Today Best Brief the Azerbaijan History Timeline 1991

A Brief Azerbaijan History Timeline

Azerbaijan history Timeline:  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 north-west – 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 mountainous regions and lowlands. This fact played an important role in the historical development of the country.  Azerbaijan near country.

Primitive times First of all, we learn about the most ancient times in which history allows us to look. Azerbaijan was settled at the dawn of human development. So, the most ancient monument of the stay of the Neanderthal in the country dates back to more than 1.5 million years ago. The most significant sites of ancient man were found in the Azikh and Taglar caves. Azerbaijan history.

History On Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Religion Ration

Religious Beliefs in Azerbaijan

Ancient Azerbaijan History

The Early Azerbaijan history Timeline: The first state that was located on the territory of Azerbaijan was Manna. Its center was located within the borders of modern Iranian Azerbaijan. The name “Azerbaijan” comes from the name of Atropates – the governor who began to rule in Manna after the conquest of it by Persia. In honor of him, the whole country began to be called Media Atropatena, which was later transformed into the name “Azerbaijan”.  Azerbaijan history.

One of the first peoples who inhabited Azerbaijan were the Albanians. This ethnic group belonged to the Nakh-Dagestani language family and was close to the modern Lezgins. In the I 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 aggressive aspirations of ancient Rome, Byzantium, the Parthian kingdom and Iran. For some time, the Armenian king Tigran II was able to strengthen himself in large areas of the country. In the IV century AD. e. on the territory of Albania, in which until then local religions and Zoroastrianism dominated, Christianity came from Armenia.

Arab Conquest

In the VII century AD. e. there was an event that played a decisive role in the history of the region. It’s about the Arab conquest. First, the Arabs conquered the Iranian kingdom, on which Albania was in vassal dependence, and then launched an offensive against Azerbaijan itself. After the Arabs conquered the country, its history took a new turn. Azerbaijan has now become 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 first of all underwent Islamization, and then the new religion penetrated into the countryside and the north of the country.

But not everything was so easy for the Arab administration in the south-east of the Caucasus. In 816, an uprising began in Azerbaijan against the Arabs and Islam. This popular movement was led by Babek, who adhered to the ancient Zoroastrian religion. The main pillar of the uprising were artisans and peasants. For more than twenty years, the people led by Babek fought against the Arab authorities. The rebels even managed to expel the Arab garrisons from the territory of Azerbaijan. To suppress the rebellion, the Caliphate had to consolidate all its forces. Azerbaijan history.

State of the Shirvanshahs

Despite the fact that the uprising was suppressed, the Caliphate weakened every year. He no longer had the power to control various parts of the vast empire. The governors of the northern part of Azerbaijan (Shirvan), starting in 861, began to be called Shirvanshahs and passed on their power by inheritance. Nominally, they were subordinate to the caliph, but in fact they were completely independent rulers. Over time, even nominal dependence disappeared. The capital of the Shirvanshahs was originally Shamakhi, and then Baku. The state existed until 1538, when it was incorporated into the Persian safavid state. Azerbaijan history.

At the same time, in the south of the country there were alternately successive states of Sajids, Salarids, Sheddadids, Ravwadids, which also either did not recognize the authority of the Caliphate at all or did it only formally.  Where is Baku Azerbaijan in which Country. 

Turkification of Azerbaijan

No less important for history than the Islamization of the region caused by the Arab conquest was its Turkification due to the invasion of various Turkic nomadic tribes. But, unlike Islamization, this process stretched over 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 Turkic invasion was the invasion of the Oghuz tribes of the Seljuks from Central Asia, which occurred in the XI century. It was accompanied by enormous destruction and annihilation of the local population. Azerbaijan history.

Many residents of Azerbaijan, fleeing, fled to the mountains. Therefore, it was the mountainous regions of the country that were least subjected to Turkification. Here, Christianity became the dominant religion, and the inhabitants of Azerbaijan mixed with the Armenians who lived in the mountainous regions. At the same time, the remaining population, mixing with the Turkic conquerors, adopted the language and culture from them, but at the same time preserved the cultural heritage of their ancestors. The ethnic group formed from this mixture began to be called Azerbaijanis in the future.

After the collapse of the unified state of the Seljuks on the territory of southern Azerbaijan, the Ildegezidi dynasty of Turkic origin ruled, and then for a short time these lands were seized by the Khorezm Shahs. In the first half of the XIII century, the Caucasus was subjected to the Mongol invasion. Azerbaijan was included in the state of the Mongol Hulaguid dynasty with its center on the territory of modern Iran. After the fall of the Hulaguid dynasty in 1355, Azerbaijan briefly became part of the state of Tamerlane, and then became part of the state formations of the Oghuz tribes of Kara-Koyunlu and Ak-Koyunlu. It was during this period that the final formation of the Azerbaijani nationality took place.

Azerbaijan As Part of Iran

After the fall of the state of Ak-Koyunlu, in 1501, a powerful Safavid state with its center in Tabriz was formed on the territory of Iran and southern Azerbaijan. Later, the capital was moved to the Iranian cities of Qazvin and Isfahan. The Safavid state had all the trappings of a real empire. The Safavids waged a particularly stubborn struggle in the west with the growing ottoman empire, including in the Caucasus. Azerbaijan history.

