and Utica con. V-XI centuries only in the context of Armenian. culture. At the same time, it is not possible to consider them only within the framework of the national culture of Azerbaijan. Over the centuries, A.K. experienced the cultural expansion of the powers that owned it: Iran, Byzantium, and the Arab Caliphate. Significant, especially in the east. areas, there was the influence of Turkic-speaking tribes, whose culture gradually took root and is still developing in most of the territory of the historical A.K. Christ. the culture was preserved in the twentieth century. only in certain enclaves, and since the 90s. XX century - in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent areas.
Languages and literature. According to tradition, Albanian. writing was created by Mesrop Mashtots, who arrived from Armenia between 415 and 420. and received assistance from the Albanians. King Arsval, bishop. Jeremiah and the help of Priest Beniamin (Koryun. Life of Mashtots. Yerevan, 1981. P. 116 (in Armenian)). To Albanian. the most important biblical texts were translated: the Books of the Prophets, the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospel (Ibid. p. 212); for some time Albanian. writing was adopted into the official correspondence in A.K. The language of the new written language was one of the 26 tribal languages of the country, belonging to a large nationality, understandable to the royal court and the majority of the newly converted flock. The assumption that this language was Old Udin (Shanidze. 1960. P. 189; Abrahamyan. 1964. P. 38) is disputed (Muradyan. 1990. P. 53-60), in particular, on the grounds that the alphabet was created for the language of the Gargareans (Gargarians) rich in guttural sounds ( Moses Khorensky. III 54; East. Al. II 3); however, it is possible that the term “gargaratsi” was used in Armenian. sources as a pejorative epithet to designate the autochthonous population of Albania (Hakopyan. 1982). Alban. an alphabet containing 52 letters (9 for vowel phonemes and 43 for consonants) was discovered in Armenian. manuscripts from the collection of Etchmiadzin (No. 11) (Abuladze. 1938). Several are also known. Albanian epigraphic monuments. Nevertheless, this writing has not yet been finally deciphered, although the very existence of the Albanians. literature is beyond doubt among researchers (Trever. 1959. P. 309; Shanidze. 1960. P. 160; Klimov. 1967. P. 68; Muradyan. 1990. P. 58 ff.). Recent discoveries of Albanians. texts among the manuscripts of the monastery of the VMC. Catherine in Sinai (2 Georgian-Albanian palimpsests), perhaps, will allow us to find a solution to this complex problem (Alexidze. 1998; Alexidze. 2000).
In the 7th century official the language (both administrative and ecclesiastical) becomes Armenian, but church service continued to be conducted in Albanian. An inscription in Albanian dates back to 640. language about the construction of c. in the name of St. Elishe in 30 imp. Irakli (Abramyan. 1964. P. 20-49). It is carved on the capital in the complex near Mingachevir next to the Armenian. inscription (Trever. 1959. P. 335-339; Muravyov. 1981; Akopyan. 1987. P. 138-139; Muradyan. 1990. P. 58; in total, 8 inscriptions in the ancient Albanian language have been preserved in the Left Bank). In Albania. Monument Panda, located east of the City of Olives in Palestine, tombstones of the nobility of the 6th-7th centuries were discovered, equipped exclusively with armour. inscriptions, which indicates the widespread functioning of arm. to Albania environment. In Armenian language were created and all known historical and lit. works related to A.K. First of all, this is “The History of the Country of Aluank” (between 982 and 988) by Movses Kalankatuatsi (Dashkhurantsi) - a work belonging to Armenian. medieval literature and is the most important part of the culture of A.K., both its right-bank part and the entire former. province, which extended in the 10th century. jurisdiction of the Albanian Church.
Urban planning, architecture and monumental art. There are 3 known large cities of the Middle Ages. A.K.: Kapalak (Kabalaka, Kabala), Chol (identified with the settlement of Toprah-kala south of modern Derbent) and Partav, which were successively the capitals of this administrative-territorial entity. Ruins of fortifications near the village are identified with Kapalak. Chukhurkabala, Kutkashen region of Azerbaijan. An artificial ditch divided the city into 2 parts, south. of which it had a pentagonal wall with towers, and the north had a more developed fortification system (Akhundov. 1986. P. 198; Sharifov. 1927. P. 117).
In valley Artsakh on the river. Trttu (Terter) was the last adm. the center of the Albanian province is Partav, built according to the Middle Ages. sources, in the 2nd half. V - beginning VI century (for the dating of the 6th century, see: Akopyan. 1987. pp. 123-124). From 551/52 to the beginning. 9th century The Catholicos' cathedra was located here. In con. VIII century the city becomes the second most important (after Dvin) Arab center. province of Arminia and declines after the Mongols. invasions. In Partava there was a large c. in the name of St. Grigora (Ist. Al. S. 319), possibly a cathedral; another church was excavated in 1970. According to archaeological research, it was destroyed by fire in the beginning. VIII century The walls of this three-nave basilica (11x6 m) are lined with baked bricks, and the floor of the temple is also covered (Geyushev. 1971; about the history and monuments of Partav, see: “Barda.” 1987; Karapetyan. 2000. pp. 212-216 ).
The fortified city of Derbent is distinguished by its original layout, enclosed between 2 parallel fortress walls descending from the mountains and extending into the sea. The thickness of the walls ranges from 230 to 380 cm, height - from 12 to 15 m. In connection with the Christianization of Khazaria, 2 churches of the 7th-8th centuries can be mentioned. at the ancient settlement of V. Chiryurt (Magomedov M. G. Early medieval churches of the Upper Chiryurt // Sov. Arch. 1979. No. 3).
Pre-Christian religious monuments. period are few in number (temples in Kapalak and Gyavurkala). The foundations of a number of Middle Ages go back to the ancient and ancient eras. fortresses. Monuments made of clean-cut stone are found only in the right bank part and are possibly the buildings of masters from Armenia. Buildings made using a rougher technique, from crushed and cobblestones, or in a mixed technique with the addition of masonry from burnt brick and ashlar, were common throughout the country and have analogues in Armenia and the East. Georgia, including in Kakheti. Probably, mixed stone-brick or cobblestone technology served as the basis for the formation of the Albanians. architectural school of the Middle Ages. architecture of Transcaucasia. In addition, mud brick was also used in the Kura Valley. All these temples require interior plastering and, judging by the scanty information available, were painted. A small number of surviving monuments IV - mid. 9th century has no exact dating, with the exception of the Derbent fortress and the tomb in Amaras. Dating of Christ. temples appearing in scientific literature are established on the basis of a comparison of their architecture and archaeological material with monuments of neighboring countries (according to the criteria of spatial solutions, decoration and construction equipment). This circumstance does not allow us to date the Albanians. buildings earlier than their closest analogues in the Center. regions of Armenia and Georgia.
“The History of the Country of Aluank” by Movses Kalankatuatsi (Dashurantsi) contains information about the construction of several. churches and martyriums. Most of them are associated with the acquisition and position of holy relics and are localized on the right bank of the Kura. Among Christians centers are known: Darakhoch and Sukhar, where the relics of St. were found by King Vachagan. Gregory the Illuminator, Saints Gayane (Gaiania) and Hripsime (Hripsimia); Amaras, where the relics of bishops Gregoris, Zacharias and Pandaleon were discovered and placed in the martyrium, next to the church founded by Gregory the Illuminator; Dastakert-Khnchik and Dutakan (residence of King Vachagan III), where particles of the relics of Grigoris and others are kept. The same king in the Jrvshtik (Elisha) monastery erected a memorial column over the grave of the apostle. Elisha, where one of the king’s courtiers spent the rest of his life and became a monk. King Vachagan himself was buried in the same monastery; the monastery became the center of the diocese.
In the 7th century in the Gardman fortress, the prince and then ruler of Albania Dzhevanshir built a richly decorated church “for the whole country” (Ist. Al. II 25). Under this king, an active construction activity(Ibid. 22). Other ancient churches and martyriums of the right bank part of A.K. are also known (Akobyan. 1987. P. 243, 260). Even in the 5th-7th centuries, undoubtedly, there were majestic cathedrals in the residences of the Albanian Catholicos: Kapalaka, Chole and Partava, as well as churches in the centers of the dioceses (in the 2nd half of the 6th century there were 8 of them). By the time before the IX-X centuries. There are references to a number of mon-reys (Gandzasar, Dadivank, Gtchavank, etc.), but only the tomb of Grigoris in Amaras has survived - a semi-underground structure that was located under the altar of a church built in 1858. The structure of the tomb, masonry from large, well-hewn basalt blocks and carved The decor allows us to attribute it to the time of King Vachagan III (489).
No less ancient is the complex of semi-cave churches near Vankasar (Agdam region of Azerbaijan). According to its researchers, individual buildings date back to the first centuries AD, that is, to the initial period of Christianization of Transcaucasia (Simonyan 2000, pp. 218-220). At the same time, decorative elements representing different types of relief crosses have analogues with buildings of the 4th-7th centuries.
The church on Mount Vankasar (Beshidag) is a domed triconch of the free cross type (9.70x8.30 m). Its architectural features, marks of masters on stones (similar to the Armenian temples in Sisavan, Irinda, etc.), Armenian. epigraphic inscriptions of the 7th and subsequent centuries on the walls of the church, a relief cross on the tympanum of the west. entrance (not preserved) indicate that it was built in the last. third of the 7th century a team of craftsmen from neighboring Armenians. provinces (Ayrarat or Syunik), with which A.K. maintained close cultural ties at that time (as a result of the restoration of the 80s of the twentieth century, the temple suffered irreparable losses) (Yampolsky. 1960; Mkrtchyan. 1989. P. 63-64; Karapetyan).
Dr. early medieval. The centric temple of Artsakh is the c. Okhtdrnivank (gavar Mius-Aband) near the village. Mokhrenis and Gtich monastery (Hadrut region of Nagorno-Karabakh). The building belongs to the architectural type of tetraconchs with corner niches, widespread in Armenia and Georgia (the oldest of them is the cathedral in Avan, 90s of the 6th century), but unlike most such temples, it does not have corner chambers and additional spaces in front of the east. . and zap. exedra. All exedra, including the so-called. corner niches, horseshoe-shaped, smoothly turning into the rounded shapes of the domed pylons. The only entrance is to the west. exedre. The dimensions of the church from the inside are 8.0×8.25 m; outside - 10.3×10.5 m; dome diameter - approx. 4 m. Only the walls of the building and part of the arches have been preserved. In 671, Artsakh was apparently briefly included in the Principality of Syunik, and it is to this time, based on comparative architectural analysis, that Mokhrenis M. Asratyan dates it (1985; see also Mkrtchan. 1989. pp. 71-75). At the same time, the features of the masonry of walls made of crushed stone and the closest analogues of the design of the altar capitals (portal of the basilica in Elvard, 660) indicate the possible construction of the temple by local craftsmen in the 7th century. Near the church there is a fragment of a khachkar from 997 and a khachkar from 1044.
To the early Middle Ages. era belongs to the lower zone (up to the arches) c. Astvatsatsin (Virgin Mary) of the Tsrviz monastery (historical gavar Mets-Kuenk, modern Tavush marz of the Republic of Armenia), which is a simple tetraconch (8.8 × 9.0 m) with semicircular exedra inside and outside (except for the rectangular outside west. sleeves). It has richly carved capitals and a horizontal belt under the apse conch. Their profiling and ornamentation are related to the architecture of Armenia from the Middle Ages. VII century The upper part of the church was rebuilt in the 12th century.
In the same area is the Makaravank monastery, its earliest church, dated by researchers to the 10th century, is logical to be considered among the monuments of A.K. This is a small cross-domed building with 4 rooms in the corners, laid out from hewn blocks of dark pink andesite. The composition is similar to the early c. Gregory (X-XI centuries) Haghartsin Monastery and many others. other Armenian temples of this era. Rich floral and wicker ornaments are present on the front wall of the altar elevation and on the internal frames of the window openings (Khalpakhchyan. 1980. P. 413).
On the right bank of the river. Khachen in Artsakh, during excavations of the Gyavur-kala settlement (Agdam region of Azerbaijan), a single-nave temple of the 8th-9th centuries was discovered. with a semicircular apse and an additional room to the northeast. The walls are made of limestone, the floor is paved with stone (Geyushev. 1984. P. 85; Karapetyan. 2000. P. 222).
The Akopavank complex (X-XI centuries; Martakert region of Nagorno-Karabakh), consisting of 2 single-nave vaulted churches and a vestibule, dates back to the early period of monastic construction. The entrances to the churches open into a gallery decorated on the outside with 3 arches. Into the wall The church included a khachkar in 853 (Asratyan. 192. pp. 82-84).
