The Alans or Alani (occasionally termed Alauni or Halani) were a group of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatians - Sarmatian  tribes,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_nomads - nomadic pastoralists  of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_millennium_AD - 1st millennium AD  who spoke an  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Iranian - Eastern Iranian  language which derived from  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scytho-Sarmatian_language - Scytho-Sarmatian  and which in turn evolved into modern  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossetian_language - Ossetian . ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-iranica.com-0 - [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-1 - [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-2 - [3]}

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=1 - edit ]Name

The various forms of Alan —  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language - Greek : Αλανοί, Αλαννοί;  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language - Chinese : 阿蘭聊 Alanliao ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin - Pinyin ) in the 2nd century  ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-3 - [4]} , 阿蘭 Alan ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin - Pinyin ) in the 3rd century ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-4 - [5]}  — and Iron (a self-designation of the Alans' modern  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossetians - Ossetian  descendants, indicating early tribal self-designation) are  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_languages - Iranian  dialectical forms of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan - Aryan ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-iranica.com-0 - [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-5 - [6]} . These and other variants of Aryan (such as Iran), were common self-designations of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranians - Indo-Iranians , the common ancestors of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryans - Indo-Aryans  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_peoples - Iranian peoples  to whom the Alans belonged.

The Alans were also known over the course of their history by another group of related names including the variations Asi, As, and Os ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_language - Hungarian  Jász, Russian Jasy, Georgian Osi). It is this name that is the root of the modern Ossetian. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-6 - [7]}

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=2 - edit ]Timeline

< name="timeline_ea3aedbd4c026c9597cb7a4f895c8deb" id="timeline_ea3aedbd4c026c9597cb7a4f895c8deb">

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=3 - edit ]Early Alans

The first mentions of names that historians link with the "Alani" appear at almost the same time in Greco-Roman geography and in the Chinese dynastic chronicles ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-7 - [8]} .

The Geography (XXIII, 11) of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strabo - Strabo  (63/64 BC–ca. 24 AD), who was born in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontus - Pontus  on the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea - Black Sea , but was also working with  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persia - Persian  sources, to judge from the forms he gives to tribal names, mentions Aorsi that he links with  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siraces - Siraces  and claims that a Spadines, king of the Aorsi, could assemble two hundred thousand mounted archers in the mid-1st century BC. But the "upper Aorsi" from whom they had split as fugitives, could send many more, for they dominated the coastal region of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspian_Sea - Caspian Sea : "and consequently they could import on camels the Indian and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonia - Babylonian  merchandise, receiving it in their turn from the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia - Armenians  and the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes - Medes , and also, owing to their wealth, could wear golden ornaments. Now the Aorsi live along  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_River,_Russia - the Tanaïs , but the Siraces live along  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuban_River - the Achardeüs , which flows from the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus - Caucasus  and empties into  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azov - Lake Maeotis ."

Chapter 123 of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiji - Shiji  (whose author,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sima_Qian - Sima Qian , died circa 90 BC) reports:

Yancai lies some 2,000 li [832 km] ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-8 - [9]}  northwest of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangju - Kangju . The people are nomads and their customs are generally similar to those of the people of Kangju. The country has over 100,000 archer warriors, and borders on a great shoreless lake. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-9 - [10]}

The mouth of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syr_Darya - Syr Darya  or Jaxartes River, which emptied into the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aral_Sea - Aral Sea  was approximately 850 km northwest of the oasis of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tashkent - Tashkent  which was an important centre of the Kangju confederacy. This provides remarkable confirmation of the account in the Shiji.

