Tat language (Caucasus) test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

Tat
Tati
Spoken in	Azerbaijan, Israel, Russia, USA
Region	Northeastern Azerbaijan
Native speakers	28,000 excluding Judeo-Tat  (no date)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Western Iranian Southwestern Iranian (Persid) Tat Tat
Language codes
ISO 639-3	ttt
Linguasphere	58-AAC-g

The Tat language or Tat/Tati Persian^[1] or Tati is a Southwestern Iranian language and a variety of Persian^{[1][2][3][4][5]} spoken by the Tats in Azerbaijan and Russia. According to the Ethnologue, it is spoken by 18,000 people in Azerbaijan, 8,000 in Iran, and 2,300 in Russia.^[6] Its written form is related to Middle Persian Pahlavi. There is also a Jewish language called Judeo-Tat that is related to the Tat language.

Vladimir Minorsky mentions in the first edition of Encyclopaedia of Islam that like most Persian dialects, Tati is not very regular in its characteristics, and occupies a position between modern Persian and the Caspian dialects.^[7] According to him, The Great Russian Encyclopedia of 1901 gives the number of Tati speakers in 1901 as 135,000.^[7] In the 1930s, Minorsky estimated the number of Tati speakers to be 90,000 and the decrease to be the result of gradual Turkicization.^[7]

Tat is endangered,^[8][9] classified as "severely endangered" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Language Map of Azerbaijan.

lez:Тат чӀал

Mountainous landscape near Khinalug in Azerbaijan.

A map of the Caucasus region.

The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia (for endonyms, see below), is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe's highest mountain, Mt. Elbrus. Politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts.

Names[link]

• Avar: Кавказ - كافكاز Kavkaz
• Azerbaijani: Qafqaz
• Chechen: Kovk-Aze
• Persian: قفقاز‎ qafqâz
• Armenian: Կովկաս Kovkas
• Georgian: კავკასია k'avk'asia
• Lezgian: Кавказ Kavkaz
• Russian: Кавказ Kavkaz
• Slovak: Kaukaz
• Turkish: Kafkasya

Geography and ecology[link]

Armenia's capital Yerevan

The village of Ushguli in Georgia.

The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus.

The Ciscaucasus contains the larger majority of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, also known as the Major Caucasus mountains. It includes Southwestern Russia and northern parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The Transcaucasus is bordered on the north by Russia, on the west by the Black Sea and Turkey, on the east by the Caspian Sea, and on the south by Iran. It includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. All of Armenia, Azerbaijan (excluding the northern parts) and Georgia (excluding the northern parts) are in South Caucasus.

The main Greater Caucasus range is generally perceived to be the dividing line between Asia and Europe. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, and is generally considered as the highest point in Europe.

The Caucasus is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse regions on Earth. The nation states that comprise the Caucasus today are the post-Soviet states Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Russian divisions include Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and the autonomous republics of Adygea, Karachay–Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. Three territories in the region claim independence but are recognized as such by only a handful or by no independent states: Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia.

The Caucasus is an area of great ecological importance. It harbors some 6400 species of higher plants, 1600 of which are endemic to the region.^[1] Its wildlife includes leopards, brown bears, wolves, bison, marals, golden eagles and Hooded Crows. Among invertebrates, some 1000 spider species are recorded in the Caucasus.^[2] The natural landscape is one of mixed forest, with substantial areas of rocky ground above the treeline. The Caucasus Mountains are also noted for a dog breed, the Caucasian Shepherd Dog (Ovcharka).

History[link]

Petroglyphs in Gobustan, Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value"

Located on the peripheries of Turkey, Iran, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism for centuries. Throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquered the territory from the Qajars.^[3]

Kingdom of Georgia at the peak of its power under Tamar of Georgia and George IV of Georgia (1184-1223).

