ИЗВЕСТИЯ СОИГСИ

Keywords: Ossetia, Kartli, Persians, Arabs, Turks, fortifications, dating, construction equipment.

The article discusses various versions of the appearance of the barrier walls in North Ossetia, in particular, of the Kasar fortification, which has come down to us in the form of ruins. The author refutes the opinion established in historiography about the construction of these fortifications through the efforts of the Georgian kings, based on the statement of Vakhushti Bagrationi. A number of researchers consider the information of Vakhushti Bagrationi reliable, without subjecting it to critical analysis. However, historical facts may indicate that the defensive walls in Ossetia could have been erected by the Persians (VI‑VII centuries) or the Arabs (VIII‑IX centuries), rather than by the Georgian or, more precisely, the Kartlian kings, for whom such scale and magnitude were overwhelming. The Persian and Arab presence and the construction of powerful defensive walls in the Central Caucasus are documented by the written and archaeological sources, on the basis of which the author puts forward a thesis that the defensive structures in North Ossetia were constructed by the Persians or Arabs.

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