Cartographic attribution of medieval Alan cities according to medieval written sources and archaeological research materials

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of the medieval Alania settlements in the X-XII centuries, mentioned in medieval written sources. The issue of territorial localization of the Alanian cities described in medieval texts is highlighted. A hypothesis according to which Alania was a union of four independent regions with cultural and political centers in the X-XII centuries is described. The first region (western region) occupied the territory of mountains and foothills in the gorges of the rivers Kuban, Teberda, Aksauta, Marukha, Maly Zelenchuk, Bolshoy Zelenchuk, Kyafar, Urup, Bolshaya Laba. The cultural and political center of the region was located on the territory of the Nizhne-Arkhyz settlement. The second area was located on the territory of the foothills in the valleys of the river. Kuma and R. Podkumka. This area is formed by a complex of settlements headed by the Rim-mountain settlement. The third region, headed by the Verkhne-Dzhulat settlement, existed on the river Tereke. The fourth region, formed by a complex of settlements headed by the Alkhan-Kalinsky settlement, was located on the river Sunzhe. The capital city of Maas, mentioned by the Arab traveler Al-Masudi, most likely existed on the territory of the western pro-Byzantine region of Alania in the area of the present Nizhne-Arkhyz settlement.