Scytho-Alano-Ossetica

The present volume brings together a carefully curated collection of scholarly essays that offer a multidimensional portrait of Ossetian cultural continuity from antiquity to the present. It presents original research by leading experts in the fields of Ossetology, Caucasian history, mythology, and ethnography. Each contribution provides a rigorous examination of particular elements—linguistic, mythological, archaeological, ritualistic, or historical—that illuminate the complex interplay between antiquity and modernity in Ossetian society.

The articles included in this volume, appeared in Russian from the late 19th century to the present day, essentially represent landmark publications on the Scytho-Alano-Ossetian problematics. The volume, in essence, reflects the development of this field of Iranian Studies over nearly a century and a half.

Author Biography

Garnik S. Asatrian is Professor of Iranian Studies and Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian-Armenian University who has authored numerous monographs and scholarly articles on Iranian linguistics, Kurdish studies, and related fields. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Iran and the Caucasus and its accompanying monograph series, both published by Brill, which serve as leading platforms for research on the Irano-Caucasian world.

David Buyaner, PhD. (1972), Freie Universität Berlin, is Researcher in the Institute of Iranian Studies at that university. He has published numerous articles on Iranian etymology, including the series of papers Beiträge zur Erklärung der mittelpersischen Rechts- und Religionsterminologie (ZDMG) und Iranica mutuata (I&C), as well as the monograph Penitential Sections of the Xorde Avesta (patits) (Harrassowitz, 2016).

Aleksey Chibirov is Director of the Federal Scientific Center “Vladikavkaz Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences” and a leading researcher at its Center for Scythian–Alan Studies. A Candidate of Historical Sciences, he specializes in Georgian–South Ossetian relations and Alano-Ossetic studies. Chibirov has held senior academic and editorial roles, including establishing the journal NARTAMONGÆ (The Journal of Alano-Ossetic Studies: Epic, Mythology and Language).

Contributors

Vasily I. Abaev, Garnik S. Asatrian, Paolo Ognibene, David Buyaner, Alexey Chibirov, Ludwig Chibirov, Anzor Darchiev, Yuri Dzitstsojty, Yuri Gagloity, Konstantin Kochiev, Zalina Kusaeva, Vsevolod Miller, Boris Mysykkaty, and Аlan Twallagov