In this video, we explore 12th-century historical sources that shed light on the multilingual and scholarly life of Derbent, one of the oldest cities in the Caucasus.
According to medieval accounts, the Arab traveler and scholar Abu Hamid al-Gharnati, who visited Derbent around 1130–1131, described the Emir Abu al-Qasim as a ruler who not only governed the city, but explained Islamic legal texts to audiences in multiple languages, including Lakzan (identified with the Lezgin language).
By examining medieval testimonies and modern academic studies, this video reconstructs an important historical episode that illustrates the linguistic diversity and intellectual culture of medieval Derbent and the Eastern Caucasus.
📚 LIST OF SOURCES (ENGLISH)
Encyclopaedia Iranica
Fridrik Thordarson & Gadzhi Gamzatovich Gamzatov
Columbia University (USA)
Peoples of Dagestan
Moscow: Nauka, 2002
Aitberov, T. M. — Ancient Khunzakh and the Khunzakh People
Makhachkala: Dagestan Book Publishing House, 1990
The Journey of Abu Hamid al-Gharnati
Edited by O. G. Bolshakov & A. L. Mongait
Moscow, 1971
Islam and Islamic Culture in Dagestan
Russian Academy of Sciences, Vostochnaya Literatura, 2001
Abu Hamid al-Gharnati — accounts on the teaching of Kitab al-Muqni by al-Mahamili
Paul Lunde & Caroline Stone — Ibn Fadlan and the Land of Darkness
Penguin Classics, London
Handbook of Oriental Studies: Sources on the Alans
Brill, Leiden – Boston – Cologne, 2000
Gasanov, Magomed Rajabovich — Dagestan and the Iranian World
Yerevan, 1999
Gadzhiev, M. S. — Derbent: A Monument of World History and Culture
Nagiev, F. R. & Nagiev, R. F. — Islam in the Multilingual Environment of the Eastern Caucasus
Alikberov, A. K. — The Era of Classical Islam in the Caucasus
Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
South Asia Bulletin
Volume 28, Issue 3, 2008
Volga Bulgars: History and Culture
Riza Bariev, 2005
History of Dagestan from Ancient Times to the Present Day:
From Ancient Times to the 20th Century
Publisher: Nauka, 2004
Dagestani Azerbaijanis:
The 19th – Early 20th Century. A Historical and Ethnographic Study
Sakinat Shikhamedovna Gadzhieva, 1999
Zirikhgeran–Kubachi:
Essays on History and Culture
M. M. Mammaev, 2005
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