Chechens are a brave and resilient nation

15.10.2019

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Armenian Origin of the Chechens (alternative history - having particles of truth...) Armenian Origin of the Chechens (Ministry of the Chechen Republic for National Policy, Press and Information))) Ancient Chechens came from Urartu to the Caucasus to preserve their identity, customs and adats Today we publish article by the Armenian scientist Arayik Oganesovich Stepanyan, candidate of philosophical sciences, chairman of the Political Science Association of St. Petersburg. Arayik Stepanyan’s decision to transfer his research to “OG” is no coincidence. The topic he touched on has long occupied the minds of Chechen historians. Many scientists wrote in their scientific works that the ancestral home of the Vainakhs is the ancient kingdom of Urartu. In the early 90s of the last century, historians of Armenia and Chechnya began to jointly study this topic. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the USSR and the outbreak of hostilities in the North Caucasus, these contacts were interrupted. We hope that after the publication of this article, research in this direction will continue. At least, as representatives of the Armenian public in Moscow and St. Petersburg assured us, Chechen scientists would be happy to see them at the Armenian Academy of Sciences. The topic he touched on has long occupied the minds of Chechen historians. Many scientists wrote in their scientific works that the ancestral home of the Vainakhs is the ancient kingdom of Urartu. In the early 90s of the last century, historians of Armenia and Chechnya began to jointly study this topic. Unfortunately, after the collapse of the USSR and the outbreak of hostilities in the North Caucasus, these contacts were interrupted. We hope that after the publication of this article, research in this direction will continue. At least, as representatives of the Armenian public in Moscow and St. Petersburg assured us, Chechen scientists would be happy to see them at the Armenian Academy of Sciences. Urartu To study the issue of the ancestral homeland of the Chechens, we chose a simple tactic, namely: if the Nakh-Dagestan language of the Sino-Caucasian group was formed in the Armenian Highlands, then there is a direct reason to look for the roots of the Nokhchi people there. The ancestors of the Chechens, according to historical, archaeological and linguistic data, had an undoubted genetic relationship with the ancient population not only of the entire Caucasus, but also of Western Asia. Cultural and linguistic ties of the Chechens can be traced with the civilization between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with the Hurrian-Urartian community, with the Basques, Hittites, Etruscans, etc. However, researchers of the Nokhchi genesis do not answer the question: when and where did the migration of the ancient Vainakhs to the Caucasus begin? It is these questions that we will try to answer. First of all, you should understand the historical content of the term “Urartu” and the ethnonyms “Vainakh” and “Nokhchi”. The state of Urartu, also known as Ararat - the capital of Van or Biaina - from the point of view of supporters of the “Urartu theory”, existed for about 350 years on the territory of the Armenian Highlands. According to the same theory, the “Urartians” were replaced by Armenians and created their own state, Armenia. However, this theory gave serious cracks after the Czech Berdzhik the Terrible (in the second half of the 20th century) deciphered the Hittite cuneiform and read the richest royal archives of the Hittite capital Hattusas. These documents spoke quite definitely and unambiguously about the state on the territory of the Armenian Highlands - Hayas, which was located at the same time and in the same place as Urartu. It is obvious that two states could not exist at the same time and in the same place. Scientists have concluded that Urartu corresponds to the geographical name Ararat (in the Bible it is mentioned as “the kingdom of Ararat”) (Jeremiah 51: 27), but not as the name of an ethnic group. The name “Urartu” is Assyrian, translated from Armenian as Ararat. It designates a territory by its local geographical name. The Assyrians called Armenia "Urartu" or "Arartu", the Persians - "Armina", the Hittites - "Hayasa", the Akkadians - "Armani". It should be mentioned here that Armenians call themselves Hayami. What relation do the Vainakhs have to Armenia? Based on research by V.I. Illich-Svitych and A.Yu. Militarev, a number of other major linguists, when correlating their data with archaeological materials, in particular A.K. Vekua, the fundamental works of T. Gombrelidze and V. Ivanov, A. Arordi, M. Gavukchyan and others, one can come to the following conclusions regarding the origin and settlement of representatives of the ancient ethnolanguage of the Vainakhs. Within the XXX-XXV thousand BC. primary differentiation of the hypothetical East-Mediterranean-Foreign Asian proto-ethno-linguistic community of people of the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic into several ethno-linguistic massifs is carried out, among which three are currently more or less clearly visible: 1) Nostratic - with an area of formation within the Transcaucasus, the Southern Caspian region, Zagros and adjacent to nim regions (currently it includes the linguistic ancestors of the Indo-European, Uralic, Altai, Kartvelian and Elamo-Dravidian peoples). It's worth noting here new job A. Arordi “Genesis of Aya”, where the author calls the Aya language this Nostratic language. 2) Afroasiatic - between the middle Euphrates and the Lower Nile, with a center in Palestine, Transjordan and Syria (from it come the linguistic ancestors of the Semitic peoples, ancient Egyptians, as well as speakers of modern Berber-Tuareg, Chadian, Cushitic and Omotian languages of the northern half of Africa). 3) Sino-Caucasian - within the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia - Armenian Mesopotamia (not only the ancients and some are genetically associated with it modern languages Mediterranean and Caucasus, such as Basque, Etruscan, Hittite, Hurrian, “Urartian”, Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan, in particular Chechen, Lezgin, etc., but also, oddly enough, the languages of the Sino-Tibetan group, including including Chinese). Pronostratic community in its modern understanding took shape in the Armenian Highlands. From its southeastern part, the descendants of representatives of the western area of the Sino-Caucasian community during the 9th - 6th millennium BC. spread throughout the Northern Mediterranean, the Balkan-Danube region, the Black Sea region and the Caucasus. Their relics are known as the Basques in the Pyrenees and the Adyghe or Chechens in the Caucasus Mountains. The northern neighbors of the ancient Semites were the speakers of the ancient Anatolian-North Caucasian languages, represented mainly by two branches of the western, Hittite - in Asia Minor (with branches in the North Caucasus in the form of the linguistic ancestors of the Abkhaz-Adyghe peoples), and eastern, Hurrian - in the Armenian Highlands ( with branches in the North Caucasus in the form of the ancestors of the Nakh-Dagestan peoples). Thus, linguists argue that the Nakh-Dagestan language was formed in the Armenian Highlands, which means that the linguistic similarities between Armenian and Vainakh should somehow be reflected in their geographical names. “Nakh” in Armenian “beginning” Based on the analysis of the toponymic names of Armenia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, it is possible to determine the regions (provinces) in Armenia from where the first Nokhchis came and moved to the North Caucasus. Let's take the Chechen village of Khoy. In Armenian this word means wild ram, ram. What is noteworthy about this word is that, according to O. Pilikyan, the self-name of the Armenians comes from it - hai, with such a transition as hoi-hoai-hai. There are three more versions about the origin of the ethnonym Hai. The Armenian city of Khoy - former Ger, and according to the Avesta - Ver, which the Aryans built in the country of Ar-Man, was located in historical Armenia - the Vaspurakan region. Today Khoy is located in Iran. There are great similarities between the Chechen village of Erzi and the Armenian cities of Alzi, Arzni, Arzan, Erzurum and Erznka. In my opinion, the Chechen village of Erzi has family ties with the Armenian Alzi. I will give just a few names of Chechen villages, which are similar to the names of cities and tribes in Armenia. Chechen: Armenian: Shatoy Shot, Shatik Kharachoy Korchay(kh) Armkhi Arme, Urme, Arkhi Targim Torg Gekhi Gekhi Beini Biayai - Van Assy Azzi Let's say right away that we do not agree with A.P. Berger, who derives the word “nokhchiy” from Chechen "nakhchi", meaning cheese. That is, people abounding in cheese. The name “Vainakh” has the meaning of an ethnic community that included Chechens, Ingush and Batsbis. The word “Vainakh” consists of two roots - “vai” and “nah”. The word “nokhcho” also has the root “nokh”. According to the research of Yu. Desheriev, the oldest form of the word “nokhcho” was “nakhcha”, with which we readily agree. However, what does the word “nakhcha” mean? There are several interpretations of this word: 1) Armenian interpretation, where the word “nah” comes from the biblical Noah, who after the global flood descended from Mount Ararat. The place where he settled is called Nakhijevan (Nakhchavan in old Armenian), which means the place (van) where Noah (Nakh) descended (ij or ej). 