Lezgins () are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northern Azerbaijan, who speak the Lezgin language. Their social structure is firmly based on equality and deference to individuality. Lezgin society is structured around djamaat () and has traditionally been egalitarian and organised around many autonomous local clans, called sykhyls (сихилар).
The land of the Lezgins has been subject to multiple invaders throughout history. Its isolated terrain and the strategic value outsiders have placed on the areas settled by Lezgins has contributed much to the Lezgin community ethos and helped shape its national character. Due to constant attacks from the invaders, the Lezgins have developed a national code of honor and conduct, Lezgiwal, passed down from generation to generation by parents and society. It implies moral and ethical behaviour, generosity and the will to safeguard the honor of women.
Etymology The self-designation of the Lezgins in , or or leqʼ, sometimes also transcribed as lekk(er); the third sound is a voiceless uvular ejective.Georgij A. Klimov: Einführung in die kaukasische Sprachwissenschaft. (übersetzt von Jost Gippert), Hamburg 1994 (Digitalisat), S. 390–395 (Transkriptionstabellen).
The name is very old, as demonstrated by historical external designations in sources such as Strabo (XI.5.1): Ancient Greek Λῆγαι (Légai), Latin Legae, Armenian Լեկք (Lekk), Georgian ლეკ(ნ)ი (lek’(n)i), Arabic اللاكزي (al-Lākzi), and similarly in Persian. Other external designations include Russian Лезгины (Lesginy) and the English Lezgins. In the narrower sense, the term refers to the Lezgins proper; in a broader sense, it is sometimes used as a collective designation for the indigenous Lezgic ethnic groups of southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan, who inhabit the basin of the Samur River from the eastern Greater Caucasus to the Caspian Sea. The name Lek lives on today in the name of the Lezgins, who live in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. The eagle being the Lezgin national animal, the term Lezgi is said to derive from Lek, the Lezgin word for eagle. Others believe Lezgi to be derived from the ancient Legi and early medieval Lakzi.
Ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred to the Legoi (or ) people who inhabited Caucasian Albania. Arab historians of the 9th and 10th centuries mentioned a kingdom called Lakz, in present-day southern Dagestan. Al Masoudi referred to inhabitants of this area as Lakzans (Lezgins),Yakut, IV, 364. According to al-Masoudi (Murudzh, II, 5) who defended Shirvan against invaders from the north.
Prior to the Russian Revolution, "Lezgin" was a term applied to all ethnic groups inhabiting the present-day Russian Republic of Dagestan. In the 19th century, the term was used more broadly for all ethnic groups speaking non-Nakh Northeast Caucasian languages, including Caucasian Avars, Laks, and many others (although the Vainakh peoples, who were Northeast Caucasian language speakers were referred to as "Circassians"). +Ethnonyms of the LeksAncient self-designationModern self-designationLekLegLegziLekziAdel Allouche Tegüder’s Ultimatum to Qalawun. // International Journal of Middle East Studies. Volume 22, Issue 4 November 1990, pp. 437—446Denis Sinor Proceedings / O. Harrassowitz, 1971.LezgiН.Ш.Абдулмуталибов (Махачкала, 2005 г.)ЛекьЛекьЛекьзиЛеккзиЛезги
History In the 4th century BC, the numerous Lezgin tribes speaking Lezgic languages united in a union of 26 tribes, formed in the Eastern Caucasus state of Caucasian Albania, which itself was incorporated in the Persian Achaemenid Empire in 513 BC.Bruno Jacobs, "ACHAEMENID RULE IN Caucasus" in Encyclopædia Iranica. January 9, 2006. Excerpt: "Achaemenid rule in the Caucasus region was established, at the latest, in the course of the Scythian campaign of Darius I in 513–512 BC. The Persian domination of the cis-Caucasian area (the northern side of the range) was brief, and archeological findings indicate that the Great Caucasus formed the northern border of the empire during most, if not all, of the Achaemenid period after Darius" Under Persian and Parthian rule Caucasian Albania was divided into several areas—Lakzi, Shirvan, etc.
The Lezgic speaking tribes participated in the battle of Gaugamela under the Persian banner against the invading Alexander the Great.
Under Parthian rule, Iranian political and cultural influence increased in the whole region of their Caucasian Albanian province, therefore including where the Lezgic speaking tribes lived. "Whatever the sporadic suzerainty of Rome, the country was now a part—together with Iberia (East Georgia) and (Caucasian) Albania, where other Arsacid branched reigned—of a pan-Arsacid family federation. Culturally, the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by a predominance of "Iranianism," and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated." Whatever the sporadic suzerainty of Rome of the region due to their wars with the Parthians, the country was now a part—together with Iberia (East Georgia) and (Caucasian) Albania, where other Arsacid branches reigned—of a pan-Arsacid family federation. Culturally, the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by again a predominance of "Iranianism", and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated of the region. An incursion in this era was made by the Alans who between 134 and 136 attacked regions including where Lezgic tribes lived, but Vologases persuaded them to withdraw, probably by paying them.
In 252–253, rule over the Lezgic tribes changed from Parthian to Sassanid Persian. Caucasian Albania became a vassal state, now of the Sassanids, but retained its monarchy; the Albanian king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sassanid marzban (military governor) of the territory.
