This gives ethnic locations about 1775 before the Russians came. NECLS means '
Northeast Caucasian Language Speakers' and NWCLS means '
Northwest Caucasian Language Speakers'. The linguistic nationalities that we now recognise are somewhat artificial. Two hundred years, ago a person's loyalty was to their friends, kin, village and chief and not primarily to their language group. The difference between steppe, mountain and plain was far more important than difference of language. Only the southern half (and the southernmost part of Dagestan) had organized states, usually Persian or Turkish vassals and few, if any, of these states corresponded well to language groups.
Northern Lowlands: The Turkic-speaking
Nogai nomads occupied almost all of the steppe north of the Caucasus. In the nineteenth century they were pushed far southeast to their present location. Formerly part of the eastern steppe was occupied by
Kalmyks – Buddhist Mongols who migrated from
Dzungaria about 1618. In 1771 many returned to their original homeland and they contracted to their present location in the far northeast, Nogais temporarily taking their place. In the southeast were the isolated
Terek Cossacks. Their settlements later grew into the North Caucasus Line. There were a few
Turkmens in the center of the steppe.
North Slope: The western two thirds was occupied by
Circassians – NWCLS divided into twelve or so tribes. They long resisted the Russians and in 1864 several hundred thousand of them were expelled to the Ottoman Empire. To their east were the
Kabardians – NWCLS similar to the Circassians but with a different political organization. The term Lesser Kabardia refers to the eastern area. South of the eastern Circassian-Kabardians were three groups that seem to have been driven into the high mountains about 500 years previously. The
Karachays and
Balkars spoke similar Turkic languages. East of the Balkars were the
Ossetians – Iranian speakers descended from the ancient Alans who controlled the future
Georgian Military Road and had a growing Christian minority. East of the future highway was a north-south band of
Ingush – NECLS similar to the Chechens. The numerous
Chechens to the east were later to wage the long
Murid War against the Russians. For the small groups south of the Ingush-Chechens see South Slope below. To the east along the coast were the Turkic
Kumyks.
Mountain Dagestan: All the peoples of mountain Dagestan were NECLS except the
Tats. In the northwest were a number of small language groups (
Tsez people (Dido) and
Andi people), similar to the Avars. To their southeast were the numerous
Avars with a khanate at
Khunzakh who fought in the Murid War. Southeast were the
Dargins and west of them the
Laks who held the Kumukh Khanate. Southeast along the
Samur were the
Lezgins with many subgroups and then the Iranian-speaking
Tats down to Baku.
Caspian Coast: From Astrakhan to the Terek River there were the Buddhist
Kalmyk nomads. Along the Terek were the isolated
Terek Cossacks. From the Terek to
Derbent were the Turkic-speaking
Kumyks with a state at
Tarki. The town of Derbent itself had a majority
Persian () population, as it had for many centuries, until the late 19th century. On the coastal plain south of Derbent was a mixed population, mostly Azeri ("Transcaucasian Tatar"), and further south to Baku were the Iranian-speaking
Tats. When Baku became a boom town the Tats retained a majority only in the mountains. The
Mountain Jews, who had a number of villages inland from the coast, spoke a form of Tat called
Judeo-Tat. The lowlands south of Baku were held by
Azerbaijanis, Turkic-speaking Shiites. On both sides of the current Iranian border were the Iranian-speaking
Talysh. Based on genetic studies the
Gilaki and
Mazanderani ethnic groups in northern Iran (near the Caspian Sea) have been proven to be genetically similar to Armenians, Georgians and Azeris. This indicates that the
Gilaki and Mazanderani ethnic groups are people that immigrated from the Caucasus region to what is now northern Iran.
South Slope: Black Sea coast: In the northwest the mountains came down to the sea and the population was Circassian. Southward the coastal plain broadened and the population was
Abkhazians – similar to the Circassians but under Georgian influence. South Slope proper: On the south side of the Caucasus the mountains fall quickly to the plains and there is only a small transition zone. The inhabitants were either Georgians with mountain customs or northern mountaineers who had moved south. The
Svans were Georgian mountaineers. In the center the Iranian
Ossets had moved south and were surrounded on three sides by Georgians. East of the Ossets and south of the Ingush-Chechens were three groups of Georgian mountaineers on both sides of the mountain crest:
Khevi,
Khevsurs, and
Tushetians. The
Bats were NECLS entangled with the Tushetians and the
Kists were Chechens south of the mountains. Near the Georgian-Azeri linguistic border there were some Avars and
Tsakhurs (Lezgians) who had crossed the mountains. Associated with the Tsakhurs were the
Ingiloy or Georgian-speaking Muslims. In the north Azeri area were a few
Udis or southern Lezgians and Lakhij or southern Tats.
Southern Lowlands: The western two thirds were occupied by
Georgians – an ancient Christian people with a unique language. The eastern third was
Azerbaijanis – a group of Turkic-speaking Shiites under Persian influence. On the fringe of the Georgian area were Georgian speakers who had either adopted Islam or mountain customs.
Armenian Highlands: Further South, the land becomes higher. In the west were the
Laz people or Georgian Muslims. In Kars province there were Turks, Kurds and Armenians. The
Armenians, which gave the plateau its namesake, were somewhat concentrated in the present-day
Armenia but were mostly spread out as a minority all over Asia Minor. There were groups of Azeris west of their main area who tended to blend with the Turks. The
Kurds were semi-nomadic shepherds with small groups in various places and concentrations in Kars province and Nakhchivan. In the far southeast were the Iranian Talysh. == Genetic history ==