Ancient history Neolithic Archaeologists from the Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a study of the Una settlement to confirm the existence of an adit used to extract copper-bearing ore. The results of chemical analysis of samples taken from the adit showed high concentrations of copper, iron, chromium, and nickel. The study also examined the ruins of the settlement: the fortress on the hill, the fortress defenses, and the stairway leading to it, as well as two sites with ancient cemeteries and gravestones. Archaeological data indicate that the age of the Una settlement is over 7000 years. It is the only known adit in Dagestan where copper was extracted.
Classical antiquity The early history of Rutulians is connected with the state of
Caucasian Albania, formed at the end of the 2nd to the middle of the 1st centuries BC, which included the ancestors of the peoples of southern Dagestan. In the middle of the 1st millennium BC, an Albanian tribal union formed in eastern Transcaucasia, uniting 26 tribes speaking different languages of the Samur ("Lezghin") branch of the Nakh-Dagestani family. These tribes included Albanians, Gargars, Gels, Leghi, Utii, and others. According to some historians, the ancestors of Rutuls were
Gargareans. According to other accounts, their ancestors were Albanians or Lega. According to
Robert H. Hewsen, the Albanian tribes were primarily of autochthonous Caucasian origin, although it cannot be said with certainty that this applies to all 26 tribes. G. H. Ibragimov identifies the Rutuls and Tsakhurians with the ancient Gargareans. He believes that it is also quite appropriate to link the ethnonyms "gazalar" (as the Tsakhurians call the Rutuls) and "gargar" meaning 'nationality' as concepts of etymologically common origin. Archaeological finds in the Rutulian settlement areas show similarities with the Albanian culture of Transcaucasia. Thus, three-tiered burials of the stone box type uncovered in the village of Khnov are quite similar to those in Mingechaur. The openwork bronze bracelets found in one of them are similar to bracelets from the upper layer of the third burial in Mingechaur.
4th century BC In the 4th century BC the ancient Greek historian and geographer
Arrian mentions the Albanians in connection with their participation on the side of the Persians at the
Battle of Gaugamela (331 BC) against the army of Alexander the Great.
1st century BC In 66 BC the Roman general
Pompey invaded Caucasian Albania during his campaign in the Caucasus. The Caucasian Albanians attempted to act before the Romans could fully deploy. Oroes, king of the Albanians, organised a coordinated attack on the divided Roman forces timed to coincide with the Roman festival of Saturnalia in order to maximise its effect. However, the Roman troops, led by experienced veterans, proved a stronger opponent than the Albanian tribes and the attacks were repulsed. Oroes was forced to submit to Roman terms.
6th century One method used by both the Byzantine and the Persian empires to recruit barbarian pagan peoples for military service was to acquire slaves and transform them into soldiers for campaigns against other peoples. Warriors were recruited and paid on specific terms. These forces served as a bulwark of the empire against peoples of their own stock.
Arran (a province of Caucasian Albania, Christian by the 6th century) maintained links with Byzantium despite being under Persian rule at the time. Clerics from Arran and Armenia spread Christianity among the Huns, a pagan nomadic people, taught them to use brick and stone in construction, and disseminated agricultural knowledge. These facts impressed "the rulers of these peoples; they were astonished and rejoiced at the men, honoured them and each called them to his side, to his people, asking that they be teachers to them." In 537 missionaries from Arran created a script for the Huns. Lavrov believes that the village of Rutul has existed for a long time. On one of its streets, he discovered a settlement that dates back to before the 8th century. Mention of 'Rutul' is found in the ancient manuscript "Akhty-name", which states that during the war with the Khazars, the Akhtyn ruler Dervishan called for the help of 'brave warriors Rutul, Jenik, and Rufuk". The first written information about the places of residence of the Rutuls is found in the works of medieval authors. Thus, the Arab
cosmographer of the XIII century,
Zakaria al-Qazwini, mentions the Rutul village of Shinaz. He wrote: "Shinas is a town in the country of
Lakzan, on the slope of a high mountain. There is no other way to it except through the top of the mountain.... They grow a kind of grain called
as-sult and some mountain apples. Its inhabitants are kind, benevolent, and hospitable to the poor and friendly to strangers. They are engaged in the manufacture of weapons, such as armor, chain mail, and other types of weaponry." The works of Arab historians and geographers from the 9th to 10th centuries provide a substantial list of ethnographic territories and possessions in the Caucasus, among which
