Kists or Kistins[a] is an old exonym of all Nakh peoples (Ingush, Chechens and Batsbi), under which local societies later were designated, and conditionally divided into nearby Kistins and distant Kistins.[1][2][3][4][5] In Russian sources of the 19th century, the term nearby Kistins referred to the inhabitants of the Kistin Gorge in the vicinity of river Armkhi, and distant Kistins referred to the inhabitants of the upper reaches of the Argun. Today the name is mostly used to refer to the Chechens who compactly live in the Pankisi Gorge of Georgia.[6][7][8]

Ingushetia
Kists (Кисты) on Vakhushti's map in 1745 located west of the Durdzuks (Цурцукы) and Gligvi (Глигвы)
Kisty-Ingoschofski (Ingush) on Jacob von Staehlin's map in 1771, over a decade prior to the establishment of the fortress Vladikavkaz on the right bank of the Terek river.
Ingush or Kists on L. Städer's map (1782)
Chechnya
Map of the distant Kistins (1836)
Kistins on the map of Little Chechnya (1847)
Kistins (1858)

History

 
Kisten on a map in 1811 made by Johann C. M. Reinecke [de].

In 1795, when describing the peoples inhabiting Russia, the Kists are mentioned as follows: Kistins, or Kisti, who are divided into different tracts of which it is known to exist: Chechens, Ingush and Karabulaks, they live along the Sunzha River, and in the middle mountains of the Caucasus.[9]

The historian of the Caucasus S. M. Bronevsky described the borders of the Kist lands as follows:[10]

The Kist lands stretch from the right, or eastern, bank of the Terek, which lies opposite the Ossetians, to the left bank of the Aksai, along the northern slope of the Caucasus, occupying from south to north part of the high slate mountains at the foot of the snowy ridge, part of the calcareous ridge, and finally, the advanced mountains even up to foothills to hilly valleys. They border to the northwest on Minor Kabarda, separated by the Sunzha, and on a small part of the Kizlyar district, separated by the Terek; to the west with Ossetia, to the south with a high snowy ridge; to the east with Lezgistan and with the Aksaev Kumyks.

Fyappiy

The historical area where the Kists lived was called "Kisteti", as well as "Kistia" or "Kistinia". The Georgian prince, historian and geographer of the 18th century Vakhushti Bagrationi quite definitely localizes it along the gorge of the Armkhi river (the historical "Kistinka"), that is, in mountainous Ingushetia.[11][12][13] Kists, in a narrow sense, as one of the Ingush societies, are noted in the "Review of the political state of the Caucasus in 1840",[14] and in 1851 in the “Military Statistical Review of the Russian Empire, published by the highest command at the 1st branch of the Department of the General headquarters".[15] The Kist society, as part of Ingushetia, was part of the Vladikavkaz district, the Ossetian military district and the Ingush district.[16]

They bordered in the west with the Dzherakhins, in the east with the Galgaevs, in the south with Georgia, in the north the borders reached the Tarskoye Valley. The Kist society was also synonymously called "Fyappinsky", after the name of its constituent ethno-territorial group - the Fyappins (Ingush: Фаьппий), and later, in the second half of the 19th century, it became known as "Metskhalsky", after the name of the principal village Metskhal.[17]

Kistin districts

Guldenstedt divided the Kistins into the following districts:[18]

  • District (Kachilik) Endre and Yakhsay
  • Achkingurt County
  • Ardahl County
  • Vapi County
  • Angusht County
  • Shalkha District
  • District of Chechen
  • Atahi District
  • Kulga District, or Dganti
  • Galgai County
  • Dshanti District
  • Chabrillo County
  • Shabet County
  • Chishrikaker District
  • Karabulak District
  • Meesti County
  • Meredji District
  • Galashka County
  • Duban County

Notes

  1. ^ Ingush: кистий, romanized: kistiy; Chechen: кистӀий, romanized: kisthiy; Georgian: ქისტები, romanized: kist'ebi

