Aghul people

Aghuls
агулар
Total population
45,000
Regions with significant populations
Russia 34,576
Ukraine108
Latvia25 or 33
Languages
Aghul
Religion
predominately Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Other Northeast Caucasian-speaking peoples
Especially Lezgins, Tabasarans, and Udis

Aghuls (Aghul: агулар, romanized: agular, Lezgian: Агъулар) are a people in Dagestan, Russia. According to the 2010 census, there were 34,160 Aghuls in Russia (7,000 in 1959). The Aghul language belongs to the Lezgian language family, a group of the Northeast Caucasian family. Ethnically, the Aghuls are close to the Lezgins. There are four groups of the Aghul people, who live in four different gorges: Aguldere, Kurakhdere, Khushandere, and Khpyukdere. Like their neighbors the Kaitaks, the Aghuls were converted to Islam at a fairly early date, subsequent to the Arab conquest of the eighth century. Their oral traditions claim Jewish descent.