According to the Church tradition, the spread of the Christian faith among the Alans began in the 40-s of the 1st c. AD with the preaching activities of the Apostle Andrew, which covered the areas adjacent to the Black Sea. Relevant information of unequal completeness appears from the 3rd century in the works of Origen, Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop Dorotheus of Tyre, Bishop Epiphanius of Cyprus, Bishop Hippolytus, Bishop Saphronius, Praxeis, Nikita David of Paphlagon, Arsenius of Kerkyra, Patriarch Nicephorus Kallistos, Hieromonk Epiphanius of Jerusalem and others. The latter himself travelled through the legendary places of the sermon and compiled the “Walks of Andrew”, which was a compendium of the legends that existed before him and formed the basis of the Georgian and Slavonic versions. An abridged and somewhat revised account of Epiphanius’ work was produced by Simeon the Metaphrastus and was included into the Greek Menology. The journey of St. Andrew is narrated in the Russian Orthodox Synaxarion. Coptic literature testifies to the long-lasting missionary activity. In Georgia, reports about him are noted in the Kartlis Cxovreba and by George Mtatsmindeli. The Abkhazians and Ossetians have preserved legends about the Apostle’s visit to their lands. Similar legends existed all along the Black Sea coast, and many towns and localities had churches in honour of the Apostle and kept icons with his image.
Historians are critical as regards the veracity of apocryphal stories, in view of a relatively late age of the known versions and the impossibility of their scientific verification. In the 4th century, Movses Khorenatsi, noting the paucity of information about Christian preaching, wrote that nothing reliable is known about Simon, who was given Persia by lot, and some people tell about a certain Andrew who was martyred in Veriospora. Given the good knowledge in Armenia about the affairs of its North Caucasian neighbours, such an acknowledgment is quite revealing. It was noted that the creation of the Georgian version of the “Voyages” was aimed at proving the right to autocephaly of the Georgian Church. Legends about St. Andrew’s journey through the lands of Russia also occur.
For all the complexity of scientific analysis of the known reports, we should acknowledge their focus on localizing the legendary events within the real geography and linking them to already known Christian centres. The Apostle’s route lay through Iberia to Susania (Svanetia), and from there to Salania (Alania) and the city of Fust, Abasgia (North-West Abkhazia) and Great Sevastopolis, Zikhia, Upper Sugdea and the Bosporus. The Alanian toponym Fust was cautiously identified with the ancient settlement Rim-gora on the river Podkumok (Kuznetsov 1993: 30). The fortress Fusta/Pusta is mentioned in the beginning of the second half of the 7th c. in connection with the imprisonment of Anastasius Apocrisiarius. It is located in the Kodori Gorge on the southern slope of the Caucasus Range (Doguzov 1992: 18f.). Perhaps, its name is etymologically connected with Svan. pust ‘lord/owner’ (Adyg. ‘prince’). The route of the journey itself suggests that it is dealt with Alania on the Kuban, where the centre of the Alanian diocese was later located. Fust (Russ. Fistgrad) cannot be regarded as its capital, probably being a well-known border fortress. Some “autonomy” in the perception of Alania and Fusta in the sources themselves is indicative in this respect: “… went to Salania and to the city of Fusta … where the Ivirs, and Susa, and Fusta, and Alans live”. Probably, it is meant the original belonging of Fusta to Svanetia as the stake of the local ruler, as well as its subsequent transfer in the same capacity to the Alans. The Alans could have laid it down, and the name was given by the local population.
Both in the original version of the Kartlis Cxovreba and in its Armenian version, as well as in the Lives of Saints by Giorgi Mtatsmindeli, compiled in the 11th century, there is no information about Andria Motsikuli’s (Andrew the Apostle) visit to Alania (Ovseti), which clearly contradicts the Christian tradition recorded, for example, in the 5th century by Epiphanius of Cyprus. There is a desire of the Georgian side not only to claim autocephaly, but also to assert its priority in spreading Christianity, spiritual and political leadership among the Alans, as its written sources will tell us. However, in the later (the early 18th century) addition by the commission of the “learned men” under auspices of Beri Egnatashvili, who were creating a unified corpus of annals, the visit of St. Andrew to Ovseti and to its city Fostapor/Postapor/Bospor is mentioned. Of all the proposed identifications of the Alanian city, the most reasonable is Bosporus (Gaglojti 2007: 24, 119f.; Twallagov 1995: 60ff.).
Perhaps the appearance of the Ossetic Bosporus in the Georgian source was, on the one hand, a logical reflection of the actual situation in the Crimean state in the past, and on the other hand, in line with the previous policy, left aside the history of North Caucasian Alania. An assumption that under “the Ossetic city” Nicopsia (Novo-Mikhailovskoye, Tsandripsh) was meant is unacceptable, since the Apostle’s visit to Nicopsia is referred to as a separate act. However, the report about the Alanian settlement area reaching the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea is quite natural, and it could have suggested the idea of coming to Ovseti along this route (Twallagov 1995: 61). To the above information we should add data of Abu-l-Fid of the 14th century about the city of Alans on the seashore to the east of the Abkhazians. The medieval Arabic source Adja’ib ad-dunya mentions the city of Alania between Abkhaz and the country of Kipchaks. In the 12th century, al-Idrisi locates the lands and cities of Alania on the seashore. Procopius of Caesarea in the 6th century tells about Emperor Justinian’s war in the country of the Abasgs, which was “transferred” to Ovsetia in the 11th century by Dzhuansher Dzhuansheriani. In the 7th century the Zikhahorion estate is known, the residence of the ruler of the Alania region Gregory, the name of which suggests incorporation of part of the Zikhs into Alania and their proximity to the known Alanian centres of the Kuban region (Kuznetsov 1992: 10). This fact is also important, because it is connected with the establishment of the Zikh diocese in this period, which included Bosporus, Kherson and Nikopsis.
There is information about a manuscript of 1750 from the monastery of David Garedzhi, transcribed by the Ossetic monk Isikh, which tells about the election of disciples Simon Kananeli (i. e. the Canaanite or Zealot) and Matata by the apostle Andrew. Matata was put in the place of Judas and ordained as a priest in Ovseti, where he remained forever (Chichinadze 1993: 51f). Unfortunately, it is not possible to specify this message, as well as the mentioning of the Scythian disciples of St. Andrew, Enen, Nirin and Pina, and the evidence of Georgian sources that Matthew (one of the seventy), who preached in Persia and Media, knowing death approaching, withdrew to Ovseti, where he was buried. Besides, the recognition by the official Church of the activities of St. Andrew in Alania is at odds with the need to raise the question of recognizing the Alanian (Ossetic) Church as apostolic. In this connection it should be noted that in a conversation between the Abbot of the Athos Iberian Monastery in Greece George Mtatsmindeli and the Patriarch Theodosius of Antioch the latter questioned the right of the Georgian Church to autocephaly on the basis of the fact that none of the twelve apostles preached on Georgian soil (Gedeon 1992: 16f.; Adzhindzhal 2000: 85f.).
In connection with the problem of St. Andrew’s missionary activity in Ossetia, it is interesting to recall the “Scythian” lot of the Apostle, first mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea. The development of the “Scythian legend” is noted in the lists of apostles and disciples, the earliest being Pseudo-Epiphanius. Its source is considered to be a list related to the version of Pseudo-Hippolytus, which formed the basis of the mixed lists. It indicates preaching among “Scythians, Sogdians and Saks”, which reflects the tendency to expand the field of activity to all Iranian-speaking nomadic peoples related to the Scythians. Thus, the Sarmatians appear in place of the Saks in the Escurial manuscript of the Vita of the monk Epiphanius (Vinogradov 1999: 307). From this point of view, it is quite logical that Alans appear among the peoples covered by the sermon. In the 5th century Martyrdom of the Sukiasians and Martyrdom of the Voskians were created in Armenia, narrating about the baptism of noble Alans. The former was subjected to major revisions over time. A Georgian translation was made of “Martyrdom of St. Sukiasians”, apparently preserving the lost part of the original. Later in their Histories of Armenia Lazar Parpetsi, Jovhannes Draskhanakertsi and Bishop Wakhtanes reproduce the above information. By so doing, the latter refers to Movses Khorenatsi, who, however, narrated only the story of marriage of the Alanian princess Satenik after the invasion of the Alans into Armenia, whereas the subsequent history of baptism of her Alanian “relatives” is narrated only in the mentioned hagiographic works. Movses Khorenatsi and Movses Kagankatvatsi tell that these 17–18 noble Alans led by the co-regent Barakadr came to Satenik and became disciples of the Voskian hermit monks who had been baptized by Apostle Thaddeus who preached in Armenia. The nobles were baptized and secluded themselves on the mountain Sukavet/Sukav (Dzhrabashkh), having taken the name of Sukiasians.
