Town of Derbent, the Eastern Caucasus, and Caspian Coastline: Ethnolingustic and Confessional Counter Migrations by the early of the 19th Century

This article focuses on the central part of Western Caspian territory including Southern Dagestan and a 150-kilometer coastline of the neighbouring country Azerbaijan. The main interest is given to particular ethnic groups such as Arabian, Persian, Tat and Turk – Oguz, who initially came from the Middle East. Communicating with local mountaineers they made the peculiar ethnic picture of this place by the end of the 18th century. In addition the paper considers the correlation of “stagial” and “areal” aspects and factors determining ethnic,
linguistic and confessional polymorphism in the territory. It also touches, in particular, the impact of military and political conflicts between Russia and Persia or Turkey, including various mountaineer rulers, of their war expeditions which led
to migrations from south to north and vice – versa along the Caspian coastline and mountain foot.
Moreover, the consideration is based on the concept of “economic – cultural types“ with their specifi c features. The territory in question has its local maritime way of livestock rearing which can be described as seminomadic is toughed upon.
The article also dwells on local issues of Orthodox and Armenian Christianity, of Islam in its two forms (Sunnism and Shiism) and Tats (Mountaineer) Judaism as well as some discussion materials on the problem.