Ancient kingdoms of the region included Armenia, Albania, Colchis and Iberia, among others. These kingdoms were later incorporated into various Iranian empires, including Media, Achaemenid Empire, Parthia, and Sassanid Empire. In 95-55 BC under the reign of Armenian king of kings Tigranes the Great, Kingdom of Armenia became an empire, including besides Kingdom of Armenia, vassals Iberia, Albania, Parthia and a few Arab tribes Atropatene, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Cilicia, Syria, Assyria, Nabataean kingdom, Judea and Atropatene, stretching from Caucasian Mountains to Egypt and from Mediterranean Sea to Caspian Sea, including a territory of 3,000,000 km² (1,158,000 sq mi), and becoming the last strong Hellenist king, and the strongest in the region by 67 BC. By this time, Zoroastrianism had become the dominant religion of the region (except Kingdom of Armenia); however, the region would go through two other religious transformations. Owing to the rivalry between Persia and Rome, and later Byzantium, the latter would invade the region several times, although it was never able to hold the region.

Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia, completed in 303 AD, a religious centre of Armenia. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

However, because Kingdom of Armenia (301 AD, the first nation to adopt Christianity as state religion) Caucasian Albania and Georgia had become a Christian entity, Christianity began to overtake Zoroastrianism. With the Islamic conquest of Persia, the region came under the rule of the Arabs. And soon Emirate of Armenia was formed. But after several rebellions in 884\885 AD Kingdom of Armenia became independent, and several times crushed Arab armies. At that time Kingdom of Armenia capital was Ani, with a population of 200,000 and a city of "1001 churches". It was at its peak under the reign of Gagik I, when it stretched from Byzantine Empire to Caucasian Albania, from Caucasian Iberia to Mesopotamia, including also vassal states such as Caucasian Albania and Caucasian Iberia, until in 1045 AD the kingdom was conquered by Byzantine Empire. In the 7th century Georgian king David the Builder drove the Muslims out from Caucasus and made the Kingdom of Georgia a strong regional power. In 1194–1204 Georgian Queen Tamar's armies crushed new Turkish invasions from the south-east and south and launched several successful campaigns into Turkish-controlled Southern Armenia. Georgian Kingdom continued military campaigns outside of Caucasus. As a result of her military campaigns and the temporary fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, Georgia became the strongest Christian state in the whole Near East area. The region would later be conquered by the Ottomans, Mongols, local kingdoms and khanates, as well as, once again, Persia, until its conquest by Russia.

The region was unified as a single political entity twice – during the Russian Civil War (Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic) from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under the Soviet rule (Transcaucasian SFSR) from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936.

In modern times, the Caucasus became a region of war among the Ottoman Empire, Iran and Russia, and was eventually conquered by the latter (see Caucasian Wars).

In the 1940s, the Chechens and Ingush (480,000 altogether), along with the Balkars, Karachays, Meskhetian Turks (120,000), Kurds and Caucasus Germans (almost 200,000) were deported en masse to Central Asia and Siberia. Eric D. Weitz wrote, "By 1948, according to Nicolas Werth, the mortality rate of the 600,000 people deported from the Caucasus between 1943 and 1944 had reached 25 percent."^[4]

Following the end of the Soviet Union, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia became independent in 1991. The Caucasus region has been subject to various territorial disputes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994), the Ossetian-Ingush conflict (1989–1991), the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), the First Chechen War (1994–1996), the Second Chechen War (1999–2009), and the 2008 South Ossetia War.

Demographics[link]

Ethno-linguistic groups in the Caucasus region 2009.

Dagestani couple in traditional dress (early 20th century).

The region has many different languages and language families. There are more than 50 ethnic groups living in the region.^[5] No less than three language families are unique to the area, but also Indo-European languages, such as Armenian and Ossetic, and the Altaic language Azerbaijani are local to the area.

Today the peoples of the Northern and Southern Caucasus tend to be either Eastern Orthodox Christians, Oriental Orthodox Christians, or Sunni Muslims. Shia Islam has had many adherents historically in Azerbaijan, located in the eastern part of the region.