Lakz is mentioned. Arab geographers speak of the large population and belligerence of the inhabitants of the Samur region, which is located on the territory of the former Caucasian Albania. In the 13th century, during the Mongol invasion, Rutul and Tsakhur managed to avoid dependence on the Golden Horde and form two large communal unions. "Khnov army", that is, the militia of Rutuls from the village of Khnov is mentioned in 1598, among the allies of the Tarkov shamkhal. The Safavid state, which was formed in the late 15th - early 16th centuries, also included the lands of Shirvan, where the Rutuls and other peoples lived. The Safavids' predecessors, the rulers of Shirvan and Ak-Koyunlu, were Sunnis. The Safavids, in turn, acted under the banner of Shiism. Sultan Iskender Kara-Koyunlu wanted to subjugate the entire territory of the Shirvanshahs' state., and fought against Shirvanshah Khalilullah I. According to Thomas of Metsop, Iskender Kara-Koyunlu '... gathered an army and set out on a campaign against the city of Shemakha and its region.' After capturing Shemakha, he headed to the borders of the Ilisu Sultanate. The Tsakhurs, who were likely under the influence of the Shirvanshah state at that time, fought in this battle on the side of Shirvanshah Khalilullah I. In 1432, the inhabitants of Rutul, along with the troops of Sultan Iskander Kara-Koyunlu, attacked Tsakhur, but the assault was repelled by the inhabitants of Tsakhur. However, in 1495-1496, the Rutuls and Tsakhurs fought against the village of Khryug, supported by another village, Akhty. In 1536-1537, Rutuls and Kumukhs attacked and burned Akhty, a stronghold of the Shirvanshahs' power. In 1540-1541, after the Safavid power was established in Shirvan, Rutuls and Kumukhs launched another attack on Akhty and burned it again. Following this, the Akhtyns, accustomed to maintaining their influence with the help of Shemakha, which became the seat of the Shirvan beylerbeks in 1538, turned to the new government for assistance, represented by the beylerbek Alkhas Mirza Safavid. Alkhas Mirza, acting in the interests of Iran, which sought to establish a foothold in Sunni territory, organized an attack on Rutul. Derbent troops led by Alkhas Mirza attacked Rutul, resulting in the burning of Rutul, which was allied with Kumukh, by the Qizilbash-Akhtyn army in 1541-1542. Alkhas Mirza was a representative of the Iranian authorities in the northeastern Caucasus, serving as the ruler of the Safavid district centered around the city of Derbent. Following this, the Rutuls, together with the Cubans, burned Akhty again in 1542 – 1543. Around 1560, the Rutuls from the village of Khnov, together with the Tsakhurs, attacked the Georgians, forcing them to move beyond the Alazani River. There is a legend about the struggle between the Rutulian village of Ikhrek and the now non-existent village of Kharytsa. On the territory of modern Azerbaijan, there are the oldest historically formed Rutulian settlements, which are more than 1,500 years old. In subsequent periods, partial re-emigration occurred: in the 17th century, during the Safavid state, the Rutulians from the village of Borch partially moved to the plains of the Sheki state (north of modern Azerbaijan). and founded the settlement of Shin there. The first mention of the Rutulian Free Society (Rutulian Magal) dates back to 1728, but it is possible that it existed earlier. The Estate and Land Commission left information about the genealogy of the Rutulian beks, compiled in 1873, which indicates that the Rutulian beks, starting with Kazi-bek, have lived in Rutul since 1574. According to
James Olson, a powerful political confederation, the Rutulian Magal existed from the 16th to the 18th century. Each mahal village had its own civil and military leader, who was connected with representatives of other villages. The village leaders, in interaction with one another, formed a common policy. In the 1730s, the Rutulians waged a seven-year war against the village of Khryug and made peace with it in 1739 – 1740. In 1774 – 1776, together with the residents of Akhta, they again fought against the village of Khryug. Eventually, the Rutulians managed to subjugate Khryug and, together with another village, Zrykh, annex it to their Magal. In the 18th century, the Rutulians also captured the more remote villages of Kaka, Yalakh, and Lutkun, which had previously been part of the Akhtypara Magal. Despite this, two Rutulian villages (Ikhrek and Myukhrek) were part of the Kazikumukh Khanate, and the village of Khnov, after the Khnov uprising, became part of the Akhtynsky District. Also, on the territory of the Rutulians, there is a village called Nizhniy Katrukh, where Azerbaijanis live. The inhabitants of this village consider themselves descendants of the people of Shirvan, who were captured by the Rutulians during one of their raids around the year 1700. In the 18th century, the inhabitants of the Rutulian villages, along with other peoples of Dagestan, resisted the Persian troops of Nadir Shah, who invaded the region. According to legends, Nadir Shah's detachment, under the command of a Persian khan, besieged Rutul in 1741 but was unable to capture it.
