THE SOGDIANS IN THE WESTERN CAUCASUS O. BUBENOK The translation of the book “De viriis illustribus” by the Christian author of the 4 th century AD Hieronymus made by the Greek writer and translator of the 4 th – 5 th centuries AD Sophronius from Latin to Greek contains a passage that drew atten- tion of scholars a long time ago. It is an insertion attributed to Sophronius giving a report of the apostle Andrew’s activities in the Northern and Eastern Black Sea re- gion. According to it, the apostle Andrew was Peter’s brother and preached the Gospel among the Scythians, Sogdians, Sakkians, where the Great Sevastopol city was located near Ansara fortress and the Phazis river [„Андрей, брат его (Петра), как предали нам предки, – проповедовал евангелие Господа нашего Иисуса Христоса Скифам и Согдианам и Саккам, и проповедовал в Севастополе Великом, где находятся укрепления Ансара и река Фазис…”]. 1 So, here we en- counter a rather strange usage of the ethnonym the Sogdians. Some scholars consider that one variant of this fragment, but with some changes, is found in the Christian hagiographic work “The Travel of Apostle Andrew to the Land of the Mirmodonians” written by Epiphanius the Monk in the late 8 th – early 9 th centuries AD. However, the latter refers to St. Epiphanius of Cyprus who lived in the 4 th –5 th centuries AD. According to Epiphanius the Monk, he received this information from St. Epiphanius of Cyprus. Epiphanius the Monk wrote that the apostle Andrew had preached among the Scythians, Kosogdians and Gorsinians, in the Great Sevastopol city where Ansara fortress, and Issa haven and the Phazis river were located and where the Iberians, the Suses, the Fusts and the Alans lived [„По словам святого Епифания, он знал из предания, что блаженный апостол Андрей учил Скифов, Косогдиан и Горсинов, в Севастополе Великом, где находится укрепление Ансара и гавань Исса и река Фазис и где живут Ивиры (Грузины), и Сусы, и Фусты, и Аланы”]. 2 So, here we can find another strange ethnonym the Kosogdians. V. G. Vasilievskiy considered it a mistake, because in other fragment of this work the term the Sugdeys can be found. There is information about the travel of Simon and Andrew to Salania land (presumably, Alania). According to the data provided by Epiphanius the Monk, after the preaching they came to Avasgia (Abha- zia) and Sevastopol the Great and then they preached there. Simon remained there and Andrew with his followers came to Zikhia, where the Zikhs lived. They were Barbarians and therefore they wanted to kill him. Nevertheless, Andrew came to the Sugdeys of the highlands. They accepted his preaching. Afterwards the apostle An- 1 Васильевский В.Г. Хождение Апостола Андрея в стране Мирмидонян // Васильевский В.Г. Труды. Т. ІІ. Вып. 1. Санкт-Петербург, 1909. С. 225–226. 2 Васильевский В.Г. Указ. соч. С. 226, 266.