Archi people

The origin of the Archi people is unknown. Their name was first mentioned in the historical chronicles written by Muhammed Rafi from Shirvan in the 13th or 14th century. They were part of the Avar community Dursakh (or Rissib) and from time to time paid tribute to the Gazikumukh Khanate. They became subjects of the Russian Empire after Dagestan was annexed by Russia in 1813. According to the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary there were 802 Archis in Gazikumukh Okrug in 1886. Since 1899 they were part of the Gunib Okrug, Dagestan Oblast. In the next censuses they were not considered a separate ethnic group, but rather as a subgroup of Avars. According to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia in the 1959 Soviet Census, all Archis declared themselves as Avars, though still preserving their native language and some ethnographic features. The 2002 Russian Census registered 89 Archis in Russia, which were again considered to be a subgroup of Avars. In the 2010 Russian Census there were only 12 Archis. ==Language==

The Archi language is a Northeast Caucasian language of the Lezgic branch. It is colloquial, unwritten, and spoken only in several villages. Avar and Lak are widely spoken. The first information about Archi language was a letter from Peter von Uslar to Franz Anton Schiefner dated June 11, 1863, which was published in the "Grammar of the Lak language" book as an appendix. Peter von Uslar tells an Archi legend about their language: ==Culture==

The ethnonym Archi originates from the name of the village Archib in Lak. They were considered to be a subgroup of Avars in all Soviet censuses, and are still considered to be so in Russian censuses. The Archi people are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims. The existence of monuments written in Arabic in the Kufic script suggests that they converted to Islam not later than the 10th century. ==Famous Archi people==

• Maksud Sadikov – a professor in international relations and Islamic economics ==References==