In 44 years after the death of Satenik’s father, King Shapuh, Didianos reigned over the Alans. Having learnt about the hermits from a certain Scuer, he sent a detachment of Barlaki warriors with the mission to either convert the apostates or kill them. The steadfastness of the Sukiasians in the Christian faith was the cause of their agonizing deaths. Only the two youngest hermits managed to survive. St. Gregory, having learnt about such a glorious feat for the faith, erected a chapel at the place of death of the Sukiasians. According to Georgian sources, the Byzantine Emperor Constantine built a luxurious church here in the early 4th century, a fact which testifies not only to the recognition of the martyrs as true Christians and the respect they enjoyed in the Armenian church (Gabrielyan 1989: 59), but also to the widespread knowledge of the fate of the hermits. Subsequently, the ruler of the baptized Alans was canonized by the Georgian Church, which established his feast on 15 (28) April (Chichinadze 1993: 53f.). The attempt to declare the Sukiasians as Georgian nobles who were in the service of the Albanian king (Dzhioev 1992: 101ff.) is an obvious fabrication.
The history of the Alanian monks is associated with the period after the adoption of Christianity by Armenia in 301 under Tiridates III (Kuznetsov 1992: 47; Kuznetsov 2002: 28). But the sources known to us do not speak about such a state of affairs (Gutnov 1992: 139ff.). Everything testifies to the domination of pagan traditions in the country and at the ruling court. Although Artashes was interested in the new doctrine, there is no evidence of his and Satenik’s acceptance of Christianity. Satenik feared that she would be suspected of sympathizing with the actions of her “kinsmen”, so relations between them were soured. Her adult children show open hostility to the Sukiasians precisely because of their acceptance of an alien creed. In the Christian tradition, the events are linked to the time of the activity of Judas, a disciple of the Apostle Thaddeus, who, according to Movses Khorenatsi, was killed by the Armenian king Sanatruk in the 1st century.
Perhaps, the history of the Sukiasians reflected the first experience of the Christian mission in Armenia, due to the exile of 11 thousand Christians there by the Roman Emperor Trajan (Jatsenko 1993: 83ff.). As for the unexpected linking by Jovhannes Draskhanakertzi of the lifetime of the Sukiasians with the reign of Khosrow, who died in 287, one should not forget about the well-known contamination of different events in Armenian sources. Jovhannes Draskhanakertzi determines the baptism of the Alans in 43 years after the death of Thaddeus, and the Persian influence on the historiographic tradition manifests itself in the direct confusion of Alans and Persians in other Armenian sources. Attention is drawn to the story of Faustos Buzand (History of Armenia) about the struggle after the death of Tiridates III of the Armenian king Khosrov Kotak with his cousin, the king of the North Caucasian Alans-Maskuts Sanatruk/Sanesan, which goes back to the mentioned story about the murder of the apostle Thaddeus by the Armenian Sanatruk (Artamonov 1962: 34). According to the “Martyrdom of Voskian”, the Armenian king Vagharsh built the town of Vagharshakert on the burial place of two Sukiasians who escaped death. In reality, the city of Vagharshapat was built by Vagharsh I (1[3]17–140/3 AD), and the city of Vagharshavan by Vagharsh II (80–90-s of the 2nd c. AD).
The history of baptized Alans in Armenia correlates with the Alanian campaigns in Transcaucasia in 72 and 135 AD and the activity of Christian missionaries, which allows us to date the time of the hermits’ activity from about the 80-s of the 1st c. AD to 135. The assumed connection of the Sukiasyan monks with the Alans imprisoned in the Suren monastery under the abbot Łazar Parpetsi in the 5th century, which ascends to the 11th century author Stepanos Taronetsi or Asokhik (Kuznetsov 1978: 31f.; Kuznetsov 2002: 28), is not confirmed. Information about the baptism of some Alans in the 1st century appears simultaneously in Byzantine and Armenian tradition in the 5th century, probably depending on the history of the development of the Eastern Christian Church itself. It is interesting that in the Armenian epic David of Sasun a message about the “cross of Patraz” appears, which is associated with the story of Satenik. Perhaps, we are dealing with an echo of the history of baptism of Alans in Armenia. The memorable records of Armenian manuscripts mention the existence in the early 15th century, apparently near Khizan, of a monastery of the holy “sign/cross of Alan”.
The emergence of the Alans among the highest Iberian nobility and the spread of archaeological innovations are associated with the consequences of the campaign of 135 AD. These facts are comparable to the observations about the capture of the Iberian capital Mtskheta by certain Uzhiks, who are also reported to have established their state in its area and supposedly considered as Ases (Osses, Ossetians), i.e. Alans. This pagan warlike people appears to be connected with early Christianity: in Georgian Christian tradition they are known among the listeners of the apostolic sermon in Jerusalem. When Rabbi Elioz of the Georgian Jews brought the chiton of the Lord to Georgia from Jerusalem, the chief of his guard was a representative of the Uzhiks, Longioz Karsneli. Judging by his nickname, he was from Karsaani, a locality south of Mtskheta bearing a “Scythian” name (Gaglojti 2007: 30, 137). However, the proposed solution needs further study.
In 301, owing to the ascetic activity of St. Gregory, Armenia was baptized, although perhaps the baptism took place later, around 314–316, which corresponds to the data of the Anonymous included in the 7th century work of Sebeos (some researchers, on the contrary, assume a slightly earlier date). Besides, the Arabic version of Agathangelos (a translation of the 8th–9th cc. Greek Life of Gregory) refers to the simultaneous baptism of the king and nobility of Alania by Thomas of Satala, who began preaching in Albania in 315, to the destruction of pagan temples and the establishment of Christian churches by St. Gregory, to the preparation and dispatch of priests to different peoples, including the Alans. However, it is noted that under “Alans” the Albanians may be hidden, because the kings of Armenia, Iberia, Lazica and Albania were baptized on the Euphrates, and Thomas was sent to Albania (Malakhov 1992: 140). Indeed, the Arabic version raises some questions that cannot simply be dismissed by reference to the Greek original. It should be noted that the baptism took place in 301. In the list of peoples and rulers under the care of St. Gregory, “Alans” are united with Georgians, Lazs and Abkhazians, and bishops were sent besides Armenia and Georgia to the “Alans” and to the country of D-r-z-k-y-t, i.e. to the Durdzuks of the Central Caucasus. The ethnic environment seems to go better with the Alans than with the Albanians.
The baptism of Ossetia in 280 AD was also attributed to St. Nina, who may have been a Cappadocian. She was said to have visited the country three times. This happened after she had baptized the Georgian king Mirian, who had once defeated the Ovs people (i. e. the Ossetians) in retaliation for their raid on Georgia, and then ordered Nina and bishop John to baptize the North Caucasian peoples, including the Ovses, by force. This is how their kings were baptized, whose images are depicted on the walls of one of the temples in Mtskheta (Chichinadze 1993: 48ff.). According to Kartlis Cxovreba and Mokcevai Kartlisai, in 283, during the absence of the king Mirian, the kings of the Ovses, Perosh and Kavtia, invaded Kartli through the Caucasus. In response, Mirian crossed into Ovseti by roundabout ways, defeated it, reached Khazaria, and returned by the Dvaleti road. Having accepted Christianity, he sent St. Nina and bishop Yovin or priest Yakov with an eristav (chieftain) by force to baptize the mountaineers, a mission which mostly failed. Only his son succeeded in converting most of the Caucasians to Christianity. Movses Khorenatsi alone said that Nina preached, among other places, at the Alan Gate and at the limits of the Maskuts. The mentioning of the Alan Gate allows admitting the Alans having been baptized, not, however, their main North Caucasian population, but the mountaineers to the south of the Main Caucasian Ridge, who, moreover, mostly evaded baptism. Movses Khorenatsi names Agatangehos as the source of his information, which is not confirmed.
Georgian sources suggest that St. Nina arrived in Kartli before 301 or 314/316 AD, because the paganism of Somkheti (Armenia) is noted. However, the internal chronology of the related events contradicts historical facts. The Byzantine emperor Constantine accepted Christianity shortly before his death in 337. The Georgian data relate his baptism to 310/311 AD, which cannot be true, because it was allowed to freely profess Christianity only in 313 by the Treaty of Milan. Nina arrives in pagan Armenia in 319, where her Christian companions are martyred via Tiridates III, who in fact had already made the Christian religion official in his country (perhaps that is why the massacre is motivated by rejected love). Nina appears in Georgia in 324/325. She begins preaching 4 years later and converts Queen Nana and King Mirian to Christianity in 330/331. After mentioning her preaching to the highlanders, there is record of the baptism of some of them by Tiridates III, who had long ruled the Christians, and died in 330. As for Perosh and Kavtia, 50 years after the campaign they could well not be alive. The clash with Georgia took place long before the mission of St. Nina, and her appearance in Alania is not confirmed. The roundabout route of Mirian could lead to Kuban, which makes the veracity of the Georgian information doubtful.
