This article is about the geographic region in Eurasia. For other uses, see Caucasus (disambiguation) and Caucasia (disambiguation) Political map of South Caucasus A 1994 map of the Caucasus region, including the locations of valuable resources shared by the many states in the area: alunite, gold, chromium, copper, iron ore, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, lead, tungsten, zinc, oil, natural gas, and coal. The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain (Mount Elbrus). North Caucasus comprises: Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan, Adyghea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachai-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai South Caucasus comprises: Armenia Azerbaijan (including disputed Nagorno-Karabakh) Georgia (including disputed Abkhazia and South Ossetia) Contents 1 Etymology 2 Geography and ecology 3 History 4 Demographics 5 Mythology 6 Energy and mineral resources 7 See also 8 References 9 External links 10 Further reading // Etymology The word Caucasus derives from Caucas, the purported ancestor of the North Caucasians.1 He was a son of Togarmah, grandson of Biblical Noah's third son Japheth. According to Leonti Mroveli, after the fall of the Tower of Babel and the division of humanity into different languages, Togarmah settled with his sons: Kartlos, Haik (Georgian: ჰაოს, Haos), Movakos, Lekos (Lak people), Heros (Kingdom of Hereti), Kavkasos, and Egros (Kingdom of Egrisi) between two inaccessible mountains, presumably Mount Ararat and Mount Elbrus.

Alternative origins are: From a Pelasgian word for "mountain" or from a Scythian word meaning "snow-white".2 Geography and ecology Armenia's capital Yerevan, built in 782 BC, 29 years older than Rome, in the picture is also seen Biblical mountain of Ararat The highland settlement of Khinalug in Azerbaijan, one of the most ancient places in the world. The village of Ushguli in Georgia, the highest settlement in Europe. The lower portions of the Caucasus Mountains are situated in the Greater Middle East area. They are generally perceived to be a dividing line between Asia and Europe, and territories in Caucasia are alternately considered to be in one or both continents. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, which is the highest point in Europe (according to the definitions of Europe as including Caucasus). The Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Three territories in the region claim independence but are not universally acknowledged as nation-states by the international community: Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia.

The Caucasus is an area of great ecological importance. It harbors some 6400 species of higher plants, 1600 of which are endemic to the region.3 Its wildlife includes leopards, brown bears, wolves, bison, marals, golden eagles and Hooded Crows. Among invertebrates, some 1000 spider species are recorded in the Caucasus.4 The natural landscape is one of mixed forest, with substantial areas of rocky ground above the treeline. The Caucasus Mountains are also noted for a dog breed, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog (Ovcharka). The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus. The Ciscaucasus contains the larger majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, also known as the Major Caucasus mountains. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan. The Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan (excluding the northern parts) and Georgia (excluding the northern parts) are in South Caucasus. History Further information: History of the Caucasus Greatest extent of Kingdom of Armenia under Tigranes the Great Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia, completed in 303 AD, religion center of world's oldest nation to adopt Christianity as national religion.Armenians, UNESCO World Heritage Site Petroglyphs in Gobustan, Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value" Dagestani couple in traditional dress (early 20th century).

Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism for centuries. Throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquered the territory from the Qajars.5 Ancient kingdoms of the region included Armenia, Albania, Colchis and Iberia, among others. These kingdoms were later incorporated into various Iranian empires, including Media, Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sassanid Empire. By this time, Zoroastrianism had become the dominant religion of the region; however, the region would go through two other religious transformations. Owing to the rivalry between Persia and Rome, and later Byzantium, the latter would invade the region several times, although it was never able to hold the region. However, because Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia had become a Christian entity, Christianity began to overtake Zoroastrianism. With the Islamic conquest of Persia, the region came under the rule of the Arabs. Armenia and the majority of Georgia maintained Christianity and Georgian king David the Builder drove the Muslims out. The region would later be conquered by the Seljuks, Ottomans, Mongols, local kingdoms and khanates, as well as, once again, Persia, until its conquest by Russia.

The region was unified as a single political entity twice – during the Russian Civil War (Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic) from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under the Soviet rule (Transcaucasian SFSR) from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936. In modern times, the Caucasus became a region of war among the Ottoman Empire, Iran and Russia, and was eventually conquered by the latter (see Caucasian Wars). In the 1940s, the Chechens and Ingush (480,000 altogether), along with the Balkars, Karachays, Meskhetian Turks (120,000), Kurds and Caucasus Germans (almost 200,000) were deported en masse to Central Asia and Siberia. By 1948, according to Nicolas Werth, the mortality rate of the 600,000 people deported from the Caucasus between 1943 and 1944 had reached 25 percent.6 Following the end of the Soviet Union, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia became independent in 1991. The Caucasus region has been subject to various territorial disputes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994), the Ossetian-Ingush conflict (1989–1991), the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), the First Chechen War (1994–1996), the Second Chechen War (1999–2009), and the 2008 South Ossetia War. Demographics Main article: Peoples of the Caucasus Further information: Languages of the Caucasus Ethno-linguistic groups in the Caucasus region 2009.

