Gargareans or Gargari are an ancient culture of men in the north Caucasus Mountains near the Caspian Sea. On the south Black Sea coast, Amazons create a homeland. Once a year, Amazons and Gargari interact to have children.
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The Amazons appear in Greece by c. 13th century BCE. A fierce tribe of female warriors, they're skilled in arts of combat, horse riding and archery. By the 9th century BCE the Amazon realm is thought to center around modern day Terme, Turkey.
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Men are not permitted in Amazon society. Similarly Gargari have an all-male culture. Ancient Greek geographer Strabo places the Gargareans in the northern foothills of the Caucasus. Several scholars equate them with the Galgaï, historic early inhabitants of the region.
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Galgai-Yurt is a former village (khutor) in the area of modern day Valerik in Chechen Republic, Russia. Galgai-Yurt combines the words Ghalghaï, the self-name of the Ingush people, and yurt, meaning "village" in Vainakh languages.
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In the 4th-3rd millennium BCE in the North Caucasus, cultures of the early Bronze Age are growing. Groups include the Maykop (3700 - 3000 BCE) and Kura–Araxes (c. 4000 - 2000 BCE).
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The territory of Ingushetia is located at their intersection. Monuments and artifacts date to the Early Bronze Age. Domestication of horses begins here with the Stone Age Botai. In c. 3300 - 3000 BCE the Yamnaya Steppe People are living on the Pontic-Caspian plain.
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Several genetically linked cultures are created in the Middle Bronze Age, known as the North Caucasian Cultural and Historical Community. From this forms the ancient culture of the North Caucasian indigenous peoples, such as the Koban and Ghalghai.
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Chronologically the Koban culture dates from c. 12th-4th century BCE. By 500 BCE, Koban tribes unite in a confederation. Ancient sources call the group Malkh (Makhli, Makhelonia) or Dzurdzuketi.
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Information about the village of Galgai-Yurt is sparse until the 19th century. During his expedition in the Caucasus mountains in the 1830s, lieutenant-general Johann Blaramberg mentions Galgai-Yurt as Galga situated on the river Valerik.
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In Chechen Valerik means "river of the dead". In 1833, a punitive expedition by the Russian Empire attacks the "unruly" village Galgai-Yurt. Soon after, the village is razed in another punitive expedition.
The Battle of the Valerik River on 11 July 1840 was fought as part of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. The combatants are the Russian Empire and North Caucasian rebel mountaineers.
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In 1847, a third punitive expedition of the Russian Empire descends on Galgai-Yurt. The Empire's oppressive tactics are all connected to the rebellion against Russian conquest by strongly independent native people.
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Attempts at control by Russian forces continue through World War II. During the war the area is subject to widescale genocide and relocation.
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The village is recorded inhabited in official documents from 1848, 1856 and 1859. In 1859, military historian Adolf Berge in his work Chechenya and Chechens mentions Galgai-Yurt as part of the village Valerik. He says Galgai-Yurt exists up until 1846.
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According to Moscow Prof Krupnov, accuracy of the location of the Gargari given by Strabo in Galga-chuv (Ingushetia) is confirmed by archaeologic, anthropologic and ethnographic data. Gaius Plinius Secundus also locates them there, but calls them Gegar.
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The Amazons are thought to originate from the same area, arriving first in Aegean Greece and moving to the later Pontus at the Black Sea. Early migrations from the Pontic-Caspian steppes also include a group who become the Mycenaean Greeks.
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Once a year, the Amazons and Gargari get together. Where they meet is not known. They're thought to be neighbors in the past. Now a sea's between them. After sex, male babies born of the union are returned to their fathers. Girls are raised by their mothers the Amazon way.
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The Gargari bring up their sons as warriors, teaching them to ride horses, hunt and use weapons such as bow and arrow, spear and sling. Warrior skills are similar to those of the Amazons, who also have a strong horse culture.
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