Difference between revisions of "Nakhichevan" - New World Encyclopedia

From New World Encyclopedia
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==History==
 
==History==
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===Early history===
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[[Image:93-vaspurakan908-1021.gif|thumb|230px|left|The Nakhichevan region (highlighted in light purple) at the time of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan (908-1021 c.e.).]]
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According to Armenian tradition, Nakhichevan was founded by [[Noah]], of the [[Abrahamic religion]]s. <ref name="Planet">Richard Plunkett and Tom Masters. ''Lonely Planet: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan'', p. 243. ISBN 1-74059-138-0</ref>  The oldest material culture artifacts found in the region date back to the [[Neolithic Age]]. The region was part of the states of [[Mannai|Mannae]], [[Urartu]] and [[Medes|Media]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet">{{ru icon}} [http://slovari.yandex.ru/art.xml?art=bse/00051/65200.htm&encpage=bse&mrkp=http%3A//hghltd.yandex.com/yandbtm%3Furl%3Dhttp%253A//encycl.yandex.ru/texts/bse/00051/65200.htm%26text%3D%25CD%25E0%25F5%25E8%25F7%25E5%25E2%25E0%25ED%25F1%25EA%25E0%25FF%26reqtext%3D%25CD%25E0%25F5%25E8%25F7%25E5%25E2%25E0%25ED%25F1%25EA%25E0%25FF%253A%253A16489420%26%26isu%3D2 Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]</ref> It became part of the [[Orontid Dynasty|Satrapy of Armenia]] under [[Achaemenid Persia]] circa [[521 B.C.E.]]. After [[Alexander the Great]]'s death ([[323 B.C.E.]]) various [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]] generals such as [[Neoptolemus (general)|Neoptolemus]] tried to take control of the region but ultimately failed and a native dynasty of Orontids flourished until Armenia was conquered by [[Antiochus III the Great]]. <ref>[http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/armol-2-R.html Armenia: The Yervanduni Dynasty]</ref>
 
  
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[[Image:93-vaspurakan908-1021.gif|thumb|230px|left|The Nakhichevan region (highlighted in light purple) at the time of the [[Vaspurakan|Kingdom of Vaspurakan]] ([[908]]-[[1021]]).]]
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According to Armenian tradition, Nakhichevan was founded by [[Noah]], of the [[Abrahamic religion]]s. The oldest material culture artifacts found in the region date back to the [[Neolithic Age]] (6000b.c.e. to 4000 b.c.e.).
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In [[189 B.C.E.]], Nakhichevan was part of the new [[Kingdom of Armenia]] established by [[Artaxias I]].<ref name="Monuments">Argam Ayvazian. ''The Historical Monuments Of Nakhichevan'', p. 10. ISBN 0-8143-1896-7</ref> Within the kingdom, the region of present-day Nakhichevan was part of the [[Ayrarat]], [[Vaspurakan]] and [[Syunik]] provinces. <ref>Hewsen. ''Armenia: A Historical Atlas'', p. 100.</ref>  The area's status as a major trade center allowed it to prosper, though because of this, it was coveted by many foreign powers. <ref name="Hewsen" /> According to historian [[Faustus of Byzantium]] (4th century), when the [[Sassanid Dynasty|Sassanid Persians]] invaded Armenia, Sassanid King [[Shapur II]] (310-380) removed 2,000 Armenian and 16,000 Jewish families in 360-370. <ref name="Sapor2">[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1787&letter=A ARMENIA, by Richard Gottheil, Herman Rosenthal, Louis Ginzberg]</ref> In [[428]], the Armenian [[Arshakuni Dynasty|Arshakuni]] monarchy was abolished and Nakhichevan was annexed by Sassanid Persia.  In 623, possession of the region passed to the [[Byzantine Empire]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet" /> From 640 on, Arabs invaded Nakhichevan and undertook many campaigns in the area crushing all resistance and attacking Armenian nobles who remained in contact with the Byzantines or who refused to pay tribute.  In 705, Armenian nobles and their families were locked into a church at Nakhichevan and by order of the governor, the church was burnt with them inside. <ref name="Bauer" /> Eventually, Arab rule was firmly establish and Nakhichevan became part of the autonomous Principality of Armenia under Arab control. <ref name="Byzantium">Mark Whittow. ''The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025'', p. 210. ISBN 0-520-20497-2</ref>  In 8th century, Nakhichevan was one of the scenes of an uprising against the Arabs led by freedom fighter [[Babak Khorramdin]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet" />  Nakhichevan was finally liberated from Arab rule in the 10th century by [[Bagratuni Dynasty|Bagratid]] King [[Smbat I]] and handed over to the princes of Syunik. <ref name="Monuments" />
 
  
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The region was part of the states of [[Mannai|Mannae] (1000 B.C.E.), [[Urartu]] and [[Medes|Media]]. It became part of the [[Orontid Dynasty|Satrapy of Armenia]] under [[Achaemenid Persia]] circa 521 B.C.E. After [[Alexander the Great]]'s death ([[323 B.C.E.]]) various [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]] generals such as [[Neoptolemus (general)|Neoptolemus]] tried to take control of the region but ultimately failed and a native dynasty of Orontids flourished until Armenia was conquered by [[Antiochus III the Great]].
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===Armenian kingdom===
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In 189 B.C.E., Nakhichevan was part of the new [[Kingdom of Armenia]] established by [[Artaxias I]]. Within the kingdom, the region of present-day Nakhichevan was part of the [[Ayrarat]], [[Vaspurakan]] and [[Syunik]] provinces. The area's status as a major trade center allowed it to prosper, though because of this, it was coveted by many foreign powers. According to historian Faustus of Byzantium (4th century), when the [[Sassanid Dynasty|Sassanid Persians]] invaded Armenia, Sassanid King [[Shapur II]] (310-380) removed 2000 Armenian and 16,000 Jewish families in 360-370.
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In 428, the Armenian [[Arshakuni Dynasty|Arshakuni]] monarchy was abolished and Nakhichevan was annexed by Sassanid Persia.  In 623, possession of the region passed to the [[Byzantine Empire]].
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===Arabs invade===
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Beginning in 651, the Arabs organized periodic marauding raids deep into the region, crushing all resistance and attacking Armenian nobles who remained in contact with the Byzantines or who refused to pay tribute.  In 705, Armenian nobles and their families were locked into a church at Nakhichevan and by order of the governor, the church was burnt with them inside. Central Asia came under Arab control by the early eighth century and was incorporated into Islamic [[Caliphate]] divided between provinces of ''Mawara'un Nahr'' and [[Khorasan]]. The Arab conquest brought Islam to the region. Eventually, Nakhichevan became part of the autonomous Principality of Armenia under Arab control.
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In the eighth century, Nakhichevan was one of the scenes of an uprising against the Arabs led by freedom fighter [[Babak Khorramdin]]. Nakhichevan was finally liberated from Arab rule in the tenth century by [[Bagratuni Dynasty|Bagratid]] King [[Smbat I]] and handed over to the princes of Syunik. 
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===Seljuk Turk conquest===
 
[[Image:AkKoyunlu.jpg|thumb|right|right|200px|Flag of the [[Ak Koyunlu]], or White Sheep Turkomans who ruled the area of Nakhichevan in the 15th century.]]
 
[[Image:AkKoyunlu.jpg|thumb|right|right|200px|Flag of the [[Ak Koyunlu]], or White Sheep Turkomans who ruled the area of Nakhichevan in the 15th century.]]
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By the 11th century, however, it was conquered by the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuq Turks]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet" />  In 12th century, the city of Nakhichevan became the capital of the state of [[Atabegs of Azerbaijan]], also known as Ildegizid state, which included most of [[Iranian Azerbaijan]] and significant part of South Caucasus. <ref>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home1/iranica/articles/v2_articles/atabakan-e_adarbayjan&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/logs/pdfdownload.html Encyclopedia Iranica, "Atabakan-e Adarbayjan"], Saljuq rulers of Azerbaijan, 12th–13th, Luther, K. pp. 890-894.</ref> The magnificent 12th century [[Momine Khatun Mausoleum|mausoleum of Momine khatun]], the wife of Ildegizid ruler, Great [[Atabeg]] Jahan Pehlevan, is the main attraction of modern Nakhichevan. <ref>[http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1173/ UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Tentative Lists: Azerbaijan: The Mausoleum of Nakhichevan]</ref> At its heydays, the Ildegizid authority in Nakhichevan and some other areas of South Caucasus was contested by the [[Georgia (country)|Kingdom of Georgia]]. The Armeno-Georgian princely house of Zacharids frequently raided the region when the Atabeg state was in decline in the early years of the 13th century. It was then plundered by invading Mongols in 1220 and Khwarezmians in 1225 and became part of [[Mongol Empire]] in 1236 when the Caucasus was invaded by [[Chormaqan]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet" /> The 14th century saw the rise of [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholicism]] in Nakhichevan,<ref name="Hewsen" /> though by the 15th century the territory became part of the states of [[Kara Koyunlu]] and [[Ak Koyunlu]].<ref name="GreatSoviet" />
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By the eleventh century, however, it was conquered by the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuq Turks]]. In twelfth century, the city of Nakhichevan became the capital of the state of [[Atabegs of Azerbaijan]], also known as Ildegizid state, which included most of [[Iranian Azerbaijan]] and significant part of South Caucasus.  
  
