From whom did the Udin nation originate? Who is the culprit of the problems?

Udine- this is the ancient Caucasian people to which I belong. I’m proud of this, although sometimes it seemed that it would be easier to live if I were Georgian, Armenian or someone else who at least had their own country)) That’s what I thought as a child, because it’s incredibly tiring to explain to everyone what your nationality is (I actually hate this question, it seems to me at least incorrect!)

- What is your nationality?
- Udinka.
- Georgian?
- Udinka. Udin.
- How how? uNdina?
- U D I N Y.
- I haven’t heard of this...
- Well... (it started) the Udins are the oldest people of Caucasian Albania... and so on and so forth...

This type of people at least speaks honestly: this is the first time I’ve heard of it (which is not surprising). And there are people who, having heard “Udinka,” with an empty, worried look and a question mark instead of pupils, lie: “Ahh, yesss, I’ve heard about such people!” or “I know a Udin.” DO NOT LIE! We are such a small people that I know exactly how many Udins there are in this city, where they work, what they have for breakfast...)))

A separate story with the Armenians. Every Armenian is sure that I am also an Armenian, so even the sellers in the markets answer me in Armenian and tell me how much it costs, and the guys come up to meet me and immediately start talking to me in their language. And I’m like: bummer!

That was the introduction, now I'll move on to history:

Udine- an ancient Caucasian people, related to the Lezgins, who lived in the valley of the Kura River and made up the majority in the state of Caucasian Albania. Modern Udins are actually descendants of those same ancient Albanians. There are about 10,000 of them in the world, of which 4,000 live in the Gabala region of Azerbaijan, 3,700 in Russia, and little by little in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Armenia. In Georgia there is one Udi village in the Kvareli region. Udinka in the works of ethnographer Max Tilke

Herodotus first mentioned the Udins in his famous “History” (5th century BC). Describing the Battle of Marathon, the author pointed out that Utii soldiers also fought as part of the XIV satrapy of the Persian army. The Udins are mentioned in the “Geography” of the ancient Greek writer Strabo (1st century BC) when describing the Caspian Sea and Caucasian Albania. The ethnic term "udi" was first mentioned in " Natural history"by the Roman author Pliny (1st century BC).
Since the 5th century AD. e. Armenian sources often mention the Udins. The Udins were one of the tribes that created Caucasian Albania (a large territory of modern Azerbaijan) and were one of the dominant Albanian tribes. It is no coincidence that both capitals, Kabala and Barda (Partav), were located on the lands of historical residence of the Udins. In the past, the Udins were settled over quite vast territories, from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the Caucasus Mountains, along the left and right banks of the Kura. One of the regions of Caucasian Albania was called Uti of the same name (in some sources Utik).
After the conquest of Caucasian Albania by the Arabs, the territory of residence and the number of Udins gradually decreased. If in the VI - VII centuries. Utik was part of Armenia and was largely Armenianized, then after falling under the rule of the Arabs, an active process of Muslimization of the Udis began.

Western Udins left several villages on the border of Nagorno-Karabakh and Utik and settled in the village of Nij. However, it is known that, along with the Udins, people also migrate from Nagorno-Karabakh and Utik to Nij and nearby villages big number Armenians

And in the 19th century, part of the Udins, accepting the Armenian-Gregorian faith and being bilingual (speaking the Armenian language), eventually switched to the Armenian language and recognized themselves as Armenians. Even in the recent past, the Udins lived in the villages of Mirzabeyli, Soltan Nukha, Jourlu, Mykhlykuvakh, Bayan, Vardanly, Kirzan, Malykh, Yengikend, etc., but now they have assimilated with the Azerbaijanis. By the time the Russians arrived in the Caucasus, many families already considered Azerbaijanis, but still remembered the Udi language.

Albanian (Udi) cross

On this moment Most Udis are Orthodox Christians. Nobody considers themselves Armenians, much less Azerbaijanis (some are even very hostile towards the latter: this is due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict; the Azerbaijani authorities considered the Udis to be Armenians and expelled them from their territory of residence). But politics is politics, and personally I have no hostility towards the named (or any) peoples at all.

Currently the only place The compact settlements of the Udins are the village of Nij in Azerbaijan and the village of Zinobiani (settled from Vartashen in 1922) in Georgia. Before the Karabakh conflict, the compact place of residence of the Udins in Azerbaijan was also the village of Vartashen, but the majority of the Udins of Vartashen were forced to leave Azerbaijan in 1989. In 1991, Vartashen was renamed Oguz and according to the 2009 census, there were 74 udins left in the Oguz region. My parents are from the village of Nij. As a rule, Udins who are from one village (it must be said that this is a large village) know each other, but they have only heard about Udins from other villages.

Next laughter - anthropology! . Usually you read such things about ancient people, but here it is about me))) We studied anthropology at the institute, but not to such subtleties! In general, it’s interesting, if anyone is not familiar, read it.

According to the 2002 census in Russia, 3,721 residents identified themselves as Udin. Of these, 2,078 were city residents (1,114 men and 964 women), 1,643 were rural residents (829 men and 814 women). The largest number of Udins (1,573 people) were registered in the Rostov region. According to the 2010 census, the number of Udins in Russia increased by 546 people and amounted to 4,267 people.

Culture and traditions
The traditional occupations of the Udin are field cultivation, horticulture, vegetable gardening, rice growing, sericulture, tobacco growing, and, in small quantities, cattle breeding. The Udins led a sedentary lifestyle. Many of the Udi ceremonies and calendar are related to agriculture. Among the crafts, the most developed were pottery (making dishes and tiles), blacksmithing and making two-wheeled carts. Udin villages have a free, scattered layout. The estate includes a farm yard, Orchard with walnut plantations and fenced with wicker or stone fencing. The houses are one-story, made of stone or mud brick on a high stone foundation, with a 2- or 4-slope roof, thatched, and later tiled. In ancient times, there were no windows in houses, and light entered through small holes in the walls and roof. In the middle of the living room there was an open fire pit on which food was cooked. At the end of the 19th century. the hearth was replaced by a fireplace (bukhara) with a chimney, and later an iron temporary stove appeared. An important element of the home was a spacious attic, often with a fireplace, which was used for drying and storing fruit. At the beginning of the 20th century. stone two-story houses with a gallery (seivan) and wide glazed windows appeared. The first Udi primer “Samci dəs” was published in 1934 in Sukhumi by the brothers T. and M. Jeirani.

About schools: my parents studied in Russian at a school that was located in their village. Regular school, there were all the items, like everyone else (the USSR, after all). But in general, life there is harsh, there is no work, you have to live on what you grew and sold. Schools went to collect tobacco and nuts, families kept nut orchards themselves. And my mother also told me that there was some strange law according to which every house was obliged to breed silkworms - creepy! In general, you come home from school and run to help with the housework. Grades were not important to many parents. There was no particular rush to enroll in universities back then; our people were not very goal-oriented. My mother has 5 brothers and sisters, but only she left to study. It was easier for men: they had an army, many after it remained to live in the cities where they served, found work there, and went to training :).

Udins also love tea! As a child, probably the first thing I learned in Udin was the expression: “Put on the kettle”))) They drink tea with sugar, but never put it in tea! Usually they boil sugar themselves, make it in lumps and as candy with tea) This is one of the options

Kitchen(my favorite! In general, I think that there is nothing tastier than Caucasian cuisine!)
Udin cuisine is varied, including flour, dairy, meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. It is worth special mentioning the dish of harissa - wheat boiled to a mushy state, thickly seasoned butter and pieces of meat or poultry. The basis of nutrition is herbal products: beans, rice, walnuts, vegetables, herbs, fruits, berries. Bread is baked from wheat flour in a tarin (tandoor) oven.
Udinskaya kyat A(type of pie)- in general, it’s hard to write these names in Russian, because Russian doesn’t have the necessary letters)) There are nuts inside, everything is very sweet and incredibly tasty!

This is how bread is baked

I found the photo in a group on VK. It will most likely be removed, but maybe someone will have time to see: these are bottles from the very..., which in our opinion is called arak AND)))
A cucumber, a pear and whatever is possible are dipped into them in advance; while they are still on the branch, they grow in a bottle, they are cut off, and arrack is poured in. AND and to the table! As a child, of course, I couldn’t understand how a big cucumber got through a small neck)))

They occupy an important place in nutrition different kinds pilaf: with beans, raisins, persimmons, chestnuts, walnuts. Ooooh, how I love pilaf with beans! But I don’t like sweet ones (with dried apricots, prunes, raisins. But my husband loves it, he’s not Udin))) Rice was also eaten with sour milk. Roasted and boiled chestnuts are popular. Lots of vegetable dishes, including pumpkin, cabbage, eggplant, and tomatoes. Wild greens are consumed, especially nettle and sorrel, from which soup is prepared and the filling for afar pie. An important part of the Udin diet consists of dairy products (fermented milk, cream, sour cream, butter, including melted butter), and various types of fried eggs. For holidays, celebrations, and with the arrival of a guest, meat dishes: chicken chikhirtma, turkey fried in tendir, yakhni (boiled pieces of meat), dolma, shish kebab. Drinks - infusions of berries, herbs, wine, vodka from grapes, cherry plums, pears, apples, dogwood, tutina. Sweet dishes include honey, halva with honey.
This is how feasts used to be held in our village

Our cuisine is very diverse, here, of course, it is described sparingly and somehow outdated))

Family life Udin has its own characteristics. Even in the 19th century, large patriarchal families remained, although small families already predominated. Marriage was concluded only between step-relatives or very distant relatives. Before getting married, parents and relatives, having gathered separately from everyone else, found out the pedigree of the young people. Modern Udin marriages are also strictly exogamous. Earlier (much earlier!) The marriageable age was low - from 13 years old for girls, from 16 years old for boys. The marriage ceremony consists of several stages: matchmaking (collusion), small betrothal, large betrothal, wedding, post-wedding ritual. Before marriage, the betrothal involves the parents of the young man, the groom, Godfather and several more people from the groom's side. In the past, weddings took place over 3-4 days. Udinka in a traditional costume and headdress covering the lower part of the face. 1883, Vartashen village

The modern wedding ceremony has undergone significant changes, but many traditions are still preserved.
It must be admitted that for the Udins even today, marriage is considered the most important stage in life, and the wedding itself - a joyful event for the entire dynasty, especially the family. Udins living in Russia hold a wedding on the same day, more often in closed spaces (restaurants, cafes, houses of happiness), less often in their yard (in households) in 2 days, as is tradition. It is considered a duty and moral obligation to have family, friends and relatives present at weddings. Therefore, Udi weddings are often crowded and fun. According to many ethnographers, none of the nationalities have wedding rites so complicated, not invested with such exceptional originality and, moreover, so unusually clearly expressed, as among the Udin people. As a child, I attended several weddings according to all Udi canons: it’s interesting, but tiring (especially for a child who doesn’t even really speak Udi, who is frightened by the huge number of people he doesn’t know (150-250 people), and is irritated by the loud live national music). My wedding was not according to our customs, but we managed to find a compromise so that both parties were happy. I could make a separate post about the Udi wedding, but it would take a long time, I don’t remember everything myself, I have to ask my parents about the customs.

