Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic

The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (Template:Langx, {{#invoke:IPA|main}})<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Template:Convert<ref name="Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic">Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic :Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic Template:Webarchive</ref> with a population of 459,600.<ref name="statgov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is bordered by ArmeniaTemplate:Efn to the east and north, IranTemplate:Efn to the southwest, and TurkeyTemplate:Efn to the west. 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 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.<ref name=":2"/> 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.<ref name="DeWaal022">De Waal. Black Garden, p. 129.</ref>Template:Efn 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.

Though a mixed Azerbaijani-Armenian region as late as a century ago,<ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics012">Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras. New States, New Politics: Building Post-Soviet Nations, p. 484. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Armcountry2">Armenia: A Country Study: The New Nationalism, The Library of Congress</ref><ref name="Atlas2">Andrew Andersen, PhD Atlas of Conflicts: Armenia: Nation Building and Territorial Disputes: 1918–1920</ref><ref name="Croissant-162">Croissant. Armenia–Azerbaijan Conflict, p. 16.</ref> Nakhchivan is homogeneously Azerbaijani today besides a small population of Russians.<ref name=":2" />

Etymology

Variations of the name Nakhchivan include Nakhichevan,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Naxcivan,<ref>"[1]." Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. 2003. (Template:ISBN) New York: Merriam-Webster, Inc.</ref> Naxçivan,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nakhijevan,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nakhchawan,<ref name="Hewsen">Template:Cite book</ref> Nakhitchevan,<ref name="Bauer">Elisabeth Bauer, Armenia: Past and Present, p.99 (ISBN B0006EXQ9C).</ref> Nakhjavan,<ref>Kazemzadeh, Firuz. The Struggle For Transcaucasia: 1917–1921. p. 255 (Template:ISBN).</ref> and Nakhdjevan.<ref>Ibid. p.267.</ref> Nakhchivan is mentioned in Ptolemy's Geography and by other classical writers as "Naxuana".<ref name="Brockhaus">Template:In lang "Nakhichevan" in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, St. Petersburg, Russia: 1890–1907.</ref><ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref>

The older form of the name is Naxčawan (Template:Langx).<ref name=":3">Template:Cite book</ref> According to philologist Heinrich Hübschmann, the name was originally borne by the namesake city (modern Nakhchivan) and later given to the region.<ref name=":3" /> 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".<ref name=":3" />

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 Template:Langx and Template:Langx) due to it being regarded as the site where Noah descended and settled after the landing of the Ark on nearby Mount Ararat.<ref name=":32">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":4">Template:Cite book</ref> It was probably under the influence of this tradition that the name changed in Armenian from the older Naxčawan to Naxijewan.<ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Josephus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":12">Noah's Ark: Its Final Berth Template:Webarchive by Bill Crouse</ref>

History

Early history

File:The grave monument of the prophet Noah.JPG

A modern mausoleum marks the place in Nakhchivan City, which is traditionally believed to be the site of Noah's grave

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.<ref name="nakhchivan.preslib.az">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name="Marro 2022 pp. 111–130">Template:Cite journal</ref> Some of the oldest salt mines in the world have also been discovered.<ref>Catherine Marro and Thomas Stöllner, eds. Template:Cite book</ref>

The region was part of the states of Urartu and later Media.<ref name="GreatSoviet">Нахичеванская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика, Great Soviet Encyclopedia</ref> 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).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed

File:93-vaspurakan908-1021.gif

The Nakhichevan region (light purple) at the time of Armenia's Kingdom of Vaspurakan (908–1021).

In 189 BC, Nakhchivan became part of the new Kingdom of Armenia established by Artaxias I.<ref name="Monuments">Ayvazyan, Argam. The Historical Monuments Of Nakhichevan, pp. 10–12. Template:ISBN</ref> Within the kingdom, the region of present-day Nakhchivan was part of the Ayrarat, Vaspurakan and Syunik provinces.<ref>Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas, p. 100.</ref> 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.<ref>Template:In lang Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram. "Մուրացյան" (Muratsyan). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. viii. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1982, p. 98.</ref> The area's status as a major trade center allowed it to prosper; as a result, many foreign powers coveted it.<ref name="Hewsen" /> 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.<ref name="Sapor2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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<ref name="GreatSoviet" /> 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.<ref>Կորյուն, Վարք Մաշտոցի, աշխարհաբար թարգմանությունը, ներածական ուսումնասիրությամբ, առաջաբանով և ծանոթագրություններով՝ Մ. Աբեղյանի, Եր., 1962, էջ 98։</ref><ref>Koryun: Life of Mashtots Koryun, The Life of Mashtots</ref>

