5 surprising facts about Dagestan Russia's southernmost republic has a remarkable location: part of it lies in the Caucasus Mountains, part in the foothills and part on the coast of the Caspian Sea. Historically, an equally unique cultural and ethnic diversity has developed there. 1. The most multi-ethnic region of Russia Usually, the status of ‘republic’ means that, in addition to Russian, the language of the national majority is recognized as a state language. But, in Dagestan, there is not one such language, but 14! That’s exactly how many ethnicities are recognized as indigenous in Dagestan and each language has equal status. By the most modest estimates, among the 3.2 million population of Dagestan, there live about 100 ethnic peoples who speak more than 50 languages. Such linguistic and ethnic diversity has survived, because historically there was a system of self-governing communities there. The largest group are the Avars, followed by the Dargins, Kumyks, Lezgins and Laks. 2. The most ancient people on the planet lived there As archaeologists have established that, 2 million years ago, the most ancient humans came to the Caucasus from their Middle East homeland. Habitation sites of these ancient people were found in the mountains of Dagestan, such as the sites of Ainikab, Mukhkay and Gegelashur. During excavations, stone tools (hand axes) were discovered, ranging in age from 2 million to 7,000 years. 3. There are traces of all the most important ancient civilizations Along the coast, the ‘Caspian Route’ passed through Dagestan, which was a branch of the famous Great Silk Road that connected West and East. Therefore, in the coastal areas, one can find artifacts from many ancient civilizations: Iran, India, Syria, Egypt, the Bosporan Kingdom and even the Roman Empire. Archaeologists have found, for example, entire bronze hoards of Egyptian king Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205–180 BC) and coins of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt from the Hellenistic era. 4. There were several states on the territory of Dagestan The first state, the so-called ‘Caucasian Albania’, arose here around the 1st century BC. Over time, Christianity spread there. Later, the lands of Dagestan were ruled by the Huns and the Khazars, while the Tatar-Mongols and Arabs also tried to conquer these places. Legends also formed about the courageous resistance that the Dagestanis offered to Tamerlane. The longest influence and dominion over the territory was that of Iran and it was the Iranians who built the Naryn-Kala fortress in Derbent, the most ancient on the territory of modern Russia. Dagestan became part of the Russian Empire in 1813 after the Treaty of Gulistan between Russia and Persia, but, almost until the end of that century, the authorities struggled with local rebels. 5. The land of wrestlers Back in the Russian Empire, the strongman Sali-Suleiman became famous throughout the country, performing in the circus and demonstrating his talents. He never lost a fight in his career and became a two-time world champion. In Soviet times, a strong wrestling and coaching school developed in Dagestan, which is still famous far beyond the borders of Russia. It seems that the very climate and mountainous terrain have always favored the training of physical strength and endurance. Every day, local residents descend and climb steep mountain slopes and walk dangerous mountain paths. Since ancient times, every ‘aul’ (small mountain village) formed paramilitary self-defense detachments and images of wrestlers are found even on stone reliefs from as far back as the 14th century there. So, the fighting spirit is in the blood of the Dagestanis. #DiscoverRussia #Dagestan #History