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Lezgins ( or ) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northern Azerbaijan, who speak the Lezgian language. Their social structure is firmly based on equality and deference to individuality. Lezgin society is structured around djamaat () and has traditionally been egalitarian and organised around many autonomous local clans, called Lezgin clans (сихилар).
The land of the Lezgins has been subject to multiple invaders throughout history. Its isolated terrain and the strategic value outsiders have placed on the areas settled by Lezgins has contributed much to the Lezgin community ethos and helped shape its national character. Due to constant attacks from the invaders, the Lezgins have developed a national code of honor and conduct, Lezgiwal, passed down from generation to generation by parents and society. It implies moral and ethical behaviour, generosity and the will to safeguard the honor of women.
Ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred to the Legoi (or ) people who inhabited Caucasian Albania.
Arab historians of the 9th and 10th centuries mentioned a kingdom called Lakz, in present-day southern Dagestan. Al Masoudi referred to inhabitants of this area as Lakzams (Lezgins),Yakut, IV, 364. According to al-Masoudi (Murudzh, II, 5) who defended Shirvanshah against invaders from the north.
Prior to the Russian Revolution, "Lezgin" was a term applied to all ethnic groups inhabiting the present-day Russian Republic of Dagestan. In the 19th century, the term was used more broadly for all ethnic groups speaking non-Nakh languages Northeast Caucasian languages, including Caucasian Avars, Laks, and many others (although the Vainakh peoples, who were Northeast Caucasian language speakers were referred to as "Circassians").
The Lezgic speaking tribes participated in the battle of Gaugamela under the Persian banner against the invading Alexander the Great.
Under Parthian Empire rule, Iranian political and cultural influence increased in the whole region of their Caucasian Albanian province, therefore including where the Lezgic speaking tribes lived. "Whatever the sporadic suzerainty of Rome, the country was now a part—together with Iberia (East Georgia) and (Caucasian) Albania, where other Arsacid branched reigned—of a pan-Arsacid family federation. Culturally, the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by a predominance of "Iranianism," and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated." Whatever the sporadic suzerainty of Rome of the region due to their wars with the Parthians, the country was now a part—together with Iberia (East Georgia) and (Caucasian) Albania, where other Arsacid branches reigned—of a pan-Arsacid family federation. Culturally, the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by again a predominance of "Iranianism", and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated of the region. An incursion in this era was made by the Alans who between 134 and 136 attacked regions including where Lezgic tribes lived, but Vologases persuaded them to withdraw, probably by paying them.
In 252–253, rule over the Lezgic tribes changed from Parthian to Sassanid Persian. Caucasian Albania became a vassal state, now of the Sassanids, but retained its monarchy; the Albanian king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sassanid marzban (military governor) of the territory.
The Roman Empire obtained control over some of the southernmost Lezgin regions for a few years around 300 AD, but then the Sassanid Persians regained control and subsequently dominated the area for centuries until the Arab invasions., which Russia occupied and dissolved in 1813.|left]]
Although Lezgins were first introduced to Islam perhaps as early as the 8th century, the Lezgins remained primarily animist until the 15th century, when Muslim influence became stronger, with Persian people traders coming in from the south, and the Golden Horde increasingly pressing from the north. In the early 16th century, the Persian Safavid Empire consolidated their control over large parts of Dagestan for centuries onwards. As a result of the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590, the Ottomans managed to wrest control of the region for a short period of time, until it was regained by the Safavids under king Abbas I (r. 1588–1629).
A notable Lezgin from the Safavid dynasty era was Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani, who served as Safavid grand vizier from 1716 to 1720, during the reign of king ( shah) Sultan Husayn (1694–1722). By the early course of the 18th century, the Safavid Empire was in a state of heavy decline. In 1721, the Lezgins sacked and looted the city of Shamakhi, the provincial capital of Safavid Shirvan. The Lak Kazi Kumukh Khanate controlled a part of the Lezgins for a time in the 18th century after the disintegration of the Safavid Empire.
In the first half of the 18th century, Afsharid dynasty was able to restore its full authority throughout the entire Caucasus under Nader Shah. After the death of Nader, the area divided into multiple khanates. Some Lezgins were part of the Kuba Khanate in what is now Azerbaijan, while others fell under the jurisdiction of the Derbent Khanate and Kura Khanate. The main part of Lezgins united in "free society" (Magalim) (Akhty para (now Akhtynsky District), Kura Khanate (now Kurakhsky District), Alty-para and Dokuz-para (now Dokuzparinsky District)). Some Lezgin clans were in the Rutul Federation. (1991). 9780816118106, G.K. Hall. ISBN 9780816118106
In 1813, as a result of the Treaty of Gulistan, the Russians gained control over southern Dagestan and most of what is the contemporary Azerbaijan Republic. The 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay indefinitely consolidated Russian control over Dagestan and other areas where the Lezgins lived and removed Iran from the military equation. The Russian administration subsequently created the Kiurin Khanate, later to become the Kiurin district. Many Lezgins in Dagestan, however, participated in the Caucasian War that started roughly during the same time the Russo-Persian Wars of the 19th century were happening, and fought against the Russians alongside the Avar Imam Shamil, who for 25 years (1834–1859) defied Russian rule. It was not until after his defeat in 1859 that the Russians consolidated their rule over Dagestan and the Lezgins.
