History of North Ossetia–Alania

The territory of North Ossetia has been inhabited for thousands of years, being both a very fertile agricultural region and a key trade route through the Caucasus Mountains.

[3] The arrival of Imperial Russia led to the rapid development of the region, with industries founded and road and rail connections built to overcome Ossetia's isolation.

In 1830, a military campaign led by General Ivan Abkhazov brought North Ossetia under tighter control of the Russian Empire.

In World War II, North Ossetia saw the high-water mark of the invasion of Russia by Nazi Germany; the Germans attempted to seize Vladikavkaz in November 1942 but were repulsed.

North Ossetian SSR finally became the first autonomous republic of the RSFSR to declare national sovereignty[citation needed], on June 20, 1990 (although it still remains firmly part of Russia).

Some 70,000 South Ossetian refugees were resettled in North Ossetia, sparking clashes with the predominantly Ingush population in the Prigorodny District.

The bloodiest incident by far was the September 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, in which Muslim separatists of Shamil Basayev seized control of a school.

A 10th-century Alanian church in Arkhyz , as photographed after its reconstruction and remodeling in 1897.
Map of territory of medieval Alania (9th–12th centuries)
Map of territory of modern North Ossetia – Alania within medieval Alania (9th-12th century), according to claims on non-official sources linking Ossetian historian Ruslan S. Bzarov. [ citation needed ]
Political map of the Caucasus region in 1060
Ossetian tribes, according to claims on non-official sources linking Ossetian historian B. A. Kaloev. [ citation needed ]
Map of modern North Ossetia–Alania