Nakertavians

The Nakertavians are a historic ethnic group from the Kars Province in modern-day Turkey, traditionally inhabiting the Kars Region and surroundings of Lake Van. They were primarily centered in the districts of Kars, Digor, and Kağızman.

The Nakertavians historically identified themselves with elements of both Armenian and Muslim Turkic ethnicity. Their language, known as Nakertavish or Kaghaven, is an endangered dialect of the Armenian language group. Some sources suggest the dialect displays South Armenian characteristics distinct from the Armenian language used today by the Armenian people.

In the early 20th century, the Nakertavians numbered approximately 60,000 to 80,000. The region experienced significant expulsions, massacres, and migrations, primarily during the late Ottoman era and the early Russian era of Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus.

Nakertavian culture shares similarities with other Armenian cultures of the Caucasus. They identified with Eastern Christianity and possessed traditional Armenian village architecture featuring stone-built structures and hay-bundle roofs. Their social and familial ties frequently mirrored Armenian societies; however, the Nakertavian populations possessed complex relationships with their broader regional Turkic and Ottoman environments.

Throughout history, language shift and shifts in ethnic identity have been precarious for Armenian populations. Both factors operated alongside historical force actions on them in 1918-1919, and significantly throughout the 1920s-1940s.

The information available for this ethnic group is intermingled and limited; accurate details about their origins, demographics, and socio-political influence vary and require further research and discourse.