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===Second Persian rule===
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The magnificent twelfth century mausoleum of Momine khatun, the wife of Ildegizid ruler, Great [[Atabeg]] Jahan Pehlevan, is the main attraction of modern Nakhichevan. At its heydays, the Ildegizid authority in Nakhichevan and some other areas of South Caucasus was contested by the Kingdom of Georgia. The Armeno-Georgian princely house of Zacharids frequently raided the region when the Atabeg state was in decline in the early years of the thirteenth century. It was then plundered by invading Mongols in 1220 and Khwarezmians in 1225 and became part of [[Mongol Empire]] in 1236 when the Caucasus was invaded by [[Chormaqan]].
  
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In the 16th century, control of Nakhichevan passed to the [[Safavid dynasty]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. Because of its geographic position, it frequently suffered during the wars between Persia and the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 14th – 18th centuries. In 1604, [[Abbas I of Persia|Shah Abbas I]] Safavi, concerned that the lands of Nakhichevan and the surrounding areas would pass into Ottoman hands, decided to institute a [[scorched earth]] policy. He forced the entire local population, Armenians, Jews and Muslims alike, to leave their homes and move to the Persian provinces south of Aras.<ref>The Status of Religious Minorities in Safavid Iran 1617-61, Vera B. Moreen, Journal of Near Eastern Studies Vol. 40, No. 2 (Apr., 1981), pp.128-129</ref>  Many of the deportees were settled in a neighborhood of [[Isfahan]] that was named New Julfa since most of the residents were from the original [[Julfa, Azerbaijan (city)|Julfa]] (a predominantly Armenian town which was looted and burned). The Turkic Kangerli tribe was later permitted to move back under [[Abbas II of Persia|Shah Abbas II]] (1642-1666) in order to repopulate the frontier region of his realm. <ref>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/ot_grp5/ot_kangarlu_20040211.html Encyclopedia Iranica. Kangarlu].</ref> In the 17th century, Nakhichevan was the scene of a peasant movement led by [[Epic of Köroğlu|Köroğlu]] against foreign invaders and "native exploiters". <ref name="GreatSoviet" />  In 1747, the [[Nakhichevan khanate]] emerged in the region after the death of [[Nader Shah|Nadir Shah Afshar]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet" />
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The fourteenth century saw the rise of [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholicism]] in Nakhichevan, though by the fifteenth century the territory became part of the states of [[Kara Koyunlu]] and [[Ak Koyunlu]].
  
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===Russian rule===
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===Persian forced evacuation===
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[[Image:Catherine-nakhichevan.jpg|thumb|250px|With Nakhichevan's conquest by [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]], came Russian culture.  Shown here is photograph of a statue of [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]] in [[Nakhichevan City]] taken in 1902.]]
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In the sixteenth century, control of Nakhichevan passed to the [[Safavid dynasty]] of [[Persian Empire|Persia]]. Because of its geographic position, it frequently suffered during the wars between Persia and the [[Ottoman Empire]] in fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. In 1604, Shah Abbas I Safavi, concerned that the lands of Nakhichevan and the surrounding areas would pass into Ottoman hands, decided to institute a scorched earth policy. He forced the entire local population, Armenians, Jews and Muslims alike, to leave their homes and move to the Persian provinces south of Aras. Many of the deportees were settled in a neighborhood of [[Isfahan]] that was named New Julfa since most of the residents were from the original Julfa (a predominantly Armenian town which was looted and burned). The Turkic Kangerli tribe was later permitted to move back under Shah Abbas II (1642-1666) in order to repopulate the frontier region of his realm.  
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After the last [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)|Russo-Persian War]] and the [[Treaty of Turkmanchai]], the Nakhichevan khanate passed into Russian possession in 1828. With the onset of Russian rule, the [[Tsar|Tsarist]] authorities encouraged resettlement of Armenians to Nakhichevan and other areas of the [[Caucasus]] from the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] and [[Ottoman Empire]]s.  Special clauses of the Turkmanchai and [[Treaty of Adrianople|Adrianople]] treaties allowed for this.<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/008/112/961.htm Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Treaty of Turkmanchai.]</ref> [[Alexandr Griboyedov]], the Russian envoy to Persia, stated that by the time Nakhichevan came under Russian rule, only 17% of its residents were Armenians, while the remainder of the population (83%) were Muslims.  After the resettlement initiative, the number of Armenians had increased to 45% while Muslims remained the majority at 55%.  With such a dramatic increase in population, Griboyedov noted friction arising between the Armenian and Muslim populations.  He requested Russian army commander Count [[Ivan Paskevich]] to give orders on resettlement of some of the arriving people further to the region of Daralayaz to quiet the tensions.<ref>{{ru icon}} [http://feb-web.ru/feb/griboed/texts/fom88/ps88_150.htm A.S. Griboyedov. Letter to Count I.F.Paskevich].</ref> The Nakhichevan khanate was dissolved in 1828, its territory was merged with the territory of the Erivan khanate and the area became the Nakhichevan [[uyezd]] of the new [[Armenian oblast]], which later became the [[Erivan Governorate]] in 1849. According to official statistics of the Russian Empire, by the turn of the 20th century Azerbaijanis made up 57% of the uyezd's population, while Armenians constituted 42%.<ref name="Brockhaus"/>  At the same time in the Sharur-Daralagyoz uyezd, the territory of which would form part of modern-day Nakhichevan, Azeris constituted 70.5% of the population, while Armenians made up 27.5%. <ref>{{ru icon}} [http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/114/114875.htm Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. "Sharur-Daralagyoz uyezd".] St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890-1907</ref>  During the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]], conflict erupted between the Armenians and the Azeris, culminating in the [[Armenian-Tatar massacres]] which saw violence in Nakhichevan in May of that year. <ref name="Croissant-9">Michael P. Croissant. ''The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications'', p. 9. ISBN 0-275-96241-5</ref>
 
  
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===War and revolution===
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In the seventeenth century, Nakhichevan was the scene of a peasant movement led by [[Epic of Köroğlu|Köroğlu]] against foreign invaders and "native exploiters". In 1747, the [[Nakhichevan khanate]] emerged in the region after the death of [[Nader Shah|Nadir Shah Afshar]].  
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Around the time of [[World War I]], Nakhichevan was the scene of more bloodshed between Armenia and Azerbaijan who both held claims to the area.  At the time the war broke out in 1914, the Armenian population had decreased slightly to 40% while the Azeri population increased to roughly 60%. <ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics01">Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras. ''New States, New Politics: Building Post-Soviet Nations'', p. 484. ISBN 0-521-57799-3</ref>  After the [[February Revolution]], the region was under the authority of Special Transcaucasian Committee of the [[Russian Provisional Government]] and subsequently the short-lived [[Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]]. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhichevan, [[Nagorno-Karabakh]], Zangezur (today the Armenian province of [[Syunik]]), and [[Qazakh]] were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the [[Democratic Republic of Armenia]] (DRA) and the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR). In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation. <ref name="GreatSoviet" /> Under the terms of the [[Armistice of Mudros]], the Ottomans agreed to pull its troops out of the Transcaucasus to make way for the forthcoming British military presence. <ref name="Croissant-15">Croissant. ''Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict'', p. 15.</ref>
 
  
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Under British occupation, [[Oliver Wardrop|Sir John Oliver Wardrop]], British Chief Commissioner in the South Caucasus, made a border proposal to solve the conflict. According to Wardrop, Armenian claims against Azerbaijan should not go beyond the administrative borders of the former Erivan Governorate (which under prior Imperial Russian rule encompassed Nakhichevan), while Azerbaijan was to be limited to the governorates of [[Baku Governorate|Baku]] and [[Elisabethpol Governorate|Elisabethpol]].  This proposal was rejected by both Armenians (who did not wish to give up their claims to Qazakh, Zangezur and Karabakh) and Azeris (who found it unacceptable to give up their claims to Nakhichevan).  As disputes between both countries continued, it soon became apparent that the fragile peace under British occupation would not last. <ref name="Atlas">Dr. Andrew Andersen, Ph. D.  [http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Armenia/disp.htm Atlas of Conflicts: Armenia: Nation Building and Territorial Disputes: 1918-1920]</ref>
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===Russian conquest===
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[[Image:Catherine-nakhichevan.jpg|thumb|250px|With Nakhichevan's conquest by Imperial Russia, came Russian culture.  Shown here is photograph of a statue of Catherine the Great in Nakhichevan City taken in 1902.]]
  
