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HISTORICAL SCIENCES / «ШУУШШУМ-ЛШШаИ» 2023
HISTORICAL SCIENCES
UOT: 94
Зейналов Низами Д.
Кандидат Исторических Наук, доцент Мингячевирский Государственный Университет DOI: 10.24412/2520-6990-2023-10169-4-7 САРМАТСКИЕ МАРТЫ И ДРЕВНЯЯ АЛБАНИЯ
Zeynalov Nizami D.
PhD in history, associate professor Mingachevir State University
SARMATIAN MARCHES AND ANCIENT ALBANIA
Аннотация.
Настоящая статья посвящена одной из актуальных проблем отечественной историографии -вопросу о миграциях кочевых племен на территории древней Албании. Из сведений античных источников видно, что Южный Кавказ был одним из регионов, активно участвовавших в римско-парфянских конфликтах в 30-х годах I века н.э. Любой международный военно-политический процесс на Южном Кавказе не мог проходить без участия Албании и Иберии, гегемонов этого региона. В этом смысле частые походы кочевых племен не обходили стороной исторические территории Азербайджана - древней Албании. Поход сарматских племен, обитавших на севере Кавказских гор в 35 г. н.э., является лишь фрагментом интенсивного марша кочевых племен в направлении Южного Кавказа. Хотя в мировой историографии она изучена в значительной степени, в отечественной историографии проблема не стала отдельным объектом изучения, а к изучению проблемы подошли в общем смысле. По материалам ряда земляных могильных памятников Южного Дагестана, еще находящегося в границах древнего Албанского государства, и могильников Рустов и Джанахыр на территории Губинского, Хачмазского районов современной Азербайджанской Республики сарматский племена северо-восточных территорий исторического Азербайджана подверглись серьезному влиянию, и даже в определенные времена, у небольшого их количества можно выдвинуть мысль о том, что сарматские группы переселились на древние албанские территории. Указанные археологические материалы подтверждаются отрывочными сведениями, доводимыми до нас древними источниками. Таким образом, изучение как археологических материалов, так и сведений письменных источников показывает, что территория древней Албании подвергалась частым миграциям кочевых племен, в том числе и сарматов, с Северного Кавказа в первые века нашей эры.
Abstract.
The current article is devoted to one of the actual problems of homeland historiography - the issue of migrations of nomadic tribes to the territories ofancient Albania. It is clear from the information ofancient sources that the South Caucasus was one of the regions that actively participated in the Roman-Parthian conflicts in the 30s of the 1st century AD. Any international military-political process in the South Caucasus could not take place without the participation of Albania and Iberia, the hegemons of this region. In this sense, frequent marches of nomadic tribes did not bypass the historical territories of Azerbaijan - ancient Albania. The march of the Sarmatian tribes living in the north of the Caucasus Mountains in 35 AD is only a fragment of the intense march of the nomadic tribes in the direction of the South Caucasus. Although it has been studied to a great extent in world historiography, the problem has not become a separate object of study in the historiography of the homeland, but the study of the problem has been approached in a general sense. Based on the materials of a number of earthen grave monuments of South Dagestan, which is still within the borders of the ancient Albanian state, and the Rustov and Janakhir cemeteries in the territory of Guba, Khachmaz regions of the modern Republic of Azerbaijan, the Sarmatian tribes of the north-eastern territories of historical Azerbaijan were seriously influenced, and even at certain times, a small number of it is possible to put forward the idea that the Sarmatian groups moved to the ancient Albanian territories. The indicated archaeological materials are confirmed by the fragmentary information given to us by ancient sources. Thus, the examination of both archaeological materials and information from written sources shows that the territory of ancient Albania was subjected to frequent migrations of nomadic tribes, including Sarmatians, from the North Caucasus in the first centuries of our era.
Keywords: South Caucasus, ancient Albania, Sarmatian, Alan, Caspian passage, Derbend passage.
Ключевые слова: Южный Кавказ, древняя Албания, сарматы, аланы, Каспийский проход, Дербентский проход.
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The migration of nomadic tribes to the South Caucasus is one of the actual problems of not only the homeland, but also the Caucasian historiography as a whole. It is clear from the information of ancient sources that the South Caucasus was one of the regions that actively participated in the Roman-Parthian conflicts in the 30s of the 1st century AD. Any international military-political process in the South Caucasus could not take place without the participation of Albania and Iberia, the hegemons of this region. In this sense, frequent marches of nomadic tribes did not bypass the historical territories of Azerbaijan - ancient Albania.