In 335–336, Grigoris, grandson of St. Gregory, the 15-year-old bishop of Iberia and Albania, went on a Christian mission to the country of the Alan-Maskuts in the North-Eastern Caucasus (Movses Khorenatsi, Faustos Buzand, The Lives and Martyrdom of the Sons and Grandsons of St. Gregory, Blessed Patriarchs Aristakes, Vrtanes, Iusik, and Grigoris, Thomas Artsruni, Stepanos Taronetsi, Movses Kagankatvatsi). At first, his preaching aroused some interest among the tribesmen of the Arshakid Sanesan, who ruled over thirteen other nations. But then his warriors accused him of acting in favour of the Armenian king and trying to deprive them of a source of income at the expense of military booty. Grigoris was tied to the tail of a horse and led down the shore of the Caspian Sea to the steppe of Vatnean (Mugan).
In the time of Diocletian (284–305) and Maximian (286–305), the Greek Orentius was exiled to the Caucasus with six “brothers” who served in the Roman army in Thrace. According to Georgian tradition, the “brother” St. Kvirikos/Kyriakos died in Ovseti in the place of Zipaneos. However, according to Church tradition, the Christians were exiled to Abkhazia, but died while still on the way there, and only the body of Longinus was dumped near Pityus (modern Pitsunda).
On the basis of the evidence by Socrates, Cyril of Jerusalem and John Chrysostom about Christianity among the Sauromats, it was claimed sometimes that Christianity was spread among the Alans already in the 4th century. However, these evidences, even if one accepts “Savromats” being the Sarmatian-Alanian population of the Azov region, are too vague, cannot be checked or enable us to conclude whether such a phenomenon was of large scale. It should be noted that Bishop Asterius of Amasya (Praise for the Holy Martyr Phocas) reported about the dedication of his crown and armour to the god by the ruler of the “Scythians” from those places. Perhaps the famous “Scythian legend” about the Apostle Andrew can explain these testimonies.
In 485 AD, Armenian Marzban Vahan Mamikonian arrived with an ambassadorial mission to the Hons (so-called Caucasian Huns) and their allies of the North-East Caucasus. He reached a treaty of alliance and “took an oath of Christianity” (Ełishe, On Vardan and the Armenian War). Probably, among the allies of the Hons there were also Alans-Massagetes, who could also accept the “oath of Christianity”. For the 5th century, Stepanos Taronetsi (General History) and Kirakos Gandzaketsi (History of Armenia) mention the imprisonment of Alans in the Suren monastery, a fact which may suggest adoption of monasticism by some Alans.
In the 6th century, Zacharias Ritor reports the arrival in the Hun country (in the Kuban region) of the Armenian bishop Kardost with seven priests, who, receiving support from Byzantium, carried out Christian mission, having translated the scriptures and liturgical books into the Hun language. After 14 years Kardost was succeeded by the Armenian bishop Macarius, who built a brick church there. It is believed that among the “Huns” there could be Alans, which is the reason for the Syriac evidence of written language among the Alans (8th–9th cc. addition to the 5th–6th cc. Book of Nations and Regions by Andronicus, and Civil History). Procopius of Caesarea considered the Alans and Abasgians (ancestors of the Abkhazians) to be Christians and friends of the Romans. It is the Alans of the Kuban region, who are meant, ruled by the king Saros(d)iy (name or title “Head of the Os”). He acted as an invariable ally of Byzantium, a fact which explains the perception of the Alans as “friends of the Romaeans”. “Christians” they could be for the reason noted by Zacharias Ritor, unless it was only about the Abasgians. Movses Kagankatvatsi reports about the preaching of Hun bishop Yunan at the Maskuts in the 6th century. Georgian sources report the sending of David Garedzhi’s disciples for Christian preaching in Dvaleti.
In 662, Maximus the Confessor was exiled to the Caucasus with his disciples Anastasius the Apokrisiarius and Anastasius the Monk. Anastasius Apokrisiarius changed several places of his imprisonment. At the end, he was placed in the fortress of Fusta/Pusta, whence he was transferred to Schemarium and finally to the fortress of Tusume, situated on the border with Apsilia, near Abasgians, at the very foot of the Caucasus Mountains, in the land of the Alans, 5 miles from the estate of Zikhahorion, the residence of the Christ-loving patrician and ruler of this region of Alania. Gregory, abbot of the monastery of John the Baptist (Betapapeos), delivered the posthumous letter of Anastasius the Apokrisiarius to Theodosius of Gangra in Jerusalem through his disciple Theodore. The Greek documents and their Georgian copies by George Mtatsmindeli were translated into Russian in slightly different ways and interpreted correspondingly.
Schemarius was identified with Khumara in Kuban or Ukhimeriy in Lazica, on the border with the Alans. The fortress of Fusta, as we know, was supposed to stand on the Alanian frontier. Some remoteness of the fortress, noted earlier, may have been determined by its location on the land of the Bruchs, who lived between the Abasgians and the Alans (Procopius of Caesarea). According to different readings, Zikhahorion is defined as and Schemarius and Tusume are identified with the residence of either an Alanian or a Laz ruler. It is also unclear what is meant under Theodore’s receiving a letter in Lazica, but from an Alanian abbot. However, the fortress of Tusume being located on the territory of the Alans, facing the southern side of the western tip of the Caucasus, implies an involvement of Alania in the Christian history of that time. Somewhere here an Alanian monastery must have functioned and the residence Zikhahorion of the Christian ruler was located, which is difficult to identify with a religious centre or the Zikh diocese.
According to the Kartlis Cxovreba, the Sixth Ecumenical Council in the 7th century subordinated many Transcaucasian lands, as well as Ovseti and Cherkessia, to the Mtskheta patriarchate. The Catholicos of Georgia crowned kings and consecrated pastors of all lands from the Black Sea to Derbent. Attention was drawn to the geographical and political inconsistencies of this message and the impossibility of its confirmation. Apparently, we are dealing with a late political declaration of the ruling circles of Georgia about its past primacy. John Sabanidze in Martyrdom of Abo Tbileli (786) tells about the flight of Abo and the eristav Nerse from the Arabs through Daryal to Khazaria, where many villages and towns adhered to the Christian faith. Here Abo was baptized by local presbyters. The fact that in that period Alania fell into dependence on Khazaria suggests that some Alans belonged the Christian community too.
Among the peoples who supported the revolt of Thomas the Slav in 821–823 against Emperor Michael II in the Asia Minor femes, Joseph Genesius notes the North Caucasian Alans, supporters of the Manichaean heresy. However, there is also an opinion of confusing the Alans with the Albanians. The Byzantine Life of Theodore of Ephesus tells of the baptism on the bank of the Tigris of the son of the Abbasid ruler Mutawakkil al-Muwayyad, the ruler of Syria, who died in 886. Three young Alanian servants, called in the Old Russian translation Yasiyas, were baptized with him. A miniature depicting the king receiving a blessing from the bishop and three beardless and naked young men standing knee-deep in water has also been preserved. It is believed (Malakhov 1992: 136ff.) that it is about the North Caucasian Alans who served the Arab Caliphs. About 860 the Caspian Gate in the Caucasus was visited by Constantine the Philosopher, the creator of the Slavonic writing, also known under his monk-name Cyril. Here he participated in a debate on faith, outargued and baptized 200 people.
According to al-Masudi’s account of the early 10th century, the Alans converted to Christianity at the advent of Islam during the reign of the Abbasids (750–945). In the same century Abu al-Qasim states that the Alanian ruler adopted Christianity in the first century of the Abbasid reign. The beginning of active Christian mission in Alania is attributed to the period of the first patriarchate of Nicholas the Mystic (901–907), indicating that Nicholas the Mystic, together with the archbishop of Alania, was guilty of scheming and was arrested. After his imprisonment he wrote in 912 to his envoys to Alania. The Alania metropolis is mentioned in the Statute of Leo VI the Wise, who died in 912. We know that after the return of the preachers, apparently in 914, Nicholas the Mystic ordained Peter as archbishop of Alania. Then he wrote a letter to the new ascendant to the throne king of Abkhazia George II (915/916–959/960), in which he asked to assist the new spiritual shepherd of the neighbouring people. In another letter he thanks for his help and assistance in baptizing the ruler of Alania and his entourage.
