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Tabasaranar | |
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Total population | |
c. 190,000 | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Russia | 151, 466 [1] |
Canada | 1245 [2] |
Ukraine | 900 |
Israel | 6 |
Languages | |
Tabasaran | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Lezgic-speaking peoples Especially Aghuls, Lezgins, and Udis |
Tabasarans are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern part of the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. Their population in World is about 190,000. They speak the Tabasaran language.
The first state formation of Tabasaran was the state of Caucasian Albania, which arose at the end of the II century BC. The word Tabasaran, as a designation of the territory where Tabasarans live, came from the ancient name of this land "Tavaspark", and the name of the Tabasaran people came from the ancient ethnonym of the Tavaspars tribe. After the Arab invasion of the lands of Tabasaran, a huge number of Tabasarans died, many objects of their culture and history were destroyed, statehood was lost, and the innocent Tabasarans who lived in the coastal zone were forced to flee to the mountains. The only people who came to the aid of the Tabasarans in the fight against the nomads were the Lezgins.
Caucasian Albania (agvan 𐔰𐔾𐔱𐔰𐕎𐔼𐔰 , Ancient Greek name Ἀλβανία and Latin Albanía, parf. 𐫀𐫡𐫅𐫀𐫗 [Ardan], grabar Աղուանք [Aluank]pehl. 𐭭𐭠𐭫𐭫𐭠/𐫀𐫡𐫡𐫀𐫗 [Arran], cargo. რაიი [Rani], sir. ܐܪܐܢ [Aran], Persian: رن [Ras]) was an ancient state formed at the end of the II century in Eastern Transcaucasia and occupied part of the territory of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia (Dagestan).
The main language of the Tabasaran people is the Tabasaran language (табасаран чIал, tabasaran ҫ̇al), [3] which belongs to the Lezgic branch of Northeast Caucasian language family. It is closely related to neighbouring Lezgian and Aghul languages. [4] UNESCO classifies Tabasaran language as "vulnerable". [5] According to 2002 Russian census 97% of the Tabasaran can speak their ancestral language and a further 87% of them know Russian. [6]
Under Soviet control Tabasaran has become one of the official languages of Dagestan.
The vast majority of Tabasarans profess Sunni Islam and belong to the Shafi'i school. Some elements originated from pre-Islamic Tabasaran beliefs, such as deity names and annual spring celebration known as Elbetsan (Lezgin Yaran-Suvar ) have been preserved in the contemporary Tabasaran society. [6] [7]
Tabasaran traditional economy has been based on agriculture and animal husbandry, as the regions inhabited by the group have a mild and warm climate with abundant water sources. Agriculturally grain farming, orchards and viticulture is common among the people. Carpet weaving, leatherworking, woolen clothes, woodworking and beekeeping form the domestic industries. [6]
The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Nakh-Daghestani or Vainakh-Daghestani, or sometimes Caspian languages, is a family of languages spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia and in Northern Azerbaijan as well as in Georgia and diaspora populations in Western Europe and the Middle East. According to Glottolog, there are currently 36 Nakh-Dagestanian languages.
Derbent, formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is the southernmost city in Russia, and it is the second-most important city of Dagestan. Derbent occupies the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian Steppe to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south; covering an area of 69.63 square kilometres (26.88 sq mi), with a population of roughly 120,000 residents.
Lezgins or Lex are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northeastern Azerbaijan, and speak the Lezgin language. Their social structure is firmly based on equality and deference to individuality. Lezgin society is structured around djamaat and has traditionally been egalitarian and organised around many autonomous local clans, called syhils (сихилар).
The Avars, also known as Maharuls, are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group. The Avars are the largest of several ethnic groups living in the Russian republic of Dagestan. The Avars reside in the North Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Alongside other ethnic groups in the North Caucasus region, the Avars live in ancient villages located approximately 2,000 meters above sea level. The Avar language spoken by the Caucasian Avars belongs to the family of Northeast Caucasian languages. Sunni Islam has been the prevailing religion of the Avars since the 13th century.
