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Scythians, Alans, Russ - Jewish tribes. Alans in the battles of Europe

It was not the Huns who put an end to the Roman Empire. She fell under the hooves of the Alan cavalry. The long-skulled eastern people brought a new cult of war to Europe, laying the foundations for medieval chivalry.

Invincible warriors

For a long time they existed next to the empire, periodically paying them neighboring visits. Many Roman generals spoke about them in their memoirs, describing them as invincible warriors. According to Roman sources, the Alans lived on both sides of the Don, that is, in Asia and Europe, since, according to the geographer Claudius Ptolemy, the border ran along this river.

Ptolemy called those who inhabited the western bank of the Don Scythian Alans, and their territory “European Sarmatia”. Those who lived in the East were called Scythians in some sources (from Ptolemy) and Alans in others (from Suetonius).

In 337, Constantine the Great accepted the Alans into the Roman Empire as federates and settled them in Pannonia (Central Europe). From a threat, they immediately turned into defenders of the borders of the empire, for the right of settlement and salary. True, not for long.

Almost a hundred years later, dissatisfied with the living conditions in Pannonia, the Alans entered into an alliance with the Germanic Vandal tribes. It was these two peoples, acting together, who gained the glory of being the sackers of Rome after they had plundered Rome for two weeks. The eternal City. The Roman Empire was never able to recover from this blow. Twenty-one years later, the German leader Odoacer formalized the fall of Rome by forcing the last of the Roman emperors to abdicate. The name of vandals remains a household name to this day.

Alan fashion

Imagine the citizens of Rome who began to imitate the barbarians. It seems absurd to think that a Roman, dressed in Sarmatian-style trousers, grew a beard and rode a short but fast horse, trying to conform to the barbarian way of life. This was not uncommon for Rome in the 5th century AD.

The Eternal City was literally “covered” by the fashion for everything “Alanian”. They adopted everything: military and equestrian equipment, weapons; Alan dogs and horses were especially valued. The latter were not distinguished by either beauty or height, but were famous for their endurance, which was attributed to an almost supernatural character.

The Roman patricians, fed up with material goods, sought an outlet in everything simple, natural, primitive and, as it seemed to them, close to nature. The barbarian village was contrasted with the noisy Rome, the ancient metropolis, and the representatives of the barbarian tribes themselves were idealized so much that traces of this “fashion” formed the basis for subsequent medieval legends about courtly knights. The moral and physical advantages of barbarians were a favorite theme of novels and stories of that time.

The Alans, as well as the rest of the federates in general, were characterized by the exact opposite process. The barbarians preferred to take advantage of the achievements of a large civilization, on the periphery of which they found themselves. During this period, there was a complete exchange of values - the Alans became Romanized, the Romans became Alanized.

Deformed skulls

Thus, it was possible to localize the habitat of the Alans on the Loire, in Western France. According to Sergei Savenko, director of the Pyatigorsk Museum of Local Lore, up to 70% of skulls dating back to the Alan era have an elongated shape.

To reach unusual shape head, for a newborn whose cranial bones had not yet become strong, they were tightly bandaged with a ritual leather bandage, decorated with beads, threads, and pendants. They wore it until the bones became stronger. The lengthening of the skull was of a ritual nature. There is a version that the deformation affected the brain and allowed the Alan priests to go into trance faster. Subsequently, representatives of the local aristocracy took over the tradition, and then it came into widespread use along with fashion.

Ancestors of King Arthur

According to Flavius Arrian, the Alans and Sarmatians were mounted spearmen who attacked the enemy powerfully and quickly. He emphasizes that a phalanx of infantry equipped with projectiles is the most effective remedy repulse the Alans' attack. The main thing after this is not to buy into the famous tactical move of all the steppe inhabitants: “false retreat,” which they often turned into victory.

When the infantry, with which they had just stood face to face, pursued the fleeing enemy who had upset his ranks, the latter turned his horses and overthrew the foot soldiers. Obviously, their style of fighting subsequently influenced the Roman way of warfare.

At least, later talking about the actions of his army, Arrian noted that “The Roman cavalry holds their spears and beats the enemy in the same manner as the Alans and Sarmatians.” This, as well as Arrian’s considerations regarding the combat capabilities of the Alans, confirms the prevailing opinion that in the West they seriously considered the military merits of the Alans. Their fighting spirit was elevated to a cult. As ancient authors write, death in battle was considered not just honorable, but joyful: among the Alans, the “happy dead” was considered to be the one who died in battle, serving God. Those “unfortunates” who happened to live to old age and die in their bed were despised as cowards and became a shameful stain on the family.

The Alans had a significant influence on the development of military affairs in Europe. Historians associate with their heritage a whole complex of both military-technical and spiritual-ethical achievements that formed the basis of medieval knighthood. According to the research of Howard Reid, the military culture of the Alans played a significant role in the formation of the legend of King Arthur.

It is based on the evidence of ancient authors, according to which Emperor Marcus Aurelius recruited 8,000 experienced horsemen - Alans and Sarmatians. Most of them were sent to Hadrian's Wall in Britain. They fought under banners in the form of dragons, and worshiped the god of war - a naked sword stuck in the ground.

The idea of finding an Alan basis in the Arthurian legend is not new. Thus, American researchers, Littleton and Malkor, draw a parallel between holy grail and the sacred cup from the Nart (Ossetian) epic, Nartamonga.

Kingdom of Vandals and Alans

By 422-425, they approached Eastern Spain, took possession of the ships there, and, under the leadership of the leader Geiseric, landed in North Africa. At that time, Rome's African colonies were not experiencing better times: they suffered from Berber raids and internal revolts against the central government, in general, they represented a tasty morsel for the united barbarian army of Vandals and Alans.