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.<ref name="Lang01">David Marshall Lang, Armenia: Cradle of Civilization, p. 178 Template:ISBN.</ref> In Nakhchivan, several hundred Armenian nobles were locked up in churches and burnt, while others were crucified.<ref name="Bauer" /><ref name="Lang01" />

File:Armenia, beginning of the 13th Century.png

Caucasus region, beginning of the 13th century

The violence caused many Armenian princes to flee to the neighboring Kingdom of Georgia or the Byzantine Empire.<ref name="Lang01" /> Meanwhile, Nakhchivan itself became part of the autonomous Principality of Armenia under Arab control.<ref name="Byzantium">Mark Whittow. The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, p. 210. Template:ISBN</ref> In the eighth century, Nakhchivan was one of the scenes<ref name="GreatSoviet" /> of an uprising against the Arabs led by Persian<ref>M. 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.</ref><ref>Armenian historian Vardan Areveltsi, c. 1198 – 1271 notes: In these days, a man of the PERSIAN race, named Bab, who Template:Sic 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 Ismayeli</ref><ref>Ibn 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.</ref> revolutionary Babak Khorramdin of the Iranian Khorram-Dinān ("those of the joyous religion" in Persian).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nakhchivan was finally released from Arab rule in the tenth century by Bagratuni King Smbat I and handed over to the princes of Syunik.<ref name="Monuments" /> 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.

About 1055, the Seljuk Turks took over the region.<ref name="GreatSoviet" /> In the 12th century, the city of Nakhchivan became the capital of the state of Atabegs of Azerbaijan, also known as Ildegizid state, which included most of Iranian Azerbaijan and a significant part of the South Caucasus.<ref>Template:Usurped, Saljuq rulers of Azerbaijan, 12th–13th, Luther, K. pp. 890–894.</ref> The magnificent 12th-century mausoleum of Momine Khatun, the wife of Ildegizid ruler, Great Atabeg Jahan Pehlevan, is the main attraction of modern Nakhchivan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At its heyday, the Ildegizid authority in Nakhchivan and some other areas of South Caucasus was contested by 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" /> In the 13th century, during the reign of the Mongol horde ruler Güyük Khan, Christians were allowed to build churches in the strongly Muslim town of Nakhchivan; however, the conversion to Islam of Gazan khan brought about a reversal of this favor.<ref>Encyclopedia Iranica. C. Bosworth. History of Azerbaijan, Islamic period to 1941, page 225Template:Dead link</ref> The 14th century saw the rise of Armenian Catholicism in Nakhchivan,<ref name="Hewsen" /> though by the 15th century the territory became part of the states of Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu.<ref name="GreatSoviet" />

Iranian rule

File:Coin of Shah Suleiman I, minted in Nakhchivan (Nakhjavan).jpg

Silver coin of Shah Suleiman I (Template:Reign1666–1694), struck at the Nakhchivan mint, dated 1684/5

In the 16th century, control of Nakhchivan passed to the Safavid dynasty. Until the demise of the Safavids, it remained as an administrative jurisdiction of the Erivan Province (also known as Chokhur-e Sa'd).Template:Sfn Because of its geographic position, it frequently suffered during the wars between the Safavids and the Ottoman Empire, from the 16th to 18th centuries. Turkish historian İbrahim Peçevi described the passing of the Ottoman army from the Ararat plain to Nakhchivan:

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In 1604, Shah Abbas I of Iran, concerned that the skilled peoples of Nakhchivan, its natural resources, and the surrounding areas could get in danger due to its relatively close proximity to the Ottoman-Persian frontline, decided to institute a scorched earth policy. He forcefully deported the entire hundreds of thousands of local population—Muslims, Jews, and Armenians alike—to leave their homes and move to the provinces south of the Aras River.<ref>The Status of Religious Minorities in Safavid Iran 1617–61, Vera B. Moreen, Journal of Near Eastern Studies Vol. 40, No. 2 (April 1981), pp.128–129</ref><ref>The history and conquests of the Saracens, 6 lectures, Edward Augustus Freeman, Macmillan (1876) p. 229</ref><ref name="Lang02">Lang. Armenia: Cradle of Civilization, pp. 210–1.</ref>

File:Armenian Cemetery in Julfa (1830, Francis Rawdon Chesney).jpg

Armenian cemetery in Julfa, 1830, by Francis Rawdon Chesney

Many of the Armenian deportees were settled in the neighborhood of Isfahan that was named New Julfa since most of the residents were from the original Julfa. The Turkic Kangerli tribe was later permitted to move back under Shah Abbas II (1642–1666) to repopulate the frontier region of his realm.<ref>Template:Usurped.</ref> In the 17th century, Nakhchivan was the scene of a peasant movement led by Köroğlu against foreign invaders and "native exploiters".<ref name="GreatSoviet" /> In 1747, the Nakhchivan Khanate emerged in the region after the death of Nader Shah Afshar.<ref name="GreatSoviet" />

