Below is a concise, source-based survey of myths about “people of the hills” (mountain-dwellers) in the Caucasus and Ararat (Urartu) regions, with a special focus on Islamic-era legends.

I divide into pre-Islamic (Armenian, Georgian, Assyrian, Greek) and Islamic (Arabic, Persian, Turkic) layers.

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1. Pre-Islamic Myths (Caucasus & Ararat)

People / Myth	Culture	Details	Source
Hayk & Bel	Armenian	Giant Hayk (founder of Armenia) kills tyrant Bel (Nimrod) with an arrow on Lake Van (near Ararat). Bel’s giants flee to Caucasus hills.	Moses of Khoren, History of Armenia 1.10 (~5th cent. CE)
Amazons of the Caucasus	Greek	Warrior women live in Thermodon hills (near Colchis). Fight Heracles, Achilles.	Herodotus 4.110; Strabo 11.5
Kobolds / Mountain Dwarves	Georgian / Svan	Dali (hunting goddess) and mtsats’vri (hill spirits) guard gold in Svaneti caves.	Svan oral epics (recorded 19th cent.)
Urartian Hill Tribes	Assyrian	Nairi and Uruatri = “people of the high places” who resist Assyrian kings.	Sargon II Annals (~714 BCE)
Chalybes	Greek	Iron-working hill people near Pontic Alps (NE Turkey).	Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound

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2. Islamic-Era Myths (7th–15th cent. CE)Muslims inherited Caucasus/Ararat as “Jabal Qaf” (mythic world-mountain) and Noah’s Ark region. Hill-dwellers became jinn, giants, or Gog-Magog tribes.

Myth	Islamic Tradition	Details	Source
Jinn of Mount Qaf	Arabic / Persian	Jinn live in Caucasus hills (Qaf = world-encircling mountain). Solomon binds them.	Al-Tabari, Tarikh 1:217; Tha’labi, Qisas al-Anbiya
Gog and Magog (Yajuj wa Majuj)	Qur’anic	Locked behind Dhul-Qarnayn’s wall in Caucasus pass (Darial Gorge). Described as hill raiders.	Qur’an 18:93–98; Ibn Kathir Tafsir
People of the Cave (Ahl al-Kahf)	Qur’anic / Local	Seven sleepers hide in Caucasus cave (near Ephesus, but some say Ararat foothills).	Qur’an 18:9–26; Al-Tabari
Noah’s Giant Descendants	Persian / Turkic	Og (Ūj), giant son of Noah’s daughter, survives flood on Ararat hills. Becomes Caucasus hill king.	Firdawsi, Shahnameh (Og vs. prophets); Rashid al-Din
Alawites / Nusayris	Esoteric Shia	Hill mystics in Cilician Taurus (near Ararat) guard secret knowledge from Noah.	Nusayri texts (10th cent.)
Kurdish Hill Jinn	Local Islamic	Pīr (saints) and jinn live in Cudi Dağı caves (Noah’s mountain).	Kurdish oral dastans

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3. Key Islamic “Hill People” Motifs

Motif	Qur’anic / Hadith Basis	Caucasus Link
Dhul-Qarnayn’s Wall	Qur’an 18:94	Darial Pass (Georgia) = gate against hill barbarians.
Noah’s Ark on Judi	Qur’an 11:44	Cudi Dağı (SE Turkey) → hill tribes as Noah’s kin or jinn.
Solomon’s Jinn Servants	Qur’an 34:12–13	Caucasus copper mines worked by jinn under Solomon.

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4. Summary Table

Era	“People of the Hills”	Key Myth
Pre-Islamic	Hayk, Amazons, Chalybes, Nairi	Giant founders, warrior women, iron tribes
Islamic	Jinn, Yajuj-Majuj, Og, Ahl al-Kahf	Sealed tribes, cave sleepers, Noah’s giant heirs

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5. Primary Sources

Text	Quote
Qur’an 18:94	“They said: ‘O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land… between us and them a barrier.’”
Moses of Khoren 1.10	“Hayk shot Bel… his giants fled to the high hills.”
Firdawsi, Shahnameh	“Ūj, son of Noah’s daughter, ruled the mountain folk.”

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Bottom Line:

• Pre-Islamic: Giants, Amazons, iron tribes in Caucasus/Ararat.
• Islamic: Jinn, Gog-Magog, Noah’s giant descendants locked in Caucasus hills (esp. Darial, Cudi Dağı).
• No “people of the hills” = Judi natives — but jinn and sealed tribes dominate Islamic lore.