In just a few years they conquered vast African territories that belonged to Rome, led by Carthage. A powerful fleet came into their hands, with the help of which they repeatedly visited the coasts of Sicily and Southern Italy.

In 442, Rome was forced to recognize their complete independence, and thirteen years later - its complete defeat.

Alan blood

Throughout their existence, the Alans managed to visit many territories and leave their mark in many countries. Their migration stretched from the Ciscaucasia, through most of Europe, and into Africa. It is not surprising that today many peoples living in these territories claim to be considered the descendants of this famous tribe.

The main opponents of this position are the Ingush, who also advocate their right to be called descendants of the great Alans. According to another version, Alans in ancient sources were a collective name for all hunting and nomadic peoples located north of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

Thus, according to one version, the Celtic name Alan comes from the patronymic “Alans”, who settled at the beginning of the 5th century in the Loire, where they mixed with the Bretons.

Alans (Old Greek Ἀλανοί, lat. Alani, Halani) - nomadic tribes skitho-Sarmatian origin, are mentioned in written sources from 1st century n. e. - time of their appearance in Azov region And Ciscaucasia .

Part of the Alans from the end 4th century took part in Great Migration, while others remained in areas adjacent to the foothills Caucasus. The Alan tribal union became the basis for the unification of Alans and local Caucasian tribes, known as Alanya, and the formation in the central Ciscaucasia of an early feudal state that existed until the Mongol campaign.

The Mongols, who defeated Alania and captured the fertile lowland regions of the Ciscaucasia by the end of the 1230s, forced the surviving Alans to take refuge in the mountains of the Central Caucasus and Transcaucasia. There, one of the Alan groups, with the participation of local tribes, gave rise to modern Ossetians . The Alans played a certain role in the ethnogenesis and formation of the culture of other peoples North Caucasus .

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Ethnonym"Alans" first appears in 25 year n. e. in Chinese sources as the name of the Sarmatian tribe that replaced aorsov(Yantsai): “the possession of Yantsai was renamed Alanliao; consists depending on Kangyu... The customs and attire of the people are similar to those of Kangyu" .

Another interesting piece of evidence from the Chinese annals dates back to a later time: “Government in the city of Alanmi. This country formerly belonged to the Kangyu appanage owner. There are forty large cities, up to a thousand small trenches. The courageous and strong are taken into zhege, which translated into the language of the Middle State means: combat warrior.” .

Later, in 1st century n. e., evidence of the Alans is found in Roman authors. We find their earliest mention in Lucia Annaea Seneca, in the play "Thyestes", written in the middle of the 1st century AD. e.

The name "Alans" was used by the Romans, and, after them, by the Byzantines, right up to 16th century(the last mention of the Alan diocese in the Byzantine chronicles) .

The Arabs also called the Alans by the name Al-lan, derived from the Byzantine "alana". Ibn Rusta (about 290 g.x./903) reported that the Alans are divided into four tribes. It is known that the westernmost of them was called “aces”. IN XIII century Western scientists ( Guillaume de Rubruck) testified that “Alans and Aces" - one and the same people.

Etymology

Currently, science recognizes a version substantiated V. I. Abaev - the term “Alan” is derived from the common name of the ancients Aryans and Iranians "arya" . By T. V. Gamkrelidze And Vyach. Sun. Ivanov , the original meaning of this word “master”, “guest”, “comrade” develops in certain historical traditions into “tribal comrade”, then into the self-name of the tribe ( arya) and countries.

Various opinions have been expressed about the origin of the word "Alans". So, G. F. Miller believed that “the name Alans was born among the Greeks, and it comes from the Greek verb meaning to wander or wander” . K. V. Mullengoff the name Alans was derived from the name of a mountain range in Altai , G. V. Vernadsky- from the ancient Iranian “elen” - deer , L. A. Matsulevich believed that the issue of the term “Alan” had not been resolved at all .

Names of Alans among neighboring peoples

In Russian chronicles, the Alans were called by the word “Yasy”. IN Nikon Chronicle under 1029 reported on the victorious campaign against the prince's Yasov Yaroslav.

In Armenian chronicles Alans more often called by their own name. In Chinese chronicles, Alans are known as the Alan people . In the Armenian medieval geographical atlas Ashkharatsuyts several Alan tribes are described, including the “people of Alans ash-Tigor” or simply “the people of Dikor”, which is seen as the self-name of modern Digorians. The Alans from the eastern region of Alania described by him - “Alans in the country of Ardoz” - ancestors Ironians.

In Georgian sources, Alans are mentioned as ovsi, osi. This exononym is still used by Georgians in relation to modern Ossetian.

Modern form

The natural development of ancient Iranian * āruana in Ossetian, according to V.I. Abaev, is allon(from * āryana) And ællon(from * ăryana) Ethnonym in the form ællon preserved in Ossetian folklore, but is not used as a self-name .

She hid the young sledges in a secret room. And then Uaig just returned and immediately asked his wife: “Do I hear the smell of allon-billon?” - Oh my husband! - his wife answered him. “Two young men visited our village, one played the pipe, and the other danced on his fingertips. People were amazed; we had never seen such a miracle. It was their smell that remained in this room.

Main article:History of the Alans

Alan migration map. Yellow indicates the places where the Alans settled in the 4th century, before Great Migration and after it; red arrows - migrations, orange - military campaigns

The first mentions of the Alans are found in the works of ancient authors from the middle of the 1st century AD. e. The appearance of Alans in Eastern Europe - in the lower reaches of the Danube, the Northern Black Sea region, Ciscaucasia - is considered a consequence of their strengthening within the North Caspian association of Sarmatian tribes, led by Aorsami .

