Tabasarans are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern part of the North Caucasian republic 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 ...

. Their population in Russia is about 150,000. They speak the

Tabasaran language Tabasaran (also written Tabassaran) is a Caucasian languages, Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic languages, Lezgic branch. It is spoken by the Tabasaran people in the southern part of the Russian Republic of Dagestan. There are two main d ...

. They are mainly

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

History

The earliest mention of the Tabasarans are found in 7th century Armenian sources referring to them as an independent people of Dagestan. Arab historians referred to their land as "Tabarstan". In the 8th century, the Arabs conquered parts of the Caucasus including the territory of the Tabarsarans. In the 15th century, the Tabasrans formed a powerful principality called the Maisumat of Tabarsaran. However, the state was eventually divided into two due to internal struggles and both were conquered by the Russians in the early 19th century.

Genetics

According to genetic study the following haplogroups are found to predominate among Tabasarans. * J1 (77%) * R1b (10%) * G2 (3%) According to another genetic study the following haplogroups are found to predominate among Tabasarans. * R1b (64%) * J1 (14%) * J2 (12%)

Culture

Language

The main language of the Tabasaran people is the

(табасаран чIал‎, ''tabasaran ҫ̇al''), which belongs to the Lezgic branch of Northeast Caucasian language family. It is closely related to neighbouring Lezgian and Aghul languages.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

classifies Tabasaran language as " vulnerable". According to 2002 Russian census 97% of the Tabasaran can speak their ancestral language and a further 87% of them know Russian. Under Soviet control Tabasaran has become one of the official languages of Dagestan.

Religion

The vast majority of Tabasarans profess

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

and belong to the

Shafi'i school The Shafi'i school or Shafi'i Madhhab () or Shafi'i is one of the four major schools of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), belonging to the Ahl al-Hadith tradition within Sunni Islam. It was founded by the Muslim scholar, jurist, and traditionis ...

. Some elements originated from pre-Islamic Tabasaran beliefs, such as deity names and annual spring celebration known as Elbetsan (parallel to Iranic ''

Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...

'' and Lezgian '' Yaran-Suvar'') have been preserved in the contemporary Tabasaran society.

Economy

Tabasaran traditional economy has been based on agriculture and animal husbandry, as the regions inhabited by the group have a mild and warm climate with abundant water sources. Agriculturally grain farming, orchards and

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

is common among the people. Carpet weaving, leatherworking, woolen clothes, woodworking and beekeeping form the domestic industries.

Notable people

* Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva and Kamal Khan-Magomedov, the 2015

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from countries served by national Olympic committees within the European Olympic Committees (EOC), the regional association for such committ ...

champion in men's Judo -66 kg, are both half-Tabasaran. * Rustam Muradov, Colonel General in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

. * Zumrud Khanmagomedova, the first Tabasaran woman who received a higher education and the first Tabasaran poetess.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tabasaran People * Lezgins Ethnic groups in Dagestan Muslim communities of Russia Peoples of the Caucasus Muslim communities of the Caucasus