Individual archaeological finds - stone capitals with ornaments and motifs of a cross in the rim, discovered at the monastery of Bri Eltsi and in the village. Chartar (Martuni district of Nagorno-Karabakh) and dating back to the V-VII centuries, confirm the possibility of identifying new early Middle Ages. buildings
In the south of Utica, 3 km from the village. Tazakend (Aljabed region of Azerbaijan), on the Chatatepe hill, the ruins of a three-nave basilica with 2 pairs of cruciform pillars, a U-shaped altar apse on the inside and a semicircular on the outside, and pastophoria on the sides of it, which also end with apses, have been uncovered. External dimensions - 16.5 × 9.25 m. Accompanying archaeological material - ceramics - made it possible to localize the monument within the 6th century. (Geyushev. 1984. P. 86-87) and identify buildings with c. Pantaleon, erected, according to the “History of the Country of Aluank”, Albanian. Catholicos Lazar (before 551) (Karapetyan. 2000. P. 266). Certain features of the Tazakenda plan, the structure of the altar and the shape of the windows bring the monument closer to the architecture of churches of the developed Middle Ages. The early church on the site may have been rebuilt.
In the territories of the right bank regions of A.K., the art of khachkar, characteristic of Eastern Christianity, actively developed. region only Armenian. culture. This circumstance, as well as the appearance of the first khachkars (VIII-IX centuries) much later than the entry of Artsakh and Utik into the Albanian province, indicate the development of the art of these areas in accordance with the main processes of the evolution of Armenian. culture.
On the left bank of the Kura in 1948 a temple complex was discovered and in 1971 discovered in the Sudagylan settlement near Mingachevir. The development is based on 3 hall-type churches, characterized by their small sizes.
The thick (1.5-2.05 m) walls of these buildings were built from mud brick with a small amount of baked brick. The ceilings were wooden, supported in the middle part by wooden columns, and the roofs were tiled. The construction dates back to the VI-VIII centuries. One of the temples, surrounded by a fence, had carved architectural details of white stone and stucco with ornaments similar to those of the Arm. and cargo. works VII V. (Cathedral in Dvin, Yeghvard, Odzun, Javari in Mtskheta, Samtsevrisi). A cube-shaped capital with the image of 2 peacocks on either side of a lily flower - the “tree of life” - and with a single-line alban was also discovered there. building inscription (640), duplicated in Armenian on a limestone from the same church. The capital most likely completed the memorial column and was crowned with a cross, the socket for which is in the middle of the upper plane.
4 christ. buildings in the north and the central parts of the left bank of A.K. (on the territory of the early Christian Albanian kingdom) are distinguished by the peculiarities of their architecture and constitute a separate group of monuments. The composition of the three-nave basilica in the village is based on. Qom (Kakh region of Azerbaijan) is a slightly elongated hall with 2 pairs of powerful T-shaped pillars and an altar part in the east. The temple is surrounded by a vaulted bypass, north. and south the sides of which end in the east with chapels. The temple dates back to the 5th (Akhundov. 1986. p. 223) or 6th century. (Useynov et al. 1963. p. 31), although analogues of the composition of the naos and galleries with open arcatures (Odzun, mid-7th century; Samshvilde, 2nd half of the 7th century; Vachnadziani, 11th century), as well as The 8-part vaults above the trompos in the pastophoriums (for the first time in the Hripsime temple in Valarshapat, 618) do not allow the construction to be attributed to a time earlier than the middle. VII century
3 other buildings in this group are centric domed structures. The temple closest to Qom is in an architectural complex near the village. Lekit of the same Kakh district (Albanian region Shaki) is a small tetraconch inscribed in a circle and surrounded by a ring, possibly three-tiered (reconstruction by S. Mnatsakanyan) with exedra on an arcature (3 columns in each exedra). Probable dating - 7th century.
The temples near the village are compositionally related to Lekit. Mamrukh (Zagatala region of Azerbaijan), first measured in 1974, and on Mount Kilisadag near the village. Boyuk-Emily (Kutkashensky district), studied in 1971. Both have 3 entrances, 2 round pastophoriums and a ring around the central domed cell, formed in Mamrukh by 4 powerful pillars, in Kilisadag - by 8 round columns. In Mamrukh, a semicircular apse with a rectangular pre-altar space protrudes from the east, to the south. and sowing The entrances have small square aisles. The outer diameter of the wall in Mamrukh is equal to the wall of the temple in Lekit (18.8 m), in Kilisadag - 12.4 m. The temples are in ruins. The question of their dating is controversial; their attribution to the buildings of pagan cults (Akhundov. 1986. pp. 206-208) is in no way justified. Kilisadag was dated by its first explorers to the 8th century. (Vaidov et al. 1972. P. 488), the forms of the apse, window openings and cornices of Mamrukh made it possible to place the monument among the buildings of the 12th-14th centuries, directly related to the architecture of Kakheti (Mailov. 1985. P. 143). Judging by the decoration of the aisles (pastophoria) of Kilisadag with double semi-columns and the discovery of fragments of unglazed and glazed building ceramics, as well as the shapes and decoration of the lintels of the openings, this building was also erected in the 12th-14th centuries. On the other hand, establishing dating to the period of the developed Middle Ages would make it possible to consider Mamrukh and Kilisadag within the framework of the load. architecture To cargo. buildings of the XI-XIV centuries. Stylistically, the small church of the free cross type in Orta-Zeyzit, Sheki region gravitates (Mailov, 1985, p. 143, Fig. 4).
In Dagestan, early medieval Christians. temples were built under the influence of Armenians. and possibly Iran. architecture. 2 temples with a rectangular altar were opened on the burial mound of Belendzher, a city in Caspian Dagestan (Kovalevskaya. 1981). From the IX-XI centuries. Christ The architecture of Dagestan is developing in line with cargo processes. architecture (Datupa temple, 11th century, etc.) ( Murtuzaliev, Khanbabaev. 2000).
It is logical to consider a number of churches located in the historical region as monuments to A.K. Cambysene, preserved on the territory of modern. Georgia (Chubinashvili. 1959). This is especially justified in the case of attributing the temples in Gurjaani and Bodbe to the era of the 7th-9th centuries, before the inclusion of the region in the kingdom of the Kakhs and Rans.
Decorative and applied arts. Albanian artistic tastes. nobility of the IV-VII centuries. are characterized by several monuments of toreutics from among bronze vessels: aquarians, incense burners, jugs and dishes discovered in mountainous Dagestan. IV-V centuries a plate made of chased bronze with an image in the central medallion of a horseman galloping accompanied by a dog (GE) is dated. The plot repeats the famous images in Rome. and Byzantine. monuments. Among the jugs, an example of the “Sasanian” type stands out, the body of which is a human head; other jug dating back to the 6th-7th centuries. (GE), made using the wax casting technique and inlaid with red copper, contains images of birds on the sides of the tree of life. The straight ornamented tree trunk, its completion with a five-petal palmette and the peacock birds equipped with necklaces with fluttering ribbons have the closest analogue to the relief on the capital from Mingachevir. Both samples are also similar in the flat interpretation of the images (Trever. 1959. P. 316 ff.). On the territory of A.K., probably already in the early medieval period, glassmaking, carpet weaving and other crafts reached a high level.
Source: Strabo. Geogr. V, XI; Կռրյյռւճ · վ · մեսրռպ մ / ջխ · ս · մ [Koryun. Life of Mesrop Mashtots / Ed. A. S. Matevosyan. Yerevan, 1994] (translated: Koryun. Life of Mashtots / translated by Sh. V. Smbatyan, K. A. Melik-Oganjanyan. Yerevan, 1962); Մռվսես Խռրեճացի· (?)այյռց պատմռւթյյռւճ [ Movses Khorenatsi. History of Armenia. Yerevan, 1995] (Moses Khorenats‘i. History of the Armenians / Ed. R. W. Thomson. Camb. (Mass.); L., 1978; Moses Khorensky. History of Armenia / Transl. N. O. Emina. M., 1893); East. Al.- Մռվսես Կաղաճկատռւացի· Պատմռւթյյռւճ Աղռւաճից աջխար(?)ի [ Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluanc / Crete. text and preface V. D. Arakelyan. Yerevan, 1983] (trans.: Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluank / Trans., preface. and comment. Sh. V. Smbatyan. Yerevan, 1984; The History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movses Dasxuranci / Transl. by C. J. F. Dowsett. L., 1960); Կիրակռս Գաճձակեցի· Պաթմռւթյյռւճ (?)այյռց [ Kirakos Gandzaketsi. History of Armenia. Yerevan, 1961]; Գիրղ Թղթռց [Book of Messages. Tiflis, 1901]; CC. T. 1. Tbilisi, 1955; Pigulevskaya N.V. Syrian sources on the history of the USSR. M.; L., 1941. S. 81-87; Karaulov N.A. Information from Arab writers about the Caucasus // Sat. materials for describing the areas and tribes of the Caucasus. Tiflis, 1901. Issue. 29; 1902. Issue. 31; 1903. Issue. 32; 1908. Issue. 37.
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P. 27 pages; Khan-Magomedov S. O. Walls and towers of the Derbent fortress // Architectural Heritage. 1964. No. 17. P. 121-146; aka. Juma mosque in Derbent // SA. 1970. No. 1. P. 202-220; aka. Gates of Derbent // Ibid. 1972. No. 20. P. 126-141; Abrahamyan A. G. Deciphering the inscriptions of the Caucasian Agvans. Yerevan, 1964; Vandov R. M. Mingachevir in the III-VIII centuries. Baku, 1966; Klimov G. A. On the state of deciphering Agvan (Caucasian-Albanian) writing // Issues. linguistics. 1967. No. 3; Ishkhanov L. To the study of the temple in the village of Lekit // SA. 1970. No. 4. P. 227-233; Mnatsakanyan A. Sh. About the literature of Caucasian Albania. Yerevan, 1969; Mnatsakanyan S. Kh. Zvartnots. M., 1971. S. 62-65; Vaidov R. M., Mamed-zade K. M., Guliev N. M. New architectural monument of Caucasian Albania // Archaeological discoveries of 1971. M., 1972. P. 487-488; Geyushev R.B. Excavations at the temple site of medieval Barda // Abstracts of reports, dedicated. results of field archaeology. research in 1970 in the USSR. Tbilisi, 1971; Article: Alvan letter; Alvan language; Alvan Gate; Alvan Church; Alvan region; Alvans; Alvank // Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. Yerevan, 1974. T. 1. P. 261-265 (in Armenian); Asratyan M. M. Architectural complex of Amaras // VON. 1975. No. 5. P. 35-52 (in Armenian); aka. Amaras. Yerevan; M., 1990; aka. The newly discovered church of Mokhrenis and the genesis of monuments of the tetraconch type with corner niches // 4th intern. Symposium on Armenian art: Abstracts. report Yerevan, 1985. P. 35-38; aka. Artsakh School of Armenian Architecture. Yerevan, 1992 (in Armenian, with Russian summary); Yakobson A.L. Architectural connections between Caucasian Albania and Armenia // IFZh. SSR. 1976. No. 1; aka. Gandzasar monastery and khachkars: fiction and facts // IFZh. 1984. No. 2; aka. Gandzasar. Yerevan, 1987; Bretanitsky L. S., Weymarn B. V. Art of Azerbaijan IV-XVIII centuries. M., 1976. S. 21-41; Ellaryan I. B. Monuments of history and culture of the Aghstev Valley. Yerevan, 1978; Khalpakhchyan O. Kh. Architectural ensembles of Armenia. M., 1980. S. 409-436; Kovalevskaya V. B. North Caucasian antiquities // Archeology of the USSR: Steppes of Eurasia in the Middle Ages. M., 1981. P. 97; Muravyov S. N. Three studies on Caucasian-Albanian writing // Yearbook of Iberian-Caucasian linguistics. Tbilisi, 1981. T. 8. P. 260-290; Grigoryan V. Small centric monuments of Armenia in the early Middle Ages. Yerevan, 1982 (in Armenian); Mkrtchyan Sh., Abgaryan S., Karapetyan S. Monastery “Ohte drni” Mokhrenis // Etchmiadzin. 1982. No. 11/12. pp. 46-50 (in Armenian); Mailov S. A. Armenian churches of Azerbaijan // Architectural heritage. 1985. No. 33. P. 142-143; Akhundov D. A. Architecture of ancient and early medieval Azerbaijan. Baku, 1986; Barda. Baku, 1987 (in Azerbaijani and Russian languages); Cuneo P. Architettura Armena dal quarto al diciannovesimo secolo. R., 1988. Vol. 1. P. 429-459; Cuneo P., Lala Comneno M. A., Manukian S. Gharabagh // Documenti di architettura Armena. Mil., 1988. Vol. 19; Mkrtchyan Sh. Historical and architectural monuments of Nagorno-Karabakh. Yerevan, 1989; Hakobyan G. The Art of Medieval Artsakh. Yerevan, 1991 (in Armenian, Russian and English); Aleksidze Z. Monument of Albanian writing in Sinai and its significance for Caucasus studies. Tbilisi, 1998 (in Georgian, Russian and English); Karapetyan S. Monuments of Armenian culture in areas annexed to Soviet Azerbaijan. Yerevan, 1999 (in Armenian); Simonyan A. The spread of Christianity and ancient church architecture in Armenia (in Armenian) // Armenia and Christian Orient. Yerevan, 2000. P. 70-74; Alexidze Z. New Collection of Mount Sinai and Its Importance For the History of Christian Cancasus // Ibid. P. 175-180.
A. Yu. Kazaryan
The cruel realities of the spiritual history of the Albanian tribes
The history of the religious life of the Albanian population of the Caucasus is one of the little-studied pages of our history. Many of our contemporaries tend to idealize and paint in rosy colors different historical periods of life of previous generations of our ancestors.
