Famous Rutulians. The Rutulians are a small people with a big history. The question of the origin of the Rutulians

30.06.2020

are the indigenous population of the Republic of Dagestan. The Rutulians themselves call themselves MykhIabyr by village name Rutul — MykhIa. Mostly Rutulians live in the Rutulsky district, located in the southwest of the Republic of Dagestan in the valley of the Samur River. The Rutulsky district was formed in Soviet times by the government of Dagestan in 1929. In the north-west, the Rutulsky district borders with the Charodinsky and Tlyaratinsky districts, in the north with the Laksky, in the north-east with the Kulinsky, in the east with the Kurakhsky and Agulsky districts, in the south-east with the Akhtynsky district and in the south-west it is separated from the Republic of Azerbaijan Main Caucasian ridge.

In addition, representatives of this small ethnic group also inhabit the territories of the Babayurt region, Kizlyar region, as well as the Sheki and Kakh regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Officially, the number of Rutulians in the world is about 60,000 people. According to the census conducted in Russia in 2010, in the territory Russian Federation About 35,000 Rutulians live, of which about 28,000 people live in Dagestan. According to experts, about 1,000 Rutuls live in Azerbaijan. The number of Rutulians is growing steadily. This can be judged from the results of censuses that were carried out both in Soviet period and during the period of the Russian Federation.

The native language of the Rutul people is considered to be the Rutul language. It belongs to the group of Nakh-Dagestan languages. The Rutul language has several dialects. These are Shinazsky, Mukhreksky, Ikhreksky, Borchinsky and Rutulsky. In some villages, the same word is sometimes pronounced differently. For example: in the village. Rutul the word “Eat” is pronounced by some as “ule”, and by others as “ile”. And there are many such examples.

In almost all villages they speak different dialects of the Rutul language. The only Lezgin-speaking aul in the Rutul region is the village. Khlut, where the main language is Lezgin.

The villages of the Rutul region are mainly located along the banks of the Samur River, as well as on the banks of small rivers flowing into the Samur River. These villages are: Kala, Kufa, Luchek, Amsar, Shinaz, Ihrek, Mukhrek, Khlut, Kiche, Kina, Dzhilikhur, Upper Katrukh, Lower Katrukh, Khnyukh, Mishlesh, Tsudik, Kusur, Khnyukh, Sogyut, Kurdul.

Two villages are located in the valley of the Akhtychay River. These are the villages of Borch and Khnov. In addition, the territory on which the village of Khnov is located is the territory of the Akhtynsky district, but they live there.

The village of Novy Borch is also part of Municipal entity"Rutulsky district". It is located in the Babayurt district in the north of the Republic of Dagestan. This village is predominantly inhabited by immigrants from the high mountain villages of the Rutul region.

As for the early history of the Rutuls, little is known about it. It is believed that the Albanian tribal union also included the Rutuls. This was in the 1st millennium BC. and then these tribes were called Gargareans. In total, this union included 26 tribes.

Before joining Russia, the Rutulians constantly fought with their neighbors. In 1495 - 1496 a war was waged with the neighboring Lezgin village of Khryug, which was assisted by residents of another Lezgin village of Akhty. According to various sources, during the first half of the 16th century AD. Rutuli was robbed and burned several times. Oh you. In turn, Akhty, in alliance with the Derbent troops led by Alkhaz Mirza Derbendi, also burned and plundered Rutul. In 1728 the word was first mentioned in the Russian press Rutul "free" society (RVO), namely in the work “Description of countries and peoples along the western shore of the Caspian Sea.” The author was I.G. Gerber.

The history of the Rutuls is full of such clashes. In addition, Rutul was the target of attacks by the Turks, then by the Arabs, then by the Persians. But they never submitted to anyone when it came to submission and freedom.

Perhaps that’s it, in this publication, for now everything is about the history of the Rutulians. Subscribe to blog articles and you will learn many more interesting things about Rutulians.

Number and range

Total:~ 100,000 people
Russia, Russia:
35 240 (2010);

- Dagestan Dagestan:
  27 849 (2010); 24 298 (2002)
  - Rutulsky district: 13,975 (trans. 2002)
  - Makhachkala: 5,974 (trans. 2002)
  - Kizlyar district: 862 (trans. 2002)
  - Derbent: 716 (trans. 2002)
  - Kaspiysk: 630 (trans. 2002)
  - Kizlyar: 615 (trans. 2002)
- Stavropol Territory Stavropol Territory:
  1 339 (2010) 937 (2002)
- Rostov region Rostov region:
  1 067 (2010) 914 (2002)
- Kalmykia Kalmykia:
  584 (2010) 628 (2002)
- Krasnodar region Krasnodar region:
  470 (2010) 510 (2002)

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan: 17,000 (~2000)
Ukraine Ukraine: 137 (2001)
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan: 82 (2009)
Georgia Georgia: 103 (1989)
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan: 53 (1989)
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan: 33 (1989)

Language

Rutulsky

Religion

Sunni Islam

Racial type

Caucasian type of Caucasian race

Included in

Lezgin group

Related peoples

Aguls, Archins, Buduhs, Dzheks, Kryzys, Lezgins, Tabasarans, Udins, Khinalugs and Tsakhurs

Origin

Caucasian Albanians

Rutulians(self-name Rut. MykhIaIbyr) - one of the indigenous peoples of Dagestan (Rutulsky, Akhtynsky, Babayurtsky and Kizlyarsky districts), as well as Northern Azerbaijan (Sheki, Gakhsky districts)

According to the results of the 2002 census, the number of Rutulians in Russia was 29,929 people, according to the 2010 census - 35,240. The number of Rutulians in Azerbaijan was more than 30,000 people (2004)

The Rutulians, both linguistically and ethnoculturally, are close to other peoples of Dagestan. The ancestors of the Rutulians were historically part of the state union - Caucasian Albania and were known as Albanians.

The total number of Rutulians in the world is about 100,000 people. In terms of material and spiritual culture, the Rutulians are close to the Lezgins and other peoples inhabiting the basin of the upper reaches of the Samur River.

1 Number and settlement
2 Etymology
- 2.1 History of the ethnonym
- 2.2 Exoethnonyms
3 History
- 3.1 The question of the origin of the Rutulians
- 3.2 Before joining Russia
- 3.3 Tsarist and Soviet period
4 Anthropology
5 Religion
6 Language
- 6.1 General information
- 6.2 Other languages
7 Culture and life
- 7.1 Crafts and trades
- 7.2 Traditional housing
  - 7.2.1 Housing types
- 7.3 Traditional clothing
- 7.4 National cuisine
- 7.5 Folklore
- 7.6 Society
8 Comments
9 Notes
10 Links
11 Literature

Number and settlement

The bulk of the Rutulians traditionally live in the Rutul region of Dagestan (Russia), in the valley of the river. Samur and its tributaries. Two Rutul villages Borch and Khnov are located in the valley of the river. Akhty-tea in the Akhtynsky district. According to the 2010 census, 35,240 Rutulians lived in Russia, of which 27,849 were in Dagestan. Rutul citizens live in Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Derbent, Kizlyar, Khasavyurt and other cities of Dagestan. Rutul villages are located in several isolated regions of Dagestan:

valley of the Samur and Rugul-Samur rivers: Rutul, Luchek, Shinaz, Ihrek, Mukhrek, Amsar, Kina, Vurush, Dzhilikhur, Kala, Pilek, Khnyukh, Natsma, Fartma, Kufa, Fuchokh, Kiche, Una, Tsudik, Aran.
upper reaches of the Akhtychay River: Borch (Rutulsky district), Khnov (Akhtynsky district).
Northern Dagestan: the village of Rybalko, Kizlyar district, Novy Borch and nearby villages of the Babayurt district.

In addition to Russia, Rutulians also live in Azerbaijan. Rutul villages in Azerbaijan: Shin, Gaynar, Khyrsa, Shorsu, Dashyuz. Rutulians live in the cities of Sheki (Nukha) (more than 10 thousand), Sumgait, Ganja, Kakhi, Mingachevir, Baku and other cities and villages. The exact number of Rutulians in Azerbaijan is unknown. According to the last Soviet census of 1989, there were 336 people there.

Official data from the 1989 census, according to which 20,700 people lived in the USSR. did not reflect the true number of Rutulians and this figure was only half of the real number of Rutulians. In fact, at that time there were more than 40,000 Rutuls in the USSR. In 1989, more than 20,000 people lived in Azerbaijan alone, while more than 10 thousand Rutulians, or about 50% of the total Rutulian population of the republic, lived in the city of Sheki (Azerbaijan).

The following table, compiled by professor, linguist G. Kh. Ibragimov, reflects the total number of Rutulians by year, taking into account the average increase in the Rutul population by 25% every 10 years:

If we continue the table, we get the following data:

Total number of rutuls:

Number of rutuls in Azerbaijan:

It should also be noted that the data on the Rutulians in the 1926 census was significantly reduced (in the census Russian Empire 1898-1899 the number of Rutulians is indicated as more than 12,000 people) and the fact that these data are based on the 1926 census in the USSR, where most of the Rutulians lived, but still this figure does not reflect 100% of the Rutulians in the world, since the Rutulians also lived live today in Turkey, Syria and other countries. It is also known that in the period 1817-1864, during Caucasian War Some of the Rutulians (and other peoples of Dagestan) left their homeland and immigrated to other countries.

Thus, if we take into account the average increase, the decrease in the birth rate and population loss in 1941-1945. then we can say that approximate total number rutuls in the world in 2014 - about 100,000 people.

Etymology

History of the ethnonym

Village Rutul

The ethnonym Rutul is associated with the name of the village Rutul, the most numerous Rutul village. The origin of this term remains unclear to this day. Since such a term is absent in the toponymy and vocabulary of the Rutuli themselves and their neighbors, scientists consider it to be introduced. The only known source mentioning the word rutul is the poem by Claudius Rutilius Namatian “On his return from Rome to Galia,” which says: “And, like Virgil the poet, the great-grandson of the Rutul kings.” In Rutul, the village of Rutul is called MykhIaId, and its residents call themselves MykhIadybyr, MykhIad. The term Rutul as one of the names of the village MykhІаІд has been known since the 15th century. It is found in epigraphic monuments (the Tsakhur inscription about the invasion of the Turks and the Rutul army on Tsakhur in 1432), in official documents (the genealogy of the Rutul beks; a letter from Shamkhal from 1598, in which the Rutul army is mentioned among the troops allied to him), as well as in Persian and Turkish letters dated to the Rutul beks.

Since the ethnonym “Rutulians” comes from the name of the village. Rutul from external carriers, then it is a type of exonym. It became established among native speakers of the Rutul language only during the years of Soviet power. For example, Shinazians (Synazrabor, from the name of the village of Shinaz), Ikhreks (Irekdybor, from the village of Ihrek), Borchintsy (Budzhedbor, from the village of Borch), Khnovtsy (Khinadby, from the village of Khnov) and so on. Ethnographer and Caucasian expert L.I. Lavrov reported that the Rutulians could say about their language that they did not speak Rutul, but the “Shinaz” language, “Borchinsky”, “Khnovsky” and others.