The Later  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Dynasty - Han Dynasty  Chinese chronicle, the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Later_Han - Hou Hanshu , 88 (covering the period 25–220 and completed in the 5th century), mentioned a report that the steppe land Yancai was now known as Alanliao (阿蘭聊):

The kingdom of Yancai [literally "Vast Steppe"] has changed its name to the kingdom of Alanliao. They occupy the country and the towns. It is a dependency of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangju - Kangju  (the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_River - Chu ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talas - Talas , and middle  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaxartes - Jaxartes  basins). The climate is mild. Wax trees, pines, and ‘white grass’ [aconite] are plentiful. Their way of life and dress are the same as those of Kangju. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-10 - [11]}

The 3rd century  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weil%C3%BCe - Weilüe  states:

Then there is the kingdom of Liu, the kingdom of Yan [to the north of Yancai], and the kingdom of Yancai [between the Black and Caspian Seas], which is also called Alan. They all have the same way of life as those of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangju - Kangju . To the west, they border  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daqin - Da Qin  [Roman territory], to the southeast they border Kangju [the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins]. These kingdoms have large numbers of their famous sables. They raise cattle and move about in search of water and fodder. They are close to a large shoreless lake. Previously they were vassals of Kangju [the Chu, Talas, and middle Jaxartes basins]. Now they are no longer vassals. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-11 - [12]}

By the beginning of the 1st century, the Alans had occupied lands in the northeast  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Sea - Azov Sea  area, along the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_River,_Russia - Don  and by the 2nd century had amalgamated or joined with the Yancai of the early Chinese records to extend their control all the way along the trade routes from the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea - Black Sea  to the north of the Caspian and Aral seas. The written sources suggest that from the end of the 1st century to the second half of the 4th century the Alans had supremacy over the tribal union and created a powerful confederation of Sarmatian tribes.

From a Western point-of-view the Alans presented a serious problem for the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire - Roman Empire , with incursions into both the Danubian and the Caucasian provinces in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinus - Ammianus Marcellinus  considered the Alans to be the former  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massagetae - Massagetae : " http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Roman_History/Book_XXXI - the Alani, who were formerly called the Massagetae " ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-12 - [13]}  and stated " http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Roman_History/Book_XXXI - Nearly all the Alani are men of great stature and beauty; their hair is somewhat yellow, their eyes are terribly fierce ". ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-13 - [14]} .

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=4 - edit ]Archaeology

Archaeological finds support the written sources. Late Sarmatian sites were first identified with the historical Alans by P.D. Rau (1927). Based on the archaeological material, they were one of the Iranian-speaking nomadic tribes that began to enter the Sarmatian area between the middle of the 1st and the 2nd century.

The Alani were first mentioned in Roman literature in the 1st century and were described later as a warlike people that specialized in horse breeding. They frequently raided the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthian_empire - Parthian empire  and the Caucasian provinces of the Roman Empire. In the Vologeses inscription ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-14 - [15]}  one can read that  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vologeses_I - Vologeses I , the Parthian king, in the 11th year of his reign, battled  http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kuluk&action=edit&redlink=1 - Kuluk , king of the Alani.

This inscription is supplemented by the contemporary Jewish historian,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus - Josephus  (37–100), who reports in the Jewish Wars (book 7, ch. 8.4) how Alans (whom he calls a " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythia - Scythian " tribe) living near the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azov - Sea of Azov , crossed the Iron Gates for plunder and defeated the armies of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacorus_II_of_Parthia - Pacorus , king of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes - Media , and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiridates_I_of_Armenia - Tiridates , King of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Armenia - Armenia , two brothers of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vologases_I_of_Parthia - Vologeses I  (for whom the above-mentioned inscription was made):

