Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-b95js Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-05T23:02:45.218Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Northern outpost of the Caliphate: maintaining military forces in a hostile environment (the Dariali Gorge in the Central Caucasus in Georgia)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2015

Eberhard W. Sauer ,
Konstantin Pitskhelauri ,
Kristen Hopper ,
Anthi Tiliakou ,
Catriona Pickard ,
Dan Lawrence ,
Annamaria Diana ,
Elena Kranioti  and
Catherine Shupe
Eberhard W. Sauer
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email: eberhard.sauer@ed.ac.uk)
Konstantin Pitskhelauri
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, 1 Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi 0179, Georgia (Email: kotepi2002@yahoo.com)
Kristen Hopper
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, County Durham DH1 3LE, UK (Email: k.a.hopper@durham.ac.uk)
Anthi Tiliakou
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email: eberhard.sauer@ed.ac.uk)
Catriona Pickard
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email: eberhard.sauer@ed.ac.uk)
Dan Lawrence
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Durham University, South Road, Durham, County Durham DH1 3LE, UK (Email: k.a.hopper@durham.ac.uk)
Annamaria Diana
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email: eberhard.sauer@ed.ac.uk)
Elena Kranioti
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email: eberhard.sauer@ed.ac.uk)
Catherine Shupe
Affiliation:
School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email: eberhard.sauer@ed.ac.uk)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The strategic significance of the Dariali Gorge, the main pass across the central Caucasus, has long been recognised. It forms a border today as it has done for much of the past 2000 years. But how was an effective military force sustained in an isolated Alpine environment? Excavations, osteoarchaeology and landscape survey have revealed that the Early Middle Ages saw as much investment in controlling this key route as there was in Antiquity. Guarded by the same Muslim-led garrison for at least a quarter of a millennium, its survival in a harsh environment was made possible through military effort and long-distance food supplies.

Keywords

GeorgiaCaucasusLate Antiquityearly medievalfortificationisotope analysisosteoarchaeology
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 346 , August 2015 , pp. 885 - 904
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barbier de Meynard, C. & Pavet de Courteille, A.. 1863. Maçoudi, les prairies d’or (volume II) [ed. & trans. of Mas’udi]. Paris: Imprimerie impériale.Google Scholar
Blockley, R.C. 1985. Subsidies and diplomacy: Rome and Persia in Late Antiquity. Phoenix 39: 62–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1088870 Google Scholar
Bock, J.H., Jolls, C.L. & Lewis, A.C.. 1995. The effects of grazing on alpine vegetation: a comparison of the central Caucasus, Republic of Georgia, with the Colorado Rocky Mountains, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research 27: 130–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1551894 Google Scholar
Bonsall, C., Cook, G., Pickard, C., McSweeney, K. & Bartosiewicz, L.. 2009. Dietary trends at the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in north-west Europe, in Crombé, P., Van Strydonck, M., Sergant, J., Boudin, M. & Bats, M. (ed.) Chronology and evolution within the Mesolithic of north-west Europe: 517–39. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Bosworth, C.E. 1978. Al-Ķabķ. Encyclopaedia of Islam 4 (2nd edition): 341–50. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Braund, D. 2000. Map 88 Caucasia, in Talbert, R.J.A. (ed.) Barrington atlas of the Greek and Roman world: 1255–67. Princeton (NJ) & Oxford: Princeton University.Google Scholar
Braund, D. 2001. The Caspian Gates in Roman-Persian relations in ancient Transcaucasia. Archäologische Mitteilungen aus Iran und Turan 32 (for 2000): 37–41.Google Scholar
Brodersen, K. 1996. C. Plinii Secundi Naturalis Historiae Liber VI. C. Plinius Secundus d. Ä., Naturkunde: Lateinisch-deutsch, Buch VI. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.Google Scholar
