Dagestan
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.
Dagestan covers an area of, with a population of over 3.1 million, consisting of over 30 ethnic groups and 81 nationalities. With 14 official languages, and 12 ethnic groups each constituting more than 1% of its total population, the republic is one of Russia's most linguistically and ethnically diverse, and one of the most heterogeneous administrative divisions in the world. Most of the residents speak one of the Northeast Caucasian, or Turkic languages; however, Russian is the primary language and the lingua franca in the republic. Dagestan is known internationally for its strong culture of combat sambo, with many of its fighters having later turned to mixed martial arts.
Toponymy
The word Dagestan is of Turkish and Persian origin, directly translating to "land of the mountains". The Turkish word means "mountain", and the Persian suffix -stan means "land".Some areas of Dagestan were known as Lekia, Avaria and Tarki at various times.
Between 1860 and 1920, Dagestan was referred to as Dagestan Oblast, corresponding to the southeastern part of the present-day republic. The current borders were created with the establishment of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1921, with the incorporation of the eastern part of Terek Oblast, which is not mountainous but includes the Terek littoral at the southern end of the Caspian Depression.
Names in its official languages
- Russian – Республика Дагестан
- Avar – Дагъистан Республика
- Dargin – Дагъистан Республика
- Kumyk – Дагъыстан Жумгьурият
- Lezgian – Республика Дагъустан
- Lak – Дагъусттаннал Республика
- Tabasaran – Дагъустан Республика
- Rutulian – Республика Дагъустан
- Aghul – Республика Дагъустан
- Tsakhur – Республика Дагъустан
- Nogai – Дагыстан Республикасы
- Chechen – Дегӏестан Республика
- Azerbaijani – Дағыстан Республикасы
- Tat – Республикей Догъисту
Geography
- Area:
- Borders:
- *internal: Kalmykia, Chechnya, and Stavropol Krai
- *international: Azerbaijan , Georgia
- *water: Caspian Sea
- Highest point: Mount Bazardüzü/Bazardyuzyu:
- Maximum north–south distance:
- Maximum east–west distance:
Rivers
- Sulak River
- Samur River
- Terek River
- Avar Koisu
- Andi Koisu
- Kazi-Kumukh Koisu
Lakes
Mountains
Most of Dagestan is mountainous, with the Greater Caucasus Mountains covering the south of the republic. The highest point is the Bazardüzü/Bazardyuzyu peak at, on the border with Azerbaijan. The southernmost point of Russia is located about seven kilometers southwest of the peak. Other important mountains are Diklosmta, Gora Addala Shukgelmezr and Gora Dyultydag. The town of Kumukh is one of the settlements on the mountains.Natural resources
Dagestan is rich in oil, natural gas, coal, and many other minerals and resources.Climate
The climate is classified as a continental climate, with a significant lack of precipitation. It is among the warmest places in Russia. In the mountainous regions, it is subarctic.- Average January temperature:
- Average July temperature:
- Average annual precipitation: to .
Administrative divisions
History
In the first few centuries AD, Caucasian Albania became a vassal and eventually subordinate to the Parthian Empire. With the advent of the Sasanian Empire, it became a satrapy within the vast domains of the empire. In later antiquity, a few wars were fought as the Roman Empire unsuccessfully attempted to contest Sasanid rule over the region. Over the centuries, to a relatively large extent, the peoples within the Dagestan territory converted to Christianity alongside Zoroastrianism.In the 5th century, the Sassanids gained the upper hand, and by the 6th century had constructed a strong citadel at Derbent, known from then on as the Caspian Gates, while the Huns overran the northern part of Dagestan, followed by the Caucasian Avars. During the Sassanian era, southern Dagestan became a bastion of Persian culture and civilization, with its center at Derbent. A policy of "Persianisation" can be traced over many centuries.
Islamic influence
During the Islamic conquests, the Dagestani people were the first people to become Muslims within current Russian territory, after the Arab conquest of the region in 643. In the 8th century Arabs repeatedly clashed with the Khazars. Although the local population rose against the Arabs of Derbent in 905 and 913, Islam was still adopted in urban centers, such as Samandar and Kubachi, from where it steadily diffused into the highlands. By the 15th century, Christianity had died away, leaving a 10th-century Church of Datuna as the sole monument to its existence.Seljuk Turks
In the second half of the 11th century, the Seljuk Turks took part of the region of Dagestan under their control.Mongol rule
The Mongols raided the lands in 1221–1222 then conquered Derbent and the surrounding area from 1236 to 1239 during the invasions of Georgia and Durdzuketia.Timurids
The Timurids incorporated the region into their realm following the Mongols.Alternating Persian and Russian rule
As Mongolian authority gradually eroded, new centers of power emerged in Kaitagi and Tarki. In the early 16th century, the Persians reconsolidated their rule over the region, which would, intermittently, last till the early 19th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, legal traditions were codified, and mountainous communities obtained considerable autonomy. In the 1720s, as a result of the disintegration of the Safavids and the Russo-Persian War, the Russians briefly annexed maritime Dagestan from the Safavids. The Russians could not hold on to the interior of Dagestan, and could only be stopped in front of Baku with the help of Ottoman forces under the command of Mustafa Pasha. With a treaty signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire in 1724, aimed at dividing the territories of Safavid Iran between them, Derbend, Baku and some other places in the region were left to Russia. Dagestan briefly came under Ottoman rule between 1578 and 1606.The territories were however returned to Persia in 1735 per the Treaty of Ganja.
Between 1730 and the early course of the 1740s, following his brother's murder in Dagestan, the new Persian ruler and military genius Nader Shah led a lengthy campaign in swaths of Dagestan in order to fully conquer the region, which was met with considerable success, although eventually he was forced to withdraw due to the extremity of the weather, the outbreak of disease and heavy raids by the various ethnic groups of Dagestan, forcing him to retreat with his army. From 1747 onwards, the Persian-ruled part of Dagestan was administered through the Derbent Khanate, with its center at Derbent. The Persian expedition of 1796 resulted in the Russian capture of Derbent in 1796. However, the Russians were again forced to retreat from the entire Caucasus following internal governmental problems, allowing Persia to capture the territory again.
Russian rule consolidated
It was not until the aftermath of the Russo-Persian War that Russian power over Dagestan was confirmed, and that Qajar Persia officially ceded the territory to Russia. In 1813, following Russia's victory in the war, Persia was forced to cede southern Dagestan with its principal city of Derbent, alongside other vast territories in the Caucasus to Russia, conforming with the Treaty of Gulistan. The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay indefinitely consolidated Russian control over Dagestan and removed Persia from the military equation.Uprisings against Imperial Russia
The Russian administration, however, disappointed and embittered the highlanders. The institution of heavy taxation, coupled with the expropriation of estates and the construction of fortresses, electrified highlanders into rising under the aegis of the Muslim Imamate of Dagestan, led by Ghazi Mohammed, Hamzat Bek and Shamil. This Caucasian War raged until 1864.Dagestan and Chechnya profited from the Russo-Turkish War, rising together against the Russian Empire. Chechnya rose again at various times throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries.