Erzi (aul)

The word "Erzi" (Аьрзи) translates from the Ingush as 'eagle'.^[5] According to Ingush folklore, Erzi was founded on a site where there was once an eagle's nest.^[6]

It is located in western part of the mountainous region of Ingushetia 1315 m above sea level on the right bank of the Armkhi River, clearly visible from the road, and considered to be one of the main monuments of the Erzi Nature Reserve. The nearest tower settlements are: in the north — Hamishke and Koshk, in the southeast — Kerbite, in the west — Lyazhgi, in the east — Angeti.^[7]

The settlement is traditionally considered to have been founded by Prince Kist, while his son Cha is credited with building its fortified towers.^[8] His descendants formed the Oartskhoy clan, whose branches include several influential Ingush families, notably the Yandievs, Mamilovs, and Aldaganovs. The name Oartskhoy combines the name of the settlement, Erzi, with the suffix -khoy (meaning 'of') and thus translates as 'of Erzi'. Other sources attribute the establishment of Erzi to Yand,^[9] progenitor of the Yandiev family, the 'principal family‘^[10] of Erzi, who kept guard there and took tribute for passage.^[11]

During the pre-Islamic period, a strong cultural and religious relationship existed with the neighbouring tower complexes Tyarsh and Shoan.^[12]

Erzi was home to several Ingush families, territorially attributed to the Fyappin, Metskhalin or Kistin society.^[13][14][15]

Ethnographic accounts from Erzi describe its inhabitants as engaging in raids, during which captives were taken and held for ransom. Those who were not ransomed became slaves or were sold.^[16]

On May 14, 1733, Bodscha and Karadscha Yandiev, swore an oath of allegiance to Vakhtang VI of Kartli.^[17]

On January 8, 1811, Erzi became part of the Russian Empire through an agreement signed by Khasa and Itar Yandiev.^[18]

In 1931, a rare and very important find was made in the village of Erzi: a bronze censer in the shape of an eagle, known as Suleyman's Eagle, though some historians believe it be a detail of an ancient military standard. It was made in the 8th century (year 189 of the Hijri calendar) in the Arab Caliphate. In 1936 the statue was relocated to St. Petersburg, where it is exhibited in the Hall of the Culture and Art of the Hermitage Museum.^[19]

"Apparently, strong birds enjoyed special reverence among the local highlanders, and may have been the totem of the inhabitants of Erzi. It is no coincidence that the ancient and numerous family of the Mamilovs (the native Erzians), had an image of an eagle as their coat of arms. It is likewise no coincidence that the Armkhi River, roaring deep in the gorge, received from Ossetian neighbors, the, at first glance, unexpected name “Makkal-don” (meaning “river of kites”), and the Ingush themselves, the inhabitants of the gorge, are called among the Ossetians “Makkal” or “Makkalon” ”, i.e. "kite people". The eagle and the kite in ornithology (the science of birds) are close relatives, they belong to the same family – hawks. Consequently, behind the Ossetian "makkal" and the Ingush "erzi" are close concepts of raptors, the special role of which in the life and religious ideas of the population of the Dzherakh Gorge left an indelible mark in these places."

In 2012–2015 the tower complex was reconstructed. It has 8 combat, 2 semi-combat, 47 residential towers, 1 temple, and over 20 burial grounds, including the mausoleum of the famous tower builder Yand.^[21]

In 2019, carbon dating of a tower at Erzi indicated that it was constructed between 1683 and 1723.^[22]

Erzi serves as the real-world basis for the village of "Arzia" in the 1883 novel The Patricide by the classic Georgian writer Alexander Kazbegi. In the text, the settlement is located beyond the Gvirgala (Gveleti) mountain pass near the Khde gorge and is described as being inhabited by "Kistins".

In the plot, Arzia serves as a safe haven for the protagonists. A local resident named Parcho and his family shelter the fugitives Koba and Vepkhia after their escape from a Russian Cossack outpost, while a local healer tends to the wounded Iago until he is fit to continue his journey.^[23]

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  View on aul Erzi and the Armkhi valley. Late XIX century.
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  Tourists arriving at Erzi village at the end of the XIX century.