History of Northern Caucasus

The Northern Caucasus, which is separated from the centers of the world civilizations by steep offshoots of the Caucasus Mountains, the vastenesses of the Caspian and Black Seas and the Great Steppe, already at the early stage of the human history became one of the brightest seats of ancient culture.

Favorable climatic conditions, abundant natural resources and most fertile soils created all prerequisites for progressive development of primeval economy. The epoch of early metal started here beginning with the 6th millennia BC practically simultaneously with Mesopotamia and Northern Iran. The Maikop Culture of the Early Bronze Age, which received its name from the richest kurgan (burial mound) found in the city of Maikop (Republic of Adighe) in 1897 by professor Veselovsky N.I., spread over the major part of the Northern Caucasus - from the Taman peninsular in the North-West to Daghestan in the South-East. Arising, formation and development of this culture are primarily connected with penetration of individual groups of population from the Near Easter to the Trans-Kuban steppes and foothills, which were the ones that brought here the cultural and technological achievements of the Near East. The complex cultural interactions resulted in formation of unique culture, which represented one of the most outstanding phenomena of the Bronze Age of Europe and of the entire Eurasian border territories.