2) In “Armenian Geography” the Vainakh tribes are mentioned in the 7th century. called -nakhchamateank, nakhchamatsank. Linguists translate this word into the Chechen language, which means those who speak the Nokhchi language. In our opinion, these interpretations are not entirely correct. And that's why. “Nakh” means “people” in Chechen. “Nakh” in Armenian means “beginning, first”, “nakhni” means ancestor, forefather. Therefore, in the word “Nakhchavan” the root “nah” is not a synonym for Noah, but means “the first man, the forefather” who settled in this place. Thus, the city of Nakhchavan means the city of the forefather, the first ancestor. The word “wai”, in our opinion, has been associated with the ancient deity Ai since the early Neolithic. From this deity the Armenians got their name Hay, and the country was called Haykh-Khayastan, and the regions Vaykh and Taykh, etc. The Sumerians called Ayu Enki or Eya. Thus, the word "Vainakh" means "ancestors or people" who worship the god Aya. The essential mistake of a number of researchers is that they are trying to interpret the Armenian word “Nakhchamateank” in Chechen etymology, which, in our opinion, is fundamentally wrong. Thus, the Assyrians translated the Armenian word Ararat into their language, and a new state “Urartu” was born. So, for example, K.P. Patkanov broke the word “Nakhchamatyan” into three parts: “Nakhcha”, “mat”, “Yans” (suffix plural ancient Armenian language). He believes that “Nakhcha” corresponds to the Vainakhs, and “mat” means the language in Chechen. Therefore, in order to understand the essence of the word “nakhchamatsank” it should be interpreted in Armenian etymology. The first part in the words “nakhchamatsank” and “nakhchamateank” is already known to us: “nakhcha” is “forefather, ancestor”, or “people”, but the second part: “mateank” and “matsank” are the name of both the tribe and the region of Matyan in historical Armenia, in the south of Lake Urmia. And in the north-west of Lake Van lived the Mardutsayki (Mard) tribes. Let’s take the name “nokhchimokhk”: “nokhchi” - “mokhk”. In the south of Lake Van there is the Armenian principality of Mokk, which means ancestors from Mokk. Let us dwell on a number of other examples of the similarity of the names of Armenian and Vainakh villages and cities that are adjacent to each other. We designate the principality of Vayk (Vai-nakh) as our stronghold and go down clockwise. In the south of Vayk is the province of Nakhchavan (Nokhcho). To the west of Nakhchavan is the Shot (Shatoy) fortress. From Nakhchavan we go down to Lake Urmia (Armkhi) - Kaputan - Matiana, not reaching the lake directly ahead of the city of Khoy (Khoy), also known as Ger. In the south of Lake Urmia is the Principality of Matyan (Matyank, Nakhcha-Matyank). The list goes on. Thus, the conclusion suggests itself that, firstly, the word “Vainakh” indicates ethnic origin. Secondly, the words “Nakhchamateank” and “Nakhchamatsank” or “Nakhchamokhk” indicate the place of their ancestral home, that is, from which places they emigrated to the Caucasus. Thus, the word “Vainakh” is an ethnic concept, and “Nakhchamatyanq”, “Nakhchamtsank” and “Nakhchamokhk” are geographical. When did the Vainakhs emigrate from Armenia? Let's turn to Basque sources. In 1927 The book by Bernardo Estornes Lasaya is published: “The Valley of Roncala”, where he writes: “According to the sacred scriptures, after the Great Flood, the world was destroyed, and only Noah and his family were saved. Noah had a grandson from Japheth's son, whose name was Tubal. They lived in Asia, in a country called Armenia, when the construction of the famous Tower of Babylon began, for this reason the languages were mixed and from this, according to one author, the Basque language appeared. Misunderstanding of people's languages forced them to wander around the world. Forefather Tubal, whose name was also Aitor, meaning something similar to “forefather of the Basques,” together with the Armenians was on his way to the western edges of Europe to live. “Having lingered for many years in the Caucasus, they decide to continue their interrupted journey - always to the West.” As can be seen from the above, the Basques consider Armenia their ancestral home. In general, there is a lot on the topic of Basques controversial issues, but we will not dwell on them here. Let's just say that in Spain there are a huge number of Basque names similar to Armenian ones. Basque scholars from Spain and Armenia have found over 400 Basque words that have identical meanings in the Armenian language. It should be noted that emigration from the Armenian Highlands to the Caucasus occurred in several stages. The first stage is the era of the 7th - 4th millennium BC, when migrants worshiped the goddess Ai -Aya - Eya - E. The reason for the emigration of the great-great-Vainakhs who worshiped the goddess of the Moon Aya, Sumerians, etc. was their deep-rooted adherence matriarchy in confrontation with the emerging patriarchy among the sun worshipers of the Armenian Highlands, who worship the god Ar. The Vainakhs moved to the Caucasus, the Basques went west to Europe, and the Sumerians went down the Tigris and Euphrates. The second stage - III - I millennium BC, the Aryan era, when the Armenians main god- Ar or Ara (Ardini), among the Slavs Yar - Yarilo, among the Vainakhs - Erdy. The third stage is somewhere from the 6th century BC. At this time, various nomadic peoples appeared in Transcaucasia, which became an obstacle on the way from Armenia to the Caucasus. Already in the 7th century, the Nokhchi acted under the name “Nakhchamatyan”. The Armenian historiographer G. Alishan writes about them that they are very similar to the Armenians, with their adats, rituals, dances, melodious songs, sacrifices, tree worship, etc. Not all materials about the Vainakhs, which are located in the Matenadaran (the largest book depository of ancient manuscripts in Yerevan), have been studied. They are waiting for their researchers. Frequent invasions of various nomadic tribes into the Caucasus - Turks, Khazars, Mongols, etc. - disrupted the (relatively) quiet life of the Vainakhs. What task faced Nokhchi during this period? The main thing is to survive, not to dissolve among the nomadic peoples, to preserve their identity, customs, adats, etc. To do this, they climbed the mountains. They were relatively safe in the mountains. It was the secluded life in the mountains that became the reason for the lack of statehood of the Vainakhs. When threatened from outside, they united against enemies, fought back and then lived in their own mountains. In the same way as the Armenians, they fought off their enemies. We learn from the Akkadian and Assyrian kings that when they marched on Armenia, about 60 tribal alliances opposed them. Many other peoples lived on the territory of the Vainakhs: Turks, Jews, Mongols, etc., and incest was natural. The question arose: how to determine who is who? The answer is very simple: by seeds (Chechen - tukkhum, Armenian - tokhum, takhum), by clans (teips), that is, by them they determined their place in society - “one’s own” or “alien”. That’s when the cruel and debilitating customs of blood feud appeared. The Armenians had princes (nakharars) instead of the concept of teip, and there was enmity between them. The cause of enmity was blood, again seeds - tukhumu. The Armenian princes did not recognize either purebred princes, much less those who claimed royal throne. And so, while they were deciding among themselves which of them was purebred, first the Persians and the Byzantines conquered Armenia, and then the Arabs, Mongols and Turks. The issue of teips is still of great importance in Chechnya. It is difficult for outsiders to understand the meaning and place of teips in public political life Chechnya. Only the Chechens themselves can determine within themselves who is who. The fourth stage is the XV-XVI century, when Armenians who converted to Islam from the Ottoman Empire (the historical part of Armenia) moved to Persia, and from there to Chechnya. The Armenian historian Leo writes very eloquently about these Armenians. These are several Armenian “teips” from the Sanasunk Mountains who were engaged in robbery of the Turkish tax services. It happened this way: when the Turks passed through their gorge to collect taxes, they were let through unhindered, and when they returned, having collected taxes, they were attacked and robbed. It was impossible to punish or catch them because they had no permanent home, their homes were mountains. Therefore, the Turkish Sultan gave the command to bypass this area. In the end, I would like to note that the connection between the Vainakhs and the Armenian Highlands has not yet been thoroughly studied. And this thesis does not cast doubt on the theory of the autochthony of the Vainakhs. For the simple reason that when the first Nokhchi came to the Caucasus, there were no inhabitants there, because this territory was under the water of the Caspian Sea. But that is another topic.