Passing to Imperial Russian rule

After the last Russo-Persian War and the Treaty of Turkmenchay, the Nakhchivan Khanate passed into Russian possession in 1828 due to Iran's forced ceding as a result of the outcome of the war and treaty.<ref>Timothy C. Dowling Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond pp 728 ABC-CLIO, December 2, 2014 Template:ISBN</ref> With the onset of Russian rule, the Tsarist authorities encouraged resettlement of Armenians to Nakhchivan and other areas of the Caucasus from the Persian and Ottoman Empires. Special clauses of the Turkmenchay and Adrianople treaties allowed for this.<ref>Туркманчайский договор 1828, Great Soviet Encyclopedia</ref> Alexandr Griboyedov, the Russian envoy to Persia, stated that by the time Nakhchivan came under Russian rule, there had been 290 native Armenians families in the province excluding the city of Nakhchivan, the number of Muslim families was 1,632, and the number of the Armenian immigrant families was 943. The same numbers in the city of Nakhchivan were 114, 392, and 285 respectively. With such a dramatic influx of Armenian immigrants, 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>Template:In lang A.S. Griboyedov. Letter to Count I.F.Paskevich.</ref>

The Nakhchivan Khanate was dissolved in 1828 the same year it came into Russian possession, and its territory was merged with the territory of the Erivan khanate and the area became the Nakhichevan uezd 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 Tatars (later known as Azerbaijanis) made up roughly 57% of the uezd's population, while Armenians constituted roughly 42%.<ref name="Brockhaus"/> At the same time in the western half of the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd, the territory of which would form the northern part of modern-day Nakhchivan (Sharur District), Tatars constituted 70.5% of the population, while Armenians made up 27.5%.<ref>Template:In lang 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 Tatars, culminating in the Armenian-Tatar massacres which saw violence in Nakhchivan in May of that year.<ref name="Croissant-9">Michael P. Croissant. The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications, p. 9. Template:ISBN</ref>

War and revolution

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In the final year of World War I, Nakhchivan was the scene of more bloodshed between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, who both laid claim to the area. By 1914, the Armenian population had decreased slightly to 40% while the Azeri population increased to roughly 60%.<ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics012"/> After the February Revolution, the region was 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, Zangezur (today the Armenian province of Syunik), and Qazakh were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). In June 1918, the region came under Ottoman occupation.<ref name="GreatSoviet" /> The Ottomans proceeded to massacre 10,000 Armenians and razed 45 of their villages.<ref name="Hewsen"/> Under the terms of the Armistice of Mudros, the Ottomans agreed to pull their 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>

Under British occupation, Sir 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 Nakhchivan), while Azerbaijan was to be limited to the governorates of Baku and Elizavetpol. 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 Nakhchivan). 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, PhD Atlas of Conflicts: Armenia: Nation Building and Territorial Disputes: 1918–1920</ref>

In December 1918, with the support of Azerbaijan's Musavat Party, Jafargulu Khan Nakhchivanski declared the Republic of Aras in the Nakhchivan 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 Roberts described the situation in April 1920:

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By mid-June 1919, however, Armenia succeeded in establishing control over Nakhchivan 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, the Armenian administration was ousted from Nakhchivan.<ref name="Atlas" /> Again, more violence erupted 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 Nakhchivan district, a cease-fire agreement was concluded. However, the cease-fire lasted only 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 Nakhchivan.

Following the adoption of the name of "Azerbaijan" by the newly established Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, a naming dispute arose with Qajar Iran, with the latter protesting this decision.<ref name="Kamrava">Template:Cite book</ref> In tandem with this naming controversy, however, the young Azerbaijan Republic also faced a threat from the nascent Soviets in Moscow and the Armenians.<ref name="Kamrava"/> In order to escape the possibility of a Soviet invasion and an even greater imminent threat of an Armenian invasion, Muslim Nakhchivan proposed being annexed to Iran.<ref name="Kamrava"/> The then pro-British government in Tehran led by Vossug ed Dowleh made endeavours amongst Baku's leadership to join Iran.<ref name="Kamrava"/> In order to promote this idea, Vosugh ed Dowleh dispatched two separate Iranian delegations; one to Baku and one to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.<ref name="Kamrava"/> The delegation at Baku, at the behest of Zia ol Din Tabatabaee, held intensive negotiations with the leadership of the Musavat party during the increasing chaos and instability in the city.<ref name="Kamrava"/> During the closing stages, an accord was reached between them; however, before the idea was presented to Vossug ed Dowleh in Tehran, the Communists took over Baku and terminated the Musavat-Ottoman rule.<ref name="Kamrava"/> The Iranian delegation at Paris, which was headed by foreign minister Firouz Nosrat-ed-Dowleh III, reached a unity negotiation with the delegation from Baku and signed a confederation agreement.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the end, these efforts proved to be of no avail, with the Soviets taking over the entirety of Transcaucasia.

