History of Azerbaijan 4363966 223794600 2008-07-05T21:05:59Z Kozuch 1339567 clean up + reference formating fixes, typos fixed: mongols → Mongols using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]] {{Refimprove|date=August 2007}} {{History of Azerbaijan}} ''This article is about the history of [[Azerbaijan]]. For the history of [[Iranian Azerbaijan]], please see the [[history of Iran]]'' [[Azerbaijan]] or Azarbaijan ({{lang-az|Azərbaycan}}) is a historical and geographic region on the border of [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Southwest Asia]]. It's bounded by [[Caspian Sea]] to the east, [[Russia]]'s [[Daghestan]] region to the north, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] to the northwest, [[Armenia]] and [[Turkey]] to the west, and [[Iran]] to the south. Azerbaijan is a home to diverse ethnicities, majority of which are [[Azerbaijani people|Azeris]], an ethnic group which numbers close to 8 million in the independent [[Republic of Azerbaijan]]. ==Overview== ===The name Azerbaijan=== {{main article|History of the name Azerbaijan}} ===Azerbaijanis=== {{see main|Caucasian origin of the Azerbaijanis}} {{See also|Iranian origin of the Azerbaijanis}} The heritage, culture, and civilization of Azerbaijan has both ancient and modern roots. The Azerbaijanis are believed to be inheritors of various ancient civilizations and peoples including the indigenous [[Caucasian Albania]]ns, [[Medes|Iranic Medes]], and [[Oghuz Turks]] among others (note that several modern peoples of the Caucasus can trace their ancestries to more than one of these same ancient peoples). Perhaps to clarify who the [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]-speaking Azeris are by way of ancestry, recent evidence from [[Genealogical DNA test]]s show that the modern Azeris of the Republic of Azerbaijan genetically cluster the closest with the peoples of the [[Caucasus]] (such as the [[Georgian people|Georgians]], [[Armenians]], and the [[Lezgians]]), while the genetic contribution of [[Iranian peoples]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] tribes appears to be more minor than was initially expected.[http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJHG/journal/issues/v71n3/023927/023927.html?erFrom=7723435213278447147Guest] [[Iranian Azeris]] have been shown to cluster more with other [[Iranian peoples|Iranic peoples]]<ref name="Dr. Bonab page"> [http://www.gen.cam.ac.uk/Research/balloux.htm "Maziar Ashrafian Bonab"] — ''Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge'' (retrieved [[09 June]] [[2006]])</ref>) These results may indicate a strong indigenous origin for the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan and links to their immediate neighbors of the Caucasus. During Median and Persian rule, many Albanians adopted [[Zoroastrianism]] and then switched to [[Christianity]] prior to coming of Muslim [[Arabs]] and more importantly Muslim Turks. The Turkic tribes are believed to have arrived as small bands of [[ghazi]]s whose conquests led to the ''Turkification'' of the population as largely native Caucasian and Iranian tribes adopted the Turkish language of the Oghuz and converted to Islam over a period of several hundred years.<ref>''Seyahatname'' by Evliya Çelebi (1611–1682)</ref> After more than 80 years of colonization under the [[Russian empire]] in the Caucasus, the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] was established in 1918. The state was invaded by Soviet forces in 1920, and remained under Soviet rule until the collapse of the [[USSR]] in 1991. ==Ancient history== [[Image:ScythianArchers.JPG|thumb|150px|left|Gold clothing appliqué, showing two Scythian archers, 400-350 BCE. [[British Museum]].]] The cave of [[Azykh]] in the territory of the [[Fizuli]] district in the Republic of Azerbaijan is considered to be the site of one of the most ancient proto-human habitations in [[Eurasia]]. Remnants of the pre-[[Acheulean]] culture were found in the lowest layers of the Azykh cave. This culture is one of the oldest, and in many ways similar to the [[Olduvai]] culture in [[Tanzania]], and [[Lascaux|Walloon]] culture in the southeast of [[France]]. The [[Paleolithic]] ([[Homo Sapiens]]) period in what is now Azerbaijan is represented by finds at Aveidag, Taglar, Damjily, Yatagery, Dash Salakhly and some other sites. Carved drawings etched on rocks in [[Gobustan State Reserve|Qobustan]], south of [[Baku]], demonstrate scenes of hunting, fishing, labor and dancing, and are dated to the [[Mesolithic]] period. The [[Neolithic]] period (ca. [[6th millennium BCE|6th]] - [[4th millennium BCE|4th]] millennia BC) was the period of transition from the [[Stone Age]] to the [[Bronze Age]]. Many Neolithic settlements have been discovered in Azerbaijan, and carbon-dated artifacts show that during this period, people built homes, made copper weapons, and were familiar with irrigated agriculture. The influence of ancient peoples and civilizations including the [[Sumerians]] and [[Elamites]] came to a crossroads in the territory of Azerbaijan. A variety of [[Peoples of the Caucasus|Caucasian peoples]] appear to be the earliest inhabitants of the [[South Caucasus]] with the notable [[Caucasian Albanian]]s being their most prominently known representative. In the 8th century BC, the semi-nomadic [[Cimmerians]] and [[Scythians]] settled in the territory of kingdom of [[Mannai]]. The [[Assyrians]] also had a civilization that flourished to the west of [[Lake Urmia]] in the centuries prior to creation of Media and Albania. Most of the ancient documents and inscriptions used for historical analysis of the area come from the Assyrians and from the kingdom of [[Urartu]]. In dealing with the history of Azerbaijan, most western scholars refer to [[Ancient Greece|Greek]], [[Arab]], [[Ancient Rome|Roman]], and [[Persian Empire|Persian]] sources. ==Caucasian Albania== [[Caucasian Albania]]ns are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of Azerbaijan.<ref name="ISBN 2">Historical Dictionary</ref> Early invaders included the [[Scythia]]ns in the ninth century BCE.<ref name="Library of Congress Azerbaijan"> [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aztoc.html Azerbaijan] - ''US Library of Congress Country Studies'' (retrieved [[7 June]] [[2006]]).</ref> The South Caucasus was eventually conquered by the [[Achaemenids]] around 550 BCE. During this period, [[Zoroastrianism]] spread in Azerbaijan. The Achaemenids in turn were defeated by [[Alexander the Great]] in 330 BCE. Following the decline of the [[Seleucid]]s in Persia in 247 BCE, an [[Kingdom of Armenia|Armenian Kingdom]] exercised control over parts of Azerbaijan between 190 BCE to 428 CE.<ref name="Library of Congress Armenia"> [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+am0014) "Armenia-Ancient Period"] - ''US Library of Congress Country Studies'' (retrieved [[23 June]] [[2006]])</ref><ref name="Strabo Geography"> [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198&layout=&loc=11.14.1 Strabo, "Geography"] - ''Perseus Digital Library'', Tufts University (retrieved [[24 June]] [[2006]]).</ref> Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the 1st century BCE and largely remained independent until the [[Sassanids]] made the kingdom a province in 252 CE.