Regarding everyday life and customs, I remembered one here: when a child is born, one of the close relatives makes a vow (as if a promise to God) that when the child turns, say, 3, 10, 15 years old, he will make a sacrifice in the form of a rooster or ram. Of course, this only happens in the village, where everyone keeps livestock anyway. And so, on the promised day, the family gathers, slaughters this unfortunate sheep, makes a mark on the child’s forehead with its blood, then cooks it (it must be cooked, barbecue or some fancy dish is not allowed, they distribute it to neighbors, and eat it themselves at a huge table) That’s all called "cutting the qurbani" (apparently, the custom appeared and was preserved as a result of our complicated story with the influence of different peoples. We are a flexible people!)

Some photos:
Chotari Gergets. Church of St. Elisha. Nij quarter Daramakhla

CHURCH OF ST. ELISHEA, CHOTARI

Ruins of the Ancient Cabal - common heritage Lezgin peoples

Celebrating Victory Day in Nij. May 9, 2010

That's it, girls, my head is no longer stewing from the abundance of information and lack of photos! At my parents’ house there are wonderful photos from weddings, where you can see the houses in which the Udins live (they lived in the 80s and still do the same). There is also a group in contact, but they managed to make it closed (there are already so few of us, you are still hiding!) Maybe there are more photos there, but they haven’t accepted me yet)

And here is a wonderful short but capacious video about the homeland of my parents - the village of Nij. And about my favorite dish - afar!

It's such an unusual feeling to hear background your own language, but with translation)))

P.S.: Surely, having posted this post, I will remember how much could and should have been added and told) Information about any nation cannot be contained in one post. So for now... Thank you all!

Tribe of the Kyurin or southeastern linguistic group). They have lived in the Caucasus since ancient times and once formed the Agvan kingdom, and then, according to legend, they settled in different places in Asia.
Until recently, throughout the Nukha Gorge there were old people who spoke Udin. Currently, the Udins remain only in two or three villages of the Elisavetpol province, mixed with Armenians, Tatars and.

Typical appearance features of Udins are blond or brown hair, a round face, average height. No anthropometric data available. Udins are Orthodox and Gregorian. Christianity was accepted a very long time ago. They speak a special Udi dialect, studied by academician Schiffner. They occupy healthy mountainous terrain (762 meters above sea level), rich in water, forests and pastures.

Main occupations of the Udins

They are engaged in arable farming (wheat, millet, barley, rice, etc.), sericulture (thriving until the 50s and reviving again after a temporary decline caused by infected crabgrass brought by the French), gardening (walnuts, chestnuts, cherries), vegetable gardening and cattle breeding. Silk, cocoons, nuts, rice, chestnuts, and dried cherries are exported. A feature of the land tenure system is the use of plots by lot.

Features of the home

The home life of the Udins is much archaic. Until recently, the main living room had holes in the walls instead of windows. In the middle on the floor there was a fireplace, the smoke from which came out into a hole made in the ceiling. An unquenchable fire burned on the hearth day and night. The door was not locked during the day to allow in light. At night, the home was illuminated by a clay lamp with a wick made of rags.

Traditional clothing

Men's clothing is arkhaluk made of calico or silk, chokha made of local fabric or cloth, and trousers made of the same materials. Arkhaluk is girded with a leather belt among the poor, and with a silver belt among the rich. Shoes in summer and winter are bast shoes, only the rich have ankle boots. Women wear long, red shirts, and on top of them are arkhaluks, decorated with silver buttons and coins. The headdress is decorated with silver balls, pearls, coins, and hooks. Silver belts are also common among women.

Features of kitchen and life

The food is very varied (flour, dairy, vegetable and meat). Wheat bread, among the poor with a mixture of millet. Family life is patriarchal; the father is the head and ruler of the house, having the right to unquestioning obedience. During lunch, the son does not dare sit at the table, but stands at a distance and serves.

Until very recently, the Udins lived in large families and friends. The inheritance is divided equally among the sons. The woman’s position is subordinate, she dines separately from men, cannot go anywhere without her husband’s permission, does not speak to strangers, and walks with her face covered.

In marriage rituals, the experiences of motherhood were preserved, as well as the nature of the ancestral enterprise, with the simulation of abduction.

The bride price is made up of a contribution between the groom's relatives and is divided among the bride's relatives. The groom's relatives, fully armed, accompany him to the gate of the bride's house and shoot until they are allowed in for a fee, which is given to the bride's brother.

A daughter-in-law, in the presence of her older brother-in-law and father-in-law, covers her face for 10 to 15 years and cannot speak to them until she is old. The selection of brides takes place once a year, on the third day of Easter, when all the Udins and Udinki go on pilgrimage to the monasteries: this is probably a relic of abduction during public celebrations. Women during childbirth and the dead are considered unclean. Bleeding of women in labor is the action of an evil spirit, against which the woman arms herself with a dagger, garlic and similar talismans; the bed is surrounded by a chain.

Udins are treated by fortune tellers, who often recommend various sacrifices (for example, with the nails of a patient on the grave of a suicide). Evil spirits, werewolves, cannibals and similar products of superstition appear at every turn.