IN I-III centuries n. e. Alans occupied a dominant position among the Sarmatians Azov region And Ciscaucasia , from where they raided Crimea, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor,mussel .

“Almost all Alans,” writes the 4th century Roman historian Ammianus and Marcellinus, “are tall and beautiful... They are scary with the restrained menacing look of their eyes, they are very mobile due to the lightness of their weapons... Among them, the one who gives up the ghost in battle is considered lucky.” .

In the 4th century, the Alans were already ethnically heterogeneous. Large tribal associations of Alans were defeated in the 4th century by the Huns, in the 6th century - Avars. Some of the Alans took part in the Great Migration of Peoples and ended up in Western Europe (in Gaul) and even in North Africa, where, together with vandals formed a state that lasted until the middle of the 6th century. All these events were accompanied everywhere by the partial ethnocultural assimilation of the Alans. Alan culture of the 4th-5th centuries. represent the settlements and burial grounds of the foothill zone of the Northern and Western Caucasus and the richest Kerch crypts of the Crimea. From the 7th to the 10th centuries. a significant part of medieval Alanya, stretching from Dagestan to the Kuban region, was part of Khazar Khaganate. For a long time, the North Caucasian Alans waged a stubborn struggle against Arab Caliphate, Byzantium and the Khazar Khaganate. An idea of the rich Alanian culture of the 8th-11th centuries. give the famous catacomb burial grounds and settlements on the Seversky Donets ( Saltovo-Mayatskaya culture) and especially settlements and burial grounds in the North Caucasus (fortifications: Arkhyzskoye, Verkh. and Nizh. Dzhulat, etc., burial grounds: Arkhon, Balta, Chmi, Rutha, Galiat, Zmeisky, Gizhgid, Bylym, etc.). They testify to the wide international relations of the Alans with the peoples of Transcaucasia, Byzantium, Kievan Rus and even Syria.

Materials Zmeysky burial ground indicate high level development of the culture of the North Caucasian Alans in the 11th-12th centuries. and about the presence of trade ties of the local population with Iran, Transcaucasia, Russia and the countries of the Arab East, as well as genetic ties between the Sarmatians and Alans, Alans and modern Ossetians. Finds of weapons confirm information from written sources that the main force of the Alan army was cavalry. The decline of the late Alan culture was caused by the Tatar-Mongol invasion of the 13th century As a result of the campaign of 1238-1239. a significant part of plain Alania was captured by the Tatar-Mongols, Alania itself as a political entity ceased to exist. Another factor that contributed to the fall of the Alan state was the intensification of avalanche activity in the 13th-14th centuries. G.K. Tushinsky, the founder of Russian avalanche science as a science, believed that as a result of the increasingly frequent severe and snowy winters in the Caucasus, many high-mountain Alan villages and roads were destroyed by avalanches. Since then, villages have been located much lower on the slopes .

IN XIV century Alans in the army Tokhtamysh participate in battles with Tamerlane. The general battle began on April 15, 1395. Tokhtamysh’s army suffered a complete defeat. This was one of the largest battles of that time, which decided the fate of not only Tokhtamysh, but also the Golden Horde, at least its great-power position.

If by the end of the XIV century. On the Cis-Caucasian plain there were still relict groups of the Alan population, but the invasion of Tamerlane dealt them the final blow. From now on, the entire foothill plain up to the river valley. Argun passed into the hands of Kabardian feudal lords during the 15th century. advanced far to the east and developed almost deserted fertile lands.

The once vast Alanya has become depopulated. The picture of the death of Alanya was outlined by a Polish author of the early 16th century. Matvey Mekhovsky, who used earlier information from Jacopo da Bergamo:

“The Alans are a people who lived in Alania, a region of European Sarmatia, near the Tanais River ( Don) and next to it. Their country is a plain without mountains, with small elevations and hills. There are no settlers or inhabitants in it, since they were expelled and scattered to foreign regions during the invasion of enemies, and there they died or were exterminated. The fields of Alanya lie wide open. This is a desert in which there are no owners - neither Alans nor strangers."

Mekhovsky talks about Alania in the lower reaches of the Don - that Alania that was formed in the Don region back in the first centuries AD. e. with its center on the Kobyakov settlement.

If in the foothills the remnants of the Alans ceased to exist, then in the mountain gorges they, despite the massacre, survived and continued the ethnic tradition of the Ossetian people. It was Mountain Ossetia after the invasions of 1239 and 1395. became the historical cradle of the Ossetians, where finally during the XIV-XV centuries. both ethnicity and traditional folk culture were formed. At the same time, the division of the Ossetian people into gorge societies probably took shape: Tagaurskoe,Kurtatinskoe, Alagirskoe, Tualgom, Digorskoe.

DNA archeology data

Analysis of the remains of the population of the Saltovo-Mayak archaeological culture revealed its haplogroup G2, subclade - unknown. From the point of view of the authors of this study, the catacomb nature of the burial, a number of craniological indicators and other data that coincide with previously studied samples in the Caucasus allow us to identify those buried as Alans. For example, according to anthropological indicators, individuals from pit burials were identified as carriers of an admixture of the eastern odontological type, while the samples studied by haplogroup were of Caucasoid origin .

A number of researchers compare the population of the Saltovo-Mayak archaeological culture with the Alans, Bulgars And Khazars .