Lezgian, also called Lezgi or Lezgin, is a Northeast Caucasian language. It is spoken by the Lezgins, who live in southern Dagestan (Russia); northern Azerbaijan; and to a much lesser degree Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; Kazakhstan; Turkey, and other countries. It is a much-written literary language and an official language of Dagestan. It is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
Dagestan, officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Federal District. The republic is the southernmost tip of Russia, sharing land borders with the countries of Azerbaijan and Georgia to the south and southwest, the Russian republics of Chechnya and Kalmykia to the west and north, and with Stavropol Krai to the northwest. Makhachkala is the republic's capital and largest city; other major cities are Derbent, Kizlyar, Izberbash, Kaspiysk, and Buynaksk.
Arran, also known as Aran, was a geographical name used in ancient and medieval times to signify a historically-Iranian region which lay within the triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the junction of the Kura and Aras rivers, including the highland and lowland Karabakh, Mil plain and parts of the Mughan plain. In pre-Islamic times, it corresponded roughly to the territory of the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan. The term is the Middle Persian equivalent to the Greco-Roman Albania. It was known as Aghvania, Alvan-k in Armenian, and Al-ran in Arabic.
Shaki District is one of the 69 districts of Azerbaijan. Located in the north of the country, it belongs to the Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region. The district borders the districts of Qakh, Oghuz, Agdash, Yevlakh, and the Russian Republic of Dagestan. Its capital and largest city is Shaki. As of 2020, the district had a population of 188,100.
Dargins or Dargwa are a Northeast Caucasian native ethnic group originating in the North Caucasus, and who make up the second largest ethnic group in the North Caucasian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Dargwa language. The ethnic group comprises, however, all speakers of the Dargin languages; Dargwa is simply the standard variety.
Aghuls are a people in Dagestan, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 34,160 Aghuls in Russia. The Aghul language belongs to the Lezgian language family, a group of the Northeast Caucasian family. Ethnically, the Aghuls are close to the Lezgins. There are four groups of the Aghul people, who live in four different gorges: Aguldere, Kurakhdere, Khushandere, and Khpyukdere. Like their neighbors the Kaitaks, the Aghuls were converted to Islam at a fairly early date, subsequent to the Arab conquest of the eighth century. Their oral traditions claim Jewish descent.
The peoples of the Caucasus, or Caucasians, are a diverse group comprising more than 50 ethnic groups throughout the Caucasus.
Vedeno is a rural locality and the administrative center of Vedensky District, Chechnya.
The Tsakhur or Saxur people are a Lezgin sub-ethnic group of northern Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan (Russia). The group numbers around 30,000 people and are called yiqy, but are generally known by the name Tsakhur, which derives from the name of a Dagestani village, where they make up the majority.
Azerbaijanis in Russia or Russian Azerbaijanis are people of Azeri descent in Russia. These may be either ethnic Azeris residents in the country or recent immigrants who profess Azeri ancestry.
Rutul or Rutulian is a language spoken by the Rutuls, an ethnic group living in Dagestan (Russia) and some parts of Azerbaijan. It is spoken by 30,000 people in Dagestan and 17,000 in Azerbaijan. The word Rutul derives from the name of a Dagestani village where speakers of this language make up the majority.
The population of Armenia includes various significant minority ethnic groups.
Arabs first established themselves in the Caucasus in the eighth century, during the Arab conquest of Persia. The process of shrinking of the Abbasid Caliphate in the tenth century was followed by the establishment of several Arab-ruled principalities in the region, chiefly the principality of Shirvan ruled by the Mazyadid dynasty. As the rulers of Shirvan spread their control over much of the Southeast Caucasus and at the same time found themselves more and more isolated from the Arab world, they were undergoing gradual Persianisation. Arab personal names of the Shirvanshahs gave way to Persian ones, members of the ruling dynasty were claiming Ancient Persian descent and Persian gradually became the language of the court and the urban population, while the rural population continued to speak the indigenous languages of Caucasian Albania. However by the seventeenth century a local Turkic idiom became the language of everyday life, as well as the language of interethnic communication.
Lezgistan or Lekia may refer to the following:
The Tabasaran Principality or Principality of Tabasaran was an independent monarchic state in southern Dagestan, existing from 1642 until the later 19th century. It emerged as one of many smaller states from the disintegration of the Shamkhalate of Gazikumukh in 1642. It was located in the Samur river valley, roughly coinciding with the region in which the Tabasaran people still reside today. Its location close to the main road between Derbent and Shirvan gave it some strategic importance.
Kura Khanate or Kürin Khanate was a state entity that existed from 1812 to 1864 in southern Dagestan. The khanate was ruled by a branch of ruling family of Gazikumukh Khanate.