The Roman Empire obtained control over some of the southernmost Lezgin regions for a few years around 300 AD, but then the Sassanid Persians regained control and subsequently dominated the area for centuries until the Arab invasions.
Although Lezgins were first introduced to Islam perhaps as early as the 8th century, the Lezgins remained primarily animist until the 15th century, when Muslim influence became stronger, with Persian traders coming in from the south, and the Golden Horde increasingly pressing from the north. In the early 16th century, the Persian Safavids consolidated their control over large parts of Dagestan for centuries onwards. As a result of the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590, the Ottomans managed to wrest control of the region for a short period of time, until it was regained by the Safavids under king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629).
A notable Lezgin from the Safavid Iranian era was Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani, who served as Safavid grand vizier from 1716 to 1720, during the reign of king (shah) Sultan Husayn (1694–1722).
By the early course of the 18th century, the Safavid Empire was in a state of heavy decline. In 1721, Lezgin leader Haji Davud led the Lezgins in his campaign into Shirvan, and managed to sack and loot the city of Shamakhi, the provincial capital of Shirvan, contributing to the eventual decline of the Safavid Empire, and the creation of the short lived Lezgin led Shirvan Khanate recognized by the Ottoman Empire under the reign of Sultan Ahmed III.
In the first half of the 18th century, Persia was able to restore its full authority throughout the entire Caucasus under Nader Shah. After the death of Nader, the area divided into multiple khanates. Some Lezgins were part of the Kuba Khanate in what is now Azerbaijan, while others fell under the jurisdiction of the Derbent Khanate and Kura Khanate. The main part of Lezgins united in "free society" (Magalim) Akhtypara (now Akhtynsky District), Kure (now Kurakhsky District), Alty-para and Dokuzpara (now Dokuzparinsky District)). Some Lezgin clans were in the Rutul Federation.
In 1813, as a result of the Treaty of Gulistan, the Russians gained control over southern Dagestan and most of what is the contemporary Azerbaijan Republic. The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay indefinitely consolidated Russian control over Dagestan and other areas where the Lezgins lived and removed Iran from the military equation. The Russian administration subsequently created the Kiurin Khanate, later to become the Kiurin district. Many Lezgins in Dagestan, however, participated in the Great Caucasian War that started roughly during the same time the Russo-Persian Wars of the 19th century were happening, and fought against the Russians alongside the Avar Imam Shamil, who for 25 years (1834–1859) defied Russian rule. It was not until after his defeat in 1859 that the Russians consolidated their rule over Dagestan and the Lezgins.
Lezgin genocide Also known as the March Days, the Bolsheviks, in alliance with the Dashnaks, began to forcibly establish Soviet rule in the Kuba uezd. The Lezgin population, refusing to recognize the new regime, put up armed resistance. In April 1918, after three days of fierce fighting, the Lezgins drove the Bolsheviks out of the city, though they suffered 200 casualties.Государственный архив Азербайджанской Республики, 1061, оп. 1, д. 95, л. 5-8 On May 1, 1918, a two-thousand-strong punitive detachment commanded by Hamazasp and Nikolai entered the district. Hamazasp openly declared his intent to annihilate all Muslims from the Caspian coast to Mount Shahdag. As a result, 162 villages in the region were burned, 27 of which were completely destroyed.
The decisive battle took place on May 18, 1918, in the village of Lezgi-Digah. Lezgin forces, led by , abrek , and Alibek Zizikvi, dealt a crushing defeat to the invaders. Hamazasp fled to Baku with only a remnants of his detachment, consisting of about 100-200 men. During these events, more than 16,000 civilians were killed in the district, including 14,000 Lezgins and 2,000 Azerbaijanis and Tats who lived alongside them. The losses of the aggressors exceeded 5,000 men.Музаффар Меликмамедов. Ганлы дере. Баку, 2009. С. 11 Furthermore,''' in 1918, the Lezgin abrek Mahmud Shtulvi, son of the renowned Lezgin Islamic scholar Hadji Kasum, arrived from Dagestan leading a detachment of 200 Lezgins to aid the local Lezgin people in the village of Lezgi-Digah. He and his fighters took an active part in fierce battles. The Leks from both sides of the Samur River stood together as a united front.
Culture
The Lezgin culture is a unique blend of native customs (adats). The eagle, the Lek, is a common symbol in Lezgin artifacts, which is often connected with one of the Lezgins' central values: freedom. Freedom is a recurring theme in Lezgin culture and history. A majority of the group's national heroes are remembered for fighting for independence, including Abrek Kiri Buba and Hadj-Dawud. Coercion is viewed negatively in Lezgin culture, with their social structure being based around the ideas of equality and respecting individuality.
Social Structure Lezgin society is structured around djamaat (), within which there are about 200–300 syhils (). Syhils descended from a long-ago common ancestor, and each syhil has its own village and mountain. Syhils are further subdivided into miresar (patronymic families).
Lezgins often live in villages, known as "hurs." These villages are divided into quarters, with one syhil living in every quarter. Each village has a Kim, or a gathering of the male residents of the village to address the most important issues of the village's public life.
Lezgiwal