Rutul Federation

{{short description|Former state in what is now Russia}}

{{Infobox country

| conventional_long_name = Rutul Federation

| established = 7th century

| date_end = 1839

| capital = Rutul

| official_languages = Rutul

| religion = Islam

| government_type = Monarchy

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}}

The Rutul Federation or The Rutul Free Society is a Rutul state located in Southern Dagestan and was formed in the 7th century.{{cite news |url= http://dagpravda.ru/page/45/ |title= Рутулы (Rutulians)|edition= Дагестанская правда |date=April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080416173438/http://dagpravda.ru/page/45/ |archive-date = 2008-04-16 |quote= 16}}{{Cite book|title=Всеобщій географическиій и статистическій словарь (General Geographical and Statistical Dictionary)|last=Петрович Гагарин|first=Сергей|publisher=Типография А. Семёна|year=1843|pages=4}}{{cite book| author = Гарун Халилович Ибрагимов | title = Рутульский язык (Rutulian language) |date = 1978 |publisher= Наука | pages = 13}}Исторически рутульские поселения образовывали территориальные вольные общества{{Cite book|title=Рутульская архитектура (Rutulian architecture)|last=Омарович Хан-Магомедов|first=Селим|publisher=Изд-во Ладья|year=1998|isbn=5706801053|pages=54,56,339}}{{cite book| author = Марк Осипович Косвен |edition= Институт этнографии имени Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=F2ozAAAAMAAJ&q=Рутульское+вольное+общество | title = Народы Дагестана: сборник статей (Peoples of Dagestan: collection of articles)|date = 1955 |publisher= Изд-во Академии наук СССР | pages = 194}}{{Cite book|title=Очерки истории Дагестана (Essays on the history of Dagestan)|last=Институт истории, языка и литературы им. Г. Цадасы|publisher=Дагестанское книжное изд-во|year=1957|pages=205}}{{Cite book|title=Советская этнография|edition=Р.С.Ф.С.Р. Народный комиссариат просвещения, Институт этнографии имени Н.Н. Миклухо-Маклая|publisher=Изд-во Академии наук|year=1953|pages=31}}Institute of History, Language and Literature. G. Tsadasy. Essays on the history of Dagestan. - Dagestan Book Publishing House, 1957. - Vol. 1. - p. 205.R.S.F.S.R. People's Commissariat of Education, Institute of Ethnography named after N.N. Miklouho-Maclay. Soviet ethnography. - Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences, 1953. - Vol. Volume 1953. - p. 31.{{Excessive citations inline|reason=9 Citations for a single claim??|date=September 2021}}

Rutuls experienced strong cultural and linguistic pressure from Azerbaijanis and to a lesser extent from Lezghins.{{cite book |last=Wixman |first=Ronald |date=2017 |title=Peoples of the USSR: An Ethnographic Handbook |language=en |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1315475400 |pages=170/246}}

Before the annexation by the Russian Empire, the Rutuls made a federation of multiple rural communities which were known as the "Rutul Magal".[http://www.dagpravda.ru/page/45 Статья Рутулы][https://sites.google.com/site/naibyshamil/8 Агабек Рутульский: забытый наиб Шамиля][http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/sie/15171/РУТУЛЬЦЫ Статья «Рутульцы»]{{Cite book|title=Народы Мира. Этнографические очерки. Народы Кавказа (Peoples of the World. Ethnographic Essays. Peoples of the Caucasus). Под ред. М.О.Косвена, Л.И.Лаврова, Г.А.Нерсесова, Х.О.Хашаева|publisher=Издательство Академии Наук СССР |year=1960}} This Magal was ruled by a Bek, a permanent leader. These Beks address important issues and are required to convene to a popular assembly.

In the 17th century, the Rutul Federation included Tsakhur villages and captured some Lezgin villages. They did lose two Rutul villages to the Gazikumukh Khanate and two more to the Akhty-para. This free society consisted of Rutul and Lezgi villages and was one of the largest free societies, along with Akhty-para, Alty-para and Dokuz-para free societies.{{cite book |last1=Friedrich |first1=Paul |last2=Levinson |first2=David |last3=Diamond |first3=Norma |title=Encyclopedia of World Cultures: Russia and Eurasia, China |volume=6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Qc4ZAQAAIAAJ |language=en |publisher=G.K. Hall|year=1991 |isbn=9780816118106|pages=(241–243,318)/527}}