ETHNIC RELIGION OF THE OSSETIANS AS SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT: HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE PROBLEM


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Home Editorial board Publication ethics Information Current Archive Rules for authors Contacts	DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2025.30.23.006 ETHNIC RELIGION OF THE OSSETIANS AS SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT: HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE PROBLEM Bitiev, David V. Kavkaz Forum. 2025. Issue 23. Abstract: The article is a historiographic review of main works dedicated to ethnic religion of the Ossetians. Relevance of work assumed in lack of similar researches that highlight all periods of Ossetian’s religious tradition studies. There were different approaches to Ossetian’s religion developed for many years of work, so it is important to systematize controversial points of view on this subject. That is the main goal of this research. The base of systematization is chronological approach. According to it, different concepts viewed in connection with time of their development and their impact on subsequent researches. As a result, it was found out that historiography of Ossetian’s ethnic religion can be divided on three parts. First part includes works of descriptive character, with lack of methodological consistence. Second period characterized by application of philological and ethnological methods. It allowed to interprete ethnographical data on site of shortage of written sources in history of Ossetians. Third period described by interpretational capability expansion with involvement of anthropological and sociological approaches and retention of “traditional” philological, historical and archeological data. By this time there exists a group of scientists who relate Alanian religion with contemporary Ossetians beliefs. Keywords: ethnic religion of the Ossetians, historiography, spiritual culture, ethnology, religion, Ossetian studies. Language: Russian Download the full text For citation: Bitiev, D.V. Ethnic religion of Ossetians as a scientific concept: historiography of the problem. 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