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In December 1918, with the support of Azerbaijan's [[Equality Party (Azerbaijan)|Musavat Party]], [[Jafar Kuli Khan Nakhichevanski]] declared the [[Republic of Aras]] in the Nakhichevan uyezd of the former Erivan Governorate assigned to Armenia by Wardrop. <ref name="GreatSoviet" /> The Armenian government did not recognize the new state and sent its troops into the region to take control of it.  The conflict soon erupted into the violent [[Aras War]]. <ref name="Atlas" /> British journalist [[C.E. Bechhofer]] described the situation in April 1920:
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After the last Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the Treaty of Turkmanchai, the Nakhichevan khanate passed into Russian possession in 1828. With the onset of Russian rule, the Tsarist authorities encouraged resettlement of Armenians to Nakhichevan and other areas of the [[Caucasus]] from the [[Persian Empire|Persian]] and [[Ottoman Empire]]s.  [[Alexandr Griboyedov]], the Russian envoy to Persia, stated that by the time Nakhichevan came under Russian rule, only 17 percent of its residents were Armenian Christians, while the remainder of the population (83 percent) were Muslims. After the resettlement initiative, the number of Armenians had increased to 45 percent while Muslims remained the majority at 55 percent.  With such a dramatic increase in population, Griboyedov noted friction arising between the Armenian and Muslim populations.  The Nakhichevan khanate was dissolved in 1828, its territory was merged with the territory of the Erivan khanate and the area became the Nakhichevan uyezd of the new Armenian oblast, which later became the Erivan Governorate in 1849.
  
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{{cquote|You cannot persuade a party of frenzied nationalists that two blacks do not make a white; consequently, no day went by without a catalogue of complaints from both sides, Armenians and Tartars [Azeris], of unprovoked attacks, murders, village burnings and the like. Specifically, the situation was a series of vicious cycles. <ref name="DeWaal01">[[Thomas de Waal]]. ''Black Garden: Armenia And Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, pp. 128-129. ISBN 0-8147-1945-7</ref>}}
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According to official statistics of the Russian Empire, by the turn of the twentieth century Azerbaijanis made up 57 percent of the uyezd's population, while Armenians constituted 42 percent. At the same time in the Sharur-Daralagyoz uyezd, the territory of which would form part of modern-day Nakhichevan, Azeris constituted 70.5 percent of the population, while Armenians made up 27.5 percent. During the [[Russian Revolution of 1905]], conflict erupted between the Armenians and the Azeris, culminating in the [[Armenian-Tatar massacres]] which saw violence in Nakhichevan in May of that year.  
  
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[[Image:Lenin leser Pravda.jpg|thumb|200px|Soviet revolutionary leader [[Vladimir Lenin]] called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum on their future status within the Soviet Union in 1921.]]
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===War and revolution===
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Around the time of [[World War I]], Nakhichevan was the scene of more bloodshed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, both of whom held claims to the area.  At the time the war broke out in 1914, the Armenian population had decreased slightly to 40 percent while the Azeri population increased to roughly 60 percent.  
  
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By mid-June 1919, however, Armenia succeeded in establishing control over Nakhichevan and the whole territory of the self-proclaimed republic. The fall of the Aras republic triggered an invasion by the regular Azerbaijani army and by the end of July, Armenian troops were forced to leave Nakhichevan City to the Azeris. <ref name="Atlas" /> Again, more mutual violence erupted between Armenians and Azeris, ultimately leaving some ten thousand Armenians dead and forty-five Armenian villages destroyed. <ref name="Hewsen" /> Meanwhile, feeling the situation to be hopeless and unable to maintain any control over the area, the British decided to withdraw from the region in mid-1919. <ref name="Croissant-16">Croissant. ''Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict'', p. 16.</ref> Still, fighting between Armenians and Azeris continued and after a series of skirmishes that took place throughout the Nakhichevan district, a cease-fire agreement was concluded.  However, the cease-fire lasted briefly and by early March 1920, more fighting broke out, primarily in Karabakh between Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijan's regular army. This triggered conflicts in other areas with mixed populations, including Nakhichevan.  In mid-March 1920, Armenian forces launched an offensive on all of the disputed territories and by the end of the month, both the Nakhichevan and Zangezur regions came under stable but temporary Armenian control. <ref name="Atlas" />
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After the February Revolution in Russia, in 1917, the region was under the authority of the Special Transcaucasian Committee of the [[Russian Provisional Government]], and subsequently the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhichevan, [[Nagorno-Karabakh]], Zangezur (today the Armenian province of [[Syunik]]), and [[Qazakh]] were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the [[Democratic Republic of Armenia]] and the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]]. In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation, then occupation by the British.  
  
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===Sovietization===
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===The Aras War===
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The British Chief Commissioner in the South Caucasus, Oliver Wardrop, proposed that Armenian claims against Azerbaijan should not go beyond the administrative borders of the former Erivan Governorate (which under prior Imperial Russian rule encompassed Nakhichevan), while Azerbaijan was to be limited to the governorates of Baku and Elisabethpol.  Both Armenians, who did not wish to give up their claims to Qazakh, Zangezur and Karabakh, and Azeris, who did not want to relinquish their claims to Nakhichevan).  In December 1918, Jafar Kuli Khan Nakhichevanski declared the Republic of Aras in the Nakhichevan uyezd of the former Erivan Governorate assigned to Armenia by Wardrop. The Armenian government sent its troops into the region to take control of it.  The conflict soon erupted into the violent Aras War.
  
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In July 1920, the [[11th Soviet Red Army]] invaded and occupied the region and on [[July 28]], declared the [[Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] with "close ties" to the [[Azerbaijan SSR]].  In November, on the verge of taking over Armenia, the Bolsheviks in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Nakhichevan to Armenia, along with Karabakh and Zangezur. This was fulfilled when [[Nariman Narimanov]], leader of Bolshevik Azerbaijan issued a declaration celebrating the "victory of Soviet power in Armenia," proclaimed that both Nakhichevan and Zangezur should be awarded to the Armenian people as a sign of the Azerbaijani people's support for Armenia's fight against the former Dashnak government <ref name="DeWaal02">De Waal. ''Black Garden'', p. 129.</ref>:
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By June 1919, Armenia gained control over Nakhichevan. The fall of the Aras republic triggered an invasion by the Azerbaijani army and by the end of July, Armenian troops were forced to leave Nakhichevan City. Violence erupted between Armenians and Azeris, leaving 10,000 Armenians dead and 45 Armenian villages destroyed. Meanwhile, the British withdrew.  Fighting continued between Armenians and Azeris. In March 1920, Armenian forces attacked the disputed territories and by the end of the month, both the Nakhichevan and Zangezur regions came under Armenian control.  
  
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{{cquote|As of today, the old frontiers between Armenia and Azerbaijan are declared to be non-existent. Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur and Nakhichevan are recognised to be integral parts of the Socialist Republic of Armenia. <ref name="Potier">Tim Potier. ''Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal'', p. 4. ISBN 90-411-1477-7</ref><ref name="Croissant-18">Croissant. ''Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict'', p. 18.</ref>}}
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===Soviet rule===
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[[Image:Lenin leser Pravda.jpg|thumb|200px|Soviet revolutionary leader [[Vladimir Lenin]] called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum on their future status within the Soviet Union in 1921.]]
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In July 1920, the Eleventh Soviet Red Army invaded and occupied the region and on July 28, declared the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with "close ties" to the Azerbaijan SSR. In November, on the verge of taking over Armenia, the Bolsheviks in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Nakhichevan to Armenia, along with Karabakh and Zangezur. This was fulfilled when Nariman Narimanov, leader of Bolshevik Azerbaijan issued a declaration celebrating the "victory of Soviet power in Armenia," proclaimed that both Nakhichevan and Zangezur should be awarded to the Armenian people.
  
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[[Vladimir Lenin]], although welcoming this act of "great Soviet fraternalism" where "boundaries had no meaning among the family of Soviet peoples," did not agree with the motion and instead called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum. According to the formal figures of this referendum, held at the beginning of 1921, 90% of Nakhichevan's population wanted to be included in the Azerbaijan SSR "with the rights of an autonomous republic." <ref name="Potier" /> The decision to make Nakhichevan a part of modern-day Azerbaijan was cemented [[March 16]], [[1921]] in the [[Treaty of Moscow (1921)|Treaty of Moscow]] between the [[Soviet Union]] and the newly-founded [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]]. <ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics02">Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras. ''New States, New Politics: Building Post-Soviet Nations'', p. 444. ISBN 0-521-57799-3</ref> The agreement between the USSR and Turkey also called for attachment of the former Sharur-Daralagez uyezd (which had a solid Azeri majority) to Nakhichevan, thus allowing Turkey to share a border with the Azerbaijan SSR. This deal was reaffirmed on [[October 23]], in the [[Treaty of Kars]].  Article V of the treaty stated the following:
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[[Vladimir Lenin]] did not agree and called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum, held in early 1921. In that, 90 percent of Nakhichevan's population wanted to be included in the Azerbaijan SSR as an autonomous republic.  The decision to make Nakhichevan a part of modern-day Azerbaijan was cemented March 16, 1921 in the Treaty of Moscow between the [[Soviet Union]] and the newly-founded Republic of Turkey. This agreement also called for attachment of the former Sharur-Daralagez uyezd (which had a solid Azeri majority) to Nakhichevan, thus allowing Turkey to share a border with the Azerbaijan SSR. This deal was reaffirmed on October 23, in the Treaty of Kars.  So, on February 9, 1924, the Soviet Union officially established the Nakhichevan ASSR. Its consititution was adopted on April 18, 1926.
  
