Lekos (Lek, Lekas) is the legendary ancestor-eponym of "

Legae The Legae (Latin ''legae'' Greek Λῆγαι) were a people on the shores of the Caspian Sea that mythology places between Albania and the country of the Amazons, Scythian roots. The name survives today in the village of the Lezgins, who live in so ...

" tribe of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. In Georgian sources, the fifth son (or offspring) of

Togarmah Togarmah (, , ) is a figure in the Generations of Noah in the Book of Genesis that represents the peoples known to the Hebrews. Togarmah is among the descendants of Japheth and is thought to represent some people located in Anatolia. Medieval s ...

Ancient history

According to

Leonti Mroveli Leonti Mroveli ( ka, ლეონტი მროველი) was the 11th-century Georgian chronicler, presumably an ecclesiastic. ''Mroveli'' is not his last name, but the adjective for the diocese of Ruisi, whose bishop he probably was. Rayfi ...

"gave to Lekos territories from the Sea of Daruband to the river Lomek, to the north up to the great river of Khazareti".

Historical background

In Georgian sources, ethnonym "Leki" (Legae) is usually used to refer to all the peoples of

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

. In Georgian history, during the 18th century, "Leki-anoba" was the name given to sporadic forays by

Northeast Caucasian The Northeast Caucasian languages, also called East Caucasian, Nakh-Daghestani or Vainakh-Daghestani, or sometimes Caspian languages (from the Caspian Sea, in contrast to '' Pontic languages'' for the Northwest Caucasian languages), is a fam ...

people into

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. But historically the Leki are one of the tribes of

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus, mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

. Leki were located in the territories of the current residence of the

Lezgins Lezgins ( or ) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northern Azerbaijan, who speak the Lezgin language. Their social structure is firmly based on equality and deference to individuality ...

, according to one of the leading experts on the history of Caucasian Albania,

Kamilla Trever Kamilla Vasilyevna Trever (; 25 January 1892, Saint Petersburg – 11 November 1974, Leningrad) was a Russian historian, numismatist and orientalist, and a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences since 29 September 1943. Trever sp ...

, the legae mentioned next to the gelae apparently lived in the mountainous regions of the

Samur River The Samur (; ; ; ) is a river in Russia's Dagestan Republic, also partially flowing through Azerbaijan and forming part of the Azerbaijan–Russia border. Overview The Samur river originates in glaciers and mountain springs of the Greater Cauca ...

basin.

Etymology

Georgian "Leki" is naturally associated with the

. The self-name of the Lezgin people is "''leq'er".'' Louis Vivien, a French geographer of the 19th century, writes that ''“The Lekzi, also called Lakzi by other Arab authors, are the Legae of the ancient Greeks, the Leki of the Georgians, the Legki of the Armenians, the Lezgi of our travelers; they have not changed either their place of residence or their name”.''

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em

Ancient history

Historical background

Etymology

References

See also