The Ossetians, also known as Ossetes, Ossets, and Alans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern sides of the Caucasus Mountains. They natively speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European language family, with most also being fluent in Russian as a second language.
The Nart sagas are a series of tales originating from the North Caucasus. They form much of the basic mythology of the ethnic groups in the area, including Abazin, Abkhaz, Circassian, Ossetian, Karachay-Balkar, and to some extent Chechen-Ingush folklore.
The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe are a Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in the North Caucasus. As a consequence of the Circassian genocide, which was perpetrated by the Russian Empire during the Russo-Circassian War in the 19th century, most of the Circassian people were exiled from their ancestral homeland and consequently began living in what was then the Ottoman Empire—that is, modern-day Turkey and the rest of the Middle East. In the early 1990s, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization estimated that there are as many as 3.7 million Circassians in diaspora in over 50 countries.
Kabardian, also known as East Circassian, is a Northwest Caucasian language, that is considered to be the east dialect of Adyghe language. Circassians reject west and east dialects to be different languages and refer to them both as "Circassian".
Circassian, also known as Cherkess, is a subdivision of the Northwest Caucasian language family, spoken by the Circassian people. There are two Circassian languages, defined by their literary standards, Adyghe, with half a million speakers, and Kabardian, with a million. The languages are highly mutually intelligible with one another, but differ to a degree where they would be considered clear-cut dialects. The earliest extant written records of the Circassian languages are in the Arabic script, recorded by the Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi in the 17th century, although the Greek and Georgian alphabets were adapted for them in ancient and medieval times.
Satanaya is a mythological figure who appears in many cycles of the Nart sagas of the North Caucasus.
David Soslan was a prince from Alania and second husband of king Tamar, whom he married in c. 1189. He is chiefly known for his military exploits during Georgia's wars against its Muslim neighbors.
Ossetianliterature is expressed in the Ossetian language, an Iranian language of the Caucasus.
The Hatuqway are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. They were known for their art of war as a warrior tribe. After the Russo-Circassian War, their presence in the Caucasus was destroyed during the Circassian genocide, and their number was significantly decreased and today they exist only in small communities in various diasporas, and their names are not mentioned anymore in Circassian dialectology.
Batraz, Batradz, or Pataraz is a central character in the North Caucasian myths known as the Nart sagas. The Narts were the central figures of the folklore of peoples of the North Caucasus.
Satenik was an Alanian princess who, according to Armenian tradition, married Artashes, the king of Armenia. The Artashes in the tradition is identified with the 2nd-century BC king Artaxias I, although it is generally believed that the real historical basis for the story came from the invasion of Armenia by the Alans in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiridates I. The story of Artashes and Satenik forms a part of the ancient Armenian epic known as Vipasank῾, fragments of which are presented by the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi in his History of Armenia. Movses notes that the story, which he directly quotes from, was a well-known epic during his time among the common people of Armenia told by traveling storytellers and minstrels. The name and character of Satenik are connected with Satana, a figure in the folklore of the Ossetians and other peoples of the North Caucasus.
Kurdalægon, also spelled and known as Kuịrdalägon, Kurd-Alägon, Aläugon, Kurd-Alä-Uärgon, is the heavenly deity of blacksmiths in Ossetian mythology. His epithet is "the heavenly one"; he shoes the dead man's horse, thus helping him on his journey to the other side. He is a close friend of the Narts.
The Besleney are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. By character, culture and language, the Besleney are closest to Kabardians. The noble families of the Besleney were Kanoko and Shaloho, ancestors of Kabardian Prince Beslan,, who established his own tribe of the same name.
Soslan is an Ossetian male given name widespread among Ossetians in Russia.
John Colarusso is a linguist specializing in Caucasian languages. Since 1976, he has taught at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Temryuk Idar or Temroqwa Idar was a prince of the Circassian Kabardian princedom and its head of power for part of the sixteenth century. His fame was largely due to the association of his name with the alliance with Ivan IV and the marriage of his daughter, Maria Temryukovna. When Temryuk came to power, he put down the revolts of the disputing princes, and helped Circassia become a military power within the North Caucasus.
Fælværa or Falvara in Ossetian mythology is the protector of sheep and cattle. He is identified with the deity of hunting Æfsati and has a rivalry with the deity of wolves, Tutyr.
Akhsar and Akhsartag are twin brothers who are heroes in Ossetian mythology and sons of Warhag. Akhsartag is also the father of the narts Uryzmaeg and Haemyts.
Uryzmaeg is the hero of the Nart saga of the peoples of the Caucasus, son of Akhsartag and Dzerassae.
Haemyts or Khamits is the hero of the Nart saga of the peoples of the Caucasus, son of Akhsartag and Dzerassae, the father of the hero Batraz and the twin brother of Uruzmaeg, with whom they often went on conquest campaigns together.