Well, we won’t be able to “earn” our dollar with the autograph of this computer scientist from Silicon Valley - in the age of Google, find out about one of ancient peoples The Eastern Caucasus is not difficult. However, we were talking about America...

And it is quite possible that the Pachikov family are the only Udis. In fact, these people mainly live in Russia (4267 people, in Rostov and Volgograd region, Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol Territory), Azerbaijan (3800, mainly in the Gabala region), Georgia (203 people), Armenia (200), Kazakhstan (247, mainly in the Mangistau, formerly Mangyshlak, region), Ukraine (592) and a number of others countries - totaling about 10,000 people.

Vladimir Pozner is absolutely right: the ancient Greeks, including Herodotus, mentioned the Udins. Describing in his famous “History” the Battle of Marathon of the Greco-Persian War (490 BC), the historian named the XIV satrapies of the Persian army and the soldiers of the Utians (the self-name of the Udins is Udi, Uti). Later authors (for example, the author of the Argonautica, Apollonius of Rhodes, historian and statesman Polybius) indicated the place of residence of the Udins as the territory from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the Caucasus Mountains, along the coast of the Kura River.

Pliny the Elder in the 1st century AD e. called the Udin a Scythian tribe, but in fact they were one of the dominant Albanian tribes, the creators of Caucasian Albania. They have no relation to Albanians in the Balkans. Their related peoples- Lezgins, Archins, Tabasarans and other peoples of Dagestan and Azerbaijan, who once inhabited Caucasian Albania, an ancient state of the late 2nd - mid-1st centuries. BC e., occupying part of the territory of modern Azerbaijan, Georgia and Dagestan. Alas, in a small newspaper article it is not possible to tell about the history of this state, rich in great and tragic events.

In everyday life, the Udins speak the Udi language, on the basis of which in the 5th century Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet, the founder of Armenian literature and writing, created the writing of the Caucasian Albanians. Moreover, this language has two dialects, and there are also sub-dialects, divided into 3 subgroups! Most Udins are bilingual, and often trilingual - they use their native language, Russian (or Armenian) and the language of the country of residence. The traditional clothing and cuisine of the Udins are similar to the clothing and cuisine of the peoples of the Caucasus, although, of course, they have their own characteristics.

The Udins are Christians (Caucasian Albania adopted Christianity from Armenia in the 4th century). Those living in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, in Azerbaijan they came under the Russian Orthodox Church, which has its own diocese there. And they use it as a church Julian calendar.

Despite the adoption of Christianity, the Udins retained a number of ancient rituals, various beliefs (for example, healers who treated not only diseases but also the evil eye had a great influence), customs (for example, the custom of keeping an unquenchable fire in the hearth) and traditions. Christian Udins often turned their prayers to the Moon.

By the time the Russians arrived in the Caucasus, Udi villages were concentrated mainly in the Sheki Khanate (a feudal state that existed since mid-18th century V. in the north of modern Azerbaijan and became part of the Russian Empire in 1805 during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict).

IN Soviet times this people survived collectivization and dispossession, attempts to translate the Udi language into Cyrillic writing.

By the way, over the centuries, due to historical reasons, the Udi writing ceased to be used and gradually disappeared. Today they are trying to revive it, both in Azerbaijan and in Russia.

The ancient Albanian alphabet (of 52 letters) was a Greekized version of one of the non-Semitic branches of the Aramaic base. But in the late 1990s, an alphabet was created in Azerbaijan, again of 52 letters, on a Latin basis.

Mass migration of Udins to Russian cities began after 1988, during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. But the Udins of the Russian Federation do not have a special administrative-territorial status.

The Udins (self-name Udi, Uti) are one of the most ancient indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. Historical place of residence: Azerbaijan. Currently, the total number of Udis is estimated at more than 10,000 people. Of these, more than 4,000 live in Azerbaijan - compactly in the village of Nij, Kabala region and dispersed in the city. Oguz (formerly Vartashen) and Baku. According to the 2010 population census, 4,267 Udin live in Russia - in the Rostov region (Shakhty, Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don, Azov, Alekasndrovka village), in the Krasnodar Territory (Krasnodar, Dinskaya, Leningradsky, Kushchevsky districts ), in the Stavropol Territory (Minvody, Pyatigorsk), in the Volgograd region (Volgograd, Dubovyi Ovrag village), as well as in the Sverdlovsk, Ivanovo, Kaluga regions, in the city. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Astrakhan. A small number of Udins live in Georgia (according to various estimates, from 300 to 800 people). In Georgia, the Udins live compactly in the village. Zinobiani and dispersedly in the city. Tbilisi, Poti, Rustavi. There is a small Udin diaspora (about 800 people) in Kazakhstan - Aktau, as well as in Ukraine (Kharkiv region) - more than 100 families.

They speak the Udi language of the Lezgin group of Nakh-Dagestan languages. Dialects are Nij and Oghuz (Vartashen). Azerbaijani, Russian, and Georgian languages ​​are also widespread. The Udins are mostly bilingual, often even trilingual.

Believers are Christians of orthodox denominations. Currently, the Albano-Uda Church is being revived.

The history of the Udi people goes back to ancient times. Despite the scarcity historical information, and the remaining written sources, as well as their insufficient knowledge, today, nevertheless, much is known about the past of the Udins.

