History of Azerbaijan from ancient times to the present

Azerbaijan is a country in the southeast of the Caucasus. Many important and interesting events took place on these lands. And a lot about them can tell us a story. Azerbaijan will appear in historical retrospect, revealing the secrets of its past.

Location of Azerbaijan

The Republic of Azerbaijan is located in the east of Transcaucasia. From the north the border of Azerbaijan has contact with the Russian Federation. In the south the country borders with Iran, in the west - with Armenia, in the northwest - with Georgia. From the east, the country is washed by the waves of the Caspian Sea.

The territory of Azerbaijan is almost equally represented by mountain regions and lowlands. This fact played an important role in the historical development of the country.

Primitive times

First of all, we learn about the most ancient times, in which history allows us to glance. Azerbaijan was inhabited at the dawn of human development. Thus, the most ancient monument of Neanderthal's residence on the territory of the country dates back more than 1.5 million years ago.

The most significant sites of the ancient man were found in Azikh and Taglar caves.

Ancient Azerbaijan

The first state that was located on the territory of Azerbaijan was Manna. Its center was within the borders of modern Iranian Azerbaijan.

The name "Azerbaijan" comes from the name of Atropath - the governor, who began to reign in Mann after conquering her by Persia. In honor of him, the whole country was called Midia Atropatena, which later was transformed into the name "Azerbaijan".

One of the first peoples that inhabited Azerbaijan, were the Albanians. This ethnic group belonged to the Nakh-Daghestani language family and was closely related to the modern Lezgins. In the 1st millennium BC the Albanians had their own state. Unlike Manna, it was located in the north of the country. Caucasian Albania was constantly subjected to the predatory aspirations of Ancient Rome, Byzantium, the Parthian Kingdom and Iran. For some time, the Armenian king Tigran II was able to consolidate in significant territories of the country.

In the IV century. N. E. On the territory of Albania, which until then dominated by local religions and Zoroastrianism, Christianity came from Armenia.

Arab conquest

In the VII century. N. E. An event occurred that played a decisive role in the history of the region. It's about the Arab conquest. At first, the Arabs conquered the Iranian kingdom, from which Albania was in vassal dependence, and then launched an offensive against Azerbaijan itself. After the Arabs took over the country, a new round of its history took shape. Azerbaijan is now forever inextricably linked with Islam. The Arabs, having included the country in the Caliphate, began to pursue a systematic policy of Islamization of the region and quickly achieved their goals. The southern cities of Azerbaijan were first subjected to Islamization, and then a new religion penetrated into the countryside and north of the country.

But not everything was so easy for the Arab administration in the southeast of the Caucasus. In 816, an uprising against Arabs and Islam began in Azerbaijan. The leader of this popular movement was Babek, who adhered to the ancient Zoroastrian religion. The main support of the insurrection was artisans and peasants. For over twenty years, the people led by Babek fought with the Arab authorities. The rebels even managed to drive out the Arab garrisons from the territory of Azerbaijan. To suppress the uprising, the Caliphate had to consolidate all its forces.

The State of Shirvanshahs

Despite the fact that the uprising was suppressed, the Caliphate weakened year by year. He no longer had the strength, as before, to control the various parts of the vast empire.

The governors of the northern part of Azerbaijan (Shirvan), beginning in 861, began to be called Shirvanshahs and to transfer their power by inheritance. Nominally they submitted to the Caliph, but in fact they were completely independent rulers. Over time, even the nominal dependence disappeared.

The capital of the Shirvanshahs was originally Shemakha, and then Baku. The state existed until 1538, when it was included in the Persian state of the Safavids.

At the same time in the south of the country there were alternating states of Sajids, Salarids, Sheddadids, Rabbisides, who either did not recognize the authority of the Caliphate in general, or did it only formally.

Turkification of Azerbaijan

No less important for history than the Islamization of the region, caused by the Arab conquest, was its Turkization due to the invasion of various Turkic nomadic tribes. But, unlike Islamization, this process stretched for several centuries. The importance of this event is emphasized by a number of factors that characterize modern Azerbaijan: the language and culture of the modern population of the country is of Turkic origin.