In addition, the preacher Euthymius, who had participated in the first embassy, was sent to Alania in 916 with monks, and Peter was warned by Nicholas the Mystic against possible disagreements with him. It is interesting that if in his first letters Nicholas the Mystic urges to be patient in attracting the upper class of the state to Christianity with greater persistence towards the commoners, then later there are instructions to observe the rules more strictly, although indulgences to the rulers are still allowed. In Ibn Rusta’s Kitāb al-Aʿlāq al-Nafīsa (“Book of Gems”), written in 903–913, it is said that the king of the Alans was “a Christian at heart”, while all his people remained pagan. On this basis it is assumed that at that time the ruler of Alania had already converted to Christianity. However, we can only speak about the favourable reception of the first sermon of Byzantine missionaries by the Alanian upper class. According to another translation, the king of Alania was a Christian, while the majority of his people remained pagans.
In the 10th century, the Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam already notes the ruler’s adherence to Christianity, and the population is divided into Christians and pagans. The wording of the written address “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” of the Byzantine emperor to the Alanian ruler, noted by Constantine Porphyrogenitus, suggests that in the middle of the 10th century the Alanian king was a Christian. The 8th–9th centuries were a period of political subordination of the Alans to the Khazar Khaganate, although the western Alans had great freedom in their affairs. Besides, the Alans acted together with the Khazars in the framework of the Khazar-Byzantine alliance, continuing their policy of the period of Persian-Byzantine wars. The tradition of friendly relations of Alans with Byzantium was even deeper. From the letter of the Khazar ruler Joseph to the Spanish dignitary Hasdai ibn-Shaprut we know that in the middle of the 10th century the Alans continued to pay tribute to the Khazars. However, soon Alans finally gained their freedom. The Khazars, and under their influence some part of the Alans, professed Judaism (Cambridge Document). The more indicative is the transition of the Alans to Christianity, which took a progressive character, corresponding to the political strengthening of the Alans. First of all, it took place in Western Alania, which was in long-term friendly relations with Byzantium. In the 11th century, Gardizi reports about the numerous Christian people Tulas, located near the Kuban. Ibn Rusta and the Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam reported about this people in the 10th century. In the next century the Alans are mentioned among the Christian peoples by al-Marwazi.
Of course, this process did not go smoothly. According to the anonymous Cambridge document (913/914), at the call of the Byzantine emperor, an allied coalition, which included the king of the Ases, attacked the Khazar king Benjamin. But the king of the Alans, some of whom professed Judaism, defeated them. Unfortunately, it is impossible to check the reliability of the data in other sources. Perhaps the king of the Ases was that “Christian at heart”, unless it was his Alanian opponent. The “Cambridge Document” and al-Masudi further report that during the reign of the Khazar king Aaron, the Byzantine emperor Roman I Lekapenos (920–944) incited the king of Alans to an anti-Khazar campaign, which had no success. After 932, Alans were forced to renounce Christianity and to send out the bishops and priests who were sent to them. Some researchers believe that the campaign of the Alans against the Khazars was caused by their conversion in Christianity. Soon the Alans, however, officially returned to Christianity. Some echoes of the re-enforcement of Christianity in Alania are reportedly preserved in the Ossetic folklore (Dziccojty 1992: 44f.; Warziati 1989a: 84f.; Twallagov 2000: 217ff.). In the second half of the 10th century the Alania diocese raised its status from an archbishopric to a metropolis (the first known metropolitan Theodore is mentioned in the Senty inscription of 965). However, the status of this metropolis is somewhat unusual, since we still do not know the bishoprics subordinate to it.
The official adoption of Christianity by the king and his inner circle took place in the second period of the reign of Nicholas the Mystic (912–925). In 913/914 the Alanian king was already inclined to convert, becoming a “Christian in heart”, but still remained loyal to the Jewish Khazaria (Ibn Rusta, “Cambridge Document”). It could not take place before the patriarch’s request for assistance to the mission by the Abkhazian king George II, who ascended to the throne in 915/916. It is unlikely that the Alanian king could have been baptized by a simple missionary. The appointment of Peter as archbishop of Alania could signify the nomination of a suitable person. Peter was in Alania in 914–918. In 916, at the same time when the request to George II was sent, a participant of the first mission Euthymius was assigned to help him, probably in view of the approaching decisive hour. The baptism should have taken place between 916 and 918 (according to the logic of events, in 916/917). In 922 Nicholas the Mystic was already threatening the Bulgarian king Simeon with an invasion of the Hungarians, Pechenegs and Alans, whose confidence could be determined by the spiritual initiation of their ruler.
In the 11th century, al-Bekri referred to the king of Alania as to a Christian and to the majority of his people as to pagans. Under ‘Alania’ was meant a state in three days journey from Serir (Avaria), i.e. one including the eastern Alania. The Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam places Alans on the territory from the Black Sea to Serir, a fact which allows us to regard the Christianization of the Alans as a general process of religious life of this huge realm. They appear further to be listed among the Christian peoples by al-Marwazi. In fragments of notitia No. 10 of the end of the 10th–beginning of the 11th cc. the Alanian metropolis is not referred to in the main body of the text, but is mentioned in the scholia. By 1032–1039 it ranks 61st. Its metropolitan Eustratius was a monk, which apparently testifies to the continuation of missionary activity. The residence of the metropolitans was in the Lower Arkhyz. Al-Idrisi mentioned the land of Alans, who professed Nestorianism, near the Asia Minor town of Eneon. The North Caucasian Alans are listed among the Christian peoples in the commentaries to one of the oldest Muslim maps attached to the 11th century work of Ibn Haukal. Nikiphor Vasilaki wrote about the adherence of the Caucasian Alans to the teachings of Christ in the 12th century.
Between 1084 and 1105 the centre of the Alanian metropolis moved to Soteriopolis in Lazica, and the Alanian metropolitan began to combine the duties of metropolitan and archbishop (Malakhov 1992a: 154). The commentaries to the Fifth Rule of St. Apostles by the Patriarch of Antioch Theodore Valsamon (1186–1203) refer to the report of the metropolitan of Alania that priests in his country always entered into a forbidden marriage. As follows from the 1225 epistle by the appointed Alanian bishop Theodore, the matter of spiritual enlightenment of the Alans was complicated by the rivalry between the empires of Trebizond and Nicaea. In January 1223 Theodore was sent from Nicea to the Alanian metropolis by patriarch Hermann II, who sought to restore and strengthen the position of Orthodoxy among various peoples. In a letter to the cardinals in 1232 Hermann II noted that among the other great peoples the Alans were in all things similar in faith to the Greeks. Theodore reported to have met a very deplorable state of the flock in the metropolis. The Alans did not know the true Christian faith, the church was ruled by random and incompetent people, who were most concerned with their own enrichment. Before him there had been three bishops. A relative of the last of them, a native of Lazica, declared himself bishop, travelled all over the country and ordained priests himself. When he had learnt of Theodore’s arrival, he hastily fled. Theodore made every possible effort to rectify the situation, although because of the shortage of candidates he was forced to re-ordain some former priests, which was forbidden by the cathedral decrees. It is believed that Theodore himself was an Alan, but the grounds for such a conclusion are rather tentative.
A year before Theodore’s appearance, Alania experienced the first sensitive blow by a Mongol detachment. According to Ibn al-Asir, the Alans professed Christianity, although some experts consider this translation incorrect. Abu-l-Fida has preserved for us the 13th century testimony of Ibn Said about the Christianity of the Alans and Ases.
In 1238 the Mongol conquest began, which led to the subjugation of the entire steppe part of the state and its actual fall. Apparently, in 1237 a Dominican monk Julian spent six months among the Alans. He noted the strife among the Alans, whom he described as a mixture of pagans and Christians poorly educated in the faith and revering but Sunday and the cross. The people feared the Mongols, who were rumoured to be somewhere nearby. After the defeat in 1238, forty thousand Cumans of Kotyan Khan moved to Hungary together with ten thousand North Caucasian Alans-Ases ruled by Kachar Ogala, who professed Orthodoxy. The name of Kachar Ogala reminds the name of the leader of the Ases Kachir-ukule, who together with the chief of the Kipchaks Bachman had been resisting the Mongols for a long time, but finally was captured and executed (Rashid-ad-Din, Collection of Annals). It is not excluded that in fact, the leader of the Ases left with his tribesmen to Hungary, and Rashid-ad-Din confused him with the chief of the Ases Idzhis, captured together with the leaders of the Kipchaks Bachman and Circassians Tukbash. Perhaps the last attempt of the Alans (according to Kirakos Gandzaketsi, one third of the army was recruited at the Alan Gate) to preserve their religion and state was their coming down on the side of the faith-tolerant Hulaguids against the Dzhuchids in 1263 (Kartlis Cxovreba, Rashid ad-Din, Ibn Said, Marco Polo), which ended in a brutal defeat.