<ref>James Stuart Olson. An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. ISBN 0313274975</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-32148 Encyclopaedia Britannica:''The list of provinces given in the inscription of Ka'be-ye Zardusht defines the extent of the empire under Shapur, in clockwise geographic enumeration: (1) Persis (Fars), (2) Parthia, (3) Susiana (Khuzestan), (4) Maishan (Mesene), (5) Asuristan (southern Mesopotamia), (6) Adiabene, (7) Arabistan (northern Mesopotamia), (8) Atropatene (Azerbaijan), (9) Armenia, (10) Iberia (Georgia), (11) Machelonia, (12) Albania (eastern Caucasus), (13) Balasagan up to the Caucasus Mountains and the Gate of Albania (also known as Gate of the Alans), (14) Patishkhwagar (all of the Elburz Mountains), (15) Media, (16) Hyrcania (Gorgan), (17) Margiana ([[Merv]]), (18) Aria, (19) Abarshahr, (20) Carmania ([[Kerman]]), (21) Sakastan (Sistan), (22) Turan, (23) Mokran (Makran), (24) Paratan (Paradene), (25) India (probably restricted to the Indus River delta area), (26) Kushanshahr, until as far as Peshawar and until Kashgar and (the borders of) Sogdiana and Tashkent, and (27), on the farther side of the sea, Mazun ([[Oman]])''</ref><ref name="ISBN 2">p. 38</ref> Caucasian Albania's ruler, King Urnayr, officially adopted [[Christianity]] as the state religion in the fourth century CE, and Albania would remain a Christian state until the 8th century.<ref name="Iranica"> [http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home1/iranica/articles/v3_articles/azerbaijan/language_azerbaijan&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/logs/pdfdownload.html "Albania"] - ''Encyclopedia Iranica'', p. 807 (retrieved [[15 June]] [[2006]]).</ref><ref name="Heyerdahl"> [http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/ai102_folder/102_articles/102_heyerdahl_alexidze.html "Voices of the Ancients: Heyerdahl Intrigued by Rare Caucasus Albanian Text" by Dr. Zaza Alexidze] - ''Azerbaijan International'', Summer 2002 (retrieved [[7 June]] [[2006]]).</ref> Sassanid control ended with their defeat by Muslim [[Abbasid|Arabs]] in 642 CE.<ref name="Library of Congress Iran"> "Islamic Conquest."</ref> [[Image:Median Empire.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Median Empire.]] ==Achaemenid and Seleucid rule== [[Image:Achaemenid Empire.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent.]] Following the overthrow of the [[Median Empire]], all of what is today Azerbaijan was invaded by the Persian king [[Cyrus]] in the 6th century BCE. This earliest Persian Empire had a profound impact upon local population as the religion of [[Zoroastrianism]] became ascendant as did various early Persian cultural influences. Many of the local peoples of Caucasian Albania came to be known as fire worshipers, which may be a sign of their Zoroastrian faith. This empire was also quite short-lived and was conquered barely two centuries later by [[Alexander the Great]] and led to the rise of [[Hellenistic]] culture throughout the former Persian Empire. The [[Seleucid]] Greeks inherited the Caucasus following Alexander's death in 323 BCE, but were ultimately beset by pressures from [[Rome]], secessionist Greeks in [[Bactria]], and most adversely the [[Parthians]] ('''Parni'''), another nomadic Iranian tribe from Central Asia, which made serious inroads into the northern eastern Seleucid domains from the late 4th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE and this ultimately allowed local Caucasian tribes to establish an independent kingdom for the first time since the Median invasion. ==Albania, Roman-Parthian rivalry, and Sassanian conquest== [[Image:Shapuri.jpg|thumb|200px|A coin of the Sassanian Emperor [[Shapur I]] who fought the Romans for possession of the Caucasus]] [[Image:Gobustan Rome.jpg|thumb|200px|A Roman inscription found in Gobustan: "Emperor Domitianus, the Blessed Caesar Germanicus. Livius Maximus, [[Legio XII Fulminata]]" (from shortened [[Latin language|Latin]])]] {{main|Caucasian Albania}} This Albanian kingdom coalesced around a native Caucasian identity and a Zoroastrian religious background to forge a unique state in a region of vast empire-states. However in the 2nd or 1st century B.C. the Armenians considerably curtailed the Albanian territories to the south and conquered the territories of Artsakh and Utik, populated by various Albanian tribes, such as [[Udi people|Utians]], Gargarians and [[Caspians]].<ref>Hewsen, Robert H., Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians, in: Samuelian, Thomas J. (Hg.), Classical Armenian Culture. Influences and Creativity, Chico: 1982, 27-40.</ref><ref>Vladimir Minorsky. A History of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries.</ref> During this time the border between Albania and Armenia was along the river of Kura.<ref> See: [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+11.1.1 Strabo, ''Geography''], 11.5 (English ed. H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A.); also: [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+6.11 Pliny the Elder, ''The Natural History''], (eds. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A.).</ref> As the region became an arena of wars when [[Roman Empire|Romans]] and [[Parthians]] began to expand their domains, most of Albania came under the domination of Roman legions under [[Pompey]] and the south being controlled by the Parthians. A rock carving of what is believed to be the eastern-most Roman inscription survives just southwest of Baku at the site of [[Gobustan]]. It is inscribed by [[Legio XII Fulminata]] at the time of emperor [[Domitian]]. After the division of Armenia between Byzantium and Persia in 387 A.D. the Albanian kings regained control over the provinces of Uti and Artsakh (lying south of the Kur), when Sasanian kings rewarded Albanian [[Arsacid]] rulers for their royalty to Persia.<ref>Vladimir Minorsky. A History of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries.</ref><ref>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v1f8/v1f8a022.html Encyclopedia Iranica. Albania, Ancient country in Caucasus, by M. Chaumont]</ref> During this early period, native Caucasian tribes probably remained the most numerous along with large minorities of [[Armenians|Armenian]] and [[Scythian]] groups. Albanians converted to Christianity in the 4th century A.D. However Christianity spread in Albania only gradually, and a large part of Albanians remained Zoroastrians and [[Pagan]]s until the Islamic conquest. ==Pre-Islamic Eurasian nomads== The successive migration and settlement of Eurasian and Central Asian nomads continued to be a familiar pattern in the history of the Caucasus since ancient times, from the era of Sassanid-Persian empire to emergence of Azerbaijani Turks by the 20th century CE. Among the Iranian nomads who made incursion into and from Azerbaijan are the [[Scythians]], [[Alans]] and [[Cimmerians]]. Altaic Nomads such as [[Khazars]] and [[Huns]] made incursions during the [[Hunnic]] and [[Khazar]] era. The walls and fortification of [[Darband]] were built during the [[Sassanid]] era in order to block nomads coming from the caucus pass. However, they did not make permanent settlements.<ref name="ISBN 5">pp. 385-386</ref> ==Islamic period== [[Image:Age-of-caliphs.png|225px|thumb|right|The Age of the Caliphs. {{legend|#a1584e|Prophet Mohammad, 622-632}} {{legend|#ef9070|Patriarchal Caliphate, 632-661}} {{legend|#fad07d|Umayyad Caliphate, 661-750}}]] {{main|Caliphate}} {{main|Shirvanshah}} {{main|Qaraqoyunlu}} {{main|Safavid}} {{main|Qajar}} Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] as they marched into the Caucasus region. The Arabs made Caucasian Albania a vassal state after the Christian resistance, led by Prince [[Javanshir]], surrendered in 667.