Culture

Wedding rituals

Johann Schiltberger describes in detail the wedding customs of the Caucasian Alans, whom he calls Yas. He reports that

“Yas have a custom according to which, before giving a girl in marriage, the groom’s parents agree with the bride’s mother that the latter must be a pure virgin, so that otherwise the marriage is considered invalid. So, on the day appointed for the wedding, the bride is led to the bed with songs and laid on it. Then the groom approaches with the young men, holding a naked sword in his hands, with which he strikes the bed. Then he and his comrades sit down in front of the bed and feast, sing and dance. At the end of the feast, they strip the groom to his shirt and leave, leaving the newlyweds alone in the room, and a brother or one of the groom’s closest relatives appears outside the door to guard with a drawn sword. If it turns out that the bride was no longer a maiden, the groom notifies his mother, who approaches the bed with several friends to inspect the sheets. If they do not find the signs they are looking for on the sheets, they become sad. And when the bride’s relatives appear in the morning for the celebration, the groom’s mother is already holding in her hand a vessel full of wine, but with a hole in the bottom, which she plugged with her finger. She brings the vessel to the bride's mother and removes her finger when the latter wants to drink and the wine pours out. “That’s exactly what your daughter was like!” - she says. For the bride’s parents, this is a great shame and they must take their daughter back, since they agreed to give away a pure virgin, but their daughter did not turn out to be one. Then the priests and other honorable persons intercede and convince the groom's parents to ask their son whether he wants her to remain his wife. If he agrees, then the priests and other persons bring her to him again. Otherwise, they are divorced, and he returns the dowry to his wife, just as she must return dresses and other things given to her, after which the parties can enter into a new marriage.” .

Main article:Alan language

Alans spoke in a later version Scytho-Sarmatian language.

Ossetian language is a direct descendant of Alan . Some toponyms are etymologized as Eastern Iranian based on modern Ossetian vocabulary ( Don, Dniester, Dnieper, Danube), the few surviving written fragments in Alan are deciphered using Ossetian material. The most famous - Zelenchuk inscription . Other known evidence of the Alanian language is Alan phrases in Theogony Byzantine author John Tzetzes ( 12th century).

On the other hand, having Caucasian past, Ossetian language did not fully understand the language Alans. An Ossetian professor, Doctor of Philology, wrote about this indirectly V. I. Abaev: “among all the non-Indo-European elements that we found in the Ossetian language, the Caucasian element occupies a special place, not so much in quantity... but by the intimacy and depth of the connections revealed“, therefore, in the Ossetian language, the Caucasian element is “an independent structural factor, as a kind of its second nature,” because “the common elements of Ossetian with the surrounding Caucasian languages are in no way covered by the term “borrowing”. They touch on the deepest and most intimate aspects of the language and indicate that Ossetian in many significant respects continues the tradition of local Caucasian languages, just as in other respects he continues the Iranian tradition... A bizarre combination and interweaving of these two linguistic traditions and created that peculiar whole that we call the Ossetian language" .

Christianity and Alans

Back in the 5th century. n. e. The Alans were not perceived as a Christian people, which can be seen from the statement of the Marseille presbyter Salvian:

“But are their vices subject to the same judgment as ours? Is the debauchery of the Huns as criminal as ours? Is the treachery of the Franks as reprehensible as ours? Is the drunkenness of an Alaman worthy of the same condemnation as the drunkenness of a Christian, or is the rapacity of an Alan worthy of the same condemnation as the rapacity of a Christian?”

“The Alamanni went to war against the Vandals and, since both sides agreed to resolve the matter through single combat, they fielded two warriors. However, exposed by the Vandals, he was defeated by the Alamann. And since Thrasamund and his Vandals were defeated, they, leaving Gaul, together with the Suevi and Alans, as agreed, attacked Spain, where they exterminated many Christians for their Catholic faith.

In the future, the Alans are mentioned as a people of Christian faith. However, the religion did not become widespread among the Alans.

Impressions of the Franciscans after traveling through Comania in the 13th century. n. e.:

“the brothers who walked through Comania had on their right the land of the Saxons, whom we consider Goths, and who are Christians; further, the Alans, who are Christians; then the Gazars, who are Christians; in this country is Ornam, a rich city, which the Tatars captured by flooding it with water; then the Circasses, who are Christians; next, the Georgians, who are Christians.” Benedictus Polonus (ed. Wyngaert 1929: 137-38)

Guillaume de Rubruk - mid-13th century:

“asked us if we wanted to drink kumis (cosmos), that is, mare’s milk. For the Christians among them - Russians, Greeks and Alans, who want to keep their law firmly, do not drink it and do not even consider themselves Christians when they drink, and their priests reconcile them then [with Christ], as if they had renounced it , from the Christian faith."

“On the eve of Pentecost, certain Alans came to us, who are called there as aas, Christians according to the Greek rite, having Greek letters and Greek priests. However, they are not schismatics, like the Greeks, but honor every Christian without distinction of persons.”

Alan heritage

Caucasian Alans

The Alan origin of the Ossetian language was proven back in 19th century Sun. F. Miller and has been confirmed by numerous later works.

The language in which the known written evidence of the Alan language is written ( Zelenchuk inscription, Alan phrases in the Theogony of John Tsets ) is an archaic variant of the Ossetian language.

There is also indirect evidence of Alan-Ossetian linguistic continuity.

IN Hungary in the city area Jasbereni people live Yasov, related to Ossetians . Towards the middle 19th century jars have completely switched to Hungarian, so oral Yassi language has not survived to this day. Surviving list of Yas words allows us to conclude that the vocabulary of the Yassi language almost completely coincided with Ossetian. Thus, in English-language scientific literature, the Yassi language is usually called a dialect of Ossetian.