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{{cquote|The Turkish Government and the Soviet Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan are agreed that the region of Nakhichevan, within the limits specified by Annex III to the present Treaty, constitutes an autonomous territory under the protection of Azerbaijan. <ref>[http://groong.usc.edu/treaties/kars.html Text of the Treaty of Kars]</ref>}}
+
===Nakhichevan in the Soviet Union===
−
So, on [[February 9]], [[1924]], the Soviet Union officially established the Nakhichevan ASSR. Its consititution was adopted on [[April 18]], [[1926]]. <ref name="GreatSoviet" />
+
As part of the Soviet Union, tensions lessened over the ethnic composition of Nakhichevan or any territorial claims regarding it.  Instead, it became an important industrial area for mining salt, and junctions on the Moscow-Tehran, and Baku-Yerevan railway lines. It was strategically important during the [[Cold War]], sharing borders with both Turkey (a [[NATO]] member) and Iran (a close ally of the west until the 1979 Iranian Revolution).
  
−
===Nakhichevan in the Soviet Union===
+
Under Soviet rule, education and public health began to improve.  In 1913, Nakhichevan only had two hospitals with a total of 20 beds.  Investment in health reduced malaria and eliminated trachoma, typhus, and relapsing fever.
  
−
[[Image:Soviet Soldiers on Surveillance.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Red Army|Soviet troops]] on surveillance duty monitoring Nakichevan's Iranian frontier.]]
+
The ethnic mix between Armenians and Azeris changed dramatically under Soviet rule, as Nakhichevan's Armenian population gradually emigrated to the [[Armenian SSR]]. In 1926, 15 percent of region's population was Armenian, but by 1979 this number had shrunk to 1.4 percent. The Azeri population, meanwhile increased substantially with both a higher birth rate and immigration (going from 85 percent in 1926 to 96 percent by 1979.
−
As a constituent part of the Soviet Union, tensions lessened over the ethnic composition of Nakhichevan or any territorial claims regarding it.  Instead, it became an important point of industrial production with particular emphasis on the mining of minerals such as salt.  Under Soviet rule, it was once a major junction on the [[Moscow]]-[[Tehran]] railway line <ref name="DeWaal03">De Waal. ''Black Garden'', p. 271.</ref> as well as the [[Baku]]-[[Yerevan]] railway. <ref name="GreatSoviet" /> It also served as an important strategic area during the [[Cold War]], sharing borders with both Turkey (a [[NATO]] member) and Iran (a close ally of the west until the [[Iranian Revolution|1979 Iranian Revolution]]).
 
  
 +
=== Nagorno-Karabakh conflict===
 
[[Image:265nakhichevan-assr.gif|thumb|left|250px|Map of the Nakhichevan ASSR within the Soviet Union.]]
 
[[Image:265nakhichevan-assr.gif|thumb|left|250px|Map of the Nakhichevan ASSR within the Soviet Union.]]
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Facilities improved during Soviet times.  Education and public health especially began to see some major changes.  In [[1913]], Nakhichevan only had two hospitals with a total of 20 beds.  The region was plagued by widespread diseases including [[trachoma]] and [[typhus]].  [[Malaria]], which mostly came from the adjoining [[Aras River]] brought serious harm to the region.  70–85% of Nakhichevan's population was infected with malaria, and in the region of Norashen (present-day Sharur) almost 100% were struck with the disease.  This pattern improved drastically under Soviet rule.  Malaria was sharply reduced and trachoma, typhus, and relapsing fever were completely eliminated. <ref name="GreatSoviet" />
+
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh noted similar demographic trends and feared an eventual "de-Armenianization" of the area. In the summer of 1989, Azerbaijan's Popular Front managed to pressure the Azerbaijan SSR to instigate a partial railway and air blockade against Armenia, as a response to attacks by Armenian forces on trains entering from Azerbaijan. This effectively crippled Armenia's economy, as 85 percent of goods arrived by rail. In response, Armenia closed the railway to Nakhichevan, thereby strangling the exclave's only link to the rest of the Soviet Union.
−
 
 
−
Although the Armenians and the Azeris managed to put aside their differences and get along during the Soviet years, their numbers changed dramatically. Nakhichevan's Armenian population gradually decreased as many emigrated to the [[Armenian SSR]].  In 1926, 15% of region's population was Armenian, but by 1979 this number had shrunk to 1.4%. <ref name="Armcountry">[http://countrystudies.us/armenia/14.htm Armenia: A Country Study: The New Nationalism], The Library of Congress</ref>  The Azeri population, meanwhile increased substantially with both a higher birth rate and immigration (going from 85% in 1926 to 96% by 1979 <ref name="Armcountry" />).
 
−
 
 
−
Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh noted similar though slower demographic trends and feared an eventual "de-Armenianization" of the area. <ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics02" />  Thus, tensions between Armenians and Azeris were reignited in the late-1980s by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the summer of 1989, Azerbaijan's Popular Front managed to pressure the Azerbaijan SSR to instigate a partial railway and air blockade against Armenia, while another reason for disruption of rail service to Armenia were attacks of Armenian forces on the trains entering the Armenian territory from Azerbaijan, which resulted in railroad personnel refusing to enter Armenia.<ref>Thomas Ambrosio. Irredentism: Ethnic Conflict and International Politics. ISBN-10: 0275972607</ref><ref>Stuart J. Kaufman. Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War. ISBN 0801487366</ref> This effectively crippled Armenia's economy, as 85% of the cargo and goods arrived through rail traffic. In response, Armenia closed the railway to Nakhichevan, thereby strangling the exclave's only link to the rest of the Soviet Union.
 
  
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December 1989 saw unrest in Nakhichevan as its Azeri inhabitants moved to physically dismantle the Soviet border with Iran to flee the area and meet their ethnic Azeri cousins in northern Iran.  This action was angrily denounced by the Soviet leadership and the Soviet media accused the Azeris of "embracing Islamic fundamentalism".  <ref name="DeWaal04">De Waal, ''Black Garden'', p. 88-89.</ref>  In January 1990, the [[Supreme Soviet]] of the Nakhichevan ASSR issued a declaration stating the intention for Nakhichevan to secede from the USSR to protest the Soviet Union's actions during [[Black January]]. It was the first part of the Soviet Union to declare independence, preceding [[Lithuania]]'s declaration by only a few weeks.
+
Further unrest appeared in Nakhichevan in December 1989 as its Azeri inhabitants moved to dismantle the Soviet border with Iran to flee the area and meet their cousins in northern Iran.  The Soviet leadership accused the Azeris of "embracing Islamic fundamentalism".   
  
−
===Nakhichevan in the post-Soviet era===
+
===Independence===
 
[[Image:War-Ravaged Nikhichevan Village.jpg|thumb|250px|A village destroyed in Nakhichevan as a result of hostilities between Armenian and Azeri forces in May 1992.]]
 
[[Image:War-Ravaged Nikhichevan Village.jpg|thumb|250px|A village destroyed in Nakhichevan as a result of hostilities between Armenian and Azeri forces in May 1992.]]
−
[[Heydar Aliyev]], the future president of Azerbaijan returned to his birth place of Nakhichevan in 1990, after being ousted from his position in the [[Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]] by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in 1987.  Soon after returning to Nakhichevan, Aliyev was elected to the Supreme Soviet by an overwhelming majority. Aliyev subsequently resigned from the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]] and after the failed August 1991 coup against Gorbachev, he called for complete independence for Azerbaijan and denounced [[Ayaz Mütallibov]] for supporting the coup. In late 1991, Aliyev consolidated his power base as chairman of the Nakhichevan Supreme Soviet and asserted Nachichevan's near-total independence from [[Baku]].<ref name="Azcountry01">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/32.htm Azerbaijan: A Country Study: Aliyev and the Presidential Election of October 1993], The Library of Congress</ref>
 
