KARABAKH is a region of Azerbaijan which has been under the occupation of Armenia since the war broke out between the two states in 1988-1994. Around 30,000 people have been killed and one million Azerbaijanis have become refugees in their own homeland. Today the negotiations are being held, albeit with no result. We hope that soon all occupied territories will be freed from the Armenian occupation and wait eagerly for the day when the refugees will return to their homeland who now live in miserable conditions, in wagons and camps.
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History
The earliest known inhabitants of what is present day Azerbaijan were the Caucasian Albanians, a Caucasian-speaking people who appear to have been in the region prior to the host of peoples who would eventually invade the Caucasus. Historically Azerbaijan has been inhabited by a variety of peoples, including Persians, Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and Russians.
The Turkic language entered the region of Azerbaijan as a result of the great migration of Turks in Asia minor in the eleventh century.
A stone with inscriptions in the ancient Albanian language, found in the city of Mingachevir, Azerbaijan.The first kingdom to emerge in the territory of present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was Mannae in the ninth century BCE, lasting until 616 BCE when it became part of the Median Empire, which later became part of the Persian Empire in 549 BCE. The satrap of Caucasian Albania was established in the fourth century BCE and included the approximate territories of the present-day Azerbaijan nation-state and southern parts of Dagestan.
Islam spread rapidly in Azerbaijan following the Arab conquests during the seventh and eighth centuries. After the power of the Arab Khalifate waned, several semi-independent states have been formed, the Shirvanshah kingdom being one of them. In the eleventh century, the conquering Seljuk Turks became the dominant force in the Caucasus and laid the linguistic foundation of contemporary Azerbaijanis. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the country experienced Mongol-Tatar invasions.
After the Safavid dynasty, Azerbaijan underwent a brief period of feudal fragmentation in the mid-eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, and consisted of independent khanates. Following the two wars between Qajar Iranian Empire, as well as the Ganja, Guba, Baku and other independent khanates, and the Russian Empire, the Caucasus was acquired by Russia through the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, and several earlier treaties between the Russian tsar and the khans concluded in the first decade of the nineteenth century. In 1873, oil was discovered in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan's future capital. By the beginning of the twentieth century almost half world's oil supply came from Azerbaijan.
A painting by Enver Aliyev depicting Azerbaijani citizens digging entrenchments and antitank obstacles near Baku to prevent a possible Nazi invasion.After the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, Azerbaijan together with Armenia and Georgia became part of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the republic dissolved in May 1918, Azerbaijan declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The ADR was the first parliamentary Muslim republic in the world and lasted only two years, from 1918 until 1920, when the Soviet Red Army invaded Azerbaijan. In March 1922, Azerbaijan, along with Armenia and Georgia, became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR within the newly-formed Soviet Union. In 1936, the TSFSR was dissolved and Azerbaijan became constituent republic of the USSR as the Azerbaijan SSR.
During World War II, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The primary objective of Adolf Hitler's Operation Edelweiss offensive was to capture Azerbaijan's oil-rich capital of Baku. For the war effort, Soviet oil workers were obliged to work non-stop and citizens were to dig entrenchments and antitank obstacles into order to block a possible enemy invasion. However, Operation Edelweiss was unsuccessful. The German army was at first stalled in the mountains of Caucasus, then decisively defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad.
In 1990, Azeris gathered to protest Soviet rule and push for independence. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed by Soviet intervention in what Azeris today refer to as Black January. In 1991, Azerbaijan re-established its independence upon the collapse of the Soviet Union. The early years of its independence were overshadowed by a war with Armenia and separatist Armenians over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite a cease-fire in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia. Since the end of the war, Azerbaijan lost control of 14% of its territory including Nagorno-Karabakh itself. As a result of the conflict, both countries faced problems with refugees and internally displaced persons as well as economic hardships.
