Identifying the Caucasus as a region in a historical perspective : A corpus-based study on the uses of the concept ‘Caucasus’

• The paper addresses the question of when the understanding of the Caucasus region started to emerge in Europe, that is, when ‘Caucasus’ was used with respect to a region and not only referred to a mountain range. A closely related issue is the extent of the region that ‘Caucasus’ refers to, its territorial spread. My perspective is an outsider’s perspective: how the region was perceived and reported on by outsiders. It is not about how the Caucasus was perceived from the inside of the region, about what makes the Caucasus a region – its historical, linguistic and cultural common roots and identity. My starting point is to take a closer look at how the concept of the Caucasus region developed. I focus on the development in Sweden, a country on the European periphery. Studies of the Caucasus were more developed and more well-known in central European countries such as Germany, France and the UK. That is also a reason why it is interesting to explore the understanding of the Caucasus in the European periphery. It’s well-known that the Caucasus mountain range was a well-established geographical entity already in antiquity and the Middle Ages and it regularly appeared on early maps. This study is based on the use of the term ‘Caucasus’ and closely related concepts in a digital corpus of Swedish newspapers from the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, as a wider frame of reference, a corpus of old European maps of the region from the same period was compiled and is also discussed.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Caucasus Studies

Caucasus region

Caucasus

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