  
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Nakhichevan became a scene of conflict during the [[Nagorno-Karabakh War]]. On [[May 4]], [[1992]], Armenian forces shelled the area's [[Sadarak]] rayon.<ref>[http://poli.vub.ac.be/publi/ContBorders/eng/ch0701.htm Contested Borders in the Caucasus: Chapter VII: Iran's Role as Mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis] by Abdollah Ramezanzadeh</ref><ref name="post">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Russia Plans Leaner, More Open Military]. The Washington Post. [[May 23]] [[1992]]</ref><ref name="coe">[http://www.coe.int/t/e/com/files/events/2003-04-Youth-conflicts/Nagorno_conflict.asp Background Paper on the Nagorno-Karabak Conflict]. Council of Europe.</ref> The Armenians claimed that the attack was in response to cross-border shellings of Armenian villages by Azeri forces from Nakhichevan. <ref name="thestar">[http://www.thestar.com/ The Toronto Star]. [[May 20]] [[1992]]</ref> <ref name="depart">[http://dosfan.lib.uic.edu/erc/briefing/daily_briefings/1992/9205/078.html US Department of State Daily Briefing #78: Tuesday, 5/19/92]</ref>  David Zadoyan, a 42-year-old Armenian physicist and mayor of the region said that the Armenians lost patience after months of firing by the Azeris. "If they were sitting on our hilltops and harassing us with gunfire, what do you think our response should be?" he asked. <ref name="baltimore">[http://www.baltimoresun.com/ Armenian Siege of Azeri Town Threatens Turkey, Russia, Iran]. The Baltimore Sun. [[June 3]] [[1992]]</ref> The government of Nakhichevan denied these charges and instead asserted that the Armenian assault was unprovoked and specfically targeted the site of a bridge between Turkey and Nakhichevan. <ref name="depart" />  "The Armenians do not react to diplomatic pressure," Nakhichevan foreign minister Rza Ibadov told the ITAR-Tass news agency, "It's vital to speak to them in a language they understand."  Speaking to the agency from the Turkish capital [[Ankara]], Ibadov said that Armenia's aim in the region was to seize control of Nakhichevan. <ref name="reuters">[http://today.reuters.com/news/home.aspx Reuters News Agency], wire carried by the Globe and Mail (Canada) on [[May 20]], [[1992]]. pg. A.10</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], hostilities broke out after three people were killed when Armenian forces began shelling the region.<ref name="hrw01">[http://www.hrw.org/reports/pdfs/g/general/general926.pdf Overview of Areas of Armed Conflict in the former Soviet Union], [[Human Rights Watch]], Helsinki Report</ref>
+
In January 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Nakhichevan ASSR issued a declaration stating the intention for Nakhichevan to secede from the USSR to protest the Soviet Union's actions during [[Black January]], when the Soviet army cracked down on an Azeri protest demonstration in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR on January 20, 1990. In Azerbaijan Black January is seen as the birth of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was the first part of the Soviet Union to declare independence, preceding [[Lithuania]]'s declaration by only a few weeks.
  
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The heaviest fighting took place on [[May 18]], when the Armenians captured Nakhichevan's exclave of [[Karki (Azerbaijan)|Karki]], a tiny territory through which Armenia's main North-South highway passes.  The exclave presently remains under Armenian control. <ref name="hrw02">[http://www.geocities.com/fanthom_2000/hrw-azerbaijan/hrw-contents/hrw-azerbaijan2.html Azerbaijan: Seven Years Of Conflict In Nagorno-Karabakh], [[Human Rights Watch]], Helsinki Report</ref>  After the fall of [[Shusha]], the Mütallibov government of Azerbaijan accused Armenia of moving to take the whole of Nakhichevan (a claim that was denied by Armenian government officials). However, Heydar Aliyev declared a unilateral ceasefire on [[May 23]] and sought to conclude a separate peace with Armenia. Armenian President [[Levon Ter-Petrossian]] expressed his willingness to sign a cooperation treaty with Nakhichevan to end the fighting and subsequently a cease-fire was agreed upon. <ref name="hrw01" />
+
Heydar Aliyev, the future president of Azerbaijan, returned to his birth-place of Nakhichevan, in 1990, after being ousted from his position in the Politburo by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] in 1987.  Soon after his return, Aliyev was elected to the Supreme Soviet. Aliyev resigned from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and after the failed August 1991 coup against Gorbachev, he called for independence for Azerbaijan. He denounced [[Ayaz Mütallibov]], the first post-Soviet President of Azerbaijan, for supporting the coup. In late 1991, Aliyev consolidated his power base as chairman of the Nakhichevan Supreme Soviet and asserted Nachichevan's near-total independence from Baku.
  
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The conflict in the area caused a harsh reaction from Turkey, which together with Russia is a guarantor of Nakhichevan's status in accordance with the [[Treaty of Kars]]. Turkish Prime Minister [[Tansu Çiller]] announced that any Armenian advance on the main territory of Nakhichevan would result in a declaration of war against Armenia. Russian military leaders declared that "third party intervention into the dispute could trigger a [[World War III|Third World War]]."  Thousands of Turkish troops were sent to the border between Turkey and Armenia in early September. Russian military forces in Armenia countered their movements by increasing troop levels along Armenia's Turkish frontier and bolstering defenses in a tense period where war between the two seemed inevitable. <ref name="slt">[http://www.sltrib.com/ Turkey Orders Armenians to Leave Azerbaijan, Moves Troops to the Border]. The Salt Lake Tribune. [[September 4]] [[1993]]. pg. A1.</ref>  Iran also reacted to Armenia's attacks by conducting military manueuvers along its border with Nakhichevan in a move widely interpreted as a warning to Armenia.<ref name="Azcountry02">[http://countrystudies.us/azerbaijan/16.htm Azerbaijan: A Country Study: Efforts to Resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis, 1993], The Library of Congress</ref>  However, Armenia did not launch any further attacks on Nakhichevan and the presence of Russia's military warded off any possibility that Turkey might play a military role in the conflict.<ref name="slt" />  After a period of political instability, the parliament of Azerbaijan turned to Heydar Aliyev and invited him to return from exile in Nakhichevan to lead the country in 1993.
+
=== Nagorno-Karabakh War===
 +
Nakhichevan became a scene of conflict during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. On May 4, 1992, Armenian forces shelled the area's Sadarak rayon, claiming that the attack was in response to cross-border shellings of Armenian villages by Azeri forces from Nakhichevan. The government of Nakhichevan asserted that the Armenian assault was unprovoked and targeted a bridge between Turkey and Nakhichevan. The heaviest fighting took place on May 18, when the Armenians captured Nakhichevan's exclave of Karki, a tiny territory through which Armenia's main North-South highway passes. Heydar Aliyev declared a unilateral ceasefire on May 23 and sought to conclude a separate peace with Armenia. A cease-fire was agreed upon.  
  
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Today, Nakhichevan retains its autonomy as the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic and is internationally recognized as a constituent part of Azerbaijan governed by its own elected parliament.<ref name="Planet" /> A new constitution for Nakhichevan was approved in a referendum on [[November 12]], [[1995]]. The constitution was adopted by the republic's assembly on [[April 28]], [[1998]] and has been in force since [[January 8]], [[1999]]. <ref>[http://www.nakhchivan.az/english/dov_qur.html State Structure of Nakhichevan]</ref> However, the republic remains isolated, not only from the rest of Azerbaijan, but practically from the entire [[South Caucasus]] region.  [[Vasif Talibov]], who is related by marriage to Azerbaijan's ruling family, the Aliyevs, serves as the current parliamentary chairman of the republic.<ref name="IWPR-nakh">{{cite news
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Thousands of Turkish troops were sent to the border between Turkey and Armenia in early September. Russia increased troop levels along Armenia's Turkish frontier. Iran conducted military manueuvers along its border with Nakhicheva. There were no further Armenian attacks on Nakhichevan and the presence of Russia's military warded off any possibility that Turkey might play a military role. After a period of political instability, the parliament of Azerbaijan turned to Heydar Aliyev and invited him to return from exile in Nakhichevan to lead the country in 1993.
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  | title = Nakhichevan: Disappointment and Secrecy
 
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  | publisher = Institute for War and Peace Reporting
 
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  | date = 2004-05-19
 
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  | url =http://iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=160714&apc_state=henicrs2004
 
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  | accessdate = 2004-05-19 }}</ref> He is known for his authoritarian<ref name="IWPR-nakh" /> and largely corrupt<ref>{{cite news
 
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  | title = Nakhichevan: From Despair to Where?
 
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  | publisher = Axis News
 
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  | date = 2005-07-21
 
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  | url =http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=263
 
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  | accessdate = 2005-07-21 }}</ref> rule of the region.  Most residents prefer to watch Turkish television as opposed to Nakhichevan television, which one Azerbaijani journalist criticised as "a propaganda vehicle for Talibov and the Alievs."<ref name="IWPR-nakh" />
 
  
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Economic hardships and energy shortages (due to Armenia's continued blockade of the region in response to the Azeri and Turkish blockade of Armenia) plague the area.  There have been many cases of [[Foreign worker|migrant workers]] seeking jobs in neighboring Turkey.  "Emigration rates to Turkey," one analyst says, "are so high that most of the residents of the Besler district in [[Istanbul]] are Nakhichevanis."<ref name="IWPR-nakh" />  When speaking to British writer [[Thomas de Waal]], the mayor of [[Nakhichevan City]], [[Veli Shakhverdiev]], spoke warmly of a peaceful solution to the Karabakh conflict and of Armenian-Azeri relations during Soviet times.  "I can tell you that our relations with the Armenians were very close, they were excellent," he said.  "I went to university in [[Moscow]] and I didn't travel to Moscow once via [[Baku]].  I took a bus, it was one hour to [[Yerevan]], then went by plane to Moscow and the same thing on the way back." <ref name="DeWaal03" />  Despite recent deals to obtain more gas exports from Iran,<ref>{{cite news
 
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  | title = Iran To Boost Gas Export To Nakhichevan
 
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  | publisher = IranMania News
 
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  | date = 2006-07-20
 
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  | url =http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=44468&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
 
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  | accessdate = 2006-07-20 }}</ref> the future of Nakhichevan looks bleak.<ref name="IWPR-nakh" />
 
  
 
==Administrative subdivisions==
 
==Administrative subdivisions==

Revision as of 09:42, 29 April 2007


This article is about the autonomous region. For its capital city, see Nakhichevan City.
Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası
Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic
Flag of Nakhichevan
Flag
Location of Nakhichevan

Location of Nakhichevan
in the South Caucasus region

Capital Nakhichevan City
Largest city capital
Official languages Azerbaijani
Government
 - Parliamentary Chairman Vasif Talibov
Autonomous republic  
 - Establishment of the Nakhichevan ASSR
February 9, 1924 
 - Nakichevan
Autonomous Republic
November 17, 1990 
Area
 - Total 5,5001 km²
2,124 sq mi 
 - Water (%) negligible
Population
 - 2005 estimate 372,9001
 - Density 67.8/km²
/sq mi
Currency Azerbaijani manat (AZN)
Time zone EET (UTC+4)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+5)
Internet TLD

The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, known simply as Nakhichevan, is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan bordering Armenia, Turkey, and Iran.