Mythology[link]

In Greek mythology the Caucasus, or Kaukasos, was one of the pillars supporting the world. After presenting man with the gift of fire, Prometheus (or Amirani in Georgian version) was chained there by Zeus, to have his liver eaten daily by an eagle as punishment for defying Zeus' wish of not giving the "secret of fire" to humans.

The Roman poet Ovid placed Caucasus in Scythia and depicted it as a cold and stony mountain which was the abode of personified hunger. The Greek hero Jason sailed to the west coast of the Caucasus in pursuit of the Golden Fleece, and there met Medea, a daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis.^{[clarification needed]}

Energy and mineral resources[link]

Caucasus has many economically important minerals and energy resources, such as: alunite, gold, chromium, copper, iron ore, mercury, manganese, molybdenum, lead, tungsten, uranium, zinc, oil, natural gas, and coal (both hard and brown).

See also[link]

	Geography portal
	Europe portal

	Book: Caucasus
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• North Caucasus
• South Caucasus
• Culture of Armenia
• Culture of Azerbaijan
• Culture of Georgia
• History of the Caucasus
• Islam in Russia
• Languages of the Caucasus
• Peoples of the Caucasus
• Prometheism
• Transcontinental nations
• Ural Mountains
• Caucasian Emirate

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam, by Nicholas Griffin
• Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus, by Svante E. Cornell
• The Caucasus, by Ivan Golovin
• de Waal, Thomas (2010), The Caucasus: An Introduction, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-539977-3 
• Coene, Frederick (2009), The Caucasus: An Introduction, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-48660-6 

Further reading[link]

• Nikolai F. Dubrovin. The history of wars and Russian domination in the Caucasus (История войны и владычества русских на Кавказе). Sankt-Petersburg, 1871–1888, at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formats.
• Gagarin, G. G. Costumes Caucasus (Костюмы Кавказа). Paris, 1840, at Runivers.ru in DjVu and PDF formats.
• Gasimov, Zaur: The Caucasus, European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, 2011, retrieved: November 18, 2011.
• Rostislav A. Fadeev. Sixty years of the Caucasian War (Шестьдесят лет Кавказской войны). Tiflis, 1860, at Runivers.ru in DjVu format.
• Kaziev Shapi. Caucasian highlanders (Повседневная жизнь горцев Cеверного Кавказа в XIX в.). Everyday life of the Caucasian highlanders. 19-th century (In the co-authorship with I. Karpeev). "Molodaya Gvardiy" publishers. Moscow, 2003. ISBN 5-235-02585-7

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Caucasia or Caucasus

• Ethnographic map of Caucasus
• Information for travellers and others about Caucasus and Georgia
• Caucasian Review of International Affairs—an academic journal on the South Caucasus
• BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, 8 September 2005
• United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus
• United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus
• Food Security in Caucasus (FAO)
• Caucasus and Iran entry in Encyclopaedia Iranica
• University of Turin-Observatory on Caucasus
• MA in Black Sea Cultural Studies. International Hellenic University-School of Humanities
• Circassians Caucasus Web (Turkish)

Coordinates: 42°15′40″N 44°07′16″E / 42.26111°N 44.12111°E / 42.26111; 44.12111

v t e Countries and regions of the Caucasus      Abkhazia 22x20px Adjara  Adygea  Armenia  Azerbaijan  Chechnya  Dagestan  Georgia  Ingushetia  Kabardino-Balkaria  Karachay-Cherkessia  Krasnodar Krai  Nagorno-Karabakh Nakhchivan  North Ossetia-Alania  South Ossetia  Stavropol Krai

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lez:Къавкъаз

Tat language may refer to the following:

• Tat language (Caucasus) in Dagestan and Azerbaijan, a southwestern Iranian language, closely related to Persian
• Tati (Iran), a group of Northwestern Iranian dialects, including Takestani, closely related to Talysh language

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960^[1][2][3]) is a former American football quarterback in the NFL for the Buffalo Bills and the USFL's Houston Gamblers.