Speaking about the formation of the Udin ethnic group, it should be noted that some researchers believe that the Uti (the classical name of the Udin) could have been related to the Kuti tribe, who lived in the 23rd-21st centuries. BC. in the territories of Southern Azerbaijan and known from Akkadian and Sumerian sources. However, the first reliable information about the ancestors of the Udins, the Uti, is found in the ancient Greek historian Herodotus in his famous “History” (5th century BC). Describing the Battle of Marathon (Greco-Persian War, 490 BC), the author points out that Utian soldiers also fought as part of the XIV satrapy of the Persian army. We also find mentions of the Udins in other sources of that time. Thus, the Udins are mentioned in the “Geography” of the ancient Greek writer Strabo (1st century BC) when describing the Caspian Sea and Caucasian Albania. The ethnic term “udi” was first mentioned in the “Natural History” of the Roman author Pliny (1st century BC). Some fragmentary information about the Udins is available from Gaius Pliny Secundus (1st century), Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century), Asinius Quadratus and many other ancient authors. In the Middle Ages, starting from the 5th century, Armenian-language sources often mention the Udins. More extensive information is available in the “History of the Albans” by Moses Kalankatuysky (Movses Kalankatuatsi).

According to the information of these authors, the Udins were part of a tribal union ancient state Caucasian Albania (Armenian: Agvank; Old: Greek: Albania; Arab: Arran) and played a leading role in it. It is no coincidence that both capitals of Caucasian Albania - Kabala and Partav (Barda) were located on the lands of historical residence of the Udis. The Udins were settled over fairly vast territories, from the shores of the Caspian Sea to the Caucasus Mountains, along the left and right banks of the river. Chickens. One of the regions of Caucasian Albania was called Uti of the same name (ancient Greek - Otena; Armenian - Utik). The territory of settlement of the Udins is confirmed by archaeological data. The area of ​​the famous Yaloylutepa archaeological culture (IV century BC – 1st century AD), first discovered in the Kabala region near the village of Nij in 1926, suggests that it was the Udins who were its carriers.

As already noted, the Udins were one of the creator peoples of Caucasian Albania, therefore the history of the Udins is inextricably linked with this state. Caucasian Albania as a single state, based on the unification of various tribes, and under the rule of one king, had already emerged by the 2nd century. BC. Since the 1st century. BC. she was forced to repel constant attacks from Rome. In 65 BC. The Roman commander Pompey defeated the army of the Albanian king Oroz, who decided to be the first to attack the Romans. As a result, King Oroz was forced to conclude a treaty of peace and alliance. The Albanians later rebelled against Rome, but in 36 BC. Roman protectorate over Caucasian Albania was restored. However, later she occupied a fairly independent position. At the beginning of the 3rd century, Transcaucasia was conquered by Iran (in 226, the Sassanid dynasty came to power in Iran. The Shahinshah (king of kings) became the head of the state, Zoroastrianism, i.e. fire worship, became the state religion). Caucasian Albania, along with Armenia and Iberia, became part of the Sassanid state. The Roman Empire also sought to capture Transcaucasia. Long wars broke out between Sasanian Iran and Rome for the conquest of Transcaucasia. As a result, in 387, left-bank Albania, united with the right-bank regions of Uti and Artsakh, which were at that time part of Armenia, was finally subordinated to the Persian power. Subsequently, Caucasian Albania began to be subjected to increasingly strong pressure from Sasanian Iran, both political and religious. The Iranian Shah Yazdegerd forcibly implanted Zoroastrianism, demanding that local authorities promote the spread of this religion. As a result, in 450, the Albanians took part in the anti-Sasanian uprising, which was led by the Armenian commander Vardan Mamikonyan and which the Iberians also joined. The first major victory of the rebels was won precisely in Albania, near the city of Khalkhal, which then served as the summer capital of the Albanian kings. Later, however, the rebels were defeated. In 457, a new uprising broke out in Caucasian Albania, led by the Albanian king Vache. In an effort to completely eliminate the independence of Albania, the Sassanids in 461 abolished royal power here and transferred control of the country to marzpans (governors). In 481-484. A new anti-Sasanian uprising occurred, sweeping the entire Transcaucasus. Under the influence of ongoing popular unrest, the Sassanids were forced to make some concessions. Royal power in Caucasian Albania was restored, and Vachagan III (487-510) was declared king. ). Having achieved recognition of the independence of Albania by the Sasanian state, Vachagan III began to strengthen the independent royal power in every possible way. However, in 510, the Sassanids finally liquidated the dynasty of Albanian kings, replacing them with Persian marzpans (governors). All administrative, military and judicial power was concentrated in the hands of marzpans. And only towards the end of the 6th and early 7th centuries, as a result of the ongoing struggle against the oppression of the Sasanian Shahinshahs, the independence of Caucasian Albania was relatively restored. Albanian princes from the Mikhranid dynasties became the head of the state. Through the efforts of Prince Varaz-Grigor and with the support of the Albanian Catholicos Viro, it was actually possible to restore the independent Albanian kingdom, after more than a century of marzpan regime. One of the famous rulers from the Mikhranid dynasties was Prince Jevanshir, the son of Varaz-Grigor, who inherited his throne. Under him, culture flourished in the country, Albanian writing spread widely, temples were built, and it was under him that the “History of the Albanians” by Moses of Kalankatuy was compiled. Javanshir was a skillful ruler, valiant warrior and a deft diplomat, he fought against the Sassanids, Byzantium, Khazars and Arabs, concluding tactical alliances against the conquerors with one or the other of his opponents. However, despite all the successes of Javanshir, Albania was soon conquered by the Arabs. Under the threat of Arab invasions from the south and constant raids by the Khazars from the north, Javanshir was forced to recognize himself as a vassal of the Arab Caliphate. At the beginning of the 8th century, Caucasian Albania was completely conquered by the Arabs, and the power of the Mikhranids was abolished.