4. Now there was a nation of the Alans, which we have formerly mentioned somewhere as being Scythians, and inhabiting at the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azov - Lake Meotis . This nation about this time laid a design of falling upon  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes - Media , and the parts beyond it, in order to plunder them; with which intention they treated with the king of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrcania - Hyrcania ; for he was master of that  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darial_Gorge - passage  which king  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great - Alexander  shut up with iron gates. This king gave them leave to come through them; so they came in great multitudes, and fell upon the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medes - Medes  unexpectedly, and plundered their country, which they found full of people, and replenished with abundance of cattle, while nobody durst make any resistance against them; for Pacorus, the king of the country, had fled away for fear into places where they could not easily come at him, and had yielded up everything he had to them, and had only saved his wife and his concubines from them, and that with difficulty also, after they had been made captives, by giving them a hundred talents for their ransom. These Alans therefore plundered the country without opposition, and with great ease, and proceeded as far as Armenia, laying all waste before them. Now, Tiridates was king of that country, who met them and fought them but had luck to not have been taken alive in the battle; for a certain man threw a net over him from a great distance and had soon drawn him to him, unless he had immediately cut the cord with his sword and ran away and so, prevented it. So the Alans, being still more provoked by this sight, laid waste the country, and drove a great multitude of the men, and a great quantity of the other prey they had gotten out of both kingdoms, along with them, and then retreated back to their own country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrian - Flavius Arrianus  marched against the Alani in the 1st century and left a detailed report (Ektaxis kata Alanoon or 'War Against the Alans') that is a major source for studying Roman  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_tactics - military tactics , but doesn't reveal much about his enemy. In the late 4th century,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publius_Flavius_Vegetius_Renatus - Vegetius  conflates Alans and Huns in his military treatise — Hunnorum Alannorumque natio, the "nation of Huns and Alans" — and collocates Goths, Huns and Alans, exemplo Gothorum et Alannorum Hunnorumque ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-15 - [16]} .

In Cathay and the Way Thither, 1866,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Yule - Henry Yule  writes:

The Alans were known to the Chinese by that name, in the ages immediately preceding and following the Christian era, as dwelling near the Aral, in which original position they are believed to have been closely akin to, if not identical with, the famous Massagetæ. Hereabouts also Ptolemy (vi, 14) appears to place the Alani-Scythæ, and Alanæan Mountains. From about 40 B.C. the emigrations of the Alans seem to have been directed westward to the Lower Don; here they are placed in the first century by Josephus and by the Armenian writers; and hence they are found issuing in the third century to ravage the rich provinces of Asia Minor. In 376 the deluge of the Huns on its westward course came upon the Alans and overwhelmed them. Great numbers of Alans are found to have joined the conquerors on their further progress, and large bodies of Alans afterwards swelled the waves of Goths, Vandals, and Sueves, that rolled across the Western Empire. A portion of the Alans, however, after the Hun invasion retired into the plains adjoining Caucasus, and into the lower valleys of that region, where they maintained the name and nationality which the others speedily lost. Little is heard of these Caucasian Alans for many centuries, except occasionally as mercenary soldiers of the Byzantine emperors or the [p. 316] Persian kings. In the thirteenth century they made a stout resistance to the Mongol conquerors, and though driven into the mountains they long continued their forays on the tracts subjected to the Tartar dynasty that settled on the Wolga, so that the Mongols had to maintain posts with strong garrisons to keep them in check. They were long redoutable both as warriors and as armourers, but by the end of the fourteenth century they seem to have come thoroughly under the Tartar rule; for they fought on the side of Toctamish Khan of Sarai against the great Timur. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-16 - [17]}

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=5 - edit ]Migration to Gaul

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alani_map.jpg">

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alani_map.jpg">

Alan migrations in the 4th–5th centuries. Red: migrations; Orange: military expeditions; Yellow: settlement areas.

Around 370, the Alans were overwhelmed by the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huns - Huns . They were divided into several groups, some of whom fled westward. A portion of these western Alans joined the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals - Vandals  and the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sueves - Sueves  in their invasion of Roman  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaul - Gaul .  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Tours - Gregory of Tours  mentions in his  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liber_historiae_Francorum - Liber historiae Francorum  ("Book of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franks - Frankish  History") that the Alan king  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respendial - Respendial  saved the day for the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals - Vandals  in an armed encounter with the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franks - Franks  at the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_of_the_Rhine - crossing of the Rhine  on December 31, 406). According to Gregory, another group of Alans, led by  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goar - Goar , crossed the Rhine at the same time, but immediately joined the Romans and settled in Gaul.