Kelly was the third quarterback drafted in the 1983 NFL Draft, the same draft class where John Elway was first overall. Employing the K-Gun offense, known for its hurry up shotgun formations, Kelly lead one of the great NFL scoring juggernauts in the Buffalo Bills. Kelly led the Bills to four consecutive Super Bowls, from 1991 to 1994, but lost all four. In 2002, in his first year of eligibility, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jim Kelly's number 12 is the only number ever retired in Buffalo Bills history. In 2009, Kelly was elected to the Buffalo Bills 50th Season All-time Team.^[4]

Playing career[link]

East Brady High School[link]

Kelly grew up in the small town of East Brady, Pennsylvania, about 55 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. He was a standout at East Brady High School, where during his high school career he won all-state honors after passing for 3,915 yards and 44 touchdowns.^[5] After his senior year, Kelly played in the Big 33 Football Classic.

Kelly also played basketball in high school, scoring over 1,000 points in his high school basketball career and had six 30+ point games. As a senior he led East Brady to the basketball state semifinals and averaged 23 points and 20 rebounds.

University of Miami[link]

Kelly wanted to attend Penn State under Joe Paterno, but he was not offered a quarterback scholarship, instead offering him a scholarship at linebacker. ^[6] His brother, Pat, already an NFL player, advised Jim to look for a school offering a quarterback scholarship instead. He went to the University of Miami. At Miami, he played an important role in helping build the University of Miami into one of the nation's premier collegiate football programs. He finished his career at Miami with 406 completions in 646 attempts for 5,233 yards and 32 TDs. This performance earned Kelly a place in the University of Miami Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 1992.^[7]

USFL[link]

The Buffalo Bills selected Kelly in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft, but because of the Bills' poor attendance and the cold weather, he instead signed with the Houston Gamblers of the rival United States Football League. In two seasons in Houston, running coach Mouse Davis' run-and-shoot offense, he threw for 9,842 yards and 83 touchdowns, completing 63% with an average of 8.53 yards per attempt with 45 interceptions. He was the USFL MVP in 1984, when he set a league record with 5,219 yards passing and 44 TD passes. Kelly's USFL records eclipsed those of fellow league quarterbacks Doug Williams and Steve Young. When the Houston Gamblers folded, Kelly went to the New Jersey Generals and was slated as their starting quarterback. Kelly also appeared on a cover of Sports Illustrated while holding a Generals' helmet, but the league collapsed before he ever saw a snap with the Generals.^[8]

Buffalo Bills[link]

Kelly finally joined the Bills (who had retained his NFL rights) in 1986 after the USFL folded. He helped lead the Bills to 4 consecutive Super Bowl appearances and 5 divisional championships from 1989 to 1995. Buffalo made the playoffs in 8 of Kelly's 11 seasons as their starting quarterback. Kelly's primary 'go-to' wide receiver with the Bills, Andre Reed, ranks among the NFL's all-time leaders in several receiving categories. Kelly and Reed connected for 65 TD's during their career together trailing only the tandems of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112), Steve Young and Jerry Rice (85), Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne (69) and Dan Marino and Mark Clayton (79) for touchdowns by an NFL Quarterback/Receiver tandem.^[9]

"No-huddle offense"[link]

Kelly ran the Bills' "K-Gun" no-huddle offense, which was a fast-paced offense named after tight end, Keith McKeller, that denied opposing defenses the opportunity to make timely substitutions. (The NFL later changed the rules in response to this to allow opposing defenses time to change formations under no-huddle situations, but this only applied if the offense made personnel substitutions.) This offensive scheme called for multiple formation calls in a huddle, so that after each play was completed, the Bills would eschew a following huddle, instead lining up for the next play where Kelly would read the defense and audible the play. This led to mismatches and defensive communication breakdowns and, in the 1990s, established the Bills as one of the NFL's most successful and dangerous offenses, instrumental in leading Buffalo to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.

