The Caucasus appears in Russian history textbooks only in chapters about the 19th century. Meanwhile, the history of the Caucasus is much older than that of Russia. And in general, looking at the Caucasus as some kind of originally Russian territory or "sphere of influence" is simply ridiculous. The first states appeared in the Caucasus more than 3,000 years ago. And since then, the Caucasus, as they say now, has had important geopolitical significance - someone is always trying to conquer it. First, it was the ancient Iranians, then the Romans came there, then the Iranians again, then the Arabs, the Mongols, the Seljuks, the Iranians again, the Ottomans. And they all considered the Caucasus theirs, and Russia did not even exist at that time. Hundreds of peoples live in the Caucasus. Many of them, for example, the Georgians and Armenians, formed their first states in ancient times. They managed to invent their own writing, open the first schools, adopt Christianity - and Russia still did not exist. Some peoples who once lived in the Caucasus disappeared without a trace — the Huns, the Polovtsians. Regional superpowers that had existed for centuries fell — for example, the Khazar Khaganate. And all this happened before Russia appeared. The oldest city in Russia is located in the Caucasus — Derbent. The first educational institution in the territory of modern Russia appeared in the Caucasus. And all this happened long before the foundation of Moscow and certainly long before the Russian Empire. Well, since the history of the Caucasus is so long, we divided the film about the Caucasus into two parts. In the first, we will tell you about what happened in this region from ancient times to the end of the 17th century, that is, before the Russian Empire began to take an interest in the Caucasus. Guest of the episode: Michael Khodarkovsky — professor at Loyola University in Chicago #zygar #caucasus #russia #history 00:00 — Introduction 02:18 — The first states in the Caucasus. The Caucasus in Greek myths 05:31 — Campaigns of Alexander the Great. Who founded Derbent? 09:04 — Wars of Iran and Rome. Great Armenia. The Huns in the Caucasus 13:11 — The Khazar Khaganate — the first superpower on the territory of modern Russia 17:13 — The Khazars against the Arab Caliphate. Islamic missionaries in the Caucasus 25:24 — And only then does Rurik appear! And in the Caucasus, Ashot the Great unites Armenia and founds a new dynasty — the Bagratuni 28:47 — The Kyiv princes against the Khazars. Svyatoslav and Vladimir 32:17 — The Seljuk Empire. The first educational institutions on the territory of modern Russia 36:24 — The Golden Age of Georgia. David the Builder, Queen Tamara, and the First Russian Prince to Become Tsar 41:29 — Black Swans: Crusaders Capture Constantinople, and Mongols Capture Almost Everything 48:33 — Tamerlane. Make Genghis Khan's Empire Great Again 57:39 — Ottomans vs. Safavids. The Same Suleiman the Magnificent and His Imperial Ambitions 1:02:25 — Ivan the Terrible and His Second Wife, Kabardian Princess Maria Temryukovna 1:10:48 — Women in Power. How the First Ladies of Turkey and Iran Ruled Empires 1:15:09 — How Three Russian Voivodes Failed to Conquer Dagestan 1:25:42 — The First Deportations of Peoples in the Caucasus — Who Did Stalin Borrow This Method From? 1:29:23 — The Caucasus at the End of the 17th Century. Iran and the Ottoman Empire Weakened. Peter I Comes to Power in Russia