In Gaul, the Alans originally led by Goar were settled by Aetius in several areas, notably around  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9ans - Orléans  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valence,_Dr%C3%B4me - Valentia . ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-17 - [18]}  Under Goar, they allied with the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundians - Burgundians  led by  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gundaharius - Gundaharius , with whom they installed the usurping Emperor  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jovinus - Jovinus . Under Goar's successor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangiban - Sangiban , the Alans of Orléans played a critical role in repelling the invasion of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Hun - Attila the Hun  at the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ch%C3%A2lons - Battle of Châlons . After the 5th century, however, the Alans of Gaul were subsumed in the territorial struggles between the Franks and the Visigoths, and ceased to have an independent existence.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavius_A%C3%ABtius - Flavius Aëtius  settled large numbers of Alans in and around  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armorica - Armorica  in order to quell unrest. The  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_language - Breton language  name  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_%28name%29 - Alan  (rather than the French Alain) and several towns with names related to 'Alan', such as  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allainville,_Yvelines - Allainville, Yvelines ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alainville-en_Beauce&action=edit&redlink=1 - Alainville-en Beauce ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loiret - Loiret ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allaines - Allaines  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allainville,_Eure-et-Loir - Allainville ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eure-et-Loir - Eure-et-Loir , and  http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Les_Allains&action=edit&redlink=1 - Les Allains ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eure - Eure , are taken as evidence that a contingent settled in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armorica - Armorica ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittany - Brittany , which retained a reputation for outstanding horsemanship with  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Tours - Gregory of Tours  and into the Middle Ages, preferring to remain mounted to fight in contrast with all their neighbors, who dismounted in battle. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-18 - [19]}

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=6 - edit ]Hispania and Africa

Following the fortunes of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandals - Vandals  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suevi - Suevi  into the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_peninsula - Iberian peninsula  ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispania - Hispania , comprising modern Portugal and Spain) in 409, the Alans led by Respendial settled in the provinces of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusitania - Lusitania  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthaginiensis - Carthaginiensis : "Alani Lusitaniam et Carthaginiensem provincias, et Wandali cognomine Silingi Baeticam sortiuntur" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydatius - Hydatius ). The Siling Vandals settled in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baetica - Baetica , the Suevi in coastal  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaecia - Gallaecia , and the Asding Vandals in the rest of Gallaecia.

In 418 (or 426 according to some authors, cf. e.g. Castritius, 2007), the Alan king,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attaces - Attaces , was killed in battle against the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visigoths - Visigoths , and this branch of the Alans subsequently appealed to the Asding Vandal king  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunderic - Gunderic  to accept the Alan crown. The separate ethnic identity of Respendial's Alans dissolved. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-19 - [20]}  Although some of these Alans are thought to have remained in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_peninsula - Iberia , most went to North Africa with the Vandals in 429. Later Vandal kings in North Africa styled themselves Rex Wandalorum et Alanorum ("King of the Vandals and Alans").

There are some vestiges of the Alans in Portugal ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-20 - [21]} , namely in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alenquer - Alenquer  (whose name may be Germanic for the Temple of the Alans, from "Alen Ker", and whose castle may have been established by them; the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaunt - Alaunt  is still represented in that city's coat of arms), in the construction of the castles of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torres_Vedras - Torres Vedras  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_Almourol - Almourol , and in the city walls of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisbon - Lisbon , where vestigies of their presence may be found under the foundations of the Church of Santa Luzia.

In the Iberian peninsula the Alans settled in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusitania - Lusitania  (cf.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alentejo - Alentejo ) and the Cartaginense provinces. They became known in retrospect for their massive hunting and fighting dog of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molosser - Molosser type, the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaunt - Alaunt , which they apparently introduced to Europe. The breed is extinct, but its name is carried by a giant breed of dog still called  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alano_Espa%C3%B1ol - Alano  that survives in the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_%28autonomous_community%29 - Basque Country . The dogs are traditionally used in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boar - boar  hunting and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle - cattle  herding.