Some glorify the Muslim period in the history of Caucasian Albania, some are Christian, and some are completely pagan. However, in fact, the picture of the religious life of the Albanians in the Caucasus was very contradictory and very tragic.
Caucasian Albania is an ancient state that arose in the late 2nd – mid 1st centuries BC in the Eastern Caucasus, occupying part of the territory of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Dagestan.
Map: Armenia, Colchis, Iberia, Albania from Butler's Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography (1907)
Albanians, the inhabitants of this ancient state, have no relation to modern Albanians - residents of the state of Albania in the Balkans. The population of Caucasian Albania was originally a union of 26 tribes that spoke various languages of the Lezgin group of languages.
These included Albanians, Legs (modern Lezgins), Gargars (whom some researchers identify with modern Rutulians), Utians (identified with modern Udins), Gels, Chilbis, Silvas, Lpins, etc.
The capitals of Caucasian Albania at different times were the cities of Kabala (until the 6th century) and Partav. In 461 AD, the independence of the Albanian kingdom was eliminated, and Albania became a marzpanate - a province, a military-administrative district within the Sasanian state.
Strabo
Albanian paganism and human sacrifice
Before the adoption of Christianity, the Albanians, according to Strabo, worshiped the sun, sky and moon. Strabo writes: “The gods are revered - Helios, Zeus and Selene, especially Selene.”
The Greek historian calls Albanian deities by the names of Greek gods. These deities were especially revered not only in the Caucasus, but also in Western and Central Asia. According to Strabo, in Caucasian Albania there were special sacred temple areas, also characteristic of Armenia and Asia Minor.
Describing this priestly region, Strabo reports: “... the man most respected after the king priests in it; he stands at the head of the temple region, extensive and well populated, and at the head of the hierodules, many of whom are possessed by God and prophesy.”
As Hieromonk Alexy Nikonorov writes in his dissertation on the history of Christianity in Caucasian Albania: “Based on the data given by Strabo, we can conclude that in Albania there were one or more special areas called “sacred” with a main temple dedicated to a particularly revered deity.”
Archaeological excavations in Bard, Azerbaijan
The high priest who ruled the region occupied second place in the country after the king, and under his subordination and authority were not only the lands, but also the hierodules (temple people).
And also “possessed by God,” according to Strabo, i.e. spirit-possessed soothsayers. The ancient Armenian author Moses Kalankatuysky (Moses Kagankatvatsi, Movses Kalankatuatsi) reports the existence in Artsakh of “various types of sacrificial services to unclean idols,” as well as “...magi, sorcerers, priests, ring-cutters and healers.”
Stone capital 5-6 centuries. with an inscription in Albanian, found during excavations in Mingachevir, Azerbaijan
As Alexy Nikonorov writes, the pagan cults of the ancient Albanians included, in addition to animals, human sacrifices. The performance of such sacrifices is confirmed by archaeological material.
For example, during excavations in Mingachevir, archaeologist R. M. Vaidov discovered the skeleton of a man shackled with iron shackles.
Researchers suggest that these sacrifices were performed according to a well-known ritual: animal victims were skinned, the head was cut off, the body was roasted over a fire, and the heads, filled with straw, were left on tall branchy trees in the so-called sacred groves.
Human sacrifices were made in two ways: sometimes the victim was killed by poisoning, or the skin was removed, and then the head was cut off.
Apostle Bartholomew with flayed skin. Matteo di Giovanni, 1480
Martyrdom of the Apostle Bartholomew
The latter fact is of particular interest in connection with the story of the martyrdom of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew, which supposedly followed in the year 71 according to the Christian calendar.
Bartholomew (according to another version - Nathanael) was one of the twelve apostles (disciples) of Jesus Christ, mentioned in the New Testament. Apostle Bartholomew is one of the first disciples of Christ, called fourth after Andrew, Peter and Philip.
According to legend, Bartholomew, together with Philip, preached in the cities of Asia Minor, where modern Türkiye is located today. The city of Hierapolis (modern Türkiye) is especially mentioned in connection with the name of the Apostle Bartholomew.
The sufferings of the Apostle Bartholomew. Giovanni Tiepolo, 1722
Tradition also tells of his trip to India and preaching in Armenia. According to legend, at the instigation of the pagan priests, the brother of the Armenian king Astyages “seized the holy apostle in the city of Alban.”
As Christian sources write, Bartholomew was crucified upside down, but he continued his preaching, then he was taken down from the cross, skinned, and then beheaded.
Orthodox author Demetrius of Rostov writes that after the death of Bartholomew, believers took “his body, head and skin, put them in a tin shrine and buried them in the same city, Alban, in Greater Armenia.”
In those years, Armenia meant the larger part of the Caucasus. Therefore, it is not surprising that Rostovsky makes no distinction between Albania and Armenia. There are, however, different versions of the identification of the city of Albany (Albanopol).
Chapel of the Apostle Bartholomew, built on the site of the alleged death of the preacher
Orthodox tradition identifies it with Baku, in which, during excavations at the Maiden Tower, the remains of an ancient temple were discovered, identified with the basilica erected over the place of the death of the apostle.
Hieromonk Alexy Nikonorov writes about this: “The Apostle Bartholomew, according to church tradition, preached the faith of Christ in Caucasian Albania.”
The influence of Zoroastrianism also penetrated into Albania, however, compared to neighboring Iberia, this happened later. The peculiarities of the planting of Zoroastrianism - the worship of fire - by the Sasanian state among the population of Albania will be discussed below.
Sasanian Empire
Martyr Elisha, as founder of the Albanian Church
According to Christian sources, the teachings of Christ were brought to the lands of Albania by a preacher named Elisha, known in local sources as Elishe. In the Albanian Christian tradition he was venerated as a saint.
Elishe was a disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus. And in the lands of the Albanians he died the death of a martyr. The Armenian historian Movses Kalankatuatsi in “The History of the Country of Aluank” calls Elishe a disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus.
According to this information, Elishe accepted ordination from James, the brother of Christ himself. In Albanian lands, Elishe became the de facto founder of the Albanian church. “Arriving in Gis, he built a church there and celebrated mass. Our church, in the Eastern Region, was founded on this site.”
A number of authors correlate the mentioned Gis with the village of Kish in the Sheki region of Azerbaijan. Kish was once a Udi village, on at the moment There were no representatives of the Udin people left in the village. For example, G. Ibragimov, a researcher of the history of Christianity among the Tsakhurs, writes about the identity of Gis and Kish.
Temple of St. Elisha in the village of Kish, Azerbaijan
Elisha is neither in Catholic nor in Orthodox traditions not canonized. This preacher is also mentioned by other Armenian authors, such as Mkhitar Gosh and Kirakos Gandzaketsi. The last author calls this preacher as Yegishe.
This is what he writes: “... the first instigator of the enlightenment of the eastern regions is called Egishe, a disciple of the great Apostle Thaddeus, who, after the death of the holy Apostle, went to Jerusalem to James, the brother of the Lord, and, being ordained by him as a bishop, passed through the country of the Persians and reached the country of Agvank . He came to some place called Ghis, and built a church there and himself suffered martyrdom there from an unknown person.”
Icon of St. Elisha from the Udi church in the village of Nij, Azerbaijan
Moses of Kalankatui reports: “...Arrived (Elisha - author) in the region of Uti, in the city of Sogarn with three disciples, whose relatives, some lawless people, chased after them, and one of the disciples received martyrdom from them... The Holy First Illuminator... having crossed from there ( from Gis - author) along the Zerguni valley to the place of sacrifice of unbelieving idolaters, he accepted the crown of martyrdom here, and it is unknown who carried out this deed. After that, his excellent remains were thrown into the ditch of criminals and buried for a long time in a place called Gomenk.”
In fact, Christianity became the state religion of Albania at the beginning of the 4th century, when the Albanian king Urnair was baptized in Greater Armenia by the enlightener of this country, Gregory, who was revered as a saint.
Sassanian Empire with subject territories during the period of greatest power
Imposition of Zoroastrianism and anti-Persian revolts
The Albanian king Urnair, who ruled Albania at the turn of the 3rd-4th centuries, himself belonged to the Parthian family of the Arsacids, and his wife was the sister of the Persian king Shapukh. Gregory, who was in Armenia at that time and was revered as a saint, was also of Parthian origin (the son of Anak from the clan of Suren-Pakhlav, one of the seven noble Persian clans).
At the same time, King Urnair, the first among the Albanian kings to convert to Christianity and be baptized in Armenia ca. 370, was a loyal ally of Persia. As a reward for this alliance, Albania received its share in the division of Armenia between Persia and Rome in 387.
In order to strengthen this strategic alliance, according to some sources, in the next century the Albanian king Vache built a city, which he named Perozapata in honor of the Persian king Peroz. Subsequently, this city became known as Partav (in Arabic pronunciation - Barda). Subsequently, this city became the capital of Albania.
Monument to King Vakhtang I Gorgasali
However, the Russian ethnographer and Caucasus specialist A. Gadlo, referring to the “Book of the Conquest of Countries” by the 9th-century Arab historian Jabir al-Balazori, mentions that Barda was founded by Peroz’s son Kavad I in order to push the Khazars north beyond the Kura River.
Be that as it may, later Albania began to come under increasingly strong pressure from Sasanian Iran - both political and religious.
Coin minted during the reign of the Sasanian king Peroz I
Thus, Iran forced Albania to accept Zoroastrianism.
In particular, the Albanian king Vache was forced to convert to Zoroastrianism, but he, however, soon returned to Christianity. As a result, in 450, the Albanians took part in the anti-Persian uprising, which was led by the sparapet (commander-in-chief) of Persian Armenia Vardan Mamikonian. The Iberians also joined the uprising.
Oath before the Battle of Avarayr (commander Vartan Mamikonyan). Ivan Aivazovsky, 1892
The first major victory of the rebels was won precisely in Albania, near the city of Khalkhal, which then served as the summer capital of the Albanian (and earlier Armenian) kings. Then, however, the rebels were defeated in the Battle of Avarayr.
Battle of Avarayr
In 457, King Vache raised a new uprising; in 461, the independence of the Albanian kingdom was eliminated, and Albania became a marzpanism - a province (military administrative district) within the Sasanian state.
The rebellion of the three for Caucasian peoples, which was led by the Iberian king Vakhtang I Gorgasal (“Wolf Head”) and the Armenian sparapet Vahan Mamikonyan (481-484), forced the Persians to restore royal power in Albania.
Vardan Mamigonyan
Under King Vachagan the Pious (487-510), active Christianization of the population was carried out in Albania and a cultural upsurge was generally observed. According to a contemporary historian, he built as many churches and monasteries as “there are days in a year.”
However, with his death, royal power in Albania was again eliminated and replaced by the power of Persian governors - marzpans. However, minor princes who came from the local branch of the Parthian Arsacid dynasty survived.
King Vachagan III the Pious
The fight between Christianity and paganism
However, it should definitely be noted that Christianization in Albania was not successful everywhere. Christianity in Albania all the time during the early medieval period waged a struggle, on the one hand, with Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism and, on the other hand, with the local beliefs of the lower social classes.
King Vachagan III subjected sorcerers, sorcerers and priests to severe punishments. “He (Vachagan) commanded the fortified region of Artsakh, which was part of his domain, to refuse and renounce various forms of sacrificial service of veneration of unclean idols.”
By order of King Vachagan III, some of the sorcerers, sorcerers and priests "... were strangled, some were driven away, and others were enslaved."
Church teaching, forcibly implanted among the peasant masses by the ruling elite, did not stop at any means to crush the beliefs of the common people.
M. Kalankatuatsi speaks in sufficient detail about the fight against paganism in Albania, about the severe persecution of the “non-worshipers” and “finger-cutters” sects.
In Albania there were sects of two types: the demon-worshippers and the finger-cutters.
In addition, there was a cult sect - the killing of loved ones (old people). Finger cutters were widespread in Albania, the Albanian kings knew about them: “For a long time, since (Vache) learned about their (finger cutters) immorality, other kings were unable to catch them or remained indifferent.
Sasanian warriors
The hated and evil Persian marzbans often captured them (the finger cutters), but they released them for a bribe."
The Albanian king Vachagan III fought against the sects of death-cutters and non-worshippers. M. Kalankatuatsi writes about this: “King Vachagan III began to search for, pursue and find out the evil sect of finger-cutters, for they (sorcerers, fortune-tellers and priests) had sects of murder.”
M. Kalankatuatsi reports that the Albanian king Vachagan managed to destroy the sects of perstorians and non-worshippers and “he destroyed many other false teachings in Albania.”
Vachagan’s harshness in destroying pagan sects was due to the fact that the followers of these sects made human sacrifices to demons: “[Then] he undertook to find, expose and investigate the affairs of the evil sect of finger-cutters and poisoners, for these were sects that destroy people...
The king grabbed them and, [subjecting] them to terrible torture, exterminated them in his country. He also eradicated other harmful superstitions and robbers from Aluanka, just as a caring and hardworking farmer does.”