Geography

Since the territoryt has been under the rule of numerous powers, variations of the name include Nachidsheuan, Nakhijevan, Nakhchawan, Nakhjavan and Nakhdjevan. According to the nineteenth-century language scholar, Heinrich Hubschmann, the name "Nakhichavan" in Armenian literally means "the place of descent", a Biblical reference to the descent of Noah's Ark on the adjacent Mount Ararat. Hubschmann notes, however, that it was not known by that name in antiquity. Instead, he states the present-day name evolved to "Nakhichevan" from "Naxcavan". The prefix "Naxc" was a name and "avan" is Armenian for "town". According to other versions, the name Nakhchivan derived from the Persian Nagsh-e-Jahan ("Image of the World"), a reference to the beauty of the area. The medieval Arab chronicles referred to the area as "Nashava".

With an area 2124 square miles (5500 square kilometres), or less than one half of the size of the state of Connecticut in the United States, Nakhichevan is an atmospheric, semi-desert region that is separated from the main portion of Azerbaijan by Armenia. Nearly 75 percent of the territory is located at a height of 3280 feet (1000 meters). The Zangezur Mountains make up its border with Armenia while the Aras River defines its border with Iran. It is extremely arid and mountainous. Nakhichevan's highest peak is Mount Kapydzhik 12,808 feet (3904 meters) and its most distinctive is Ilandag (Snake Mountain) at 7923 feet (2415 meters) which is visible from Nakhichevan City. The region has impressive volcanic domes. According to legend, the cleft in its summit was formed by the keel of Noah's Ark as the floodwaters abated.

The climate is continental, becoming semi-desertic in parts of the pre-Arazian plain. Precipitation is low, even in mountain areas. Rain occurs rarely but with intensity, often causing floods due to the sparse vegetation. The only area of forest is located near Bichanak. The region regularly has strong earthquakes, that of 1931 having been particularly severe.

Nakhichevan City, the capital, was an ancient trading centre believed to be founded in the sixteenth century B.C.E. According to a legend, the city was founded by Noah. Nakhchivan city was home to over 60.000 inhabitants in 2007, when it has some industry, centred around glass, furniture, textiles and carpets, aluminum, tobacco and grape processing.

History

File:93-vaspurakan908-1021.gif
The Nakhichevan region (highlighted in light purple) at the time of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan (908-1021 C.E.).

According to Armenian tradition, Nakhichevan was founded by Noah, of the Abrahamic religions. The oldest material culture artifacts found in the region date back to the Neolithic Age (6000B.C.E. to 4000 B.C.E.).

The region was part of the states of [[Mannai|Mannae] (1000 B.C.E.), Urartu and Media. It became part of the Satrapy of Armenia under Achaemenid Persia circa 521 B.C.E. After Alexander the Great's death (323 B.C.E.) various Macedonian generals such as Neoptolemus tried to take control of the region but ultimately failed and a native dynasty of Orontids flourished until Armenia was conquered by Antiochus III the Great.

Armenian kingdom

In 189 B.C.E., Nakhichevan was part of the new Kingdom of Armenia established by Artaxias I. Within the kingdom, the region of present-day Nakhichevan was part of the Ayrarat, Vaspurakan and Syunik provinces. The area's status as a major trade center allowed it to prosper, though because of this, it was coveted by many foreign powers. According to historian Faustus of Byzantium (4th century), when the Sassanid Persians invaded Armenia, Sassanid King Shapur II (310-380) removed 2000 Armenian and 16,000 Jewish families in 360-370. In 428, the Armenian Arshakuni monarchy was abolished and Nakhichevan was annexed by Sassanid Persia. In 623, possession of the region passed to the Byzantine Empire.

Arabs invade

Beginning in 651, the Arabs organized periodic marauding raids deep into the region, crushing all resistance and attacking Armenian nobles who remained in contact with the Byzantines or who refused to pay tribute. In 705, Armenian nobles and their families were locked into a church at Nakhichevan and by order of the governor, the church was burnt with them inside. Central Asia came under Arab control by the early eighth century and was incorporated into Islamic Caliphate divided between provinces of Mawara'un Nahr and Khorasan. The Arab conquest brought Islam to the region. Eventually, Nakhichevan became part of the autonomous Principality of Armenia under Arab control.

In the eighth century, Nakhichevan was one of the scenes of an uprising against the Arabs led by freedom fighter Babak Khorramdin. Nakhichevan was finally liberated from Arab rule in the tenth century by Bagratid King Smbat I and handed over to the princes of Syunik.


Seljuk Turk conquest

File:AkKoyunlu.jpg
Flag of the Ak Koyunlu, or White Sheep Turkomans who ruled the area of Nakhichevan in the 15th century.

By the eleventh century, however, it was conquered by the Seljuq Turks. In twelfth century, the city of Nakhichevan became the capital of the state of Atabegs of Azerbaijan, also known as Ildegizid state, which included most of Iranian Azerbaijan and significant part of South Caucasus.

The magnificent twelfth century mausoleum of Momine khatun, the wife of Ildegizid ruler, Great Atabeg Jahan Pehlevan, is the main attraction of modern Nakhichevan. At its heydays, the Ildegizid authority in Nakhichevan and some other areas of South Caucasus was contested by the Kingdom of Georgia. The Armeno-Georgian princely house of Zacharids frequently raided the region when the Atabeg state was in decline in the early years of the thirteenth century. It was then plundered by invading Mongols in 1220 and Khwarezmians in 1225 and became part of Mongol Empire in 1236 when the Caucasus was invaded by Chormaqan.

The fourteenth century saw the rise of Armenian Catholicism in Nakhichevan, though by the fifteenth century the territory became part of the states of Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu.

Persian forced evacuation

In the sixteenth century, control of Nakhichevan passed to the Safavid dynasty of Persia. Because of its geographic position, it frequently suffered during the wars between Persia and the Ottoman Empire in fourteenth to eighteenth centuries. In 1604, Shah Abbas I Safavi, concerned that the lands of Nakhichevan and the surrounding areas would pass into Ottoman hands, decided to institute a scorched earth policy. He forced the entire local population, Armenians, Jews and Muslims alike, to leave their homes and move to the Persian provinces south of Aras. Many of the deportees were settled in a neighborhood of Isfahan that was named New Julfa since most of the residents were from the original Julfa (a predominantly Armenian town which was looted and burned). The Turkic Kangerli tribe was later permitted to move back under Shah Abbas II (1642-1666) in order to repopulate the frontier region of his realm.

In the seventeenth century, Nakhichevan was the scene of a peasant movement led by Köroğlu against foreign invaders and "native exploiters". In 1747, the Nakhichevan khanate emerged in the region after the death of Nadir Shah Afshar.

Russian conquest

File:Catherine-nakhichevan.jpg
With Nakhichevan's conquest by Imperial Russia, came Russian culture. Shown here is photograph of a statue of Catherine the Great in Nakhichevan City taken in 1902.

After the last Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the Treaty of Turkmanchai, the Nakhichevan khanate passed into Russian possession in 1828. With the onset of Russian rule, the Tsarist authorities encouraged resettlement of Armenians to Nakhichevan and other areas of the Caucasus from the Persian and Ottoman Empires. Alexandr Griboyedov, the Russian envoy to Persia, stated that by the time Nakhichevan came under Russian rule, only 17 percent of its residents were Armenian Christians, while the remainder of the population (83 percent) were Muslims. After the resettlement initiative, the number of Armenians had increased to 45 percent while Muslims remained the majority at 55 percent. With such a dramatic increase in population, Griboyedov noted friction arising between the Armenian and Muslim populations. The Nakhichevan khanate was dissolved in 1828, its territory was merged with the territory of the Erivan khanate and the area became the Nakhichevan uyezd of the new Armenian oblast, which later became the Erivan Governorate in 1849.

According to official statistics of the Russian Empire, by the turn of the twentieth century Azerbaijanis made up 57 percent of the uyezd's population, while Armenians constituted 42 percent. At the same time in the Sharur-Daralagyoz uyezd, the territory of which would form part of modern-day Nakhichevan, Azeris constituted 70.5 percent of the population, while Armenians made up 27.5 percent. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, conflict erupted between the Armenians and the Azeris, culminating in the Armenian-Tatar massacres which saw violence in Nakhichevan in May of that year.

