On the origin of the Gargarei and Amazons and their connection with the Hurrian-Urartian community and the Nahyan peoples

This article examines the question of the origin of ancient peoples, according to ancient sources, who lived in the Caucasus, Asia Minor and the Northern Black Sea region, known from ancient sources as "Gargarei" and "Amazons". The purpose of the article is to show the connection of these peoples with the Hurrian–Urartian community and the peoples of the Nakh group - Ingush, Chechens and Batsbians – and the etymology of their names based on historiographical sources and other available data on the history and origin of the Gargarei and Amazons. The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that, despite the available work, among modern Orientalists the problem of the origin of the Gargarei and Amazons (which directly concerns the ancient history of the Caucasian peoples) is still an open question and, in the author's opinion, requires additional comprehensive research. In the study of this issue, the methodological basis is a systematic approach based on the consideration of the object as an integral complex of interrelated elements. In the course of the research, the author comes to the conclusion that the Gargarei and Amazons and their ethnonyms are associated with the Hurrians, the Urartians, the Khalibs and the name of the ancient country in the west of the Armenian Highlands called "Alze", as well as with the endoethnonym of Ingush "Gilgiai" and the name of the Ingush society "Ortskhoy". This, according to the author, explains why these peoples turned out to be neighbors in different regions of Asia Minor, the Black Sea region and the Caucasus. The scientific novelty is determined by the formulation of the problem, and also due to the fact that the author presents his point of view in the etymology of the names "Gargarei" and "Amazons", to a certain extent different from the vision of other Orientalists, focusing on the connection of Gargarei and Amazons with the Hurrian-Urartian world

Etymology · Greeks · Historiography · Middle Ages · Toponymy · Ancient Near East History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History and Cultural Heritage

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