Ovsians (Ovs, Osy, Osi) — Gagloiti Yu. S.: "The first mention of the name Ovs (Osy) in Georgian sources dates to the era of the famous Scythian invasion of Transcaucasia in the 7th century BC. 'Kartlis Tskhovreba' connects the appearance of the Ovs (Ossetians) in the North Caucasus with the settlement in the central part of the Ciscaucasia of a certain part of the Scythians, appearing in the source under the name 'Khazars'. Their descendants are named Ovs (Osy, Osi). From that time on, the name of the Ovs (Osy) is a fairly frequent guest on the pages of 'Kartlis Tskhovreba'. The above-mentioned account of the Georgian chronicles refutes the existing notion among some researchers about the belonging of the Ovs (Osy) to the number of aborigines of the central part of the North Caucasus, to the peoples of the Iberian-Caucasian linguistic circle. Already during the period of the first appearance of the Ossetians, 'Kartlis Tskhovreba' mentions the eastern neighbors of the Ossetians — the ancestors of the Chechens and Ingush (Durdzukni) and the Dagestani tribes (Lekni) in the person of their eponyms (Durdzuk, Lekan). In the Georgian chronicles, the ancestors of the Chechens and Ingush are known both as Durdzuks and Gligvs (from 'Galga' — the self-name of the Ingush) and Kists; under the name of Leki, Dagestanis in general were certainly meant, although Didoyans and Avars are also often noted.
The etymology of the tribal name Durdzuk, proposed by A. N. Genko, seems to us quite interesting. He writes that the repeated combination of Durdzuks with Ossetians in the collection of Georgian chronicles and, in particular, the curious story of Leonti Mroveli about how the ethnic map contemporary to him was created, suggests the possible etymologization of Durdzuk in the sense of modern Ossetian durdzуkh "stone pit" (i.e., gorge; the corresponding Digor form is dordzуkh). To confirm this interpretation of this name, A. N. Genko quite convincingly, as it seems to us, cites the story of Leonti Mroveli that when the "Khazars" (Scythians) made their victorious campaign in Transcaucasia, their king gave his son the land, a share of the Caucasus, west of the Lomeki River (Terek) to the western end of the mountains. Leonti Mroveli further reports: "...and Uobos settled (there) and his descendants are Ossetians, and the share of the Caucasus became Ossetia. And Durdzuk... went and settled in a crevice of a rock and called it by his own name Durdzukia."
Ossetians begin to appear especially often in Georgian sources dating back to the 3rd-2nd centuries BC, in the era of the first Pharnavazians. According to the account of "Kartlis Tskhovreba," the future king of Kartli, Pharnavaz, who raised a revolt against the protege of the Pontic Kingdom Azo and liberated the country from the domination of foreign conquerors, in his struggle for the throne relied, among other North Caucasian tribes, on the army of the Ovs. Having conceived to overthrow the power of Azo, Pharnavaz sent his slave to Egrisi (Western Georgia) to a certain Kuji with a proposal to jointly oppose Azo. Kuji, recognizing the supremacy of Pharnavaz, replied with consent. Following this, Pharnavaz and Kuji enlisted the help of Ossetians and Leks, who "with great joy agreed to help them," as they themselves sought to free themselves from the tribute imposed on them by Azo. From Egrisi, the allied army moved against Azo. From the latter "all Kartvelians" withdrew, and even part of his own army. Azo was forced to flee from Mtskheta, which was occupied by Pharnavaz and his allies. However, the struggle did not end there. The following year, Azo, having received auxiliary troops from Pontus and secured the support of the Seleucids, marched against Pharnavaz. The latter gathers the army of the Kartlians and turns for help "to Kuji and the Ovs," who again supported Pharnavaz. As a reward for the help rendered to him, Pharnavaz gave one of his sisters to "the king of the Ovs," and the second to Kuji. In addition, Pharnavaz granted Kuji the country between the Egris and Rioni rivers, "from the sea to the mountain where Egrisi and Svaneti are located, and appointed him there as eristavi (ruler)."
During the reign of the second king of Georgia from the Pharnavazid dynasty, Saumrag (late 3rd — early 2nd century BC), an armed uprising of the eristavis against the royal power took place. Saumrag was forced to flee to the mountains. His first stop was Durdzukia, where his maternal uncles were located. After this, Saumrag turned for help to the Ovs king, who was "the son of the father's sister" (of Saumrag). The king of the Ovs "gladly came to his aid," and Saumrag, also joining the Durdzuks, invaded Kartli and restored his power.
