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Кавказки регион - Вижте пояснителната страница за други значения на Кавказ. Кавказ е геополитически регион на границата между Европа и Азия (Евразия), разположен между Каспийско и Черно море. Тук се се извисяват Кавказките планини, включително и Елбрус, най-високата планина в Европа. Кавказ се намира между три културни центъра: Русия на север, Турция на югозапад и Иран на югоизток. Поради тази причина, регионът страда от редица съперничества - политически, военни, религиозни и културни в продължение на хиляди години, и до днес. Дълго време областта се контролира от външни фактори, но често влияние оказват и регионални фактори. Съдържание Имена[редактиране | редактиране на кода] - арабски: القوقاز al-Qawqāz - на азербайджански: Qafqaz - на чеченски: Kovk-Aze - гръцки: Kaύkaσoς Kàfkasos - персийски: قفقاز Qafqāz - арменски: Կովկաս Kovkas - грузински: კავკასია K'avk'asia - лезгински: Къавкъаз K'avk'az - на осетински: Кавказ - руски: Кавказ - турски: Kafkasya География и екология[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Кавказките планини са планините, разделящи Европа и Азия, така че Кавказкият регион се счита както за европейски така и за азиатски. Северната част на Кавказ е Северен Кавказ (част от Русия), и същевременно най-южната част на Европейска Русия. Най-високата точка в Кавказ е връх Елбрус (5642 метра), който също се смята за най-високата точка в Европа. Кавказ е един от районите, в които се говорят голям брой от езиците в света (виж Кавказки езици). Националните държави, които съставляват Кавказ днес, са страните от пост-съветска Грузия, Армения и Азербайджан, както и части от Русия. Руските области в Кавказ са Краснодарски край и Ставрополски край както и автономните републики Адигея, Калмикия, Карачаево - Черкезия, Кабардино - Балкария, Северна Осетия, Ингушетия, Чечения и Дагестан. Освен изброените, още три територии в Кавказ претендират за независимост, но не са признати като национална държава от международната общност: Абхазия, Нагорни Карабах и Южна Осетия. Кавказ е регион с важно екологично значение. В областта има над 6400 вида растения, от които 1600 са уникални за района. Кавказката фауна включва леопарди, кафяви мечки, вълци, бизони и скални орли. Сред безгръбначните има представители на над 1000 вида паяци в Кавказ. Характерна е смесената гора с големи площи на каменистата почва. Страните от Кавказкия регион[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Кавказкият регион сега е разделен между следните страни: В миналото редица други страни са били част от областта: - Закавказка Демократическа Федеративна република (ЗДФР) - Закавказка съветска федеративна социалистическа република История[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Древна история[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Историята на Кавказкия регион се развива до известна степен разделена в две основни области - Северен Кавказ и Южен Кавказ. В древността доминират скитското цартство в Северен Кавказ, аланите и Южен Кавказ: Колхида, Кавказка Иберия и Кавказка Албания. През 95-55 г. пр. Велика Армения се превръща в империя и завладява по-голямата част от Южен Кавказ, Сирия, югоизточната част на Анадола, северозападен Иран, северна Месопотамия, Ливан и Юдея През тези години, зороастризмът (персийска религия) е преобладаващата религия в Кавказкия регион (с изключение на Армения). В допълнение към това, в региона има и силно елинистическо влияние поради съперничество в региона между Персия и Рим. Последните нахлуват няколко пъти в региона, който обикновено е под персийска хегемония. Средновековна история[редактиране | редактиране на кода] През 4-ти и 5-ти век, християнството става доминиращата религия в региона (първата страна, която като държава официално приема християнството е Армения). През 8-ми и 9-ти век, арабите завладяват региона, и ислямът става основна религия. През този период има редица военни конфликти между християнска Армения и мюсюлманските сили. През 12 век в Грузия на власт идва грузинският цар Давид Строителя. Той превръща Грузия в регионална сила, освобождава Кавказ от бремето на мюсюлманското управление, продължило четиристотин години, и възстановява християнството като доминираща религия в региона. През 1194-1204 има няколко турски (мюсюлмански) набези в региона. След падането на Византийската империя (1453), Грузия се превръща в най-голямата християнска държава в Близкия изток. След това, Грузия е завладяна от османските турци, монголите, отново от персите, и накрая е завладяна от Руската империя. Съвременна история[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Политическият регион е характерен с множество политически и религиозни конфликти - Абхазия, Южна Осетия, Нагорни Карабах, Нахичеван и др. Винаги е бил стратегически пункт, над който са се стремели да имат контрол Византия, Иран, Османска империя, Руска империя (след това СССР и Русия), Златна орда, Нацистка Германия и други. Демография[редактиране | редактиране на кода] Основните етнически групи в региона са руснаци, грузинци, азери и арменци. Грузия и Армения са християнски държави (Грузинска православна църква в Грузия, православното християнство в Армения), докато Азербайджан е мюсюлманска страна (шиити).
