The Dzherakh, also spelled Jerakh (), historically also known as Erokhan people, were a historical

Ingush Ingush may refer to: * Ingush language, Northeast Caucasian language * Ingush people, an ethnic group of the North Caucasus See also *Ingushetia (disambiguation) Ingushetia is a federal republic and subject of Russia. Ingushetia may also refer ...

ethno-territorial

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

, today existing as a tribal organisation or clan (''

teip A ''teip'' (also ''taip'', ''tayp'', ''teyp''; Chechen language, Chechen and Ingush language, Ingush: тайпа, romanized: ''taypa'' , ''family'', ''kin'', ''clan'', ''tribe''Нохчийн-Оьрсийн словарь (Chechen-Russian Dict ...

''), originally formed in the Dzheyrakhin gorge, as well as in the lower reaches of the Armkhi River and the upper reaches of the

Terek River The Terek () is a major river in the Northern Caucasus. It originates in the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region of Georgia and flows through North Caucasus region of Russia into the Caspian Sea. It rises near the juncture of the Greater Caucasus ...

. The Dzherakhs first appeared in Russian sources in the 16th century under the name ''Erokhan people'' ().

History

The Dzherakhs were first mentioned in the 16th century in

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

documents as the Erokhan people. They were also noted by the Georgian prince, historian, and geographer

Vakhushti Bagrationi Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი; 1696 – 1757) was a Georgian royal prince ('' batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, ''Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the ''Geo ...

in 1745. Their first documented contact with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

occurred in 1833 during a punitive expedition in Mountainous Ingushetia, led by General Abkhazov. The Dzherakhs were known for conducting raids during the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War () or the Caucasus War was a 19th-century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series o ...

, alongside the Kists (

Fyappiy The Feappii () were an Ingush people, Ingush subgroup (''Ingush societies, society'') that mostly inhabited the mountainous Fappi region of Ingushetia in the Caucasus. Historically, they bordered on the west with Dzherakh, on the east with Khamk ...

) and Tagaurs.

Composition

''Dzherakh''

/''

'' consisted of following fortified villages (''

aul An aul; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (; ) is a type of fortified village or town found throughout the Caucasus and Central Asia. They are generally built out of stone, on faces of ridges or against cliffs in order to provide protection against su ...

s'') and surnames (''nyaqhash''/''vyarash''):

Notes

References

Bibliography

English sources

* *

Russian sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Cite book, last=Щербатов, first=А. П., year=1891, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iCoIAwAAQBAJ, title=Генерал-Фельдмаршал князь Паскевич, trans-title=, language=ru, location=СПб., publisher=, pages=, isbn=9785518040410 Ingush societies