It is known that in the 1st century AD, the Roman and Parthian states fought seriously for supremacy in Eastern Asia. In this struggle, Armenia, which was the vassal of Parthia, became the main object of conflict between the two states. The processes taking place in Armenia indirectly affected the interests of the ruling circles of Iberia and Albania, which bordered on it. In this sense, we fully agree with David Braund's opinion that "any conflict in Armenia involved Iberia and other peoples of Transcaucasia in this conflict...".
Sarmatian tribes on the northern borders of ancient Albania.
Among the tribes that marched in the direction of the South Caucasus in the first centuries of our era, the name of the Sarmatian tribes should be specially mentioned. Both written sources and archeological materials provide convincing evidence that the ethnos belonging to the Sarmatian tribe group lived north of the Great Caucasus Mountains and bordered historical Azerbaijan through these mountains. It is known that in ancient geography, the territories located north of Albania and Iberia BC. in the last and first centuries of our era, it was commonly called "Sarmatia" or "Asian Sarmatia". Strabo writes that ..."The [Caucasus] mountain range...separates Albania and Iberia in the south from the Sarmatian plain in the north". According to another ancient author Claudius Ptolemy, Asian Sarmatia was bordered by Colchis, Iberia and Albania from the south (Ptol., V,8). The naming of these areas "Sarmatia" was undoubtedly due to the dominant role of the Sarmatian tribes here. A number of archaeological materials discovered in the territory of the Guba and Gusar regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the materials of the Rustov and Janakhir necropolises do not exclude the march of nomadic tribes living north of the Caucasus Mountains, including the Sarmatians, in the direction of historical Azerbaijan during the mentioned period. In this sense, the migration of the nomadic Sarmatian tribes to the South Caucasus, including the historical territories of Azerbaijan, and the impact on the ethno-cultural environment of ancient Albania are of great relevance.
The 35th march of the Sarmatian tribes in sources and historiography.
We believe that the march of Sarmatian tribes mentioned in ancient sources in 35 AD is only a fragment of the frequent marches of nomadic tribes towards the South Caucasus. The 35th march of the Sarmatians has been extensively studied in historiography. In the historiography of the homeland, the problems of the marches and migration of the Sarmatian tribes in the
direction of Azerbaijan have been studied to some extent. It should be noted that, based on the available archaeological materials and written sources in the historiography of the homeland, the problems of the marches of the Sarmatian tribes and the impact of these marches on the ethno-cultural environment of ancient Albania are more general - in the context of the "Sar-matian-Alan" or "Sarmatian-Alan-Massaget" marches. investigated. However, we believe that a careful examination of the available archaeological materials, and especially the few data of written sources, does not allow us to identify the historical marches and migrations of the Sarmatian, Alanian, Massaget tribal groups in the direction of Azerbaijan, including ancient Albania, but even requires them to be separated from each other.
The reasons for the Sarmatian marches.
Based on the analysis of the data of the written sources, the reasons for the migration of the Sarmatian tribes to the ancient Albanian territories can be divided into two main groups: military-political and economic reasons. Based on the information of ancient authors such as Strabo, Josephus Flavius, Cornelius Tacitus, and Dion Cassius, it can be determined that the nomadic tribes living in the territory of Sarmatia played a very important role in the military and political life of the South Caucasus and, therefore, of Eastern Asia. Iberia and Albania, which have convenient Caucasian crossings (Daryal and Darband crossings), used the nomads living in the north of the Great Caucasus Mountains as a tool, especially as a force for their military and political interests, to solve a number of foreign policy issues. It is clear from Strabo's information that nomadic tribes help Albanians in the fight against foreign enemies. There is no doubt that the word "oi vo^a5e<;" (nomads) used by Strabo meant the nomads who lived in the areas bordering ancient Albania. It is interesting that these nomads also help the Iberians for the same reasons (Strabo, XI,IV,5). It is true that Strabo's statement "for the same reasons" was approached from a different point of view in the historiography of the homeland, and these "reasons" were explained by the ethnic kinship between the nomads and the Iberians and Albanians. But in any case, Strabo clearly states that the nomads living in the north of the Caucasus mountains helped both the Iberians and the Albanians in the fight against "foreign enemies".