Cultural and ethnographic influence of Alans in the West

The Alans lived on the territory of what is now Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Hungary, Romania and other countries. Through the Sarmatian-Alan influence, the heritage of the Scythian civilization entered the culture of many peoples.

Neither great cultural and political influence, nor participation in the most important events of the Great Migration of Peoples saved Western Europeans. Alans from rapid disappearance. Their extraordinary military achievements were put at the service of foreign emperors and kings. Having fragmented their forces and failed to build a durable state, most of the Alans in the West lost their native language and became part of other nations.

Alans and Eastern Slavs

V.I. Abaev believed that, for example , change plosive g, characteristic Proto-Slavic language, in the posterior palatal fricative g(h), which is recorded in the series Slavic languages, due to Scythian-Sarmatian influence. Since phonetics, as a rule, is not borrowed from neighbors, the researcher argued that in the formation of the south-eastern Slavs (in particular, future Ukrainian and South Russian dialects) the Scythian-Sarmatian should have participated substrate . Fricative area comparison g in Slavic languages with regions inhabited antami and their direct descendants, certainly speaks in favor of this position. V.I. Abaev also admitted that the result of the Scythian-Sarmatian influence was the appearance of the genitive-accusative in the East Slavic language and the proximity East Slavic With Ossetian language in the perfective function of preverbs .

Alan heritage controversy

The Alan heritage is the subject of controversy and numerous publications in the genre folk history(not recognized by the academic scientific community).

"On guard" of Rome

Throughout its history, the Roman Empire more than once faced the invasion of nomadic tribes. Long before the Alans, the borders of the ancient world shook under the hooves of the Sarmatians and Huns. But, unlike their predecessors, the Alans became the first and last non-German people who managed to establish significant settlements in Western Europe. For a long time they existed next to the empire, periodically paying them neighboring “visits”. Many Roman generals spoke about them in their memoirs, describing them as practically invincible warriors.

According to Roman sources, the Alans lived on both sides of the Don, that is, in Asia and Europe, since, according to the geographer Claudius Ptolemy, the border ran along this river. Ptolemy called those who inhabited the western bank of the Don Scythian Alans, and their territory “European Sarmatia”. Those who lived in the East were called Scythians in some sources (from Ptolemy) and Alans in others (from Suetonius). In 337, Constantine the Great accepted the Alans into the Roman Empire as federates and settled them in Pannonia (Central Europe). From a threat, they immediately turned into defenders of the borders of the empire, for the right of settlement and salary. True, not for long.

Almost a hundred years later, dissatisfied with the living conditions in Pannonia, the Alans entered into an alliance with the Germanic Vandal tribes. It was these two peoples, acting together, who gained the glory of the sackers of Rome after they plundered the Eternal City for two weeks. The Roman Empire was never able to recover from this blow. Twenty-one years later, the German leader Odoacer formalized the fall of Rome by forcing the last of the Roman emperors to abdicate. The name of vandals remains a household name to this day.

Alan fashion

Imagine the citizens of Rome who began to imitate the barbarians. The idea that a Roman, dressed in Sarmatian-style trousers, grew a beard and rode a short but fast horse, trying to conform to the barbarian way of life, seems absurd. Oddly enough, for Rome in the 5th century AD, this was not uncommon. The Eternal City was literally “covered” by the fashion for everything “Alanian”. They adopted everything: military and equestrian equipment, weapons; Alan dogs and horses were especially valued. The latter were not distinguished by either beauty or height, but were famous for their endurance, which was attributed to an almost supernatural character.

Fed up with material goods, entangled in the shackles of sophistry and scholasticism, the Roman intelligentsia sought an outlet in everything simple, natural, primitive and, as it seemed to them, close to nature. The barbarian village was contrasted with the noisy Rome, the ancient metropolis, and the representatives of the barbarian tribes themselves were idealized so much that, in part, traces of this “fashion” formed the basis for subsequent medieval legends about courtly knights. The moral and physical advantages of barbarians were a favorite theme of novels and stories of that time.

Thus, in the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the savage took first place on the pedestal among the idols, and the German barbarian became the object of adoration among the readers of Tacitus and Pliny’s “Germania”. The next step was imitation - the Romans sought to look like barbarians, behave like barbarians and, if possible, be barbarians. Thus, the great Rome, in the last period of its existence, plunged into the process of complete barbarization.

Deformed skulls

But not all the customs of the Alans were to the liking of the Romans. Thus, they ignored the fashion for an elongated head and artificial deformation of the skull, which was common among the Alans. In fairness, it should be noted that today a similar feature among the Alans and Sarmatians greatly facilitates the work of historians, allowing them to determine the places of distribution of the latter, thanks to the long skulls found in burials. Thus, it was possible to localize the habitat of the Alans on the Loire, in Western France. According to Sergei Savenko, director of the Pyatigorsk Museum of Local Lore, up to 70% of skulls dating back to the Alan era have an elongated shape.

To achieve an unusual head shape, a newborn whose cranial bones had not yet become strong were bandaged tightly with a ritual leather bandage, decorated with beads, threads, and pendants. They wore it until the bones became stronger, and then there was no need for it - the formed skull itself held its shape. Historians believe that such a custom came from tradition Turkic peoples strictly swaddle the baby. The head of the child, lying motionless in a strong swaddling blanket in a flat wooden cradle, was formed longer in size.

