Alans???

Pan-Turanian activists simply state that all peoples who have ever existed in Central Asia, and the Steppes of Russia and the Ukraine have always been Turkish. With this simple and blanket statement, all ancient non-Turkic steppe peoples such as the ancient Cimmerians, Scythians/Saka, Sarmatians and Alans have been retroactively Turkified. The Scythians/Saka are now taught as having been among the �early Turks� and that Queen Tomeris (Georgian �Tamar�; European �Tamara�) was a �Turkish warrior queen�. These theories also form part of the overall claim to many parts of Russia and Ukraine as being part of the greater �Turan�.

Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and western scholars have overwhelmingly rejected these theories: modern scholarship overwhelmingly attests to the Iranian origin of the aforementioned peoples. The fact that Northern Iranian peoples spoke Iranian languages is as evident as the ancient Athenians having spoken Greek. The descendants of the North Iranian peoples, the Ossetians (see National Geographic photos below), speak an old North Iranian language (Ir-On and Digor) related to Persian and Kurdish. Turkish has no linguistic connection to modern Ossetian.

Alans-A Alans-B]

Ossetian is a term of Russian and Georgian origin. The Ossetians refer to themselves as �Ir-On� a variation of the term �Ir-An� (land of Aryans). �Ir� and/or �Eire� are the old Iranic, Indic and Celtic designations of �Aryan� (Noble, Lord). Ossetian historians, who acknowledge their Iranian heritage, explain their migration to Northern Georgia as a tactic of survival in the face of multitudes of Turkish, Hun and Mongol conquests that rummaged across Eurasia over the centuries.

Many of these Northern Iranians escaped and/or migrated to Persia and Europe to avoid annihilation or extermination at the hands of Turkic, Hun and Mongol invaders over the centuries. Their descendants live in Iranian Kurdistan (known formerly as Ard-Alan), Luristan (Sak-Vand) and Seistan (Saka-istan). None speak any Turkic languages or bear any affinities to Asiatic Turkic peoples. The aforementioned Persian Shahnama epic of Firdowsi recalls the Northern Iranian legends, and the desperate battles fought against the Turkic-Hun-Mongol invaders.

The original Turkic invaders were Asiatic, very similar to the Uralo-Altaic inhabitants of modern Korea, Northern China, and Japan (see Barnes in references and Part II, item 7). In contrast to the ancient Turks, The Northern Iranians (see reconstruction by Angus McBride Below � see Newark in references) are described by western scholars as follows:

�� Scythians and Sarmatians were of Iranian origin�

[John Channon & Robert Hudson, Penguin Historical Atlas of Russia, 1995, p.18 � see references]

��Indo-European in appearance and spoke an Iranian tongue which bought them more closely to the Medes and Persians�

[Tim Newark, Barbarians, 1998, p.6 � see references]

 �The Sarmatians�spoke an Iranian language similar to that of the Scythians and closely related to Persian�

[Richard Mariusz & Richard Mielczarek, The Sarmatians: 600 BC-450 AD, 2002, p.3 -see References]

Saka

Western scholars examining the anthropology, archaeology and linguistics of the Scythians/Saka, Sarmatians and Alans have long since determined their membership as being firmly within the Iranian family (see Abaev, Bachrach, Brzezinski, & Mielczarek, Melyukova, Sulimirski in References). The late professor of Sarmatian and Alan studies, Tadeusz Sulimirski (1898-1983) stated that the Northern Iranians were:

��of Indo-European stock belonging to�the Iranian group, often called the Scythian group of peoples�they were akin to the ancient Medes, Parthians and Persians. Their language was related to that of the Avesta��

[Tadesuz Sulimirski, The Sarmatians, London: Thames & Hudson, 1970, p.22]

The Avesta is used in Zoroastrian prayers, and is the ancestor of modern Ossetian. The river names, �Don�, �Donets�, �Dnieper� and �Dniester� are all of Iranian origin (see P.J. Mallory in References � Mallory�s map on p. 78 shown below):

Don/Danu = Water, River

Dnieper [Dana Apara] = the upper (old North Iranic = Apara) River

Dniester [Danu Nazdaya] = the near (old North Iranic = Nazdaya � Persian Nazdeek) River

The closest relative to the Iranic Don/Danu is the Celtic �Danuvius�, whose modern name is known as the �Danube� in Western Europe. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius also settled Sarmatian warriors in Britain (e.g. modern Chester), where their Iranian mythology and culture appears to have influenced much of the local Celtic folklore (see Littleton & Malcor and Rankin in References).

Map Alan

Many Iranian words can be found in Slavic languages; either because they are both of the Satem branch of Indo-European languages or because of a long period of Iranic ascendancy on the steppes (see Gamkrelidze & Ivanov in References). Persian style words persist in many Slavic languages; examples include Mokry (wet) and Bogh (God). Much of the Slavic counting system is similar to modern Persian:

Perhaps of greatest importance is the role of the Northern Iranians as one of the three Aryan founding peoples of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Scythians are the only peoples, besides the Medes and the Persians who were allowed to carry ceremonial daggers at Persepolis � note the photo of a Saka Tighrakhauda (pointed-hat Scythian) with a Mede (see Pyankov and Vogelsang in References � photo in Farrokh, p.4, see references): 

Saka Mede

Of equal importance is the Northern Iranian role in transmitting much of the arts, culture and architecture of Persia to both Europe, and the Far East, particularly to the Chinese and the Uralo-Altaic ancestors of the Turks and Koreans (Hsiang-Nou, Tueh-Chi, etc.). The oldest Persian carpet has been found in Pazyryk (see photo below) � the woman most likely represents an early representation of the Iranian goddess of fertility (Anahita or Tabid-Vesta)

My greetings to you, brother! Some of my relatives also emigrated during Bolshevik revolution. I really don't know where the idea of Turkic Alans came from. I think it was idea from professor Zakiev (in http://www.turkicworld.org/ ) and professor Miziev. I have read their articles and found quite doubtful arguments.
1. Zelenchuk inscription. Zakiev denies it to be Ossetic with no reason, but his Turkic translation does not have common points with text and it seems odd. However Digor Ossetic translation is an exact match.
2. Miziev says "Georgians called "osi" Karachaians. Georgians know better who are "osi". That sounds just stupid.
3. The both have not given suggestions where the Ossetians are from, if Alans were Turks. They don't care, but we do.
4. Other Turkic historians of Turkish, Kazah or Tatar origin do not know much about history of Caucasia, last stronghold of Alans. They just make references to those ones.

 Hay brother  I have always been fascinated with this part of my history, often I drink with my Russian friends and they talk about how they defeated the Germans I talk about how my family have fought the Russians for almost 150 years  

a Tunisian archaelogist was looking for traces of Vandals culture in todays norhtern africa, she did indeed found Vandals but no signs of alans were to eb found.s econdly, after the reconquest fo the west, no mention was given of the Alans. fact is, Alans never made it to Africa.