Caucasian Avars
|
|
- The Eurasian Avars were a nomadic people who established a state in the Volga River area in the early 6th century.
Avars or Caucasian Avars are a modern people of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan, in which they are the predominant group. Their self designation is ma'arulal, or people of the mountains. The Caucasian Avar language is a branch of Mongolian, the Avars being descendents of the Juan-Juan, a Mongolian tribe driven west from the Chinese frontier regions by the expanding Tu-chueh Turkish empire of the 6th Century. The Caucasian Avars are either a remnant of the Eastern border tribes of the Avar Empire that was centered on the Hungarian Plain, or refugees from the collapse of that empire under the attacks by Charlemagne and the subsequent Bulgarian expansion. For a good summary, see this reference: [[1] (http://www.fernweb.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/mf/avars.htm)] Also, this book puts the Avars in perspective of Central Asian politics: The Empire of the Steppes -- a History of Central Asia, Rene Grousset/Translator: Naomi Walford, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ, copyright 1970.
One of the prominent figures in the modern Avar history is Imam Shamil. Shamil successfully led the liberation movement of highland peoples of Caucasus against the Russian invasion in the 19th century. The movement was substantially suppressed by Russia in 1864. Today Avars live in part of Dagestan.Template:Ethno-stub