1. History of the Chechens.

1.2 Distant ancestors

2. Teip-Tukkhum democracy

4. Timur's invasion

5. Folk legends

5.1The legend about the ascent to Mount Tebulos-Mta

5.2Nokhchalla

5.3 Mutual assistance, mutual assistance

5.4 Hospitality

5.5 "In the family circle"

5.6 “Family honor.”

5.7 wedding etiquette

5.8 Papakha - a symbol of honor

5.9 Special numbers - 7 and 8

5.10 Attitude towards women

5.11 Ritual of “calling for rain”

5.12 Festival of the Thunderer Sela

5.13 Festival of the goddess Tusholi

5.14 Plow Festival

5.15 Spring Festival

5.16 New Year

6. Chechen Republic

7. Another Chechnya

7.1 Anarchists

7.4 What all historians are silent about...

7.4 interethnic crisis in Chechnya

1. History of the Chechens.

1.1Legend about the origin of the Chechens

The ancestors of the Chechens left the country of Shem many thousands of years ago. Then they lived for a long time in the country of Nakhchuvan. From Nakhchuvan, three brothers migrated to Kazygman, where their father’s relatives lived, including an uncle. They lived in Kagyzman for 10 years. They died there younger brother. The surviving two brothers went to Erzurum, where they lived for six years. The second brother died there. The remaining elder brother then visited the Khalibs, who lived on the southeastern coast of the Black Sea. Here he lived for some time with his family, consisting of his wife, three sons, four daughters and a nephew. The nephew married and stayed with the Khalibs, and he and his family migrated to the place where the Baksan flowed. From there, his descendants settled in the direction of present-day Chechnya.

Interestingly, this legend mentions the area of Khalib. Now there is no such name, but in ancient times the Khaliba people lived along the southeastern coast of the Black Sea...

1.2 Distant ancestors

The ethnic history of the Vainakhs (Chechens and Ingush) dates back to the ancient Western Asian civilization. In Mesopotamia (between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers), in Anatolia, the Syrian and Armenian highlands, in Transcaucasia and on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, majestic and mysterious traces of Hurrian states, cities, and settlements dating back to the 4th - 1st millennia BC remained. It is the Hurrians, who formed the main part of Sumerian society - the earliest civilization on our planet - that modern historical science considers to be the most ancient ancestors of the Nakh peoples (Chechens, Ingush, Tsova-Tushins).

Numerous Hurrian states and communities at different historical times dissolved into new state formations. The last, most powerful state of the Hurrians is Urartu. Some of the Urartian tribes merged over time with the dominant ethnic groups. But the other part preserved itself, remaining relict islands, and managed to survive to this day. Today's Chechens, Ingush, Tsovatushins, and other peoples and nationalities who managed to survive in the gorges of the ancient Caucasus are precisely such relict ethnic groups.

Other ancestors of modern Chechens and Ingush are aborigines who lived from ancient times on the northern slopes of the Central zone of the Greater Caucasus Range. On the territory of modern Chechnya, in the area of Lake Kezenoy-Am in the Vedeno region, traces of people who lived here 40 thousand years ago were discovered. Thus, it can be stated that the current homeland of the Chechens is the habitat of the most ancient people. Here a number of material cultures are layered one on top of the other. Silent witnesses to the history of the Vainakhs are structures made of huge stone blocks, ancient mounds, medieval towers...

1.3 Ethnogenesis of modern Chechens

How did the distant ancestors of the Vainakhs - the Hurrians - cross the Main Caucasus Range and settle in the valleys? Among the sources that shed light on this process is “Kartlis Tskhovreba” - a collection of Georgian chronicles attributed to Leonti Mroveli. Most of these chronicles appeared at the end of the 1st millennium BC. The distant ancestors of the Vainakhs are called Dzurdzuks. They, as a significant political force, are mentioned in connection with many important events of that time: internecine clashes, dynastic marriages, etc. The wife of the first Georgian king Farnavaz was a woman from the Dzurdzuks.

The Dzurdzuks are the distant ancestors of modern Chechens, who migrated from Urartu to the north. And that's why. Eastern Hurrian-Urartian tribes lived on the shores of Lake Urmia. The city of Durdukka was located there. The tribes that migrated to Transcaucasia were called “Durduks” (Dzurdzuks) after the name of the city. The language they spoke was related to the Vainakh language. The same languages could not have originated simultaneously in both Asia Minor and the North Caucasus. And tongues don't move on their own. Thus, linguistic analogies explained the appearance of the Hurrians - representatives of the ancient Sumerian civilization - on the territory of modern Chechnya.

The Nakh tribes, tribal unions and kingdoms located in the center of the Caucasus on both sides of the ridge at the beginning and first half of the new era are the Eras, Dzurdzuks, Kakhs, Ganakhs, Khalibs, Mechelons, Khons, Tsanars, Tabals, Diaukhs, Myalkhs, Sodas.

In those areas where the Araks River (the ancient name is Yeraskhi) flowed through the habitat of the eras, during the era of the Armenian kingdom the Eraz district was located in the Yeraskhadzor gorge (“dzor” gorge). It is interesting that there are also references to the Nakhchradzor community, i.e. community of Nakhchra gorge. The word “nakhchra” directly echoes the self-name of the Chechens - nakhche.

Since ancient times, part of the ancestors of the Vainakhs inhabited the North Caucasian steppes adjacent to the territory of present-day Chechnya. In the first millennium, these lands were in the possession of the Khazar Khaganate, whose state religion was Judaism. Connections with the Khazars are still palpable in Chechen ethnography. The modern ethnological memory of the Chechen ethnos preserves knowledge of lands far from Chechnya, adjacent to the Black Sea, the Don and the Volga.

The ancestors of the Chechens actively participated in political life in the south of Eastern Europe, in the history of the same Khazar Kaganate.

A notable aspect of the ethnic identification of Chechens is their attitude towards Jews.

Some teips simply trace themselves back to one or another Jewish ancestor. There is a popular joke that when three people gather, one of them will be a Jew (zhukti). According to Akhmad Suleymanov, the name of the famous Shotoy society comes from the word shot, shubut - the Jewish designation for Saturday. In Chechnya there are toponyms that translate: “Army of the Jews”, “Mound where the Jews died.” Perhaps this is evidence of the Khazar past.

H Echens are confident that their deepest roots historically stretch back to the Sumerian kingdom (30th century BC). They also consider themselves descendants of the ancient Urartians (9-6 centuries BC). In any case, the deciphered cuneiform of these two civilizations indicates that many authentic words have been preserved in the Chechen language.

The Upper Aorsi in Strabo's "Geography", which, based on the territory of settlement (and according to the latest linguistic data, and language) can be identified with the ancestors of the Chechens, are described as a powerful people, having a king and capable of fielding a huge army, controlling large areas from the mouth of the Don right up to to the coast of the Caspian Sea. The ancient Greek author suggests that the Aorsi are fugitives from the peoples living above, i.e. in the Caucasus mountains.

Caucasian Albania was also a monarchy, the main and probably the most cultural part of the population of which were the Gargars (cf. Chech. Gyargar -

"close, related"), one of the Nakh tribes, placed in the 1st century. BC. Strabo in the eastern part of the Caucasus. According to Strabo, in Caucasian Albania “all the inhabitants are subordinate to one person, and in ancient times each group with a special language had a special king.”

The active role of the Nakh tribes in the Caucasus is noted in “The Lives of the Kartli Kings” by Leonti Mroveli, a Georgian historian of the 11th century. The ancient Armenian version of the source says that the descendants of Torgom “crossed the Caucasus mountains and filled the lands of Khazratz with the hands of Tiret’s son, Dutsuk,” i.e. Durdzuka (Durdzuk is the ethnonym of the mountain Chechens). In information from “The Life of Vakhtang Gorgasal,” the Georgian historian writes: “Then the king released great gifts to his allies - the Persians and the Caucasian kings...” The fact that the ethnonym “Caucasians” refers specifically to the Nakh tribes is not in doubt among most scientists . It can be assumed that the “Kings of the Caucasians” meant rulers who had a certain social status, and whatever the meaning of this concept, it presupposes the presence of social stratification among the Nakh tribes in that historical period.

