Derbent in the history of Zoroastrianism in the Caucasus

   Introduction. For many centuries, the Caucasus has acted as a bridge, through which there was an intensive exchange not only of economic achievements, but also of the ideology of the highly developed regions of the Mediterranean, Minor and Central Asia.

   Materials and Methods. The research was conducted on the basis of interdisciplinary approaches and generally accepted historical methods. For the first time in Russian and foreign historiography, a study was conducted based on the analysis of ancient and medieval Greco-Roman, Armenian, Albanian, Georgian and Derbent authors, materials of Persian epigraphy and data from archaeological excavations conducted by the author in Derbent in 1970–1995.

   Analysis. In the III–V centuries AD, the Caucasus became the scene of a fierce confrontation between Rome and Sasanian Iran for the possession of this very important geopolitical region, in the history of which the Caucasian passages played a special role, and the most important of them was Derbent. By the 5^th century A. D., the local elite and the population of Armenia, Caucasian Albania, and Georgia were already largely Christianized and oriented towards Christian Byzantium. The attempts of the Sassanids to plant Zoroastrianism here, which was the state religion of Iran, led to a number of major anti-Iranian uprisings of the peoples of the Caucasus against the «teachings of magicians», the success of which largely depended on the orientation of the Derbent rulers who controlled the Derbent Passage – the main «Gate» of the Caucasus. The Christian rulers of Armenia, Caucasian Albania, and Georgia, who led anti-Iranian uprisings in the Caucasus in the second half of the fifth century A. D., managed to extend their power to Derbent and attracted nomadic tribes of Southeastern Europe and North Caucasian highlanders to fight the Persians. The anti-Sasanian demonstrations in the Caucasus, under the banner of the struggle against Zoroastrianism, were most closely connected with Derbent.

   Results. Derbent in the VI century turned not only into a powerful fortification complex, but also into a developed early medieval city with a multi-ethnic population, mainly professing Christianity, while representatives of the Persian nobility, garrison and administration were Zoroastrians.

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