The long head was often not so much fashionable as ritual. In the case of priests, the deformation affected the brain and allowed the clergy to go into a trance. Subsequently, representatives of the local aristocracy took over the tradition, and then it came into widespread use along with fashion.

First knights

This article has already mentioned that the Alans were considered invincible, brave to death and practically invulnerable warriors. Roman commanders, one after another, described all the difficulties of fighting a warlike barbarian tribe.
According to Flavius Arrian, the Alans and Sarmatians were mounted spearmen who attacked the enemy powerfully and quickly. He emphasizes that a phalanx of infantry equipped with projectiles is the most effective means of repelling an Alan attack. The main thing after this is not to “buy” the famous tactical move of all the steppe inhabitants: “false retreat,” which they often turned into victory. When the infantry, with which they had just stood face to face, pursued the fleeing enemy who had upset his ranks, the latter turned his horses and overthrew the foot soldiers. Obviously, their style of fighting subsequently influenced the Roman way of warfare. At least, later talking about the actions of his army, Arrian noted that “The Roman cavalry holds their spears and beats the enemy in the same manner as the Alans and Sarmatians.” This, as well as Arrian’s considerations regarding the combat capabilities of the Alans, confirms the prevailing opinion that in the West they seriously considered the military merits of the Alans.

Their fighting spirit was elevated to a cult. As ancient authors write, death in battle was considered not just honorable, but joyful: among the Alans, the “lucky dead” was considered to be the one who died in battle, serving the god of war; such a dead man was worthy of veneration. Those “unfortunates” who happened to live to old age and die in their bed were despised as cowards and became a shameful stain on the family.
The Alans had a significant influence on the development of military affairs in Europe. Historians associate with their heritage a whole complex of both military-technical and spiritual-ethical achievements that formed the basis of medieval knighthood. According to the research of Howard Reid, the military culture of the Alans played a significant role in the formation of the legend of King Arthur. It is based on the evidence of ancient authors, according to which Emperor Marcus Aurelius recruited 8,000 experienced horsemen - Alans and Sarmatians. Most of them were sent to Hadrian's Wall in Britain. They fought under banners in the form of dragons, and worshiped the god of war - a naked sword stuck in the ground.

The idea of finding an Alan basis in the Arthurian legend is not new. Thus, American researchers, Littleton and Malkor, draw a parallel between the Holy Grail and the sacred cup from the Nart (Ossetian) epic, Nartamonga.

Kingdom of Vandals and Alans

It is not surprising that the Alans, distinguished by such belligerence, in alliance with the no less warlike tribe of Vandals, represented a terrible misfortune. Distinguished by their particular savagery and aggressiveness, they did not enter into an agreement with the empire and did not settle in any area, preferring nomadic robbery and the seizure of more and more new territories. By 422-425, they approached Eastern Spain, took possession of the ships there, and, under the leadership of the leader Geiseric, landed in North Africa. At that time, the Roman colonies on the Dark Continent were going through hard times: they suffered from Berber raids and internal revolts against the central government, in general, they represented a tasty morsel for the united barbarian army of Vandals and Alans. In just a few years they conquered vast African territories that belonged to Rome, led by Carthage. A powerful fleet came into their hands, with the help of which they repeatedly visited the coasts of Sicily and Southern Italy. In 442, Rome was forced to recognize their complete independence, and thirteen years later - its complete defeat.

Alan blood

Perhaps the most likely descendants of the Alans are modern Ossetians, who consider themselves the successors of the great Alania. Today among Ossetians there are even movements advocating the return of Ossetia to its supposedly historical name. In fairness, it is worth noting that the Ossetians have grounds to claim the status of descendants of the Alans: a common territory, a common language, which is considered a direct descendant of the Alan, a common folk epic (Nart epic), where the core is supposedly the ancient Alan cycle. The main opponents of this position are the Ingush, who also advocate their right to be called descendants of the great Alans. According to another version, Alans in ancient sources were a collective name for all hunting and nomadic peoples located north of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea.

According to the most common opinion, only part of the Alans became the ancestors of the Ossetians, while other parts merged or dissolved into other ethnic groups. Among the latter are the Berbers, Franks and even the Celts. Thus, according to one version, the Celtic name Alan comes from the patronymic “Alans”, who settled at the beginning of the 5th century in the Loire, where they mixed with the Bretons.

This is what the Alans looked like

The Huns were not to blame for the collapse of the Roman Empire, as was believed. She owes her fall to the eastern people, who had an unusual elongated skull, called the Alans.

It was the Alans who brought the cult of war to Europe. And the foundations of medieval knighthood were laid by them.

The history of the Great City remembers many invasions of nomads, but its collapse began under the hooves of Sarmatian and Hunnish horses. Despite the fact that the ancient world was shaken long before the Alans appeared there, the latter became the cause of its collapse.

This “non-German” people differed from their predecessors in that they were able to establish extensive settlements in Western Europe.

The Alans existed for many years in the neighborhood of the empire, paying it “neighborly” visits from time to time. They were invincible warriors, as Roman commanders recalled more than once.

Where did the warlike people live?

They lived on both banks of the Don, because, as the great geographer of those years Claudius Ptolemy believed, the border ran along the river.

He called those who lived on the western bank Scythian Alans, and the lands they occupied - European Sarmatia. The inhabitants of the eastern shore were called, according to Ptolemy's sources, Scythians, or Alans (according to Suetonius' sources).

Joining the Roman Empire

Thanks to Constantine the Great, the Alans became part of the Roman Empire as federates. This happened in 337. Their place of settlement was Central Europe (formerly Pannonia). Thus, it was possible to turn a dangerous enemy into a defender of the imperial borders for a worthy reward.

