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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2021.79.40.011

ON THE 1100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHRISTENING OF ALANYA. ALANIAN LIBRARY

Tuallagov, Alan A.
Izvestia SOIGSI. 2021. IIS 40 (79).
Abstract:
This review presents an assessment of the monograph devoted to the problems of the adoption
of Christianity by the Alans at the beginning of the 10th century. These events are understood as
the formation of Christianity as the state religion. The main attention is paid to the biography
and activities of the Patriarch of Constantinople Nicholas I Mysticos and his “Alanian dossier”.
The basis of the monograph is the analysis of data from the corresponding letters of the patriarch
in the part concerning the stated problem. The translation of the corresponding parts of the letters
into Russian is presented in the final part of the publication. The publication of the monograph
itself opens the series of the “Alanian Library” of the “Ir” publishing house, initiated on the eve of
the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the baptism of Alania, which gives the publication
not only scientific, but also important social significance. The review presents some correction
in the idea of the formation of a scientific paradigm that establishes a genetic link between the
Alans of the early Middle Ages and modern Ossetians. In the opinion of the reviewer, attempts to
identify an earlier period of the Alans’ acquaintance with Christianity seem to be contradictory.
In this case, the very concept of “acquaintance” remains without proper definition. The
postulation of the existence of secular and ecclesiastical science contradicts the very concept of
science. Some of the presented interpretations of the content of narrative sources, at least, bring
them into the area of discussion. The private remarks offered in the review do not affect the main
part of the monographic publication, which analyzes various pages of the activities of Nicholas
I the Mystic and the letters of his “Alanian dossier”. According to the reviewer, it should be the
most attractive for a wide range of readers, for whom the initiated series «Alanian Library»
is intended. It provides material that sanctifies both the process of adoption of Christianity by
Alania and its sources.
Keywords: Alans, Christianity, North Caucasus, missionary activity, historiography
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