The ancestors of the Chechens were no less powerful later, during the period of the Arab conquest of Transcaucasia and Dagestan. At this time, “mountainous regions appear as areas of developed agriculture, densely populated, with strong fortifications, areas where stable ethnopolitical formations were fully formed. Most of them were headed by dynasties of rulers who by the time Arab conquest already had developed genealogies." According to the testimony of Arab authors (Ibn Ruste, al-Masudi), beyond Serir, which is identified by historians with modern Avaria, there is the state of Al-Lan, very densely populated, with many fortresses and castles, capable of fielding a 30,000-strong army. According to Ibn Rusta, the Alans are divided into four tribes, the most powerful of which is the “Dakhsas” tribe. Ya.S. Vagapov believed that “Dakhsas” in Arabic sources should be read as “nah-sas”, where the second element goes back to the ancient ethnonym. Chechens "Sasan". On the eve of the Mongol-Tatar invasion in the foothills and plains of the Central and North-Eastern Caucasus, there was a large early feudal state - Alania. The society of this state consisted of a class of feudal lords, a layer of free community members, dependent peasants, and household slaves.

2. Teip-Tukkhum democracy.

Thus, the Chechens, until the invasion of Timur, had various state formations with a formalized monarchical form of government and a delineated social stratification of society. And speaking about the historical experience of state building among the Chechens, we cannot limit ourselves only to teip-tukhum democracy, which some researchers consider the only form of political organization of Chechen society in the past. Teip-tukhum democracy is a traditional form of political organization of Chechen society from the 14th to the beginning of the 20th century. The supreme body, the Mekhk-khel or the Council of the Country, represented the legislative and judicial powers in one person. Members of the Mekhk-khel were elected according to a pyramid system from representatives of various teips.

The teip-tukhum organization in its classical form, in all likelihood, took shape in the period after Timur’s invasion, when the Chechen state with its institutions, ruling dynasties, and civilization skills developed by the ancestors of the Chechens over thousands of years were destroyed, when the Chechen land plunged into the darkness of the Time of Troubles , under which one law rules - the right of the strong. During this period, the Chechens were forced to leave the plains and foothills and go to the mountains.

In order to talk about the role of the teip-tukhum organization in the history of Chechnya, it is necessary to define what we mean by the concepts of “teip” and “tukhum”. This problem is very complex and confusing and has not yet received a more or less clear solution. “The identification and study of clan groupings in the Caucasus is extremely complicated and complicated by the fact that many Caucasian clans sometimes use a whole series of terms to designate these groupings, both local and borrowed from other languages,” M.A. wrote about this. Indirect. Various researchers understood by these terms both the surname, and individual societies, and the clan, and the clan community. But the Chechen teip in its classic form is neither patronymic nor gender.

The Chechens had the term “var” - clan (which, by the way, was preserved by the Ingush, but in a different meaning). It is much closer in its structure and content to the concept of gender. Var is a consanguineous organization, all members of which go back to a single ancestor that actually existed. This may be confirmed by a relict concept that is still preserved in the Chechen language in idiomatic expressions: “Vari da is the father of the clan, the ancestor,” although folk etymology often reinterprets it as “Vorkhi da is the father of seven (meaning seven generations),” but it is likely that “var” - genus and “vorkh/varkh” - seven go back to the same root. M. Mamakaev’s definition of teip as “a patriarchal exogamous group of people descended from one common ancestor” is more suitable to the concept of “var” or the later “nekyi”.

(2)

Chechens (self-name “Nokhchi”) are one of the oldest peoples in the world with their own anthropological type and distinctive culture. In the North Caucasus, this is the largest ethnic group (over 1 million people). Their neighbors, the Ingush, are very close to the Chechens in genotype, culture and religion. Together they form the Vainakh people, bound by blood, common historical destiny, territorial, economic, cultural and linguistic community.

Vainakhs (Chechens, Ingush) are natives of the Caucasus and speak the Nakh language, which is part of the North Caucasian group of the Iberian-Caucasian family of languages. Chechen society was historically formed as a multi-ethnic one; it constantly absorbed various ethnic elements of nomadic and neighboring mountain peoples; this is evidenced by the non-Vainakh origin of many Chechen teips (clans).

The history of Chechnya is an ongoing struggle against external enemies for freedom and independence, alternating periods of statehood with periods of its defeat and new attempts at revival. In the era early Middle Ages(IV-XII centuries) the Chechens had to repel the expansion of Rome, Sasanian Iran, the Arab Caliphate, and the Khazar Kaganate.

Early class state formations on the territory of Chechnya and Dagestan in the IV-XII centuries. in the mountains of Chechnya and Dagestan there existed the “kingdom of Serir,” a state formation of an early class type; In the flat-foothill zone of the North Caucasus, the Alan multi-ethnic early feudal state arose. The steppe regions of modern Chechnya were part of the Khazar Kaganate. Thus, already in the early Middle Ages, the Vainakh tribes, together with related peoples of the Caucasus, attempted to create statehood. The ancestors of the Chechens took an active part in the political life of medieval Georgia, Serir, Alania, and Khazaria.

Difficult formation process Chechen nation. In the XIII-XIV centuries. The Chechens, under pressure from the Tatar-Mongols, were forced to retreat into the mountains. At the end of the 14th century. Tamerlane's troops defeated the state of Semsim that existed on the territory of Chechnya, after which a long period of decline began. The physical, material and cultural losses of the Vainakh people after the invasion of Tamerlane were so great that the historical connection of times and cultures was once again interrupted. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, the Chechens gradually descended from the mountains and re-developed the Chechen plain. The Chechens, having experienced “all the delights” of the oppression of foreign rulers and their feudal lords, did not accept the serfdom path of development; instead, in most of the territory of Chechnya, the traditional way of life was revived - free societies, where personal freedom was limited only by the strict laws of adat (tribal law). Since then, among the Chechens, belonging to the tribal and feudal nobility was not enough for the power here to become hereditary. Individualism, the cult of freedom, and democracy among the Vainakhs were so strongly developed that at a certain stage of development these virtues of the people turned against them and became an obstacle to the very process of nation formation. It is no coincidence that Chechen societies were at enmity with each other and, fearing the rise of people from their midst, fearing the creation of the institution of hereditary power, representatives of either the Kumyk or Kabardian princely families were invited to the position of rulers, from whom it was easy to get rid of (and got rid of) if desired. The life of mountaineers all over the world is determined by the great isolation of clans and communities, love of freedom and belligerence. Slavery and serfdom cannot take root in mountain societies, where every man is a warrior. The feudal lords could extend their power only to certain areas, and it was possible to maintain it only with the voluntary support of the free and warlike population. In the mountains, the interests of the family, clan, and community most often prevailed over national interests, so it was difficult to create a stable state formation there.

Chechen society has always been, as it were, “non-state” ethnocratic (from the Greek etnos - customs). There was a tradition of holding popular assemblies, at which temporary leaders were elected to wage war and manage societies, but the Vainakhs never had a king. The problem of consolidation has always been relevant for them. The tsarist officer Umalat Laudaev (Chechen by origin) wrote in 1872 that “the society of the Chechen tribe, consisting of many surnames, historically hostile to each other, is alien to unanimity. Thus, the Nazranites were irreconcilable enemies of the lowland Chechens - they robbed and killed each other; The Shatoevites attacked the Nadterechny Chechens, and these same people, taking revenge on them, kidnapped people from them and sold them into captivity. This lack of unanimity among Chechen societies resulted in the insignificance of the political significance of their country.”