Christian basilica of the 5th-6th century in the village of Qom, Kakh region, Azerbaijan
King Vachagan paid great attention to the education and upbringing of children. For this purpose, they opened schools in various regions of the country. The king himself loved to visit the children studying there and ask about what they had been taught:
“Vachagan ordered to collect the children of sorcerers, sorcerers, priests, ring-cutters, poisoners and send them to schools, teach them the divine faith and Christian life, in order to confirm them in the confession of the Trinity, to guide their paternal unbelieving family along the path of worship of God.
He gathered many youths in his own village of Rostak, allocated them food and appointed teachers over them, ordering them to be trained and made experts in Christian order.
And every time the king came to his village to perform a service in memory of the saints, he went to the school, gathered around him the children of sorcerers and priests, and they surrounded him in a large crowd, some with books, some with pnakites in their hands. Then the king ordered them to read loudly in chorus, and he himself listened and, rejoicing, was prouder of them than the man who had found a huge treasure.”
Chotari Church of St. Elisha in the village of Nij, Azerbaijan
Languages of Caucasian Albania
From the time of the penetration of Christianity into Albania until the beginning of the 5th century, the liturgical languages of the Albanian Church were Syriac and Greek. As for the Albanian letter, in Russian historiography the Armenian scientist Mesrop Mashtots is traditionally considered its creator, along with the Armenian and Georgian letters.
But modern scientific data allow us to conclude that with the help of Mashtots, Albanian writing was only reformed.
Thus, numerous studies and finds have proven that the Albanians had their own writing even before the adoption of Christianity.
Mashtots’ biographer, the Armenian writer of the 5th century Koryun, reports that Mesrop Mashtots, having come “to the country of the Albanians, renewed their alphabet, contributed to the revival of scientific knowledge and, leaving them with mentors, returned to Armenia.”
Of particular interest is the organization in the same period by the Albanian king Asvagen of the education of Albanian children. By his order, many talented children from various regions of the country were sent to study in schools with food and a certain scholarship assigned to them.
It was during the reign of Aswagen in Albania that the most important biblical texts began to be translated from Syriac and Greek into Albanian: the Books of the Prophets, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Gospel.
The language of the new writing was one of the 26 tribal languages of the country, belonging to a large nationality, understandable to the royal court and the majority of the flock.
However, throughout history, a single consolidated Albanian nation has not emerged. The Albanians, who inhabited various regions of their country, were first subjected to Iranianization by the Persians, then adopted Islam from the Arabs, and at the same time were Armenianized and Turkified, becoming part of the Armenian people and the Caucasian part of the Turkic tribes
Already in the 9-10 centuries AD, the concepts of “Albania” or “Albanian” were rather historical. Exactly what factors led to Albania’s failure to withstand history as a single state will be explored in subsequent articles.
List of used literature:
1. Strabo. Geography: in 17 books. (translation by G.A. Stratanovsky). L., M., 1964. book XI, chapter 4, 7
2. Alexy Nikonorov. History of Christianity in Caucasian Albania. Dissertation for the degree of candidate of theology. Scientific supervisor: Professor B.A. Nelyubov. Sergiev Posad, Trinity Lavra of Sergius, 2004. Main part, Chapter 4. The original religion of the Albanians before the adoption of Christianity
3. See: Manandyan Y.A. The problem of the social system of pre-Arshakid Armenia. Historical notes, No. 15. Yerevan, 1945. P.7
4. Moses Kagankatvatsi. History of agwan. St. Petersburg, 1861. book I, chapter 16-17
5. See Vaidov R.M. Archaeological work of Mingachevir in 1950. KSIIMK, issue XVI. M., 1952. P.91-100; Aslanov G.M. Mingachevir burial with a skeleton shackled. Report of the Academy of Sciences of the Az.SSR, 1953, vol.IX, pp.245-249
6. See Trever K.V. Essays on the history and culture of Caucasian Albania. M., L., 1959. P.151
7. Yampolsky Z.I. Ancient Albania in the III-I centuries. BC Baku, 1962. P.195 ff.
8. Dimitry Rostovsky. Lives of the Saints. Moscow, 2007 (Reprint 1906). Chapter: The Life and Sufferings of the Holy Apostle Bartholomew
9. Apostle Bartholomew // http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1280.htm
10. The story of one holiday // http://baku.eparhia.ru/leaflet/calendar/apostle_varfolomei_24june/
11. Alexy Nikonorov. History of Christianity in Caucasian Albania. Dissertation for the degree of candidate of theology. Scientific supervisor: Professor B.A. Nelyubov. Sergiev Posad, Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 2004. Chapter: Apostolic period. Sermon by Ap. Bartholomew
12. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluanq. (translation by Smbatyan Sh.V.) Yerevan, 1984, Book I, ch. VI and VII
13. See Ibragimov G. Christianity among the Tsakhurs. Alpha and Omega. No. 1(19). M., 1999. P.174
14. Kirakos Gandzaketsi. History of Armenia. Per. L. A. Khanlaryan. M., 1976. P.132-133
15. Moses Kagankatvatsi. History of agwan. St. Petersburg, 1861. book I, chapter 6
16. History of the ancient world. The Rise of Ancient Societies / Edited by I. M. Dyakonova, V. D. Neronova, I. S. Sventsitskaya. - third. - Moscow: Main editorial office oriental literature, 1989. - pp. 397-398
17. Alexy Nikonorov. History of Christianity in Caucasian Albania. Dissertation for the degree of candidate of theology. Scientific supervisor: Professor B.A. Nelyubov. Sergiev Posad, Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 2004. Chapter: Acceptance of Christianity. Tsar Urnair and Equal-to-the-Apostles Gregory the Illuminator
18. Gadlo A.V. Ethnic history North Caucasus IV-X centuries. - And: Pubmix.com - page 103
19. Trever K.V. Essays on the history and culture of Caucasian Albania in the 4th century. BC e.-VII century n. e. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1959. - 389 p.
20. Ter-Sarkisyants. History and culture of the Armenian people from ancient times to the beginning of the 19th century. - 2nd edition. - pp. 157-159.
21. Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts and Eurasian Contexts. Vol. 113. Peeters Publishers, 2003. ISBN 9789042913189. P. 208
22. Mamedov T.M. Caucasian Albania. Baku, 1993. Chapter five. Religion IV-VII centuries. P.70
23. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluanq. (translation by Smbatyan Sh.V.) Yerevan, 1984. book I, ch. 17; 341, p. 47
24. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluanq. (translation by Smbatyan Sh.V.) Yerevan, 1984. book I, ch. 18; 451, p. 294; 341, p. 48
25. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the country Aluanq. (translation by Smbatyan Sh.V.) Yerevan, 1984. book I, ch. 18
26. Alexy Nikonorov. History of Christianity in Caucasian Albania. Dissertation for the degree of candidate of theology. Scientific supervisor: Professor B.A. Nelyubov. Sergiev Posad, Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 2004. Chapter: Tsar Esvagen and Mesrob Mashtots
27. Ibragimov G.Kh. Rutul language. M., 1978. p.189-190
28. Koryun. Biography of Mesrop. Collection des historiens anciens et modernes de l`Armenie par V.Langlois, t.II, Paris, 1869. p. 10
29. Koryun. Life of Mashtots. Yerevan, 1981. p.212
30. George A. Bournoutian. A Brief History of the Aghuank` Region. - Mazda Publishers, 2009. - P. 28. - xi + 138 p. (Armenian Studies Series #15); Shnirelman V.A. Memory Wars: Myths, Identity and Politics in Transcaucasia / Reviewer: L.B. Alaev. - M.: Akademkniga, 2003. - P. 197
Ruslan Kurbanov, senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences
) to a fortress called Khnarakert and ... this country, due to the meekness of Sisak’s disposition, was called Alvank, since his own name was Alu.” The same explanation is repeated by the Armenian historian of the 7th century. Movses Kagankatvatsi; he also cites the name of this representative from the Sisakan clan - Aran, “who inherited the fields and mountains of Alvank”
Further, K. Trever identifies two more versions. The first, the Azerbaijani historian A.K. Bakikhanov, who at the beginning of the 19th century made an interesting assumption that the ethnic term “Albanians” contained the concept of “white” (from the Latin “albi”) in the sense of “free”. At the same time, A. Bakikhanov referred to Constantine Porphyrogenitus (10th century), who used the term “white Serbs”, speaking of “free, unconquered”. The second is the assumption of the Russian orientalist and Caucasus specialist N. Ya. Marr that the word “Albania,” like the name “Dagestan,” means “country of mountains.” The author points out that “taking into account that Balkan Albania, like Scotland, is a mountainous country, this explanation by N. Y. Marr seems quite convincing.”
A.P. Novoseltsev, V.T. Pashuto and L.V. Cherepnin consider the possible origin of this name from the Iranian Alans. Guram Gumba also adhered to the version about the Iranian origin of the toponym, who connects its formation with the Iranian-speaking Sirak tribes.
Ethnic map of the Caucasus in the V-IV centuries BC. e. The map was compiled on the basis of evidence from ancient authors and archaeological assumptions. Unpainted areas are explained by insufficient knowledge of these areas
The population of Caucasian Albania - Albanians (not related to the Balkan Albanians and representatives of the Kazakh Albanian clan) - was originally a union of 26 tribes that spoke various languages of the Lezgin branch of the Nakh-Dagestan family. These included Albanians, Gargars (Rutuls), Uti (Udins), Gels, Chilbis, Legs (Lezgins), Silvas, Lpins. Numerous tribes of the Albanian tribal union inhabited the territories between Iberia and the Caspian Sea, from the Caucasus Range to the Kura River, although the territory of Albanian-speaking tribes extended further south, to the Araks. Albanian-speaking tribes - Gargars, Gels, Legs, Chilbis, Silvas, Lpins, Tsods - inhabited the foothills of the Greater Caucasus and the south of modern Dagestan.
When ancient geographers and historians talk about the population of Albania, they primarily talk about Albanians. According to experts, initially only one of the 26 tribes, living on the left bank of the Kura, was called Albanians. It was this tribe that initiated the unification of the tribes into a union, and the name “Albanians” began to spread to other tribes. According to Strabo, the Albanian tribe lived between Iberia and the Caspian Sea, Pliny the Elder localizes them from the Caucasus ridge ( montibus Caucasis) to the Kura River ( ad Cyrum amnem), and Dio Cassius reports verbatim that the Albanians live “above the Kura River” (ancient Greek. Ἀλβανῶν τῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Κύρνου οἰκούντων ). According to K.V. Trever, the indigenous territory of the Albanians, the largest in number in the union of Albanian tribes, was the middle and lower reaches of the Kura, mainly the left bank. V.F. Minorsky, one of the greatest specialists in the history of Transcaucasia, localizes the Albanians on the open plain. According to V.V. Bartold, Albanians lived on the Caspian plains. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Albanians lived in the mountain plains of the Greater Caucasus and in the country to the north bordering Sarmatia, that is, in the territory of modern Dagestan. Ancient authors, when describing Albanians, noted their tall stature, blond hair and gray eyes. This is exactly how the most ancient type of the indigenous Caucasian population appears to anthropologists - the Caucasian, which is currently widely represented in the mountainous regions of Dagestan, Georgia and partly Azerbaijan. Somewhat later, another ancient anthropological type penetrates into the Eastern Caucasus (also quite widely represented here), namely, the Caspian, significantly different from the Caucasian.
The Utii lived on the Caspian coast and in the province of Utik. Among all the tribes, the most significant (large) were the Gargars, as many researchers point out. As Trever writes, the Gargars were the most cultural and leading Albanian tribe. The ancient Greek geographer Strabo wrote in detail about the Gargars and Amazons. According to Trever K.V., perhaps the “Amazons” mentioned by ancient authors is a distorted ethnic term “alazons”, the inhabitants of the area along the river. Alazani, in whom the remnants of matriarchy could persist somewhat longer than among other Caucasian peoples. The term can mean “nomads” (from the verb “to wander,” “to wander,” “to wander”), that is, nomadic tribes, perhaps from the Gargars. Researchers claim that the Albanian alphabet was created on the basis of the Gargar language.
It is said that on the tops of the mountains adjacent to Bab-ul-Abwab there live more than seventy different tribes, and each tribe has a special language, so that they do not understand each otherThroughout history, a single consolidated Albanian nation has never emerged. Already in the 9th-10th centuries, the concepts of “Albania” or “Albanian” were rather historical.
A significant part of the Albanian multilingual population on the right bank of the Kura River adopted Christianity, switched to the Armenian language in the early Middle Ages, mixed with the Armenians and was Armenianized. The Armenian influence in these areas was especially strong due to their rather long stay as part of Greater Armenia. The process of Armenianization began in ancient times, back in the era of the political hegemony of Greater Armenia, but was especially active in the 7th-9th centuries. K.V. Trever notes that in the 7th-10th centuries “Artsakh and most of Utik were already Armenianized”. A.P. Novoseltsev notes that at the time of the 7th century, even before the subordination of the Church of Albania to the Armenian Church, part of the population of Caucasian Albania was already Armenianized, and this process intensified in subsequent centuries. This is confirmed by numerous historical sources. For example, in 700 the presence of the Artsakh dialect of the Armenian language was reported. Since then, Armenian culture has also been developing here. Sources also record the Albanian language in the flat part of Utica in the Barda district in the 10th century, but then mentions of it disappear.