Sovietization

In July 1920, the 11th Soviet Red Army invaded and occupied the region and on July 28, declared the Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with "close ties" to the Azerbaijan SSR. In November, on the verge of taking over Armenia, the Bolsheviks, to attract public support, promised they would allot Nakhchivan to Armenia, along with Karabakh and Zangezur. Nariman Narimanov, leader of Bolshevik Azerbaijan, issued a declaration celebrating the "victory of Soviet power in Armenia" and proclaimed that both Nakhchivan 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 Armenian government:<ref name="DeWaal022"/>

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Vladimir Lenin, while welcoming this act of "great Soviet fraternity" where "boundaries had no meaning among the family of Soviet peoples", did not agree with the motion and instead called for the people of Nakhchivan to be consulted in a referendum. According to the formal figures of this referendum, held at the beginning of 1921, 90% of Nakhchivan's population wanted to be included in the Azerbaijan SSR "with the rights of an autonomous republic".<ref name="Potier">Tim Potier. Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal, p. 4. Template:ISBN</ref> The decision to make Nakhchivan a part of modern-day Azerbaijan was cemented on March 16, 1921, in the Treaty of Moscow between Soviet Russia and the newly founded Republic of Turkey.<ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics02">Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras. New States, New Politics: Building Post-Soviet Nations, p. 444. Template:ISBN</ref> The agreement between Soviet Russia and Turkey also called for attachment of the former Sharur-Daralagezsky Uyezd (which had a solid Azeri majority) to Nakhchivan, thus allowing Turkey to share a border with the Azerbaijan SSR. This deal was reaffirmed on October 13, in the Treaty of Kars. Article V of the treaty stated the following:

The Turkish Government and the Soviet Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan are agreed that the region of Nakhchivan, within the limits specified by Annex III to the present Treaty, constitutes an autonomous territory under the protection of Azerbaijan.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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Thus, on February 9, 1924, the Soviet Union officially established the Nakhchivan ASSR. Its constitution was adopted on April 18, 1926.<ref name="GreatSoviet" />

In the Soviet Union

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} As a constituent part of the Soviet Union, tensions lessened over the ethnic composition of Nakhchivan 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 state) and Iran (a close ally of the West until the Iranian Revolution of 1979).

File:265nakhichevan-assr.gif

Map of the Nakhchivan ASSR within the Soviet Union

Facilities improved during Soviet times. Education and public health especially began to see some major changes. In 1913, Nakhchivan 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. At any one time, between 70% and 85% of Nakhchivan's population was infected with malaria, and in the region of Norashen (present-day Sharur) almost 100% were struck with the disease. This situation improved dramatically under Soviet rule. Malaria was sharply reduced and trachoma, typhus, and relapsing fever were eliminated.<ref name="GreatSoviet" />

During the Soviet era, Nakhchivan saw a great demographic shift. In 1926, 15% of the region's population was Armenian, but by 1979, this number had shrunk to 1.4%.<ref name="Armcountry2"/> Azeris made up 85% in 1926, but 96% in 1979 (leaving the small remainder mixed or other). Three factors were involved: the emigration of Armenians to the Armenian SSR, the immigration of Azeris from Armenia, and the birth rate of Azeris being higher than that of Armenians.<ref name="Armcountry2"/>

Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh noted similar though slower demographic trends and feared an eventual "de-Armenianization" of the area.<ref name="NewStates-NewPolitics02"/> When tensions between Armenians and Azeris were reignited in the late-1980s by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan's Popular Front managed to pressure the Azerbaijan SSR to instigate a partial railway and air blockade against Armenia, while another reason for the 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. Template:ISBN</ref><ref>Stuart J. Kaufman. Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War. Template:ISBN</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 Nakhchivan, thereby strangling the exclave's only link to the rest of the Soviet Union.

December 1989 saw unrest in Nakhchivan 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>

Declaring independence

On Saturday, January 20, 1990,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the Supreme Soviet of the Nakhchivan ASSR issued a declaration stating the intention for Nakhchivan to secede from the USSR to protest the Soviet Union's actions during Black January.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Iranian Press Agency, IRNA, reported that upon its independence, Nakhchivan asked Turkey, Iran, and the United Nations to come to its aid.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was the first part of the Soviet Union to declare independence,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> preceding Lithuania's declaration by only a few weeks.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Subsequently, Nakhchivan was independent from Moscow and Baku but was then brought under control by the clan of Heydar Aliyev.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the post-Soviet era