War and revolution

Around the time of World War I, Nakhichevan was the scene of more bloodshed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, both of whom held claims to the area. At the time the war broke out in 1914, the Armenian population had decreased slightly to 40 percent while the Azeri population increased to roughly 60 percent.

After the February Revolution in Russia, in 1917, the region was under the authority of the Special Transcaucasian Committee of the Russian Provisional Government, and subsequently the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhichevan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Zangezur (today the Armenian province of Syunik), and Qazakh were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the Democratic Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation, then occupation by the British.

The Aras War

The British Chief Commissioner in the South Caucasus, Oliver Wardrop, proposed that Armenian claims against Azerbaijan should not go beyond the administrative borders of the former Erivan Governorate (which under prior Imperial Russian rule encompassed Nakhichevan), while Azerbaijan was to be limited to the governorates of Baku and Elisabethpol. Both Armenians, who did not wish to give up their claims to Qazakh, Zangezur and Karabakh, and Azeris, who did not want to relinquish their claims to Nakhichevan). In December 1918, Jafar Kuli Khan Nakhichevanski declared the Republic of Aras in the Nakhichevan uyezd of the former Erivan Governorate assigned to Armenia by Wardrop. The Armenian government sent its troops into the region to take control of it. The conflict soon erupted into the violent Aras War.

By June 1919, Armenia gained control over Nakhichevan. The fall of the Aras republic triggered an invasion by the Azerbaijani army and by the end of July, Armenian troops were forced to leave Nakhichevan City. Violence erupted between Armenians and Azeris, leaving 10,000 Armenians dead and 45 Armenian villages destroyed. Meanwhile, the British withdrew. Fighting continued between Armenians and Azeris. In March 1920, Armenian forces attacked the disputed territories and by the end of the month, both the Nakhichevan and Zangezur regions came under Armenian control.

Soviet rule

File:Lenin leser Pravda.jpg
Soviet revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum on their future status within the Soviet Union in 1921.

In July 1920, the Eleventh Soviet Red Army invaded and occupied the region and on July 28, declared the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with "close ties" to the Azerbaijan SSR. In November, on the verge of taking over Armenia, the Bolsheviks in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Nakhichevan to Armenia, along with Karabakh and Zangezur. This was fulfilled when Nariman Narimanov, leader of Bolshevik Azerbaijan issued a declaration celebrating the "victory of Soviet power in Armenia," proclaimed that both Nakhichevan and Zangezur should be awarded to the Armenian people.

Vladimir Lenin did not agree and called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum, held in early 1921. In that, 90 percent of Nakhichevan's population wanted to be included in the Azerbaijan SSR as an autonomous republic. The decision to make Nakhichevan a part of modern-day Azerbaijan was cemented March 16, 1921 in the Treaty of Moscow between the Soviet Union and the newly-founded Republic of Turkey. This agreement also called for attachment of the former Sharur-Daralagez uyezd (which had a solid Azeri majority) to Nakhichevan, thus allowing Turkey to share a border with the Azerbaijan SSR. This deal was reaffirmed on October 23, in the Treaty of Kars. So, on February 9, 1924, the Soviet Union officially established the Nakhichevan ASSR. Its consititution was adopted on April 18, 1926.

Nakhichevan in the Soviet Union

As part of the Soviet Union, tensions lessened over the ethnic composition of Nakhichevan or any territorial claims regarding it. Instead, it became an important industrial area for mining salt, and junctions on the Moscow-Tehran, and Baku-Yerevan railway lines. It was strategically important during the Cold War, sharing borders with both Turkey (a NATO member) and Iran (a close ally of the west until the 1979 Iranian Revolution).

Under Soviet rule, education and public health began to improve. In 1913, Nakhichevan only had two hospitals with a total of 20 beds. Investment in health reduced malaria and eliminated trachoma, typhus, and relapsing fever.

The ethnic mix between Armenians and Azeris changed dramatically under Soviet rule, as Nakhichevan's Armenian population gradually emigrated to the Armenian SSR. In 1926, 15 percent of region's population was Armenian, but by 1979 this number had shrunk to 1.4 percent. The Azeri population, meanwhile increased substantially with both a higher birth rate and immigration (going from 85 percent in 1926 to 96 percent by 1979.

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

File:265nakhichevan-assr.gif
Map of the Nakhichevan ASSR within the Soviet Union.

Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh noted similar demographic trends and feared an eventual "de-Armenianization" of the area. In the summer of 1989, Azerbaijan's Popular Front managed to pressure the Azerbaijan SSR to instigate a partial railway and air blockade against Armenia, as a response to attacks by Armenian forces on trains entering from Azerbaijan. This effectively crippled Armenia's economy, as 85 percent of goods arrived by rail. In response, Armenia closed the railway to Nakhichevan, thereby strangling the exclave's only link to the rest of the Soviet Union.

Further unrest appeared in Nakhichevan in December 1989 as its Azeri inhabitants moved to dismantle the Soviet border with Iran to flee the area and meet their cousins in northern Iran. The Soviet leadership accused the Azeris of "embracing Islamic fundamentalism".

Independence

File:War-Ravaged Nikhichevan Village.jpg
A village destroyed in Nakhichevan as a result of hostilities between Armenian and Azeri forces in May 1992.

In January 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Nakhichevan ASSR issued a declaration stating the intention for Nakhichevan to secede from the USSR to protest the Soviet Union's actions during Black January, when the Soviet army cracked down on an Azeri protest demonstration in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR on January 20, 1990. In Azerbaijan Black January is seen as the birth of the Republic of Azerbaijan. It was the first part of the Soviet Union to declare independence, preceding Lithuania's declaration by only a few weeks.

Heydar Aliyev, the future president of Azerbaijan, returned to his birth-place of Nakhichevan, in 1990, after being ousted from his position in the Politburo by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. Soon after his return, Aliyev was elected to the Supreme Soviet. Aliyev resigned from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and after the failed August 1991 coup against Gorbachev, he called for independence for Azerbaijan. He denounced Ayaz Mütallibov, the first post-Soviet President of Azerbaijan, for supporting the coup. In late 1991, Aliyev consolidated his power base as chairman of the Nakhichevan Supreme Soviet and asserted Nachichevan's near-total independence from Baku.

Nagorno-Karabakh War

Nakhichevan became a scene of conflict during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. On May 4, 1992, Armenian forces shelled the area's Sadarak rayon, claiming that the attack was in response to cross-border shellings of Armenian villages by Azeri forces from Nakhichevan. The government of Nakhichevan asserted that the Armenian assault was unprovoked and targeted a bridge between Turkey and Nakhichevan. The heaviest fighting took place on May 18, when the Armenians captured Nakhichevan's exclave of Karki, a tiny territory through which Armenia's main North-South highway passes. Heydar Aliyev declared a unilateral ceasefire on May 23 and sought to conclude a separate peace with Armenia. A cease-fire was agreed upon.

Thousands of Turkish troops were sent to the border between Turkey and Armenia in early September. Russia increased troop levels along Armenia's Turkish frontier. Iran conducted military manueuvers along its border with Nakhicheva. There were no further Armenian attacks on Nakhichevan and the presence of Russia's military warded off any possibility that Turkey might play a military role. After a period of political instability, the parliament of Azerbaijan turned to Heydar Aliyev and invited him to return from exile in Nakhichevan to lead the country in 1993.


Administrative subdivisions

Subdivisions of Nakhichevan.


Nakhichevan is subdivided into eight administrative divisions. Seven of these are rayons. Its capital, the city (şəhər) of Nakhichevan City is treated separately.

Map ref. Administrative division Capital Type Area (km²) Population (2005 estimate) Notes
1 Babek (Babək) Babek Rayon 1,170 66,000 Formerly known as Nakhichevan; renamed after Babak Khorramdin in 1991.
2 Julfa (Culfa) Julfa Rayon 1,000 38,300 Also spelled Jugha or Dzhulfa.
3 Kangarli (Kəngərli) Givrahk Rayon 682 25,500 Carved from Babek in March 2004.
4 Nakhichevan City (Naxçıvan Şəhər) Municipality 130 70,000 Carved from Nakhichevan (Babek) in 1991.
5 Ordubad Ordubad Rayon 970 42,700 Carved from Julfa during Sovietization. [1]
6 Sadarak (Sədərək) Heydarabad Rayon 150 12,900 Carved from Sharur in 1990; includes the Karki exclave in Armenia.
7 Shakhbuz (Şahbuz) Shahbuz Rayon 920 21,500 Carved from Nakhichevan (Babek) during Sovietization. [1] Territory roughly corresponds to the Čahuk (Չահւք) district of the historic Syunik region within the Kingdom of Armenia. [2]
8 Sharur (Şərur) Sharur Rayon 478 96,000 Formerly known as Bash-Norashen during its incorporation into the Soviet Union and Ilyich (after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin) from the post-Sovietization period to 1990. [1]
Total 5,500 372,900

Demographics

As of 2005, Nakhichevan's population was estimated to be 372,900.[3] 98% of the population are Azerbaijanis. Ethnic Russians and a minority of Kurds constitute the remainder of the population. The remaining Armenians were expelled by Azerbaijani forces during the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the forceful exchange of population between Armenia and Azerbaijan. According to a 1932 Soviet estimate, 85% of the area's was rural while only 15% was urban. This percentage increased to 18% by 1939 and 27% by 1959.[1]

The Aras River near the Julfa-Iranian border.