In 1245, Pope Innocent IV sent the monk Plano Carpini to Karakorum. The emissary noted the presence of many Christians in Ornas (Urgench), including the Alans. This information is confirmed by Plano Carpini’s companion, known as Franciscan friar Benedict the Pole, as well as by C. de Bridia, who spoke with Plano Carpini’s retinue. Apparently, these Alans were natives of the North Caucasus. Juwayni and Rashid ad-Din mention the favour of the Mongol emperor Guiuk (1246–1248) towards Christians, among whom the clergymen of the country of As are named. In 1253, the Franciscan monk Guillaume de Rubrouck visited the people of Alan-As, who continued to consider themselves Christians, used Greek letters, had Greek priests and honoured any Christian. The Christianity of the As people and their acceptance of any Christian is reported by Roger Bacon. Such a disposition, as well as the political situation of that time, did not probably create obstacles for a Catholic mission among the Alans. It is not without reason that the breviary of Innocent IV to the Minorite brothers of 1245 and 1253 suggests Catholic propaganda among many peoples, including the Alans. Guillaume de Rubrouck noted in 1254 that many Christians in Karakorum, including the Alans, had not had communion for a long time because the Nestorians did not allow them into their churches, requiring them being rebaptized. Christian Alans in the service of the Mongols were also noted in 1274 by Marco Polo.
Given these circumstances and the loss of contact with the Orthodox centre, it is worth mentioning the story of the thirty thousand Alans who went to China to serve the Mongol emperors. In a letter of the Franciscan Peregrinus, it was reported that John Monte Corvino, Archbishop of Hanbalik (1307–1328), preached to these Alans. After his death in 1333, Pope John XXII appointed Niccolo as his successor, but we know nothing of the new pastor’s activities. In 1336 Emperor Toghon Temür and five Alanian princes sent an embassy to Rome, which included an Alan Togai. The new Pope Benedict XII in 1338 sent five monks led by John Marignoli to the Alans. After John Marignoli’s return in 1353, Pope Innocent VI asked the General Assembly of the canons of Assisi to prepare a new expedition. But the devastation of the Order by plague in 1348 did not allow sending a new expedition until the end of 1369. Perhaps, for the Alans who went to China, the Christian faith for a long time served as an ethnic marker.
In the 30-s of the 14th century, Jona Valensi, who enjoyed the patronage of Uzbek Khan, preached Catholicism among the Yases and other peoples of the Black Sea region. At this time Catholic bishoprics appeared in the North Caucasus. In a letter of Pope John XXII from 1329 Alans-Christians in Samarkand are mentioned. In the same Pope’s 1330 address to Uzbek Khan Bishop Thomas Mancazole of Semiskat is recommended as a man who had called many converts, including among the Alans of the Caucasus. Some evidence about the Christianity by the Caucasian Alans in his 1329 and 1333 communications with the Alan prince Millen is provided, who apparently was converted to Catholicism due to the efforts of Roman missionaries (Kulakovskij 2000: 179). In the late 14th century, Johannes de Galonifontibus noted that the Dominicans and Franciscans converted many of the peoples of the Caucasus, including the Dvals, Alans and Ases, and had many colonies in the region. In the early 15th century John Schiltberger mentioned the mountainous country of Julat, which had many Christians and its own bishopric. Their priests belonged to the Carmelite order. It is not excluded that it was about Upper Julat, located near the modern village of Elkhotovo in North Ossetia. It is interesting that Josaphat Barbaro, describing the 1487 campaign of Sheikh-Khaydar, noted that there were many Catholic Christians in the province of Elokhtsi near the river Terkh in the Caucasus Mountains. Dominican Archbishop John III of Sultaniye in 1404 mentioned Ases and Alans among many Christians of the “Great Tatarstan”. In the mountains on the borders of Georgia he knew Dvals, Alans, Ases and other peoples. The Dominicans and Franciscans converted many in this land.
According to Abulfede, the Alans and Ases remained Christians. In the late 14th century, the population of the semi-independent state, founded by Nogai Khan on the North-Western Black Sea coast, also included the North Caucasian Alans. Under his son Jeck, in 1300 the Alans secretly sent embassies to the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II, applying for his service. Eventually 10 to 16 thousand Alans (half of them were warriors) with their “leader” were resettled in Thrace (Nikifor Grigora, George Pachimer). The mediator in the negotiations was Metropolitan Luke of Vicina, a fact which suggests the petitioners’ being Orthodox Christians.
During the patriarchate of John Vekk (1275–1282), the Alania metropolis was united with that of Zikhia, forming a single diocese that existed until about 1317. The devastation of Alania and Zikhia by the Mongols led to the migration of the local population. Theognost, the bishop of the Sarai Metropolis, which was part of the Russian Metropolis, complained to the patriarch about the influx of Christian refugees, primarily Alans and Zikhs, into his domain. This issue was discussed in 1276 at a council in Constantinople. The patriarch decided that the bishop of Sarai should have authority over them, which was withdrawn from the hands of the pastors of the abandoned regions.
Metropolitan and hierarch of Alania and Soteriopolis Laurentius complained to Patriarch Isidor (1347–1350) and to the Synod that the appointment of a special bishop to the Soteriopolis church under the previous patriarch John XIV Kalekas had broken the already established unification of the dominions. The Synod decided to reunite the Alanian metropolis and the Soteriopolis bishopric to protect “the interests of the Alans and for the sake of the spiritual benefit of this great people”. In 1347, the new Metropolitan Simeon travelled to his metropolis.
In 1346, a plague epidemic raged here (Kholmogorskaya Chronicle), which caused a great loss of life and considerable material damage. Simeon, backed by the Alanian population of the Lower Don, dismissed local priests from their posts, depriving them of their income. Those appealed against the actions to Patriarch Isidore, and the synodic court recognized their rightness. However, Simeon received a patent (jarlyk) in the Horde and, returning to the metropolis between 1350–1353, arbitrarily chirotonized bishops to Sarai and to the Caucasian metropolis. Interesting is Simeon’s intervention in the affairs of the Caucasian Metropolis, which appeared in the late 13th century probably on the territory of the present-day Balkaria. Thus, we deal with the aggravating weakening of the influence of the Alanian metropolis among the local population, which required the establishment of a separate church structure. From the 14th century the bishopric of Akhokhia is also mentioned, whose location has recently been identified with the area of Nalchik.
As for the Alans, they, according to the testimony of Laonikos Chalkokondyles (mid. 15th century), were still following Christian beliefs. In 1395 Timur crushed the Ases in the region of Elbrus, whom Yezdi (“Book of Victories”) calls infidels. According to Nizam-ad-Din Shami, churches were also destroyed. John Galonifontibus mentions Alans and Ases among Christian peoples in the end of 14th century. At the beginning of the 15th century Johannes Schiltberger pointed out that in the language of the Ases Orthodox divine services were performed, at the same time noting the presence of a Catholic bishopric in the country of Julad. As late as the 16th century, the Alans were referred to as Christians. Mahmud ibn Wali considered the population of the land of Ases to be mostly Christian. Arcangelo Lamberti also classed the Alans as Christians, but noted their life without laws. Vakhushti Bagrationi (1696–1757) in his Geography of the Kingdom of Georgia indicated that the Alans who had fallen into paganism were once Christians.
By the end of the 14th century, the Alanian metropolitan moved to the city of Trebizond. In 1391 the great provisor of Trebizond church Theodore Panaretos received the right to rule and govern in the holy churches, including Alania and the archbishopric of Stavropol (Soteriopolis). The Alania cathedra probably loses its position in Alania itself. Iosaphat Barbaro wrote in 1436 that the Alan-As people, who professed Christianity, were destroyed and expelled by the Mongols. Around the middle of the 15th century the centre of the Alanian metropolis moved to Sebastia (Asia Minor), where it existed, apparently, until the end of the 16th century. In May 1590 the archbishop of Alania Pachomius put his signature under the letter of the Constantinople patriarch Jeremiah and the entire Ecumenical Council on the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia. Consequently, the metropolis, which lost its connection with Soteriopolis, was downgraded to the category of archbishopric. With the establishment of patriarchy in Russia, the lands of the former Alanian metropolis entered the sphere of influence of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The adoption of the Orthodox Christianity by the Alans, especially by the ruling elite, contributed to the development of interstate relations, in which inter-dynastic marriages played a significant role. In particular, names of Alanian princesses, found in dedicatory inscriptions in Georgian churches testify to special relations, which connected the church with the daughters of Alanian kings who married Georgian rulers. Thus, an icon of the Mother of God with the prayer of Borena, a sister of the Alan king Dorgulel “the Great” and the second wife of the Georgian king Bagrat IV (r. 1027–1072), was discovered in the Church of the Saviour in the village of Lendjeri, Svaneti. In the Church of the Archangels in the village of Pkhotreri, an icon with an inscription containing the name Burdukhan, Alan princess and the wife of Giorgi III, king of Georgia (r. 1156–1184), mother of Queen Tamar, was noted. The 15th c. chronicle Ʒegli eristavta (f. 3v, l. 6) reports that an Alanian princess Shirdi raised the dignity of the Largvis monastery and introduced new utensils for the church service (Meskhia 1954: 348; Gaglojti 2007: 62). Researchers also drew attention to the marriage unions between Russian princes and daughters of the Alan-As nobility. Thus, Vladimir Monomakh’s son Yaropolk, as a result of the expedition to the Don and Donets in 1116, brought to himself as a wife the daughter of the As prince (Russian Primary Chronicle, Troitskaja Chronicle), named Elena. Vsevolod III the Big Nest (r. 1176–1212) married the As princess Maria, who made much effort to help the Orthodox Church and at the end of her life took the monastic vows. After her death she was canonized. Maria’s sister married the Chernigov prince Mstislav. However, objections against the assumed Alanian origin of wives of Russian princes have recently been expressed in scientific literature.
