Lezgistan from map of the Caucasus by Johann Gustav Gaerber (1728)
Lezgistan from map of the Caucasus by Johann Gustav Gaerber (1728)

Lezgistan or Lekia (Lezgian: Леӄи lek'i) may refer to the following:

Historical concept

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.[3] Al Masoudi referred to inhabitants of this area as Lakzams (Lezgins),[4] who defended Shirvan against invaders from the north.[5]

Prior to the Russian Revolution, "Lezgin" was a term applied to all ethnic groups inhabiting the present-day Russian Republic of Dagestan.[6]

The first notion of an autonomous Lezgin territory, that is, "Lezgistan", was voiced in 1936 during Joseph Stalin's reign.[7]

Political concept

The Lezgin National Movement, "Sadval" (Unity) was established in July 1990 in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia (then Soviet Union).[8] 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.[9] There was evidence that Armenian Secret Service had participated in the creation of Sadval, provided funding, training and weapons to its militants.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Лезгистан". Энциклопедический Словарь Ф.А.Брокгауза и И.А.Ефрона. Библиотека «Вѣхи». 1890–1907. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Markedonov, Sergey (2010). Radical Islam in the North Caucasus. Center for Strategic and International Studies. p. 2. ISBN 0892066148.
  3. ^ Haspelmath, Martin (1993). A grammar of Lezgian. Walter de Gruyter. p. 17. ISBN 3110137356.
  4. ^ Yakut, IV, 364. According to al-Masoudi (Murudzh, II, 5)
  5. ^ VFMinorsky. History of Shirvan. M. 1963
  6. ^ Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1994). An Ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 438. ISBN 0313274975.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Minorities at Risk Project, Chronology for Lezgins in Russia, 2004 (accessed 21 September 2011)
  9. ^ "Acts of terrorism in Metro in other countries". Pravda. Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  10. ^ Coene, Frederik (2009). The Caucasus: an introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 161. ISBN 0415486602.
Categories