Social structure of Chechen society. The constant threat posed by external enemies nevertheless contributed to the specific process of consolidation of Chechen society. The Vainakhs have preserved the institutions of tribal, military democracy, and communal democratic forms of governing the country longer than other peoples of the Caucasus. Due to the peculiarities of historical development (the fight against external enemies), the level of social stratification of Chechen society was not high, and accordingly, social class differences were poorly developed. Social conflicts arising in society were effectively regulated within the framework of tribal relations, based on the synthesis of customary (adat) and Islamic (Sharia) law. As a result, the Chechens, having a relatively high level of spiritual, material and everyday culture, did not know the institution of feudal power in its classical form, and lived in unique self-governing communities. Each clan (teip) lived on its own historical territory, which was ancestral communal land. All issues regarding the life of relatives (tribesmen) in this territory were decided by the council of elders of the clan. Functions state power, regulation of international, inter-tribal, inter-tribal relations fell on the “council of the country” (mekhka khel), which was in charge of issues at the national level. If necessary, the council elected a temporary military leader. Chechen society is characterized by maximum concentration of power below, in local communities, and delegation of powers from bottom to top as necessary. The free societies of Chechnya did not tolerate individual power or dictatorship over themselves; the Chechens had a negative attitude towards admiration for their superiors, especially towards their exaltation. The prevalence of honor, justice, equality, and collectivism is a feature of the Chechen mentality.

RIA Novosti columnist Tatyana Sinitsyna.

Chechens are confident that their deepest roots historically stretch back to the Sumerian kingdom (30th century BC). They also consider themselves descendants of the ancient Urartians (9-6 centuries BC). In any case, the deciphered cuneiform of these two civilizations indicates that many authentic words have been preserved in the Chechen language.

It so happened that throughout history the Chechens did not have their own state. The only attempt to create the kingdom of Sinsir in the 14th century came at the wrong time - this barely born idea was crushed by Tamerlane’s cavalry. Having lost two-thirds of their people in battles with the eastern conquerors, the Chechens left the fertile plains and went to the mountains - from there it was more convenient to continue the fight. For Chechens, the mountains have forever become a haven, a refuge, a native, and even a holy place.

In addition to foreign conquerors, there were also plenty of local enemies - warlike detachments of other Caucasian ethnic groups attacked each other every now and then, this was the way of life. I had to be armed at all times. In order to more effectively protect their home and village, the mountaineers united into militia units and built defensive lines. So far Caucasian peaks Hundreds of ancient fortress towers, made of crushed stone, are scattered around. From here they watched the enemy, and, having noticed him, they lit fires, the smoke from which was a signal of danger. The constant expectation of raids, the need to always be in full combat readiness, of course, militarized the consciousness, but also cultivated courage and contempt for death.

In battles, even one saber played a big role, so every boy from the cradle was brought up harshly and harshly, like a future warrior. According to ethnologist Galina Zaurbekova, a mother of four children, to this day Chechen ethics prohibits caressing, pampering children, and indulging their whims. And today, ancient songs are traditionally sung at the cradles, praising military valor, courage, a good horse, and good weapons.

The highest peak of the Eastern Caucasus is Mount Tebolus-Mta, which rises to 4512 meters. The ascent of the Chechen people to this mountain, heroic battles with the pursuing enemy is the theme of many ancient beliefs. The mountainous nature of the Caucasian landscape “fragmented” the Chechen people - they settled autonomously, along gorges, differentiated not according to territorial, but according to the clan-clan principle. This is how Chechen teips arose, which are united groups of families, each of which is headed by an elected elder. The most revered and respected are the root, ancient teips; others, having a short pedigree, formed as a result of migration processes, are called “younger”. Today there are 63 teips in Chechnya. A Chechen proverb says: “Teip is the fortress of adat,” that is, the traditional rules and regulations of the life of Chechen society (adat). But the teip protects not only the customs established over centuries, but also each of its members.

Life in the mountains determined the entire range of social relations. The Chechens switched from agriculture to cattle breeding; the principle of flax farming was excluded, when workers could be hired, and this forced everyone to work. The prerequisites for the development of a feudal state and the need for hierarchy disappeared. The so-called mountain democracy, where everyone was equal, but whose laws cannot be questioned. And if “birds of a different plumage” suddenly appeared, they were simply squeezed out of the communities - leave if you don’t like it! Leaving their clan, the “outcasts” found themselves within the borders of other nations and assimilated.

The spirit of mountain freedom and democracy turned a sense of personal dignity into a cult. The Chechen mentality was formed on this basis. The words with which Chechens have greeted each other since ancient times reflect the spirit of personal independence - “Come free!”

Another stable expression is “It’s hard to be a Chechen.” It's probably not easy. If only because the proud, freedom-loving essence of the Chechen personality is literally chained in the “iron armor” of adat - norms of law elevated to custom. For those who do not observe adat - shame, contempt, death.

There are many customs, but in the center is the code of male honor, which unites the rules of behavior for men, aimed at encouraging courage, nobility, honor, and composure. According to the code, a Chechen must be compliant - mountain roads are narrow. He must be able to build relationships with people, without in any way demonstrating his superiority - a way to avoid unnecessary conflict. If someone sitting on horseback meets someone on foot, he must greet first. If the person you meet is an old man, then the rider must get off the horse and only then greet him. A man is forbidden to “lose” in any life situation, to find himself in an unworthy, ridiculous position.

Chechens are morally afraid of insult. Moreover, not only personal, but also insulting one’s family, teip, and non-compliance with the rules of adat. If a member of the teip seriously disgraces himself, then he will have no life, the community will turn away from him. “I’m afraid of shame, and that’s why I’m always careful,” says the mountaineer, a fellow traveler of the poet Alexander Pushkin on his journey to Arzrum. And in our time, internal and external guardians of behavior force the Chechen to be extremely collected, restrained, silent, and polite in society.

There are wonderful, worthy rules in hell. For example, kunachestvo, (twinning), readiness for mutual assistance - the whole world builds a house for someone who does not have one. Or - hospitality: even an enemy who crosses the threshold of the house will receive shelter, bread, protection. And what can we say about friends!

But there are also destructive customs, for example, blood feud. Modern Chechen society is fighting against this archaism; procedures have been created for the reconciliation of bloodlines. However, these procedures require mutual goodwill; an obstacle on this path is the fear of being “unmanly” and being ridiculed.

A Chechen will never let a woman go ahead of him - she must be protected, there are many dangers on a mountain road - a landslide or a wild animal. Besides, they don't shoot from the back. Women play special role in mountain etiquette. They are, first of all, the keepers of the hearth. In ancient times, this metaphor had a direct meaning: women were responsible for ensuring that the fire was always burning in the hearth, on which food was cooked. Now, of course, this expression has a figurative, but still very deep, meaning. Until now, the most terrible curse among the Chechens is the words “May the fire go out in your hearth!”

Chechen families are very strong, adat contributes to this. The format and lifestyle are stable and predetermined. The husband never gets involved in household chores; this is a woman’s undivided sphere. To treat a woman with disrespect, especially to humiliate or beat her, is unacceptable and impossible. But if the wife has failed with her character and behavior, the husband can very easily divorce him by saying three times: “You are no longer my wife.” Divorce is inevitable even if the wife treats her husband’s relatives with disrespect. Chechen women had no choice but to master the subtle art of getting along with their husband’s relatives.

Adat prohibits Chechens from any “beautiful madness,” but they still dare, for example, to kidnap brides. In the old days, according to Galina Zaurbekova, girls were stolen, most often because the family refused the groom, thus insulting his personal dignity. Then he himself restored honor - he kidnapped the girl and made her his wife. In another case, the reason for thefts of girls was the lack of money for the dowry (ransom), which is paid to the parents. But it happened, of course, that the passion of the heart simply leapt up. Be that as it may, the “full stop” in such a case was put in two ways: either the kidnapper was forgiven and the wedding was celebrated, or he was pursued by blood feud for the rest of his life. Today, the custom of “kidnapping the bride” has rather a romantic connotation. As a rule, it is performed by mutual agreement, being part of the wedding ritual.

A wedding is one of the biggest holidays among Chechens. Her procedure hasn't changed much. The celebration lasts three days and always ends with dancing in the evenings. Chechen dance is unusually temperamental and graceful. In the 20th century, this small nation had a happy opportunity to show the beauty of its national dance to the whole world: the great dancer and “Chechen knight” Makhmud Esambaev was applauded in all countries. The plasticity and meaning of Chechen dance are based on the main ethical and aesthetic values: men are brave and proud, women are modest and beautiful.

