- Kasogs
Kasogs — an ethnonym (of the Adyghe) frequently found in Russian, Georgian, Arabic, Byzantine, and other medieval historical and geographical sources. In 943 AD, "people from the country of the Kashaks" — this is how the Arab historian and geographer Al-Masudi first mentioned them in his work "History of Shirvan and Al-bab," where he reported that this people lived in the neighborhood of the Alans, between the Caucasus (i.e., the Caucasus Range) and the Sea of Rum (i.e., the Black Sea). In 957 AD, Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Byzantine emperor, described the region occupied by the Kasogs, calling it Κασαχια (Kasakhia): "Above Zikhia lies the country called Papagia, above the country of Papagia lies the country called Kasakhia, above Kasakhia are the Caucasus Mountains, and above these mountains lies the country of Alania." In 1191 AD, in Georgian sources, the Kasogs (Adyghe) are called "Kashags"; in particular, the Georgian "History and Praise of the Crown-Bearers" reported that the Kashags participated in the campaign of Vardan Dadiani. The most notable event associated with the name of the Kasogs and recorded in the chronicle from a retinue tale or perhaps a song, is that the brother of Yaroslav the Wise, Mstislav of Tmutarakan, conquered the Kasogs, killing their leader Rededya in battle (the event is reflected in the Nikon Chronicle and in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"). The Ossetians (the Yases of the Russian chronicles), long-time neighbors of the Kabardians and Circassians, from ancient times to the present day call their country Kæsæg — Kabarda, and themselves kæsgon — Kabardian, Circassian, and the flat Kabarda inhabited by them is known among the Ossetians as the "Kasag Steppe" (Kæsædzhy bydyr). In 1822, the first published scientific work on the identification of the ethnonym "Kasogs" and the concept of "Kasakhia" belongs to the German scholar J. Klaproth, in which he drew the following conclusions: Papagia is the country of the Circassians, who lived on the southern slope of the Caucasus and are called Papags in medieval Georgian chronicles, and their country — Papagia. Even now, the Kabardians have a noble family bearing the name Babagi; Then follows Kazakhia or the inner country of the eastern Circassians, whom the Ossetians still call Kazakhs (kasakh), and the Mingrelians — Kasaks (kasak). These are the Kassogs (kassoghi) of the Russian chronicles; After Kazakhia comes the Caucasus Mountain, which here means the snowy peak of Elbrus, from the northern slope of which the Kuban flows. Beyond the Caucasus Mountain lies the country of the Alans. Thus, this people (the Alans) occupied the modern territory of the Ossetians, whose dwellings still begin a few leagues from the foot of Mount Elbrus.
VARIANT NAMES: Russian. Kasogi, Kosogi, Kassogi, Kashagi, Ossetian. Kæsgon, Mingrelian. kasak.
Sources:
Ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians. D.A. Arshba, 2015