Heydar Aliyev, the future president of Azerbaijan, returned to his birthplace of Nakhchivan in 1990, after being ousted from his position in the Politburo by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987. Soon after returning to Nakhchivan, Aliyev was elected to the Supreme Soviet by an overwhelming majority. Aliyev subsequently resigned from the 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 Nakhchivan Supreme Soviet and asserted Nakhchivan's near-total independence from Baku.<ref name="Azcountry01">Azerbaijan: A Country Study: Aliyev and the Presidential Election of October 1993, The Library of Congress</ref>

Nakhchivan became a scene of conflict during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. On May 4, 1992, Armenian forces shelled the raion of Sadarak.<ref>Contested Borders in the Caucasus: Chapter VII: Iran's Role as Mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis Template:Webarchive by Abdollah Ramezanzadeh</ref><ref name="post">Russia Plans Leaner, More Open Military. The Washington Post. May 23, 1992</ref><ref name="coe">Background Paper on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. Council of Europe.</ref> The Armenians claimed that the attack was in response to cross-border shelling of Armenian villages by Azeri forces from Nakhchivan.<ref name="thestar">The Toronto Star. May 20, 1992</ref><ref name="depart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</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">Armenian Siege of Azeri Town Threatens Turkey, Russia, Iran. The Baltimore Sun. June 3, 1992</ref> The government of Nakhchivan denied these charges and instead asserted that the Armenian assault was unprovoked and specifically targeted the site of a bridge between Turkey and Nakhchivan.<ref name="depart" /> "The Armenians do not react to diplomatic pressure," Nakhchivan 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 Nakhchivan.<ref name="reuters">Reuters News Agency Template:Webarchive, 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="hrw02">Overview of Areas of Armed Conflict in the former Soviet Union, Human Rights Watch, Helsinki Report</ref>

The heaviest fighting took place on May 18, when the Armenians captured Nakhchivan's exclave of Karki, a tiny territory through which Armenia's main north–south highway passes. The exclave presently remains under Armenian control.<ref name="hrw01">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 Nakhchivan (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 Nakhchivan to end the fighting, and subsequently a cease-fire was agreed upon.<ref name="hrw02"/>

The conflict in the area caused a harsh reaction from Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller announced that any Armenian advance on the main territory of Nakhchivan would result in a declaration of war against Armenia. Russian military leaders declared that "third party intervention into the dispute could trigger a 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 the Armenian-Turkish frontier and bolstering defenses in a tense period where war between the two seemed inevitable.<ref name="slt">Turkey Orders Armenians to Leave Azerbaijan, Moves Troops to the Border. The Salt Lake Tribune. September 4, 1993. pg. A1.</ref> The tension reached its peak, when Turkish heavy artillery shelled the Nakhchivan side of the Nakhchivan-Armenian border, from the Turkish border for two hours. Iran also reacted to Armenia's attacks by conducting military maneuvers along its border with Nakhchivan in a move widely interpreted as a warning to Armenia.<ref name="Azcountry02">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 Nakhchivan 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 Nakhchivan to lead the country in 1993.

Recent times

Today, Nakhchivan retains its autonomy as the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and is internationally recognized as a constituent part of Azerbaijan governed by its own elected legislative assembly.<ref name="Planet">Richard Plunkett and Tom Masters. Lonely Planet: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, p. 243. Template:ISBN</ref> A new constitution for Nakhchivan 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>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, the republic remains isolated, not only from the rest of Azerbaijan, but practically from the entire South Caucasus region. From 1995 until his resignation in December 2022, the region was ruled by Vasif Talibov, who is related by marriage to Azerbaijan's ruling family, the Aliyevs.<ref name="IWPR-nakh">Template:Cite news</ref> He was known for his authoritarian<ref name="IWPR-nakh" /> and largely corrupt rule of the region.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Most residents prefer to watch Turkish television as opposed to Nakhchivan television, which one Azerbaijani journalist criticised as "a propaganda vehicle for Talibov and the Aliyevs."<ref name="IWPR-nakh" />

Economic hardships and energy shortages plague the area. There have been many cases of migrant workers seeking jobs in neighboring Turkey. "Emigration rates to Turkey," one analyst said, "are so high that most of the residents of the Besler district in Istanbul are Nakhchivanis."<ref name="IWPR-nakh" /> In 2007, an agreement was struck with Iran to obtain more gas exports, and a new bridge on the Aras River between the two countries was inaugurated in October 2007; the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev and the first vice-president of Iran, Parviz Davoodi also attended the opening ceremony.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As part of the 2020 ceasefire agreement which ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Armenia, in the context of all economic and transport connections in the region to be unblocked, agreed "to guarantee the security of transport connections between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to arrange unobstructed movement of persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions". As part of the agreement, these transport communications are to be patrolled by Border Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Administrative divisions

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

File:Nakhichevan-subdivisions.png

Subdivisions of Nakhchivan

Nakhchivan is subdivided into eight administrative divisions. Seven of these are raions. The capital city (şəhər) of Nakhchivan City is treated separately.