Industry

Nakhichevan's major industries include the mining of minerals such as salt, molybdenum, and lead. Although dry, irrigation, developed during the Soviet years has allowed the region to expand into the growing of wheat (mostly grown on the plains of the Aras River), barely, cotton, tobacco, orchard fruits, mulberries, and grapes for producing wine. Other industries include cotton ginning/cleaning, silk spinning, fruit canning, meat packing, and, in the dryer regions, sheep farming. In terms of services, Nakhichevan offers very basic facilities and lacks heating fuel during the winter. [4]

International issues

Examples of Armenian khachkars from Julfa.

Status of Armenian cultural monuments

Armenia has accused the government of Azerbaijan of destroying historic Armenian headstones (khachkars) at a medieval cemetery in Julfa, presenting photos and video in support of these charges.[5][6][7] Azerbaijan denies these accusations. According to Azerbaijani ambassador to the US Khafiz Pashayev, the videos and photographs that have surfaced show some unknown people destroying some mid-size stones and is not clear of what ethnicity those people are. Instead, the ambassador asserts that the Armenian side started a propaganda campaign against Azerbaijan to divert attention from the destruction of Azerbaijani monuments in Armenia.[8] The Institute for War and Peace Reporting, meanwhile, reported on April 19, 2006 that "there is nothing left of the celebrated stone crosses of Jugha."[9]

The European Parliament has formally called on Azerbaijan to stop the demolition as a breach of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.[10] According to its resolution regarding cultural monuments in the South Caucasus, the European Parliament "condemns strongly the destruction of the Julfa cemetery as well as the destruction of all sites of historical importance that has taken place on Armenian or Azerbaijani territory, and condemns any such action that seeks to destroy cultural heritage." [11] In 2006, Azerbaijan barred the European Parliament from inspecting and examining the ancient burial site, stating that it would only accept a delegation if it visited Armenian-controlled territory as well. "We think that if a comprehensive approach is taken to the problems that have been raised," said Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Tagizade, "it will be possible to study Christian monuments on the territory of Azerbaijan, including in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic."[12]

Recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Nakhichevan's parliament issued a non-binding declaration in the late 1990's recognizing the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and calling upon Azerbaijan to do so. While sympathetic to the TRNC, Azerbaijan has not followed suit because doing so would prompt Greek Cypriot recognition of the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.[13][14]

Claims by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) claims that Nakhichevan belongs to Armenia. The programme of the party states: The borders of United Armenia shall include all territories designated as Armenia by the Treaty of Sèvres as well as the regions of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Javakhk, and Nakhichevan.[15] However, it should be noted that Nakhichevan is not claimed by the government of Armenia. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian reaffirmed this on December 13, 2006 by openly stating that Armenia, as a legal successor to the Armenian SSR, is loyal to the Treaty of Kars and all agreements inherited by the former Soviet Armenian government.[16]

Culture

Music and the arts are abound in Nakhichevan. In 1923, a musical subgroup was organized at the State Drama Theater (renamed the Dzh. Mamedkulizade Music and Drama Theater in 1962). The Aras Song and Dance Ensemble (established in 1959) is another famous group. Dramatic performances staged by an amateur dance troupe were held in Nakhichiven in the late 19th century. Theatrical art also greatly contributed to Nakhichevan's culture. The creative work of Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, M.S. Gulubekov, and G. Arablinski (the first Azerbaijani film director) are just a few of the names that have enriched Nakhichevan's cultural heritage. [4] The region has also produced noteworthy Armenian artists too such as Soviet actress Hasmik Agopyan. Nakhichevan has also at times been mentioned in works of literature. Nezami, considered a master of Persian literature once wrote:

که تا جایگه یافتی نخچوان
Oh Nakhichevan, respect you've attained,
بدین شاه شد بخت پیرت جوان
With this King in luck you'll remain.

Famous people from Nakhichevan

File:Heydar.jpg
Former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev was born in Nakhichevan.

Political leaders

  • Heydar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan (1993–2003)
  • Abülfaz Elçibay, President of Azerbaijan (1992–1993)
  • Rasul Quliyev, human rights activist and speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan (1993–1996)
  • Christapor Mikaelian, founding member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
  • Jafar Kuli Khan Nakhichevanski, khan of the Nakhichevan khanate and the founder of the short-lived Republic of Aras
  • Garegin Ter-Harutiunian (Garegin Njdeh), Armenian revolutionary

Religious leaders

  • Alexander Jughaetsi (Alexander I of Jugha), Armenian Catholicos (1706–1714)
  • Hakob Jughaetsi (Jacob IV of Jugha), Armenian Catholicos (1655–1680)
  • Azaria I Jughaetsi, Armenian Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia (1584–1601)

Military leaders

  • Ehsan Khan Nakhichevanski, Russian military general
  • Hussein Khan Nakhichevanski, Russian cavalry general and the only Muslim to serve as General-Adjutant of the Russian Tsar
  • Ismail Khan Nakhichevanski, Russian military general
  • Kelbali Khan Nakhichevanski, Russian military general
  • Jamshid Khan Nakhichevanski, Soviet military general

Writers and poets

  • M.S. Gulubekov, writer
  • Huseyn Javid, poet
  • Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, writer and satirist
  • Ekmouladdin Nakhichevani, medeival literary figure
  • Hindushah Nakhichevani, medeival literary figure
  • Abdurrakhman en-Neshevi, medeival literary figure
  • Mammed Said Ordubadi, writer

Others

  • Hasmik Agopyan, Soviet Armenian actress
  • Simeon Jughaetsi, philosopher
  • Aram Merangulyan, director and composer
  • Ajami Nakhchivani, architect and founder of the Nakhichevan school of architecture
  • Gaik Ovakimian, Soviet spy

Photographs of Nakhichevan

  • Nakhichevan01.JPG
    The Momine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhichevan City.
  • Nakhichevan02.JPG
    Ram grave stones dating back several centuries recollected near the Momine Khatun Mausoleum.
  • Nakhichevan04.JPG
    A ram grave stone embedied on concrete construction.
  • Nakhichevan03.JPG
    Statue of Dede Gorgud in Nakhichevan City.
  • Nakhichevan05.jpg
    General view of Ordubad with a range of high mountains in neighboring Iran in the distance.
  • Nakhichevan06.jpg
    Houses of Ordubad photographed near the east bank of Ordubad-chay (also knowm as the Dubendi stream).
  • The famous narrow streets of Ordubad.
  • Nakhichevan08.jpg
    A famous mosque in one quarter of Ordubad.
  • Nakhichevan09.jpg
    A shot of the mountainous terrain of Nakhichevan.
  • The landscape of Nakhichevan.
  • Nakhichevan Mausoleum.jpg
    The Yusuf ibn Kuseir Mausoleum in Nakhichevan City.
  • The Armenian khachkar cemetery at Julfa, before its destruction.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Hewsen
  2. ↑ Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas, p. 123.
  3. ↑ GeoHive: Country Data: Azerbaijan
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named GreatSoviet
  5. ↑ "World Watches In Silence As Azerbaijan Wipes Out Armenian Culture", The Art Newspaper, 2006-05-25. Retrieved 2006-05-25.
  6. ↑ "Tragedy on the Araxes", Archaeology, 2006-06-30. Retrieved 2006-06-30.
  7. ↑ Armenica.org: Destruction of Armenian Khatchkars in Old Jougha (Nakhichevan)
  8. ↑ "Will the arrested minister become new leader of opposition? Azerbaijani press digest", REGNUM News Agency, 2006-01-20. Retrieved 2006-01-20.
  9. ↑ "Azerbaijan: Famous Medieval Cemetery Vanishes", Institute for War and Peace Reporting, 2006-04-19. Retrieved 2006-04-19.
  10. ↑ European Parliament Resolution on the European Neighbourhood Policy - January 2006
  11. ↑ European Parliament On Destruction of Cultural Heritage
  12. ↑ "Azerbaijan 'Flattened' Sacred Armenian Site", The Independent, 2006-05-30. Retrieved 2006-05-30.
  13. ↑ iExplore.com - Cyprus Overview
  14. ↑ "Europe, the US, Turkey and Azerbaijan recognize the "unrecognized" Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", REGNUM News Agency, 2006-09-22. Retrieved 2006-09-22.
  15. ↑ Programme of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
  16. ↑ "In Vartan Oskanian's Words, Turkey Casts Doubt On The Treaty Of Kars With Its Actions", All Armenian Mass Media Association, 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2006-12-13.

External links


Template:Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan

Coordinates: 39°20′N 45°30′E

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