The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic :Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a population of 459,600. It is bordered by Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the southwest, and Turkey to the northwest. It is the sole autonomous republic of Azerbaijan, governed by its own elected legislature.
The republic, especially the capital city of Nakhchivan, has a long history dating back to about 1500 BC. Nakhijevan was one of the cantons of the historical Armenian province of Vaspurakan in the Kingdom of Armenia. Historically, the Persians, Armenians, Mongols, and Turks all competed for the region. The area that is now Nakhchivan became part of Safavid Iran in the 16th century. The semi-autonomous Nakhchivan Khanate was established there in the mid-18th century. In 1828, after the last Russo-Persian War and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Nakhchivan Khanate passed from Iranian into Imperial Russian possession.
After the 1917 February Revolution, Nakhchivan and its surrounding region were under the authority of the Special Transcaucasian Committee of the Russian Provisional Government and subsequently of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhchivan, Nagorno-Karabakh, Syunik, and Qazakh were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation. Under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros, the Ottomans agreed to pull their troops out of the Transcaucasus to make way for British occupation at the close of the First World War. The British placed Nakhchivan under Armenian administration in April 1919, although an Azerbaijani revolt prevented Armenia from establishing full control over the territory.
In July 1920, the Bolsheviks occupied the region. In November of that year, Bolshevik Russia and Azerbaijan both promised that Nakhchivan, alongside neighboring Nagorno-Karabakh and Zangezur, was an "integral part" of Armenia.De Waal. Black Garden, p. 129. However, on March 16, 1921, in accordance with the results of a referendum, the Bolshevik government declared the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which went on to become an autonomous republic within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic in 1924. In January 1990, Nakhchivan declared independence from the USSR to protest against the suppression of the national movement in Azerbaijan, and became the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic within the newly independent Republic of Azerbaijan a year later.
Etymology Variations of the name Nakhchivan include Nakhichevan, Naxcivan,"." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. 2003. () New York: Merriam-Webster, Inc. Naxçivan, Nakhijevan, Nakhchawan, Nakhitchevan,Elisabeth Bauer, Armenia: Past and Present, p.99 (ISBN B0006EXQ9C). Nakhjavan,Kazemzadeh, Firuz. The Struggle For Transcaucasia: 1917–1921. p. 255 (). and Nakhdjevan.Ibid. p.267. Nakhchivan is mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography and by other classical writers as "Naxuana". in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, St. Petersburg, Russia: 1890–1907.
The older form of the name is Naxčawan (). According to philologist Heinrich Hübschmann, the name was originally borne by the namesake city (modern Nakhchivan) and later given to the region. Hübschmann believed the name to be composed of Naxič or Naxuč (probably a personal name) and awan, an Armenian word (ultimately of Iranian origin) meaning "place, town".
In the Armenian tradition, the name of the region and its namesake city is connected with the Biblical narrative of Noah's Ark and interpreted as meaning "place of the first descent" or "first resting place" (as if deriving from and ) due to it being regarded as the site where Noah descended and settled after the landing of the Ark on nearby Mount Ararat. It was probably under the influence of this tradition that the name changed in Armenian from the older Naxčawan to Naxijewan. Although this is a folk etymology, William Whiston believed Nakhchivan/Nakhijevan to be the Apobatērion ("place of descent") mentioned by the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in connection with Noah's Ark, which would make the tradition connecting the name with the Biblical figure Noah very old, predating Armenia's conversion to Christianity in the early fourth century.Noah's Ark: Its Final Berth by Bill Crouse
History Early history
The oldest material culture artifacts found in the region date back to the Neolithic Age. On the other hand, Azerbaijani archaeologists have found that the history of Nakhchivan dates back to the Stone Age (Paleolithic). As a result of archaeological diggings, archaeologists discovered a great number of Stone-Age materials in different regions of Nakhchivan. These materials were useful to study the Paleolithic age in Azerbaijan. Pollen analysis conducted in Gazma Cave (Sharur District) suggests that humans in the Middle Palaeolithic (Mousterian) lived not only in the mountain forests but also in the dry woodlands found in Nakhchivan. Several archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods have also been found in Nakhchivan, including the ancient towns of Nakhchivan Tepe (near the city of Nakhchivan) and Ovchular Tepesi. Some of the oldest salt mines in the world have also been discovered.Catherine Marro and Thomas Stöllner, eds.
The region was part of the states of Urartu and later Media.Нахичеванская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика, Great Soviet Encyclopedia It became part of the Satrapy of Armenia under Achaemenid Persia c. 521 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC several generals of the Macedonian army, including Neoptolemus, attempted but failed to take control of the region, and it was ruled by the native Armenian dynasty of Orontids until Armenia was conquered by Antiochus III the Great (ruled 222–187 BC).