With the conquest of Caucasian Albania by the Arabs, the unity of the state was put to an end and the normal course of its development was interrupted. In essence, it became turning point in its history, which turned out to be disastrous for the country and the peoples who inhabited it. The Arabs, in order to reduce the resistance of the local population, like the Persians, had previously been intensively engaged in the deportation of the most active part of the population. The process of de-ethnicization of local tribes has begun, including the Udis, whose territory of residence and whose numbers are gradually beginning to decline. Part of the population is Islamizing, and the Arabs pursued a special policy towards the Christian population. Understanding the strategic importance of Albania, in particular, and the Transcaucasian countries in general, as a springboard in the fight against Byzantium, the caliphate pursued a policy of ideological separation between them and Byzantium. As a result, in 705 the Albanian Church, by decision of the Arab Caliph and under pressure Armenian Church is deprived of autocephaly and becomes subordinate to the Monophysite Armenian Church. In such a situation, Christian Udins, who have fallen under the cultural pressure of the Armenian Church and are deprived of the opportunity to unite around the national Church, begin to lose their identity. The Armenianization process was particularly intense in the eastern regions of Albania, i.e. on the right bank of the Kura, where cultural and political ties with Armenia had previously been close. In the north of Albania, Georgia (Kartli) and the Georgian Church have a strong ethnic and religious influence. Despite all these processes, back in the 10th century in Barda (Partav), in the main city of Arran, the local population spoke the Arran (i.e., Udi) language, and in Sheki the majority of the population remained Christian. During the 9th-10th centuries. The Albanian princes managed to restore royal power for some time, but all attempts were unsuccessful. Starting from the 11th century, the migration of various nomadic Turkic tribes intensified. The constant raids of the Seljuk Turks, and then the Tatar-Mongols, dramatically change ethnic composition Albanian territories. Local indigenous peoples cease to dominate. Timur's campaigns in Transcaucasia turned out to be truly destructive. Timur's army thoroughly destroyed Kabala, after which the city lost its original significance. After the death of Timur, the countries of Transcaucasia came under the rule or sphere of influence first of the Kara Koyunlu ("Black Sheep") powers, and then of the Ak Koyunlu ("White Sheep"). Both were dominated by the nobility of nomadic Turkic tribes, mainly the so-called Turkmens.

In Udi historiography, the period from the 11th to the 17th centuries has not yet been fully studied. One of the reasons for this is the scarcity of information about the events of this time. In addition, there is also the problem of perceiving the Udin population as Armenian, due to the fact that most of the Udins belong to Gregorianism. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, religious affiliation took precedence over national affiliation, which is why in many historical documents the Udins are mistakenly called Armenians. However, some sources contain references to individual Udin individuals. Thus, we know about a certain Udin from Ganja, nicknamed Mekhlu Baba, the leader of a peasant uprising at the beginning of the 17th century. It is impossible not to say about the Melik-Beglyarov (Beglaryan) family, immigrants from Nij, rulers of Gulistan in Karabakh, etc.

The beginning of the 18th century was marked by a new wave of Turkization of the Udi population, this time by the Ottoman Empire. This is a time of growing struggle between regional powers for dominance over Transcaucasia, which tragically affected the Udi people. A letter from the Udins to Peter I, dated 1724, from the elders of seven Udin villages (Nidzh, Soltan-Nukha, Jourlu, Tosik, Bum, Mirzabeyli, Mykhlukovag, Seid-Tala) has been preserved, in which they describe their plight and call for help. As a result of the tragic events of the 17th-18th centuries, most of the Udins who inhabited the Sheki-Kabala zone and partly the right bank of the Kura at that time were either Turkified or physically exterminated by force of the sword. The events of that time are described by the historian Kazar Hovsepyan (Udin from Jourlu) in “Essays on the Udins and Muslim Armenians.” He bitterly lists the Turkified Udi villages - Vandam, Vardanly, Armanat, Mukhas, Orovan, Bideiz, Kungyut, Kokhmukh, Kutkashen, Kurmukh, Zeyzit, Kish, Jourlu, Sultan-Nukha, Mirzabeyli, Bum, etc. Back in 1892 M . Bezhanov (Udin from Vartashen) in " Brief information about the village of Vartashen and its inhabitants” indicated: “The Udins have been living in the Caucasus for a long time and once formed a special Agvan kingdom. Tradition says that many Udins moved to different places in Asia, that they previously lived in all the villages of the Nukha district; Not very long ago, in different villages there were old people who knew Udin. The Udins have long adopted Christianity and in almost all Tatar (Azerbaijani) villages of the Nukha district there are ruins of ancient churches.”

With the annexation of northern Azerbaijan to the Russian Empire in early XIX century, begins new stage in the history of Udin, already associated with Russia and entering the zone of Russian culture. In the remaining Udin villages of Vartashen and Nij, the gathering of everyone who still recognizes themselves as Udin begins. This is especially true for the latter. This is a time of relative calm and general uplift. In Vartashen and Nij, schools are opened, churches are built, including Orthodox ones, factories are opened, agriculture, gardening, and crafts are developed. Vartashen and Nij were one of the most prosperous villages in the area.