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Caucasus The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia (for endonyms, see below), is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain (Mount Elbrus). Politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts. [edit] Names - Avar: KaBkaз - كافكاز Kavkaz - Azerbaijani: Qafqaz - Chechen: Kovk-Aze - Persian: قفقاز qafqâz - Armenian: Կովկաս Kovkas - Georgian: კავკასია k'avk'asia - Lezgian: KaBkaз Kavkaz - Russian: KaBkaз Kavkaz - Slovak: Kaukaz - Turkish: Kafkasya [edit] Geography and ecology The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus. The Ciscaucasus contains the larger majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, also known as the Major Caucasus mountains. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan (excluding the northern parts) and Georgia (excluding the northern parts) are in South Caucasus. The main Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the dividing line between Asia and Europe. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, and is generally considered as the highest point in Europe. The Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Three territories in the region claim independence but are recognized as such by only a handful or by no independent states: Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia. The Caucasus is an area of great ecological importance. It harbors some 6400 species of higher plants, 1600 of which are endemic to the region.[1] Its wildlife includes leopards, brown bears, wolves, bison, marals, golden eagles and Hooded Crows. Among invertebrates, some 1000 spider species are recorded in the Caucasus.[2] The natural landscape is one of mixed forest, with substantial areas of rocky ground above the treeline. The Caucasus Mountains are also noted for a dog breed, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog (Ovcharka). [edit] History Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism for centuries. Throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquered the territory from the Qajars.[3] Ancient kingdoms of the region included Armenia, Albania, Colchis and Iberia, among others. These kingdoms were later incorporated into various Iranian empires, including Media, Achaemenid Empire, Parthia, and Sassanid Empire. In 95-55 BC under the reign of Armenian king of kings Tigranes the Great, Kingdom of Armenia became an empire, including besides Kingdom of Armenia, vassals Iberia, Albania, Parthia and a few Arab tribes Atropatene, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Syria, Assyria, Nabataean kingdom, Judea and Atropatene, stretching from Caucasian Mountains to Egypt and from Mediterranean Sea to Caspian Sea, including a territory of 3,000,000 km2 (1,158,000 sq mi), and becoming the last strong Hellenist king, and the strongest in the region by 67 BC. By this time, Zoroastrianism had become the dominant religion of the region (except Kingdom of Armenia); however, the region would go through two other religious transformations. Owing to the rivalry between Persia and Rome, and later Byzantium, the latter would invade the region several times, although it was never able to hold the region. However, because Kingdom of Armenia(301 AD, the first nation to adopt Christianity as state religion) Caucasian Albania and Georgia had become a Christian entity, Christianity began to overtake Zoroastrianism. With the Islamic conquest of Persia, the region came under the rule of the Arabs. And soon Emirate of Armenia was formed. But after several rebellions in 884\885 AD Kingdom of Armenia became independent, and several times crushed Arab armies. At that time Kingdom of Armenia capital was Ani, with a population of 200,000 and a city of "1001 churches". It was at its peak under the reign of Gagik I, when it stretched from Byzantine Empire to Caucasian Albania, from Caucasian Iberia to Mesopotamia, including also vassal states such as Caucasian Albania and Caucasian Iberia, until in 1045 AD the kingdom was conquered by Byzantine Empire. In XII century Georgian king David the Builder drove the Muslims out from Caucasus and made the Kingdom of Georgia a strong regional power. In 1194–1204 Georgian Queen Tamar's armies crushed new Turkish invasions from the south-east and south and launched several successful campaigns into Turkish-controlled Southern Armenia. Georgian Kingdom continued military campaigns outside of Caucasus. As a result of her military campaigns and the temporary fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, Georgia became the strongest Christian state in the whole Near East area. The region would later be conquered by the Ottomans, Mongols, local kingdoms and khanates, as well as, once again, Persia, until its conquest by Russia. The region was unified as a single political entity twice – during the Russian Civil War (Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic) from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under the Soviet rule (Transcaucasian SFSR) from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936. In modern times, the Caucasus became a region of war among the Ottoman Empire, Iran and Russia, and was eventually conquered by the latter (see Caucasian Wars). In the 1940s, the Chechens and Ingush (480,000 altogether), along with the Balkars, Karachays, Meskhetian Turks (120,000), Kurds and Caucasus Germans (almost 200,000) were deported en masse to Central Asia and Siberia. Eric D. Weitz wrote, "By 1948, according to Nicolas Werth, the mortality rate of the 600,000 people deported from the Caucasus between 1943 and 1944 had reached 25 percent."