Northern outpost of the Caliphate: maintaining military forces in a hostile environment (the Dariali Gorge in the Central Caucasus in Georgia)

Sauer, Eberhard; Pitskhelauri, Konstantin; Hopper, Kristen; Tiliakou, Anthi; Pickard, Catriona; Lawrence, Dan; Diana, Annamaria; Kranioti, Elena F.; Shupe, Catherine

doi:10.15184/aqy.2015.80

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…10). Although surface materials at the site were very sparse, the plan of the fortification walls conforms to plans common in the Sasanian period (Sauer et al 2015a(Sauer et al , 2015b. We identified a similar feature on CORONA imagery further north on the east bank of the river, that is likely also to be a fort given the presence of several parallel banks of rooms characteristic of Sasanian military barracks (Fig.…”

Section: Settlement Historysupporting

confidence: 65%

The Land Behind the Land Behind Baghdad: Archaeological Landscapes of the Upper Diyala (Sirwan) River Valley

Casana¹,

Glatz²

2017

Iraq

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While the Diyala (Kurdish Sirwan) River Valley is storied in Near Eastern archaeology as home to the Oriental Institute's excavations in the 1930s as well as to Robert McC. Adams’ pioneering archaeological survey, The Land Behind Baghdad, the upper reaches of the river valley remain almost unknown to modern scholarship. Yet this region, at the interface between irrigated lowland Mesopotamia and the Zagros highlands to the north and east, has long been hypothesized as central to the origins and development of complex societies. It was hotly contested by Bronze Age imperial powers, and offered one of the principle access routes connecting Mespotamia to the Iranian Plateau and beyond. This paper presents an interim report of the Sirwan Regional Project, a regional archaeological survey undertaken from 2013–2015 in a 4000 square kilometre area between the modern city of Darbandikhan and the plains south of Kalar. Encompassing a wide range of environments, from the rugged uplands of the Zagros front ranges to the rich irrigated basins of the Middle Diyala, the project has already discovered a wealth of previously unknown archaeological sites ranging in date from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic through the modern period. Following an overview of the physical geography of the Upper Diyala/Sirwan, this paper highlights key findings that are beginning to transform our understanding of this historically important but poorly known region.

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Section: Settlement Historysupporting

confidence: 65%

The Land Behind the Land Behind Baghdad: Archaeological Landscapes of the Upper Diyala (Sirwan) River Valley

Casana¹,

Glatz²

2017

Iraq

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“…The domestic herbivores (sheep, goat and cattle) are dominant in the faunal remains. Very interestingly, specimens of Caucasian tur (Capra caucasica) were also found among the remains (49,50). Good preservation allowed paleogenetic analysis of several species in this site.…”

Section: Dariali Tamara Fort Georgiamentioning

confidence: 95%

“…A final PCR amplification step followed the enrichment with 16 cycles. Captured mitochondrial sequences were then sequenced on an Illumina® MiSeq at TrinSeq (50 (147,148) are shown in Fig. S6.…”

Section: Mitochondrial Capturementioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient cattle genomics, origins, and rapid turnover in the Fertile Crescent

Verdugo

Mullin

Scheu

et al. 2019

Science

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160

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Genome-wide analysis of 67 ancient Near Eastern cattle, Bos taurus, remains reveal regional variation that has since been obscured by admixture in modern populations. Comparisons of genomes of early domestic cattle to their aurochs progenitors identify diverse origins with separate introgressions wild stock. A later region-wide Bronze Age shift indicates rapid and widespread introgression of zebu, Bos indicus, from the Indus Valley. This process was likely stimulated at the onset of the current geological age, ~4.2ka, by a widespread multi-century drought. In contrast to genomewide admixture, mtDNA stasis supports that this introgression was male-driven, suggesting that selection of arid-adapted zebu bulls enhanced herd survival. This human-mediated migration of zebu-derived genetics has continued through millennia, altering tropical herding on each continent.

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“…P'arnavaz' bride is described only as being from Durżuket'i, and is not considered to be Alan-a point that is clear since the source distinguishes between the Durżuk kinsmen of Saurmag's mother and the Alan kinsmen of Saurmag's father. 28 The ancient North Caucasus was clearly 26 Archaeological research at both of the major passes in recent years has demonstrated abundant investment in Late Antiquity, but little for earlier periods, although this picture may change with further research: Gadžiev 2008;Sauer et al 2015;Lawrence -Wilkinson 2017. 27 Pliny, NH 6.18: nec in alia parte maior auctorum inconstantia... 28 P'arnavaz had married his sister to the king of the Alans: KC, ed.…”

Section: The People Of the Northmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Divide: Marriage Politics across the Caucasus

Fabian

2021

Electrum

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The early relationships between the polities of Armenia and K‘art‘li in the South Caucasus and their neighbours in the North Caucasus is a central, but underappreciated, factor in the development of the South Caucasus’ social and political world in the Hellenistic period. Typically, only military aspects of these interactions are considered (e.g., Alan raids and control thereof). Hazy evidence of cross-Caucasus marriage alliances preserved in both the Armenian and Georgian historiographic traditions, however, hints at a far wider sphere of interaction, despite the inherent challenges in gleaning historical reality from these medieval accounts. This paper contextualizes two stories of cross-Caucasus marriage related to foundational dynastic figures in the Armenian and Georgian traditions, Artašēs and P‘arnavaz respectively, within a wider body of evidence for and thought about North-South Caucasus interaction. Taken as a whole, this consideration argues that North-South relationships should be seen as integral to the political development of the South Caucasus.

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Northern outpost of the Caliphate: maintaining military forces in a hostile environment (the Dariali Gorge in the Central Caucasus in Georgia)

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 9 publications

References 15 publications

The Land Behind the Land Behind Baghdad: Archaeological Landscapes of the Upper Diyala (Sirwan) River Valley

The Land Behind the Land Behind Baghdad: Archaeological Landscapes of the Upper Diyala (Sirwan) River Valley

Ancient cattle genomics, origins, and rapid turnover in the Fertile Crescent

Bridging the Divide: Marriage Politics across the Caucasus

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