Exoethnonyms

Tsakhurs call the Rutul people Mykhashura, Agyakby, Lezgins - Mydkhadar, Rutular, Vana-VatsӀar (vana - upper, vatsӀ - river, that is, people living in the upper reaches of the river). The neighbors of the residents of the Rutul village of Luchek call them “Gurdjiar”, that is, Georgians; Legend associates the Ukhchia area located near the village with the name of the Georgians.

Story

The question of the origin of the Rutulians

The early history of the Rutulians is connected with public education Caucasian Albania, formed in the 4th century BC, which included the peoples of Southern Dagestan.

Caucasian Albania (in green) at the beginning of the century. e. From “Atlas of Classical and Ancient Geography” by Samuel Butler, XIX century Ethnic map of the Caucasus in the V-IV centuries BC. e.

In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. In eastern Transcaucasia, an Albanian tribal union was formed, uniting 26 tribes that spoke various languages of the Nakh-Dagestan family. These included Albans, Gargars, Gels, Legs, Uti (Udins) and others. According to Robert Heusen, the Albanian tribes were mainly of autochthonous Caucasian origin, although it cannot be certain that this applies to all 26 tribes. G. Kh. Ibragimov sees the Rutulians and Tsakhurs in the ancient Gargareans. He believes that “it is also quite appropriate to link the ethnonyms Ga-zal-ar (as the Tsakhurs call the Rutulians) and Gargar (<гар-гар>) “nationality” as an etymologically general concept.”

Meanwhile, many Caucasian experts (P.K. Uslar, K. Miller, E.I. Krupnov) made a connection between the terms gargar and galgai (the self-name of the Ingush), or the Chechen word gargarnakh, that is, close people (N.F. Yakovlev) . They considered the ethnogenetic connection of the Gargareans with the Vainakhs. But since in the Vainakh and Dagestan (Avar, Rutul and Tsakhur) languages the term “gargar” is present in the meaning of “relative,” N.G. Volkova believes that the word gargar and the Gargareans are most likely associated “with the broader linguistic group of the Eastern Caucasus - ancestors of the Dagestanis and Vainakhs."

Archaeological finds in the places of settlement of the Rutulians reveal similarities with the culture of Transcaucasia from the times of Albania. Thus, three-tier burial grounds - such as stone boxes, opened in the village of Rutul. Khnov, are quite close to the burials in Mingachevir. Openwork bronze bracelets found in one of them are similar to the bracelets of the upper layer of the third burial of Mingachevir

According to R. M. Magomedov, the “Henoki” people mentioned by the Armenian geographer of the 7th century are the Rutulians, but he does not provide arguments to support his hypothesis, and, from the point of view of L. I. Lavrov, this assumption seems doubtful. As Ikhilov writes: “We are inclined to believe that until the 15th century, the Tsakhurs and Rutuls had not yet separated from the Lezgin ethnic environment and continued to be considered one people, although they developed their own languages and peculiarities of life and culture.”

Before joining Russia

Anthropology

Anthropologically, the Rutulians belong to the Caucasian type of the Balkan-Caucasian race (scholastic length - 143.1 mm, boron river - 3.63 points, body length - 161.1 cm). In terms of pigmentation characteristics, the Rutulians are close to representatives of the Caucasian race (Ando-Tsuntinians, Avars, Laks, Dargins). According to L.M. Mints, they belong to the Caspian subtype of the Near East branch of the Caucasoid race.

According to odontological characteristics, they are close to the Tindins, some groups of Avars, Akhvakhs, Bagulals, Bezhta and Kusar Lezgins

Religion

Minaret in the village Shinaz

Believing Rutulians profess Sunni Islam (Shafi'i madhhab).

According to sources, the Rutulians adopted Islam early - the earliest attempts of the Arabs to establish themselves in Dagestan date back to the 7th century, and on the territory of the Rutulians they had the greatest success. This is evidenced by the earliest monument of Muslim culture in the Caucasus - the tombstone of Sheikh Magomed ibn Assad ibn Mugal, buried in Khin (Khnov) in 675 AD. e. The early Islamization of the Rutuls is evidenced by the earliest monuments of construction epigraphy in the mountains of Dagestan, found in some villages of the Rutuls. This is a stone in the wall of the building of the mosque in the village of Luchek, on which the text of the chronograph is carved on Arabic, dating the establishment of Islam here to 128 AH, that is, 745-746. Another stone with a chronograph text was preserved in the mosque of the village of Ihrek, it says “about the restoration of the destroyed mosque in 407 AH.” There are many Kufic inscriptions dating back to the 11th-13th centuries. In the ancient manuscript “Akhty-name” there is a legend that some grandchildren of the legendary Arab conqueror of Dagestan Abu Muslim settled in Rutul, Khnov and Shinaz. In the 12th century, a khanaka (Sufi monastery) already existed in Rutul. Arabic inscriptions and the presence of a khanqah, according to Lavrov, indicate that in the 12th century Islam was firmly established among the Rutulians.

With the penetration of Islam, Arabic writing and Arabic literature became widespread, which contributed to the fact that local residents began to record some historical information in various chronicles, tombstones, and on building stones built in the walls of mosques and minarets.

In this regard, the Samur district was especially distinguished, which was called “the central point of Arab colonization in Dagestan.”

This affected the spread of Arabic inscriptions made in Kufic script. L.I. Lavrov calls the upper reaches of the river. Samur, where the Rutulians live, is “the richest area in the Caucasus for the distribution of Kufic inscriptions.” Such an abundance of Kufic inscriptions in a relatively small territory inhabited by the Rutulians proves that “the Arab element, brought there by the followers of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), was accepted and instilled there primarily and sooner than anywhere else), and that the end of its era of prosperity should be considered XII and early XIII centuries."

Before the population adopted Islam, other beliefs were apparently widespread here. In the area where the Rutulians settled, there are many “sacred places” (feasts) and ancient images of crosses. According to legend, the inhabitants of Ihrek resisted the adoption of Islam for a long time, and near the current Lak village of Arakul, after the advent of Islam here, the village of Siyakh continued to exist for a long time, the inhabitants of which professed Judaism. In 1952, in the area of Rukhudyug, near Luchek, scientists discovered rock paintings accompanied by the dates 751-752, 1127, 1165-1166 and 1213-1214, but according to the Muslim calendar. Scraps of Arabic inscriptions were also discovered here. The drawings depict animals (horses, mountain tours), horsemen, archers, people in high hats, a large sailing ship with oars, crosses, tamgas, etc. Lavrov came to the conclusion that “a detailed image of the ship proves the connections of the local population with the Caspian coast, and the image of the cross indicates that even after the appearance of the Arabs, part of the local population continued to profess Christianity, brought here in the pre-Arab era.”

Islam among the Rutulians calmly coexisted with the remnants of ancient folk beliefs. The Rutulians have sanctuaries - ujagyabyr, which are a type of Caucasian feasts. They exist not only within the framework of general Rutul sanctuaries, but also as internal sanctuaries. One of the oldest feasts is the 15th century feast in Khnov. Worship of sacred groves, mountains, springs, some graves and places associated with the lives of individual saints was preserved. Fire was also considered revered and sacred. In this regard, it is noteworthy that one of the peaks of the rutuls is known as Tsaylakhan, which means “place of fire.”

Language

General information

Main article: Rutul language

They speak the Rutul language of the Lezgin branch of the Nakh-Dagestan family. The languages closest to him are Tsakhur, Kryz and Budukh. Together with the Tsakhur language, which is close to it, it forms the Rutul-Tsakhur subgroup of the Lezgin group of the Nakh-Dagestan family.

There is a close relationship between the Rutul, Tsakhur, Kryz and Budukh languages and their commonality with the Albanian (Gargar) language, which had written and literary traditions in Christian Caucasian Albania. The surviving common ethnic term for speakers of some languages of the Rutul group, as well as the close relationship of the Rutul, Tsakhur, Kryz and Budukh languages give reason to believe that these languages once had a common territory in Northern Azerbaijan (the left bank of the Kura River) and Southwestern Dagestan. This territory represents a significant part of the historical state unification of Caucasian Albania.

Messages from ancient writers suggest that the ethnic core of ancient Caucasian Albania was concentrated on the left and right banks of the Kura. Also noteworthy are the reports of Arab authors about a special language in Bard: “The language in Aderbeijan, Armenia and Arran is Persian and Arabic, excluding the areas of the city of Dabil, around it they speak Armenian; in the country of Berda, the language is Aranian,” further: “In the same place (in Andarab - the name of the area one farsakh from Berda’a) grows a fruit named Zukal” (cf. Tsakh., Rut. zuk’al “dogwood”).

The Rutul language has four main dialects: Rutul proper, Shinaz, Mukhrek-Ikhrek and Borchin-Khinavi. It is noteworthy that differences in dialects are observed not only among villages, but also within the same village. For example, in Rutul, residents of the Ahe quarter call water "gye", and residents of the Furaje quarter call it "gyed"; the former call the carpet “keden”, and the latter call it “hyeden” and so on.

Currently, the Rutul language has the status of one of the state languages of the Republic of Dagestan.

Other languages

All Rutulians are bilingual; the majority of the population speaks three or more languages. The Azerbaijani language, which for a long time was the language of interethnic communication in Southern Dagestan, became quite widespread among them. Back in the 1950s. L.I. Lavrov noted that the Rutulians use their native language “at home, at work and at meetings, but if at meetings there are people who do not know this language (Lezgins, Tsakhurs, etc.), then the speakers most often speak Azerbaijani” . The newspaper “Gyzyl Choban” (“Red Choban”) was published in this language in Rutul since 1932, and Rutul poets Khazarchi Gadzhiev and Dzhamisab Salarov wrote in it. While exploring the vocabulary of animal husbandry in the Rutul language, linguist F.I. Guseinov found many Turkic borrowings in it.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian language was practically unknown. In 1898, K. F. Gan reported that “nobody knows the Russian language.” These included even representatives of the social elite, who more often than others had contacts with representatives of the tsarist administration. Botanist Professor N.I. Kuznetsov, who visited the foreman’s house in the village of Rutul at the beginning of the 20th century. Shinaz wrote: “He shook our hands, said something quickly in Tatar (Serker-Gadzhi did not understand anything in Russian, like all the other elders of the Samur district).” The opening of the Rutul one-class school in 1914 with teaching in Russian, one can assume, contributed to the acquaintance of some Rutul residents with it. Until 1955, in schools, education among the Rutulians was conducted in the Azerbaijani language, and since 1955, at the request of the Rutulians and Tsakhurs, classes began to be conducted in Russian. 1991-1992 translation completed primary education into the Rutul language.

Before the revolution, the Rutulians used Arabic writing. In Arabic script, the text of the song in the Ihrek dialect of the Rutul language of the Ashug of the 18th century Kor Rajab is known as a written source. After the establishment of Soviet power within language policy The question of the creation of Rutul writing was also raised. The resolution of the 5th Session of the Central Executive Committee of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the 7th convocation said: “The People's Commissariat for Promotion and the Institute of Dagculture should outline a number of activities to study the possibility of creating for small mountain peoples (Aguls, Rutuls, Didoevts) writing and textbooks in their native languages,” but subsequently, as he writes Lavrov, “the creation of Rutul writing was considered inappropriate.” He noted that the reasons for this were “the reluctance of the population, its small number, the lack of trained personnel and, finally, the almost universal knowledge of such a developed language as Azerbaijani by the Rutulians.” On August 10, 1990, a Decree of the Council of Ministers of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was issued on the introduction of the status of writing based on the Cyrillic alphabet (Russian script) for the Agul, Tsakhur and Rutul languages and the approval of alphabets for these languages.

