Mountain Jews

Mountain Jews or Kavkaz Jews also known as Juhuro are Jews of the eastern and northern slopes of Caucasus, mainly of Dagestan, Chechnya, Azerbaijan. They are the descendants of Persian Jews from Iran. The Mountain Jews community likely originated from Ancient Persia, from 5th century AD onwards, and their language, Juhuri, has close relation to the Tat language, an Ancient Southwest Iranian language which integrates many elements of Ancient Hebrew. It is believed that they had arrived in Persia from Ancient Israel as early as the 8th century BCE. The Mountain Jews survived numerous historical vicissitudes by settling in extremely remote and mountainous areas. They were known to be accomplished warriors and horseback riders.

Mountain Jews are distinct from Georgian Jews of the Caucasus Mountains. Both are culturally and ethnically different with independent languages and many differences in customs and culture.