Map ref.	Administrative division	Capital	Type	Area (km2)	Population (August 1, 2011, estimate)<ref name="Cities and regions">Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic :Cities and regions Template:Webarchive</ref>	Notes
1	Babek (Babək)	Babek	District	749,81<ref name="Cities and regions" />	66,200<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Formerly known as Nakhchivan; renamed after Babak Khorramdin in 1991
2	Julfa (Culfa)	Julfa	District	1012,75<ref name="Cities and regions" />	43,000<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Also spelled Jugha or Dzhulfa.
3	Kangarli (Kəngərli)	Givraq	District	711,86<ref name="Cities and regions" />	28,900<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Split from Babek in March 2004
4	Template:Nowrap	n/a	Municipality	191,82<ref name="Cities and regions" />	85,700<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Split from Nakhchivan (Babek) in 1991
5	Ordubad	Ordubad	District	994,88<ref name="Cities and regions" />	46,500<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Split from Julfa during Sovietization<ref name="Hewsen" />
6	Sadarak (Sədərək)	Heydarabad	District	153,49<ref name="Cities and regions" />	14,500<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Split from Sharur in 1990; de jure includes the Karki exclave in Armenia, which is de facto under Armenian control
7	Shahbuz (Şahbuz)	Shahbuz	District	838,04<ref name="Cities and regions" />	23,400<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Split from Nakhchivan (Babek) during Sovietization<ref name="Hewsen" /> Territory roughly corresponds to the Čahuk (Չահւք) district of the historic Syunik region within the Kingdom of Armenia<ref>Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas, p. 123.</ref>
8	Sharur (Şərur)	Sharur	District	847,35<ref name="Cities and regions" />	106,600<ref name="Cities and regions" />	Formerly known as Bashnorashen during its incorporation into the Soviet Union and Ilyich (after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin) from the post-Sovietization period to 1990<ref name="Hewsen" />
	Total			5,500<ref name="Cities and regions" />	414,900<ref name="Cities and regions" />

Demographics

Ethnic groups in Nakhchivan

Year	Azerbaijanis<ref group="dn">Records prior to 1918 used the word Tatar (Russian for Turkic people), who are the ancestors of modern-day Azerbaijani Turks.</ref>	%	Armenians	%	Others<ref group="dn">Russians, Kurds, Turks, Ukrainians, Georgians, Persians etc.</ref>	%	Total
1828<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	2,024<ref name=":0" group="dn">Tatars (later known as Azerbaijanis) combined with other Muslims.</ref>	55.3	1,632	44.7			3,656
1831<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	Template:Increase 17,138<ref name=":0" group="dn" />	56.1	Template:Increase 13,342	43.7	27	1.2	30,507
1896<ref>Template:In lang Нахичевань. Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary</ref>	Template:Increase 49,425	56.9	Template:Increase 36,671	42.2	Template:Increase 583	0.7	86,878
18975<ref>Template:In lang Демокоп Weekly Нахичеванский уезд</ref>	Template:Increase 64,151	63.7	Template:Decrease 34,672	34.4	Template:Increase 1,948	1.9	100,771
1916<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Christopher J. Walker, ed., Armenia and Karabakh, op. cit., pp. 64–65</ref>Template:Efn	Template:Increase 81,191	59.3	Template:Increase 54,209	39.6	Template:Decrease 1,459	1.1	136,859
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Increase 88,433	84.3	Template:Decrease 11,276	10.8	Template:Increase 4,947	4.7	104,656
1939<ref name="ethnocaucasus">Template:In lang Население Азербайджана</ref>	Template:Increase 108,529	85.7	Template:Increase 13,350	10.5	Template:Decrease 4,817	3.8	126,696
1959<ref name="ethnocaucasus"/>	Template:Increase 127,508	90.2	Template:Decrease 9,519	6.7	Template:Decrease 4,334	3.1	141,361
1970<ref name="ethnocaucasus"/>	Template:Increase 189,679	93.8	Template:Decrease 5,828	2.9	Template:Increase 6,680	3.3	202,187
1979<ref name="ethnocaucasus"/>	Template:Increase 229,968	95.6	Template:Decrease 3,406	1.4	Template:Increase 7,085	2.9	240,459
1989<ref name="ethnocaucasus"/>	Template:Increase 281,807	95.9	Template:Decrease 1,858	0.6	Template:Increase 10,210	3.5	293,875
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Increase 350,806	99.1	Template:Decrease 17	0	Template:Decrease 3,249	0.9	354,072
citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	Template:Increase 396,709	99.6	Template:Decrease 6	0	Template:Decrease 1,608	0.4	398,323
Template:Reflist