The origin of any people is a complex problem, the solution of which takes decades. The problem is all the more difficult because data from only one branch of the humanities, say, data from linguistics, archeology or ethnography, taken separately, are insufficient to solve it. To the greatest extent, what has been said applies to those peoples who did not have their own written language in the historical past, to which also applies Checheno-Ingush people .
The Chechens and Ingush, like other peoples, have gone through a difficult and long path of development. This path is measured over thousands of years, and the only companion of the people, a witness to their past history that has survived to this day, is the language in which the past of the Vainakhs is imprinted.

“Language data,” says Prof. V.I. Abaev - if they are correct are interpreted, acquire , along with others evidence, great importance when deciding ethnogenetic questions." (V.I. Abaev. Ethnogenesis of Ossetians according to language. Abstracts of reports of a scientific session devoted to the problem of the origin of the Ossetian people. Ordzhonikidze, 1966, p. 3). Such branches of linguistics as toponymy and ethnonymy are called upon to provide a special service in solving this problem. Dialects, in which in preserved dead forms of language that served as a designation for objects, concepts and ideas of the people in the historical past are preserved.
Historical science does not have any convincing information about the social differentiation of Chechens and Ingush in the early and late Middle Ages. But according to some historians, the Chechens and Ingush had a clan system, almost in the 18-19 centuries. The data of language and ethnography convincingly refute these arguments as insolvent.
Since ancient times, in the Chechen and Ingush languages there have been the terms ela (alla) - prince, lai - slave, yalho - hired worker, vatsarho - exploited and others who talk about the existence of princes and slaves among the Chechens and Ingush, even in the distant past.
About the existence of Christianity among the Chechens and Ingush (and Christianity as monotheistic religion cannot exist among a people with a tribal system), also testify terms denoting the attributes of this ideology, for example: kersta - Christian (cf. Russian Cross), zh1ar - cross, bibal - Bible, kils - church (cargo, eklisi) and others.
It should be remembered that in the vocabulary of a language there are no words that arose on their own, that “neither thought nor language form a special kingdom in themselves... they are only manifestations of real life.” (K. Marx, F. Engels).
In making an attempt in this article to express our thoughts on the issue of the ethnogenesis of the Chechens and Ingush, we, of course, rely mainly on language data, but at the same time, whenever possible, we use data from other related sciences.
Chechens, Ingush and Tsovo-Tushins (Batsbians), being related in language, material and spiritual culture, constitute one of the groups of the so-called Iberian-Caucasian ethnic family, which includes the autochthonous peoples of Dagestan, Georgia, Adygea, Circassia and Kabardino-Balkaria Georgians, Adygeis, Circassians, Kabardians, Avars, Dargins, Laks, Lezgins and others. Scientists include the Basques of Spain and southern France in this ethnic family.
All of these peoples are related to each other in origin and language. This means that the once united people split into several nationalities. Each with its own language and other ethnic characteristics, albeit close ones. The multilingualism of the Caucasus is a consequence of the differentiation of a single ethnic monolith, which, according to most scientists, developed in the Cis-Caucasian steppes and in Ancient Western Asia, which constituted cultural-historical commonality with the Caucasian Isthmus.
Scientists have concluded that the Caucasian ethnic community presumably formed around 5 thousand years BC. in Western Asia, begins a gradual migration movement towards the Caucasian Isthmus, to the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas. This migration flow did not subside until 2 thousand years BC. and, seeping into mountain gorges in the direction from south to north, covers the entire Caucasian region.
According to anthropologist prof. V.V. Bunak, the settlement of “the North Caucasus occurred in two streams, one moving along the western edge of the Caucasus, the other along the eastern... In the center of the Caucasus they met and formed their own unique type, found in different modifications south of the Main Caucasus Range.” (E.I. Krupnov. “Medieval Ingushetia.” M., 1971, p. 42).
This ethnic stream, representing a conglomerate of related tribal formations, with insignificant differences in language, material and spiritual culture. As the migration movement weakens (at the 3-2 thousand mark), further differentiation of ethnic units occurs and differences between once related tribes deepen. The beginning of the collapse of the single Caucasian ethnic massif into three ethnic regions should be attributed to this time - Dagestanskonakh, Kartvelian and Abkhaz-Adyghe. This conclusion is based not only on linguistic data, but also on archaeological data. By this time, the first states of the Middle East had already taken shape (Sumer, Elam, Urartu, Mitania, etc.), the languages of which we find analogies in the languages of the modern peoples of the Caucasus, in particular the Chechens and Ingush, as evidence of the former ethnic unity of the latter with the peoples who created these the most ancient civilizations of mankind. The legacy of this unity can also be traced in some features of the spiritual and material culture of the Chechens and other peoples of the Caucasus. The Caucasian languages and culture of the peoples of the Caucasus also find analogies in the culture and language of the Hurrians, Hittites, Urartu, Albania, Greece, Etruscans and other ancient peoples and state formations. So, for example, according to the unanimous opinion of scientists, the Greeks brought the myth “About the Chained Prometheus” known to mankind from the Caucasus. And in the folklore of many peoples of the Caucasus there are legends about chained heroes with content similar to the Greek myth. Particularly striking is the Chechen version of the myth, which almost completely coincides with the Greek myth of Aeschylus' version. (See our: “The image of Prometheus in the folklore of the Chechens and Ingush.” Izvestia CHINIIIYAL, vol. 6. Grozny 1971).
“In Greek ...,” said Academician. M.Ya. Marr, - such simple words as soul, brother, sea are Japhetic (i.e. Caucasian - K.Ch.). The names of gods, heroes, villages, mountains, rivers of Greece are Japhetic" (N.Ya. Marr. Armenian culture, its roots and prehistoric connections according to linguistic data. In the collection "Language and History". M., 1936, p. 80 ).
GA. Melishvili in his work “On the History of Ancient Georgia”. (Tbilisi, 1954) localizes the supposed distant ancestors of the Vainakhs in the middle reaches of the river. Euphrates called Tsupani (2 thousand BC). According to the academician, the name Tsupani comes from the name of the supreme pagan deity of the Vainakhs Ts1u (hence the Chech. Ts1u stag, Ing. ts1u and ts1ey - holiday) (A) ni - a suffix with the meaning of place (cf. the names of the villages Ersana (Ersenoy), Gu'na (Gunoy ), Vedana (Vedeno)). As you can see, this suffix still exists in the Vainakh languages in the same meaning indicated above. The stem Ts1u has no meaning, but is known as theonyms in modern Chechen and Ingush languages; in the distant past the state was called by the name of this cult.
It is known that in 783 BC. King Argishti of Urartu resettled 6,600 thousand soldiers from Tsupani and the neighboring Khate region and settled them in the Arin-Berd area, founding the city of Irpuni (present-day Yerevan). The name Arin-Berd in its entirety and the second part of the toponym Irpuni (-uni) are clearly etymologized through the Vainakh languages (Arin) cf. chech-ing. arye - space, genus form. case arena (a) -spatial, -n- gender format. case, berd - shore, rock, -uni - format indicating the area (see above: Vedena, etc.). In the language of Urartu (according to Cuneiform), arin means steppe, plain, berd means fortress. Read more about the connections of the Vainakhs with Urartu below.
According to Prof. R.M. Magomedov’s differentiation of the Caucasian peoples already occurred in the Caucasus (between 3-2 thousand) (see R.M. Magomedov. Dagestan. Historical sketches. Makhachkala, 1975).
But if the question of the time and place of separation of the Nakh ethnic group from the general Caucasian massif is debatable, then the kinship of the culture and languages of the Caucasian peoples with the culture and language of Urartu-Hurrians is generally accepted in science.
Here is what AS writes about this. Chikobava: “It can already be assumed that certain provisions of the Urartian language are explained with the help of data from the Iberian-Caucasian languages, primarily Nakh (Chechen, Batsbi).” (A.S. Chikobava. “Problems of the relationship of Iberian-Caucasian languages.” Abstracts of reports. Makhachkala. 1965, p. 7). Similar thoughts were expressed by other venerable scientists (academician G.A. Melikishvili, professor Yu.D. Desheriev, I.M. Dyakonov, etc.). The Nakh languages are currently less studied than other groups of the Iberian-Caucasian family, and their further study will bring the final solution to the problem closer. Already today it can be stated that the solution to the issue has moved forward significantly in the time that has passed since the above statements of scientists. It is not difficult to understand how promising an in-depth study of Nakh languages, especially their dialects, is.
Let us dwell on some similar points, including the Nakh and Urartian languages.
Arin-Berd (see above).
Tushpa was the name of the capital of Urartu. It is known that in ancient times main city, religious, Cultural Center states among many peoples were called by the name of the supreme deity. This was the case in Urartu. And in Urartian the given name meant “city of the god Tush”, pa - city, settlement.
This name is etymologized in a similar way on the basis of the Nakh languages: Tush is one of the supreme deities of the Vainakhs during the period of paganism, later Christianity, the deity of childbirth and regenerating nature. Even in the last century, according to B. Dalgat, the Ingush performed rituals dedicated to this deity. The hoopoe is called tushol kotam or tusholig (tushola chicken) by the Ingush (l - determinant) and is considered a sacred bird by both the Chechens and the Ingush (it cannot be killed, and stones cannot be thrown at it).
A people closely related to the Chechens and Ingush living in Georgia - the Tushins - are named after this deity, since the clan, tribe and nationality in ancient times bore the name of their totem (cf. the name than the Taipa Ts1ontaroi from the name of the deity of fire Ts1u, etc.). Another component of this toponym is also clearly etymologized from the Nakh languages. Pa (phya) in ancient Nakh meant settlement, village, locality. Until now, in the closely related Tushino, in the language of the Chechens living in Georgia (Kists) and in the mountain dialects of Chechnya, a settlement is called by this word. This word is also found in many toponyms of the mountainous Checheno-Ingushetia as a relic: Pkheda, Pkhamat, Pkhaakoch, etc. “Pkhaa” was also the name of the pagan deity of the settlement, humanity among the Vainakhs. This basis is also present in the name of the hero-fighter of God of Vainakh Folklore Pkh'armat, with whom we associate the famous Greek god-fighter Prometheus (see our “Image of Prometheus in the folklore of the Chechens and Ingush.” Izvestia CHI NIIIYAL vol. 4. Literary criticism Grozny, 1971).
One of the leading tribes of Urartu bore the name Biayna. The Urartians also called their country with this word, which was natural, given the fact that many peoples named the country after the name of the leading people. Compare the name of the large Chechen tribe Beni and the village of Bena. The same root is present in the toponym Beni-Vedana and in the Ingush name of one of the Georgian mountain tribes, the Mokhevs-Benii, from whom the Ingush Malsagovs are believed to descend.