Buikstra, J.E. & Ubelaker, D.H.. 1994. Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains (Arkansas Archaeological Survey Research Series 44). Fayetteville: Arkansas Archaeological Survey.Google Scholar
Carbonell, V.M. 1963. Variations in the frequency of shovel-shaped incisors in different populations, in Brothwell, D.R. (ed.) Dental anthropology: 211–34. London: Pergamon. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-009823-4.50016-1 Google Scholar
Chikhladze, V. 2010. Chorati early-Christian period cemetery, in Gamkrelidze, G. & Vickers, M. (ed.) Rescue archaeology in Georgia: 479–92. Tbilisi: Georgian National Museum.Google Scholar
Connor, S.E. & Kvavadze, E.V.. 2008. Modelling late Quaternary changes in plant distribution, vegetation and climate using pollen data from Georgia, Caucasus. Journal of Biogeography 36: 529–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2008.02019.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Czeglédy, K. 1960. Khazar raids in Transcaucasia in 762–764 A.D. Acta Orientalia Acadamiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 11: 75–88.Google Scholar
DeNiro, M.J. & Schoeninger, M.J.. 1983. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of bone collagen: variations within individuals, between sexes, and within populations raised on monotonous diets. Journal of Archaeological Science 10: 199–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0305-4403(83)90002-X Google Scholar
Dunlop, D.M. 1954. History of the Jewish Khazars. Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1990. Watershed management field manual: slope treatment measures and practices (conservation guide 13.3). Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/ad083e/AD083e00.htm#cont (accessed 14 May 2015).Google Scholar
Gagoshidze, I. 2008. Kartli in Hellenistic and Roman times. General aspects, in Furtwängler, A., Gagoshidze, I. & Löhr, H. (ed.) Iberia and Rome: the excavations of the palace at Dedoplis Gora and the Roman influence in the Caucasian kingdom of Iberia: 1–40. Langenweißbach: Beier & Beran.Google Scholar
Gamkrelidze, G. 2012. Espansione politico-militare di Roma sulle coste orientali del Mar Nero e nelle regioni del Caucase, in Zerbini, L., Gamkrelidze, G. & Todua, T. (ed.) I Romani nella Terra del Vello d’Oro: 83–104. Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino.Google Scholar
Gill, G.W. 1998. Craniofacial criteria in the skeletal attribution of race, in Reichs, K.J. (ed.) Forensic osteology: advances in the identification of human remains (2nd edition): 293–315. Springfield (IL): Charles C. Thomas.Google Scholar
Golden, P.B. 1980. Khazar Studies (volume I). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó.Google Scholar
Golden, P.B., Ben-Shammai, H. & Róna-Tas, A. (ed.) 2007. The world of the Khazars. Leiden & Boston (MA): Brill. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004160422.i-460 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halevi, L. 2007. Muhammad's grave: death rites and the making of Islamic society. New York: Columbia University.Google Scholar
Heil, M. 1997. Die orientalische Außenpolitik des Kaisers Nero. Munich: Tuduv.Google Scholar
Hitti, P.K. 1916. The origins of the Islamic State (volume I) [trans. of Baladhuri]. New York: Columbia University.Google Scholar
Huyse, P. 1999. Die dreisprachige Inschrift Šābuhrs I. an der Ka‘ba-i Zardušt [ed. & trans. of inscription of Shapur I at Naqsh-e Rostam]. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.Google Scholar
İşcan, M.Y. & Steyn, M.. 2013. The human skeleton in forensic medicine (3rd edition). Springfield (IL): Charles C. Thomas.Google Scholar
Kazanski, M. & Mastykova, A.. 2003. Les peuples du Caucase du nord. Paris: Errance.Google Scholar
Khalikova, E.A. 1976. Болъше-Tиганский могилъник. Советская Археология 1976(2): 158–78.Google Scholar
Klaproth, J. von. 1812. Reise in den Kaukasus und nach Georgien unternommen in den Jahren 1807 und 1808 (volume I). Halle & Berlin: Hallisches Waisenhaus.Google Scholar
Koch, A. 2006. Frühmittelalterliche Blankwaffen im Spiegel chinesischer Bilddenkmäler des 5.-10. Jahrhunderts n. Chr., in Mode, M. & Tubach, J. (ed.) Arms and armour as indicators of culture transfer: 129–229. Wiesbaden: Reichert.Google Scholar
Korobov, D.S. & Borisov, A.V.. 2013. The origins of terraced field agriculture in the Caucasus: new discoveries in the Kislovodsk basin. Antiquity 87: 1086–103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0003598´00049887 Google Scholar