<ref name="ISBN 2">p. 71</ref> Between the 9th and 10th centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the [[Kura]] and Aras rivers as ''[[Arran (Azerbaijan)|Arran]]''.<ref name="ISBN 2">p. 20</ref> During this time, Arabs from [[Basra]] and [[Kufa]] came to Azerbaijan and seized lands that the indigenous peoples had abandoned; the Arabs became a land-owning elite.<ref name="ISBN 3">''A History of Islamic Societies'' by Ira Lapidus, p. 48. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1988), ISBN 0-521-77933-2 (retrieved [[7 June]] [[2006]]).</ref> Despite pockets of continued resistance, the majority of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan converted to Islam. Later on in the 10th and 11th centuries, [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] dynasties of [[Shaddadid]] and [[Rawadid]] ruled parts of Azerbaijan. ==Seljuqs and successor states== {{main|Seljuq dynasty}} <!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Alparslan.JPG|thumb|left|200px|The Seljuq conqueror ''[[Alp Arslan]]'']] --> The [[Seljuq]] period of Azerbaijan's history was possibly even more pivotal than the Arab conquest as it helped shape the ethno-linguistic nationality of the modern Azerbaijani Turks. After decline of [[Abbasid]] Khalifate, the territory of Azerbaijan was under the sway of numerous dynasties such as the [[Salarids]], [[Sajids]], [[Shaddadids]], [[Rawadid]]s and [[Buyids]]. However at the beginning of the 11th century, the territory was gradually seized by waves of [[Oghuz]] Turkic tribes emanating from [[Central Asia]]. The first of these Turkic dynasties was the [[Ghaznavids]] from northern [[Afghanistan]], who took over part of Azerbaijan by 1030. They were followed by the Seljuqs, a western branch of the Oghuz who conquered all of Iran and the Caucasus and pressed on to Iraq where they overthrew the [[Buyids]] in Baghdad in 1055. The Seljuqs became the main rulers of a vast empire that included all of Iran, Iraq, and Azerbaijan until the end of 12th century. During the Seljuq period, the influential vizier of the Seljuq sultans, [[Nizam ul-Mulk]] (a noted Persian scholar and administrator) is noted for having helped introduce numerous educational and bureaucratic reforms. His death in 1092 marked the beginning of the decline of the once well-organized Seljuq state that further deteriorated following the death of Sultan [[Ahmad Sanjar]] in 1153. Locally, Seljuq possessions were ruled by [[Atabegs]], who were technically vassals of the Seljuq sultans, but sometimes became de facto rulers themselves. The title of '''Atabeg''' was common during the Seljuq rule of the [[Middle East]] starting in the 12th century. Under their rule from the end of 12th to early 13th centuries, Azerbaijan emerged as an important cultural center of the Turkic people. Palaces of the Atabeg '''Eldegizids''' (eldeniz) and the '''Shirvanshahs''' hosted distinguished people of the time, many of whom were outstanding Muslim artisans and scientists. The most famous of the [[Atabeg]] rulers was [[Shams al-din Eldeqiz]] (Eldeniz). Under Seljuqs, great progress was achieved in different sciences and philosophy by Iranians like [[Bahmanyar]], Khatib Tabrizi, [[Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi]] and others. Persian poets such as [[Nizami Ganjavi]] and [[Khaqani Shirvani]], who lived in this region, epitomize the highest point in refined medieval Persian literature. In addition, the region experience a building boom and the unique of architecture of the Seljuq period is epitomized by the fortress walls, mosques, schools, mausoleums, and bridges of Baku, Ganja and Absheron which were built during the 12th century. In 1225, [[Mingburnu|Jalaleddin Kharazmshah]] put an end to the [[Atabeg]] rule. ==Mongols and Ilkhanid rule== The Mongol invasion of the Middle East and Caucasus was a devastating event for Azerbaijan and most of its neighbors. From 1220, Begin beg began to pay tributes to the Mongols. [[Jebe]] and [[Subotai]] made the smal state neutral. In 1231, the [[Mongols]] occupied most of Azerbaijan and killed the [[Khorezmshah]] [[Mingburnu|Jalaladdin]], who had overthrown the Atabeg dynasty. In 1235 the Mongols destroyed cities of [[Ganja]], [[Shamkir]], Tovuz, [[Shabran]] on their way to conquer [[Kievan Russia]]. By the 1236, all of trans caucassia was in the hands of [[Ogedei khan]] . {{Expand|date=March 2008}} == The end of Mongol rule and the Black Sheep-White Sheep rivalry == The last Il-khanid ruler, [[Abu Sa'id]], died without an heir which led to the Ilkhan state's disintegration into small sultanates. The next state in the territory of Azerbaijan, in the 1330s, was that of the '''[[Jalayirids]]''', who ruled Iraq, western Persia, and most of Azerbaijan. The Jalayirid Sultanate lasted about fifty years, until it was disrupted by [[Tamerlane]]'s conquests and the revolts of the [[Kara Koyunlu]] or 'Black Sheep Turks'. The first Jalayirid ruler was [[Hasan Buzurg]] (d. 1356) who ascended the throne in [[Tabriz]] in 1337. His son [[Shaikh Uvais]] defeated his most serious potential rivals, the '''Chobanids''' (descendants of Amir [[Coban (Chobanids)]]) to consolidate his rule. He reigned over Azerbaijan from 1360 to 1374 during a period of peace and stability. After the rule of the weak Sultan [[Husain (Jalayirids)|Husain]], the Jalayirid state declined. [[Tamerlane]] ('''Amir Timur''') launched a devastating invasion of Azerbaijan in 1380s, and temporarily incorporated Azerbaijan into his vast domain that spanned much of Eurasia. The [[Shirvanshah]] state under [[Shirvanshah Ibrahim I]] were also vassals of [[Timur]] and assisted Timur in his war with the Mongol ruler [[Tokhtamysh]] of the [[Golden Horde]]. Azerbaijan experienced social unrest and religious strife during this period due to sectarian conflict initiated by [[Hurufism|Hurufi]], [[Bektashi]] and other movements. Following Timur's death in 1405, his fourth son [[Shah Rukh (Timurid dynasty)|Shah-Rukh]] came to power and reigned until 1446. To the west of Shah-Rukh's domain two new rival Turkic states emerged - the '''[[Kara Koyunlu]]''' based around Lake Van and the [[Ak Koyunlu]] (or '''White Sheep Turks''') centered around Diyarbakır. Initially, it was the [[Kara Koyunlu]] who were ascendant when their chief [[Kara Yusuf]] overcame [[Sultan Ahmad]], the last of Jalayirids, and conquered South of Azerbaijan in 1410, establishing his capital at Tabriz. Under [[Jihan Shah|Jahan-Shah]], the Kara Koyunlu expanded their territory into central Iran and as far east as Khurasan. Later, however, the Ak Koyunlu came into greater prominence under [[Uzun Hasan]], overcoming [[Jihan Shah|Jahan-Shah]] and the Qara Qoyunlu in 1468. [[Uzun Hasan]] ruled all of Iran, Azerbaijan and Iraq until his death in 1478. Both Ak Koyunlu and Kara Koyunlu, continued the [[Timurid]] tradition of generous patrons of literature, poetry and the arts as the renowned [[Persian miniature|Islamic miniature]] paintings of Tabriz illustrate. == The Shirvanshahs == [[Image:Azerbaigian-baku2.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Turbe (Mausoleum) of Shirvanshahs in Baku. XV century.]] {{main|Shirvanshahs}} Shīrwān Shāh<ref name="EIB">Barthold, W., C.E. Bosworth "Shirwan Shah, Sharwan Shah. "Encyclopaedia of Islam. Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs. Brill, 2nd edition</ref> or Sharwān Shāh,<ref name="EIB" /> was the title in mediaeval Islamic times of a [[Persian people|Persianized]] dynasty<ref name="EIB"/> of [[Arab people|Arabic]] origin.<ref name="EIB"/> The Shirvanshah established a native [[history of Azerbaijan|Azeri]] state<ref>Tadeusz Swietochowski. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition'', Columbia University, 1995, p. 2, ISBN 0231070683: ''"In the fifteenth century a native Azeri state of Shirvanshahs flourished north of the Araxes."''</ref> and were rulers of [[Shirvan]], a historical region in present-day [[Azerbaijan]]. The Shirvanshahs established the longest Islamic dynasty in the Islamic world. The role of the Shirvanshah state was important in the national development of Azerbaijan. The Shirvanshahs maintained a high degree of autonomy as local rulers and vassals from 861 until 1539, and provided a continuity that lasted longer than any other dynasty in the Islamic world. There are two periods of an independent [[Shirvan]] state: first in 12th century, under sultans Manuchehr and Axsitan who built the stronghold of [[Baku]], and second in 15th century under the [[Derbendid]] dynasty. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the Shirvanshahs were vassals of the Mongol and Timurid empires. The [[Shirvanshahs]] [[Khalilullah I]] and [[Farrukh Yassar]] presided over a highly stable period in the history of the dynasty. The architectural complex of the "Shirvanshah palace" in Baku (that was also a burial site of the dynasty) and the [[Halwatiyya]] Sufi Khaneqa were built during the reign of these two rulers in the mid-15th century. The Shirvanshah rulers were more or less Orthodox [[Sunni]], and thus opposed the heterodox [[Shi'ism]] of the [[Safavid]] [[Sufi]] order. In 1462 Sheykh [[Junayd]], the leader of [[Safavids]] was killed in battle against [[Shirvanishans]], near town of [[Khachmaz]] - an event that shaped subsequent Safavid actions leading to a new phase in the history of Azerbaijan. == Safavids and the rise of Shi'ism == {{main|Safavids}} [[Image:Shah Abbas I.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Shah Abbas I of Safavid at a banquet<br><small>Detail from a ceiling fresco; Chehel Sotoun palace; Isfahan</small>]] The [[Safavid]] ([[Safaviyeh]]) were a [[Sufi]] religious order formed in 1330s by [[Sheikh Safi Al-Din]] (1252–1334), after whom it was eponymously named. This [[Sufi]] order openly converted to the heterodox branch of twelver [[Shi'ism]] by the end of the 15th century. Some Safavid followers, most notably the [[Qizilbash]] Turks, believed in the mystical and esoteric nature of their rulers and their relationship to the house of [[Ali]], and thus, were zealously predisposed to fight for them. The Safavid rulers claimed to be descended from [[Ali]] himself and his wife [[Fatima]], daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, through the seventh [[Imam]] [[Musa al-Kazim]]. [[Qizilbash]] numbers increased by the 1500s and their generals were able to wage a successful war against the [[Ak Koyunlu]] state and capture Tabriz. The Safavids, lead by Ismail I, expanded their base, sacking Baku in 1501 and persecuting the [[Shirvanshahs]]. During the reign of [[Ismail I]] and his son [[Tahmasp]], [[Shia Islam]] was imposed upon the formerly [[Sunni]] population of Iran and Azerbaijan. Imposition of Shi'ism was especially harsh in [[Shirvan]], where a large Sunni population was massacred. Iran became a feudal theocracy during this period and the Shah was held to be the divinely ordained head of state and religion. During this period, the Qizilbashi chiefs were designated ''wakils'' (or legal administrators) with offices in charge of provincial administration and the class of Shia Islamic [[Ulema]] was created. The wars with the Sunni [[Ottoman Empire]] continued during the reign of Shah [[Tahmasp]]. The important Azeri cites of [[Shamakha]], Ganja and Baku were occupied by Ottomans in the 1580s. Under the reign of [[Shah Abbas I]] (1587 - 1630) the monarchy took on a distinctly Persian national identity that merged with Shi'ism. Abbas I's reign represented the high point of development of the state and he was able to repel the Ottomans and re-capture Azerbaijan and [[Shirvan]] in 1603. == Khanates of Late 18th - Early 19th centuries == {{Disputed-section|date=March 2008}} While civil conflicts took hold in Iran, most of Azerbaijan was occupied by the Ottomans in the 18th century. Meanwhile, the coastal strip along the Caspian Sea comprising [[Derbent]], [[Baku]] and [[Salyan]] [[Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723|came under Imperial Russian rule]], during the reign of [[Peter the Great]], from 1722 until 1735. [[Image:Molla2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Qajar era painting. Mullahs in the royal presence.]] After the collapse of the Safavid empire, [[Nadir Shah|Nadir Shah Afshar]] (Nadir Guli Bey), a former slave who had risen to military leadership within the Afshar [[Turkmen people|Turkoman]] tribe in Khorasan (a vassal state of the Safavids) came to power. He wrested control over Iran from the Afghans in 1729 and proceeded to go on an ambitious military spree, conquering as far as east as [[Delhi]], but not fortifying his Persian base and exhausted his army. Nadir had effective control under Shah [[Tahmasp II]] and then ruled as the Regent of the infant [[Abbas III]], until 1736, when he had himself crowned as Shah. The coronation of [[Nadir Shah]] took place in [[Mughan]], in the present territory of [[Azerbaijan]], where the Azeri military and tribal aristocracy gathered. After Nadir Shah's assassination 10 years later in 1747, Azerbaijan disintegrated. Several nominally Persian ruled<ref>Encyclopaedia Britannica Online: History of Azerbaijan [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-129462/Azerbaijan]</ref> but [[de facto]] independent<ref>{{cite book |last=Avery |first=Peter |authorlink= |coauthors=Hambly, Gavin |editor= |others= |title=The Cambridge History of Iran |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1991 |month= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |language= |isbn=0521200954 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=126 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote=Agha Muhammad Khan could now turn to the restoration of the outlying provinces of the Safavid kingdom. Returning to Tehran in the spring of 1795, he assembled a force of some 60,000 cavalry and infantry and in Shawwal Dhul-Qa'da/May, set off for Azarbaijan, intending to conquer the country between the rivers Aras and Kura, formerly under Safavid control. This region comprised a number of '''independent''' khanates of which the most important was '''Qarabagh''', with its capital at Shusha; Ganja, with its capital of the same name; Shirvan across the Kura, with its capital at Shamakhi; and to the north-west, on both banks of the Kura, Christian Georgia (Gurjistan), with its capital at Tiflis.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Baddeley |first=John Frederick |authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus |origdate= |origyear= |origmonth= |url= |format= |accessdate= |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |series= |date= |year=1908 |month= |publisher=Longmans, Green and Co. |location=Harvard University |language= |isbn= |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages=71 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote=Potto sums up Tsitsianoff's achievements and character as follows: "In the short time he passed there (in Transcaucasia) he managed to completely alter the map of the country. He found it composed of minutely divided, '''independent''' Muhammadan States leaning upon Persia, namely, the khanates of Baku, Shirvan, Shekeen, Karabagh, Gandja and Erivan (Revan till 1828)..."