The tendency of medieval Georgian sources to attribute priority in the spread of Christianity in Ovseti and to emphasize the spiritual subordination of the local population to Georgian rulers has been noted above. However, these statements are not confirmed. At the same time, an active Georgian influence on the nearest lands inhabited by Alans is quite tangible. In the 11th–13th centuries small churches of typical Georgian architecture appeared on the territory of modern Ossetia (villages of Tli, Khozitikau, Regakh, Zrug, Dzivgis and others). Later painting of the Nuzal chapel was done by an Ossetian Vola Tliag, who was obviously educated in the Georgian tradition. In 1314 another Ossetian, Nikoloz Dvali, was stoned to death in Damascus for propaganda of Christianity. Later he was canonized. Ivan and Joseph Dvali were engaged in copying ancient books and creating book miniatures on the Holy Mountain. In general, the influence of Christian traditions from Georgia can be traced in the eastern part of ancient Alania within the limits of Tualgom in the upper reaches of the Ardon River and the mountain zone of modern Kabardino-Balkaria. Attempts to prove the opposite carry no conviction (Vinogradov 1990: 55ff.; Kuznetsov 1992: 116f.; Malakhov 1992a: 165ff.).
In the late 11th–early 12th cc. Byzantium hosted an Alanian ruler named Rosmik/Romisk (Anna Komnene, Alexiad), whose patron saint, significantly, was considered to be St. Andrew. The magister Constantine Alan is also known. His father could be the famous ruler Dorgulel, who bore the Christian name Gabriel. A certain Alan bore the title of magister under Emperor Nikephoros III Votaniates and was considered his relative (apparently from the side of the mother of Maria of Alania, abovementioned Borena, Dorgulel’s sister). Among the close friends of the Duke of Illyria George Monomakh Alan Johannes is known. According to the Georgian tradition, the Alanian rulers belonged to the dynasty of the Ephremids, who were regarded as the younger branch of the Georgian Bagratids. However, such an interpretation was caused by the fact of interruption of the Georgian line in the history of Georgian rulers after the accession of Queen Tamara, whose mother was Burdukhan, the daughter of the Ovs (Alanian) king (see above), and who herself married the Ovs prince David-Soslan (Togoshvili 1990: 10ff.). Such interpretation, in fact, has no historical substantiation. Georgian sources preserve information about St. Christodul, “called Ossetian”, who lived in the 12th century. The information about the ethnic origin of St. Christodul needs additional verification.
Scholars have repeatedly noted echoes of Christian religion in Ossetic traditions, beliefs and folklore. The folklore tradition of Ossetians’ eastern neighbours, the Nakh, is also indicative in this case. In the Nart epic of the latter, Narts (= Alans) were Christians. The Ingush legends about Mago, who personified the historical Alans and came from the Tartup area (Ossetia), trace the motif of the hero’s conversion in Christianity, the attribute of which is the de-zhei – a sacred book, probably the Psalter. The cycle of tales about Mago is connected with the sanctuaries of Magi-erda and Tumgoi-erda. According to an Ingush legend, the sanctuary of Tkhaba-erda (in honour of St. Thomas) was built on the place where the prophet Mahomed (Mohammad) buried his Koran. A Christian sheikh recognized this and built a church here, and then the Christian king himself settled at the same place. His Christians were devi, mida, i.e. belonged to an Iranian-speaking people, which could only be Alans. In mountainous Ingushetia, there are about 11 known toponyms with the element jerda. According to Ingush legends about Barkhoi-Kant, a Christian king named Yerda from the country of Yerda in the Tarskaya Valley (Ossetia), once appeared in the mountainous Assinov Basin. The location of the country and the name of the king (from Ossetic ard ‘oath’) testify to their Alanian origin. Near Olgeti village there is a sanctuary Itaz-jerda, in whose designation the name of the Alanian ruler Itaz can be seen (Dalgat 1972: 343; Vinogradov/Baranichenko 1983: 91ff.; Alborov 1979: 81f.; Vinogradov 1985: 13, 16f.).
Archaeological evidence of the spread of Christianity in Alania suggests a significantly later date than the tradition. However, they are close in time to those written testimonies that were created synchronously with the described events and on the basis of personal observations. A stone cross with a Greek inscription from the vicinity of Kislovodsk and images of crosses on the walls of five catacombs in the burial ground Peschanyi near Nalchik are attributed to the 8th century. In the 8th–9th centuries the first signs of transition of the Alanian population of the Kuban region to Christianity appear (Kuznetsov 1992: 312 f.; Narozhnyj/Sokov 1998: 26ff.). A wide spread of elements of Christian culture cannot be observed until the 10th century, primarily in the Western Alania, where a diocesan centre – the Lower Arkhyz ancient settlement – is most prominent. Church buildings begin to be erected, the earliest of which are notable for the large size and stylistic influence of Byzantium and Georgia, probably through Abkhazian mediation, which intensified after Abkhazia became part of Georgia in 980. Apparently, we deal with the initial stage of the establishment of a new religious order that needed the art of foreign masters for making its presence visible. On the wall of the Zelenchuk temple an image of St. Nicholas, the “patron saint of Aspe”, was found. It is indicative that Nikkola is considered one of the most revered saints among the Digor-Ossetians.
Two or three decades later, temples Nos. 2 and 6 at the Ilyichevskiy settlement were purposefully destroyed, and blocks of the church buildings were used in the pagan cemetery in Gamovskaya gully. The explanation of what happened corresponds to the forced rejection of Christianity by the Alans after the defeat from the Khazars in 932. From the 2nd half of the 10th century the construction of large temples practically ceased and small one-nave churches appeared en masse, a phenomenon which testifies to the intensive spread of Christianity in the Alanian environment at that time. On the other hand, the appearance of such churches in the Caucasus mountains corresponds to the traditional beliefs of the local population, according to which it was prohibited for mere mortals to enter the sanctuary. Probably, we deal here with a more large-scale involvement of the Alanian population into Christianity with allowances made for their traditions. These may have predetermined the building of churches on the sites of earlier pagan sanctuaries, as was the case with the construction of the Sentin Temple, two chapels near the village of Ilyich or later Rekom. Similar explanation may be given to the pagan sanctifying of the cemetery land when burying Christian proselytes. It is indicative that from the 8th century the Alans have pagan sanctuaries, a fact which testifies to a shift away from the ancient traditions not to erect sanctuaries to their gods (Ammianus Marcellinus). It is assumed that the Kyafar tomb of the 11th century belonged to the famous Alanian ruler Dorgulel (see above). The time of his reign is the period of the greatest power of Alania and strengthening of the Christian traditions in it. It is not surprising, therefore, that the walls of the tomb bear images of Christian characters. At the same time, other images continue the pagan tradition, testifying to its great vitality (Kaminskij/Kaminskaja 1996: 175; Kuznetsov 1977: 157; Kuznetsov 1990: 22f.; Kuznetsov 1993a: 179; Kuznetsov 1988; Okhon’ko 1994: 3ff.; Markovin 1996: 184; Lozhkin 1984: 53).
Numerous Christian burials have been recorded on the territory of Alania, containing Greek inscriptions of tombstones, as well as one famous Alanian inscription written in Greek script (so called Zelenchuk Inscription), stone and bronze crosses, reminding of the veneration of the symbol of faith by the Alans (Julian, Josophatos Barbaro), body crosses, cult objects and church vestments, anthropomorphic statues with crosses, etc. Finds of Russian crosses-folders (encolpions) in church No. 6 of the Nizhnij Arkhyz ancient settlement of this period and a stone cross of 1041 near the village of Pregradnoe, which testify to Alan-Russian ties, are especially noted (Kuznetsov 1992: 205f.). The assumption that the find of a rare type of Russian crosses testify to the missionary activity of the Tmutarakan church among Alans (Golovanova 1993: 30) seems, however, unconvincing. A detailed enumeration of all the items is simply impossible within the framework of the article. They testify to the spread of Christianity in the Alanian environment in the 10th–12th centuries, although the synchronous presence of numerous pagan monuments located directly next to the Christian ones does not allow us to consider the process of Christianization as all-around.
