A region on both sides of the Caucasus mountain range, inhabited by Ossetians, an Iranian people who speak Ossetian.
The northern area consists of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, part of the Russian Federation.
The area south of the Caucasus lies within the borders of Georgia, but declared independence as the Republic of South Ossetia in 1991. In the 2008 South Ossetian War, Georgia attempted to regain control, and now regards the region to be the region to be "Russian-occupied territory." It is recognized only by Russia and Nicaragua, and de facto independent Abkhazia and Transnistria.