Former Soviet Azeri leader Heydar Aliyev sought to exploit the wealthy oil reserves in Baku. Although Aliyev managed to cut down the country's unemployment rate substantially, revenue from oil income went to the governing elite.[citation needed] Aliyev became increasingly autocratic and created a cult of personality around himself. Political opponents were detained and freedom of speech limited. The political situation in Azerbaijan remains tense especially after Aliyev, nearing death, selected his son Ilham as his party's sole presidential candidate. Azeri opposition forces are not satisfied with this new dynastical succession and are pushing for a more democratic government.
The Turkic language entered the region of Azerbaijan as a result of the great migration of Turks in Asia minor in the eleventh century.
A stone with inscriptions in the ancient Albanian language, found in the city of Mingachevir, Azerbaijan.The first kingdom to emerge in the territory of present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was Mannae in the ninth century BCE, lasting until 616 BCE when it became part of the Median Empire, which later became part of the Persian Empire in 549 BCE. The satrap of Caucasian Albania was established in the fourth century BCE and included the approximate territories of the present-day Azerbaijan nation-state and southern parts of Dagestan.
Islam spread rapidly in Azerbaijan following the Arab conquests during the seventh and eighth centuries. After the power of the Arab Khalifate waned, several semi-independent states have been formed, the Shirvanshah kingdom being one of them. In the eleventh century, the conquering Seljuk Turks became the dominant force in the Caucasus and laid the linguistic foundation of contemporary Azerbaijanis. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the country experienced Mongol-Tatar invasions.
After the Safavid dynasty, Azerbaijan underwent a brief period of feudal fragmentation in the mid-eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, and consisted of independent khanates. Following the two wars between Qajar Iranian Empire, as well as the Ganja, Guba, Baku and other independent khanates, and the Russian Empire, the Caucasus was acquired by Russia through the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, and the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, and several earlier treaties between the Russian tsar and the khans concluded in the first decade of the nineteenth century. In 1873, oil was discovered in the city of Baku, Azerbaijan's future capital. By the beginning of the twentieth century almost half world's oil supply came from Azerbaijan.
A painting by Enver Aliyev depicting Azerbaijani citizens digging entrenchments and antitank obstacles near Baku to prevent a possible Nazi invasion.After the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, Azerbaijan together with Armenia and Georgia became part of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the republic dissolved in May 1918, Azerbaijan declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. The ADR was the first parliamentary Muslim republic in the world and lasted only two years, from 1918 until 1920, when the Soviet Red Army invaded Azerbaijan. In March 1922, Azerbaijan, along with Armenia and Georgia, became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR within the newly-formed Soviet Union. In 1936, the TSFSR was dissolved and Azerbaijan became constituent republic of the USSR as the Azerbaijan SSR.
During World War II, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The primary objective of Adolf Hitler's Operation Edelweiss offensive was to capture Azerbaijan's oil-rich capital of Baku. For the war effort, Soviet oil workers were obliged to work non-stop and citizens were to dig entrenchments and antitank obstacles into order to block a possible enemy invasion. However, Operation Edelweiss was unsuccessful. The German army was at first stalled in the mountains of Caucasus, then decisively defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad.
In 1990, Azeris gathered to protest Soviet rule and push for independence. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed by Soviet intervention in what Azeris today refer to as Black January. In 1991, Azerbaijan re-established its independence upon the collapse of the Soviet Union. The early years of its independence were overshadowed by a war with Armenia and separatist Armenians over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite a cease-fire in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to resolve its conflict with Armenia. Since the end of the war, Azerbaijan lost control of 14% of its territory including Nagorno-Karabakh itself. As a result of the conflict, both countries faced problems with refugees and internally displaced persons as well as economic hardships.
Former Soviet Azeri leader Heydar Aliyev sought to exploit the wealthy oil reserves in Baku. Although Aliyev managed to cut down the country's unemployment rate substantially, revenue from oil income went to the governing elite.[citation needed] Aliyev became increasingly autocratic and created a cult of personality around himself. Political opponents were detained and freedom of speech limited. The political situation in Azerbaijan remains tense especially after Aliyev, nearing death, selected his son Ilham as his party's sole presidential candidate. Azeri opposition forces are not satisfied with this new dynastical succession and are pushing for a more democratic government.
