Ossetia

state in the South Caucasus

federal subject of Russia

Eastern Iranian language of Ossetia, in the Caucasus

The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranic nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today the North Caucasus; some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Alans with the Central Asian Yancai of Chinese sources and with the Aorsi of Roman sources. Having migrated westwards and becoming dominant among the Sarmatians on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, the Alans are mentioned by Roman sources in the . At that time they had settled in the region north of

river in Georgia and Russia

thumb|right|Map showing North Ossetia–Alania|North and [[South Ossetia]] Ossetia ( , ; Iron Ossetian: Ирыстон, , ; Digor Ossetian: Иристон, ; or Ир Ir) is an ethnolinguistic region on both sides of the Greater Caucasus Mountains, largely inhabited by the Ossetians. The Ossetian language is part of the Eastern Iranian branch of the family of Indo-European languages. Most countries recognize the Ossetian-speaking area south of the main Caucasus ridge as lying within the borders of Georgia, but it has come under the control of the de facto government of the Russian-backed State of Alania. The nor

tunnel in Russia and South Ossetia/Georgia

former militarized political organization in the Caucasus

dialect of the Ossetian language

The Dvals (, Dvalebi; ) were a ethnographic group of Georgians. Their lands lying on both sides of the central Greater Caucasus mountains, somewhere between the Darial and Mamison gorges. This historic territory mostly covers the north of Kartli, parts of the Racha and Khevi regions in Georgia and south of Ossetia in Georgia.

annexation of part of Georgia

dialect of the Ossetian language