The first wave of the Turkish invasion was the invasion of the Oguz tribes of Seljuks from Central Asia, which occurred in the 11th century. It was accompanied by huge destruction and destruction of the local population. Many Azerbaijanis fled to the mountains to escape. Therefore, the mountainous areas of the country were least subjected to turkizatsii. Here the dominant religion was Christianity, and the inhabitants of Azerbaijan mixed with the Armenians who lived in mountainous regions. At the same time, the population that remained in their places, mixing with the Turkic conquerors, adopted their language and culture, but at the same time preserved the cultural heritage of their ancestors. The ethnos, formed from this confusion, became known in the future as Azerbaijanis.

After the collapse of the single Seljuk state in the territory of southern Azerbaijan, the Ildegesid dynasty was governed by the Turkic origin, and then the Khoresmshahs captured these lands for a short time.

In the first half of the 13th century the Caucasus was subjected to a Mongol invasion. Azerbaijan was included in the state of the Mongolian Hulaguid dynasty with a center in the territory of modern Iran.

After the fall of the Hulaguid dynasty in 1355, Azerbaijan for a short time is a part of the state of Tamerlane, and then becomes part of the state formations of the Oghuz tribes of Kara-Koyunlu and Ak-Koyunlu. It is during this period that the final formation of the Azerbaijani people takes place.

Azerbaijan as part of Iran

After the fall of the state of Ak-Koyunlu, in 1501, a powerful Safavid state with the center in Tabriz is formed in the territory of Iran and southern Azerbaijan. Later, the capital was moved to the Iranian cities of Qazvin and Isfahan.

The Safavid state possessed all the attributes of a real empire. Especially the persistent struggle of the Safavids was conducted in the west with the gaining power of the Ottoman Empire, including in the Caucasus.

In 1538 the Safavids managed to conquer the state of the Shirvanshahs. Thus, under their authority was the entire territory of modern Azerbaijan. Iran retained control over the country under the following dynasties - Khotaki, Afsharidov and Zendov. In 1795, the dynasty of the Qajars of Turkic origin was established in Iran.

At that time, Azerbaijan was already divided into many small khanates that were subordinate to the central Iranian government.

The conquest of Azerbaijan by the Russian Empire

The first attempts to establish Russia's control over the territories of Azerbaijan were made even under Peter I. But at that time the promotion of the Russian Empire in Transcaucasia did not have much success.

The situation radically changed in the first half of the XIX century. During the two Russo-Persian wars that lasted from 1804 to 1828, almost the entire territory of modern Azerbaijan was annexed to the Russian Empire.

It was one of the turning points that history is full of. Azerbaijan has since been associated with Russia for a long time. It is to the times of stay in the Russian Empire that the beginning of oil production in Azerbaijan and the development of industry.

Azerbaijan in the USSR

After the October Revolution, centrifugal tendencies appeared in various regions of the former Russian Empire. In May 1918, the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was formed. But the young state could not withstand the struggle against the Bolsheviks, including because of internal contradictions. In 1920, it was liquidated.

The Azerbaijan SSR was created by the Bolsheviks. Initially, it was part of the Transcaucasian Federation, but from 1936 it became an entirely equal subject of the USSR. The capital of this state formation was the city of Baku. During this period other cities of Azerbaijan intensively developed.

But in 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed. In connection with this event, the Azerbaijani SSR ceased to exist.

Modern Azerbaijan

An independent state became known as the Republic of Azerbaijan. The first president of Azerbaijan is Ayaz Mutalibov, formerly the first secretary of the republican committee of the Communist Party. After him, the post of the head of state was alternately occupied by Abulfaz Elchibey and Heydar Aliyev. Currently, the president of Azerbaijan is the son of the latter, Ilham Aliyev. He took office in 2003.

The most acute problem in modern Azerbaijan is the Karabakh conflict, which began as early as the end of the existence of the USSR. During the bloody confrontation between the government forces of Azerbaijan and the residents of Karabakh, with the support of Armenia, the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh was formed. Azerbaijan considers this territory its own, so the conflict is constantly renewed.

At the same time, one can not but note the successes of Azerbaijan in building an independent state. If these successes are developed in the future, the prosperity of the country will become a logical result of the common efforts of the government and the people.