ИЗВЕСТИЯ СОИГСИ

The medieval Georgian manuscript “The Monument of the Eristavs”, or “The Chronicle of the Ksanian Eristavs”, contains a lot of information about the medieval history of the part of the modern Republic of South Ossetia. The first part of the “Chronicle”, composed by the monks of the Largvis monastery (early XVth century), reflects the events, which predate the time of their written record for more than 8-9 centuries. The “Chronicle” preserved the legend of the exodus of the family of the Eristavs from the northern part of Alania-Ossetia after an unsuccessful attempt to intercept power from the Tsarazons. The route of the expellees-resettlers is partly marked – the Zakka pass, or Sbajyftsag, and further to Edys – in the Upper Dvaletia, or Urstualta. The “Chronicle” indicates the places of temporary and permanent residence of the refugees’ colony in different parts of Dvaletia among the Dvals. Firstly, the leaders of the colony were called Bibiluri—Bibylta, by the senior prince’s name, and then Kvenipneveli, or Largveli, by the local name of the residence provided to them. The latter ones are fixed even with the addition of the acquired title – “Eristavi”. The first name (Bibylta) was preserved among the Ossetians, and the second – among Georgians (Sidamon-Eristavi). They entered the Georgian feudal structure as prominent representatives of the feudal nobility. At the places of residence of the immigrants, archaeologists discovered burials with characteristic elements of equipment of noble warriors – a belt with a set indicating a special status in the military hierarchy of the Alans. The deformed skulls found in the burials also point to Alans, whose artificial cranial deformation was widespread in the early Middle Ages as a social marker. After the approval of the Sidamon-Eristav’s power in the gorges of the Ksani River by the Eastern Georgian monarch, the newly-born Georgian feudal lords took active part in the military and political events that took place in Georgia in the following centuries. The Eristavs preserved the memory of their Ossetian «aristocratic» origin and were called in later times the Sidamon—Eristavi.

Keywords: Chronicle of the Eristavs, settlers, Sidamons, Tsarazons, Rostom, Bibil, citlosan, Largvis, Tskhradzma, belt set, Dvals, Alans, Ossetians.

References:

1. Pamyatnik eristavov [The Monument of the Eristavs]. Pamyatniki gruzinskoi istoricheskoi literatury [Monuments of the Georgian historical literature. Translation, research and notes by S.S. Kakabadze]. Tbilisi, 1979. 54 p.

2. Abaev V.I. Istoriko-etimologicheskii slovar' osetinskogo yazyka [Historical and etymological dictionary of the Ossetian language]. Leningrad, Nauka Publishing house, 1979, vol. III. 358 p.

3. Dzattiaty R.G. “Tsitlosani” – khroniki ksanskikh eristavov [“Tsitlosani” – the Chronicles of the Ksan Eristavs]. Izvestiya YuONII [Proceedings of the South Ossetian Research Institute]. Tbilisi, 1990, iss. XXXIII, pp. 43-47.

4. Dahl V.I. Tolkovyi slovar' zhivogo velikorusskogo yazyka [Explanatory dictionary of the living Great Russian language]. Moscow, Russian language Publishing house, 1978, vol. 1. 699 p.

5. Tekhov B.V. K voprosu izucheniya srednevekovogo “gorodishcha tsartsiatov” v s. Edys Dzhavskogo raiona [On the question of the studying the medieval “settlement of the Tsartsiats” in the village Edis of the Dzhava district]. Plan raboty i tezisy dokladov nauchnoi sessii YuONII [Work plan and abstracts of the South Ossetian Research Institute Scientific Session]. Tskhinvali, 1967.

6. Dzattiaty R.G. Tsartsiatskie pamyatniki: Edysskoe gorodishche i mogil'niki [Tsartsiatian monuments: the settlement of Edys and cemeteries]. Vladikavkaz, Ir Publishing house, 2006. 175 p.

7. Apkhazava N.I. Mogil'nik Kvemo Alevi [The burial ground of Kvemo Alevi]. Tbilisi, Metsniereba Publishing house, 1988. 132 p. (in Georgian)