In 189 BC, Nakhchivan became part of the new Kingdom of Armenia established by Artaxias I.Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments Of Nakhichevan, pp. 10–12. Within the kingdom, the region of present-day Nakhchivan was part of the Ayrarat, Vaspurakan and Syunik provinces.Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas, p. 100. According to the early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, from the third to second centuries, the region belonged to the Muratsyan nakharar family but after disputes with central power, King Artavazd I massacred the family and seized the lands and formally attached it to the kingdom. Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram. "Մուրացյան" (Muratsyan). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. viii. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1982, p. 98. The area's status as a major trade center allowed it to prosper; as a result, many foreign powers coveted it. According to the Armenian historian Faustus of Byzantium (5th century), when the Sassanid Persians invaded Armenia, Sassanid King Shapur II (310–380) removed 2,000 Armenian and 16,000 Jewish families in 360–370. In 428, the Armenian Arshakuni monarchy was abolished and Nakhchivan was annexed by Sassanid Persia. In 623, possession of the region passed to the Byzantine Empire but was soon left to its own rule. Sebeos referred to the area as Tachkastan. According to the 5th-century Armenian author Koriun, Nakhchivan was the place where the Armenian scholar Mesrop Mashtots finished the creation of the Armenian alphabet and opened the first Armenian schools. This occurred in the province of Goghtan, which corresponds to Nakhchivan's modern Ordubad district.Կորյուն, Վարք Մաշտոցի, աշխարհաբար թարգմանությունը, ներածական ուսումնասիրությամբ, առաջաբանով և ծանոթագրություններով՝ Մ. Աբեղյանի, Եր., 1962, էջ 98։Koryun: Life of Mashtots Koryun, The Life of Mashtots
From 640 on, the Arabs invaded Nakhchivan 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, after suppressing an Armenian revolt, Arab viceroy Muhammad ibn Marwan decided to eliminate the Armenian nobility.David Marshall Lang, Armenia: Cradle of Civilization, p. 178 . In Nakhchivan, several hundred Armenian nobles were locked up in churches and burnt, while others were crucified.
The violence caused many Armenian princes to flee to the neighboring Kingdom of Georgia or the Byzantine Empire. Meanwhile, Nakhchivan itself became part of the autonomous Principality of Armenia under Arab control.Mark Whittow. The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, p. 210. In the eighth century, Nakhchivan was one of the scenes of an uprising against the Arabs led by PersianM. Whittow, "The Making of Byzantium: 600–1025", pp. 195, 203, 215: Excerpts:[Iranian] Azerbaijan was the scene of frequent anti-Caliphate and anti-Arab revolts during the eighth and ninth centuries, and Byzantine sources talk of Persian warriors seeking refuge in the 830s from the caliph's armies by taking service under the Byzantine emperor Theophilos. [...] Azerbaijan had a Persian population and was a traditional centre of the Zoroastrian religion. [...] The Khurramites were a [...] Persian sect, influenced by Shiite doctrines, but with their roots in a pre-Islamic Persian religious movement.Armenian historian Vardan Areveltsi, c. 1198 – 1271 notes: In these days, a man of the PERSIAN race, named Bab, who from Baltat killed many of the race of Ismayil (what Armenians called Arabs) by sword and took many slaves and thought himself to be immortal. ..Ma'mun for 7 years was battling in the Greek territories and ..came back to Mesopotamia. See: La domination arabe en Armènie, extrait de l' histoire universelle de Vardan, traduit de l'armènian et annotè, J. Muyldermans, Louvain et Paris, 1927, pg 119: En ces jours-lá, un homme de la race PERSE, nomm é Bab, sortant de Baltat, faiser passer par le fil de l'épée beaucoup de la race d'Ismayēl tandis qu'il.. Original Grabar: Havoursn haynosig ayr mi hazkes Barsitz Pap anoun yelyal i Baghdada, arganer zpazoums i sour suseri hazken Ismayeli, zpazoums kerelov. yev anser zinkn anmah. yev i mium nvaki sadager yeresoun hazar i baderazmeln youroum ent IsmayeliIbn Hazm (994–1064), the Arab historian mentions the different Iranian revolts against the Caliphate in his book Al-fasl fil al-Milal wal-Nihal. He writes: The Persians had the great land expanse and were greater than all other people and thought of themselves as better... after their defeat by Arabs, they rose up to fight against Islam, but God did not give them victory. Among their leaders were Sanbadh, Muqanna', Ostadsis and Babak and others. Full original Arabic: «أن الفرس كانوا من سعة الملك وعلو اليد على جميع الأمم وجلالة الخطير في أنفسهم حتى أنهم كانوا يسمون أنفسهم الأحرار والأبناء وكانوا يعدون سائر الناس عبيداً لهم فلما امتحنوا بزوال الدولة عنهم على أيدي العرب وكانت العرب أقل الأمم عند الفرس خطراً تعاظمهم الأمر وتضاعفت لديهم المصيبة وراموا كيد الإسلام بالمحاربة في أوقات شتى ففي كل ذلك يظهر الله سبحانه وتعالى الحق وكان من قائمتهم سنبادة واستاسيس والمقنع وبابك وغيرهم ». See: al-Faṣl fī al-milal wa-al-ahwāʾ wa-al-niḥal / taʾlīf Abī Muḥammad ʻAlī ibn Aḥmad al-maʻrūf bi-Ibn Ḥazm al-Ẓāhirī; taḥqīq Muḥammad Ibrāhīm Naṣr, ʻAbd al-Raḥmān ʻUmayrah. Jiddah : Sharikat Maktabāt ʻUkāẓ, 1982. revolutionary Babak Khorramdin of the Iranian Khorram-Dinān ("those of the joyous religion" in Persian). Nakhchivan was finally released from Arab rule in the tenth century by Bagratuni King Smbat I and handed over to the princes of Syunik. This region also was taken by Sajids in 895 and between 909 and 929, Sallarid between 942 and 971 and Shaddadid between 971 and 1045.