Perhaps two of the most important material finds should be cited to supplement our information about the history of Christianity among the Alans. In 1992, a Greek Old Testament lectionary or prophetologion, copied in 1275, was discovered in the library of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. In its margins were inscribed abbreviated titles, partly in Greek and partly with Greek letters in the Alanian language, the predecessor of the modern Ossetic. These inscriptions date back to the 14th or 15th century and were made by the hand of its Alanian owner (Engberg/Lubotsky 2003: 41ff.). A Greek inscription of 965 was found on the wall of the Senty Church, reporting its dedication in the reign of Nicephorus II Phocas, exousiocrator (sovereign) of Alans David and exousiocratorissa Maria (Beletskij/Vinogradov 2005: 130ff.).
By the end of the 12th–beginning of the 13th century, the process of disintegration of the Alanian state took effect, which went in parallel with the weakening of the Christian influence. Urban centres declined. In the period of the Mongol conquests, in which the anti-Christian orientation grew with time, the Alans ultimately lost control over the flat part of their state, and depopulation of Alania reached enormous proportions. The remnants of the Alans were concentrated in the mountains of the Central Caucasus. Against this background, a renaissance of pagan traditions took place here. Many Christian churches (Rekom, Dzivgis, Regakh, Guli, Yus-dzuar, etc.) turned into pagan temples. Probably at that time, Georgian Christian borrowings appeared due to the close contacts with neighbouring Georgia, which remained in the bosom of Christianity. But this was a period not of development but of dying of Christianity in the Alanian environment. A Georgian manuscript psalter found in Zaramag, judging by research materials, got to Ossetia in the 17th century, but it was incomprehensible to the Ossetians who used it for divination at their own discretion. By the end of the 16th c. the Alanian metropolis itself disappeared. Among the last evidences of Christianity in the former lands of Alania we should mention data on 15th century Gospel pages and church books in Greek from Chegem, Greek inscriptions of 1557 and 1581.
The circumstances and reasons that determined such a course of the history of Christianity in Alania were, apparently, quite diverse and have not yet been fully comprehended by researchers. Some data from written sources remain disputable as to the adequacy of their testimonies to real historical facts. Thus, the tales of apostolic activity and the first examples of baptism of Alans by Georgian and Armenian missionaries seem to have been caused by the desire of the interested parties to highlight their spiritual and political prerogatives. An exception is the story of the baptism of the Sukiasians, but it is related to a small group of Alans who were separated from their homeland by fate. The encounters of the main Alanian population with the new doctrine and with its promotion are quite probable, but did not have far-reaching consequences.
The adoption of the monotheistic Christian religion often proceeded in parallel with the process of formation of a unified state organism. In the first centuries AD, when the Sarmatians and Alans were dominated by tribal nobility, the institution of a second king appeared, responsible for military and partly civil administration. At the beginning of the 4th century the military leaders of the Alans assumed judicial functions. According to some researchers, by the 5th century the position of the landowning servicemen among the Alans strengthened, who became increasingly isolated from the rest of the population in the process of expanding territory and mixing with the local population, which led to the development of the territorial principle of military formation. The participation of Alans in the Persian-Byzantine wars from the 6th century completed the process.
The formation of pre-state associations among the Alans proceeded in parallel in the North-Western and Central Caucasus, but in the former region it was most accelerated. The Sarmatian and Alanian associations that had long been here, got into fairly intensive ethnic, political, cultural and economic communication with the autochthonous settled population and with the Greek policies, a process which led to their rapid incorporation into new, more progressive forms of socio-economic relations. Turkic peoples penetrated here too. It is the ethnic heterogeneity of the population that is considered to have accelerated the spread of Christianity (Avdienko 1979: 102ff.). The Western Alans continued their consolidation. Probably, therefore, after the conclusion of the peace with Romaeans in 433 Attila’s and Bleda’s Huns began to subdue the tribe of Sorosgians (
In the 6th century, Alania experienced a demographic explosion, which significantly intensified social processes. A dense network of fortified settlements was formed. In the middle of this century, Byzantium and barbarian lands were struck by a terrible plague (Procopius of Caesarea). It is in this plague that the final cause of the social upheaval, prepared by the whole course of development of the Alanian society, is assumed. In the eyes of the ancient population, tribal leaders and first kings served as the embodiment of health. Therefore, an Alanian king could pay with his life for the calamity of the plague, which was taken advantage of by Sarosius, who removed the tribal aristocracy from power. He created a powerful association covering the upper Kuban, Pyatigorie (“Five-Mountains Area”, the region of Beshtau) and the present-day Balkaria, laying down a strict system of defensive settlements leading to the main straits (Gutnov 1993: 39ff.). The latter observation suggests that the plague affected an insignificant part of the Alanian population. This assumption is also confirmed by archaeological materials from the Kislovodsk Basin. However, a social upheaval was thus given rise to. The preservation of the bulk of the population allowed a large-scale settlement of the foothill and mountainous areas.
It were the Alans of Sarosia, together with the Abkhazians, who were called “friends of Christians and Greeks”. If earlier the Christian Church did not have the necessary resources to include such remote territories in its sphere of influence, now the situation changed. In 558 Abkhazia, which traditionally was in friendly relations with Alania and subsequently took an active part in its conversion in Christianity, was baptized. If the “friendship with Christians” was brought to a logical end by Abkhazians, the same could have been the case with the Alans. In any case, Alans were quite favourable to the new religion, an attitude which was largely preconditioned by the traditional ties of the western Alans. Thereby an accelerated evolution of their society was reached and an access to the world political, cultural and economic space was realized. The Christian religion determined the accession to the world history, whose centre was then Byzantium.
Thus, the history of the western Alans predetermined their accession to the Christian values. The experience of their own statehood, which remained strong enough in the 8th century, led to the impossibility of a significant rooting of Judaism after the incorporation into the Khazar Khaganate. On the contrary, the experience of joining a monotheistic religion should have ultimately contributed to the conversion to Christianity in the course of achieving independence. Islam, which the Arabs carried with them, could not succeed. The western Alans usually remained aloof from the theatre of military operations of the Arab-Byzantine wars of the 7th–8th centuries. The eastern Alans were more dependent on the Khazars than on the periodically appearing Arabs, whose raids brought only devastation and woe to their homeland. The Arabs did not have enough strength to gain a foothold in the region for a long time and to adopt a policy of encouraging the local nobility, as was the case, for example, in Dagestan. In the process of struggle for expansion of territory and confrontation with Arab aggression, which ended in the 9th century, consolidation of eastern Alans took place, and in the 8th century they formed the “state of Irkhan” (Derbent-name). Here also a network of fortified settlements appears, whereas in the 6th century Zacharias Rhetor noted only five Alanian cities. At that time close allied relations with Khazaria and firm opposition to any Arab influence were established. Of course, it cannot be excluded that some representatives of Alans may have converted to Islam, but there is no evidence of any large-scale spread of this religion in Alania.
Three Muslim tombstones of the 11th century were found in the masonry of the churches of the Lower Arkhyz settlement. They hardly testify to religious confrontation, apparently belonging to foreigners (merchants?), whose religion was, at best, indifferent to the local population. Ibn Haukal in the 11th century noted the presence of Muslim communities, including in the country of the Alans. In Ajaʾib ad-dunya of the late 12th–early 13th cc. there are records about many Muslims in the town of “Alaniya”, located between Abkhazians and Kipchaks, i.e. in western Alania. Archaeology does not confirm this report. Apparently, it is again about merchants. Ibn Battuta reports about Muslim Ases in Saray, the capital of the Golden Horde, in 1333. The conversion of some Alans to Islam during their subjugation to the Mongols could have been caused by the new conditions of their existence. However, it cannot be excluded that it were the Alans and Ases, who had long been living east of the Caspian Sea and were known to al-Biruni. Some researchers compare them with the Muslim people al-arsiya, who, according to al-Masudi, once lived in Khorezm, but because of famine and plague went to serve the Khazars. Recently, it was proposed on the basis of archaeological materials to take into account the possibility of adoption of Islam by a part of the Alans of Upper Julat from the middle of the 13th century (Fidarov 2004: 16ff.).
