Historical Outline

November 11th, 2008

The present day citizens of Azerbaijan are the heirs of a rich history, the successors of a long progression of cultures and civilizations. Situated on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan is located at the strategic crossroads between East and West.

The discovery of the Azykh cave, one of the earliest habitations of human to be found in the world, and a number of habitations of the ancient Stone Age prove that Azerbaijan is situated in one of the birthplace areas of the humankind. Prehistoric cave dwellings have been excavated throughout Azerbaijan, one of the more important being the excavations at Gobustan, famous for its rock carvings.

The first state that emerged on the territory of Azerbaijan was Aratta in the third Millennium B.C. that was followed by the states named Kutium and Lullubium. In the 9th century B.C., the Manna state emerged with high economic and cultural level. In the first part of the 6th century B.C., Manna was conquered by Media. The official religion was Zoroastrianism, the spread of which was connected with self-kindled resources of oil and gas.

The 4th century B.C. was marked by the emergence of two Azerbaijani states: Atropatena in the south and the Caucasian Albania in the north of Azerbaijan. The name of Atropatena is connected with the name of its founder Atropat (satrap of Alexander of Macedonia), which was later transformed into the definition “Azerbaijan”.

By the second century A.D., the Caucasian Albania had developed into a major regional power. Its borders were essentially the borders of the present day Azerbaijan, and included the regions of Nakhchivan and Daghliq Garabagh (Mountainous Karabakh). The kingdom of Caucasian Albania was home to the first Christian communities in the region. One of the first apostolic Christian churches in South Caucasus appeared in the Caucasian Albania. The Caucasian Albania enjoyed a large degree of autonomy and was virtually an independent state. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Albanian alphabet was introduced and promoted the development of education.

By the beginning of the 8th century, Azerbaijan became a part of the Arab Caliphate. Islam became the dominating religion in Azerbaijan, creating new traditions and culture. In the medieval centuries, there was a succession of Azerbaijani states. The Azerbaijani dynasties of Shirvanshahs, Sheddadis, Revvadis, Atabey, Eldegiz, Garagoyunly, Aghgoyunly, and Sefevids ruled in a succession.

A rivalry between Russia, Iran, and Turkey to involve Azerbaijan into the sphere of their interests resulted in striking internal destabilization in the 18th century. The contradictions between the regional powers deepened in the 18th - 19th centuries. Wars were waged over Azerbaijan. The Turkmanchay Treaty of 1828 concluded by Russia and Persia divided Azerbaijan and its people between these two states.

The 20th century in the history of the Azerbaijani people marked the period of radical changes in socio-economic, political, and cultural life. A range of industrial branches was intensively developing in Azerbaijan. Baku turned into the world centre of oil extraction and refinery yielding more than half of the world and 95% of Russia’s oil extraction. Baku attracted investors and oil developers from all over the world, among them Alfred Nobel and his brothers. In fact, the fortune that Alfred Nobel acquired in Azerbaijan allowed him to establish the well-known Nobel Prize. In 1907, the Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibayov composed opera “Leyli and Majnun”, which was the first opera in the Muslim Orient. Formation of political societies, organizations, and parties for dissemination of progressive, democratic ideas contributed to the process of developing a national identity and fuelled the growth of the liberation movement of the people.

The fall of the tsarist monarchy in Russia on February 18, 1917, created favourable conditions for the development of national movements in its provinces. On May 28, 1918, Azerbaijan restored its state structure - the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established in the northern part of Azerbaijan. Newly independent Azerbaijan was the first nation in the region to adopt a secular, democratic form of government. Azerbaijan received de facto recognition by the Allied Powers after World War I as an independent nation in January 1920. Having existed for only 23 months, it collapsed on the 28th of April when the Soviet Red Army invaded Baku and eventually all of the territory of the northern Azerbaijan and overthrew the government. With the Red Army occupying its territory, Azerbaijan was incorporated into the Soviet Union on December 30, 1922.

For the next 70 years, Azerbaijan was within the Soviet state in the form of the Soviet Socialist Republic. The Soviet authorities ceded the Azerbaijani territory of Zangezur to Armenia, thus cutting off the Azerbaijani province of Nakhchivan from the rest of Azerbaijan. When Azerbaijan was annexed into the USSR, its total territory was 114,000 sq. km; on regaining its independence in 1991, Azerbaijan’s territory was 86,600 sq. km.

The late 1980s were characterized by increasing unrest, eventually leading to a violent confrontation with the communist regime when Soviet troops killed hundreds of peaceful demonstrators in Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan on January 20, 1990.

Azerbaijan restored its independence from the Soviet Union on August 30, 1991, when the Constitutional Act of State Independence was adopted. The new Constitution of the independent Republic of Azerbaijan was adopted on November 12, 1995. This event marked a new stage in the history of the people of Azerbaijan - the epoch of democracy and progress.

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