As of January 1, 2018, Nakhchivan's population was estimated to be 452,831.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most of the population are Azerbaijanis, who constituted 99% of the population in 1999, while ethnic Russians (0.15%) and a minority of Kurds (0.6%) constituted the remainder of the population.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The Kurds of Nakhchivan are mainly found in the districts of Sadarak and Teyvaz.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 population was rural, while only 15% was urban. This urban percentage increased to 18% by 1939 and 27% by 1959.<ref name="Hewsen"/> As of 2011, 127,200 people of Nakhchivan's total population of 435,400 live in urban areas, making the urban percentage 29.2%.<ref name="statistika.nmr.az">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Nakhchivan enjoys a high Human Development Index; its socio-economic prowess far exceeds that of the neighbouring countries except for Turkey, as well as Azerbaijan itself. According to the report of Nakhchivan AR Committee of Statistics on June 30, 2014, for the end of 2013, some socio-economical data, including the following, are unveiled:

Variable	Value
Population	452,831<ref name="statistika.nmr.az"/>
GNI (PPP) per capita	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Life expectancy at birth	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Mean years of schooling	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Expected years of schooling	11.8 years<ref name="statistika4"/>

Making use of the Human Development Index calculation method according to the new UNHD 2014 method,<ref name="undp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the above values change into these:

Variable	Value
Income Index	0.7599
Life Expectancy Index	0.8630
Education Index	0.7011

Further, the value of the HDI becomes to

<math>

(0.7599 \cdot 0.8630 \cdot 0.7011) ^ \frac {1} {3} = 0.772. </math>

Were it a country, Nakhchivan would be ranked between Malaysia (62nd)<ref name="undp"/> and Mauritius (63rd)<ref name="undp"/> for its HDI. Iran's HDI is 0.749 (75th), Turkey's 0.759 (69th), and Azerbaijan's 0.747 (76th).<ref name="undp"/>

Geography

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}

File:Topo map Nakhchivan en.png

Topographic map of the region

Nakhchivan is a semi-desert region that is separated from the main portion of Azerbaijan by Armenia. The Zangezur Mountains make up its border with Armenia while the Aras River defines its border with Iran. The Araz reservoir located on that river supplies water for agricultural needs and the hydroelectric dam generates power for both Azerbaijan and Iran. Template:Citation needed

Nakhchivan is arid and mountainous. Its highest peak is Mount Kapudzhukh Template:Convert and its most distinctive is İlandağ (Snake Mountain) Template:Convert, which is visible from Nakhchivan City. According to legend, the cleft in its summit was formed by the keel of Noah's Ark as the floodwaters abated.<ref name="Planet2">Plunkett and Masters. Lonely Planet, p. 246.</ref> Qazangödağ Template:Convert is another major peak.

Both the absolute minimum temperature (Template:Convert) and the absolute maximum temperature (Template:Convert) were observed in Julfa and Ordubad.<ref name="azhydromet">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Economy

Industry

Nakhchivan's major industries include the mining of minerals such as salt, molybdenum, and lead. Dryland farming, developed during the Soviet years, has allowed the region to expand into the growing of wheat (mostly cultivated on the plains of the Aras River), barley, cotton, tobacco, orchard fruits, mulberries, and grapes for producing wine. Other industries include cotton ginning/cleaning, silk spinning, fruit canning, meatpacking, and, in the drier regions, sheep farming. Processing of minerals, salt, radio engineering, farm ginning, preserving, silk products, meat, and dairy, bottling of mineral waters, clothing, and furniture are the principal branches of Nakhchivan's industry. The Nakhchivan Automobile Plant (Template:Langx, abbr. NAZ), is a prominent automobile manufacturer in the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The economy suffered a severe blow in 1988 with the loss of access to both raw materials and markets, due to the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Although new markets are emerging in Iran and Turkey, this isolation still persists to this day, impairing development. The economy of Nakhchivan is based on agriculture, mining, and food processing, however, 75% of the republic's budget is supplied by the central government in Baku. Template:Citation needed

