Alans: Map & History
The Alans were an ancient and medieval Iranic nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today the North Caucasus; some continued on to Europe and later North Africa.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Alans were an ancient and medieval Iranic nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today the North Caucasus; some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the Alans with the Central Asian Yancai of Chinese sources and with the Aorsi of Roman sources. Having migrated westwards and becoming dominant among the Sarmatians on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, the Alans are mentioned by Roman sources in the 1st century CE. At that time they had settled in the region north of the Black Sea and frequently raided the Parthian Empire and the South Caucasus provinces of the Roman Empire. Between 215 and 250 CE the Goths broke their hold on the Pontic Steppe, thereby assimilating a significant population of associated Alans.
Modern Countries Once Part of Alans
At its mapped extent, Alans covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Alans's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Alans in Depth
History
The Alans were formed out of the merger of the Massagetae, a Central Asian Iranian nomadic people, with some old tribal groups. Related to the Asii who previously invaded Bactria in the 2nd century BC, the Alans were pushed west by the Kangju people (known to Graeco-Roman authors as the Ἰαξάρται Iaxártai in Greek, and the Iaxartae in Latin), the latter of whom were living in the Syr Darya basin, from where they expanded their rule from Fergana to the Aral Sea region.
The first mentions of names that historians link with the Alani appear at almost the same time in texts from the Mediterranean, Middle East and China.
Now there was a nation of the Alans, which we have formerly mentioned somewhere as being Scythians, and living around Tanais and Lake Maeotis.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Alans (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Alans Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 225,366 km² in 421 CE.
Alans: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Alans exist?
Alans is dated to 414 CE – 438 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
How large was Alans at its peak?
At its peak in 421 AD Alans covered about 225,366 km².