The ethnically diverse population of the left bank of Albania at this time increasingly switched to the Persian language. This mainly applies to the cities of Arran and Shirvan, while the rural population mainly retained for a long time their old languages, related to modern Dagestan, primarily the languages of the Lezgin group. The Albanians, who inhabited the eastern lowland lands, were first Iranianized by Persia, then converted to Islam from the Arabs, after which they were Turkified, entering the Caucasian part of the Azerbaijani ethnic group. In the XII-XV centuries, the foothills of Arran were intensively populated by Turkic nomads, and gradually the ancient name Arran was replaced by Karabakh (Turkic-Iranian “Black Garden”). At the same time, the mountainous regions of Karabakh strenuously resisted Turkization and became a refuge for the Christian population, which by that time had been Armenianized.
Since the early medieval era, the cartvelization of areas lying in the Albanian-Georgian border zone also took place. Thus, the Western Albanian tribes were Georgianized and formed the basis of the population of the historical province of Hereti. The southern Caspian regions, in particular the Caspian, were inhabited by various Iranian-speaking tribes, the descendants of which are part of the modern Talysh.
According to the editor-in-chief of the Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires, American historian James S. Olson, the Albanian state ceased to exist in the 9th century. The author states that some historians consider the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh to be the successor of Caucasian Albania, however, recognizing such statements as insignificant, James Olson still notes that the Caucasian Albanians participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijanis, Georgians of Kakheti and some Dagestan peoples: Laks, Lezgins and Tsakhurs . Another American historian R. Heusen notes that the Albanian state ceased to exist by the 10th century; the exact time of the disappearance of the Albanian ethnic group is unknown, but it “may have existed longer.”
The most ancient region of Caucasian Albania was the northern part of the Kura valley south of the confluence of the Alazani into it. In the 1st millennium BC. e. early urban communities began to form here, including the ancient capital of Albania, Kabalak.
The population of the country was multi-ethnic; it was based on peoples who spoke Nakh-Dagestan languages.
At the end of the 2nd or middle of the 1st century. BC e. - from the beginning of the emergence of the centralized Albanian kingdom, it occupied the left bank of the Kura, starting from the middle reaches of the Iori and Alazani rivers, to Akhsu, from the Greater Caucasus to the Caspian Sea. Its areas are listed in the 7th century "Ashkharatsuyts". Thus, Anania Shirakatsi reports that the indigenous territory of Caucasian Albania proper consisted of 6 provinces: “Albania, that is, Aguank, east of Iveria, is adjacent to Sarmatia in the Caucasus and extends to the Caspian Sea and to the Armenian borders on the Kura. ... Albania contains the following provinces":
Shirakatsi, like all ancient Greco-Roman authors, places the territory of Albania between the Kura River and the Greater Caucasus Range, noting that:.
“...we are talking about the country of Albania itself, which is located between the large Kura River and the Caucasus Mountains”According to most authors, the eastern border of Greater Armenia with Caucasian Albania was established along the Kura at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. e., when the founder of this state, Artashes I, presumably conquered the Kura-Araks interfluve from Media Atropatena (or conquered the Albanian tribes living there), and remained throughout almost the entire period of the existence of Greater Armenia from the 2nd century BC. e. before 387 AD e. . According to other data, even earlier, in the 4th-3rd centuries BC. e., the eastern borders of Ervandid Armenia reached the Kura.
Probably already from 299 Albania was a vassal of Persia. In 387, after the division of Greater Armenia between Rome and Persia, with the tacit consent of the latter, the eastern lands of Armenia (Artsakh and Utik) were transferred to Albania (from 462 - marzpanism). Thus, unable to suppress Christianity in Armenia, Persia decided to dismember the Armenian kingdom. As a result of this division, slightly more than half of the former territory remained with Armenia
Caucasian Albania in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. e., map from The Cambridge History of the Ancient World, vol. 14, ed. 1970-2001 The lilac line (along the Kura River) shows the Armenian-Albanian border by the end of the 4th century AD. e., red line - the borders of Albania after 387
Albania of that era was a multi-ethnic country, Armenians lived in Artsakh (according to some authors, Albanians), the bulk of the population of Utik was Armenian..
According to Husen, the peoples who inhabited Artsakh and Utik and were conquered by the Armenians in the 2nd century BC underwent Armenianization over the next few centuries, but some of them were still mentioned as independent ethnic groups when these regions were ceded to Albania in 387 AD era R. Heusen also notes that "" .
the population of the south-eastern Caucasus, whether under Armenian or Albanian rule, was very mixed, so classifying it as one or the other, or even simply dividing it into two groups, does not seem possible at the moment due to lack of evidenceABOUT ancient history Caucasian Albania is evidenced by artifacts from archaeological cultures such as Yaloilutepa.
Yaloilutepa culture dates back to the 3rd-1st centuries BC. e. and named after monuments in the area of Yaloylutepe (Gabala region of Azerbaijan). Among the finds, burial grounds are known - ground and mounds, burials in jars and adobe tombs, burials - crouched on the side, with tools (iron knives, sickles, stone grain grinders, pestles and millstones), weapons (iron daggers, arrowheads and spears, etc. ), jewelry (gold earrings, bronze pendants, brooches, numerous beads) and mainly with ceramics (bowls, jugs, vessels with legs, “teapots”, etc.). The population was engaged in agriculture and winemaking.
The Albanians are first mentioned in the time of Alexander the Great by Arrian: they fought against the Macedonians on the side of the Persians in 331 BC. e. at Gaugamela in the army of Atropates, the Persian satrap of Media. At the same time, it is unknown in what dependence they were on Atropat or King Darius III, whether this dependence existed at all or whether they acted as mercenaries - like, for example, Greek hoplites.
The truly ancient world became acquainted with the Albanians during the campaigns of Pompey, in 66 BC. e. . Pursuing Mithridates Eupator, Pompey moved through Armenia towards the Caucasus and at the end of the year placed the army in winter quarters in three camps on Kura, on the border of Armenia and Albania. Apparently, initially the invasion of Albania was not part of his plans; but in mid-December the Albanian king Oroz crossed the Kura and unexpectedly attacked all three camps, but was repulsed. The next summer, Pompey, for his part, made a surprise attack on Albania as retaliation and completely defeated the Albanian army in battle, partly encircling and destroying it, partly driving it into a neighboring forest and burning it there; After this, he granted peace to the Albanians and took hostages from them, whom he led in his triumph. During these events, the first detailed descriptions of this country were compiled (especially by Pompey’s historiographer Theophanes of Mytilene), which have come down to us in the account of Strabo (Geography, 11.4):
Transcaucasia in the I-IV centuries. n. e. By " World History» (inset) The lands of Greater Armenia, which were transferred from it to neighboring states after the partition in 387, are shaded
“[that is, in the plate armor covering the riders and horses].
Albanians are more committed to pastoralism and are closer to the nomads; however, they are not wild and therefore not very warlike. (...) The people there are distinguished by their beauty and tall stature, but at the same time they are simple-minded and not petty. They usually do not have minted coins in use, and, not knowing numbers greater than 100, they engage only in barter trade. And regarding other life issues they express indifference. They treat issues of war, government and agriculture carefree. However, they fight both on foot and on horseback in full and heavy armor, like the ArmeniansThey field a larger army than the Iberians. It was they who armed 60 thousand infantry and 22 thousand horsemen, with such a large army they opposed Pompey. The Albanians are armed with javelins and bows; they wear armor and large oblong shields, as well as helmets made of animal skins, like the Iberians. Albanians are extremely prone to hunting, but not so much because of their skill as because of their passion for this activity.Their kings are also wonderful. Now, however, they have one king who rules all the tribes, whereas before every tribe of different languages was ruled by its own king. They have 26 languages, so they do not easily communicate with each other. (...) They worship Helios, Zeus and Selene, especially Selene, whose sanctuary is located near Iberia. The duty of a priest among them is performed by the most respected person after the king: he stands at the head of a large and densely populated sacred area, and also controls the slaves of the temple, many of whom, possessed by God, utter prophecies. The priest orders that one of them, having become possessed by a god, wanders through the forests in solitude, to be seized and, tied with a sacred chain, to be luxuriously maintained all year round; then he, along with other sacrifices to the goddess, is slaughtered. The sacrifice is made as follows. Someone from the crowd, well acquainted with this matter, comes forward with a sacred spear in his hand, with which, according to custom, human sacrifices can be performed, and plunges it through the side into the heart of the victim. When the victim falls to the ground, they receive certain omens according to the manner of the fall and announce it to everyone. Then they bring the body to a certain place and everyone tramples it with their feet, performing a cleansing ritual.Albanians hold old age in extreme esteem, not only among parents, but also among other people. Caring for the dead or even remembering them is considered impiety. All their property is buried along with the dead, and therefore they live in poverty, deprived of their father’s property.Ruins of the fortress walls of ancient Kabala (the white limestone foundation was made in the 20th century to avoid the collapse of the remains of the towers)
One way or another, at the end of the 2nd century. - mid-1st century BC e. Albania transformed from a union of tribes into an early class state with its own king. The main city of Albania until the 6th century was Cabal(Kabalaka; Kabalak). This city existed until the 16th century, when it was destroyed by Safavid troops. Its ruins remain in the modern Kabala (until 1991 - Kutkashen) region of Azerbaijan.
The genealogical legend about the origin of the first royal dynasty of Albania - the Arranshahs (as the Albanian kings called themselves, from the Persian Arran - Albania and shah - king, that is, king of Albania) - is reported by Movses Kalankatuatsi, while retelling it by Movses Khorenatsi. The legend is obviously late and has book Armenian origin; but the work of Kalankatuatsi shows that it was also widespread in Albania. However, it had nothing to do with reality, since Hayk, Sisak and Aran were not real persons.
The first royal dynasty known to historiography, bearing the title Arranshahi (Aranshahiki, Yeranshahiki), was of local origin. The name Aranshahik could come from both the eponym Aran and the ethnicon Aran. According to K.V. Trever, “the first kings of Albania were undoubtedly representatives of the local Albanian nobility from among the most prominent tribal leaders. This is evidenced by their non-Armenian and non-Iranian names (Orois, Kosis, Zober in the Greek translation; we don’t yet know what they sounded like in Albanian).”
In the 7th-8th centuries, Khazars and Arabs passed through the territory of Albania, replacing each other, fighting for control of the region.
In 654, the troops of the Caliphate, having passed through Albania, went beyond Derbent and attacked the Khazar possession of Belenjer, but the battle ended with the defeat of the Arab army, and the Khazars exacted tribute from Albania and carried out several raids.
Javanshir tried for several decades to resist the conquerors, entered into alliances with the Khazars and Byzantium, but in 667, in the face of a double threat from the Arabs in the south and the Khazars in the north, it recognized itself as a vassal of the Caliphate, which became a turning point in the history of the country and contributed to its Islamization. In the 8th century, most of the population of Caucasian Albania was Muslimized by the Caliphate.
While in canonical unity with the Armenian Church, the Albanian Church opposed the Council of Chalcedon. At the Vagharshapat (491) and Dvin (527) councils of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which simultaneously condemned the Council of Chalcedon, Nestorius and Eutyches and approved the Armenian confession, agvans were also present. The Chalcedonites declared the Armenians and their allies, including the Agvans, to be Monophysites; they also regarded the Council of Chalcedon as a return to Nestorianism.
During the period of Arab rule, the Albanian Catholicos Nerses I Bakur (688-704) tried to convert to Chalcedonism, thus recognizing the spiritual leadership of Constantinople, but was deposed by the Grand Duke of Albania Shero and other feudal lords who remained loyal to the Albanian Church, and was cursed locally -church cathedral of 705.
And when these trials befell us, God sent us his help through you, the successor of Saint Gregory, the Armenian Catholicos. We have been and will be students of your Orthodoxy - the ruler who managed to take revenge on the enemy of justice.
The Armenian Church, which gained the support of the Arab administration, which feared the strengthening of Byzantine influence in the region, actively contributed to the preservation of the unity of the Albanian Church. The council announced the restoration of canonical unity between the two churches, and the Albanian Catholicosate again became an autonomous throne recognizing the primacy of the Armenian Catholicos:
Regarding the ordination of the Catholicoses of Aluanca, we also adopted the following canon: since recently our Catholicoses have been elevated [ordained] by our bishops, and since they have now shown inexperience and imprudence, as a result of which our country has fallen into heresy, then for this reason we [ now] we pledge before God and before you, Hayrapet, that the ordination of Catholicos of Aluanka should be carried out through the throne of St. Gregory, with our consent, as it has been since the time of St. Gregory, for from there we received our enlightenment. And we know for sure that the one you choose will be pleasing to both God and us. And no one will dare to violate this condition and do anything else. But if, nevertheless, [someone does otherwise], it will be invalid and futile, and the ordination will be unacceptable. So, all who, out of fear of God, will adhere to these canons, may they be blessed by the Holy Trinity and all the Orthodox servants of God. And if anyone resists and deviates from this truth, then let him answer to God himself, no matter who he is.
