Ossetians
Iranian ethnic group of the Caucasus / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Ossetians (/ɒˈsiːʃənz/ oss-EE-shənz or /ɒˈsɛtiənz/ oss-ET-ee-ənz;[26] Ossetic: ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, romanized: ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ),[27] also known as Ossetes (/ˈɒsiːts/ OSS-eets),[28] Ossets (/ˈɒsɪts/ OSS-its),[29] and Alans (/ˈælənz/ AL-ənz), are an Eastern Iranian[30][31][32][33] ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across the northern and southern sides of the Caucasus Mountains.[34][35][36] They natively speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language of the Indo-European language family, with most also being fluent in Russian as a second language.
Ир, Ирæттæ, Дигорæ, Дигорæнттæ / Ir, Irættæ, Digoræ, Digorænttæ | |
---|---|
Total population | |
700,000[citation needed] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Russia | 558,515[1] |
( North Ossetia–Alania) | 480,310[2] |
South Ossetia | 51,000[3][4] |
Georgia (excluding South Ossetia P.A.) | 14,385[5] |
Syria | 58,700[6] |
Turkey | 20,000–50,000[7][8][9][10] |
Tajikistan | 7,861[11] |
Uzbekistan | 5,823[12] |
Ukraine | 4,830[13] |
Kazakhstan | 4,308[14] |
Turkmenistan | 2,066[15] |
Azerbaijan | 1,170[16] |
Kyrgyzstan | 758[17] |
Belarus | 554[18] |
Moldova | 403[19] |
Armenia | 331[20] |
Latvia | 285[21] |
Lithuania | 119[22] |
Estonia | 116[23] |
Languages | |
Ossetian languages (Iron and Digor) Russian, Turkish, Arabic (L2) | |
Religion | |
Majority: Eastern Orthodoxy (70–85%)[24] Minority: Islam (15–30%)[25] Uatsdin | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Jász, other Iranian peoples | |
a. ^ The total figure is merely an estimation; sum of all the referenced populations. |
Currently, the Ossetian homeland of Ossetia is politically divided between North Ossetia–Alania in Russia, and the de facto country of South Ossetia (recognized by the United Nations as Russian-occupied territory that is de jure part of Georgia). Their closest historical and linguistic relatives, the Jász people, live in the Jászság region within the northwestern part of the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County of Hungary. A third group descended from the medieval Alans are the Asud of Mongolia. Both the Jász and the Asud have long been assimilated; only the Ossetians have preserved a form of the Alanic language and Alanian identity.[37]
The majority of Ossetians are Eastern Orthodox Christians,[38] with sizable minorities professing the Ossetian ethnic religion of Uatsdin as well as Islam.