In the language of Urartu, a protected fortified area, or fortress, was called khoy. In the same meaning, this word is found in Checheno-Ingush toponymy: Khoy is a village in Cheberloy, which really had strategic importance, because blocked the path to the Cheberloev basin from the side of Dagestan and the plane of Chechnya. Hence the name of the river G1oy (x-g1), flowing through the village of Goyty, the name of which (Chechen G1oyt1a) is also derived from G1oy (khoi), -t1a-postposition with the meaning of place. The fact that the Chechen version is a plural form shows that the above parallels are not a coincidence. numbers from ha - protection, -th - plurality format, and this root is found in many toponyms of Checheno-Ingushetia: Khan-Kala, Khan-Korta (Russian: Khayan-Kort), etc. Urart. Durdukka (city near Lake Urmia). It is known that in the distant past the Nakh tribes were called Dzurdzuks. The case when the names of nationalities go back to the names of localities is a common phenomenon in science. In addition, the first part of this toponym-ethnonym is found in Vainakh toponymy and anthroponymy: Dzurz-korta (locality in the Itum-kala region), korta - head, hill, hillock; Dzu'rza is a male name (Ersenoy village, Vedeno district), etc.
Urart. Tsudala (name of the City, (Chechen Ts1udala) a compound word consisting of two components - Ts1u - god of fire, dala - supreme god pagan pantheon).
Urart. Eritna is the name of the mountain, Chech. Ertina is the name of the mountain ( Vedensky district), Urart. Arzashku is the name of the area, Chech. Irzoshka (Vedeno district, near the village of Kharachoy). In Checheno-Ingush, Irzuo is a forest clearing. Here, perhaps, there is a random coincidence in the basis of this word, but such an assumption is excluded in the ending - shka, because This is a very common, living format of the directive plural in Nakh toponymy. numbers - sh (plurality format), -ka - ha - the format itself (cf. s.s. Sema1ashka, Chovkhashka, Galashka, etc.).
Various scientists in different time the presence of numerous toponyms with repeating elements -li, -ni, -ta was noted on the territory of modern Armenia and in the area of Lake Van, Urmi (see in particular GA. Khalatyan. “On some geographical names of Ancient Armenia in connection with the data of the Van inscriptions.” VDI No. 2, 1949). These toponyms are: Tali, Ardishtikh1inili, Naksuana, Kh1aldina, Mana, Kh1itina, Abaeni, Kh1ushani, Azani, Ardini, Missita, Mista and others.
The endings present in the given toponyms coincide with similar formats of toponymic names for the territory of modern Checheno-Ingushetia, especially its mountainous strip; see accordingly:
Ch1ebil-la, nizha-la, Sa'ra-la, B1av-la, (names of villages and communities) Ersana, Gu'na, Veda-na, Belg1a-ni (ing.), Be-na, Sho'-na and other names of villages; Gikh-t1a, Poy-t1a Martan-t1a, Ekhash-t1a (names of villages), and others.
Outside of Checheno-Ingushetia, place names in – t1a (ta) are also noted in Tushetia (G.S.S.R.); see Etel-ta, Ts1ova-ta, Indur-ta, etc., in which the format appears more clearly - “ta” as a toponym-forming element of the Nakh languages.
In the science of language, it is customary to consider the most reliable, in the sense of the genetic relationship of languages, to be the following type of coincidence, when a number of toponyms with repeating formats from one region coincide with the same number of toponyms from another region.
There is a coincidence in Nakh and Urartian cult names ancient type.
Urart. Ma is the supreme sun god. In the same meaning, this name is noted in the Nakh languages, although at present it appears only as part of derivatives and complex words with the meaning of the cult of the sun: malkh (lkh - determinant) - the sun, see also the toponyms m1aysta (s, ta - determinants ), malhasta (producing base “ma”); Maska - the name of the village (ma - basis, ska - determinants), maskara (b. village), Mesha-khi - river, malsag - “sun man”, hence the surname Malsagov, Muosag - the name of a person with the same meaning, etc. .
Urart. Taishebi is one of the supreme deities; Chech., Ing. Tush ((Tushol - the deity of nature and childbirth; cf. also Ing. Taishabanie - a children's game). Cases when the names of deities turn into the names of children's games are known in science; see Chech. Galg1ozhmekh lovzar - a game of towns from Gal - the name of one from the ancient sun deities).
There have also been cases of transformation of the names of deities into names of people. Thus, the name of the Urartian deity Ashura in Chechen is found as the female name Ashura, as well as Urart. Azani, Czech Aizan (laskat. Aizani), Urart. Ashtu is the name of a deity, Chech. Ashtu is a female name, Urart. Lagash, Chech. Lagash, Lakash - male name, etc. Urart, Cybele - god of spring, Chech. Kebila is a female name, Urartian. Dika is the name of a deity, Chech. dika - okay, dika is a male name. There is a transformation of toponyms into proper names: Urart. Kindari-Sangara is the name of the area, Chech. Kindar-Sangara - male names. There is overlap in other vocabulary, for example:
Urart. sure - army, Chech. sura - in the same meaning, hence the toponyms Suyr - korta, Surat1a (for more information about the word sura, see K.Z. Chokaev. “Geographical names of Checheno-Ingushetia.” Manuscript. CHINIIIYAL archive. His “Where the Vainakh root leads.” Almanac "Orga", No. 2, 1968).
Urart. tires - two, Chech., Ing. shi - two,
Urart. Tish, Chech., Ing. quiet - old,
Urart. 1u - shepherd, Chech., Ing. 1у - in the same meaning,
Urart. Khaza, Chech., Ing. haza - to hear,
Urart. Ale, Chech. ala, ing. ala, dude. ala—to say; see more
Urart. Manua-s ale “Manua said”, Chech. Manua-s ale (cheb.) in the same meaning. Here, as you can see, the whole phrase coincides with grammatical indicators (format of the ergative case - s).
Lulabi is what the Urartians called their neighbors, which meant stranger, enemy. If we take into account the specific historical situation of the time, when the Urartians were subjected to constant invasions and attacks by the neighboring state of Assyria, such semantics of this word becomes understandable, since the meaning of the word changes depending on the living conditions of native speakers. In modern Chechen and Ingush this word is clearly decomposed into its component parts and has the meaning neighbors (lula - neighbor, bi - plural formant, preserved in the closely related Batsbi to this day; see bats - bi "those on the grass" from bats ( butz) - grass).
There is a convergence of grammatical forms, which is especially important when determining the genetic relationship of languages, because grammatical structure is the most stable section of a language. For example, there have been cases of coincidence of the forms of the ergative (active), genitive, dative cases of modern Nakh, on the one hand, and the Urartian language, on the other; see urar. h1aldini uli taran Sarduri-si ale. Sardur speaks to the mighty God Khald. Wed. Chech. Kh1aldina (taroyolchu) sarduras ale (cheb). The forms of the dative and active cases in these sentences coincide (-na, -s); see also: Urart. They drank the punishment of Ildaruni ni agubi; Wed Chech. Alari Ildaruni-ani agnedu. Kanad led from the Ildaruniani River. We have presented the Chechen version here only with particular regard to historical changes, omitting separate forms, which were not in ancient Vainakh, in particular the postposition t1era. If we take into account all the changes, then we can accurately reproduce the Urartian version; So apari could be obtained from pili - ditch, agnedu (by discarding the formant -not- and replacing the class indicator d with b) can be restored in its previous form - agubi, etc.
In the Urartu language, scientists have discovered a plural format - azhe; Wed Chech., Ing. -ash - already in the same meaning. Such transformations among the Nakhs are legitimate, for example, yours is vazha.
In the work of M. Kagankatvatsi “History of the Agvans”, written 1300 years ago, it is said: “Uts, Sodas, Gargars are brothers and they come from a father named Ura.” Ura is the basis of the word Urartu, Uts are Udins (related to the Nakhs and other peoples of the Caucasus, but living in Azerbaijan), Sodas are apparently Sodoytsy (once a strong Chechen type, whose representatives still live in Vedeno and other regions of the Chechen Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; this tribe is noted in ancient Greek sources (2nd century AD); see about this: V.B. 1966); The ethnonym Gargara is clearly deciphered using Chechen language like relatives, close ones. Most scientists tend to see the Gargars as the ancestors of the Nakhs.
According to archaeological excavations carried out on the former territory of Urartu by Soviet and foreign scientists, many common points were noted in the material culture of Urartu, on the one hand, and the Nakhs, on the other.
With the archaeological study of the former territory of Urartu, as well as the folklore, language and ethnography of the Chechens and Ingush, such similarities will increase, since the kinship here is undeniable.
The state of Urartu was formed in the 9th century BC. and lasted 300 years. In the 6th century BC. e. under the blows of the states of Assyria and Media, Urartu ceased to exist as a state.
Urartu is the first state to emerge on the territory of our country. The peoples of Urartu achieved a high level of development of culture, technology and economy for that time.
After the collapse of Urartu as a state, the state of Albania emerged in Transcaucasia. According to sources, the leading people in Albania were the Gargars. The dominant religion in Albania at one time was Christianity. The language of religion and schooling was the language of the Gargars. (See A. Shanidze “The Newly Discovered Alphabet of the Caucasian Albanians and Its Importance for Science.” Izv. IYAMK. cargo branch of the ANSSSR, vol. 4, 1938, etc.).
As evidence of the presence of the distant ancestors of the Vainakhs in Transcaucasia, numerous toponyms were noted on the former territory of Albania, explained only from the Nakh and partly from the Dagestan languages (see Ts1unda, Hereti, Artsakh, Artsian; cf. Chech. Ts1uonta (ra), Ertan, Erga, Ersana, Ortsakh, etc.). Toponyms explained from Nakh and Dagestan are also noted in Eastern Georgia, Khevsureti, Pshkhavia, Mokhevia, Tusheti.
For the first time, the modern ethnic name of the Chechens Nakhchi in the form of Nakhchamatyane was noted in Armenian sources of the 4th century AD. The same ethnonym is found in the “Armenian Geography” of Moses Khorensky (VII century AD), which (the ethnonym) is localized mainly in the foothill zone of the modern territory of the flat Checheno-Ingushetia (see map from the said “Geography”). However, at different times the Nakh tribes are found in the sources under different names: Sodas, Gargars, Dzurzuks, Dvals (from Dal), Nakhchamatyans, Tsanars, Gligvas, Kists, Kalkans, Michigi ((Michigis (Chechens of Ichkeria), Shibuts (Shatois), Meredzhi (merzhoy), Chechen, Chechen, Ingush, etc.
It would be a mistake to think that the Chechens and Ingush are, so to speak, ethnically “pure” peoples, without any admixture of representatives of other nationalities. In their development, the Chechen-Ingush people have done long haul, during which, like any other people, it interbred with many peoples, and as a result absorbed many ethnic groups, but also lost some part of their ethnic group, captured by the objective process of assimilation with other peoples.
Also N.Ya. Marr wrote: “I will not hide that in the highlanders of Georgia, along with them in the Khevsurs and Pshavas, I see Georgianized Chechen tribes.” (N.Ya. Marr. “On the history of the movement of Japhetic peoples from the south to the north of the Caucasus.” Izvestia AN, 1916, No. 15, pp. 1395-1396).
At a session devoted to the problem of the origin of the Ossetian people (Ordzhonikidze, 1966), the majority of Caucasian scientists stated that the Ossetian people are “true Caucasians by origin and culture and Iranians by language.” It was noted that there was a significant percentage of the Nakh ethnic group among modern Ossetians. This is also evidenced by the toponymy of Ossetia (Ts1ush, Tsltq, Wleylam, Ts1eylon, etc.).
Among the Kumyks there are citizens who consider themselves to be of Chechen descent.
Modern Chechens and Ingush include a significant percentage of representatives of Turkic, Ossetian, Dagestan, Georgian, Mongolian, and Russian peoples. This is evidenced, again, primarily by the Chechen and Ingush languages, in which there is a significant percentage of borrowed words and grammatical forms, and folklore.

