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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2026.99.60.002

FROM THE AGIOTOPONYMY OF OSSETIA

Dzitstsoity, Yuri A.
Izvestia SOIGSI. 2026. Issue 60 (99). P.98-114.
Abstract:

This article presents an etymological analysis of Ossetian hagiotoponyms whose origins were considered obscure. Previously proposed etymological interpretations did not take into account the historical phonetics of the Ossetian language. In some cases, the analysis was based on an inaccurately recorded form of the toponym. To establish the true form, the author of this article had to turn to folklore, ethnographic, and other materials, as well as his own field notes. As the etymological analysis of the toponyms under consideration shows, toponyms of Iranian (Scythian- Sarmatian or Alanian) origin are quite common on the map of Ossetia. Their etymology can only be revealed through the application of comparative-historical linguistics. Old Iranian appellatives, which have become part of Ossetian hagiotoponymy, are not commonly used in modern Ossetian. The ideosemantics of the analyzed toponyms indicate that the creators of the most ancient layer of Ossetian toponymy adhered to Old Iranian pagan beliefs based on the cult of the sun. No Zoroastrian influence was detected in the analyzed portion of the hagiotoponymy, or in the Ossetian pantheon as a whole. This refutes the opinion of those scholars who unequivocally accept the Zoroastrian influence on the beliefs of the Alans. As the material under consideration shows, the Ossetian (pre- Christian) pantheon contains deities of all three functions (according to Dumézil). However, we do not find a single ancient Iranian theonym in Ossetian toponymy, and all the analyzed names are reflexes of various epithets applied to the names of Old Iranian gods. In this sense, the toponymy of Ossetia can be compared, for example, with the toponymy of Vakhan, where the sanctuary’s name also contains epithets of ancient Iranian gods. The article also addresses the Christianization of the Alanian pantheon.

Keywords: toponymy, hagiotoponymy, Ossetia, etymology, Iranian languages, pantheon of gods, Mithra.
Language:: Russian Download the full text  
For citation:: Dzitstsoity, Yu.A. From the agiotoponymy of Ossetia // Izvestiya SOIGSI. 2026. Iss. 60 (99).
Pp. 98-114. (in Russian). DOI 10.46698/VNC.2026.99.60.002
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