Iberian-Caucasian peoples

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This material should be considered to be a creative theory, not established fact.

Iberian-Caucasian is the term given to the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. Proto-Iberian (or Hatto-Iberian) is the term given to the indigenous tribes of the Caucasus and Asia Minor of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. They included the Hattian, Khaldi (or Khalib), Pelasgians (Pelasgs), Urartu, Tubal (or Tabal), Geniokhs, Kashks (or Kasks), Mosiniks, Tibarens, Meshech (or Meshekh), Hurits (or Khurits), Etruscan, Lusitanians and other Proto-Iberian tribes. Proto-Iberian is also the term used to refer to the language of "Hatto-Iberians".

The term "Hatto-Iberian" (or "Hetto-Iberian") was first proposed by the noted Georgian historian, Academician Simon Janashia (1900-1947). He asserted that the "Hatto-Iberian" ("Proto-Iberian") population made up the whole territory of ancient Asia Minor and the Caucasus. His theory further states that following the expansion of Indo-European peoples into Asia Minor towards the end of the 2nd millenium BC, some of these tribes (Hattis and part of Urartians) were assimilated.

Very important were investigations of the historians and linguists of the 19th century (Fritz Hommel and others). They proposed the terms Alarodian languages and Alarodian tribes. They asserted that Alarodian languages were languages of the indigenous non-IndoEuropean tribes of ancient Asia Minor and the Caucasus (Proto-Iberian tribes).

The Georgian Kingdoms of Iberia and Egrisi were founded between the 6th and 4th centuries BC, in the territory of modern Georgia and the historical Georgian region of Tao-Klarjeti). These succeeded to the Kingdoms of Diaokhi (Eastern and South-Eastern Georgia and Tao-Klarjeti (now territory of Turkey)) and Kolkha (Western Georgia) were founded around the end of the 2nd millenium BC and begining of the 1st millenium BC. Prior to these Khaldis (Khalibs) and Tabbals (Tubbals) were among the oldest metal-using tribes of the world.

Important sources for reconstructing a history for Proto-Iberian peoples are: the well-known works of Herodotus, Strabo and Xenophon, the old Georgian chronicles of "Kartlis Tskhovreba" ("History of Georgia"), some Armenian sources, etc.

Indigenous (Iberian-Caucasian) peoples of the modern Caucasus are: Georgians, Abkhazs, Adigey, Cherkezs, Abaza, Chechens, Ingushs, ethnographic and linguistic groups of Dagestan (Avars, Laks, Dargans, Tabasarans, Lezgs, Aguls, Tsakhurs, Udis and Rutuls).

Contents

See also

Literature

  • Adelina Svanidze. "Materials for history of the Alarodian tribes" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1937 (in Russian)
  • Ivane Javakhishvili. "Historical-Ethnological problems of Georgia, Caucasus and Near East" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1950, 335 pp (in Georgian and Russian)
  • Giorgi Melikishvili. "Nairi-Urartu" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1954, 500 pp (in Russian)
  • Giorgi Melikishvili. "For the History of ancient Georgia" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1959, 507 pp (in Russian)
  • Malkhaz G. Abdushelishvili. "The genesis of the aboriginal population of the Caucasus in the light of anthropological data" (a monograph), Tokyo, 1968 (in English)
  • Guram Kvirkvelia. "Foreign scientists about the metallurgy of oldest Georgian tribes" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 1976, 90 pp (in Georgian, Russian summary)
  • Vakhtang Itonishvili. "Essayes from the history of the Caucasus" (a monograph), Tbilisi, 2002, 284 pp (in Georgian)
  • Diakonoff I.M., Starostin S.A. "Hurro-Urartian as an Eastern Caucasian Language".- "Munchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft", Beiheft, N.F., 12, 1986
  • H. Fahnrich. Zur genealogischen Einordnung der Hattischen und Kassitischen Sprache.- "Georgica", 3, Jena-Tbilisi, 1980 (in German)

Links

http://www.geocities.com/komblege/quad.htm (for problems on the interrelation of Caucasian and Anatolian Bronze-age cultures)


References

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