The Lezgin territories are divided into two physiographic zones: a region of high, rugged mountains and the piedmont (foothills). Most of the Lezgin territory is in the mountainous zone, where a number of peaks (like Baba Dagh) reach over 3,500 meters in elevation. There are deep and isolated canyons and gorges formed by the tributaries of the Samur River and Gulgeri Chai rivers. In the mountainous zones the summers are very hot and dry, with drought conditions a constant threat. There are few trees in this region aside from those in the deep canyons and along the streams themselves. Drought-resistant shrubs and weeds dominate the natural flora. The winters here are frequently windy and brutally cold. In this zone the Lezgins engaged primarily in animal husbandry (mostly sheep and goats) and in craft industries.
In the extreme east of the Lezgin territory, where the mountains give way to the narrow coastal plain of the Caspian Sea, and to the far south, in Azerbaijan, are the foothills. This region has relatively mild, very dry winters and hot, dry summers. Trees are few here also. In this region animal husbandry and artisanry were supplemented by some agriculture (along the alluvial deposits near the rivers).
Lezgins live mainly in Azerbaijan and Russia (Dagestan). The total population is believed to be around 700,000, with 474,000 living in Russia. In Azerbaijan, the government census counts 180,300. The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Population by ethnic groups However, Lezgin national organizations mention 600,000 to 900,000, the disparity being that many Lezgins claim Azeri nationality to escape job and education discrimination in Azerbaijan.: "Lezgin national organizations estimate the actual Lezgin population in Azerbaijan at between 600,000 and 900,000, much higher than the official estimates. The disparity arises from the number of ethnic Lezgins registered as ethnic Azeris during the soviet period and continue to claim Azeri nationality to escape job and education discrimination in Azerbaijan." Despite the assimilationist policy of the Azeri government, the Lezgin population is undoubtedly greater than it appears. (2026). 9780765633682, M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 9780765633682
As Svante Cornell adds;
Lezgins also live in Central Asia, "The last 1989 all Soviet census recorded 204,400 Lezgins in Daghestan and 171,395 Lezgins in Azerbaijan. Both figures reflected a relative, almost identical decline (5 percent) in Lezgin numbers in both "homelands". Roughly 65,000 Lezgins were counted in other parts of the Soviet Union, mostly Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan." mainly due to Stalin's deportation policies.
In 1992 a Lezgin organization named Sadval was established to promote Lezgin rights. Sadval campaigned for the redrawing of the Russian–Azerbaijani border to allow for the creation of a single Lezgin state encompassing areas in Russia and Azerbaijan where Lezgins were compactly settled. In Azerbaijan, a more moderate organization called Samur was formed, advocating more cultural autonomy for Lezgins in Azerbaijan.
Lezgins traditionally suffered from unemployment and a shortage of land. A major consequence of the outbreak of the war in First Chechen War in 1994 was the closure of the border between Russia and Azerbaijan: as a result, the Lezgins were for the first time in their history separated by an international border restricting their movement.
The high tide of Lezgin mobilization in Azerbaijan appeared to have passed towards the end of the 1990s. Sadval was banned by the Azerbaijani authorities after official allegations that it was involved in the 1994 Baku Metro bombings. The end of the Karabakh war, and Lezgin resistance to forced conscription, deprived the movement of a key issue on which to mobilize. In 1998 Sadval split into ‘moderate’ and ‘radical’ wings, following which it appeared to lose much of its popularity on both sides of the Russian–Azerbaijani border.
Lezgins expressed concern over underrepresentation in the Azerbaijani Parliament (Milli Meclis) after a shift away from proportional representation in the parliamentary elections of November 2005. Lezgins had been represented by two members of parliament in the previous parliament, but are now represented by only one.
Lezgins state that they face discrimination and that they feel forced to assimilate into Azeri identity to avoid economic and education discrimination. Therefore, the real number of Lezgins may be significantly higher than presented in censuses.Bolukbasi, Suha. "Azerbaijan." (2013): 1-312.Sayfutdinova, Leyla. "Ethnic boundaries and territorial borders: on the place of Lezgin irredentism in the construction of national identity in Azerbaijan." Nationalities Papers 50.4 (2022): 794-812.
Lezgin is taught as a foreign language in areas where many Lezgins are settled, but teaching resources are scarce. Lezgin textbooks come from Russia and are not adapted to local conditions. Although Lezgin newspapers are available, Lezgins have also expressed concern over the disappearance of their rich oral tradition. The only Lezgin television broadcasting available in Azerbaijan is that received over the border from Russia.
In March 2006 Azerbaijani media reported that Sadval had formed an 'underground' terrorist unit carrying out operations in Dagestan. Security forces across the border in Dagestan in Russia, responded skeptically to these reports having found no evidence.
In March 1999 another organization, the Federal Lezgin National Cultural Autonomy, was established as an extraterritorial movement advocating cultural autonomy for Lezgins.
Modern-day Lezgins speak Northeast Caucasian languages that have been spoken in the region before the introduction of Indo-European languages. They are closely related, both culturally and linguistically, to the Aghuls of southern Dagestan and, somewhat more distantly, to the Tsakhurs, Rutuls, and Tabasarans (the northern neighbors of the Lezgins). Also related, albeit more distantly, are the numerically small Jek people, Kryts people, Shahdagh people, Budukh people, and Khinalug people peoples of northern Azerbaijan. These groups, together with the Lezgins, form the Samur branch of the indigenous Lezgic peoples.
Lezgins are believed to descend partly from people who inhabited the region of southern Dagestan in the Bronze Age. However, there is some DNA evidence of significant admixture during the last 4,000 years with a Central Asian population.
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