People / group

Ossetians

The Ossetians are an Iranian-speaking people of the central Caucasus, living in North Ossetia–Alania in Russia and in South Ossetia. They descend from the medieval Alans, who withdrew into the mountains after the Mongol and Timurid invasions. Most are Orthodox Christians, and their language is the main surviving descendant of the Scytho-Sarmatian languages.

Ossetians
Image: Nardo Polo · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

SarmatiansImpact, SummaryAlansImpact, Summary

Mentioned in 5 state histories

AlansKingdom of AlaniaPrincipality of KabardaMountainous Republic of the Northern CaucasusTerek Soviet Republic

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ossetians. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ossetians
MLA
“Ossetians.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ossetians. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Ossetians.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ossetians.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ossetians’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/ossetians (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