References

  1. ^ Chulkov, Zakharov, Kolpashnikov, Sablin, 1785
  2. ^ Charles Wallencey, 1804, p. 13.
  3. ^ Johann Christoph Adelung, 1806, p. 444.
  4. ^ Statistics of 1859 on taipas and societies – Tallamash – Catalog of articles – Oramash
  5. ^ Pauli Gustav-Fyodor Khristianovich. Ethnographic description of the peoples of Russia: [arch. September 27, 2020] = Description ethnographique des peuples de la Russie. - St. Petersburg: Type. F. Bellizard, 1862. - T. IV. — 310 p.
  6. ^ Zhdanov Yu.A. Encyclopedia of cultures of the peoples of the South of Russia: Peoples of the South of Russia. - Rostov-on-Don: North Caucasian Scientific Center of Higher Education (SKNTS VSh), 2005. - V. 1. - P. 148.
  7. ^ Elfimov V.O. Regional features of customary law (adat) of the Chechens of the XVXX centuries.
  8. ^ Alexey Golovlev. Essays on Chechnya: nature, population, recent history. Vector-S, 2007 - p. 295
  9. ^ Narrative land survey. Part II // The latest narrative earth-le description of all four parts of the world, as well as a statistical description of the Russian Empire, at the end of the image of the governor's uniforms. - 1795, Ch. XII - S. 107.
  10. ^ Bronevsky Semyon Mikhailovich. The latest geographical and historical news about the Caucasus. - M: Type. S. Selivanovsky, 1823. - T. 2. - S. 151. - 310 p.
  11. ^ Вахушти, Багратиони (1904). География Грузии / Введение, перевод и примечания М. Г. Джананашвили. — Тифлисъ: Типография К. П. Козловскаго.
  12. ^ Харадзе, Робакидзе, Р.Л., А.И. (1968). К вопросу о нахской этнонимике // Кавказский этнографический сборник / Отв. ред. А. И. Робакидзе; Академия наук Грузинской ССР. — Тбилиси: Мецниереба. — Т. II. Очерки этнографии Горной Ингушетии.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Курпнов, Е.И. (1971). Средневековая Ингушетия. — М.: Наука.
  14. ^ ЦГВИА ф. ВУА, д. 6164, ч. 93, лл. 1-23 // Доклад о границах и территории Ингушетии (общие положения) / Общенациональная Комиссия по рассмотрению вопросов, связанных с определением территории и границ Ингушетии. — Архивные документы, иллюстрации и карты. Назрань. 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. ^ Кавказский край // Военно-статистическое обозрение Российской империи: издаваемое по высочайшему повелению при 1-м отделении Департамента Генерального штаба. — СПб.: Типография Департамента Генерального штаба. 1851.
  16. ^ Список горских аулов Кубанской и Терской областей // Сборник статистических сведений о Кавказе / Сост. и ред. Н. И. Воронов, Кавказский отдел Императорского русского географического общества. — Тифлисъ: Типография Главного Управления Наместника Кавказского; типогрфия Меликова и К. 1869.
  17. ^ Харадзе, Робакидзе, Р.Л., А.И. (1968). К вопросу о нахской этнонимике // Кавказский этнографический сборник / Отв. ред. А. И. Робакидзе; Академия наук Грузинской ССР. — Тбилиси: Мецниереба. — Т. II. Очерки этнографии Горной Ингушетии.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Gildenstedt, Journey through the Caucasus

Bibliography

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  • Johann Gottfried Eichhorn. Geschichte der Litteratur, von ihrem Anfang bis auf die neuesten Zeiten (нем.). — Göttingen: Bey Vandenhoek und Ruprecht, 1807. — Bd. 6. — 678 S.
  • Johann Christoph Adelung. Mithridates, oder allgemeine Sprachenkunde mit dem Vater Unser als Sprachprobe in beynahe fünfhundert Sprachen und Mundarten (нем.). — Berlin: In der Vossischen Buchandlung, 1806. — 686 S.
  • Sir Richard Phillips. A Geographical View of the World: Embracing the Manners, Customs, and Pursuits, of Every Nation; Founded on the Best Authorities (англ.). — New York: E. Hopkins and W. Reed, 1826. — 406 p.
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