Caucasus 39282 move=:edit= 224522493 2008-07-09T06:24:40Z KaraiBorinquen 3830135 /* Demographics */ {{dablink|This article is about the geographic region in Eurasia. For other uses, see [[Caucasus (disambiguation)]] and [[Caucasia (disambiguation)]]}} [[Image:Caucasiamapussr.gif|thumb|right|350px|Administrative map of Caucasus in USSR, 1952-1991.]] The '''Caucasus''', also referred to as '''Caucasia''', is a geopolitical, mountain-barrier region located between the two continents of Europe and Asia, or [[Eurasia]], with various altitude highlands and lowlands. The Caucasus comprises [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and part of [[Southern Russia]] (including the [[disputed territories]] of [[Abkhazia]], [[Chechnya]], [[South Ossetia]] and [[Nagorno-Karabakh]]). ==Regions== The '''South Causasus''', or ''Transcaucasus'', is a region in south-central [[Eurasia]] bordered on the north by [[Russia]], on the west by the [[Black Sea]], on the east by the [[Caspian Sea]], on the southwest by [[Turkey]], and on the south by [[Iran]]. The south Caucasus includes the [[Caucasus Mountains]] and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan (excluding the northern part of Azerbaijan, which are within North Caucasus) and Georgia (excluding northern part of Georgia which are within North Caucasus) are in South Caucasus. See also: [[South Caucasus]] The '''North Caucasus''', or ''Ciscaucasus'', is a region in north-central [[Eurasia]] and contains the larger majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, also once known as the Major Caucasus mountains. Southwestern Russia, northern Georgia and northern Azerbaijan are included as North Caucasus. ==Geography== [[Image:Caucasus-ethnic en.svg|thumb|200px|Ethno-Linguistic groups in the Caucasus region]] The [[Caucasus Mountains]] are commonly reckoned as a dividing line between Asia and Europe, and territories in Caucasia are variably considered to be in one or both [[continent]]s. The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the ''[[Ciscaucasus]]'' and the southern portion as the ''[[Transcaucasus]]''. The highest peak in the Caucasus is [[Mount Elbrus]] (5,642 m) which, in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, is generally considered the highest point in Europe. The Caucasus is one of the most [[Caucasian languages|linguistically]] and [[culture|culturally]] diverse regions on Earth. The [[nation-state]]s that compose the Caucasus today are the [[post-Soviet states]] [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]], and [[Azerbaijan]]. The Russian divisions include [[Krasnodar Krai]], [[Stavropol Krai]], and the autonomous republics of [[Adygea]], [[Kalmykia]], [[Karachay-Cherkessia]], [[Kabardino-Balkaria]], [[North Ossetia]], [[Ingushetia]], [[Chechnya]], and [[Dagestan]]. Three territories in the region claim independence but are not acknowledged as nation-states by the international community: [[Abkhazia]], [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] and [[South Ossetia]]. The Caucasus is an area of great ecological importance. It harbors some 6,400 species of higher plants, 1,600 of which are [[endemism|endemic]] to the region.<ref>[http://www.endemic-species-caucasus.info/ Endemic Species of the Caucasus<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Its native animals include [[leopards]], [[brown bears]], [[wolves]], [[European bison]], [[East European red deer|marals]] and [[golden eagle]]s. Among [[invertebrates]], some 1,000 [[spider]] species are recorded in the Caucasus<ref>[http://caucasus-spiders.info/introduction/checklists/ Caucasian Spiders » CHECKLISTS & MAPS<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. The natural landscape is one of [[Caucasus mixed forests|mixed forest]], with substantial areas of rocky ground above the treeline. The Caucasus Mountains are also famous for a [[dog breed]], the [[Caucasian Shepherd Dog]] (Ovcharka). ==History== {{see|History of the Caucasus}} The Northern Caucasus has been under [[Scythia]]n influence in antiquity, while the Southern Caucasus ([[Caucasian Albania]], [[Colchis]]) was absorbed into the [[Persian Empire]]. In