Rutulians, also known as the Rutul people or simply Rutuls (), a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native to Dagestan and adjacent parts of Azerbaijan. According to the 2021 Russian census, there were 34,259 Rutuls in Russia. The Rutul language is a member of the Northeast Caucasian language family; its speakers often have a good command of Azeri and Russian. The Rutulian culture is close to that of the Tsakhur and other peoples who inhabit the basin of the upper reaches of the Samur River. Most of the Rutuls are engaged in cattle breeding (mostly sheep husbandry), farming, and gardening.
Geography
Most of the Rutulians live in the Rutulsky District of Dagestan. According to the 2010 census, 35,240 Rutulians lived in Russia.
Rutulian villages in Russia: Amsar, Aran, Borch, Chude, Fartma, Fuchukh, Ikhrek, Jilikhur, Kala, Khnov, Khnyukh, Kiche, Kina, Kufa, Luchek, Myukhrek, Natsma, Novy Borch, Pilek, Rutul, Rybalko, Shinaz, Tsudik, Una, Vrush
Rutulian villages and cities in Azerbaijan: Aqbulaq, Aydinbulakh, Baltali, Boyuk Dahna, Dashyuz, Goybulaq, Incha, Kish, Kudurlu, Sheki (Nukha), Shin, Shorsu, Khirsa.
In Azerbaijan, Rutulian residents live in the cities of Sheki (more than 10 thousand), Kakhi, Sumgait, Ganja, Mingechevir, Baku and other cities. The exact number of Rutuls in Azerbaijan is unknown.
In the past, a large number of Rutuls also lived in the Jaro-Belokan region.
Population
+1881192619391959197019791989200220102020 12,000 10,496 6,732 12,071 15,032 20,388 29,929 35,240 34,259
Losses in the Caucasian War of 1817-1864 and the resettlement of some Rutuls to Turkey, Syria, and other countries were among the factors that contributed to the decline in the total population of Rutulian in the Caucasus.
History
Ancient history
Neolithic
Archaeologists from the Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a study of the Una settlement to confirm the existence of an adit used to extract copper-bearing ore. The results of chemical analysis of samples taken from the adit showed high concentrations of copper, iron, chromium, and nickel. The study also examined the ruins of the settlement: the fortress on the hill, the fortress defenses, and the stairway leading to it, as well as two sites with ancient cemeteries and gravestones. Archaeological data indicate that the age of the Una settlement is over 7000 years. It is the only known adit in Dagestan where copper was extracted.
Classical antiquity
The early history of Rutulians is connected with the state of Caucasian Albania, formed at the end of the 2nd to the middle of the 1st centuries BC, which included the ancestors of the peoples of southern Dagestan. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC, an Albanian tribal union formed in eastern Transcaucasia, uniting 26 tribes speaking different languages of the Samur ("Lezghin") branch of the Nakh-Dagestani family. These tribes included Albanians, Gargars, Gels, Leghi, Utii, and others. According to some historians, the ancestors of Rutuls were Gargareans.Республиканская газета «Мыхабишды»- Жемчужины рутульской мысли According to other accounts, their ancestors were Albanians or Lega.
According to Robert H. Hewsen, the Albanian tribes were primarily of autochthonous Caucasian origin, although it cannot be said with certainty that this applies to all 26 tribes. G. H. Ibragimov identifies the Rutuls and Tsakhurians with the ancient Gargareans. He believes that it is also quite appropriate to link the ethnonyms "gazalar" (as the Tsakhurians call the Rutuls) and "gargar" meaning 'nationality' as concepts of etymologically common origin.
Archaeological finds in the Rutulian settlement areas show similarities with the Albanian culture of Transcaucasia. Thus, three-tiered burials of the stone box type uncovered in the village of Khnov are quite similar to those in Mingechaur. The openwork bronze bracelets found in one of them are similar to bracelets from the upper layer of the third burial in Mingechaur.
4th century BC
In the 4th century BC the ancient Greek historian and geographer Arrian mentions the Albanians in connection with their participation on the side of the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) against the army of Alexander the Great.
1st century BC
In 66 BC the Roman general Pompey invaded Caucasian Albania during his campaign in the Caucasus.
The Caucasian Albanians attempted to act before the Romans could fully deploy. Oroes, king of the Albanians, organised a coordinated attack on the divided Roman forces timed to coincide with the Roman festival of Saturnalia in order to maximise its effect. However, the Roman troops, led by experienced veterans, proved a stronger opponent than the Albanian tribes and the attacks were repulsed. Oroes was forced to submit to Roman terms.
6th century One method used by both the Byzantine and the Persian empires to recruit barbarian pagan peoples for military service was to acquire slaves and transform them into soldiers for campaigns against other peoples. Warriors were recruited and paid on specific terms. These forces served as a bulwark of the empire against peoples of their own stock.
