On the territory of the Caucasus, near the village of Dombai, there are many interesting old temples. It is believed that all of them were built during the early Middle Ages.
Most of these buildings were made in the 10-12 centuries. Those times were the best for the Byzantine Empire, which influenced this territory - Alania. Who are the Alans?
It is believed that these were nomads of Scythian-Sarmatian origin. The first information about this people is found in very ancient written sources dating back to the first century AD - it was then that Alans first appeared on the territory of the Azov and Ciscaucasia.
By the 3rd century AD they became one of the dominant Sarmatian tribes, making their numerous raids on the territory:
1) the Crimean peninsula.
2) Transcaucasia.
3) Asia Minor.
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4) Mussels.
But at the end of the 4th century - in 372, they were defeated by the Hun tribes, after which a decent part of the Alans was involved in the Great Migration of Peoples, and the rest found a new home in the foothills of the Caucasus and gradually switched to a sedentary lifestyle, engaging in agriculture and cattle breeding.
Most of the Alans lived in the Central Caucasus, starting from the right tributaries of the Kuban River and ending with the Aksai River in the east.
In the 7-8 centuries of our era, Christianity gradually began to penetrate here, and already purposeful missionary activity began in the 10th century.
Official science believes that the Alans became Christians completely in 912-916. For a long time, Christianity was mixed with pagan traditions here. Now let's take a look at some interesting local temples.
Sentin temple
It can rightfully be considered one of the most ancient Christian churches in our country. It is located on the left bank of the Teberda, not far from the village of Lower Teberda.
The temple is built of sandstone blocks, bonded together with lime mortar. Entering the temple, you can see traces of frescoes from the 11th century. Already in the 19th century, an Orthodox female Spassko-Preobrazhensky monastery was built here, but it has not survived to this day - it was destroyed during the Soviet Union.
However, it was restored, but the original form of the monastery was lost. Not far from the temple there is a mausoleum, also built in the 10th century. Researchers believe that the highest clergy were buried here. This building is unique for the entire North Caucasus.
Shoanin Temple
It was built in the 10th century, located not far from the left bank of the Kuban River, and is made in the Byzantine architectural style.
Unfortunately, in 2007, local residents tried to reconstruct the cathedral on their own, but this did not end well - the later plaster of the temple was destroyed, exposing the original plaster. Now you can see many old paintings in such languages as:
1) Greek.
2) Arabic.
3) Georgian.
4) Armenian.
5) Russian.