Deep in the Russian Caucasus, at the crossroads between Europe, Asia and the Far East, four brothers of Saint John community are at the service of the Catholic diaspora. Among them, the priest brother Laurent charge of three small parishes of Kabardino-Balkaria.
In 173 AD the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius was conducting the Marconnian War against the Sarmations. These were mounted warriors who were armoured and used a broadsword and metal tipped lance. They needed heavy and powerful horses to carry the weight. The Romans overcame them (on this occasion) and 5500 Sarmation warriors and their horses were sent to Hadrian's Wall. They were never repatriated and became Britanosarmations - maintaining their horses over the centuries. They remained in the North of Britain after the fall of the Roman Empire. The breed of horse was kept — being particularly suitable for heavy work. I found that other Sarmations (from the Crimea area) — eventually ended up in South Ossetia in the Caucasus mountains. Seeing the Kabardin on the internet was a revelation; very similar to the Clevelands and obviously of the same roots. The DNA sample obtained from the Max Planck Institute of a Kabardin is an exact copy of one of our Cleveland lines. The relationship is irrefutable.
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