Alania

Alania refers to the medieval kingdom of the Alans, a group of Iranian-speaking people who inhabited the North Caucasus, and to the modern Russian republic of North Ossetia–Alania, whose name preserves the historical association with Alan lands. The term “Alania” appears in Byzantine, Arab, and Rus’ sources from antiquity through the medieval period.

The Alans were part of the Sarmatian (and later Iranian-speaking) cultural sphere. They migrated into the central North Caucasus in late antiquity and formed a political configuration that, in the 9th to 12th centuries, is often described as the kingdom or polity of Alania. A commonly cited capital in medieval sources is Maghas (Maghas or Magas), though exact locations and administrative structures varied over time. The Alans controlled the upland plains and mountain passes of the Caucasus, interacting with neighbors and regional powers.

Throughout its history, Alania maintained contact with major powers of the region, including the Byzantine Empire, the Khazar Khaganate, and later Rus’ principalities. The kingdom sometimes allied with, and sometimes clashed with, these powers, and its position as a buffer state in the Caucasus influenced Caucasian and Black Sea politics. By the 13th century, the Ilkhanate and later Mongol incursions, along with shifting Turkic polities, contributed to the decline of a unified Alanic state. The Alans and their descendants remained dispersed in the region, gradually forming distinct Ossetian communities.

Legacy: The name Alania endures in the modern North Ossetia–Alania Republic in Russia, reflecting the historic homeland of the Ossetian people. The Ossetian language is an Eastern Iranian tongue descended from Alanian speech, linking contemporary communities to their Alanian heritage.