Modern times, both Southern Caucasus and Northern Caucasus was conquered into the [[Russian Empire]] in the 18th century ([[Caucasian Wars]]). Following the [[end of the Soviet Union]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Armenia]] became independent in 1991. The Caucasus region is subject to various territorial disputes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]] (1988-1994), the [[Ossetian-Ingush conflict]] (1989-1991), the [[War in Abkhazia (1992–1993)]], the [[First Chechen War]], 1994–1996 and the [[Second Chechen War]] (1999–present). ==Demographics== {{main|Peoples of the Caucasus}} {{see|Caucasian languages}} The largest peoples of the Caucasian language family are Georgians (4,600,000), Chechens (800,000), and Avars (500,000). Georgians are the only Caucasian language speaking people that have their own independent state - [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], while some other of those peoples possess their republics within the [[Russia|Russian Federation]]: Adyghe ([[Adygea]]), Cherkess ([[Karachay-Cherkessia]]), Kabardins ([[Kabardino-Balkaria]]), Ingush ([[Ingushetia]]), Chechens ([[Chechnya]]), while Northeast Caucasian peoples mostly live in [[Dagestan]]. Abkhazians live in [[Abkhazia]], which is de facto independent, but de jure is autonomous republic within Georgia. Today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either [[Orthodox]] Christians or [[Sunni]] Muslims. There is also a very strong historic presence of [[Shia]] Islam in Azerbaijan, to the east of the region. ==In mythology== In Greek mythology, the Caucasus or Kaukasos was one of the pillars supporting the world. [[Prometheus]] was chained there by [[Zeus]] after Prometheus had presented man with the gift of fire. The Roman poet [[Ovid]] placed Caucasus in [[Scythia]] and depicted it as a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger. The Greek hero Jason sailed to the west coast of the Caucasus in pursuit of the [[Golden Fleece]], and there met the famed [[Medea]]. == See also == *[[Peoples of the Caucasus]] *[[History of the Caucasus]] *[[Transcontinental nation]]s *[[South Caucasus]] *[[Languages of the Caucasus]] *[[Islam in Russia]] *[[Russian-Circassian War]] *[[Prometheism]] == References == <div class="references-small"> *Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam By Nicholas Griffin *Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus By Svante E. Cornell *The Caucasus By Ivan Golovin * * </div> {{reflist}} == External links == *[http://www.hunmagyar.org/turan/caucasus/index.html Ethnographic map of Caucasus] * [http://www.cria-online.org (Caucasian Review of International Affairs - an academic journal on the South Caucasus)] *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3632274.stm BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance], [[September 8]], [[2005]] *[http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/map/images/caucasus_envsec2_landcoverb.gif United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus] *[http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/map/images/caucasus_envsec2_popdensityb.gif United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus] *[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/v5f1/v5f1a032.html Caucasus and Iran] entry in [[Encyclopaedia Iranica]] *[http://www.oc.unito.it/english/index.html University of Turin-Observatory on Caucasus] <br/>{{Countries and regions of the Caucasus}} [[Category:Caucasus| ]] [[Category:Biodiversity hotspots]] [[az:Qafqaz]] [[bs:Kavkaz (geografska regija)]] [[ca:Caucas]] [[cs:Kavkaz]] [[da:Kaukasus]] [[de:Kaukasus]] [[el:Καύκασος]] [[eo:Kaŭkazio]] [[es:Cáucaso]] [[et:Kaukaasia]] [[eu:Kaukaso]] [[fa:قفقاز]] [[fr:Caucase]] [[gl:Cáucaso]] [[ko:카프카스]] [[hy:Կովկաս]] [[hr:Kavkaz (regija)]] [[io:Kaukazia]] [[id:Kaukasus]] [[it:Caucaso]] [[he:קווקז]] [[ka:კავკასია]] [[la:Caucasus]] [[nl:Kaukasus]] [[ja:カフカース]] [[no:Kaukasia]] [[nn:Kaukasia]] [[oc:Caucàs]] [[pl:Kaukaz (kraina historyczna)]] [[pt:Cáucaso]] [[ro:Caucaz]] [[ru:Кавказ]] [[sl:Kavkaz]] [[sr:Кавказ]] [[fi:Kaukasia]] [[sv:Kaukasien]] [[tt:Qawqaz]] [[tr:Kafkasya]] [[uk:Кавказ]] [[zh:高加索]]