In 1538, the Safavids managed to conquer the state of the Shirvanshahs. Thus, the entire territory of modern Azerbaijan was under their rule. Iran retained control over the country under the following dynasties – the Hotaki, the Afsharids and the Zends. In 1795, the Qajar dynasty of Turkic origin reigned in Iran. At that time, Azerbaijan was already divided into many small khanates, which were subordinate to the central Iranian government.

Conquest of Azerbaijan by the Russian Empire

The first attempts to establish Russian control over the territories of Azerbaijan were made under Peter I. But at that time the advance of the Russian Empire in Transcaucasia did not have much success. The situation changed radically in the first half of the XIX century. During the two Russian-Persian wars, which lasted from 1804 to 1828, almost the entire territory of modern Azerbaijan was annexed to the Russian Empire. Azerbaijan history.

It was one of the turning points that history is full of. Since then, Azerbaijan has been connected with Russia for a long time. It was during the time of being part of the Russian Empire that the beginning of oil production in Azerbaijan and the development of industry belongs. Azerbaijan history.

Azerbaijan as Part of the USSR

After the October Revolution, centrifugal tendencies emerged 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 Bolsheviks created the Azerbaijan SSR. Initially, it was part of the Transcaucasian Federation, but since 1936 it has become a fully equal subject of the USSR. The capital of this state formation was the city of Baku. During this period, other cities of Azerbaijan also developed intensively. But in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. In connection with this event, the Azerbaijani SSR ceased to exist. Azerbaijan history.

Modern Azerbaijan History

The independent state began to be called the Republic of Azerbaijan. The first president of Azerbaijan is Ayaz Mutalibov, who was previously the first secretary of the Republican Committee of the Communist Party. After him, the post of head of state was alternately occupied by Abulfaz Elchibey and Heydar Aliyev. The current president of Azerbaijan is the latter’s son, Ilham Aliyev, who took office in 2003.

The most acute problem in modern Azerbaijan is the Karabakh conflict, which began at the end of the existence of the USSR. During the bloody confrontation between the government troops 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 resuming. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the successes of Azerbaijan in building an independent state. If in the future these successes are developed, then the prosperity of the country will be a natural result of the common efforts of the government and the people.  Azerbaijan history.

History of Baku Fire Temple

Baku Ateshgah or Jwala Temple is a medieval Hindu religious site located in the city of Surakhani near Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. It has a temple in the middle of the compound of a panchabhuja (pentagon) acar. There are rooms with outer walls in which worshippers once lived. Baku Ateshgah was built in the 17th and 18th centuries and ceased to be used after 1883 when the work of extracting petrol and natural gas from the ground was started around it. It was made a museum in 1975 and now attracts 15,000 visitors every year. In 2007, by the order of the President of Azerbaijan, it was declared a national historical-architectural reserve. Azerbaijan history.

Some scholars think that it is possible that there was a Parsi temple in this place before the Islamic occupation of Iran. One writer has said that “according to historical sources, before the Indian fireworks were built in Surakhani in the late 17th century, the locals also used to worship at the place of this ‘burning flames of the seven holes'”. Fire is considered sacred in both Hindu Vedic religion and Zoroastrianism of Indo-Iranianism – Hindus call it ‘Agni’ and Parsis use the homogeneous term ‘Atar’ for it. There has been controversy over whether ateshgah is a Hindu temple or a Parsi firework. Although the trident mounted on top of the temple is a sign of Hinduism^, and Zoroastrian scholars have examined it as a Hindu site, according to an Azeri offering, it may also be a symbol of the three ‘good thoughts, good words, good deeds’ qualities of Zoroastrianism.  Azerbaijan history.

War between Azerbaijan and Armenia

In early 1992 the long-running Nagorno-Karabah conflict degenerated into open war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The Azerbaijani military defeat led in March 1992 to the fall of President Ayaz Mutallibov and his replacement by Abulfaz Elchibey, who won the June elections, supported by Islamic groups. Azerbaijan history.

• History of Azerbaijan and Armenia Conflict

The new parliament accused Russia of aiding Armenia militarily, voted to separate from the CIS and tried to underline its independence by introducing a new currency, the manat, to replace the Russian ruble.

But the failure of the peace negotiations on Nagorno-Karabah and the Azerbaijani military counteroffensives, coupled with the deteriorating economic situation, soon left the Elchibey regime at an impasse. Finally, the rebellion of part of the army in Gjandža (June 1993) and its unopposed advance on Baku caused Elchibey to flee. Azerbaijan history.

History On Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan Chronology

References:

History of Azerbaijan from ancient times to the present (fb.ru)

AZERBAIJAN, History, tourist guide Petit Futé (petitfute.com)

AZERBAIJAN, History – Encyclopædia Universalis

Brief History of Azerbaijan | CurioSera-History (curiosfera-historia.com)

Read Also History of Armenia