Ossetians
Ossetia is a region in the northern Caucasus Mountains, inhabited by the Ossetians. Its territory currently straddles the political divide between North Ossetia-Alania in Russia, and South Ossetia in Georgia.
The Ossetians descend from Iranian-speaking tribes from Central Asia. They became Christians during the early Middle Ages. Forced out of their medieval homeland (south of the River Don in present-day Russia) during Mongol rule, they migrated towards and over the Caucasus mountains, where they formed three distinct territorial entities:
- Digor in the west came under the influence of the neighboring Kabard people, who introduced Islam
- Tualläg in the south became what is now South Ossetia, part of Georgia
- Iron in the north became what is now North Ossetia/Alania, under Russian rule from 1767.
Today the majority of Ossetians, from both North and South Ossetia, follow Eastern Orthodoxy. A minority profess Islam.
Most Ossetians today live along the central part of the Greater Caucasus Range in the two Ossetias. A large Ossetian diaspora lives in Turkey, and Ossetians have also settled in Russia, France, Sweden, Syria, the USA, Canada and other countries all around the world.
See also
