Principality of Lars

Principality of Lars or simply called Lars was a feudal entity localized in the Darial Gorge, modern day North Ossetia-Alania

History

In the last quarter of the 16th century, the routes of the Moscow embassy to Georgia passed through Lars. At that time, the area was owned by Sultan-Murza , who controlled the Darial pass. In 1587, the embassy of Rodion Birkin used the road . On September 25, 1589, the embassy of Semyon Zvenigorodsky passed through Lars . In 1589, as part of the Georgian embassy, Sultan-Murza swore allegiance to the Moscow Tsar . The text of this oath, taken by Rodion Birkin on his return from Georgia, has been preserved: “I now wish to serve the sovereign until my death ... and I am ready to go with the sovereign’s disobedient governors and the Kabardian princes, and on this I give the sovereign the truth, the fleece, and I accompany you to the Georgian lands” . On August 3, 1604, another Moscow embassy passed through the village, which was attacked “at the first camp at night by mountain people with a firefight” .

Localization

The Principality of Lars was roughly localized around the Darial Gorge primarily in the Ossetian village of