Culture and life

Crafts and trades

The main occupations are animal husbandry (transhumance sheep and cattle breeding) and arable farming. Cultivated crops are rye, spring and winter wheat, spelt, barley, millet. Traditional home crafts include carpet weaving, cloth making, production of woolen knitted shoes, felt, patterned socks, ceramics without a potter's wheel, stone, copper, silver processing and more. The village of Shinaz was famous for its craft back in the Middle Ages. Shinaz artisans made weapons, chain mail (dir), armor (javashin) and other types of weapons.

Traditional home

Main article: Rutul architecture

The Rutulians built villages in hard-to-reach places. Frequent wars and enemy raids forced the Rutulians to build fortress walls, signal and defensive towers to strengthen their defense capabilities. The houses are two-story stone with a flat roof and stables at the bottom and living quarters at the top. Along the upper part of the facade there is a narrow terrace, which is reached by an external staircase. Wall fireplaces resemble fireplaces, often decorated with large stucco ornaments.

Types of housing

Traditional dwellings of the Rutulians:

the earliest is a one-story or one-room house raised on high stone pillars, standing separately from the outbuildings;
two-story without a yard and outbuildings;
a one-story or two-story house with a small open courtyard with utility and utility rooms.

Traditional clothing

Rutulka in traditional clothes

Rutul traditional clothing is similar to the clothing of other peoples of southern Dagestan. Men's clothing: a tunic-shaped shirt (ukhun) with a round collar edging and a straight vertical slit in the front, trousers with narrow legs (badu), a slightly fitted beshmet (arhaluk) and a Circassian coat of the North Caucasian type with gazyrs. The headdress is a hat made of long-haired sheep skin (barmak), shoes are knitted woolen boots with upturned toes (kyamashbyr) and leather posts (kelamby). Outerwear - a long swing robe - valzhag. villages bordering Azerbaijan - a short, hip-length, swinging jacket and a long, wide skirt. The headdress is a bag-shaped hair cap (katsigen) and a scarf folded into a triangle. Shoes - knitted patterned boots with upturned toes. women's clothing included silver jewelry.

National cuisine

The main food is flour and meat and dairy. Several types of bread were baked from unleavened and sour dough. The most common dishes: gyrts (pie with meat or grass), khinkal of various shapes and sizes, gyrtsbyr (kurze), pizza, shish kebab, pilaf, dulma (stuffed cabbage rolls), millet and oatmeal porridge, kyinky (homemade pasta with dried meat or lamb ) pies with various fillings.

Folklore

The Rutul people have developed various genres of folklore: proverbs, sayings, fairy tales, legends, ritual songs, Ashug poetry. Rutul poets and singers are known for their creativity far beyond the Rutul region.

Society

The predominant form of family among the Rutulians was small, although in the 19th - early 20th centuries separate large undivided paternal families remained. The largest kinship group was the Tukhum, led by its oldest member. At the council of heads of individual families of the Tukhum, matters regarding the division of property were decided, marriages were agreed upon, and so on.

Comments

This refers to Lax. In pre-revolutionary literature, “Lezgins” most often meant the mountaineers of Dagestan. For more information about the ethnonym, see History of Lezgins.

Notes

1 2 Portal of the Culture of the Peoples of the North Caucasus - Rutulians
Problems of ethnic survival in Azerbaijan
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Official website of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census. Information materials on the final results of the 2010 All-Russian Population Census
1 2 3 4 5 6 All-Russian Population Census 2002. National composition of the population with self-designations, including.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Ethnic composition of the population of Dagestan. 2002
1 2 Rutuls in Azerbaijan
State Committee of Statistics of Ukraine. All-Ukrainian Population Census 2001. Distribution of the population by nationality and native language. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012.
Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Statistics. Census 2009. (National composition of the population)
1989 Georgia Census
Census in Uzbekistan 1989
Census in Turkmenistan 1989
1 2 3 Yuri Evstigneev. Russia: indigenous peoples and foreign diasporas (a brief ethno-historical reference book). - Litres, 2013. - P. 813. - ISBN 545723665X, 9785457236653. Original text (Russian)
Anthropologically, the Rutulians belong to a variant of the Caucasian type of the Caucasian race
1 2 Yuri Andreevich Evstigneev. Russian Federation. Nations and their divisions. - St. Petersburg University Publishing House, 2003. - P. 221. Original text (Russian)
Anthropologically, the Rutulians belong to a variant of the Caucasian type of the Caucasian race
1 2
Rutulians and Rutulian language
Rutul language.
F. Dashlay: Who are the Gargars? Secrets of the disappeared people and their writing
Book “Rutuls” - Musaev G. M. (Assistant Professor of the Department of History of Dagestan DSU)
Rutul
1 2 3 4 5 6 Ibragimov G.Kh. Rutul language. Synchrony and diachrony / Ed. A. B. Vasilyeva. - M.: Publishing house. House “Peoples of Dagestan”, 2004. - pp. 8,9. - 308 p. Original text (Russian)
Official data from the 1989 census also do not reflect the true number of Rutulians: 20,700 Rutulians (in former USSR) according to our calculations are only half of the real number. Of the indicated number according to the census, 19,500 people live in the Russian Federation, of which 15,000 live in Dagestan. Only 1,200 people are Rutulians outside the Russian Federation, while according to our data, only in the Republic of Azerbaijan the number of Rutulians exceeds more than 20,000 (except for the villages of Shin, Khyrsa , Shorsu, Dashyuz and other Rutulians live in the cities of Sheki, Kakhi, Mingachevir, Baku, Sumgait, Ganja; here we are talking about the mass residence of Rutulians, for example, only in Sheki the number of Rutulians exceeds more than 10 thousand).... . ..Therefore, 25 percent of population growth every ten years for the Rutulians can be considered real. We take the 1926 census as our starting point, believing that it is closer to the truth (and at the same time, the data on Rutulians in the 1926 census is significantly reduced; in the census of the Russian Empire of 1898-1899, the number of Rutulians is indicated as more than 12,000 people).. .. ...True, a certain number of the population in the proposed scheme can be reduced taking into account losses and a decrease in the birth rate over the years Patriotic War(1941-1945). Nevertheless, the actual number of Rutulians in 1989 would have been twice as large as the official data, and would have amounted to more than 40,000 people.
Problems of ethnic survival in Azerbaijan.Part 2
Konstantin Kazenin: What won’t Medvedev be asked about in Azerbaijan?
Problems of ethnic survival in Azerbaijan. Part 1
Rutulians (TSB)
1 2 3 Bulatova A.G. Rutultsy // Peoples of Dagestan. - M.: Nauka, 2002. - P. 416. - ISBN 5-02-008808-0.
All-Russian population census 2010. National composition of the population of the Russian Federation. "Demoscope". Archived from the original on May 31, 2012.
All-Russian population census 2010. Population by nationality, gender and constituent entities of the Russian Federation // Republic of Dagestan. "Demoscope".
Ibragimov G.Kh. "Peoples of Dagestan" No. 1. - M., 2006.
Mikhail Alekseev, Kazenin K.I., Mamed Suleymanov. Dagestan peoples of Azerbaijan: politics, history, cultures. - M.: Europe, 2006. - P. 88. - ISBN 5-9739-0070-3.
All-Union population census of 1989. National composition of the population in the republics of the USSR. "Demoscope". Archived from the original on August 26, 2011.
V. A Tishkov, Alexey Vasilievich Zhuravsky, Olga Evgenievna Kazmina, Russia (Federation). Ministry of Regional Development, Russian Academy Sci. Peoples of the North Caucasus language family// Peoples of Russia. Altas of Cultures and Religions / Responsible editors: V.A. Tishkov, A.V. Zhuravsky, O.E. Kazmina. Reviewing organization: Department of Ethnology, Faculty of History, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. - M.: IPC "Design. Information. Cartography", Moscow, 2008. - P. 139. - 256 p. - ISBN 5287006071, 9785287006075. Original text (Russian)
The ethnonym Rutul is associated with the name of the most numerous village - Rutul. The question of the origin of the term rutul itself still remains unclear, since a similar term is absent in the lexicon and toponymy of the rutuls themselves and their neighbors; scientists consider it to be introduced. The only known source mentioning the word rutul is the poem by Claudius Rutilius Namatian “On his return from Rome to Galia”, which says: “And, like Virgil the poet, the great-grandson of the Rutulian kings”
1 2 3 4 Ibragimov G. Kh. Rutul language // Languages of the Russian Federation and neighboring states. Encyclopedia in 3 volumes. - M: Nauka, 2001. - T. 2. - P. 493. - ISBN 5-02-011267-4, 5-02-011268-2 (Vol. 2).
1 2 Ibragimov G. Kh., 2004, p. 18
Peoples of the Caucasus / Under the general. ed. S. P. Tolstova. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. - T. 1. - P. 537.
Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 110
Gasanov M.R. Historical connections between Dagestan and Georgia. - Makhachkala: Doug. book publishing house, 1991. - P. 46.
R.H. Hewsen. Ethno-history and the Armenian influence upon the Caucasian Albanians. Classical Armenian Culture (Armenian Texts and Studies, 4). - Scholars Press, 1982. - P. 33. - ISBN 0-89130-565-3, 0-89130-566-1 (pbk.).
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 53
Ibragimov G. Kh. Historical characteristics of the self-name of the Tsakhur people yikhaby // Onomastics of the Caucasus (interuniversity collection of articles). - Ordzhonikidze: North Ossetian State. University named after K.L. Khetagurova, 1980. - P. 67.
Volkova N. G. Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus. - M.: Nauka, 1973. - P. 152.
Volkova N. G. Ethnonyms and tribal names of the North Caucasus. - M.: Nauka, 1973. - P. 153.
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 51-52
1 2 3 4 Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 113
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 62
Ramazanov Kh. Kh., Shikhsaidov A. R. Essays on the history of Southern Dagestan. - Makhachkala: Dagestan branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1964. - P. 59.
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 146
Epigraphic monuments of the North Caucasus in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Inscriptions X - XVII centuries. Texts, translations, commentary, introductory article and appendices by L. I. Lavrov. - M.: Nauka, 1966. - T. 2, part 1. - P. 191.
History of the Don and S. Caucasus from ancient times to 1917 - Ethnic groups of the Dagestan group
Ethnogenesis of the peoples of Dagestan
1 2 Peoples of the Caucasus / Under the general. ed. S. P. Tolstova. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. - T. 1. - P. 537-538.
Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 114
1 2 3 Epigraphic monuments of the North Caucasus in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Inscriptions X - XVII centuries. Texts, translations, commentary, introductory article and appendices by L. I. Lavrov. - M.: Nauka, 1966. - T. 2, part 1. - P. 176-177.
1 2 Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 115
Lavrov L.I. Historical and ethnographic essays of the Caucasus. - Science: Leningrad, 1978. - P. 36. Original text (Russian)
In the 17th century There was a massive resettlement of Avars, Tsakhurs and partly Rutulians to the plains of Northern Azerbaijan.
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 147
Ramazanov Kh. Kh., Shikhsaidov A. R. Essays on the history of Southern Dagestan. - Makhachkala: Dagestan branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1964. - P. 103.
1 2 3 4 5 Olson James. An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. - Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994. - P. 576. - ISBN 0313274975.
Epigraphic monuments of the North Caucasus in Arabic, Persian and Turkish. Inscriptions from the 18th - 20th centuries. Publication of texts, translations, comments, articles and applications by L. I. Lavrov. - M.: Nauka, 1968. - T. 2, part 2. - P. 35.
Lavrov L.I. Rutultsy // Peoples of Dagestan: collection of articles. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences: M., 1955. - P. 195.
Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 118
Ramazanov Kh. Kh., Shikhsaidov A. R. Essays on the history of Southern Dagestan. - Makhachkala: Dagestan branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1964. - P. 202.
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 98-99
"Dagestan Truth" - Culture - Rutul
Website of Buinaksk - Rutultsy
Temeev M.S. M.. Forced grain procurements and anti-collective farm protests of peasants in Dagestan (1929 – 1930). (Russian).
Ikhilov M. M. Materials on the ethnography of the Rutuls and Tsakhurs // Brief messages Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - M., 1960. - Issue. XXXIII. - P. 28.
1 2 3 4 Peoples of the Caucasus / Under the general. ed. S.P. Tolstova. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. - T. 1. - P. 543.
Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 149
Bulatova A.G. Rutultsy // Peoples of Dagestan. - M.: Nauka, 2002. - P. 434. - ISBN 5-02-008808-0.
All-Union Population Census of 1926. National composition of the population in the republics of the USSR. "Demoscope". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011.
All-Union Population Census of 1959. National composition of the population in the republics of the USSR. "Demoscope". Archived from the original on August 23, 2011.
On the national composition of the CPSU // News of the CPSU Central Committee. - M.: Publishing House of the Central Committee of the CPSU "Pravda", 1989. - No. 7. - P. 113. - ISSN 0235-7097.
DECISION OF THE STATE COUNCIL OF THE REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN OF 10.18.2000 N 191 ON INDIGENOUS SMALL PEOPLES OF THE REPUBLIC OF DAGESTAN. lawru.inf. Archived from the original on August 25, 2011.
All-Russian population census 2002. National composition of the population by regions of Russia. "Demoscope". Archived from the original on February 8, 2012.
All-Russian population census 2010. National composition of the population of the Russian Federation. "Demoscope". Archived from the original on May 31, 2012.
Abdul-Rashid Gadzhievich Gadzhiev. Origin of the peoples of Dagestan. - Elbrus, 1996. - P. 245.
Lev Mironovich Mints. Races and peoples. - Olma Media Group, 2007. - P. 454. - ISBN 5373006548, 9785373006545.
Ethnic odontology of the USSR. - M.: Nauka, 1979. - P. 160.
P.I. Puchkov. SECTION II. RUSSIAN EXPERIENCE. MODERN REALITIES. www.isras.ru. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012.
Vuchetich N. “Four months in Dagestan.” "Caucasus", No. 72. Tiflis, 1864.
Ikhilov M. M. Materials on the ethnography of the Rutuls and Tsakhurs // Brief communications of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - M., 1960. - Issue. XXXIII. - P. 26.
Mark Osipovich Kosven, Institute of Ethnography named after N.N. Miklouho-Maclay. Caucasian ethnographic collection, Volume 79. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. - P. 113. - 308 p. Original text (Russian)
In the wall of the former mosque building in the village of Luchek there is a stone on which is carved the text of a chronograph compiled in Arabic in 1906-1907. He dates the establishment of Islam here to 128 AH, i.e. by 745-746 our chronology.
Gan K. F. Travels to Kakheti and Dagestan (summer 1898). SMOMPC, vol. XXXI. Tiflis, 1902
Gan K. F. Biography of G. I. Radde. Collection of the Caucasian Museum, vol. VI, Tiflis, 1912.
Khanykov N. “Archaeological news.” "Caucasus", No. 52, 53. 1850
Berger A.P. Caspian region / “K. TO." for 1875. - Tf., 1856.
Berger A.P. Prince M.S. Vorontsov. // “Russian Antiquity” - “R. S.”, vol. VII, 1975.
Berger A.P. Short review mountain tribes in the Caucasus. - Tf., 1858.
Kuznetsov N.I. wilds of Dagestan. // IRGO, X, IXI, 1913, issue. 1-3.
Zisserman A. L. Twenty-five years in the Caucasus. - St. Petersburg, 1879. - P. 1.
Islam in the territory of the former Russian Empire: encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: Eastern Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2006. - T. 1. - P. 394-395. - ISBN 5-02-018209-5, 5-02-018420-9.
1 2 Bulatova A.G. Rutultsy // Peoples of Dagestan. - M.: Nauka, 2002. - P. 429. - ISBN 5-02-008808-0.
Ikhilov M. M., 1967, p. 224
Ibragimov G. Kh., 2004, p. 17
1 2 Ibragimov G.Kh. Rutul language. Synchrony and diachrony / Ed. A. B. Vasilyeva. - M.: Publishing house. House "Peoples of Dagestan", 2004. - pp. 20,21. - 308 p.
Les langues du Monde.. - Paris, 1924. - P. 327-342.
Aliev K. Caucasian Albania. - Baku, 1974. - P. 123.
Information from Arab writers about the Caucasus. - P. 7.29.
Jeyranishvili E.F. Rutul language // Languages of the peoples of the USSR: in 5 volumes. Iberian-Caucasian languages. - M: Nauka, 1967. - T. 4. - P. 580.
1 2 Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 151
According to the constitution, the state languages of the republic are Russian and all the languages of the peoples of Dagestan. However, only 14 languages: Russian, Avar, Agul, Azerbaijani, Dargin, Kumyk, Lak, Lezgin, Nogai, Rutul, Tabasaran, Tat, Tsakhur, Chechen, have their own written language and function as state languages.
Sergeeva G. A. Interethnic relations of the peoples of Dagestan in the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. (ethnolinguistic aspects) // Caucasian ethnographic collection. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989. - T. 9. - P. 128.
Peoples of the Caucasus / Under the general. ed. S.P. Tolstova. - M.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1960. - T. 1. - P. 544.
Sergeeva G. A. Interethnic relations of the peoples of Dagestan in the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. (ethnolinguistic aspects) // Caucasian ethnographic collection. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989. - T. 9. - P. 114.
1 2 Lavrov L.I., 1962, p. 143
Sergeeva G. A. Interethnic relations of the peoples of Dagestan in the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. (ethnolinguistic aspects) // Caucasian ethnographic collection. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989. - T. 9. - P. 98.
Ikhilov M. M. Materials on the ethnography of the Rutuls and Tsakhurs // Brief communications of the Institute of Ethnography of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - M., 1960. - Issue. XXXIII. - P. 30.
Sergeeva G. A. Interethnic relations of the peoples of Dagestan in the second half of the 19th-20th centuries. (ethnolinguistic aspects) // Caucasian ethnographic collection. - Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989. - T. 9. - P. 119.
Ibragimov G. Kh., 2004, p. 9
1 2 3 4 5 6 Article by Rutultsy (firo.ru)
Shinaz artisans
Collection of essays on the ethnography of Dagestan. L. B. Panek, E. M. Shilling, DSC RAS 1996

