alternatehistory.com

When one speaks of the “Southern Caucasus”, one usually thinks of three geocultural entities: the Orthodox Kartvelian-speaking region at the upper Kura River and the Lazic Riviera, the Mipahysite Armenian highlands extending from the Upper Euphrates and Araxes Rivers to incorporate the lake districts of Sevan and Van and ultimately the lowland regions of the Kura and Araxes delta facing the Caspian Sea populated by Aghbanian and Tat peoples.

Caucasus Mountains in Svaneti
Neither of these entities would be a united country a historian would from hindsight label as Georgia, Armenia or Azerbaijan. Rather, each would be a collection of independent statelets, duchies and petty kingdoms.

During most of the 10th century the Kartvelian regions would be fragmented into the realms of Abkhazia, Tao-Klarjeti and Kakheti-Hereti and Kartli. Towards the end of the century, David III of Tao would integrate Kartli, while the succession in Abkhazia would be so, that a succession crisis would erupt, and David III would be one of the contenders. This he would succeed in 1008 and further in 1010 he would seek to integrate Kakheti-Hereti.

Cup of King David III. of Georgia
Of course, the Kartvelian linguistic family would contain the varieties of Lazic, spoken in Rhomaic territory, Svan in Svaneti and Mingrelian in Abkhazia, Mingrelia and Guria. Contrary to a world with an Arab monotheist religion, the Mingrelian language would continue to be spoken along the entire Kartvelian coast of the Pontic Sea; and Mingrelian or Zan would remain as a vibrant language rather than be reduced to a “sister language” of Georgian proper.

The Kartlian language would have its core of speakers in the Kura valley: with some dialect groups distinguishing the central varieties (around Kartli), western varieties (in Tao-Klarjeti), northeastern (in the mountain valleys of the Caucasus) and eastern (Kakheti and Hereti).

As for Armenia, the highland region itself would be fragmented as well, with an Armenian Kingdom taking up the region between Lake Sevan and the upper reaches of the Araxes; a lordship of Taron at the Upper Euphrates, a Duchy of Vaspourakan around Lake Van, and counties of Syunik, and Artsakh.

The traditional Armenian woman costume from the period
The notion of a unified Armenian state was now rather relative than absolute. However, the Armenian language remains more-less uniform throughout the entire region

While the Paulician movement by now was mostly, or at least formally extinguished, a heretic branch called Tondrakians arose. The movement could be described as a continuation of Paulicianism; yet it was social revolutionary. It was used as a resistance movement of class warfare against the extant feudal system- directed against the nobility and clergy. Organized as early Christian communities rather than with an episcopal structure, their errors could be described as:

1. They deny priestly ordination, which the apostles received from Christ.
2. They deny the Holy Communion as the true body and blood of Christ.
3. They deny Baptism as being mere bath water.
4. They consider Sunday as on a level with other days.
5. They refuse genuflection.
6. They deny the veneration of the cross.
7. They ordain each other and thus follow self-conferred priesthood.
8. They do not accept marriage as a sacrament.
9. They reject the ritual slaughter of animals as being a Jewish practice.
10. They are sexually promiscuous.

The Armenian Apostolic Church would remain as the state sponsored religion, despite soft power from the Rhomaic Empire to seek communion with the Chalcedonian Church. This was particularly true for the western statelets, which would be solidly in the Rhomaic sphere of influence.

Manuscript of the Etchmiadzin Gospel
As for the lowland regions facing the Caspian Sea, known as Aghbania (1) used to be very heterogenous, as of having initially as many as 26 languages. However, by the 10th century, this number has shrunken significantly.

Most of these ancient tongues would be spoken in the region between the Kura river and the Caucasus Mountains, and would include Avar, Tsakhur, Rutul,Lezgin, Kryz , Jek, Budukh and Krynalukh languages: all of them being of the Northeastern Caucasian stock. Among them, Lezgin and Udi would become most prominent, with Udi being the most widespread. The western regions, between the Kura and Araxes Rivers, would gradually become more and more culturally influenced by Armenia, to such an extent, that the local languages would be, in many cases dropped in favour of Armenian or Udi, which would have the greatest capacity to resist cultural assimilation due to it being a liturgical and written language.

On the Apsheron Peninsula, and along the Caspian coast, the populace would have spoken an Iranian language known as Adhari(2) and practice Zurvanism. Further south, in the Shirvan steppe, many Khazars have descended into the area and settle especially in the eastern Arran region.

Thus Aghbania becomes a cultural melting pot, with the western highlands in the process of Armenianization, the north speaking Lezgic languages, especially Udi, the south settled by Khazars and Apsheron peninsula populated by Adhari-speaking Iranians. Such ethno-religious diversity would scarcely be without political turmoil as well. The Khazars would establish their own Khanate in the area, under the so-called Jospehian dynasty (after the last Khagan of Khazaria). This Jospehian dynasty would have established their own Khaganate of Shirvan, dismantling the older Kingdom of Aghbania, which would fragment into several successor states.

Gandzasar Monastery, one of the major religious landmarks in Aghbania
First, the western highlands would be joint to the extant Armenian principalities of Artsakh. Secondly, the lowlying Kura-Araxes delta region would become the Shirvan Khanate. And finally , the northern regions, still populated by Lezgic, Adhari, and Udi peoples, would become the principalities of Utik and Lezgia

(1) Roughly corresponding to Azerbaijan

(2) Referring to the Tat language of Azerbaijan. Tat is an Azeri exonym