This information of Strabo is indirectly confirmed by another ancient author - Tacitus. In his "Annals", the author shows that the Iberian ruler Farasman I (30-40s of the 1st century) used the power of the Sarmatians living north of the Caspian Passage (Caspia via) in the fight against his rivals Parthia and his ally Armenia (Tac., Ann. , VI, 33). If we take into account that these nomads who helped the Iberians in the fight against foreign enemies also helped the Albanians, then the nomads mentioned by Strabo are definitely Sarmatians. From the information of Tacitus, it is also clear that Iberia and Albania participated in the same front against Parthia and Armenia. It is no coincidence that it was "Farasman who received support from the Albanians" who opened the passage he had and directed the Sarma-tians against Armenia.
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The above information of Tacitus is confirmed by another ancient author - Josephus Flavius. It is clear from the relevant passage in Joseph Flavin's "Jew-ishAntiquities" that in response to the call of the Roman Empire against the Parthian ruler Artabanus, the rulers of Albania and Iberia refused to fight directly with Par-thia, but opened the Caspian Passage, which they possessed, and encouraged the Scythians to attack Parthia (Jos. Flav, Ant., XVIII, 97).
The information of Tacitus and Joseph Flavius about the 35 th year march of the Sarmatian tribes is confirmed again by another ancient author - Dion Cassi. It is interesting that Dion Cassi, who spoke about the same event in a slightly different form, also used the term "Scythians" in his report (Dio, LVIII, 26, 3).
It is clear that both Tacitus, Josephus, and Dion Cassius are talking about the same event. Simply, Tacitus used the term "Sarmatians", while Josephus Flavius and Dion Cassi used the term "Scythians". As we know, in many cases in ancient tradition, Scythian and Sarmatian tribes are identified with each other. In this case, there is no doubt that the Scythian tribes that Jo-sephus Flavin speaks about are actually Sarmatians. It is true that the expression "Scythians" mentioned by Joseph Flavin was not received unambiguously in historiography. According to some researchers, in this work of Joseph Flavin, not the Scythians, but the Alan tribes were mentioned ( 3. p.204]. F.Gutnov not only claims that the participants in this march were Alans, he even considered the mention of the "Scythian" ethnonym in the 1st century AD as anachronistic [1. p.123]. Of course, this disagreement among researchers stems from conflicting points in the original versions of the sources.
The point is that in the edition of the above century of Josephus Flavius compiled by B.Nize in 1890, the name of the tribe participating in the procession is "AXavoi = oi AXavoi - Alans", compiled by S. Naber in 1893 in the published edition it is given in the form "Ekdto; = to; Ekdto; - Scythians". In the 1960s of the XX century, in the "Loeb Classical Library" serial edition of the indicated century of Josephus Flavin, prepared by L. Feldman, the expression "AXavoi = oi AXavoi - recipients" used by B.Niese was corrected as "AXavow; = xou^ AXavow; - recipients". Of course, considering that this issue is the object of a special study, we would not like to dwell on it without further deepening the polemic in this direction. However, a careful comparative study of the primary sources and a critical analysis of the existing literature dictates that we focus more on the "Scythians" version.
According to Tasit's information, it appears that another group of Sarmatians tried to participate in the 35 th year march. The author shows that the other part of the Sarmatians, who wanted to help the Parthians, moved towards the "passage between the Albanian mountains and the sea", but they could not pass there due to "flooding of the coast between the pass and the sea" (Taj., Ann., VI, 33). Of course, there is no doubt that Tacitus meant the well-known Caspian Sea in the ancient tradition when he said "sea" and pointed to the convenient passage between the Caspian Sea and the Albanian mountains, undoubtedly the modern Darband
Pass. The author especially emphasizes that "the enemy closed all the passages" and kept only one open -"the passage between the Albanian mountains and the sea". By "enemy", Tacitus meant Albania, which is hostile to Parthia. Therefore, in the mentioned period, the Daryal Pass was under the control of Iberia, and the Darband Pass was also under the control of Albania. Just because of the existing natural barrier, Albania did not close the crossing it owns.
As it can be seen, the Sarmatians living in the north of the Great Caucasus mountain range were mainly in alliance with ancient Albania and Iberia. The ruling circles of Albania and Iberia used the military forces of the Sarmatians properly. It can be assumed that some of these tribes, who often passed through the territory of the Albanian state and moved in the direction of Parthia and Armenia, did not return to their homeland and settled in the territory of the Albanian state.