Ancient Georgian sources know the ancestors of the Adyghe under the name of Djiks, placing them to the west of the Ossetians-Ovs. In the story of the preaching of Christianity in Georgia by Andrew the First-Called during the reign of Aderki (Mithridates) at the beginning of the 1st century AD, it is reported that Andrew the First-Called "entered the country of Ovsia and reached a city called Postaphor (according to M. Brosset, Postaphor or Bosporus — Yu. G.), where he performed many miracles and converted to the (Christian) faith and baptized many peoples, after which he left this city and moved to Abkhazia. Stopping in the city of Sevasta, which is called Tskhumi (modern Sukhumi — Yu. G.), he preached the name of God, which many accepted." Leaving Simon the Canonite there with other disciples, Andrew "rose to Djiketia. The Djiks, the people of this country, were fierce, given to vices, without faith and without religion. They not only did not listen to his sermon, but even decided to kill him." Leaving this country, Andrew the First-Called "moved to Scythia."
The next mention of the Ovs (Osy) in Georgian sources dates to the time of the reign in Georgia of Azork and Armazel (70s AD), when, according to Greco-Latin historiography and Armenian sources, the famous Alan invasion of Armenia took place. The kings of Georgia, Azork and Armazel, deciding to return the lands seized by the Armenians during the reign of Pharsman and Kaos (30s-60s AD), "turned (for help) to the Ovs and Leks. The kings of the Ovs, two brothers-heroes Bazuk and Abazuk, set out with the troops of Ovsia; together with them they brought Pachaniks and Djiks. The king of the Leks also came and brought with him Durdzuks and Didoyans." If we compare this passage with the above-quoted account of Moses of Khorene that "around this time the Alans, having united with the highlanders and having attracted half of Iberia to their side, in huge masses spread over our country," it becomes clear that ancient Georgian sources, like Moses of Khorene, clearly distinguish the Ovs-Alans ethnically from other nationalities of the Caucasus. At the same time, "Kartlis Tskhovreba" specifically names both the eastern neighbors of the Ovs — Durdzuks, Didoyans, Leks, and the western ones — Djiks and "Pachaniks."
As neighbors of the Ovs, the Djiks are also mentioned in the description of events related to the era of Vakhtang Gorgasali (450-510). The 11th-century author Juansher reports that when the king was still ten years old, another invasion of the Ovs into Georgia and the capture of the king's sister Mirandukhta took place. Having grown up, Vakhtang Gorgasali decided to take revenge for this and, invading Ossetia, defeated the Ovs in the Daryal Gorge. Having conquered the Ovs and "Kipchaks," Vakhtang Gorgasali "built the gates of Ossetia, which we call Dariana" (meaning the Daryal Pass — Yu. G.). Following this, it is reported that Vakhtang Gorgasali then moved to "Pachaniketia, because at that time Pachaniketia bordered on Ovsia, separated from it by a river, and Djiketia was also nearby. Many years after this, the Pachaniks and Djiks were expelled by the Turks; the Pachaniks went west, and the Djiks settled at the end (?) of Abkhazia." We see that here too the Djiks are clearly separated from the Ovs. We see the same picture later.
Juansher further reports that the curopalate Guaram (6th century), having received a large sum of money from Emperor Justinian to attract mercenary troops from the North Caucasus, "transferred the Ovs, Durdzuks and Didoyans. Together with the Georgian eristavis, having entered Azerbaijan, they began to plunder it." And in the story of the liquidation of the royal institution in Kartli, Georgian sources report that "when the reign ended, the Persians strengthened in Kartli and conquered (they) Hereti and Armenia. But they conquered Kartli more strongly and they penetrated to the Caucasians, and they built for themselves the gates of Ovsia, one large gate in Ovsia itself, two gates in Dvaleti, and one in Parchuana Dordzoketi and placed those highlanders as guards."
Later sources give approximately the same picture, with the only difference that the circle of ethnic names associated with the Adyghe and Vainakhs expands. The names of Kashags, Kabardians and Circassians appear, on the one hand, and Gligvs and Kists, on the other.
The anonymous author of the "History and Praise of the Crown-Bearers" reports that when Yuri Bogolyubsky, dismissed from power by Queen Tamar, tried to return to Georgia, the ruler of Klarjeti and Shavsheti, Guzan, and the minister of the royal court (Msakhurt-ukhucesi) Vardan went over to his side, first of all. The latter "went to Geguti. He gathered all of Svaneti, Abkhazia, Saegro, Guria, Samokalako, Racha, Takueri up to Argveti. Having joined the Sanigs and Kashags, he forced the rulers and military leaders of these countries to swear allegiance to the Russian prince..." And in the "Life of the King of Kings Tamar" by Basil Ezosmodzgvari (early 13th century), the house of the Shirvanshahs and Darubandians, Khundzas, Ovs, Kashags, Karnu-Kalakians and Trapezundians are listed in the same row...