}}</ref><ref name="bertsch297">{{cite book | last = Bertsch | first =Gary Kenneth | title =Crossroads and Conflict: Security and Foreign Policy in the Caucasus and Central Asia | publisher =Routledge |date=2000 | location = | pages =297: ''"Shusha became the capital of an independent "Azeri" khanate in 1752 (Azeri in the sense of Muslims who spoke a version of the Turkic language we call Azeri today)."'' | isbn =0415922739}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Cornell | first = Svante | title = Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus | publisher =Routledge |date=2001 | location = | pages =67 | isbn =0700711627}}</ref> [[Muslim]] khanate, which was initially founded under nominal [[Persian Empire|Persian]] suzerainty<ref>Encyclopaedia Brittanica Online: History of Azerbaijan [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-129462/Azerbaijan]</ref> in [[1747]] but remained a ''[[de facto]]'' independent<ref name="bertsch297" /><ref>{{cite book | last = Nafziger, E. Wayne, Stewart, Frances and Väyrynen, Raimo | first = | title = War, Hunger, and Displacement: The Origins of Humanitarian Emergencies | publisher = Oxford University press |date=2000 | location = | pages = 406 | isbn = 0198297394}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Kashani-Sabet |first=Firoozeh |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1997 |month=May |title=Fragile Frontiers: The Diminishing Domains of Qajar Iran |journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=210 |id= |url= |accessdate= |quote=In 1795, Ibrahim Khalil Khan, the wali of Qarabagh, warned Sultan Selim III of Aqa Muhammad Khan's ambitions. '''Fearing for his independence''', he informed the Sultan of Aqa Muhammad Khan's ability to subdue Azerbaijan and later Qarabagh, Erivan, and Georgia.}}</ref> [[khanates]] emerged within Azerbaijan, including the khanates of [[Shirvan Khanate|Shirvan]], [[Baku khanate|Baku]], [[Karabakh khanate|Karabakh]], [[Ganja khanate|Ganja]], [[Quba Khanate|Quba]], [[Shaki Khanate|Shaki]], [[Talysh Khanate|Talysh]], [[Erivan khanate|Erivan]], [[Nakhchivan khanate|Nakhchivan]] and other small city-states. The khanates engaged in constant warfare between themselves and with external threats. The most powerful among the northern khans was Fat'h Ali Khan of Quba (d. 1783), who managed to unite most of the neighboring khanates under his rule and even mounted an expedition to take [[Tabriz]], fighting with [[Zand dynasty]]. Another powerful khanate was that of [[Karabakh]], which subdued neighboring [[Nakhchivan khanate]] and parts of [[Erivan khanate]]. By 1796, Agha Muhammed Khan [[Qajar]] raided and conquered Azerbaijan and Georgia. Some khanates made the fateful decision to ask for Russian help, while other Azeris were content with Qajar rule. However, the Russians, who by this time controlled [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], had already subjugated most of the khanates in the Caucasus by 1806. The [[Qajars]] responded to these events [[Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)|by declaring war]], which continued until 1813 when Russians invaded Tabriz. According to Prof. Tadeusz Swietochowski: {{cquote|"The brief and successful Russian campaign of 1812 was concluded with the Treaty of Gulistan, which was signed on October 12 of the following year. The treaty provided for the incorporation into the Russian Empire of vast tracts of Iranian territory, including Daghestan, Georgia with the Sheragel province, Imeretia, Guria, Mingrelia, and Abkhazia, as well as the khanates of Karabagh, Ganja, Sheki, Shirvan, Derbent, Kuba, Baku, and Talysh.}}<ref>Tadeusz Swietochowski,Russia and Azerbaijan. A Borderland in Transition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995</ref> According to Svante Cornell: {{cquote|In 1812 Russia ended a war with Turkey and went on the offensive against Iran. This lead to the treaty of Gulistan in 1813, which gave Russia control over large territories that hitherto had been at least nominally Iranian, and moreover a say in Iranian succession politics. The whole of Daghestan and Georgia, including Mingrelia and Abkhazia were formally ceded to Russia, as well as eight Azeri Khanates (Karabakh, Ganja, Sheki, Kuba, Shirvan, Talysh, Baku, and Derbent). However as we have seen the Persians soon challenged Russia ’s rule in the area, resulting in a military disaster. Iran lost control over the whole of Azerbaijan, and with the Turkemenchai settlement of 1828 Russia threatened to establish its control over Azerbaijan unless Iran paid a war indemnity. The British helped the Iranians with the matter, but the fact remained that Russian troops had marched as far as south of Tabriz. Although certain areas (including Tabriz) were returned to Iran, Russia was in fact at the peak of its territorial expansion.<ref>Prof. Svante Cornell, "Small nations and great powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus", Richmond: Curzon Press, 2001, p. 37.</ref>}} According to Cambridge History of Iran: {{cquote|"Even when rulers on the plateau lacked the means to effect suzerainty beyond the Aras, the neighboring Khanates were still regarded as Iranian dependencies. Naturally, it was those Khanates located closes to the province of Azarbaijan which most frequently experienced attempts to re-impose Iranian suzerainty: the Khanates of Erivan, Nakhchivan and Qarabagh across the Aras, and the cis-Aras Khanate of Talish, with its administrative headquarters located at Lankaran and therefore very vulnerable to pressure, either from the direction of Tabriz or Rasht. Beyond the Khanate of Qarabagh, the Khan of Ganja and the Vali of Gurjistan (ruler of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom of south-east Georgia), although less accessible for purposes of coercion, were also regarded as the Shah's vassals, as were the Khans of Shakki and Shirvan, north of the Kura river. The contacts between Iran and the Khanates of Baku and Qubba, however, were more tenuous and consisted mainly of maritime commercial links with Anzali and Rasht. The effectiveness of these somewhat haphazard assertions of suzeiranty depended on the ability of a particular Shah to make his will felt, and the determination of the local khans to evade obligations they regarded as onerous."<ref>The Cambridge history of Iran By William Bayne Fisher, Published by Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 145-146.