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=7 - edit ]Alans and Slavs

At the time of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila_the_Hun - Attila the Hun  a portion of Alans living in the "Sarmatia of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimmerian_Bosporus - Cimmerian Bosporus " moved northwest into the land of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venedes - Venedes  (according to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Antonius_Coccius_Sabellicus - M.A. Sabellico ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Auguste_de_Thou - J.A. de Thou  and some others historians ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-21 - [22]} ), possibly merging with  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarubintsy_culture - Western Balts  there to become the precursors of historic  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavs - Slav nations .

Third-century inscriptions from the Greek colony of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanais - Tanais  at the mouth of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_River,_Russia - Don River  mention a nearby Alan tribe called the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croats - Choroatos  or  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croats - Chorouatos . The historian  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemy - Ptolemy  identifies the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serboi - Serboi  as a  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatia - Sarmatian  tribe who lived north of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus - Caucasus , and other sources identify the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serboi - Serboi  as an Alan tribe in the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga - Volga -Don steppe in the 3rd century. In the 7th century the Serboi and Choroatos migrated into the western  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkans - Balkans , supposedly at the invitation of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Roman_Empire - Eastern Roman Emperor   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclius - Heraclius , and settled there among earlier Slavic migrants to become ancestors of the modern  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbs - Serbs  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croats - Croats . Some Serboi settled on the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe - Elbe , and their descendants are the modern  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbs - Sorbs . Tenth-century  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire - Byzantine  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab - Arab  accounts describe a people called the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belochrobati - Belochrobati  ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Croats - White Croats ) living on the upper  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vistula - Vistula , an area later called  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrobatia - Chrobatia .^{[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed - citation needed ]}

It's believed, that some Alans resettled to the North ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsils - Barsils ), merging with  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Bulgars - Volga Bulgars  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burtas - Burtas , eventually transforming to  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_Tatars - Volga Tatars ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-22 - [23]}

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=8 - edit ]Medieval Alania

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Khazar0.png">

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Khazar0.png">

Map showing the location of Alans, c. 650.

Some of the other Alans remained under the rule of the Huns. Those of the eastern division, though dispersed about the steppes until late  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages - medieval  times, were forced by the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongols - Mongols  into the Caucasus, where they remain as the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossetians - Ossetians . Between the 9th and 12th centuries, they formed a network of tribal alliances that gradually evolved into the Christian kingdom of  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alania - Alania . Most Alans submitted to the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Empire - Mongol Empire  in 1239–1277. They participated in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Europe - Mongol invasions of Europe  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_conquest_of_the_Song_Dynasty - the Song Dynasty in Southern China , and the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kulikovo - Battle of Kulikovo  under  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamai - Mamai  of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Horde - Golden Horde ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-23 - [24]} .

In 1253, the Franciscan monk  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_of_Rubruck - William of Rubruck  reported numerous  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europeans_in_Medieval_China - Europeans in Central Asia . It is also known that 30,000 Alans formed the royal guard ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asud - Asud ) of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuan_Dynasty - Yuan  court in  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanbaliq - Dadu  (Beijing).  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo - Marco Polo  later reported their role in the Yuan Dynasty in his book  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_Milione - Il Milione . It's said that those Alans contributed to a modern Mongol clan,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asud - Asud .  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Montecorvino - John of Montecorvino , archbishop of Dadu (Khanbaliq), reportedly converted many Alans to Roman Catholic Christianity. ^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-24 - [25] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alans#cite_note-25 - [26]}

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=9 - edit ]Religion, language, and later history

In the 4th–5th centuries the Alans were at least partially Christianized by Byzantine missionaries of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism - Arian  church. In the 13th century, fresh invading  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol - Mongol  hordes pushed the eastern Alans further south into the Caucasus, where they mixed with native Caucasian groups and successively formed three territorial entities each with different developments. Around 1395  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur - Timur 's army invaded  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Caucasus - Northern Caucasus  and massacred much of the Alanian population.

