Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

Arts & Culture Culture, Arts, Literature & Linguistics
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Ossetians

The Ossetians live in the region of Ossetia, a region in the northern Caucasus Mountains in Europe. Its territory currently straddles the political divide between North Ossetia-Alania in Russia, and South Ossetia in Georgia. They speak the Ossetic language, an Iranian language related to Persian, with strong influences from two of the primary languages of the region, Georgian and Turkish.

The Ossetians descend from Iranian tribes from Central Asia, namely Alans. They became Christians during the early Middle Ages under Georgian influence. 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, in the Georgian central region of Shida Kartli. In 1924 part became known as South Ossetia.

  • Iron in the north became what is now North Ossetia/Alania, under Russian rule from 1767.
    The Ossetians of Georgia suffered under Soviet rule in the 20th century and in the Georgian rebellion against totalitarianism in the early 1990s.
    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.

Total population:

800,000 (estimated)

Significant populations in:

Russia:
432,000

Georgia:
155,000

Turkey:
131,000

Syria:
55,000

Tajikistan:
8,300

Ukraine:
6,600

Uzbekistan:
6,100

Azerbaijan:
2,300

Kazakstan:
2,100

Turkmenistan:
1,900

Language:

Ossetic

Religion:

Mostly Russian Orthodox with a large minority professing Sunni Islam

Related ethnic groups:

Indo-Europeans

Iranian people

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

A few websites on Ossetians.

Note. Some of the views and opinions expressed on these websites may not be correct and I don’t agree with everything they have to say but they’re interesting websites nevertheless.

http://ossetians.iriston.com/

http://www.canada-osetia.net/

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

Thanks for the info bro. Its real hard visiting the message boards in ossetic websites lol, hardly any english. Anyways I appreciatte it, dera manana

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

wow hardly any replies, anyways heres a link to a discussion on Ossetians.

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

^
Interesting, so the only real link we have with them is that of linguistic similarities, other than that they mixed with different races when they stlled in Ossetia and our ancestors mixed with different.

Must admit they don't really look much like Pashtuns.

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

Well I can't say, but I have heard many things. The things is we can't say they are only related by linguistics, I believe we are probably related in more ways than that. U.S.S.R. broke, so they along with other former soviet states are reviving their culture and histor, so give them time., and we will learn more.

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

well im not denying that we are slightly related but not that closely anymore.

phenotype is a reflection of race and they look way different from our people

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Re: Ossetians (Cousin Ethnic Group Of The Pashtuns)

maybe so, but culture plays quite a role. Hopefully in tim we will learn more about their culture.