Despite the almost complete assimilation of Christian Albanians among the Armenians, the Autonomous Albanian (Agvan) Catholicosate within the AAC (residence in Gandzasar, historically Armenian-populated Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)) existed until 1836, then it was transformed into a metropolitanate, directly subordinate to the Catholicos of the AAC. The Armenian language remained the liturgical language for the Udins (descendants of the Albanians) until the end of the 20th century.
The history of the Albanian legal system can be traced through early medieval written sources. During the period IV-VIII centuries. The main sources of law were the normative documents of the Sasanian and Albanian rulers, customary and church law, as well as norms adopted from the legal systems of other states. The norms of Albanian law can be reconstructed based on materials from both church and state law, as well as some indirect information from chronicles and geographical materials.
The scope of application of customary law extended to civil and criminal matters. Some of its norms were reflected in the decrees of the church-secular councils of this state.
This right established intraclan rights and privileges, the procedure for inheritance and disposal of family property. Thus, in the Aguen Canons of 488, legislators paid much attention to family and marriage relations. The canons were intended to resolve disagreements between representatives of the clergy and the laity. They enshrined, for example, the distribution of tithes, which were levied in favor of the church, the entrustment of legal proceedings in civil and criminal cases to the bishop, etc. The institution of vassalage and localism rested on this right. Other sources for the development of customary law in Albania, in addition to the decisions of courts and assemblies, could be the orders and decrees of the Sasanian rulers and Albanian kings.
In Albania, an extensive judicial system was created to resolve disputes and disagreements. Based on available written sources, primarily the Aguen canons of King Vachagan III of Albania, the existence of three hierarchical judicial authorities in Albania is established - the supreme royal, episcopal and priestly (communal) court. The competence of these authorities included the consideration of both religious and civil cases, which were regulated on the basis of both church law and state legislation.
The All-Albanian court, headed by the king, with the participation of the ecclesiastical and secular nobility, was the highest legislative and arbitration body. The decision on the death penalty belonged to the king, as the supreme judge. Locally, the sentences were carried out by village elders and parishioners. During the periods of interregnum, the highest legislative and judicial power passed to the Persian marzbans and Albanian Catholicoses. During this period, there was no complete separation of the functions of secular and spiritual power in the country, which was characteristic of all ancient societies.
For representatives of the spiritual hierarchy who committed misconduct, punishment was determined in accordance with the canons. Punishment could be deprivation of dignity or property, as well as exile. However, one of the canons provided for the possibility of appealing the decision of a lower authority (priest, deacon) to a bishop.
The restoration of the picture of the development of art in Caucasian Albania is facilitated by the study of archaeological material. The heyday of Albanian culture is considered to be from the 2nd to 1st centuries. BC e. and until the 3rd century. n. e, the period of formation of the Albanian state. If the artistic essence and character of the art of Caucasian Albania of an earlier period (IV century BC - 1st century AD) were determined by ancient religious views, then starting from the first centuries of the new era, they, gradually weakening, gave way to progressive ideas related to the origin and development of feudalism. The economic development and geographical position of Albania determined the specific nature of the development of its culture.
The first period is characterized by the production of such types of jewelry as pendants, plaques, buttons, earrings, tiaras, necklaces, bracelets, etc. The second period is more developed both in the richness of artistic and plastic forms and in the use of various technological techniques. For example, on the left bank of the Kura, in Sudagylan (near Mingachevir), in 1949-1950. 22 burials in log houses were discovered. The report also lists jewelry made of gold and silver, gold beads, rings with seal inserts.
An antique silver dish from the 2nd century is considered a unique monument of art. n. e., found at the end of 1893 near the village of Yenikend, Lagich district, Geokchay district, Baku province (in the present century in the Geokchay region), with a relief image of a Nereid floating in the sea on a hippocampus, surrounded by tritons and erotes (Hermitage). The discovery was made by accident while digging in a mountainous area.
The state of archaeological work on the territory of Albania currently does not yet make it possible to talk about architectural monuments of the pre-Christian pagan period of its cultural history. This is explained not only by the insufficiency of the excavation work carried out, but also by the fact that when Christianity was introduced, new temples were usually erected on the foundations of old sanctuaries, therefore, recognizing where the ancient temple ends and where the Christian building begins is sometimes a very complex and difficult task, as for example on the territory of Sudagylan near Mingachevir.
In any case, in the scientific archaeological literature we are currently talking about only three Christian churches of the 6th-7th centuries. on the territory of Albania: about the church in Sudagilan near Mingachevir and about two temples in the Kakh region of western Azerbaijan - about the basilica in the mountain village of Qom and the round temple near the villages. Lakit. After the last two at the end of the 19th century. was mentioned by S.A. Khakhanov), they were again identified for science in 1937-1938. D. M. Sharifov.
Murtazali Hajiyev notes that Albania used the Aramaic script and language until the 5th century, and later the Pahlavi language for administrative and diplomatic documents.
The only known language of Albania is Agvan, otherwise “Ghargarean”, a letter for which, according to Movses Kagankatvatsi, was created. In Armenia they speak Armenian, and in Arran they speak Arran; when they speak Persian, they can be understood, and their Persian language is somewhat reminiscent of Khurasan. Georgia. The decoding of the palimpsest was published in 2009 as a separate book in two volumes, with a historical outline, brief description grammar and vocabulary materials. The final opinion regarding the dating and origin of the text in this edition is more restrained: thus, considering the arguments in favor of one or another dating, the authors claim that both discovered Caucasian-Albanian texts "". As for the source for the translation, the texts show coincidences with both the Armenian and Georgian, as well as the Greek and Syriac versions of the biblical translations.
Apparently, they were written between the end of the 7th century. and X century, with a later dating more likelyLittle is known about the once existing and completely lost literature of Albania. In comparison with Armenia and Georgia, where local original and translated literature of various genres is almost immediately created, this does not happen in Albania. Translations of religious and some other books were made into Albanian, but Albanian literature did not exist for long].
As Redgate suggests, Albania's own literature was probably never created, and Albania was dominated by Armenian language and culture [ ] .
The first and earliest report of the existence of Albanian translated Christian literature is attested to by the Armenian historian Koryun. According to him:
Blessed Bishop Jeremiah immediately set to work translating divine books, with the help of which the (barbarian), idle and wild-minded people of the country of Albania soon recognized the prophets, apostles, inherited the Gospels, and were informed of all divine traditions. According to the German linguist and Caucasus expert Jost Gippert, the existence of a complete translation of the Bible into Albanian has not been proven. According to Murtazali Gadzhiev, a specialist in archeology and culture of Caucasian Albania, according to written sources, religious as well as educational literature was created in the Albanian language and Albanian writing. Further, new written monuments arose in the Albanian language, which were translated into other languages. Thus, several Armenian manuscripts are kept in the Matenadaran entitled “On the history of the holy and divine oil, which was written by the fathers of the East in Albanian writing and translated into Armenian.”
It is reliably known, based on the message of the 8th century Armenian historian Levond, that a translation of the “New Testament” was made into Albanian, but it was lost in the early Middle Ages. Among the languages he listed in which the Gospel exists, Albanian is named the twelfth.
A number of researchers do not rule out that the Canons of Vachagan the Pious, which were later included in the collection of Armenian canons compiled in the 8th century, were originally written in Albanian and are now preserved in Armenian. They are distinguished by their semi-secular character, which is due to their creation not only by the church circles of Albania, but also by the Albanian royal power. Albanian canons, these and later ones, of the Partava Council, were introduced in “Kanonagirk hayots”.
After the Church of Caucasian Albania lost its independence at the beginning of the 8th century, worship switched to Armenian, and the use of religious books in a different language began to be suppressed. The rewriting of books in Albanian ceased, and the written language ceased to be used. Manuscripts of the 5th-7th centuries were embroidered or destroyed, the text from their pages was washed away for reuse in other languages.
Based on the ancient Greek text of the astronomer of the Alexandrian school Andreas of Byzantium, Ashot Abrahamyan notes that since 352 the Caucasian Albanians used the fixed calendar of the Alexandrian school. Judging by the information from the surviving calendar works of the Armenian authors Anania Shirakatsi (VII century), Hovhannes Imastaser (XII century) and others, the Albanian calendar was a calendar of the Egyptian system.
The names of the twelve Albanian months were first published in 1832 by academician Mari Brosse based on an Armenian manuscript discovered in the archives of the Royal Library in Paris. This text was published in 1859 by the French scientist Edouard Dulurier, and subsequently republished in 1871 by Professor Kerope Patkanov, who corrected some errors of previous authors.
In 1946, Eduard Aghayan, having analyzed the peculiar names in two manuscripts of Anania Shirakatsi, tried to find out the names of the Albanian months. Comparing them with the vocabulary of the Udi language, Aghayan considered six of them Albanian. And although in the book “Deciphering the Inscriptions of the Caucasian Agvans” by Ashot Abrahamyan, published in 1964, the issue of the Albanian calendar was raised and it was noted that information about it was preserved in some Matenadaran manuscripts. Abrahamyan stated in 1967 that the Albanian calendar had not been subjected to special and serious research before him.
German linguist and Caucasian scholar Jost Gippert compared and analyzed the name of each Albanian month from twelve different manuscripts. According to the researcher, the names can have the following interpretation:
The presence of similarities in all three Caucasian alphabets would suggest that they reflect the same frame of reference, however, there is no evidence that their calendars were synchronous during the period of writing. In particular, there is no evidence that the “dispersed year” used by the Armenians was used by their neighbors. In the 6th-7th centuries, the beginning of the Armenian year moved from mid-July to the first days of June, the Georgian year began in August, for the Albanian year there is no such information in the sources. However, there is a comparative table developed by Hovhannes Imastasera in accordance with the Julian months and containing the dates of the main Christian festivals. From this table it is clear that the Georgian and Albanian calendar year was parallel to the Egyptian one with its first month beginning on 29 August. Certain matches in this table indicate that this information is trustworthy. Thus, the Albanian and Georgian calendars were not synchronous with the Armenian one in the historical period, however, this does not mean that they could not have used a common time measurement system earlier. If we assume that the beginning of the “Great Armenian Era” falls on the year 552, then we get the year 350, when the first “Navasardon” falls on August 29. During this period, Georgians and Albanians changed the "wandering" calendar to the Egyptian one. This treasure also contained three imitations of Seleucid tetradrachms with an attempt to convey a Greek inscription (one depicts Apollo). Having examined the obverse and reverse sides of these coins, S. Dadasheva came to the conclusion that the tetradrachms of Antiochus IV served as a model for them.
The appearance of Parthian coins on the territory of Albania led to the displacement of local imitations by the Parthian drachma. This phenomenon was also due to the fact that Parthian coins, starting from 140 BC. e., contained less and less silver.
According to a number of experts, modern Azerbaijani historiography, fulfilling a direct order of the Azerbaijani government, has been engaged (since approximately the mid-1950s) in falsifying the history of the Albanians, motivated by nationalist considerations. In particular, the history of the Albanian state is unjustifiably ancient, its strength and significance are exaggerated; A number of Armenian writers are unfoundedly declared “Albanians”; All Armenian monuments on the territory of Azerbaijan are attributed to them; Albania, contrary to the clear evidence of historical sources, is “transferred” to Armenian territories between the Kura and Araks, including Nagorno-Karabakh; Albanians are attributed partial, and sometimes even completely, Turkic origin. To substantiate these ideas, direct manipulation and falsification of sources is used.
Attempts at falsification are also being made by Lezgin leaders. Professor of physics and mathematics A. Abdurragimov published two books - “Caucasian Albania - Lezgistan: History and Modernity” and “Lezgins and Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: History, Myths and Stories”, in which the author pursues the idea of a “direct genetic connection” of Lezgins with such ancient peoples such as the Sumerians, Hurrians, Urartians and Albanians. Abdurragimov's works paved the way for the emergence of a fake "Albanian book". Back in the early 1990s. a message appeared about the “discovery” of “a page from an unknown Albanian book,” the decipherment of which was reportedly carried out by chemistry professor Ya. A. Yaraliev. However, it soon became clear that the text was compiled in the modern Lezgin language and historical events were greatly distorted in it. The forgery made it possible for various Lezgin public and political figures to claim that the Lezgins are direct descendants of the Albanians, that “the basis of the Albanian written language and the state language is the Lezgin language,” in which the Albanian language was preserved. It is noted that the “Albanian Book” became a kind of catalyst and basis in the formation of modern Lezgin ethnocentric mythology.
According to V.A. Shnirelman, to justify territorial disputes with Azerbaijan, Armenian scientists created their own myth about Caucasian Albania. A number of Armenian researchers deny the presence of any Albanian groups on the right bank in the early Middle Ages and argued that this territory was part of the Armenian kingdom since the 6th century. BC e. Consequently, Armenians have lived there since ancient times, and the ethnic border that ran along the river. Kure, formed long before the emergence of the Albanian kingdom. Some Armenian historians (in particular Bagrat Ulubabyan) declare the Utians to be Armenians, believing that they were almost originally Armenians. Shnirelman notes that revisionist concepts in Armenia were populist in nature, primarily directed against leading Armenian historians and published in literary and popular science magazines. Works by leading Armenian historians in academic journals regularly criticized revisionist theories
Stretching from the caps of eternal snow and ice of the Main Caucasus Range and descending below the level of the World Ocean, the territory of the North-Eastern Caucasus was a region not only of exceptional diversity of relief, but also of complex ethnopolitical processes that took place here throughout the 1st millennium BC. e. - 1st thousand AD e. If all previous eras of settlement of Dagestan and the level of development of the culture of local tribes were recreated mainly on the basis of archaeological sources, then the complex nature of the ethnopolitical processes that took place here in the 1st millennium BC. e. For the first time it is reflected in written sources. In ancient times, the names of the ancient and largest tribes that inhabited the territory of the North-Eastern Caucasus were first found in Latin and Greek sources. New sources not only supplemented archaeological materials, but also significantly expanded the capabilities of researchers in solving complex issues of the socio-economic development of local peoples. According to Greco-Latin written sources, Primorsky Dagestan was not only the main route of nomads (Scythians, Sarmatians) in their campaigns to the south, to the countries of Transcaucasia and the Near East, but also the territory where political formations of local and nomadic peoples arose and disintegrated. The motley composition of the tribes of the North-Eastern Caucasus in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. was reflected on the map of the Greek historian Herodotus, as well as in the information of other ancient geographers. In particular, Strabo locates here 26 tribes and peoples of different languages, each of which had its own king. Strabo's information testifies not only to the collapse of the ethno-linguistic and cultural unity of local peoples that had developed here back in the Bronze Age, but also to the emergence of new tribal associations on the territory of the Eastern Caucasus, formed along ethnic lines. The ethnic diversity of the new associations is reflected in the names of the local tribes, which then became part of the state entity, under the name Caucasian Albania (Strabo, 1983). Among these tribes, ancient and then medieval sources name the Caspiians, Albapians, Legi, Gellas, Utii, Gargareis, Silvii, Andacians, Didurs, etc. This list includes the names of some of the 26 tribes of the North-Eastern Caucasus in the 1st millennium. BC e., obviously, included the names of the largest tribes, which attracted the attention of ancient historians and geographers.
Researchers are quite unanimous in comparing the listed tribes with the living and disappeared peoples of the North-Eastern Caucasus. The Caspian tribes, according to researchers, inhabited the vast southwestern and western coasts of the Caspian Sea and, judging by ancient sources, headed an alliance of tribes here. The name of the Caspian Sea comes from them. However, after the penetration of nomadic peoples into the Caspian region in the 1st millennium AD. e. The Caspian tribes apparently left the coastal territory, and those who remained mixed with the newcomers and lost their leading role in the region. In Transcaucasian sources, all the peoples of Dagestan are called legi. Along with Legs, the name Lezgi is also found, which is identified with the peoples of the Lezgin group, who still live in the territory of Southern Dagestan and Northern Azerbaijan. The ancient tribes of the Gells are localized by some researchers in the Sulak valley, where their main city was located, called Gelda, comparable to the present village. Gelbach. The remains of the Uti (Udin) tribes are still known in certain regions of Southern Dagestan and Northern Azerbaijan. Most researchers compare the Gargarey tribes with the peoples of the former Checheno-Ingushetia. Some researchers consider the mountainous regions of Dagestan to be the habitat of the Silva tribes. Perhaps they mixed with other local tribes and therefore information about them is found only in early ancient sources. The Andak and Didur tribes are identified with the Andians and Didoi, who lived in the mountainous regions of Dagestan. Finally, the Albanian tribes are of particular interest, their name comes from the Latin albi (“mountains (highlanders)”). Sources also connect the emergence of the Albanians with the Albanians. the most ancient state in the Caucasus called Albania.
One of the first to draw attention to the term Alban (gyalbi) was the scientist N. S. Trubetskoy. He notes that “among the names that neighboring peoples called the Avars, there is a short albi, comparable to the Caucasian Alban of Greek origin.” Researcher I. Bechert shares a similar opinion. Academician N. Ya. Marr directly notes that the main Albanian tribe is the Dagestan people of the Avars. There are no objective objections to such statements in science. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Albanians (highlanders) acted as the leading force in the Eastern Caucasus; they managed not only to unite numerous tribes, but also to create the most ancient political association here. The important role of Albanians in events in the Caucasus and the Near East can be evidenced by the fact that Albanian soldiers participated in one of the largest battles of the 4th century. BC e. between Greece and Persia. We find information about the military activities of the Albanians from the Greek historian Arrian, who reports that in the battle of Alexander the Great with Darius III at Gaugamela, “the Cadusi and the Albanians and the Sakasenas were united with the Medes.” At the same time, he notes that “the Albanians and Sakasenas, these adjoined the middle of the entire phalanx of the troops of Darius III.”
The participation of Albanians (highlanders) in the Greek-Persian wars testifies not only to political experience, but also to the entry of these tribes into the arena of world history. Not only is the fact of the participation of Albanian warriors in one of the largest battles of the 4th century noteworthy. BC e., but also the important role assigned to them by Darius III, who placed them in the middle of the phalanx of the battle formation of troops. The famous researcher K.V. Trever notes in this regard that they, in all likelihood, were better equipped with weapons than others and were perhaps distinguished by high military qualities (Trever K.V., 1959). Of interest is Strabo's information that before the unification of the Albanians into a single state, 26 tribes of different languages lived here, each of which had its own king. All these tribes then united under the rule of the Albanian king, who was also a military leader. IN necessary cases The king’s brother could also lead the troops. In his Geography, Strabo also points out that the Albanians field more troops than the Iberians: they arm sixty thousand infantry and twenty-two thousand horsemen. Regarding the weapons of the Albanians, Strabo writes that they are armed with darts and bows, have armor, large shields and helmets made of animal skin, fight on foot and on horseback, and their weapons are similar to those of the Armenians and Iberians.
If the very fact of the formation of the Albanian state in the Caucasus is beyond doubt, then on the issue of territory and the time of its origin, the judgments of researchers are very contradictory. This is especially true of the issue of the country’s northern border and the possibility of the territory where Dagestanis settled becoming part of Albania. A number of researchers believe that the main region of formation of Caucasian Albania is the territory of Azerbaijan. Based on this assumption, some believe that the northern borders of Albania ran along the river. Samur, others push them back to Derbent and, finally, others - to the river. Sulak (Trever K.V., 1959; Khalilov D.A., 1985). And as a result, Dagestan finds itself completely or partially outside of Caucasian Albania. Not only archaeological, but also written sources testify quite eloquently to the subjectivity of such judgments. In this regard, of interest is Strabo’s already noted information that before the unification of Albania into a single state, 26 tribes and peoples of different languages lived here. Such ethnic diversity, as well as the mention among them of such tribes as Albans, Legs, Gels, Udins, Didurs, Andaks, Gargareis, paints a picture very close to the modern ethnography of Dagestan, where the descendants of these peoples still live. And if the main tribes, which, according to sources, lived within Albania, are the original peoples of Dagestan, then it is, accordingly, not the outskirts, but the cradle of this state. In this regard, the research of S.V. Yushkov, who specifically dealt with the issue of the borders of Ancient Albania, is also noteworthy. Based on written sources that list the internal rivers of Caucasian Albania (Soana, Kae, Albana), he quite convincingly compares them with the main rivers of Dagestan (Terek, Sulak and Samur).
Thus, not only the tribes listed in the sources, but also the rivers of Caucasian Albania are territorially connected with Dagestan (Yushkov S.V., 1937). Such conclusions are consistent with the data of ancient authors, who note that Albania occupied a significant territory between the Caspian Sea, Alazan and Kura. Ancient geographers call the Sarmatians, who inhabited the North Caucasian plains, the northern neighbors of the Albanians (Pliny, 1949).
Ancient authors divide the Albanians into inhabitants of the mountains and plains. The entire territory of Shirvan up to the Alazan River was also an integral part of Caucasian Albania, which is confirmed not only in archaeological, but also in toponymic materials. Descendants of the Albanians are also the Avars, who now live in the territory of Dzharo-Belokan and Kvarelia (in the Avar language “narrow gorge”).
Strabo also draws the border between the Albanians and Sarmatians through the Keravi Mountains (northeastern spurs of the Caucasus). This conclusion is not contradicted by other evidence from Greek historians (Plutarch, Pliny, Tacitus), indicating that some Albanians inhabited river valleys, while others lived in the mountains. Referring to the mountainous part of Albania, Strabo notes that the mountainous part is occupied by the warlike majority of the mountaineers, who, in the event of any alarm, recruit many tens of thousands of warriors (Strabo, 1947). If we take into account that Strabo used information from the companions of Lucullus and Pompey during their campaigns in Albania (66-65 BC), then the mountainous part that neighbors the Sarmatians could be mainly the territory of Dagestan and Checheno-Ingushetia. And the warlike majority of the highlanders probably formed the basis of the Albanian army, which, perhaps, forced Pompey to abandon his advance into the depths of the Caucasus. The Albanian state was able to organize resistance to the selected legions under the command of Gnaeus Pompey and oppose the regular troops of Rome, which was only possible if there was a strong centralized power in place. It is no coincidence that Strabo notes: “Their kings are also wonderful. Now they have one king ruling over the tribes, whereas previously each multilingual tribe was ruled by its own king.”
It is also noteworthy that ancient authors, when describing Albanians, noted their high stature, blond hair and gray eyes (the Caucasian type, widely represented in the mountainous regions of Dagestan, Georgia and Azerbaijan). Later, another type penetrated into the Eastern Caucasus - the Caspian, which was significantly different from the Caucasian. Interesting data about the Albanian language is reported by Moses Khorensky, who notes that the language of one of the significant Albanian tribes - the Gargareans - is “rich in guttural sounds.” It has already been noted that the Gargareans are usually classified as a group of related tribes of the Vainakh-Dagestan circle. Based on the language of one of the descendants of the Albanian tribes - the modern Udis - it became possible to read Albanian inscriptions on clay tablets found during excavations in the Mingachevir region. Remains of Albanian writing on stone slabs were also discovered in Levashinsky, Botlikhsky and other regions of Dagestan, which were the original territory of the former Caucasian Albania.
Data from the Dagestan languages also etymologize the names of the Albanian kings attested in ancient sources (Vachagan, Vache). The name of the Albanian king Oroiz is found in the ancient Avar legend about Iraz Khan. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Academician N. Ya. Marr has repeatedly emphasized that the main Albanian tribe is the Dagestan Avars. Thus, the data from written sources, which are confirmed by extensive archaeological materials, leave no doubt that Dagestan was not only part of Caucasian Albania, but was also its cradle. Albanians (highlanders) lived not only in the foothills and mountainous regions of Dagestan, but also occupied vast expanses of Transcaucasia from ancient times. Not only ancient sources, but also a number of researchers (D. Bakradze, I.P. Petrushevsky, etc.) speak about the entry of the Zagatala district into Caucasian Albania from ancient times. In general, formed in the vastness of the Eastern Caucasus and Transcaucasia and stretching from Araks in the south to the Terek, and according to some sources, to Daryal in the north, Caucasian Albania was a vast and highly developed state formation for its time.
Against this background, the recent monograph by G. Abduragimov entitled “Caucasian Albania - Lezgistan”, in which the author made clumsy attempts to connect the emergence of the Albanian state with the Lezgin tribes of Southern Dagestan, is puzzling. Such statements, devoid of evidence, by an author who has nothing to do with history and is obsessed with nationalism, do not withstand elementary criticism and have received a worthy rebuke from experts.
The question of the time of the emergence of the Albanian state remains difficult, on which there are also very different opinions. Most researchers consider the end of the 1st millennium BC to be the time of the formation of Albania. e. - first centuries and. e. (Trever K.V., 1959). However, written sources make it possible to specify the chronological framework of its formation. It has already been indicated that Albanian warriors were first mentioned by a historian who accompanied Alexander the Great and a participant in the Battle of Gaugamela in the 4th century. BC e. Arrian. The participation of Albanian warriors in such a battle was possible given the presence of centralized state power in Albania, which obviously had close ties with the power of Darius III. The scattered local tribal leaders were unlikely to send their limited military squads to the aid of Darius III. Therefore, the formation of the Albanian state could have occurred during the campaigns of Alexander the Great. In this regard, it is interesting to note the message of the ancient author Solin about the Albanian king sending a special breed of dog (wolfhound) as a gift to Alexander the Great, who reigned on the throne. Such reports leave no doubt that the emergence of the Albanian state already in the 4th century. BC e. was a fait accompli.
One of the most important issues in the history of Albania is the emergence and development of its cities, information about which is also contained in Latin written sources. Judging by these sources, settlements located along the Caspian route and in places most favorable for the development of crafts and trade are gradually turning into cities. Ptolemy mentions 29 cities and major settlements in Albania. Among them, four large cities are especially highlighted: Teleba - at the mouth of the Herr River; Gelda - at the mouth of the Kesia River; Albana - at the mouth of the Albana River; Heterae - at the mouth of the Cyrus River. The remains of these cities, with the exception of Getera, are preserved on the territory of Dagestan. They were the most significant cultural and economic centers of Caucasian Albania. With sufficient confidence they can be identified with the remains of ancient cities discovered and studied by archaeologists in the Caspian region. The remains of the extensive Nekrasovsky settlement, preserved at the mouth of the Terek, in which the cultural layers of the Albanian time were clearly preserved, can be compared with the city of Teleba, which, according to sources, was located at the mouth of the river. Herr, comparable to Terek. The city of Gelda at the mouth of Kasia is identified with the Verkhnechiryurt settlement, located on the bank of the Sulak, which was called the Kae (Kesia) river in the Albanian era.
