Editing Caucasus (section)

===Middle Ages===
[[File:Georgian empire with tributaries.png|upright=1.35|thumb|[[Kingdom of Georgia]] at the peak of its might, early 13th century.]]
As the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia]] (an eponymous branch of the [[Arsacid dynasty of Parthia]]) was the first nation to adopt Christianity as [[state religion]] (in 301 AD), and [[Caucasian Albania]] and [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] had become Christian entities, [[Christianity]] began to overtake [[Zoroastrianism]] and pagan beliefs. With the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]], large parts of the region [[Arabs in the Caucasus|came under the rule of the Arabs]], and [[Islam]] penetrated the region.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=Shireen |title=Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security |date=2004 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |page=3 |quote="(..) It is difficult to establish exactly when Islam first appeared in Russia because the lands that Islam penetrated early in its expansion were not part of Russia at the time, but were later incorporated into the expanding Russian Empire. Islam reached the Caucasus region in the middle of the seventh century as part of the Arab [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquest]] of the Iranian Sassanian Empire. " |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

In the 10th century, the [[Alans]] (proto-[[Ossetians]])<ref name="Great Soviet Encyclopedia">[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article009862.html Аланы], [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]</ref> founded the Kingdom of [[Alania]], that flourished in the [[Northern Caucasus]], roughly in the location of latter-day [[Circassia]] and modern [[North Ossetia–Alania]], until its destruction by the [[Mongol invasion]] in 1238–39.

During the Middle Ages, [[Bagratid Armenia]], [[Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget]], [[Kingdom of Syunik]] and [[Principality of Khachen]] organized local Armenian population facing multiple threats after the fall of antique [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]]. [[Caucasian Albania]] maintained close ties with [[Armenia]] and the [[Church of Caucasian Albania]] shared the same Christian dogmas with the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]] and had a tradition of their Catholicos being ordained through the Patriarch of Armenia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 August 2013 |title=Caucasian Albanian Church celebrates its 1700th Anniversary |language=en-US |work=The Georgian Church for English Speakers |url=https://georgianorthodoxchurch.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/caucasian-albanian-church-celebrates-its-1700th-anniversary/ |access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref>

In the 12th century, the Georgian king [[David the Builder]] drove the Muslims out of the Caucasus and made the [[Kingdom of Georgia]] a strong regional power. In 1194–1204 Georgian [[Tamar of Georgia|Queen Tamar]]'s armies crushed new Seljuk Turkish invasions from the southeast and south and launched several successful campaigns into Seljuk Turkish-controlled Southern Armenia. The Georgian Kingdom continued military campaigns in the Caucasus region. As a result of her military campaigns and the temporary fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, Georgia became the strongest Christian state in the whole [[Near East]] area, encompassing most of the Caucasus stretching from Northern Iran and Northeastern Turkey to the North Caucasus.

The Caucasus region was conquered by the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]], [[Turco-Mongols]], local kingdoms and khanates, as well as, once again, [[Iran]].