Sokaeva, Diana V. , Moradi, Maryam , Shafaghi, Mariam
Izvestia SOIGSI. 2024. IIS 51 (90). P.149-165.

Abstract:
This publication presents three texts of Ossetian folklore and their translations into
Russian. Two texts of legends, “Zdzhydy Ræsugd (tauræg)” (“Beauty of Zgid (legend)” and
“Æzdzhydy Ræsugd” (“Beauty of Zgid”), tell about the events of the distant past with the
main character, Beauty of Zgid. Historical legends of the Beauty of Zgid in Ossetian folklore
are represented by texts with a wonderful bead and texts without a wonderful bead: the
plots of these two groups of legends differ from each other. This publication presents the
texts of Ossetian historical legends of the Beauty of Zgid with a wonderful bead. The third
text, the legend “Shakhy æfsad Uælladzhyry koma” (“The army of the Shah in the Alagir
Gorge”) is of a “documentary” nature, indicating the methods of combat by the Shah’s
troops and the defending population of Tsamad village in the Alagir Gorge of Ossetia.
All three texts confirm the information about the presence of the Shah’s troops in Ossetia,
according to the majority of researcher’s opinions he was Shah Abbas I (the Great) (17th
century). Unfortunately, not all toponymical names have been identified, which poses a
new challenge for researchers of Ossetian culture as a whole. We also focus our attention
on the fact that a high degree of “documentation” distinguished Ossetian historical legends.

Keywords: Ossetian folklore, historical legend, Alagir Gorge, “documentary”.

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