Records and accomplishments[link]

Kelly holds the all-time NFL record for most yards gained per completion in a single game (44), established on September 10, 1995 in the Bills' game against the Carolina Panthers. He recorded an NFL best 101.2 passer rating in 1990, led the league with 33 touchdowns passes in 1991, and made the Pro Bowl four times (1987, 1990, 1991, and 1992).

In his four Super Bowls, Kelly completed 81 of 145 passes for 829 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 7 interceptions. His 81 completions and 145 attempts are the second most in Super Bowl history behind Joe Montana. In Super Bowl XXVI, he set a record with 58 pass attempts, and in Super Bowl XXVIII he set a record with 31 completions (this was later surpassed by Tom Brady's 32 completions in Super Bowl XXXVIII and by Drew Brees in Super Bowl XLIV).

Kelly finished his 11 NFL seasons with 2,874 completions in 4,779 attempts for 35,467 yards and 237 touchdowns, with 175 interceptions, all of which are Buffalo records. He also rushed for 1,049 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Including his time in the NFL and USFL, he finished with over 45,000 passing yards and 320 touchdowns.^[10] In 2001 the Buffalo Bills retired his #12 jersey.

On August 3, 2002, Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Kelly was enshrined during the first year he was eligible, and headlined a class that also featured John Stallworth, Dan Hampton, Dave Casper, and George Allen. Fellow Hall of Famer and former head coach, Marv Levy, was Kelly's presenter at the ceremony.

Career statistics[link]

NFL

Key to Abbreviations
GP =Games Played
Rec =Quarterback Record
Att =Passes attempted
Com =Passes Completed
Pct =Completion percentage
Yds =Yards
TD =Touchdowns
Int =Interceptions
Rate =Passer rating

Personal life[link]

Kelly devoted much of his post-football life to his son, Hunter James Kelly, who was diagnosed with Globoid-Cell Leukodystrophy (Krabbe disease) shortly after his birth on February 14, 1997. Hunter died as a result of this disease on August 5, 2005 at the age of 8. This loss deeply affected Kelly.

To honor his son, Kelly established a non-profit organization in 1997: Hunter's Hope. Kelly's advocacy on behalf of Krabbes' patients has increased national awareness of the disease. Kelly and his wife Jill founded the annual Hunter's Day of Hope, which is held on February 14, the birthdays of both Jim and Hunter Kelly.

When Kelly was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002, he dedicated his speech to Hunter. "It's been written that the trademark of my career was toughness," said Kelly, as he choked back tears. "The toughest person I ever met in my life was my hero, my soldier, my son, Hunter. I love you, buddy."

Kelly continues to reside in East Aurora, New York, with his wife Jill and their daughters, Erin and Camryn.

He has several business ventures, including Hall of Fame Life Promotions, a promotional company that is committed to donating a percentage of all of its proceeds to The Hunter's Hope Foundation.

Since 1988 Jim Kelly has been running a football camp for youths at the Buffalo Bills facilities. It's for kids between the ages of 8 and 18. It started with 325 campers in its first year, to now over 500 campers a year. This camp provides teaching from experienced coaches and previous players from all over the country. Jim even participates in various drills with the kids.

Kelly has expressed interest in being, at least in part, owner of the Buffalo Bills when current owner Ralph Wilson no longer holds the title to the franchise. He has committed to doing what he can to keep the Buffalo Bills in Western New York.^[6]

Kelly is the uncle of Chad Kelly, a highly rated high school quarterback prospect and punter who is committed to the Clemson Tigers football team.^[11]

See also[link]

• Most wins by a starting quarterback (NFL)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• "Hunter's Hope" official website
• Jim Kelly profile at Pro Football Hall of Fame
• Jim Kelly profile and statistics at Pro-Football-Reference.com