[4] Following the end of the Soviet Union, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia became independent in 1991. The Caucasus region has been subject to various territorial disputes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994), the Ossetian-Ingush conflict (1989–1991), the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), the First Chechen War (1994–1996), the Second Chechen War (1999–2009), and the 2008 South Ossetia War. [edit] Demographics The region has many different languages and language families. There are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region.[5] No less than three language families are unique to the area, but also Indo-European languages, such as Armenian and Ossetic, and the Altaic language Azerbaijani are local to the area. Today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the eastern part of the region. [edit] Mythology In Greek mythology the Caucasus, or Kaukasos, was one of the pillars supporting the world. After presenting man with the gift of fire, Prometheus (or Amirani in Georgian version) was chained there by Zeus, to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle as punishment for defying Zeus' wish of not giving the "secret of fire" to humans. The Roman poet Ovid placed Caucasus in Scythia and depicted it as a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger. The Greek hero Jason sailed to the west coast of the Caucasus in pursuit of the Golden Fleece, and there met Medea, a daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis.[clarification needed] [edit] Energy and mineral resources Caucasus has many economically important minerals and energy resources, such as: alunite, gold, chromium, copper, iron ore, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, lead, tungsten, uranium, zinc, oil, natural gas, and coal (both hard and brown). [edit] See also - North Caucasus - South Caucasus - Culture of Armenia - Culture of Azerbaijan - Culture of Georgia - History of the Caucasus - Islam in Russia - Languages of the Caucasus - Peoples of the Caucasus - Prometheism - Transcontinental nations - Ural Mountains - Caucasian Emirate [edit] Notes - ^ "Endemic Species of the Caucasus". http://www.endemic-species-caucasus.info/. - ^ "A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus". Caucasian Spiders. http://caucasus-spiders.info/introduction/checklists/. Retrieved 17 September 2010. - ^ Pierre Thorez (June 2, 2007). "Caucasus". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080501175940/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v5f1/v5f1a032.html. Retrieved 17 September 2010. - ^ Weitz, Eric D. (2003). A century of genocide: utopias of race and nation. Princeton University Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=W50Gg4o_2q4C&pg=PA82&dq#v=onepage&q=&f=false. - ^ "Caucasian peoples". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9021862/Caucasian-peoples. [edit] References - Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam, by Nicholas Griffin - Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus, by Svante E. Cornell - The Caucasus, by Ivan Golovin - de Waal, Thomas (2010), The Caucasus: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-539977-3 - Coene, Frederick (2009), The Caucasus: An Introduction, Routledge, ISBN [[Special:BookSources/0-415-48660-6|0-415-48660-6]] [edit] Further reading - Nikolai F. Dubrovin. The history of wars and Russian domination in the Caucasus (ИcTopия BoйHы и BлaдычecTBa pycckиx Ha KaBkaзe). Sankt-Petersburg, 1871–1888, at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formats. - Gagarin, G. G. Costumes Caucasus (KocTюMы KaBkaзa). Paris, 1840, at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formats. - Gasimov, Zaur: The Caucasus, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: November 18, 2011. - Rostislav A. Fadeev. Sixty years of the Caucasian War (ШecTbдecяT лeT KaBkaзckoй BoйHы). Tiflis, 1860, at Runivers.ru in DjVu format. - Kaziev Shapi. Caucasian highlanders (ПoBceдHeBHaя жизHb ropцeB CeBepHoro KaBkaзa B XIX B.). Everyday life of the Caucasian highlanders. 19-th century (In the co-authorship with I. Karpeev). "Molodaya Gvardiy" publishers. [edit] External links - Ethnographic map of Caucasus - Information for travellers and others about Caucasus and Georgia - Caucasian Review of International Affairs—an academic journal on the South Caucasus - BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, 8 September 2005 - United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus - United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus - Food Security in Caucasus (FAO) - Caucasus and Iran entry in Encyclopaedia Iranica - University of Turin-Observatory on Caucasus - MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies. International Hellenic University-School of Humanities - Circassians Caucasus Web (Turkish)