The Georgian chronicle of the anonymous 14th-century author (Zhamtaamgtsereli) reports that during the invasion of Georgia by Jalal ad-Din, Queen Rusudan gathered all her troops "Imerians and Amerians, Eres and Kakhes, Somkhitarians, Javakhetians, Meskhs, Taoians, Abkhazians, Djiks and all the kingdoms of Imeria," i.e., located west of the Likhi Range. Opening the Daryal gates, she also brought out "the Osy, Durdzuks and together with them all the highlanders." This account of "Zhamtaagmtsereli" is interesting to compare with the account of Rashid al-Din about the invasion of Jalal ad-Din in Georgia, dating approximately to the same time. Rashid al-Din reports that in the first months of 615 AH (1218-1219), Jalal ad-Din arrived from Isfahan to Tabriz and headed for Georgia. "Since the Rum sultans and the meliks of Syria, Armenia and those limits feared his conquest and seizure of power, they all rose up to repel him, and gathered in one place with the army of Georgians, Armenians, Alans, Serirs, Lezgins, Kipchaks..., Abkhazians and..." From the comparison of these independent sources, the narrowly ethnic character of the name Osi, as well as their identity with the name of the Alans, emerges quite clearly.
The information of the famous Georgian historian and geographer Vakhushti Bagrationi (18th century) is of great importance for the relationship of the term "Ovs-Osy" of Georgian sources to the Adyghe and Vainakh tribes. Vakhushti Bagrationi, whose works are the pinnacle of Georgian medieval historiography, summarized its data in the most generalized and consistent form. Therefore, his information is actually a concentrated expression of the traditions and views of ancient and medieval Georgian historical literature. Touching upon the most ancient period of ethnic movements in the Caucasus, connected with the appearance of the Ovs in the North Caucasus, Vakhushti says that the son of Tinen, Durdzukos (the eponym of the Batsbi-Kist tribes), "the most noble of the descendants of Kavkasos, fled to the Caucasus Mountains, built a city and named it after himself. On this basis, the part east of Aragvi to the borders of Leketi became Dzurdzuketi, and to the west of Aragvi, i.e., the Lomeki River, now the Terek... began to be called Dvaleti, by the Khazar name given to it by the same Urbanos..." After the enthronement of the first king of Georgia, Pharnavaz, Dzurdzuketi and Dvaleti fell to him, "while the other gorges remained again under the rule of their (i.e., Ovs — Yu. G.) kings and those gorges began to be called Ossetia by the name of those who inhabited and conquered them (the Ovs). Then Dzurdzuketia was again divided into Dzurdzuk, Kist and Gligv and was named so either by the sons of Dzurdzuk or by the Ovs who entered here." Consequently, although Vakhushti includes the geographical survey of Kisteti, Durdzukia and Gligvi in the chapter "Description of modern Ossetia or (the inhabitants) of the Inner Caucasus" and even speaks of the penetration of the Ovs there, nevertheless, he not only does not extend the name of the Ovs to them, but does not even call these areas Ossetia, although Vakhushti's Ossetia embraced a much larger territory than Ossetia proper in the exact meaning of the word. It is characteristic in this respect that to the description of Kisteti, Durdzukia and Gligvia, Vakhushti, after describing Ossetia in the direction from east to west, prefixes the following words: "Now we begin with the Caucasians living east of Khevi." In other words, Vakhushti distinguishes in the central part of the Caucasus two ethnically distinct groups of Caucasians — the Osy and the Kist-Batsbi tribes (Durdzuks, Kists and Gligvs). As for the relation of the Ovs (Osy) to the Adyghe according to Vakhushti's data, the following indication of the Georgian geographer brings complete clarity to this question. Telling about the ethnic movements that took place in the North Caucasus as a result of the Tatar-Mongol invasions, Vakhushti writes that after the campaign of Genghis Khan, Batu "broke and devastated Ovsia, while the Ovs went inside the Caucasus... After the devastation of Ovsia and the entry of the Ovs inside the Caucasus, it began to be called: Ossetia Cherkesia or Kabarda, while those inside the Caucasus [were called] by the name of those who entered here Ossetia..." Consequently, after the Ovs, under the pressure of the Tatar-Mongols, left most of their territory in the steppes of the North Caucasus, it largely fell into the hands of the Adyghe tribes (Circassians, Kabardians, etc.). This circumstance explains the opposition of the Ossetian language to the Circassian language by the Georgian geographer, when he says that the language of the Ossetians is "ancient," Dvalian, and now they speak Ossetian proper, since the Circassian language is different. As V. N. Gamrekeli noted, this explanation of Vakhushti was caused by the fact that the renaming of Ossetia to Circassia "and the changes in the North Caucasus, due to the freshness of these events, could cause a dual understanding of the terms 'Ossetia' and 'Ossetian' in Georgian society."
Thus, on the basis of the above, we can conclude that ancient Georgian sources ethnically quite clearly divide the Ossetians-Ovs both from the ancestors of the Chechens and Ingush (Durdzuks, Kists, Gligvs) and from the Adyghe in the person of the Djiks, Kashags, Circassians and Kabardians, and nowhere do they extend the name of the Ovs to them. Therefore, the assertion that only in later times the ethnonym Ovs-ovseti was associated "only with the population of present-day Ossetia," and before that, supposedly, was largely collective, is completely unfounded.
VARIANT NAMES: Russian. Ovsi, Osy, Osi, Ovsi, Georgian. ოსი, ოსების.
Sources:
Ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians. D.A. Arshba, 2015