Chokaev K.Z.
Dr. Phil. sciences, professor

Review

Based on the works of Doctor of Philology, Professor K.Z. Chokaeva; "On the origin of the Chechens and Ingush." Manuscript, Grozny, 1990, p. 1-17.
The article was written in current topic, which, without exaggeration, is of interest to all conscious people. Chokaev is not new to historical science. His works on word formation among the Chechens provided significant assistance to ethnographers. Some of his articles directly relate to the history of the Nakhs. This article is also written at a completely scientific level and using rich and versatile information. The scientific base and field material, first introduced into scientific circulation by the author, meet the requirements of the time. This article can in no way be compared with the lightweight “scientific” works of V. Vinogradov. But the presented article, we believe, was written a long time ago and is in some ways outdated. For example, K.Z. Chokaev writes: “This process (Strengthening friendship between peoples - I.S.) acquires particular significance in the conditions of our country, when friendly ties between the peoples of the USSR in the process of building a communist society are strengthening and developing every day.”
The reviewer has edited these and other outdated expressions. I believe that the author will not object to us for such liberties on our part. We also took the risk of reducing small repetitions (pp. 6,14,15,16, etc.); pointed out the desirability of moving the links down, corrected typos (p. 7, 8), made stylistic corrections (p. 7); made a slight reduction (p. 2) and changed the title to: “On the origin of the Chechens and Ingush”, since they believed that modesty in such matters does not suit us all. Being far from Grozny, we could not coordinate our actions with the respected author and, we hope, the author will understand us. We touched very little on the author's thoughts. Our intervention does not detract from the merits of this article, and the reviewer recommends its publication in the scientific department of the journal Justice.

Ethnographer, Ph.D. Saidov I. M.