The region has many different languages and language families. There are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region.7 No less than three language families are unique to the area, but also Indo-European languages such as Armenian and Ossetic, and the Altaic language Azerbaijani are local to the area. Today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the eastern part of the region. Mythology In Greek mythology the Caucasus, or Kaukasos, was one of the pillars supporting the world. After presenting man with the gift of fire, Prometheus (Amirani in Georgian version) was chained there by Zeus, to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle as punishment for defying Zeus' wish of not giving the "secret of fire" to humans. The Roman poet Ovid placed Caucasus in Scythia and depicted it as a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger. The Greek hero Jason sailed to the west coast of the Caucasus in pursuit of the Golden Fleece, and there met the Medea, a daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis.clarification needed Energy and mineral resources Caucasus has many economically important minerals and energy resources, such as: alunite, gold, chromium, copper, iron ore, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, lead, tungsten, uranium, zinc, oil, natural gas, and coal (both hard and brown). See also North Caucasus South Caucasus Culture of Armenia Culture of Azerbaijan Culture of Georgia History of the Caucasus Islam in Russia Languages of the Caucasus Peoples of the Caucasus Prometheism Transcontinental nations Ural Mountains Caucasian Emirate References ^ G.Qoranashvili (1995), Questions of Ethnic Identity According to Leonti Mroveli's Historical Chronicles, Studies, Vol. 1, Tbilisi. ^ page 79, entry Caucasus in Adian Room, Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities and Historic Sites, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1997 ISBN 0-7864-0172-9 ^ "Endemic Species of the Caucasus". http://www.endemic-species-caucasus.info/.  ^ "A faunistic database on the spiders of the Caucasus". Caucasian Spiders. http://caucasus-spiders.info/introduction/checklists/. Retrieved 17 September 2010.  ^ Pierre Thorez (June 2, 2007). "Caucasus". Encyclopaedia Iranica. Archived from the original on May 1, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080501175940/http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v5f1/v5f1a032.html. Retrieved 17 September 2010.  ^ Weitz, Eric D. (2003). A century of genocide: utopias of race and nation. Princeton University Press. p. 82. ISBN 0691009139. http://books.google.com/books?id=W50Gg4o_2q4C&pg=PA82&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false.  ^ "Caucasian peoples". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9021862/Caucasian-peoples.  Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam, by Nicholas Griffin Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus, by Svante E. Cornell The Caucasus, by Ivan Golovin External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Caucasus Ethnographic map of Caucasus Information for travellers and others about Caucasus and Georgia (Caucasian Review of International Affairs - an academic journal on the South Caucasus) BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, 8 September 2005 United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus Caucasus and Iran entry in Encyclopaedia Iranica University of Turin-Observatory on Caucasus MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies. International Hellenic University-School of Humanities Circassians Caucasus Web (Turkish) Further reading Gagarin G.G. Costumes Caucasus (Костюмы Кавказа). Paris, 1840, at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formats Kaziev Shapi. Caucasian highlanders (Повседневная жизнь горцев Cеверного Кавказа в XIX в.). Everyday life of the Caucasian highlanders. 19-th century (In the co-authorship with I.Karpeev). "Molodaya Gvardiy" publishers. Moscow, 2003. ISBN 5-235-02585-7 Nikolai F. Dubrovin. The history of wars and Russian domination in the Caucasus (История войны и владычества русских на Кавказе). Sankt-Petersburg, 1871-1888, at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formats Rostislav A. Fadeev. Sixty years of the Caucasian War (Шестьдесят лет Кавказской войны). Tiflis, 1860, at Runivers.ru in DjVu format v · d · eCountries and regions of the Caucasus      Abkhazia  Adygea  Adjara  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Chechnya  Dagestan  Georgia  Ingushetia  Karachay-Cherkessia  Kabardino-Balkaria  Krasnodar Krai  Nagorno-Karabakh  Nakhchivan  North Ossetia-Alania  Stavropol Krai v · d · eRegions of the world Africa Northern · Sub-Sahara (Central · Southern · Western · Eastern) Oceania Australasia (Australia) · Melanesia · Micronesia · Polynesia Americas North (Northern • Middle • Central • Caribbean) · South (Southern • Northern • Western) · Anglo · Latin Polar Arctic · Antarctic Asia Central · Eastern (Northeastern) · Northern · Southeastern · Southern · Western (Middle East) Oceans World · Arctic · Atlantic · Indian · Pacific · Southern Europe Central · Eastern · Northern · Southeastern · Southern · Western Seas List of seas Related Continents of the world · List of seas · Physical Earth

Coordinates: 42°15′40″N 44°07′16″E / 42.26111°N 44.12111°E / 42.26111; 44.12111

Coordinates: 42°15′40″N 44°07′16″E / 42.26111°N 44.12111°E / 42.26111; 44.12111

Coordinates: 42°15′40″N 44°07′16″E / 42.26111°N 44.12111°E / 42.26111; 44.12111

Coordinates: 42°15′40″N 44°07′16″E / 42.26111°N 44.12111°E / 42.26111; 44.12111