This did not last long, however, because the warriors were dissatisfied with their lives.

Teaming up with the Vandals

Alan symbolism

A hundred years later, the Alans entered into an alliance with the German tribe of Vandals. These two peoples earned the title of cruel robbers of Rome, which they ravaged for two weeks.

The Eternal City was unable to recover from such an “invasion.” More than 20 years passed until the German leader Odoacer managed to formalize his fall. He forced him to abdicate the throne last emperor Rome.

Therefore, today it remains common noun"Vandal".

In the fifth century AD, the Romans began to imitate the barbarians. Strange as it may seem, they dressed in wide trousers tailored in the Samara style, grew beards and mounted short, but extremely hardy and fast horses. Everything “Alan” was in fashion and simply overwhelmed the Eternal City.

But special honor was given to horses, which, as already mentioned, were not distinguished by height and beauty, but were famous for their almost supernatural endurance, and dogs.

The patricians of Rome, satiated with material goods, preferred everything primitive, natural and simple, which brought them closer to the people, as it seemed to them. Tired of the noisy ancient metropolis, they contrasted it with a quiet barbarian village. The barbarian tribes themselves were so idealized that legends and traditions were composed about courtly knights.

Reincarnation

Video: The history of the invincible Alans

In the books of that time, the Romans praised both moral and physical virtues. With the Alans, the opposite process took place. They freely used the achievements of the largest civilization, which were absent on the periphery, which gradually led to the romanticization of the Alans, in contrast to the Romans, who were “Alanized.”

However, the Romans did not like some Alan customs. They did not accept the fashion for an elongated skull and the artificial deformation common among the Alans. Although for modern historians it is precisely this feature that facilitates the work of determining the territories where the Alans lived.

Scientists find burials with long skulls, which make it easier to assess the habitats of militant people.
According to the head of the Pyatigorsk local history museum, in that ancient era, up to 70% of Alans had long skulls.

How was the unusual shape of the skull achieved?

To change the shape of the head, children immediately after birth, until the cranial bones were strengthened, had their heads bandaged very tightly, using a bandage made of leather and decorated with beads, multi-colored threads, and pendants.

They were removed only after the bones had strengthened.

Why was the elongated skull needed?

One version claims that the deformation of the skull affected the capabilities of the brain. Thanks to this, the priests quickly fell into a trance. This tradition was later adopted by the local aristocracy. It soon became fashionable.

According to Flavius Arrin, the mounted tribes of Sarmatians and Alans attacked the enemy with lightning speed, not allowing him to come to his senses. The most effective means used against Alan attacks were infantry flanks, which had metal shells.

But the “steppe people” often used the tactics of false retreat, which often caught the enemy, thus achieving victory. When the Alans fleeing from the advancing infantry lost their ranks and the victory of the attackers was so close, the Alans suddenly turned their horses 180 degrees, crushing the pursuing foot soldiers.

This tactic was later adopted by the Romans. This is understandable, since the Alans had great combat capabilities, which they could not ignore in the west. The Alans elevated the fighting spirit into a kind of cult.

Ancient writers explained that at that time it was an honor for the Alans to die in battle, even joyful, since they believed that those who died served God. Those Alans who lived to old age and died in their homes were despised and considered cowards who disgraced their families.

The importance of Alans in the development of European military art

The influence of the Alans on the development of military art in Europe was very strong, since they provided spiritual, ethnic and military-technical developments, which became the beginning of the knighthood of the Middle Ages. In addition, the culture of fighting influenced the creation of the legend of Arthur's exploits.

This is witnessed by ancient authors who say that on military service During the time of Howard Reid, more than eight thousand experienced Alan and Sarmatian horsemen were hired. Most of the soldiers in Britain fought on Hadrian's Wall under banners resembling the famous dragon.

Legends of Arthur

It varies among different researchers. Researchers Malkon and Littleton see it in the sacred cup and Grail from the Ossetian epic (Nart) - Nartamonga.

The path to independence

Two warring tribes, the Alans and the Vandals, united and posed a great threat. The savagery of these peoples and great aggressiveness did not allow concluding an agreement with the empire. They have a quiet life in certain territory, preferring to engage in robbery in new territories.

In the end, the Alans reached the borders of Eastern Spain by 425. Here they captured ships and set off on them to North Africa. The leader of the Alans was Geiserin. They landed in the Roman colonies, which at that time suffered from internal uprisings directed against the current government and from frequent raids by the Berbers, and were therefore weakened. The Alans captured significant territories in a matter of days.

The lands, including Carthage, were a tasty morsel for the Alans.
Having taken possession of a strong fleet, Alan warriors often visited Sicily and the shores of southern Italy.
Rome had no other choice, and it recognized the independence of the Alans in 442, and 30 years later, its defeat.

During the period of their existence over a vast territory, militant people left a fairly “long” trail - from the Caucasus Foothills to Africa through Europe. Today, the peoples living in these places are fighting for the right to be related to the famous tribe. But, according to scientists, their descendants are Ossetians. In modern Ossetia there is even a movement demanding the return of the country's historical name.

Ossetians have every reason for this:

linguistic community;

territorial;

folk epic.

This is opposed by the residents of Ingushetia, who also consider themselves descendants of a militant tribe.

Some ancient sources claim that the Alans are a collective image of nomads and hunters who lived north of the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea. Most likely, the Ossetians represent only a small proportion of the successors of the Alans.

And most of them merged with other ethnic groups, including:

Berbers and even Celts.

One version says that the common Celtic male name Alan, it starts with “Alans”. They lived in Luarez from the beginning of the fifth century, mixing with the British.