Literature

Musaev G. M. Rutuly. - Makhachkala: JSC "Jupiter", 1997. - P. 282.
Ibragimov G. Kh. Rutul language: Synchrony and diachrony. - Makhachkala: Publishing house. House "Peoples of Dagestan", 2004.
Ikhilov M. M. Nationalities of the Lezgin group: an ethnographic study of the past and present Lezgins, Tabasarans, Rutuls, Tsakhurs, Aguls. - Makhachkala: Dagestan branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1967. - 369 p.
Lavrov L.I. Rutuls in the past and present // Caucasian ethnographic collection. - M.-L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1962. - T. 3.
Rutulians // Peoples of Russia. Atlas of cultures and religions. - M.: Design. Information. Cartography, 2010. - 320 p. - ISBN 978-5-287-00718-8.
Rutulians // Ethnoatlas of the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Council of the Administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Public Relations Department; Ch. ed. R. G. Rafikov; Editorial Board: V. P. Krivonogov, R. D. Tsokaev. - 2nd ed., revised. and additional - Krasnoyarsk: Platinum (PLATINA), 2008. - 224 p. - ISBN 978-5-98624-092-3.

Nakh-Dagestan peoples
Avaro-Ando-Tsez peoples	Avars Andians Akhvakhians Bagulals Bezhta Botlikhians Ginukhians Godoberins Gunzibians Karatinians Tindians Khvarshins Chamalalas Tsez / Didoi
Lezgin peoples	Aguls Archins Budukhi Kryzy Lezgins Rutulians Tabasarans Udins Khinalugians Tsakhurs
Dargin peoples	Dargins Kaitagians Kubachi residents
Laktsy	Laks
Nakh peoples	Batsbians Vainakhs (Ingush, Chechens) Orstkhoys/Karabulaks (historical)

Rutulians

Rutulians Information About

The Rutuls are a small people belonging to the Lezgin language group, living in the south of Dagestan, in the upper reaches of the river. Samura. Their largest village is Rutul, where the name of the nationality comes from. The Rutulians do not have a common self-name. They call themselves by the name of the villages in which they live. In total there are 22 Rutul villages; 18 are located in the river valley. Samura and in the mountains closest to it, two - in the valley of the river. Akhtychaya and two - in the part of northern Azerbaijan adjacent to it. According to the 1959 population census, there are 7 thousand Rutulians in the USSR.

On the map, the ethnic territory of the Rutulians looks like something unified, but in reality the mountain ranges complicate relations between the Samur, Akhtychay and Azerbaijani Rutulians. In the territory of the Rutulians, winters are cold and summers are cool with frequent fogs and rains. The mountain slopes are covered with grassy vegetation and serve as good pastures for livestock. Forests grow in the vicinity of the villages of Rutul, Shin and Kainar. The top of Mount Deavgaya (4015 m above sea level) is covered with eternal snow. Partial snow remains in the summer on some other mountains. The rivers flowing through the territory of the Rutulians (Samur, Akhtychay, Karasamur and their tributaries) are characterized by rapid currents.

Administratively, almost the entire Rutul territory is part of the Rutulsky district of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (the regional center is the village of Rutul). The exception is villages. Khnov, which is part of the Akhtynsky district of the same republic, and the villages of Shin and Kaynar, which are located in the Nukha region of the Azerbaijan SSR. Akhtynsky district is inhabited by Lezgins, and Nukha region by Azerbaijanis. The Rutul region is linguistically extremely heterogeneous. In addition to 19 Rutul villages, it includes 13 Tsakhur, four Lezgin, two Lak, one Avar and one Azerbaijani.