Russian Empire At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire began its military expansion in the region, which the Rutulians resisted. The Rutulians refused to pay taxes to the imperial treasury and resisted the attempts of the tsar's generals to subjugate them. "The Rutulian society has enough of its own bread, pastures, and does not need anything except salt. They do not concern themselves with paying tribute and respond to demands with disagreement, which exists between the villages of the entire society." In 1838, the Rutulian leader Agabek al-Rutuli led a widespread uprising against the Russian Empire, but over the next few years, this uprising was suppressed. In 1844, the Russian Empire captured the territory of the Rutulian Magal. In 1839, the Rutulian Magal was administratively annexed to the Ilisu Sultanate. In 1844, Sultan Daniyal-bek joined Shamil's side; the sultanate was abolished, and the Rutulian Free Society, together with the Ilisu Sultanate, came under the temporary control of the Jaro-Belokan Military District of the Russian Empire. The Rutulian Magal and the former sultanate were united into one district, the Yelisu District, which was under the control of a Russian officer. This district was divided into three 'naibs': Rutulian, Yelisu, and Ingelo. Each was headed by a naib appointed by the chief of the Jaro-Belokan Military District. During the tsarist era, a road was built by local residents through the territory of the Rutulians, connecting Rutul with Akhty and Derbent. According to sources, in 1820, the Rutulians were considered dependent on the Russian Empire and 'had to pay the Russians a tribute imposed on 19 villages in the amount of 500 rubles", "but they refused and did not pay". "The Rutulians have not ceased to be malicious to this day, and not only do they themselves have hostile designs against the government, but they seek to spread them among neighboring tribes, villainously persecuting those who deviate from the path of lawlessness they have chosen." — Report dated April 10, 1842, No. 357, from General Golovin to Prince Chershnyshev.
USSR In 1917, the Mountain Republic was established, Arabic was adopted as the state language, and it was taught in schools. After the October Revolution, in 1921, the Dagestan ASSR was created. The Rutuls did not recognize Soviet power and waged armed resistance against it. Thus, in May 1930, an anti-Soviet uprising broke out in Khnov. The rebels captured another Rutulian village, Borch, and moved toward Rutul, capturing the villages of Gdym and Fiy in the Akhtynsky District along the way. Units of the 5th Regiment of the North Caucasian OGPU Division and detachments of Red partisans were sent against them, brutally suppressing the uprising. Since 1925, the authorities initiated an anti-Islamic campaign, which consisted of closing schools, eliminating the Arabic language, and exterminating local imams. From this period, the government focused on the Turkic population of the region, and the Azerbaijani language became the official language. This continued until 1928, when the Avar, Azerbaijani, Dargin, and Lezgin languages were declared the state languages of the autonomy. In the late 1920s, the Soviet government decided to assimilate the Rutuls and Tsakhurs with the Azerbaijanis, and the Aguls were classified as Lezgins. According to James Olson, the policy of cultural manipulation by the authorities at the time led to increased resentment among the population of Rutulian, a rejection of Russian culture, and many Rutuls opposed the process of merging with the Azerbaijanis. The assimilation policy of the authorities, which intensified during these years, led to a drop in the official number of Rutuls from 10,500 people in 1929 to 6,700 people in 1955, after which the population of Rutulians began to grow due to natural population growth. In some Russian sources (e.g., maps), until the mid-19th century, the territory of the modern Rutulsky District was called the Luchekskoye naibstvo (with its center in the village of Luchek).
World War II Along with other peoples, the Rutuls also fought in battles against the German troops. During the war, about 3,000 people from the Rutulsky district region joined the army, both as volunteers and through mobilization (according to incomplete data). Including: from Rutul, more than 800 people; from Ikhrek, about 300; from Shinaz, about 250; from Luchek, more than 150; and from Mukhrek, 72 people. One of the Rutuls, Gasret Aliyev, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. == Economy ==