The old-timers of Upper Chiryurt still call their village Gelbakh (Geldakh). Dagestan researchers, not without reason, compare this region with the territory of settlement of the ancient Albanian tribes of the Hells. The location of the city of Alban - the first capital of Caucasian Albania - has not yet been established. The city of Getera, located at the mouth of the Kir (Kura) River, is being explored by Azerbaijani archaeologists. Its remnants are known as Kabala. The most complete picture of the nature of the cities of the era of Caucasian Albania can be obtained from the famous Urcek settlement, the remains of which were discovered and explored in the foothill valley, not far from the city of Izberbash. Excavations revealed a rather complex structure of the city, which arose here during the era of Caucasian Albania. Its remains consisted of a carefully fortified citadel, where a privileged part of the townspeople lived. Below the citadel stretched the remains of residential and economic structures of the city itself, also fortified by a powerful system of defensive structures. And finally, around its fortress walls stretched a vast agricultural district, protected by impassable branches of the coastal ridges and the whole system“long” walls on the seaside side. The inhabitants of the city, judging by archaeological materials, were engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, as well as various crafts - metalworking, pottery, weaving, etc. Craft quarters were located within the city.
During the Albanian era, cities such as Derbent, Eski-Yurt, Targu, Tarkinskoye, Andreyaulskoye and other settlements appeared. They also gravitated towards foothill valleys and were fortified with defensive structures surrounding the core of the settlements, usually of small size (10-20 hectares). They were surrounded by small settlements, as well as arable and pasture areas, which were the economic basis of the management of these cities. The studied cities, in which cultural remains of the Albanian period have been preserved, are strong confirmation of the reliability of Ptolemy’s information about the cities of Caucasian Albania. And it is no coincidence that they all stretch along the river valleys of foothills Dagestan. In the group arrangement of small settlements and fortresses around a large urban center within closed river valleys, gorges or mountain plateaus, a type of settlement characteristic of subsequent eras emerges. This topography of the studied monuments corresponds to the relative location of large cities and settlements in Caucasian Albania described by Ptolemy, which he localized along the valleys of large rivers. They obviously corresponded to certain territorial and political entities united within Caucasian Albania. Pliny the Elder reports that at the turn of our era, the main city of Albania was the city of Kabala, the remains of which were preserved on the territory of Azerbaijan. The strengthening of the role of cities south of the historical center of Albania is quite natural. The change in the general situation in the country, which entailed the movement of the ancient centers of the country to the south, is associated with the penetration of northern nomads into the Caspian region. Invasions of nomadic hordes into the northern regions of Albania at the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. e. not only complicated the socio-economic situation in the country, but also contributed to the movement of the population of Albania from the Caspian Sea to the mountainous regions, as well as to the south of the country, where old cities continued to exist and new cities were formed, such as Shemakha (by Ptolemy Kemakhia), Berda , Shabran, etc. At these monuments, studied by Azerbaijani archaeologists, the remains of residential and monumental structures of the ancient era were identified, which indicate a high level of culture in the southern regions of Albania.
The emergence of cities in Caucasian Albania is the result of a high level of economic development and the separation of crafts from other types of production. As B.D. Grekov notes, “no tribal system knows cities in the exact meaning of the terms.” The appearance of the city means the destruction of the tribal system. Thanks to the high level of development of productive forces, which entailed the separation of crafts from other types of production, conditions are being created in Caucasian Albania not only directly for exchange, but also for the development of commodity production, and with it trade not only within the country, but also on its borders. A city is always the result of the social division of labor and is a settlement of a craft and commercial nature. Depending on the natural and geographical conditions, the population of Albania was engaged in various types of production. In the lowland zone, thanks to artificial irrigation, the basis of the economy was agriculture. Cattle breeding predominated in the mountainous part. Viticulture and winemaking, gardening and fishing occupied a certain place in the economy of the population. Strabo notes the exceptional fertility of Albania, “... where often the land, sown once, bears fruit twice or even three times..., moreover, when it was fallow and was plowed not with iron, but with rough wooden plows.” He also notes the presence of beautiful pastures and the Albanians’ penchant for cattle breeding. In the cities of Albania and in its large settlements, judging by archaeological excavations, such types of craft as metallurgy and metalworking, jewelry, pottery, glassmaking, processing of bone, stone, wood, leather, and weaving have developed.
Albanian blacksmiths made a variety of tools (shares, ploughshares, knives, sickles), weapons (swords, daggers, spear and arrowheads), etc. The high skill of the potters is evidenced by a variety of ceramics from the studied monuments of Albania. Large buildings in Kabala, Shamakhi and other cities already had tiled coverings. Roof tiles were also discovered at the Andreyaul settlement in layers of the Albanian era. The wide scale of pottery production in Albania is evidenced by the remains of pottery kilns discovered in Mingachevir, Kabala, Hujbal and Andreyaul. The ancient Albanians also mastered the skill of making glass products and gradually established this production. This is evidenced by the findings of glass cups, bracelets, beads and other items at the studied monuments. Albanian jewelers knew almost all the techniques used in this production (casting, chasing, stamping, embossing and other various techniques of jewelry art). One of the main crafts was weaving, based on cattle breeding. According to the ancient historian Aelian, in the Caspian herds there were “very white, hornless, short and blunt-nosed goats, camels, whose wool was distinguished by great tenderness, so that in softness it was not inferior to Milesian wool.” It was valued, as Elian notes, very highly, since only priests wear clothes woven from it, and also from among the Caspians - the richest and most noble. In Albania, obviously, there were also royal workshops, where everything that was required for the court was made and coins were minted. The main indicator of the development of trade in the country are coins depicting the kings of Albania. Coins occupy a prominent place among the archaeological materials studied. The minting of coins and active monetary trade in Albania indicate that there already existed a category of persons specifically engaged in both internal and external trade. Judging by the foreign coins found in the country, Albania had trade relations with the Hellenistic world, the Bosporus, the North Caucasus and other regions. The nature of the spiritual culture of the population of Albania is reflected in the remains of works of fine art (ornamented ceramics, anthropomorphic figured vessels), in statues (bulls and ancestors), and sculptural metal products (figurines of people, animals, birds). The art of Albania satisfied the spiritual needs of its population. Religious centers (temples) of various pagan deities appear in the country. Before the adoption of Christianity in the 4th century. n. e. stone sculptures that personified the cult of ancestors were one of the main objects of religious veneration. According to Strabo, Helium (the sun), Zeus (the sky), and especially Selene (the moon) were revered in Albania. Accordingly, temples were built for them, in which human sacrifices were also practiced. The remains of one of these pagan temples were examined at the Tarkinsky burial ground on the outskirts of the city of Makhachkala. Here, within the boundaries of an ancient burial ground, the remains of a religious structure (pit) with traces of sacrifices were discovered. Among the burnt human bones, the remains of a sacrificial fire were also found here. original jewelry. The most notable among them is the chest quadrangular gold plate covered with floral patterns. Next to it lay a gold headband decorated with stamped rosettes, a gold bone covered with a Christmas tree design, a folded small gold plate and more than 200 glass paste beads, some with traces of gilding. There were also five ceramic vessels of original shapes. Judging by these finds, at a pagan temple on the outskirts of Makhachkala in the Albanian era, a girl richly dressed in gold jewelry was sacrificed to the pagan gods. Such finds leave no doubt that in the Makhachkala region in the Albanian era there already existed large city, which was one of the cultural centers of the country. The feudal relations that developed in the country contributed to the penetration of a new religion into the country, which replaced various pagan cults. CIV century n. e. In Albania, as ancient sources report, Christianity is spreading, as evidenced most clearly by the remains of Christian churches in Derbent, as well as in the mountainous regions.
Thus, Caucasian Albania was one of the developed state formations of the North-Eastern Caucasus and Transcaucasia for its time. This is evidenced by the presence of numerous cities in the country, the development of crafts, money circulation, minting of its own coins, the spread of writing and other elements characteristic of a highly developed class society. However, at the turn of the new era, northern nomadic tribes made significant adjustments to the rapid development of the productive forces of Caucasian Albania. They, gradually penetrating into Primorsky Dagestan, not only pushed the country’s border from north to south, all the way to Derbent, but also created a completely new ethnopolitical situation here. The beginning of the collapse of Caucasian Albania was due not only to foreign policy factors, but also to internal socio-economic reasons related to the desire of local rulers for political independence.
This state arose in the territories of Azerbaijan, Southern Dagestan and Georgia at the end of the 2nd century BC. The borders are not precisely known; the most controversial issue remains the border between Caucasian Albania and Armenia, and most importantly, the lands of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Name
The name Caucasian Albania (Alvania) appeared in the 1st century AD. Its origin is not completely clear. Some historians believe that the Romans were involved in its appearance (in Latin “albus” means white), because this name is found in the Balkans, Italy and even in Scotland, which in ancient times was called Albania. The largest of the Scottish islands is called Arran - this is how Caucasian Albania was called after its conquest by the Arabs.
Others believe that the Romans only gave a Latin sound to some local name of the country. Armenian historians of the 5th – 7th centuries assumed that the word came from the name of the ruler, whose name was either Allu or Aran. The Azerbaijani historian Bakikhanov at the beginning of the 19th century suggested that the ethnonym appeared from the name of the people “Albanians,” which included the concept of “white” (albi), as a “free person.”
Population
The Albanians were first mentioned during the time of Alexander the Great by the historian Lucius Flavius Arian. According to him, Albanians fought on the side of the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC.
It is known that initially Albanians were a union of 26 different tribes who spoke different dialects of Lezgin. They began to be called Albanians because it was this tribe that initiated the unification. Among the tribes were Gargars, Udins, Chilbis, Lezgins, Lpins and Silvas. All of them lived on the lands between Iberia and the Caspian Sea, inhabited the foothills of the Greater Caucasus and the territory of Dagestan.
Language
The most numerous tribe among the Albanians were the Gargars. Based on their language, an alphabet was created in which there were 52 simple graphemes and two digraphs. In addition to the Lezgin languages, Middle Persian, Armenian and Parthian languages were spoken in Albania. Albanian was gradually replaced by Turkic dialects, Armenian and Georgian.
Archaeologists have found several samples of Albanian writing that date back to the 7th-8th centuries. Thus, in the Christian monastery of St. Helena on the Sinai Peninsula in 1996, a text in Albanian of 120 pages was found. On top of it was written text in Georgian. The text has now been deciphered and published.
Religion
In ancient times, the Albanians were pagans, they worshiped the sun and the moon and made human sacrifices to the gods. Zoroastrianism actively penetrated from Persia to Albania. The spread of Christianity is associated with the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew, who was brutally killed in the city of Alban, and with the preaching of Saint Elisha, a disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus, better known as Elishe. Christianity became the official religion of Albania from the beginning of the 4th century. During the period of Arab rule, Mohammedanism entered the country and gradually spread everywhere.
Story
Around the middle of the 1st century. BC the union of tribes was transformed into a state headed by a king. The capital of Albania until the 6th century was Kabala (destroyed by the Persians in the 6th century). For the first time, Caucasian Albania as a separate country was mentioned by the Roman historian Strabo, who in his 17-volume “Geography” indicated that the country lies between the Kura River and the Caspian Sea.
In the 3rd – 1st centuries BC. On the territory of Albania, there was a Yalojlupeti culture, whose people were engaged in winemaking and cultivating the land. Characteristic burial mounds, burials in jars and tombs are found here. Iron knives and daggers, arrow and spear tips, sickles, gold jewelry, and ceramics were found at the excavations.
In 66 BC. The country was invaded by the Roman consul Gnaeus Pompey, who stood with his army on Kura, but was attacked by the Albanian king Oroz. Having repulsed the attack, the consul attacked Albania, destroyed the king’s army and “granted” peace to the Albanians. In the 2nd century AD, the Roman emperor Trajan turned Armenia into a Roman province and elevated his protege to the throne of Albania, but soon the independent position of the state was restored.
Dynasties
The first royal dynasty that ruled in Caucasian Albania, the Arranshahi, according to Armenian sources, descended from Japheth, the son of the biblical righteous Noah. Perhaps the first kings were nominated from among the most notable local leaders. The dynasty ruled until the middle of the 3rd century. Then, until the beginning of the 6th century, the Arsacids, a junior branch of the Parthian kings, ruled in Albania. The first representative of the dynasty was Vachagan I the Brave, who was a descendant of the Maskut leaders.
In the 9th – 10th centuries, processes of Armenianization and then Turkenization of the population took place in the country. Since a single Albanian nation did not emerge, the country disintegrated into principalities. The Albanian ethnic group disappears, leaving behind only names.