</ref>}} <center> <gallery> Image:Iran 1748.jpg|Map showing Chirwan and Caucus as part of Persia </gallery> </center> == Russian Rule == Following their defeat by Russia, Qajar Persia was forced to sign the [[Treaty of Gulistan]] in 1813, which acknowledged the loss of the territory to Russia. Local khanates were either abolished (like in Baku or Ganja) or accepted Russian patronage. [[Russo-Persian War, 1826-1828|Another Russo-Persian war in 1826-28]] resulted in another crushing defeat for the Iranian army. The Russians dictated another final settlement as per the [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]], which resulted in the [[Qajars]] of Persia ceding Caucasian territories in 1828. The treaty established the current borders of Azerbaijan and Iran as the rule of local khans ended. In the Russian controlled territories, two provinces were established that later constituted the bulk of the modern Republic - Elisavetpol ([[Ganja]]) province in the west, and [[Shamakha]] province in the east. At the beginning of [[Imperial Russia|Russia]]n administration, the Tsars did not significantly interfere with local affairs and the migration of the Christian population into Azerbaijan was minimal. As a result of a catastrophic earthquake in 1858, the capital of the eastern province was transferred from [[Shamakha]] to [[Baku]] which attained greater importance over time. [[Image:102 329 nobel oilwells.jpg|thumb|250px|Oil derricks in Balakhany district. Late 19th century]] [[Oil Industry in Azerbaijan|The discovery and exploitation of petroleum]] in the 1870s led to a period of unprecedented prosperity and growth in the years prior to [[World War I]] but also created huge disparities in wealth between the largely European capitalists and the local Muslim work force. By 1900, the population of Baku increased from 10,000 to roughly 250,000 people as a result of worker migration from all over the [[Russian Empire]], [[Iran]], and other places. The growth of Baku and the progression of an exploitative economy resulted in the emergence of an Azeri nationalist intelligencia that was educated and influenced by European and Ottoman ideas. Influential thinkers like [[Hasan bey Zardabi]], [[Mirza Fatali Akhundov]] and later, [[Jalil Mammadguluzadeh]], [[Mirza Alakbar Sabir]], [[Nariman Narimanov]] and others spurred a nationalist discourse and rallied against poverty, ignorance, extremism and sought reforms in education and the emancipation of the dispossessed classes, including women. The financial support of philanthropist millionaires such as [[Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev]] also bolstered the rise of an Azeri bourgeoisie. Following the disastrous [[Russo-Japanese war]], an economic and political crisis erupted in Baku, starting with a general strike of oil workers in 1904. In 1905, class and ethnic tensions resulted in Muslim-Armenian ethnic rioting during the first [[Russian Revolution of 1905|Russian Revolution]]. The Tsarist governments had, in fact, exploited ethnic and religious strife to maintain control in a policy of divide and rule. The situation improved during 1906-1914, when a limited parliamentary system was introduced in Russia and Muslim MPs from Azerbaijan were actively promoting Azeri interests. In 1911, the pan Turkist and pan Islamist [[Musavat]] Party,<ref>Pan-Turkism: From Irrendentism to Cooperation by Jacob M. Landau P.55</ref><ref>On the Religious Frontier: Tsarist Russia and Islam in the Caucasus by Firouzeh Mostashari P. 144</ref><ref>[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/az%7Dmus.html Musavat Party (Azerbaijan)]</ref><ref>''Ethnic Nationalism and the Fall of Empires'' by Aviel Roshwald, page 100</ref><ref>Disaster and Development: The politics of Humanitarian Aid by Neil Middleton and Phil O'keefe P. 132</ref><ref>The Armenian-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications by Michael P. Croissant P. 14</ref> inspired by the left of center modernizing ideology espoused by [[Mammed Amin Rasulzade]], was formed. Founded clandestinely, the party expanded rapidly in 1917, after the overthrow of the Tsarist regime in Russia. The most essential components of the Musavat ideology were secularism, [[nationalism]], and federalism, or autonomy within a broader political structure. However, the party's right- and left-wings differed on certain issues, most notably land distribution. The leader of the party was the left-leaning [[Mammed Amin Rasulzade]]. After Russia became involved in [[World War I]], social and economic tensions spiked again. The [[Russian Revolution of 1917]] ultimately led to the granting of rights to the local population of Azerbaijan and the granting of self rule, but this autonomy also led to renewed ethnic conflict between Azeris and Armenians. [[Image:AzerbaijanDemocraticRepublicMap.png|thumb|250px|Map of the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR) in 1920. Areas in dark swamp green are under administration of the ADR. Light swamp green areas are disputed between the ADR and the [[Democratic Republic of Armenia]] with no clear administration. The yellowish-green color indicates territorites claimed by the ADR, but administered by the [[Democratic Republic of Georgia]]. Click on image for more details.]] == Azerbaijan Democratic Republic == {{main|Azerbaijan Democratic Republic|Armenian-Azerbaijani war (1918 - 1920)}} At the collapse of the [[Russian Empire]] in 1917, an independent republic was proclaimed in Ganja on May 28, 1918 following an abortive attempt to establish a federal [[Transcaucasian Republic]] with [[Armenia]] and [[Democratic Republic of Georgia|Georgia]].This was the first Democratic Republic established in Islamic World. In Baku, however, a coalition of [[Bolsheviks]], [[Dashnaks]] and [[Mensheviks]] fought against a Turkish-Islamic army led by [[Nuru Pasha]]. This coalition known as the "[[Baku Commune]]" also inspired or tacitly condoned the massacres of local Muslims by well-armed Dashnak-Armenian forces. This coalition, however, collapsed and was replaced by a British-controlled government known as [[Central Caspian Dictatorship]] in July, 1918. British forces under General [[Dunsterville]] occupied Baku and helped the mainly Dashnak-Armenian forces to defend the capital. However, Baku fell on September 15, 1918 and an Azeri-Ottoman army entered the capital, causing British forces and much of the Armenian population to flee. The [[Ottoman Empire]], however, capitulated on October 30, 1918 and the British occupational force re-entered Baku. Azerbaijan was proclaimed a secular republic and its first parliament opened on December 5, 1918. British administration initially did not recognize the Republic but tacitly cooperated with it. By mid-1919 the situation in Azerbaijan had more or less stabilized, and British forces left in August, 1919. However by early 1920, advancing Bolshevik forces, victorious in [[Russian Civil War]], started to pose a great threat to young republic, which also engaged in a conflict with Armenia over the [[Karabakh]] enclave. Azerbaijan received ''de facto'' recognition by the Allies as an independent nation in January 1920 at the Versailles [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]]. The republic was governed by five cabinets, all formed by a coalition of the [[Musavat]] and other parties including the Socialist Bloc, the Independents, the Liberals, the Social-Democratic Party [[Hummat]] (or Endeavor) Party and the Conservative [[Ittihad]] (Union) Party. The premier in the first three cabinets was [[Fatali Khan Khoyski]]; in the last two, Nasib Yusufbayli. The president of the parliament, [[Alimardan Topchubashev]], was recognized as the head of state. In this capacity he represented Azerbaijan at the Versailles [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Paris Peace Conference]] in 1919. Aided by Azeri dissidents in the Republican government, the [[Red Army]] invaded Azerbaijan on April 28, 1920. It met with almost no resistance since the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in Karabakh. The same day a Soviet government was formed under [[Nariman