Which tribes of the Sarmatians took part in these marches is also of great interest. It is known that the Siraks from the Sarmatian tribes settled in the west of the North Caucasus, to the southwest of the other Sarmatian tribe, the Aors, up to the Daryal pass owned by Iberia. If we take into account that the Siraks from the Sarmatian tribes lived on the border with Iberia, then it can be assumed that the Siraks are actually hidden under the term "Sarmatians" used by Tacitus. Another group of Sarmatians who tried to move to the South Caucasus using the Derbend pass could be the upper Aors. Because, according to Strabo, it was the Upper Aorians who had acquired a large part of the shores of the Caspian Sea (Strabo, XI, V, 8). It is true, as mentioned by Tacitus, that the Sarmatians attempted to march directly from the "passage between the Albanian mountains and the sea" did not actually take place. However, this does not exclude the possibility of marches of Sarmatian tribes in the direction of the South Caucasus in the first centuries of our era, on the contrary, the presence of such attempts increases the possibility of this possibility.
One of the reasons that drove nomadic tribes to the territory of ancient Albania could be related to economic factors. The Sarmatians, who were constantly trying to provide new pastures for their cattle herds, which were their main wealth, were forced to be on the move. As we know, the favorable natural and geographical conditions of ancient Albania, especially rich pastures, constantly attracted the attention of the nomads living in the north. Describing Albania, Strabo writes, "The whole plain is better watered by rivers and other waters than in Babylonia and Egypt, so that it always keeps its green appearance, and because of this (it) also abounds in pasturage" (Strabo, XI,IV,3). Another information of Strabo also shows that the nomadic tribes aspired to the favorable and evergreen pastures of Albania. Strabo writes that "sometimes the nomads make attacks and hinder the farmers" (Strabo, XI,IV,5). It seems that the nomads who were allied with Albania sometimes ignored these relations and tried to take from the cultivators the fertile, well-watered and evergreen lands that were vital to them. The desire of
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the nomadic tribes for pastures in the favorable territories of the Albanian state meant that they also settled in these territories. Of course, the advance of the Sarma-tian tribes from the north directly into the depths of ancient Albania during the mentioned period is not yet confirmed by archaeological materials. However, it can be considered that some of the tribes that participated in these marches did not return to their country, but settled in the territory of Albania. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the materials of Tarki and Garabudakhkand of modern South Dagestan, as well as Rustov and Jana-khir necropolises in the Guba and Gusar regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which were once included in the borders of ancient Albania. It is no coincidence that Y.I. Krupnov, a well-known specialist in Caucasian archeology, who studied the materials of the mentioned necropolises in South Dagestan, called the ethnic bearers of these monuments "sarmatized population groups of Caucasian Albania". According to another great Sar-matologist-scientist K.F. Smirnov, the local population was influenced by the Aors tribe of the Sarmatians. The materials of the Rustov and Janakhir necropolises, where the influence of the Sarmatians can be clearly felt, provide strong evidence of the infiltration of some population groups of Sarmatian origin into the ethno-cultural environment of ancient Albania. From both cemeteries, material culture items typical of local Albanian culture, especially pottery typical of ancient Albania, were discovered. In addition, typical Sarmatian type mirrors, fibulae, buckle heads, bronze pins, etc., belonging to the 1st - 2nd centuries, were found here. objects of material culture were discovered. According
to A.A. Aliyev, typical Sarmatian type mirrors could have been brought here as a result of Sarmatian campaigns.
Thus, based on the materials of a number of earth grave monuments of South Dagestan, which is currently only within the borders of the ancient Albanian state, and the Rustov and Janakhir cemeteries in the Guba, Khachmaz regions of the modern Republic of Azerbaijan, the north-eastern territories of historical Azerbaijan were seriously influenced by the Sarmatian tribes and even separated at certain times. it is possible to put forward the idea that separate small groups of Sarmatians moved to the territories of ancient Albania. The indicated archaeological materials are confirmed by the fragmentary information given to us by ancient sources.
References
1. Gutnov, F.H. (2001). Early ones. Problems of ethnosocial history. Vladikavkaz: Ир, 256 с.
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3. Perevalov, S.M. (2000). About the tribal affiliation of the Sarmatian allies of Iberia in the war of 35 г. AD // Вестник Древней Истории, 2000, No. 1, p. 203-210
4. Skripkin, A.S. (2010). Sarmatian and Vostok. Volgograd: Изд-во ВолГУ, 2010, 370 с.
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