The close allied relations of the western Alans with Byzantium continued in the early 8th century, as evidenced by the history of Itaz/Itaxis, whose Alanian lieges enjoyed great freedom in their political decisions without the interference of the Khazars. In the 7th c. Anastasius Apokrisiarius testifies to the flight of the ruler of the Alans to the Abkhazians, his return with their help and a new flight. It is noted that “Itaxis” is a title close to the Iranian “Pitiakhsh”, which allows us to regard him as a “second king”. It turns out that after the social upheaval of “Sarosia”, there is a return to dual power with the participation of “Itaxis”. Perhaps, the situation of the mid-6th century, which was very favourable and maximally used by the “second king”, was still somewhat ahead of the real development of the Western Alanian society, and the institution of the first king had a strong enough position that allowed it to struggle and revive. The struggle at the top continued in the 9th century, as evidenced by the history of Bibiluri.
Finally, by the end of the 9th–early 10th centuries, a strong royal power was established in Alania. Georgian and Arabic sources name two titles of the Alan king (bakatar and kerkundezh), confirming the final victory of the “second king” in the struggle. They also testify to the intensive creation of numerous cities, fortresses and settlements, which is confirmed archaeologically. Researchers note the influence of the progress of agricultural tools on the evolution of the social order. Perhaps, at that time the cult of Wastyrdzhi, influenced by the Christian image of St. George, began to grow stronger among the military class. It is associated with the widespread use of amulets in the form of a horseman in the 7th–9th centuries.
What calls attention to itself is the fact that in the war of 913/914 the king of the Alans and the king of the Ases opposed each other. It is believed that the Ases were bearers of the Saltovo-Mayatsk culture, and their defeat is associated with its demise. But the Alan-As population continued to exist later, having its tribal nobility (Hypatian Chronicle), but not a common king. The source does not single out such a total defeat of the Ases among the participants of the coalition. The prince Svyatoslav could strike the Saltovo-Mayatsk population in 965 (Russian Primary Chronicle). The bulk of the Alan-As population of the Saltovo-Mayatsk culture appears as a result of the migration of the Alans in the middle of the 8th century from the Central Ciscaucasia. The assumed reasons for the migration are multiple: internal socio-economic development of society, Arab-Khazar wars, advancement of Bulgars, plague, struggle against Zoroastrianism. At any rate, it could hardly have happened without contribution from the side of the Khazars. The resettlement was reported by a lost Georgian chronicle (Kuznetsov 1992: 161f.). It is likely that later the Alan-Ases returned to their ancestral homeland in the Central Ciscaucasia.
Constantine Porphyrogenitus and the wall inscription in the Senty Church note the presence in Alania of the exusiocrator of the Alans and the archons of the Ases, whose possessions were located near the Daryal. Probably, they were originally the rulers of Alans and Ases, who united the Alanian lands of the North-Western and Central Ciscaucasia under their rule. Then the “king of the Ases” fell into vassal dependence on the “king of the Alans”, which led to the creation of a single state, as evidenced by written sources that speak of a single Alania ruled by a king who was still only a “Christian at heart”. Its territory began just beyond the limits of the kingdom of Serir. The war of 913/914 could be the starting point of the formation of such a state. The daughter of the ruler of the Ases could be a hostage of Emperor Constantine Monomakh, as the position of Dorgulel does not allow to consider her a daughter of the supreme Alanian ruler. The wife of Dorgulel could be another woman from a sort of the ruler of Ases, the daughter of which sister married the famous byzantine warrior and martyr Theodoros Gabras. Accordingly, the unification of Alania was strengthened by dynastic marriages within the state. The spread of Christianity among the Alans went hand in hand with this process.
The defeat in the war of 932 led to a temporary official renunciation of Christianity, which did not last long due to the weakening of Khazaria, which was not able to limitlessly command the Alans, and after the campaign of the Russes in 965 finally collapsed. Christianity begins to cover the Alanian population more and more, although it does not achieve a decisive victory over paganism, as evidenced by written and archaeological sources. It is believed that the long-lasting appointment of monks to the leadership of the Alanian metropolis was caused by the missionary nature of the activity, reflecting the great difficulties in the conversion. As Abaev rightly pointed out (Abaev 1958–89: III/45), the Ossetic sauǵyn/saugin ‘priest’ indicates that originally it was black-robed monks who were the first Christian missionaries in Alania.
The flourishing of the centralized Alanian state under Dorgulel in the 11th century was then followed by an era of growing fragmentation and infighting, accompanied by a socio-economic crisis. The life at urban centres, including the Lower Arkhyz settlement, faded (Kuznetsov 1993a: 246f.), thus weakening the basis of the new faith. In the first third of the 13th century, Yakut reports that the Alans have no known large settlement. Probably, the presence of the nomadic Kipchaks increased, who did not adhere to the pro-Byzantine orientation and were not inclined to Christianity in their bulk, a process which complicated the internal political situation and strengthened the role of the nomadic element. There was a disintegration of the state union into separate domains with their own “kings” and “rulers” (Leontius Mroveli, Juansher, Life of David the Builder, King of Kings). Probably, the strengthening of the ancient tribal nobility during the period of feudalization should have had a primary impact here. Striving to defend the independence of their own power, they had to appeal to the history, laws and traditions of the past, i.e. to the times of unlimited domination of paganism. The bloody confrontation of separate Alanian lands, led by their rulers (Julian), was on the rise. It is this side of the Alan life that was apparently meant by Bishop Theodore, who noted the predilection for murder among the Alans.
The bishop left a rather vivid description of the deplorable state of Christianity among the Alans, who could be classified as Orthodox only officially and very conditionally. The priests themselves are also depicted as absolutely incapable. Bishop Theodore records the openly profiteering nature of the activities of some of the priests. For the whole period of the existence of the Alanian metropolis we do not know a single Alanian metropolitan. Perhaps, only the baptized Alanian nobility supplied some Christian priests, if we take into account the evidence of marriages of priests forbidden by Constantinople and appeals for patience regarding non-canonical marriages of the Alanian nobility. The church organization itself was very weak. The situation was aggravated by the transfer of the centre of the Alanian metropolis at the turn of the 11th–12th centuries outside the state. Such actions could have been caused by objective difficulties, unless they were simply pursuing selfish goals. In any case, they do not correspond to the ideals of Christian asceticism. In 1204 Constantinople was captured by the Crusaders, and until 1261 the difficult period of Byzantine decentralization continued, which objectively weakened the cause of Christian enlightenment among the Alans. The rivalry between Byzantium and Trebizond, which emerged in these years, also had a rather negative effect.
In 1238, there was a massive invasion of the Alanian lands by Mongols. Many cultural centres collapsed, material and human resources were destroyed. Among other things, the church was struck. For example, Church No. 5 at the Ilyichevsk settlement was destroyed. Tens of thousands of Alans who left for Hungary and China were forced to leave their homeland forever. Moreover, it is they who were long committed to Christianity, having a large number of nobles in their ranks, and the bearers of supreme power at their head. The exodus of the most predisposed to monarchy and Christianity mass of the population took place. In the 4th quarter of the 13th century, probably due to the devastation of lands and lower incomes, the Zikh and Alanian metropolises were united, which was accompanied by the departure of the Christian population to the Sarai metropolis.
In 1346 a plague epidemic began to rage. In 1394–1395, under the banner of the fight against the infidels, the final defeat was inflicted on the Alans, whose remnants were permanently locked up in the mountains. The last hope for the restoration of statehood and Christianity was destroyed. In the south, the Alanian nobility was quickly integrated into Georgian society. The rest of the Alanian population was divided along gorge lines, which in time led to a further degradation and formation of “traditional Ossetic societies”. Under such conditions paganism, which had never lost its positions significantly, was revived again, while the influence of the Georgian church remained rather superficial. The Alanian metropolis, which had long been estranged from its flock, was increasingly losing ties with it, apparently without making the necessary efforts to overcome this situation.
It is indicative that Catholic ministers travelled to the Alans in China in the late 13th century, and John Marignoli travelled through Constantinople itself. Some archaeological monuments also testify to the presence of Catholic influence in the North Caucasus (Chechenov 1987: 87ff.). We have already talked about Catholic preaching among the Alans. It is known that after the meeting of the Synod in Constantinople on 3 May 1280 about the union with the Latins a schism started in a number of Orthodox church domains, one of the instigators of which was Patriarch John XI Bekkos himself. After that, the Catholic Church, which had already earlier turned its attention to the Alanian population, took advantage of the conclusion of the union and intensified its work among the Orthodox flock. One of the consequences of this split could be the reduction of the Orthodox parish and redistribution of the North Caucasian pulpits. In 1365 Constantinople was blockaded by the Turkish army, and in 1373 John V Palaeologos recognized himself as a vassal of Sultan Murad, which forever interrupted the spiritual connection with Alania.