" 

 ::What I wanted to say on Serir... there was definitely a Serir centered in Kumukh. That doesn't mean that there wasn't, separately, at a separate time, an Avar kingdom that the Arabs called Serir. That term was just used by the Arabs, and it doesn't necessarily represent a single unit. A ""Serir"", i.e. a Christian kingdom with a golden throne will exist in one era run by Laks. The Laks are now Muslim, but alas, the Arabs come to the mountains again and find a Christian kingdom. Arabs will travel again to the Caucasus riding their camels, not knowing a thing about the place. They see a similar Christian kingdom with a pretty throne, and, ""aha! It is the Serir mentioned in the scroll! Praise the great Allah!"". So yes, I believe there was an Avar kingdom that the Arabs called Serir- the one that stupidly tried to conquer the Chechens- and there may have very well been a separate, Lak ruled one. But given modern-day Dagestani politics, every group wants to claim they have always been the the rulers, and that another ever had any moment of greatness is absurd. Hence, this possibility (which is probably the case, given the fuzzy names that not only Arabs, but also Romans, Byzantines, Greeks, or whoever give the place), is not even considered. And the names of ethnic groups, I think, don't equal their existence. Chechens have been called Chechens by Persia since the 800s, but it entered other languages in the 1800s. Does that mean we didn't exist as a group before the 1800s? Of course not! I'm not Dagestani, so I don't know all the stuff about Dagestan there is to know. But I think, nonetheless, we should dodge any interpretation of history that assigns one group God-given greatness and everyone else as their humble subjects. I think we can agree on that.   "