Part of the river valley Samura, now occupied by the Rutulians, apparently was the original territory on which the Rutulian tribe with its own special language formed in ancient times. Many modern Rutul villages are very ancient origin. Sat down. Rutul was founded no later than the first half of the 1st millennium AD. e. In the villages of Ihrek, Mikhrek, Amsar and Luchek, stone slabs with Kufic inscriptions were discovered, dating some buildings in these villages to the 11th-13th centuries. Donkey. Shinaz has historical news from 1275. At that time it was considered a large settlement and was famous for its gunsmiths. “Khnovskaya army”, i.e. a militia of village residents. Khnov, mentioned in 1598 as one of the allies of Shamkhal of Tarkov. According to literary data, he sat down. Khnov already existed around 1560.

Before joining Russia, the Rutulians represented a “free society”, known as the “Rutul Magal”. The Magal was a political union of rural communities. Management of the Magal was in the hands of the Rutul beks, who were also permanent military leaders. They represented a social stratum that began to transform into the feudal nobility. True, to resolve important issues, the beks were obliged to convene popular assemblies. According to some legends, the Rutul beks descended from the Arabs, according to others, from the Elisu sovereign beks in Northern Azerbaijan.

There are indications that already at the end of the 16th century. The Rutul beks communicated with the governments of neighboring countries. It is possible that even then there was a Rutul Magal, as a political union of a significant part of the Rutulians. But the first mention of this mahal dates back to 1728. 1 In the 18th century. the Rutul Magal included not only Rutul, but also Tsakhurok and some Lezgin villages; the inclusion of the latter in the union was often carried out by force. A legend has been preserved about the bloody struggle between Rutul and the Lezgin village. Khruk, which the Rutulians finally managed to annex to their mahal along with another Lezgin village. Zrych. In the 18th century The Rutulians also captured the more remote Lezgin villages of Kaka, Yalakh and Lutkun, which had previously been part of the Akhtyparin Magal. But Rutul did not manage to consolidate his power over them for long. While some Lezgin villages of the Akhtyparinsky Magal in the 18th century. became dependent on Rutul, two Rutul villages (Ikhrek and Mikhrek) were part of the Kazikumukh Khanate, and the other two (Khnov and Borch) were under the rule of the Akhtyparinsky Magal and remained there even after southern Dagestan became part of Russia.

At the beginning of the 19th century. Russian power was established in areas close to the Rutul territory. Long before the appearance of Russian troops in the upper reaches of Samur, the Rutulians voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship. But dependence on Russia limited the power of the beks in the Magal and prevented them from raiding their neighbors, whom they sought to force to pay tribute. The Beks carried out anti-Russian agitation. This led in 1838 to an armed conflict with Russian troops, which defeated Agha-bek of Rutul. In 1839, the final annexation of the Rutul Magal to Russia took place and in 1844 it was included in the Samur District.

Living conditions before the revolution

For a long time, the main occupation of the Rutulians was cattle breeding, mainly transhumance sheep breeding. They also bred goats, cattle, horses, donkeys, and mules. Until the revolution, methods of livestock farming remained primitive. The Rutulians kept their cattle in the open air all year round. The small cattle did not receive any additional feeding in winter. Annual unorganized movements from summer to winter pastures were accompanied by a large loss of livestock. In winter, shepherds huddled in cramped, dirty and dark shelters, haphazardly made of stones.

Single-field farming prevailed in rutula agriculture. The tools of labor mainly consisted of a light plow, which lifted only the very top layer of soil, scythes, sickles, threshing boards and a wooden shovel for winnowing. Rye yield only in best years was sam-5, wheat - sam-2. In 1913, the Rutulians reaped a harvest of all crops that did not justify the cost of sowing. They did not cultivate vegetables or plant gardens at all.

True, in comparison with the period preceding the annexation to Russia, in the economy of the Rutulians in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. there has been some progress. It was connected not only with the fact that the Rutulians, whose lives had previously been spent in constant wars, received the opportunity for peaceful development, but also with the growth of commercialization of the economy (mainly livestock farming) under the influence of capitalism. During the period from 1856 to 1913, the number of horses among the Rutulians almost doubled, sheep - more than three times, and cattle - almost six times.

Certain changes also occurred in agriculture. Thus, wheat crops doubled during the same time. More advanced tools of labor appeared on the farms of wealthy peasants - weeding machines, factory-made scythes, sickles, etc.

However, an increase in agricultural production was observed among the wealthy part of the population, while the bulk of the peasants eked out a miserable existence. Beks, kulaks and merchants freely exploited the Rutul poor, seizing the best pastures, meadows and arable land. Clashes between the rich and the poor often led to bloodshed. The tsarist government took the side of the exploiters every time. From among the Rutul beks who received officer ranks in tsarist army, the government appointed the head (naib) of the Luchek section. Thus, even under the tsarist government, the beks retained administrative power over Rutulian population.

Before the Great October Socialist Revolution, only certain elements of capitalism were characteristic of Rutul society. In general, the Rutulians belonged to those peoples who did not go through the capitalist stage of development. Until the revolution, they maintained a feudal-patriarchal system.

The cultural level of the Rutulians was very low. In the only one-class school, which opened in 1914 in Rutul, two years later there were only 20 children studying, and not a single girl was among them. The development of culture was hampered not only by social and national oppression, but also by the influence of the reactionary Muslim clergy. Islam began to be implanted among the Rutulians from the 7th-8th centuries. when Southern Dagestan was invaded by Arabs, who forcibly converted the local population to their faith 2. In 1913, almost 11 times more money was spent on maintaining the clergy and mosques in the Luchek district than on all cultural and charitable purposes combined.

By the time of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the Rutulians did not represent an established nationality. Rutul villages located in the valley of the river. Akhtychaya, as well as in Azerbaijan, were separated from the Rutul villages located along Samur and Karasa Mur. There were also not sufficient economic ties between the Rutulians. Thus, the main element of their ethnic community was language. Undoubtedly, in the distant past all the Rutulians lived together, most likely in the Samur valley, from where some of them later moved to Akhtychay and Azerbaijan. However, despite the presence of a linguistic community, the Rutul-devs did not develop a national identity.

From an ethnographic point of view, it is difficult to distinguish the Rutulians from the total mass of the Gar population of the upper part of the river basin. Samur, although in certain regions of this part of Dagestan there were local peculiarities in rituals, costume, the nature of the ornament, etc. The Rutulians maintained external economic relations in the past mainly with the population of northern Azerbaijan. In northern Azerbaijan they rented winter pastures; Rutul otkhodniks went there to earn money 3. For the Rutulians, the bazaars of northern Azerbaijan were the closest places for selling livestock products, purchasing bread and industrial products.

Economic ties with Azerbaijan contributed to the widespread dissemination of the Azerbaijani language among the Rutulians, which they used to communicate with their neighbors (Azerbaijanis, Lezgins, Tsakhurs and Laks), as well as with the Russian administration in Dagestan. Very few people knew Russian.

Economic backwardness, poverty, lack of education, the spread of Islamic and pre-Islamic superstitions, the arbitrariness of beks, kulaks, clergy and tsarist officials - this is what characterized the life of working Rutulians before the Great October Socialist Revolution.

Modern life

During the years of Soviet power, enormous changes took place in the economy, culture and life of the Rutulians.

Livestock farming is developing on a new basis. Winter pastures, which the Rutulians previously had to rent, are now assigned to collective farms in the lowland parts of central and northern Dagestan. Livestock cross breeding is carried out on livestock farms. Winter pastures (kutans) are equipped with insulated premises for livestock and comfortable dormitories for shepherds. In winter, sheep receive additional food. Collective farms have cowsheds, calf sheds and stables.

The most crucial period in the work of livestock breeders is the movement of livestock from summer pastures to winter ones. Previously, cattle drives were a private matter for individual owners and were accompanied by large losses from lack of food, lack of watering places, excessive accumulation of livestock on the roads and forced downtime on the way. Currently, hauls are carried out according to a specific schedule developed on a nationwide scale. Transport of sheep by rail was introduced. There are veterinary stations on livestock roads, and special areas are designated for grazing along the way. Vehicles transport fodder to feed animals in places where there is no vegetation; They also use cars to transport lambs and stray sheep.

Although livestock raising remains the leading branch of the economy, agriculture has developed significantly more than before. The Rutulians grow wheat, rye, barley, rice, corn, as well as peas, potatoes and other crops.

One of the official publications of 1930 about the Rutul region said that “potato crops here are quite insignificant (2.2 hectares) and there are no other crops except grain in the region.” By 1959, the area under potatoes and vegetables in the region was 80 hectares. Thus, the development of gardening among the Rutulians is entirely related to collectivization Agriculture. Only after collectivization did crop rotations and sowing with varietal seeds begin to be used. The area under cultivation in the region has increased significantly. In addition, during the summer, collective farms use part of the winter pastures for arable land. With the organization of collective farms, the Rutulians began to engage in gardening. In many villages, collective farm gardens have already been grown (the total area of gardens in the region by the beginning of 1959 exceeded 160 hectares).

The improvement in the financial situation of the Rutul peasants under the collective farm system reduced the need for outside earnings. But this does not exclude the existence of labor ties between the Rutul people and industrial enterprises on the Caspian coast, to which the Rutul collective farms supply temporary labor.

Thanks to the improvement of roads and the development of motor transport, the old two-wheeled cart, as well as pack animals, as a rule, are no longer used for long-distance transport. Where the cart passes, a car also passes, so the time is not far when the Rutul cart can only be seen in a museum. But pack animals - the donkey and the horse, having lost their former importance on the main communications of the region, still remain the main vehicle on mountain paths. Under Soviet rule, telephones, telegraphs and radios appeared in Rutul villages. The development of means of communication and communications made it much easier for the Rutulians to communicate with Derbent, Makhachkala and Baku.

Before the October Revolution, there was only one paramedic station on the territory of the former Lucheksky district (in Ikhrek). Nowadays in Rutul there is a hospital, an outpatient clinic, a pharmacy and a sanitary-epidemiological station, and in other villages there are medical and obstetric stations. With the development of medical care, residents of Rutul villages no longer needed to resort to treatment using witchcraft methods, which were so common before the revolution.

In the name of Allah, the Gracious and Merciful. A person who does not know his history has no future, does not know what love for the Fatherland is, an ignorant person of the glorious past of his people has no future for himself and his children. Our goal is not to be nationalists, much less selfish. We must study the history of our family, our people and the peoples of our planet in order to understand our role in society and the role of the people around us. A person who does not know his history and his culture will never respect other people's history and culture. We must understand what brotherhood and mutual understanding are. And just knowing about history allows us to get to know each other. Allah created us all different so that we could get to know each other. The Almighty has indicated how we should open our hearts, showing respect and love for each other. The history of the Caucasus is the history of human relations, the history of people and families. A story of respect for each other, family for family, nation for nation.

Allah Almighty said: “O people! Verily, We created you from male and female, and made you peoples and tribes, so that you might recognize each other, and the most revered among you is the most God-fearing.” The Almighty in this verse points to the path of our hearts - get to know each other. A direct order from the Almighty. He could create us the same, He is powerful over every thing. But we are created different and endowed by Allah, our Creator, with reason and will. You can get to know each other in kindness, in respect, in love. This is the great plan of the Creator, but even more magnificent, probably, is what we are not given to understand. And we must worship the Creator by getting to know each other.