Was abandoned Alans, a people who created their own statehood. They were first recorded at the beginning of the 2nd century BC. and then throughout their history they appear in the reports of Armenian, Georgian, Byzantine, Arab and other authors under different names – roksolans, alanros, asii, aces, yas, oats, wasps.

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Scientists are convinced that the Alans were Iranian-speaking and were one of the branches of the Sarmatians. By the 1st century AD having come to their steppes Central Asia, occupied vast spaces in the Southern Urals, Lower Volga, and Azov regions, forming a powerful tribal union. At the same time, hordes of Alans spread over a large part of the North Caucasus, subjugating them to their influence; only the mountainous regions of Chechnya, Dagestan and the western Caucasus retained their originality.

Initially, the economic basis of the Alans was nomadic pastoralism. Social structure based on the principles military democracy. From 1st to 4th centuries various sources They constantly talk about the military campaigns of the Alans against neighboring countries and peoples. Carrying out raids in Transcaucasia, they intervened in the struggle between the great powers of that time ( Parthia, ), participate on the side and against the owners Iberia, Armenia,.

Unlike the earlier Iranian newcomers, the Alans were able to settle down and farm, which helped them gain a foothold in the Central Caucasus. In the 3rd century, Alanya was a formidable force that neighboring states, for example, had to reckon with.

Over the several hundred years of their domination in the North Caucasus, the Alans had such a powerful impact on that the culture of all local peoples was subjected to leveling and acquired common characteristics, including the Alanian one, which is found in various parts of the Caucasus. The presence of Alans is recorded in the folk epic of Adyghe and Nakh legends, for example, the epic legend of the Vainakhs “Elijah”.

Alans during the era of the Great Migration

At the end of the 3rd century AD. The power of the Alans was significantly undermined by the invasion of new nomadic hordes from Central Asia. Initially, in the 70s of the 3rd century, a horde Huns defeated and pushed the Alans into the foothills, and carried away the rest of them on their long European campaigns.

One of the Hun factions Akatsir, remained in the North Caucasian steppes throughout the 4th century. Then at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th centuries AD. Almost at the same time as the Huns, another whole group rushed to the North Caucasus a number of tribes of Mongolian and Turkic origin. The most notable of these is the tribal association Bulgarians.

The onslaught of nomads forced the Alans to leave the entire steppe part of the North Caucasus and retire to the foothills and mountainous regions. Alan settlements at that time were based on modern lands Pyatigorye, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Ossetia, Ingushetia. The main type of dwellings became fortified settlements, which were built in hard-to-reach places. This was justified, because nomadic expansion in the North Caucasus did not subside for several centuries.

In the 6th century, the Alans experienced the pressure of a nomadic alliance Turks who created their own enormous formation Turkic Khaganate. In the 7th century, the subjugation of the nomadic and aboriginal peoples of the Caucasus by another steppe ethnic group began to take place.

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The Alanian alliances of the central Caucasus became dependent on the Khazars and, on the side of the latter, took part in a whole series of Khazar-Arab wars of the 7th and 8th centuries. Khazar and Arab authors during this period point to the Central Caucasus as the permanent place of residence of the Alans, also the Daryal Pass ( Daryal Gorge), connecting the North Caucasus with Transcaucasia, from Arabic Bab al Alan(Alan gate).

By this time, two large and independent communities were being formed among the Alans. Stand out:

Western Alans (Ashtigor), Karachay-Cherkess Republic, eastern regions of the Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol Territory;
Eastern Alans (Ardosians), KBR, Ossetia, Ingushetia.

At the end of the 10th century, Khazar pressure on the Alans weakened and the prerequisites were created for the formation of an independent Alan state. Over the almost thousand-year period of their stay in the North Caucasus, the Alans were able to achieve significant success in various industries. Along with traditional cattle breeding, plow farming and crafts—pottery, weapons, blacksmithing, and jewelry—developed. Since the 7th century the craft has been separated from Agriculture and is becoming an independent industry.

Excavations of Alan settlements provided material about social differentiation in their environment. The formation of classes was facilitated by processes Christianization, which became especially active in the 10th century. Christianity penetrated into Alania through Georgia and. As a result, the construction of churches following the Byzantine model is taking place throughout Alanya.

The rise and fall of the Alan state

In the 10th century, the western and eastern Alan tribes were united into a single Alan state. Socially, Alanya has a privileged class feudal lords, exploited communal peasants And patriarchal slaves.

In the mid-10th century, the rulers of Alanya are mentioned, having the titles of “spiritual son” and “Divine ruler of the Universe”. By this time we can talk about the emergence of cities among the Alans, for example, the city Magas.

Not only neighbors, primarily Georgia, but also distant powers are striving to develop relations with the Alans - Kievan Rus. During this period there were dynastic marriages between the rulers of Alanya and other countries.

Like other early feudal states of that era, after its heyday in the second half of the 12th century, it plunged into the abyss of feudal civil strife. Once single state by the beginning of the 13th century it broke up into a number of small possessions, at war with each other.

Alanya finds itself in a state of feudal fragmentation. Since 1222, the Mongols made their first attempts to subjugate Alanya, but the systematic conquest of the entire country began in 1238. Despite the heroic resistance, part of the Alans are destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols, another part of them joins the troops of the Tatar-Mongol khans, and the third part of the Alans is scattered across the mountainous, inaccessible places of the Central Caucasus, where the process of mixing Alans with locals begins. Modern peoples: Ossetians, Balkars, Karachais have a certain share of the Alan component in their ethnogenesis.

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