Narimanov]]. Before the year was over, the same fate had befallen [[Armenia]], and, in March 1921, Georgia as well. == Soviet Azerbaijan == {{main|Azerbaijan SSR}} After the peaceful surrender of the national government to [[Bolshevik]] forces, Azerbaijan was proclaimed a Soviet Socialist Republic on April 28, 1920. Shortly after the [[Congress of the Peoples of the East]] was held in September 1920 in [[Baku]]. Although, formally an independent state, the Azerbaijan SSR was dependent upon and controlled by the government in [[Moscow]]. It was incorporated into the [[Transcaucasian SFSR]] along with Armenia and Georgia in March 1922. By an agreement signed in December 1922, the TSFSR became one of the four original republics of the [[Soviet Union]]. The TSFSR was dissolved in 1936 and its three regions became separate republics within the USSR. Like other union republics, Azerbaijan, was affected by Stalin's purges in the 1930s. During this period, sometimes referred to as the "Red Terror", thousands of people were killed, including notable Azeri figures such as [[Huseyn Javid]], [[Mikail Mushvig]], Ruhulla Akhundov, Ayna Sultanova and others. Directing the purges in Azerbaijan was Mir Jafar Baghirov, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, who followed Stalin's orders without question. His special target was the intelligentsia, but he also purged Communist leaders who had sympathized with the opposition or who might have once leaned toward [[Pan-Turkism]] or had contacts with revolutionary movements in Iran or Turkey. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Soviet-woman-veil.jpg|220px|thumb|Under Soviet rule, women in Azerbaijan and other predominately Muslim republics were encouraged to "throw off the veils that imprisoned them." Shown here is a still of a woman doing just that from [[Dziga Vertov]]'s 1934 propaganda film, ''Three Songs About Lenin''.]] --> During the 1940s, the [[Azerbaijan SSR]] supplied much of the Soviet Union's gas and oil during the war with [[Nazi Germany]] and was thus a strategically important region. The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 reached the Greater Caucasus in July 1942, but the [[Germans]] never crossed into the territory of Azerbaijan. Many [[Azerbaijanis]] fought well in the ranks of the Soviet Army (about 600-800,000) and Azeri [[Major-General]] [[Azi Aslanov]] was awarded twice [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. About 400,000 Azeris died in WWII. The Germans also made fruitless efforts to enlist the cooperation of emigre political figures, most notably [[Mammed Amin Rasulzade]]. See also: [[Azerbaijan SSR#Soviet-German War|Azerbaijan SSR during the Soviet-German War]] Policies of de-Stalinization and improvement after the 1950s led to better education and welfare conditions for most of Azerbaijan. This also coincided with the period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. During this period of change, a new anti-Islamic drive and return to a policy of ''Russification'', under the policy of ''sblizheniye'' (reapprochment), was instituted in order to merge all the peoples of the U.S.S.R. into a new monolithic Soviet nation. In the 1960s, signs of a structural crisis in the Soviet colonial system began to emerge. Azerbaijan's crucial oil industry lost its relative importance in the Soviet economy, partly because of a shift of oil production to other regions of the Soviet Union and partly because of the depletion of known oil resources on land, while offshore production was not deemed cost effective. As a result, Azerbaijan had the lowest rate of growth in productivity and economic output among the Soviet republics, with the exception of [[Tajikistan]]. Ethnic tensions, particularly between Armenians and Azerbaijanis began to grow, but violence was suppressed. In an attempt to end the growing structural crisis, the government in [[Moscow]] appointed [[Heidar Aliyev]] as the first secretary of the [[Communist Party of Azerbaijan]] in 1969. Aliyev temporarily improved economic conditions and promoted alternative industries to the declining oil industry, such as cotton. He also consolidated the republic's ruling elite, which now consisted almost entirely of ethnic Azeris, thus reverting the previous trends at "reapprochment". In 1982 Aliyev was made a member of the Communist Party's Politburo in Moscow, the highest position ever attained by a Muslim in the former Soviet Union. In 1987, when ''[[Perestroika]]'' started, he was forced to retire by Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], whose reform policies he opposed. The late 1980s, during the [[Gorbachov]] era, were characterized by increasing unrest in the Caucasus, initially over the [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] issue. A political awakening came in February 1988 with the renewal of the ethnic conflict, which centered on Armenia's demands for the unification of [[Nagorno-Karabakh]] (''Qarabag'') with Armenia. Armenians expelled hundreds of thousands of Azeris from Karabakh and Armenia by March 1988, while pogroms of the Armenian population in [[Baku]] and [[Sumgait]] took place. Russia forced enforced military rule on several occasions but unrest continued to spread. The ethnic strife revealed the shortcomings of the Communist Party as a champion of national interests, and, in the spirit of ''[[glasnost]]'', independent publications and political organizations began to emerge. Of these organizations, by far the most prominent was the [[Popular Front of Azerbaijan]] (PFA), which by the fall of 1989 seemed poised to take power from the Communist Party. The PFA soon experienced a split between a conservative-Islamic wing and a moderate wing. The split was followed by an outbreak of anti-Armenian violence in Baku and intervention by Soviet troops. Unrest culminated in violent confrontation when Soviet troops killed 132 nationalist demonstrators in [[Baku]] on January, 20 1990. Azerbaijan declared its independence from the USSR on August 30, 1991, and became part of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]. By the end of 1991 fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh had escalated into a full scale war, which culminated into a tense cease-fire that has persisted into the 21st century. Although a cease-fire was achieved, the refusal to negotiate by both sides resulted in a stalemate as Armenian troops retained their positions in Karabakh as well as corridors taken from Azerbaijan that connect the enclave to Armenia. == Independent Azerbaijan == {{main|Politics of Azerbaijan}} The declaration of independence was followed by the dissolution of the Communist Party, although most of its membership retained their socio-political positions. The last party secretary, [[Ayaz N. Mutalibov]], was elected president of the republic in September 1991, and the [[Supreme Soviet]] formally implemented the declaration of independence on October 18. Meanwhile, the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh continued despite efforts to negotiate a settlement. Early in 1992, Karabakh's Armenian leadership proclaimed an independent republic. In what was now a full scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Armenians gained the upper hand, with covert assistance from the Russian Army. Major atrocities were committed by both sides, with the [[Khojaly massacre]] of Azeri civilians having particular relevance to the Azeri side. [[Image:Heydar Aliyev 1997.