We will be accountable to the Almighty for our deeds and for our inaction. For words and actions. For disrespect for another person, for ill will and mistrust.

The poison of mistrust poisons our hearts, our minds and dulls our thoughts. And it is our duty to dispel this mistrust and create an atmosphere of goodwill. This is virtue and worship in the path of Allah. By leaving God, we erase our memory, our good traditions, the basis of which is the law of God, we become soulless and shrink.

A person has no other foundations, everything is based on Faith. Only the Lord, only the Creator leads us along the path of truth, the path of righteousness. If we wish good things for ourselves and our loved ones, then we turn to Allah.

Please note that in our time the wave of nationalism brings hatred and aggressiveness. The idea of nationalism pleases the human ego, it has the sweet taste of ignorance, it has a fatal force that does not lead to good. Therefore, at present, many who are involved in public life cannot be forced to abandon this idea. The Koran says: “O people! We created you male and female and made you nations and tribes so that you might know each other. And not so that you throw predatory glances at each other, quarrel and hate each other.” Humanity in the form of different peoples and tribes was not created so that they would not recognize and be at enmity with each other. This is confirmed by the Holy Quran, which states that people are created differently to know each other and establish strong relationships.

Therefore, our goal is to shed at least a little light on the history of one of the small peoples of Dagestan - the Rutuls, who to this day remain in the shadows of world history. The place where the Rutuls live is unique and has a rich spiritual and cultural past. Every inch of land breathes history, it is imbued with special energy and grace. The history of this people seems to be deliberately ignored and not studied at the political level. From the outside, this looks like burying the ancient history of a given people with a rich historical past, spiritual heritage, cultural and architectural monuments.

Every Rutulian who knows or wants to know his origins is faced with a certain wall, either a wall of silence, or a wall of biased information, or simply a lack of information, therefore we can assert and insist that this topic, like no other, needs its research. The purpose of the study is not to prove the relationship of the rutuls of the Caucasus and Italy - the purpose of the study is to find its history.

IN this study, we will specify the rutuls of the Caucasus and Italy so as not to confuse our reader.

The territory of the Rutuli of the Caucasus was in the historical past part of Caucasian Albania, which existed even before the Christian era. After the fall of Caucasian Albania, the Rutuli of the Caucasus and other nationalities created their own state entities. IN Soviet years As a result of the barbaric persecution of the religion and culture of the highlanders of Dagestan, Arabic manuscripts not only of a religious nature, but also of a scientific nature were massively destroyed. This is an irreparable loss not only for the peoples of Dagestan, but also for the whole world, since Dagestan was one of the centers of world knowledge, where a large number of scientists with large libraries. The struggle against the religion and culture of the mountain peoples became most fierce in Southern Dagestan. Islam in southern regions Dagestan was virtually beheaded, scholar-sheikhs and imams were executed and arrested, mosques and schools were demolished or closed. The peoples of Dagestan, having lost their spiritual and cultural guidelines, were increasingly disconnected from national and religious traditions, as well as from their history, and were imbued with a new imposed history, secular ideas and way of life. It is a well-known pattern that when a people is deprived of its history, after a generation it ceases to exist.

With the advent of Soviet power, the national policy pursued was focused on the Turkic population of the region, and the Azerbaijani language became the official language in the region. This continued until 1928, when Dargin, Avar, Lezgin and Azerbaijani languages were declared the state languages of the autonomy. It was also decided to classify the Aguls as Lezgins, and the Rutuls and Tsakhurs as Azerbaijanis. According to James Olson, the policy of cultural manipulation of the then government led to increased resentment among the Rutul population, rejection of Russian culture, and many Rutuls opposed the process of merging with the Azerbaijanis. Then they tried to attribute the Rutuls to the Lezgins.

The intensified assimilation policy of the authorities during these years led to a drop in the official number of Rutuls. In the process of complete merging of the Rutuls with another people, this would directly lead to a complete loss of national identity and further linguistic and cultural assimilation. After all, every nation is unique, with its own traditions and flavor.

About the origin of the term Rutul

The village of Rutul is located at the sources of the Samur River, that is, in the former habitats of Albanians, Gargars and Amazons. The ethnonym “Rutuls” comes from the largest village - Rutul, according to by modern standards a small people, but, without a doubt, are the indigenous inhabitants of Dagestan. In Rutul it is called MykhIa or MukhIa (we will learn about the origin of this name in the next work), and its inhabitants call themselves MykhIabyr. This village was called Rutul mainly by neighboring peoples - Azerbaijanis and partially Lezgins.

Russian researchers became acquainted with the names of Rutul settlements mainly through other peoples. The ethnonym “Rutulians” became established among speakers of the Rutul language only during the years of Soviet power. The Rutulians do not have a common identity, since they call themselves by the name of the villages in which they live. In particular, the Shinazians (Synazrabyr), the Ikhrekians (irekdybyr), the Borchinians (Budjedbyr), the Khnivians (Khinadbyr) and so on.

As L.I. Lavrov notes, the Rutulians could say about their language that they do not speak Rutul, but the “Shinaz” language, “Borchin”, “Khnov” and others. The Lezgins call the Rutulians vanavatsar (residents of the upper river), the exonym rutular is also common, and the Avars living in the Rutul region, residents of the village of Kusur and their neighbors Tsakhurians call the Rutulians gazlav, or gazal. But residents of Lak villages living in the Rutul region of Arakul and Upper Katrukh call the Rutul people “rat1nilse”. Translated into Russian - “inhabitants of a valley, a flat area.”

It is known that we have all always been interested in - where did the name “Rutul” come from, what is its etymology? This issue remains controversial to this day. Many linguists and historians tried to find a primary source that would at least somehow explain the origins of of this word. But we still haven’t come to a consensus.

Many researchers and simply amateur local historians have tried to find the answer in Arabic. Inscriptions on graves, in the walls of houses, etc. that have survived to this day. written in Arabic. And thanks to these artifacts, we know that this settlement was called exactly that in the Middle Ages. In the newspaper “Rutul News”, authored by Ket Mahdi (Eminov Mahdi Rahimovich), he put forward a version of the Arabic origin of the term “Rutul” from the word “Rutl” - a measure in a scale. He explains the renaming of “Mykh1a” to “Rutul” by its significance, weight or important role of the village in relation to neighboring villages (magals), where representatives of this ethnic group lived.

In search of the origin of the term “Rutul”, we can highlight another interesting publication from the collection “Rutulians. New look” by Fazil Dashlay. This is what he writes - “In “Akhty-name” it is written about the united army of “...Emirs of Tarsus, Rutul, Dzhinikh, Rufuk...”, allies of the ruler Dervishaya. According to this document, the events described in it take place in the early years of the Arab invasion and Islamization of the region. Therefore, if you believe this source, this settlement was known under the name Rutul even before the arrival of the Arabs. The version of the Arabic origin of this term can be dismissed with confidence.”

Citing as an example, historical source Akhty-name, we should not forget that Akhty-name was written not in the 7th century, but about four centuries after the arrival of Muslims in Dagestan. If we consider the terms given in this source as evidence, then it turns out that the term “Akhty” also existed before the arrival of the Arabs? It is known that the village received its name “Akhty” thanks to the Arab conqueror Abu Muslim, who called it “Ukhti” (my sister, that is, belonging to his sister Kyumul-Memunat), which was later transformed into Akhty. We should know that most of the names of the villages that we know today in Southern Dagestan were assigned to them after the arrival of Muslim Arabs, and the names before the Arab period were basically not preserved.

We should not forget that one of the earliest mentions of the Rutulians dates back to the 7th century. In the "Armenian Monograph" compiled in the 7th century, the Rutulians are mentioned under the name "Chenoiki" (note not the Rutulians, but the Henoiks, because at that time the name Rutul did not yet exist), and our neighbors the Tsakhurs "Tsakhoiki".

In his work, Fazil Dashlay for some reason uses the exonym “ratInilse” of Lak origin as the key to unraveling the toponym “Rutul”. He writes the following: “...But residents of Lak villages living in the Rutul region of Arakul and Upper Katrukh call the Rutul people “rat1nilse.” Translated into Russian - “inhabitants of a valley, a flat area. And today the Rutul language has preserved ancient word"rat". This term in the modern Rutul language means a special platform, in the narrow sense, a barn for threshing. Old-timers, however, by the word “rat” mean, in general, any flat place, area. If you rummage through the languages of other peoples of Dagestan, neighbors of the Rutulians, you will notice that the word “rat” as a level place, a valley, or maybe just land, is known not only to the Rutulians. For example, the historical Avar region “Antl Ratl” is translated as seven lands, where the word “ratl” means land, valley. Just like the Laks, in this case the residents of the Lak villages of the Rutul region, Arakul and Verkhniy Katrukh. After the unification of all Rutul-speaking villages, the settlement Rutul, Ratyl (de) still played the role of the center of the entire free society. It was in this village that representatives of other villages controlled by the center, Rutul, gathered for a gathering, a veche, if you like, in order to discuss important matters. And since the central place for gathering was the square - “rat”, hence the name of this village “Ratyl (de)”, that is, at the square, or near the square. Probably, strong significance was attached to this village, this square (rat), because in some villages, a derivative of the usual square (rat), a place near the square, so as not to be confused with the center Rutul, “Ratylde” began to be called “ridde”, “ riddikhda", "riddimykhda".

Rutuli - founders of Rome

Rutuli (lat. Rutuli) - a tribe of ancient Italy, within modern Lazio, with the main city of Ardea. Rome was also primarily a city of Latin tribes - the Rutuli. The Rutuli consisted of one patrician and one plebeian branch. Rome was the northernmost outpost of the Latin tribes, adjacent to the Etruscan civilization, the Roman aristocratic formation was reminiscent of the Spartans special attention to patriotism, discipline, courage and military skill. The Rutuli were the richest and most warlike people in those parts and at that time. Contemporaries called Ardea the proud city of the Rutuli. According to the legend retold by Virgil, the Rutuli were one of the most powerful people, with their king Turnus, who participated in an alliance of native Italian Tiberian tribes, armed against the newcomer Aeneas and his companions. Turnus ruled over a people who lived in an area corresponding to the outskirts of today's Rome. The mighty and courageous Turnus already inspired the warriors with his very appearance. Beginning in 334, a number of colonies were founded in Samnium by the Rutulians. In 314, the Aurunci were conquered by the Rutulians, and their region was divided among the Rutulian colonists. The power of Rome begins with the unification of such peoples as the Trojans, Rutuli and Latins, after which such a people as the Romans were formed.

This is what the story says Ancient Rome about the battles of the Rutuli with the Trojans: “The ships of the Trojans reached the mouth of the Tiber River, went upstream and landed on the shore in an area called Latium. Latin, the king of the Latin tribe that lived here, came out with his warriors to defend his possessions from uninvited guests, but first he listened to the leader of the aliens, Aeneas, about their misadventures and decided to show them hospitality, offering to conclude an alliance - moreover, he wanted to seal the alliance by marrying his daughter Lavinia with the widowed Aeneas, despite the fact that Lavinia was considered the bride of Turnus, the king of the Rutuli tribe. Naturally, Turnus did not like this turn and declared war on the foreigners. However, the battle between the Trojans and the Rutulians did not bring victory to either one or the other, and then Aeneas proposed to resolve the dispute by single combat between the leaders. In the fight, Aeneas was stronger and killed Turnus. Now nothing prevented Aeneas from marrying Lavinia - in honor of his wife he founded the city of Latium, he ordered the Trojans to henceforth also be called Latins, and after the death of Latina he became their king and an ally of the Rutuli in the joint fight against the Etruscans.