The 20th century was no less tragic for the Udis. By the beginning of the century, there were about 10,000 Udins in the Russian Empire, according to various sources, and already according to the 1926 census in the USSR there were 2,500, i.e. the number of Udins has decreased significantly in a short period of time. Such figures were the result of the crimes committed by the Turkish army and the atrocities of local gangster groups in 1918-1920. The Turkish army, which invaded Transcaucasia in 1918 and was heading to Baku to seize power, ravaged all the Christian settlements in the region on its way. In the summer of 1918, the entire Nukhi-Aresh region was subjected to massacres, including the villages where the Udins lived. But the Udi villages miraculously survived, although they were plundered, and the population hid in the forests. The irreparable happened in 1920, when local bandit groups with the remnants of the Turkish army devastated Udi villages, including Nij and Vartashen. Archival documents testify to murders, abductions of women and children, and the destruction of the best part of the youth. Some of the Vartashens (Orthodox Udins), fleeing, moved to Georgia, where they founded the village of Zinobiani, later renamed Oktomberi by the Bolsheviks. The resettlement was led by the Udi priest Zinoviy Silikov (Zinobi Silikashvili), after whom the village was named. From that time on, Vartashen ceased to be the center of the Udi settlement.

With the establishment Soviet power and the announcement of an official policy of internationalism, conflicts on national and religious grounds become a thing of the past. IN Soviet period In Nij, the infrastructure is being updated - roads, schools, a hospital, a club, an automatic telephone exchange, and a nut processing plant (later a canning plant), one of the largest in the area, are being built, which provided work for most of the Nij residents. Vartashen is also transformed, receives the status of a city and becomes a regional center. Great demographic damage was caused during the Great Patriotic War, in which the Udins actively participated. However, by the end of the 20th century, the number of Udins was increasing. The main place of residence continues to be Nij, partially Vartashen, Mirzabeyli, Soltan-Nukha and Oktomberi in Georgia. However, in the late 80s - early 90s. fate brings again severe trials to the share of the Udi people. With the beginning of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Karabakh and the subsequent beginning of the collapse of the USSR, nationalist forces in Azerbaijan are strengthening. Due to ignorance of their history and ignorance, many once again mistake the Udins for Armenians. As a result, the Udins of Vartashen, fearing pogroms by nationalists, are forced to leave their homes for centuries. The Udins living in Mirzabeyli and Soltan-Nukhi were also under constant fear of local nationalists, and, in the end, leaving their homes, moved to Nij. However, Nij was constantly blocked, and Nij residents were attacked and threatened by radical representatives of the Popular Front. In such a situation, the Udis were forced to turn to Moscow for help. At this time, the famous Azerbaijani historian Ziya Buniyatov appears on television several times, calling not to touch the Udis, since they belong to the indigenous ethnic groups of Azerbaijan. In 1992, the President of Azerbaijan issued a decree “On the protection of rights and freedoms, state support development of the language and culture of national minorities, small peoples And ethnic groups living in the Republic of Azerbaijan." But the consequences of the authorities’ mistakes and the surge of nationalist ideas in the country were not easy to correct. The events of that time and the subsequent deterioration of the socio-economic situation forced many to leave the country in search of a better life. Currently, the only place of compact residence of Udins remains Nij, where about 4,000 thousand Udins live. Most of the Udins live outside Azerbaijan, continuing to maintain contact with their historical homeland and preserving their native language, culture and identity.

The Udin language (self-name: Udin Muz, udin muz) is part of the Lezgin group of Nakh-Dagestan languages, divided into two dialects - Nij and Oguz (Vartashen). The degree of their divergence does not prevent their mutual understanding, although each dialect develops independently. The Udi language is spoken by about 10,000 people. However, it is considered unwritten, although recently efforts have been made to create a written language. The Udi language is used only in everyday life. As official language Udins use the language of the country in which they live: in Azerbaijan - Azerbaijani, in Russia Russian, in Kazakhstan Russian and Kazakh, in Georgia Georgian, etc. Most Udins are bilingual, often trilingual. According to most experts, the Udi language in the past was one of the widespread languages ​​of Caucasian Albania, on the basis of which Albanian writing appeared in the 4th century, and a literary language was formed.

Udin folklore is quite interesting. These are all kinds of fairy tales, legends, parables, songs, games, proverbs. Many of them are still popular among people today.The first attempts to collect folklore were made at the end of the 19th century. Thus, M. Bezhanov, a Udin from Vartashen, collected Udin tales, proverbs, and songs. Some of them were published in the yearbook “SMOMPC”, published at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Several Udin tales were published in the works of the German linguist A. Dirr. Folklore was published in the form of a separate book in the recent past. Much credit goes to G. Kechaari, a local educator from Nidzhi. He prepared the books “ORAYIN” in the Udi language. These books contained Udin fairy tales, legends, traditions, proverbs, beliefs, as well as Udin parables and anecdotes.

Udins are the people of the Lezgin group of Nakh-Dagestan language family, considered a direct descendant of the population of ancient Caucasian Albania. Since the 4th century AD, the Udins have professed Christianity, thus being one of the most ancient (after the Armenians and Georgians) Christian peoples of the Caucasus and the first baptized people living in Russia.

Origin

The origin of the Udins is lost in the mists of time. Some argue that the Udins, under the name “Utii,” were mentioned by Herodotus (5th century BC) among the peoples of the Persian state who participated in Darius’s campaign against the Persians. However, in the corresponding passage of Herodotus’s “History” we are talking about the peoples of the 14th Achaemenid satrapy, which roughly corresponded to present-day Baluchistan, very distant from the Caucasus.

