Friedrich Bodenstedt on the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity of the Caucasus

Abstract

Caucasus, one of the most multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual regions of the world, has been influenced by different cultures and has, in turn, affected distinct cultures. People from different cultural backgrounds came to live in the region. Their experiences and observations played an important role in these cultural transfers. Friedrich Bodenstedt, a young German philologist arrived in Tbilisi in the autumn of 1843 and left again in April of 1845. Bodenstedt wrote a number of works on the Caucasus, and he made interesting observations in the fields of history, literature, languages, music, lifestyles and traditions, women, and material culture of the Caucasus. This article aims to draw attention to the remarks made by Bodenstedt on the Caucasus and to retrace the explorational journey that he took through the region.