Another source from the history of “The Wars of Ancient Rome: The Age of Kings and the Formation of the Roman Republic” describes one of the Rutulian dictators: “In 358 BC. e. The Romans did not quite successfully wage a war with the Etruscans from Tarquin, in addition, raids were made on the Roman possessions by the Privernates and Velitrians. In 357 BC. e. The war with the Falisci was also added. The consul Gaius Marcius led an army against the Privernates and defeated them in the battle of Privern, after which the city surrendered. In 356 BC. e. Consul Marcus Popilius Lenatus went to war with the Tiburtines and won an easy victory. The second consul, Marcus Fabius Ambustus, initially failed in the fight against the Falisci and Tarquinians, but then also managed to win. After this, many Etruscans took up arms and moved towards Rome. A dictator, Gaius Marcius Rutulus, was appointed to repel them. Coming out of Rome, the dictator put his troops on rafts and, transferring them from one bank of the Tiber to the other, inflicted a series of defeats on the enemy. The Etruscans suffered serious losses, 8 thousand of them were captured. In 354 BC. e. The Tiburtines and Tarquinians were completely conquered."

The Rutuli in Italy pursued an active colonial policy, which captured neighboring peoples; here is an excerpt from the history of Ancient Rome: “Even before the eviction of the strong tribes of the Frentans, Campans, Hirpines, Lucans and Bruttians from the land of the Sabines, southern Italy was occupied by the people of the Oscan tribe and disintegrated into Oscan west and Iapygian east: already in 452, the people of the Italian tribe were located in Bruttium, in the forests of Sila. Along the coast of Adria, south of the Marrucins, lived the Frentani (Frent(v)ani). They entered into an alliance with the Rutuli in 304. To the southwest of them were the Samnites, who split into separate clans of the Caraceni, Pentri and Caudines. Separate from these clans are the Hirpini (Hirpini, from hirpus - wolf). All regions of the named peoples were united by the Rutulians, under the name Samnium. The boundaries of the Samnites cannot be precisely determined; they constantly fluctuate, only, in contrast to Latium, this fluctuation tends to constantly reduce the area. Beginning in 334, a number of colonies were founded by the Rutuli in Samnium. Only in 80 the power of the Samnites was finally broken and they were almost completely wiped out from the face of the earth. The most blessed part of Italy - the valley at the foot of the Samnite Mountains, which owes its origin to volcanic forces, has, at different times, had the greatest number of owners. In 314, the Aurunci were conquered by the Rutulians and their region was divided between the colonists of the Rutulian colonies. Near the Avrunci lived a small tribe of Oscan origin, the Sidicini.

The arrival of Islam in Italy and the resettlement of the Romans to Dagestan

Before the arrival of the Arabs, Sicily and Southern Italy were ruled by Byzantine Empire, their population spoke Greek and professed Eastern Christianity. Sicily, Malta and significant territories in continental Italy were occupied by Islamic states in the 8th-11th centuries. This was a continuation of the process that began in the 7th century of the spread of Islam from the Arabian Peninsula and the establishment of a caliphate that included the entire modern Middle East and North Africa. The Islamic presence on the continent was short-lived; of all the Muslim states of Southern Italy, the emirate with its capital in Bari lasted the longest - 24 years. Muslim states existed in Sicily and Malta much longer - for example, the Arab presence in Sicily began in 902, from 965 to 1061 the Arabs controlled the entire island, and Sicily finally came under the rule of the Normans only in 1091. Under the Normans, Catholicism spread and the language was replaced by Latin, although even during Arab rule a significant part of the population of Sicily professed Orthodoxy. Thus, the Arab conquests had a huge effect on modern history Italy. Islam remained a religion in Sicily under the Normans, but disappeared completely by 1300.

In “Tarikh al-Miskindja” (a few years ago, a manuscript found in the village of Miskindja made sensational discoveries hitherto unknown, describes unknown pages from the history of Dagestan), there is a passage that describes the resettlement of the Roman tribe to Rutul - “When Harun ar-Rashid came to power, he sent his son Mamun to Darband in 180 AH. When a little time passed, Mamun traveled through cities and villages and changed the heads appointed by the Umayyads. He started making renovations in some places. He settled a tribe of Rum origin in the village of Rutul and chose a hakim for them from themselves...” From this source it can be confidently stated that the resettled Roman tribe is the Rutuli tribe, one of the many Roman tribes.

From the source it should be noted that the ancient Italian tribes of the Rutuls were resettled precisely in Rutul. And naturally, over such a long period, the rutula could not help but undergo assimilation, i.e. do not accept their language and customs of the local mountain peoples. Another example, similar to the Rutuli, is the Avars. The Avars are a tribe of the Ural-Altai race related to the Huns, which appeared after the fall of the rule of the Huns on the Don and on the coasts of the Caspian Sea, north of the Caucasus, around 555. Avars today are the most numerous mountain people in Dagestan, thanks to the unification of a large number of mountain tribes into one people, which finally happened in Soviet times. The Avars, like the Rutuls, are a powerful people who migrated, who for many centuries disappeared into the mountain indigenous peoples, but retained and assigned their own name to the mountain peoples. The official name of the Rutuli is a memory from the ancient Italian tribes, as well as the Avars from the medieval Avars, who, after the destruction of their kingdom, retired to the Caucasus, founded a new state and moved with the local population, retaining only some names and words. The name “Avars” is completely alien to the so-called Avars themselves, and they were officially called that by the Kumyks and other neighboring peoples, and from them the name may have passed on to the Russians: The Avars themselves, like the Rutuls (as noted above), do not have a common native name for themselves , call themselves differently, depending on where someone comes from. Both peoples are on their own native language, call themselves “highlanders”, “mountain people”. For example, the Avars call themselves “magIarulal”, i.e. “highlanders”, from the word “MagIar” - mountain, and the Rutuls are called Albanians, which translated means “highlanders”, from the word “Alban” (“Elban”) - mountain.

Rumian roots of Rutul

Is it a coincidence that the national names of peoples who lived at a considerable distance from each other coincided - the Rutuli of Ancient Italy and the Rutuli of the Caucasus, and are the ancient Italian tribes the ancestors of the modern Rutuli? We will try to further understand this issue.

Some researchers consider it conjecture that the ancestors of the Rutuls of the Caucasus came to these lands from Italy, and believe that supporters of this version have no idea either about the history of Dagestan or the history of the Rutuls.
The Italian version of the origin of rutuli is not sufficiently reflected in scientific research. And none of them famous historians those involved in the history of the Rutulians did not write on this topic scientific works. And this version is usually called a hypothesis. It is not surprising that there are not very many versions about the origin of the Rutulians. Few people have studied their history. Most likely, the researchers who paid attention to this topic (namely, they did, because practically no one studied this topic) did not have a real, serious and thorough approach to studying the history of rutuli. Proof of this is also the fact that not a single archaeological work has been carried out in the territories inhabited by the Rutuli of the Caucasus.
Many researchers are sure that the rutuls of the Caucasus received their name from the largest village and center of this people - Rutul. In fact, the name of the local population does not come from the toponym Rutul, but, on the contrary, the name of the village where they lived was assigned to the Rutul people. Rutul is a name better known outside the area. This means that this name was fixed from other, neighboring peoples. For example, if we find out today that settlers from some European nation live somewhere in our mountains, then over time their settlement would be called by the name of this nation. An example is the ancient Italian tribe of Veneti. The city that was formed from these people in the 5th and 6th centuries AD became known throughout the world as Venice. Initially, the name of the city of Venice comes from the region of Venetia, and that from the Veneti tribe who lived in Roman times.

After the arrival of the Arabs in Dagestan (especially in its southern part), many settlements received Arabic names. And the meaning of the name and the origin of such a large settlement how Rutul remained unknown. Such a term was absent in the vocabulary and toponymy of the Rutuli themselves and their neighbors and we are inclined to consider it introduced from the outside, namely from Italy. Sources mentioning the word “Rutulus” are: Virgil’s poem “Aeneid”, Claudius Rutilius Namacian’s poem “On his return from Rome to Gaul”, which says: “...And, like Virgil the poet, the great-grandson of the Rutulian kings.” Rutilius himself was the son of the Rutulian king Volusus.” In the history of Ancient Rome, the Rutilian family is known, whose representatives include Publius Rutilius Lupus. - Roman grammarian and rhetorician of the first half of the 1st century. AD and Publius Rutilius Rufus (lat. Publius Rutilius Rufus, 158 BC - 78 BC, Smyrna) - ancient Roman politician, consul of 105 BC. e. And also rutuli are mentioned in the dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron, which says that rutuli disappeared from the historical arena and disappeared among the Latins.

The acquaintance of the Romans and Greeks with the Caucasus has an ancient history. The origin of the name of the state of Albania can be derived from the Romance languages, hence the name of Elbrus. The words Alba, Alban, Albania, Alps perhaps originate from ancient Rome or, conversely, from the Caucasus. The Latin word “Alba” means white, “Oros” means mountain. The combination of these words “Alboros” - White Mountain, is also consonant with the name and image of Elbrus. Among the Rutulians, the word Alban (Elban) and Alburz (Elburz) also means “On the mountain.” What is noteworthy in the West is the meaning of the name "Alban" meaning white, as mentioned above, and also the meaning of the name "Caucasus" can be found in the English language, the term Caucasian, which is the official term for the white race. It is also known that early history The rutuls of the Caucasus are associated with the state formation of Caucasian Albania, in which the territory of settlement of the peoples of Southern Dagestan, including the rutuls, was known as the country of the Gels. The term gela in Greek is known as h;lios - sun. And on the southern coast of Sicily there is the ancient city of Gela. All this, of course, cannot be just a coincidence.

As you know, the Caucasian race actually refers to the Caucasian race. The Caucasian race includes the Balkan-Caucasian race, whose branches are the Caucasian, Alpine and Dinaric races (named after the Dinaric Alps). Considering that in ancient times the settlement Western Europe walked through the territory of Eastern Europe, we can say that the roots of the ethnogenesis of Western European peoples are in the Caucasus and perhaps this explains the similarity in terms and names. Ancient and medieval Rome and the Caucasus are united by the construction of ancestral towers and the symbol of the wolf. For example, the Rutul people have a tradition of catching wolves alive. From Rutul folklore - “A true Rutul is the one who catches a wolf with his bare hands.”

Scientists note the enormous role of Caucasians in the formation of the ancient states of Crete, Greece, Etruria, Rome, Iran, Parthia and many others. Caucasians were an integral part of the ethnogenesis of the peoples of the Eurasian continent. Well-known experts O.G. Frey and G. Herm note that the genetic roots of Western European ethnic groups originate in the Caucasus. The data of modern archeology and anthropology provide full grounds for such conclusions. The outstanding historian and political scientist A. Avtorkhanov writes: “The Caucasus is the country after which anthropology named the white race “Caucasian race.”

