Lezgistan
Lezgistan is an ethnic homeland of the Lezgins,[1][2] as well as the area of distribution of the Lezgin language.[3]
Historical toponym
While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred to Legoi people who inhabited Caucasian Albania, Arab historians of 9-10th centuries mention the kingdom of Lakz in present-day southern Dagestan.[4] Al Masoudi referred to inhabitants of this area as Lakzams (Lezgins),[5] who defended Shirvan against invaders from the north.[6]
Prior to the Russian Revolution, "Lezgin" was a term applied to all ethnic groups inhabiting the present-day Russian Republic of Dagestan.[7]
The first notion of an autonomous Lezgin territory, that is, "Lezgistan", was voiced in 1936 during Joseph Stalin's reign.[8]
Political concept
After the dissolution of USSR there was an irredentist project to create a unified Lezgistan on Lezgin-inhabited areas of Azerbaijan and Russian Republic of Dagestan.[9]
The Lezgin National Movement, "Sadval" (Unity) was established in July 1990 in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia (then Soviet Union).[10] They demanded the unification of the Lezgin people (in Azerbaijan and Dagestan) because they had been "denied the opportunity to develop their culture" under Soviet rule.[citation needed]
Sadval did not find support ground in Azerbaijan, moreover, it was cited for the March 19, 1994 bomb attack in Baku subway during which 27 people were killed.[11] There was evidence that Armenian Secret Service had participated in the creation of Sadval, provided funding, training and weapons to its militants.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Minahan 2002, pp. 1084–1086.
- ^ Minahan 2016, p. 242.
- ^ Haspelmath 1993, p. 18.
- ^ Haspelmath 1993, p. 17.
- ^ Yakut, IV, 364. According to al-Masoudi (Murudzh, II, 5)
- ^ VFMinorsky. History of Shirvan. M. 1963
- ^ Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1994). An Ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 438. ISBN 0313274975.
- ^ Sayfutdinova, Leyla (2022). "Ethnic Boundaries and Territorial Borders: On the Place of Lezgin Irredentism in the Construction of National Identity in Azerbaijan". Nationalities Papers. 50 (4): 799. doi:10.1017/nps.2021.3. hdl:10023/23933. S2CID 236600082.
- ^ Markedonov, Sergey (2010). Radical Islam in the North Caucasus. Center for Strategic and International Studies. p. 2. ISBN 978-0892066148.
- ^ Minorities at Risk Project, Chronology for Lezgins in Russia, 2004 (accessed 21 September 2011)
- ^ "Acts of terrorism in Metro in other countries". Pravda. Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
- ^ Coene, Frederik (2009). The Caucasus: an introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 161. ISBN 978-0415486606.
Sources
- Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: L-R. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313321115.
- Minahan, James (2016). Encyclopedia of Stateless Nations: Ethnic and National Groups Around the World, 2nd Edition. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610699549.
- Haspelmath, Martin (1993). A Grammar of Lezgian. De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110137354.
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