Marquart, J. 1903. Osteuropäische und Ostasiatische Streifzüge. Leipzig: Dietrich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung.Google Scholar
Mindorashvili, D. 2005. Arkeologiuri gatxrebi xevshi. Tbilisi: Archaeological Research Centre.Google Scholar
Minorsky, V. 1953. Studies in Caucasian history. London: Taylor's Foreign Press.Google Scholar
Minorsky, V. 1958. A history of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th–11th centuries. Cambridge: Heffer.Google Scholar
Nakhutsrishvili, G. 2003. High mountain vegetation of the Caucasus region, in Nagy, L., Thompson, D., Grabherr, G. & Körner, C. (ed.) Alpine biodiversity in Europe: 93–103. Berlin: Springer.Google Scholar
Nicolle, D. (ed.). 2002. Companion to medieval arms and armour. Woodbridge: Boydell.Google Scholar
Ortner, D.J. 2003. Identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains (2nd edition). San Diego (CA): Academic Press.Google Scholar
Pacelli, C.S. & Márquez-Grant, N.. 2010. Evaluation of dental non-metric traits in a medieval population from Ibiza (Spain). Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology 4 (2): 16–28.Google Scholar
Pearson, J.A., Buitenhuis, H., Hedges, R.E.M., Martin, L., Russell, N. & Twiss, K.C.. 2007. New light on early caprine herding strategies from isotope analysis: a case study from Neolithic Anatolia. Journal of Archaeological Science 34: 2170–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2007.09.001 Google Scholar
Radvanyi, J & Thorez, P.. 1977. La population et ses activités dans un haute vallée caucasienne: l’example du district de Kazbégui. Revue de géographie alpine 65 (3): 307–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.3406/rga.1977.2093 Google Scholar
Ramishvili, R.M. 1969. Исследование раннефеодалъного могилъника “Иагсари”, in O.Д. Лорткипанидзе (ed.) Tруды Kахетской археологической экспедиции (1965–1966 гг.): 111–27. Tbilisi: Metsniereba.Google Scholar
Reineggs, J. 1796. Allgemeine historisch-topographische Beschreibung des Kaukasus (volume I). Gotha & St. Petersburg: Gerstenberg & Dittmar.Google Scholar
Simpson, J. St. 1995. Death and burial in the late Islamic Near East, in Campbell, S. & Green, A. (ed.) The archaeology of death in the ancient Near East: 240–51. Oxford: Oxbow.Google Scholar
Spitz, W.U. 2006. Sharp force injury, in Spitz, W.U. (ed.) Spitz and Fischer's medicolegal investigation of death: 532–606. Springfield (IL): Charles C. Thomas.Google Scholar
Stark, S. 2008. Die Alttürkenzeit in Mittel- und Zentralasien. Wiesbaden: Reichert.Google Scholar
Stöllner, T. & Samašev, Z. (ed.). 2013. Unbekanntes Kasachstan (volume II). Bochum: Deutsches Bergbau-Museum.Google Scholar
Stückelberger, A. & Grasshoff, G.. 2006. Klaudios Ptolemaios, Handbuch der Geographie: Griechisch—Deutsch 2. Teil: Buch 5–8 und Indices. Basel: Schwabe.Google Scholar
Thode, H.D. 1991. Sulphur isotopes in nature and the environment: an overview, in Krouse, H.R. & Grinenko, V.A. (ed.) Stable isotopes in the assessment of natural and anthropogenic sulphur in the environment: 1–26. Chichester & New York: SCOPE.Google Scholar
Thomson, R.W. (trans. of Life of Kartli). 1996. Rewriting Caucasian history. The medieval Armenian adaption of the Georgian chronicles. Oxford: Clarendon.Google Scholar
Van der Merwe, N.J. & Vogel, J.C.. 1978. 13C content of human collagen as a measure of prehistoric diet in woodland North America. Nature 276: 815–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/276815a0 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veh, O. 1970. Prokop: Werke volume III, Perserkriege: Griechisch–deutsch. Munich: Ernst Heimeran.Google Scholar
Vickers, M. & Kakhidze, A. 2004. Pichvnari (volume I). Oxford: Ashmolean Museum & Batumi Archaeological Museum.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, T.J. 1994. The structure and dynamics of dry-farming states in upper Mesopotamia. Current Anthropology 35: 483–520. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/204314 Google Scholar
Wilkinson, T.J. 2003. Archaeological landscapes of the Near East. Tucson: University of Arizona.Google Scholar
Wuilleumier, P. 1975. Tacite, Annales, Livres IV–VI. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.Google Scholar
Zerbini, L. 2013. I Romani nella Terra del Vello d’Oro. Forma Urbis 18 (11): 34–43.Google Scholar