The ancient Roman scientist Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) in his “Natural History” mentions the Udini people living on the shores of the Caspian Sea, next to Caucasian Albania. However, the place where Pliny places the Udins does not allow us to identify it with a real geographical object, since Pliny believed that the Caspian Sea was connected to the ocean in the north by a strait. It can be approximately assumed that the Udins lived in the coastal part of what is now Dagestan.

At the same time, Pliny calls the Udins a “Scythian tribe,” while the historically known Udins belong to the Nakh-Dagestan family. In the Udi language there is no particularly large number of borrowings from Iranian languages, which could indicate that they are Scythians by origin, mixed with the tribes of Dagestan. It is quite possible that the Udins of Pliny and the later Udins are only coincidentally consonant, but not at all related.

The name of the region of Caucasian Albania - Utik, which is believed to be associated with the ethnonym Udi, appears only in the 5th century. Among Greco-Roman authors it was called Othena. However, it was not located in coastal Dagestan, but in the corner formed by the confluence of the Araks and Kura rivers and limited to the west by Nagorno-Karabakh. It can be assumed that the Udins moved from Dagestan to Transcaucasia, but again this will only be a hypothesis.

The Udi language reveals a close relationship with the language of some documents of Caucasian Albania, a state that arose in the 2nd-1st centuries. BC. on the territory of present-day Western Azerbaijan and Dagestan. There was no single spoken language in Albania. The Greco-Roman geographer Strabo (1st century BC - 1st century AD) wrote that the Albanians are divided into 26 peoples, each of which poorly understands the other. It is possible that the Udins already constituted one of the ethnic groups of Caucasian Albania.

The first sermon of Christianity

According to legend, the baptizer of Caucasian Albania was Elisha, a disciple of the apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy, who, like Jesus, was baptized by John in the Jordan. Elisha, after the death of Thaddeus around 50, was ordained bishop by the Apostle James himself. After which he went to preach the Gospel in the country of Uti (Utik) - that is, if the identifications mentioned above are correct, in the country of the Udis. There he built the first church in a certain city of Gis and somewhere there he accepted death at the hands of his tormentors.

Ghis is identified by researchers with the village of Kish in the Sheki region of Azerbaijan. Until recently, Kish was a Udi village. It preserved christian temple(now a museum), the building of which dates back to the 12th century. According to tradition, it is believed that this temple was built on the site of an ancient church founded by Equal-to-the-Apostles Elisha.

Elisha is a locally revered saint only in Udi church communities. He is not canonized even on the scale of the Armenian Gregorian Church, to which the Udis historically belong.

Conversion to Christianity

The historically reliable baptism of the Udins dates back to the end of the 4th century. By that time, Christianity had already become the state religion in neighboring Armenia and Georgia.

In 301 (according to church tradition) or 314 (as most historians believe) Saint Gregory the Illuminator converted Armenia to Christianity. According to the Armenian historian Moses Kagankatvatsi (VII century), Gregory also baptized the ruler of Albania, Urnair. However, this information does not agree with the news that back in 370 Urnair was a pagan. Most historians associate the spread of Christianity in Albania with the activities of the grandson of St. Gregory - Grigoris, who became the first bishop of Albania and was martyred by the Albanians in Derbent in 348.

Not earlier than 371, however, the ruling elite of Albania adopted Christianity. Albania becomes an outpost of Christianity in the Eastern Caucasus. The center of the Albanian bishopric was in the city of Partav (present-day Barda, or Berdaa in Arabic sources), on the territory of modern Azerbaijan. Partav was located precisely in the Utik region, that is, on the land of the Udis.

The Albanian Church was autocephalous, like the Armenian and Kartli (Georgian). In 451, the IV Ecumenical Council (Chalcedon) condemned Monophysitism (the doctrine of the one - divine - nature of Christ), which was adhered to by the Caucasian churches, as a heresy. In 554, at the Second Council in the city of Dvin (Armenia), the Caucasian churches finally broke with the Byzantine one. The Georgian church subsequently turned to Orthodoxy, the Armenian and Albanian churches retained Monophysitism. At the beginning of the 8th century, the Albanian Church lost autocephaly and became part of the Armenian Church.

Udins in our time

Being Christians, the Udins preserved a number of interesting rituals from the pagan past. The custom of never extinguishing the fire in the home was associated with the traditions of Zoroastrianism. Udi prayers addressed to the moon went back to even more ancient cult rituals.

Until recently, the largest number of Udis lived in Azerbaijan. But in 1989, many of them, as Christians, and also Armenian-Gregorian by religion, became victims of ethnic cleansing in Azerbaijan. Most were forced to flee to Armenia, Georgia or Russia. Those who remain are subject to strict assimilation.

In 2009, there were 3,800 Udis in Azerbaijan. They live compactly there in the village of Nij, Gabala region in the north of the republic. According to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, in Russian Federation 4127 Udis lived there. They are scattered around different regions, mainly in the North Caucasus. Most of all - 1866 people - lived in the Rostov region. Udins also live in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia. The total number in the world does not exceed 10 thousand.

In Caucasian Albania, their own writing was created based on the Armenian alphabet, but the Udins lost it. The Udi language has different variants alphabets based on both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, created in the 19th-20th centuries. All Udins speak the languages ​​of the countries in which they live; over a third of Russian Udins do not know their native language. Almost all Udins belong to the Armenian-Gregorian Church and conduct services in the Armenian language. The religious unity of the Udis is the most important factor in their ethnicity.