Arran (a province of Caucasian Albania, Christian by the 6th century) maintained links with Byzantium despite being under Persian rule at the time. Clerics from Arran and Armenia spread Christianity among the Huns, a pagan nomadic people, taught them to use brick and stone in construction, and disseminated agricultural knowledge. These facts impressed "the rulers of these peoples; they were astonished and rejoiced at the men, honoured them and each called them to his side, to his people, asking that they be teachers to them." In 537 missionaries from Arran created a script for the Huns.
Middle Ages
According to legend, Rutul was formed from seven small villages, Shinaz - from five villages. Lavrov believes that the village of Rutul has existed for a long time. On one of its streets, he discovered a settlement that dates back to before the 8th century. Mention of 'Rutul' is found in the ancient manuscript "Akhty-name", which states that during the war with the Khazars, the Akhtyn ruler Dervishan called for the help of 'brave warriors Rutul, Jenik, and Rufuk". The first written information about the places of residence of the Rutuls is found in the works of medieval authors. Thus, the Arab cosmographer of the XIII century, Zakaria al-Qazwini, mentions the Rutul village of Shinaz. He wrote:
"Shinas is a town in the country of Lakzan, on the slope of a high mountain. There is no other way to it except through the top of the mountain.... They grow a kind of grain called as-sult and some mountain apples. Its inhabitants are kind, benevolent, and hospitable to the poor and friendly to strangers. They are engaged in the manufacture of weapons, such as armor, chain mail, and other types of weaponry."
The works of Arab historians and geographers from the 9th to 10th centuries provide a substantial list of ethnographic territories and possessions in the Caucasus, among which Lakz is mentioned. Arab geographers speak of the large population and belligerence of the inhabitants of the Samur region, which is located on the territory of the former Caucasian Albania.
In the 13th century, during the Mongol invasion, Rutul and Tsakhur managed to avoid dependence on the Golden Horde and form two large communal unions.
"Khnov army", that is, the militia of Rutuls from the village of Khnov is mentioned in 1598, among the allies of the Tarkov shamkhal.
The Safavid state, which was formed in the late 15th - early 16th centuries, also included the lands of Shirvan, where the Rutuls and other peoples lived. The Safavids' predecessors, the rulers of Shirvan and Ak-Koyunlu, were Sunnis. The Safavids, in turn, acted under the banner of Shiism. Sultan Iskender Kara-Koyunlu wanted to subjugate the entire territory of the Shirvanshahs' state., and fought against Shirvanshah Khalilullah I. According to Thomas of Metsop, Iskender Kara-Koyunlu '... gathered an army and set out on a campaign against the city of Shemakha and its region.' After capturing Shemakha, he headed to the borders of the Ilisu Sultanate. The Tsakhurs, who were likely under the influence of the Shirvanshah state at that time, fought in this battle on the side of Shirvanshah Khalilullah I.
In 1432, the inhabitants of Rutul, along with the troops of Sultan Iskander Kara-Koyunlu, attacked Tsakhur, but the assault was repelled by the inhabitants of Tsakhur. However, in 1495-1496, the Rutuls and Tsakhurs fought against the village of Khryug, supported by another village, Akhty. In 1536-1537, Rutuls and Kumukhs attacked and burned Akhty, a stronghold of the Shirvanshahs' power. In 1540-1541, after the Safavid power was established in Shirvan, Rutuls and Kumukhs launched another attack on Akhty and burned it again. Following this, the Akhtyns, accustomed to maintaining their influence with the help of Shemakha, which became the seat of the Shirvan beylerbeks in 1538, turned to the new government for assistance, represented by the beylerbek Alkhas Mirza Safavid. Alkhas Mirza, acting in the interests of Iran, which sought to establish a foothold in Sunni territory, organized an attack on Rutul. Derbent troops led by Alkhas Mirza attacked Rutul, resulting in the burning of Rutul, which was allied with Kumukh, by the Qizilbash-Akhtyn army in 1541-1542. Alkhas Mirza was a representative of the Iranian authorities in the northeastern Caucasus, serving as the ruler of the Safavid district centered around the city of Derbent. Following this, the Rutuls, together with the Cubans, burned Akhty again in 1542 – 1543. Around 1560, the Rutuls from the village of Khnov, together with the Tsakhurs, attacked the Georgians, forcing them to move beyond the Alazani River. There is a legend about the struggle between the Rutulian village of Ikhrek and the now non-existent village of Kharytsa.
On the territory of modern Azerbaijan, there are the oldest historically formed Rutulian settlements, which are more than 1,500 years old. In subsequent periods, partial re-emigration occurred: in the 17th century, during the Safavid state, the Rutulians from the village of Borch partially moved to the plains of the Sheki state (north of modern Azerbaijan). and founded the settlement of Shin there.
The first mention of the Rutulian Free Society (Rutulian Magal) dates back to 1728, but it is possible that it existed earlier. The Estate and Land Commission left information about the genealogy of the Rutulian beks, compiled in 1873, which indicates that the Rutulian beks, starting with Kazi-bek, have lived in Rutul since 1574. According to James Olson, a powerful political confederation, the Rutulian Magal existed from the 16th to the 18th century. Each mahal village had its own civil and military leader, who was connected with representatives of other villages. The village leaders, in interaction with one another, formed a common policy.