The name of the ancient Italian cities of the Rutulians, Aridia, Arizia, Ardea, is consonant and interpreted with the Rutulian word “arady”, which in the Rutulian language means close or related. And the city of Venice and the Numitius River are consonant with the Rutulian name of the Samur River - NetsIur. Samur or Samyr is possibly the indigenous name of the largest river in the valley, comes from the word Sa and the word Myri, which means one valley or one river, and NetsIur is most likely a later name of the river. The Rutul word “nets” means river, water, and the word “nat” means reed. The Lezgin word “vanavats” is also consonant with this word, which means inhabitants of the upper river (as mentioned above, this is what the Lezgins called the rutuls). We all know that the city of Venice is practically built on water. And Numicius, a river in Latium, flowing from a swamp and flowing into the sea, served as the border between the Laurentians and the Rutulians. There is another interesting comparison. The pagan “god” of forests and fields, the patron of herds - Pan, who is known in Greece and Italy, also occurs in Rutul. Pan was especially revered in Arcadia, where there was a sacred Mount Pan. On a mountain near Rutul there is an area called “Pan lubzud kyok”, which translated from Rutul means “the hill where Pan stands” or “the hill of Pan.” From this place there is an ideal view of the mountains that surround the village and this place is often used by locals to look after the herd or search for it. And also in the village itself there is a road called “Panzy Ryakh”, which means “Pan’s road”.

The Rutul word “gal” is similar to the Latin word Gall. The Romans called the historical part of Europe Gaul (lat. Gallia). By the time Gaul was first mentioned in Roman written sources, most of its territory was inhabited by various Celtic tribes. The Romans generally called them “Galls” (Latin Galli), which served as the basis for choosing the name of the respective lands. In Rutul there is an area called "Gauls". This area was distinguished by the fact that the land was swampy in places and rocky in others (the Rutul beks began cultivating these lands in the 19th century, and then Soviet state After the confiscation and transfer of these lands to the collective farm, cultivation continued, creating a large collective farm garden on this site). The Rutuls of the Caucasus call such lands “Galli”, “Galdy yig Birr” in the sense of unsuitable land, rocky and with hillocks. Interestingly, a similar meaning of this word can be found in Vasmer’s etymological dictionary, where the meaning of the word “gal” means “bare place”, “treeless swamp”.

In the past, the Rutuli of the Caucasus had an entire territory of residence and part of the territory, which today in the north of Azerbaijan was called the word “gala”. Historically, these lands were inhabited by the peoples of Dagestan, where a large number of Rutuls still live. When the Rutuli said “gala”, it was understood as a wonderful place. On the “Gala” lands there were fertile lands, the best pastures, meadows and arable plots. The Rutuls of the Caucasus have a saying: “ilene yigya dish galaka, galaki yigya dish gyalaka,” which translated means, nowhere is as good as in gala, and in gala it is not good as at home. A similar meaning of this word can also be found in a foreign dictionary, where the meaning of the word “gala” means large, bright, festive or solemn, magnificent (French gala).

Convincing evidence The kinship of the Rutuli of Italy and the Caucasus is the next name of the Roman consul. In the history of Ancient Rome, the Roman consul (four times), the first plebeian in the positions of dictator (356 BC) and censor (351 BC) is known - Gaius Marcius Rutulus. And also the Roman consul (310 BC) - Gaius Marcius Rutulus Censorinus, the only one who held the position of censor more than once. The ancient Roman name Guy is also found among the Rutuli of the Caucasus. Currently, we can say that this is the only place where this name has been preserved. Among the Rutuli of the Caucasus, the name Guy, in addition to being a proper name, even acquired a different meaning. It is also used to emphasize respectful address to a person and is added after each name. Guy can be compared to a Russian gentleman, a Turkish effendi, or a Lezgin halu. For example: Mahmud goy (guy). In Rutul, in addition to the name Guy, there is the name Matsil, which may have been transformed from the name Marcius. In addition to them, you can also find other ancient Roman names, such as Metius, Pius, etc.

Speaking about possible common features and cultural characteristics, we can turn to national cuisines. For example, the Rutul khinkal (“gyink1y”) is very similar to the traditional Italian dish gnocchi, and also an analogue of Italian pizza exists among the Rutuls of the Caucasus, which is called “elysium” - bread spread with eggs and cheese. Virgil's poem "Aeneid" mentions this name. Elysium or Elysium - in ancient mythology, part of the underworld, where eternal spring reigns, and where selected heroes spend their days without sadness and worries, a beautiful field at the western end of the earth (another version - islands), where the immortals live without labor, in bliss heroes; the afterlife, where the righteous are blissful; heavenly place, blissful corner.

Thus, our research shows the kinship of the rutuls of the Caucasus and Italy, which allows us to restore another important link in the history of the peoples of the world. We hope that the cited sources and research will reveal guidelines for an even more fruitful study of the history of the Rutul people.

People in the Russian Federation, in Dagestan. The Rutul language of the Lezgin group of the Dagestan branch of the Iberian-Caucasian languages. Number of people: 19,503 people.

The self-name of the Rutulians: Mykhadbyr, Mukhadar, people in the Russian Federation. Indigenous people Dagestan. They also live in Azerbaijan (Nukhinsky district). The total number is 19.5 thousand people.

They speak the Rutul (or Mukhad) language of the Nakh-Dagestan group of the North Caucasian family. Dialects: Mukhad, Shinaz, Mukhrek, Ikhrek, Borchin-Khnov. Writing on a Russian graphic basis is being developed.

The early history of the Rutuls, like all Lek (Lezgin) peoples, is associated with the state formation of Caucasian Albania, formed in the 4th century. BC e., which included the Lezgin peoples of Southern Dagestan, known under the general name “Leki”. Subsequently, the Rutuls became part of “Lakza” (the country of Lezgins) - one of the large political associations of Southern Dagestan, formed at the end of the 6th - beginning of the 7th century. Since the 8th century, the Rutuls were subjected to a policy of forced Islamization.

Archaeological monuments of the pre-Albanian and Albanian periods have not yet been discovered on the territory of the Rutuls, and the earliest monument dates back to the VI-VII centuries. Therefore, there is a version that the Gargar tribes, who lived in Transcaucasia on the territory of modern Karabakh, are the ancestors of the current Rutuls and Tsakhurs.

By the X-XI centuries. Islam firmly strengthened its position in the territory of the Rutuls, as evidenced by the huge number of Kufic inscriptions found on the territory of the Rutul region.

Thus, it is interesting that during the process of Islamization of Southern Dagestan, the grandchildren of the legendary Arab conqueror Abu Muslim, according to some sources, remained here for permanent residence. In the IX-X centuries. The Rutuls, like other peoples of Southern Dagestan, experienced the political, economic and cultural influence of Shirvan. In the 17th century, on the territory of the Rutuls, there was a union of rural societies (Rutul Magal), which united not only the Rutuls, but also some Tsakhur and Lezgin villages. In the 18th century, a number of Lezgin villages were annexed to the Rutul “free” society (Rutul magal). However, the power of the Rutul khans over the annexed Lezgin villages was short-lived. Oppressed by the Rutul nobility, they soon came under the protection of Surkhai Khan of Kazikumukh. In the XVI-XVII centuries. The Rutuls, together with other peoples of Southern Dagestan, stubbornly resisted the Turkish and Iranian invaders who tried to subjugate the mountainous regions to their power. In the 40s In the 18th century, the Rutuls desperately fought the troops of Nadir Shah. The population of Rutul waged a guerrilla war against the invaders.

In 1812, the Rutuli were annexed to Russia. In 1820, the rutuls were considered dependent on Russia and were obliged to pay an annual tax in the amount of 500 rubles, which they did not comply with. In the 30-40s. In the 19th century, the Rutuli, under the leadership of Agabek, took part in an armed uprising against the legitimate government.

In 1928-1929 in Dagestan, districts and sections were replaced by districts. The Rutul district included all Rutul villages (with the exception of Khnov), Tsakhur auls, two Lak villages - Arakul and Upper Katrukh, four Lezgin villages - Khlut, Lakun, Igrah, Iche, one Avar village - Kusur. Rutuli accept Active participation in the socio-political, socio-economic and cultural life of the republic. They are represented in the State Council, the People's Assembly and the Government of Dagestan.

The religion of the Rutuls is Sunni Islam. Along with it, there were also elements of other religious views. The Rutuls, like almost all Lek (Lezgin) peoples, until recently preserved pagan beliefs, worship of “sacred” places: mountains, rats (udzha), some graves of “saints”, over which so-called “feasts” were built - places , where poles with scraps of fabric and scarves tied to them were stuck into the ground. On Uja, village residents carried sadakya (alms), slaughtered cows and sheep, and distributed the meat from house to house.

The main occupations are animal husbandry and arable farming. Cultivated crops are spring and winter wheat, rye, barley, millet, spelt. Traditional home crafts - clothmaking, carpet weaving, production of felt, woolen knitted shoes, patterned socks, ceramics without a potter's wheel, processing of stone, copper, silver, etc.

The predominant family form among the Rutulians was small. The largest kinship group was the Tukhum, led by its oldest member. At the council of heads of individual families of the Tukhum, matters regarding the division of property were decided, marriages were agreed upon, etc. Villages were built in hard-to-reach places. To strengthen the defense capability, fortress walls, signal and defensive towers were erected.

Men's clothing: a tunic-shaped shirt (ukhun) with a round edging at the collar and a straight vertical slit in the front, trousers with narrow legs (badu), a slightly fitted beshmet (arhaluk) and a Circassian coat of the North Caucasian type with gazyrs. The headdress is a hat made of long-haired sheepskin (barmak), shoes are knitted woolen boots with upturned toes (kyamashbyr) and leather posts (kelamby). Outerwear - a swinging long robe - valzhag; in villages bordering Azerbaijan - a short, hip-length, swing-out jacket and a long, wide skirt. The headdress is a bag-shaped hair cap (katsigen) and a scarf folded into a triangle. Shoes - knitted patterned boots with upturned toes. Silver jewelry occupied a significant place in women's clothing.

The main food is flour and meat and dairy. Bread was baked from unleavened and sour dough. The most common dishes: khinkal of various shapes and sizes, millet and oatmeal porridge, pies. Among national holidays, the largest annual holiday - er - marked the beginning of spring and the calendar year. The rural holiday at the end of winter ended with a theatrical masquerade performance. Various genres of folklore have been developed: fairy tales, legends, ritual songs, proverbs, sayings, ashug poetry.

samarapedsovet.ru

Number and settlement

Etymology

History of the ethnonym

Exoethnonyms

Story

The question of the origin of the Rutulians

Before joining Russia

Anthropology

Religion

Language

General information

Other languages

Culture and life

Crafts and trades

Traditional home

Types of housing

Traditional clothing

National cuisine

Folklore

Society

Comments

Notes

Links

Literature

Rutulians Information About

People in the Russian Federation, in Dagestan. The Rutul language of the Lezgin group of the Dagestan branch of the Iberian-Caucasian languages. Number of people: 19,503 people.