As the time went by,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digor - Digor  in the west came under  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabard - Kabard  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic - islamic  influence. It was through the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabard - Kabardians  (an East  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassia - Circassian  tribe) that  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam - Islam  was introduced into the region in the 17th century. After 1767, all of Alania came under Russian rule, which strengthened  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church - Orthodox Christianity  in that region considerably. Most of today's Ossetians are  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodoxy - Eastern Orthodox Christians.

The linguistic descendants of the Alans, who live in the autonomous republics of Russia and Georgia, speak the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossetic_language - Ossetic language  which belongs to the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeastern_Iranian - Northeastern Iranian  language group and is the only remnant of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scytho-Sarmatian - Scytho-Sarmatian   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialect_continuum - dialect continuum  and which once stretched over much of the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontic_steppe - Pontic steppe  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia - Central Asia . Modern Ossetic has two major dialects:Digor, spoken in the western part of North Ossetia; and Iron, spoken in the rest of Ossetia. A third branch of Ossetic,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jassic - Jassic  (Jász), was formerly spoken in Hungary. The literary language, based on the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_dialect - Iron dialect , was fixed by the  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_poet - national poet ,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosta_Xetagurov - Kosta Xetagurov  (1859–1906).

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=10 - edit ]Notes

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=11 - edit ]See also

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Migrations_period - Migrations period
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarmatians - Sarmatians
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythians - Scythians
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossetians - Ossetians

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=12 - edit ]References

• Agustí Alemany, Sources on the Alans: A Critical Compilation.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brill_Academic_Publishers - Brill Academic Publishers , 2000  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9004114424 - ISBN 90-04-11442-4
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Bachrach - Bernard S. Bachrach , A History of the Alans in the West, from their first appearance in the sources of classical antiquity through the early Middle Ages,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Minnesota - University of Minnesota  Press, 1973  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0816606781 - ISBN 0-8166-0678-1
• Bachrach, Bernard S.  http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0040-165X%28196904%2910%3A2%3C166%3ATOOAC%3E2.0.CO%3B2-S - "The Origin of Armorican Chivalry."  Technology and Culture, Vol. 10, No. 2. (Apr., 1969), pp. 166–171.
• Castritius, H. 2007. Die Vandalen. Kohlhammer Urban.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Golb - Golb, Norman  and  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omeljan_Pritsak - Omeljan Pritsak , Khazarian Hebrew Documents of the Tenth Century. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1982.
• Hill, John E. 2003. "Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu." 2nd Draft Edition.  http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html - [1]
• Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE. Draft annotated English translation.  http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html - [2]
• Yu, Taishan. 2004. A History of the Relationships between the Western and Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Western Regions. Sino-Platonic Papers No. 131 March 2004. Dept. of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania.

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alans&action=edit&section=13 - edit ]External links

• http://depts.washington.edu/uwch/silkroad/texts/hhshu/notes19.html - Strabo and Hou Han Shureferences discussed
• http://www.kafkas.org.tr/english/bgkafkas/Ethnicgeography_Ossets.htm - Caucasus Foundation: Caucasus Today: Ossets
• http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:DfH6I9af-54J:home.btconnect.com/CAIS/Religions/iranian/Zarathushtrian/Oric.Basirov/origin_of_the_iranians.htm+basirov+origin+iranians&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1 - Brief histories of the pre-Imperial Iranian peoples, Dr Oric Basirov
• http://sophistikatedkids.com/turkic/70%20Dateline/alan%20dateline%20En.htm - The Alans Timeline
• http://www.enciklopedia.gobeportal.com/index.php?title=Main_Page - The Transylvanian szeklers The Golden Scythians

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• http://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanlar - Azərbaycan
• http://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8 - Български
• http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%C3%A0 - Català
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• http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alains - Français
• http://fy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanen - Frysk
• http://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanos - Galego
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• http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alani - Italiano
• http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%90%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D - עברית
• http://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanai - Lietuvių
• http://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al%C3%A1nok - Magyar
• http://mwl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanos - Mirandés
• http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanen - Nederlands
• http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E4%BA%BA - 日本語
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• http://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8 - Српски / Srpski
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• http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alanlar - Türkçe
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