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Former Azerbaijani President [[Heydar Aliyev]] was the first Muslim member of the [[Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]] and is credited with bringing stability to Azerbaijan after its uneasy independence.]] Mutalibov's failure to build up an adequate army, that he feared may not remain under his control, brought about the downfall of his government. In March 1992 the supreme court forced him to resign, after the fall of the town of [[Shusha]]. New presidential elections were held in June 1992. The former Communists failed to present a viable candidate and [[Abulfaz Elchibey]], the leader of the [[Popular Front of Azerbaijan]](PFA) and former dissident and political prisoner, was elected president with more than 60% of the vote. His program included opposition to Azerbaijan's membership in the [[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]], closer relations with Turkey, and a desire for extended links with the Azerbaijanis in Iran. [[Heydar Aliyev]], who had been prevented from running for president by an age limit of 65, was doing well in [[Nakhichevan]]. He had to contend with an Armenian blockade of [[Nakhichevan]]. In turn, [[Armenia]] suffered when Azerbaijan halted all rail traffic into and out of Armenia, cutting most of its land links with the outside world. The negative economic effects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict seemed to illustrate the interdependence of the [[Transcaucasian]] nations. Within a year after his election, President Elchibey came to face the same situation that had led to the downfall of Mutalibov. The fighting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh steadily turned in favor of the Armenians, who seized around one fifth of Azerbaijan's territory, creating more than a million [[internally displaced persons]]. A military rebellion against [[Abulfaz Elchibey|Elchibey]] broke out in early June 1993 in [[Ganja]] under the leadership of Colonel [[Surat Huseynov]]. The [[PFA]] leadership found itself without political support as a result of the war's setbacks, a steadily deteriorating economy, and opposition from groups led by Heydar Aliyev. In Baku, Aliyev seized the reins of power and quickly consolidated his position. A referendum in August deprived [[Abulfaz Elchibey|Elchibey]] of his post. On the 3rd of October 1993 a presidential election was held, and Aliyev won overwhelmingly. By March 1994, Aliyev was able to get rid of some of his opposition including [[Surat Huseynov]], who was arrested along with other rivals. In 1995, the former military police were accused of plotting a coup and disbanded. Coup plotters were linked to right wing Turkish nationalists. Later, in 1996 [[Rəsul Quliyev]], former speaker of parliament went into self-imposed exile. Thus, by end of 1996, position of Heydar Aliyev as an ''absolute ruler'' in Azerbaijan was unquestionable. As a result of limited reforms and the signing of the so-called "Contract of The Century" in October 1994 (over the [[Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli]] giant oil field) that led to increased oil exports to western markets, the economy began improving. However, extreme levels of corruption and nepotism in the state system created by Aliyev prevented Azerbaijan from more sustained development, especially in the non-oil sector. In October 1998, Aliev was re-elected as president for a second term. Weakened opposition accused him of voter fraud, but no widespread international condemnation of the elections followed. His second term in office was characterized by limited reforms, increasing oil production and the dominance of [[BP]] as a main foreign oil company in Azerbaijan. In early 1999, a giant [[Shah Deniz gas field]] was discovered making Azerbaijan potentially a major gas exporter. A gas export agreement was signed with [[Turkey]] by 2003. Work on a long awaited [[Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline|Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline]] and [[South Caucasus Pipeline|Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline]] started in 2003. The oil pipeline was completed in 2005 and the gas pipeline in 2006. Heydar Aliyev became ill and, in April 2003, collapsed on stage and could not return to public life. By summer 2003 he was placed into intensive care in the [[United States|U.S.]] where he was pronounced dead on December 12, 2003. In yet another controversial election, his son [[Ilham Aliyev]] was elected president. The election was characterized by mass violence and was criticised by foreign observers. Presently, political opposition to the Aliyev administration remains strong. Many are not satisfied with this new dynastical succession and are pushing for a more democratic government. ==Footnotes== {{Reflist}} == References == * Altstadt, Audrey. ''The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity Under Russian Rule'' (Azerbaijan: Hoover Institution Press, 1992). * Ashurbeyli, S. "''History of Shirvanshahs''" Elm 1983, 408 (in Azeri) * Kalankatu, Moisey (Movses). "''The History of Caucasian Albanians. transl by C. Dowsett''" London oriental series, vol 8, 1961 (School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ of London) * At Tabari, ''Ibn al-Asir'' (trans by Z. Bunyadov), Baku, Elm, 1983? * Jamil Hasanli. ''At the Dawn of the Cold War: The Soviet-American Crisis Over Iranian Azerbaijan, 1941-1946,'' (Rowman & Littlefield; 409 pages; $75). Discusses the Soviet-backed independence movement in the region and argues that the crisis in 1945-46 was the first event to bring the Soviet Union in conflict with the United States and Britain after the alliance of World War II * Momen, M. "''An Introduction to Shii Islam''", 1985, Yale University Press 400 p * Shaffer, B. ''Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity'' (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2002). * Swietochowski, Tadeusz. ''Russia and Azerbaijan: Borderland in Transition'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1995). * Van der Leew, Ch. ''Azerbaijan: A Quest for Identity: A Short History'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000). * ''History of Azerbajan'' Vol I-III, 1960 Baku (in Russian) == External links == * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1235740.stm BBC's Recent history of Azerbaijan] * [http://www.azeris.com/history/index.htm Global Azeris Network History section] * [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aztoc.html US Library of Congress-A Country Study of Azerbaijan] * [http://www.rulers.org/rula2.html#azerbaijan List of rulers for Azerbaijan] * [http://www.azer.com#Azerbaijan International Magazine - best source of english language information on Azerbaijan. contains section on History of Azerbaijan] * [http://www.tarix.az# Azeri lands given to neigbours from 1813 to 2007] * [http://www.azeri.net/azerbaijan Azerbaijan Guide] {{History of Europe}} {{History of Asia}} [[Category:History of the Turkic people|Azerbaijan]] [[Category:History of Azerbaijan]] [[Category:National histories|Azerbaijan]] [[cs:Dějiny Ázerbájdžánu]] [[de:Geschichte Aserbaidschans]] [[es:Historia de Azerbaiyán]] [[fr:Histoire de l'Azerbaïdjan]] [[nl:Geschiedenis van Azerbeidzjan]] [[pt:História do Azerbaijão]] [[ru:История Азербайджана]] [[sq:Historia e Azerbajxhanit]] [[sk:Dejiny Azerbajdžanu]] [[sv:Azerbajdzjans historia]] [[tr:Azerbaycan tarihi]] [[uk:Історія Азербайджану]]