The Republic is rich in minerals. Nakhchivan possesses deposits of marble, lime, and gypsum. The deposits of the rock salt are exhausted in Nehram, Nakhchivan, and Sustin. The important molybdenum mines are currently closed as a consequence of the exclave's isolation. There are a lot of mineral springs such as Badamli, Sirab, Nagajir, Kiziljir where water contains arsenic. About 90% of the agricultural land is now in private hands. However, agriculture has become a poorly capitalized, backyard activity. Production has dropped sharply and large-scale commercial agriculture has declined. Over two-thirds of the land are rocky slopes and deserts, therefore the area of arable lands is quite limited. The main crops – cotton and tobacco – are cultivated in the PriAraz plain, near Sharur and Nakhchivan City. Three-quarters of the grain production, especially winter wheat is concentrated on the irrigated lands of the Sharur plain and in the basin of the Nakhchivan river. Vine growing in Nakhchivan has an ancient tradition, in the Araz valley and foothills. Very hot summers and long warm autumns make it possible to grow such highly saccharine grapes as bayan-shiraz, tebrizi, shiraz. Wines such as "Nakhchivan" "Shahbuz", "Abrakunis", at "Aznaburk" are of reasonable quality and very popular. Fruit production is quite important, mainly of quince, pear, peach, apricot, fig, almonds, and pomegranate. Cattle ranching is another traditional branch of Nakhchivan farming. Due to the dry climate, pastures in Nakhchivan are unproductive, therefore sheep breeding prevails over other livestock production. Winter pastures stretch on the PriAraz plain, on the foothills and mountainsides to the altitude of Template:Convert. But the summer pastures go up on the high-mountain area to an altitude of Template:Convert. The most widespread sheep variety is "balbas". These sheep are distinguished by their productivity and snow-white silky wool which is widely used in the manufacture of carpets. Horned and small cattle are bred everywhere, especially in the environs of Sharur and Nakhchivan. Buffaloes are also bred here.Template:Citation needed

Although intentions to facilitate tourism have been declared by the government, it is still at best incipient. Until 1997 tourists needed special permission to visit, which has now been abolished, making travel easier. Facilities are very basic and heating fuel is hard to find in the winter, but the arid mountains bordering Armenia and Iran are magnificent. In terms of services, Nakhchivan offers very basic facilities and lacks heating fuel during the winter.<ref name="GreatSoviet" />

In 2007 the Poldasht-Shah Takhti Bridge, which connects Poldasht, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran, and Shah Takhti in Nakhchivan, was completed, allowing residents of the republic to access Azerbaijan proper via Iran without having to cross Armenian territory.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International issues

File:Jugha-khachkar-CIMG1581.JPG

Examples of Armenian khachkars from Julfa

Destruction of Armenian cultural monuments

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The number of named Armenian churches known to have existed in the Nakhchivan region is over 280. As early as 1648, French traveller Alexandre de Rhodes reported seeing more than ten thousand Armenian tombstones made of marble in Julfa.<ref>Alexande de Rhodes, Divers Voyages et Missions du P. A. de Rhodes en la Chine, &AutresRoyaumes avec son Retour en Europe par la Perse et I’Armenie (Paris: Sebastian Cramoisy, 1653), Part 3, 63. Second edition (Paris: 1854), 416. "Out of the walls of this city [Julfa] which now is only a desert, I saw a beautiful monument to the ancient piety of the Armenians. It is a vast site, where there are at the very least ten thousand tombstones of marble, all marvellously well carved."</ref> The number of ecclesiastical monuments still standing in Nakhchivan in the 1980s is estimated to be between 59 and 100. The author and journalist Sylvain Besson believe them to have all been subsequently destroyed as part of a campaign by the Government of Azerbaijan to erase all traces of Armenian culture on its soil.<ref>Sylvain Besson, "L'Azerbaidjian Face au Desastre Culturel", Le Temps (Switzerland), November 4, 2006.</ref>

When the 14th-century church of St. Stephanos at Abrakunis was visited Template:By whom in 2005, it was found to have been recently destroyed, with its site reduced to a few bricks sticking out of loose, bare earth. Similar complete destruction had happened to the 16th century St. Hakop-Hayrapet church in Shurut. The Armenian churches in Norashen, Kırna and Gah that were standing in the 1980s had also vanished.<ref>Switzerland-Armenia Parliamentary Group (ed.) "The destruction of Jugha and the Entire Armenian Cultural Heritage in Nakhchivan", Bern, 2006. p73-77.</ref><ref>Monumental Effort: Scotsman wants to prove Azeri policy of cultural destruction in Nakhijevan, Gayane Mkrtchyan, ArmeniaNow, September 2, 2005.Template:Webarchive Quote: "But a special state policy of destruction is being implemented in Azerbaijan. In Turkey, after 90 years of staying empty, there are still standing churches today, meanwhile in Nakhijevan, all have been destroyed within just 10 years."</ref><ref>The Switzerland-Armenia Association (SAA), for consideration at the 49th session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Pre-Sessional Working Group, 21–25 May 2012)</ref>

The most publicised case of mass destruction concerns gravestones at a medieval cemetery in Julfa, with photographic, video and satellite evidence supporting the charges.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April 2006 British The Times wrote about the destruction of the cemetery in the following way:

A Medieval cemetery regarded as one of the wonders of the Caucasus has been erased from the Earth in an act of cultural vandalism likened to the Taleban blowing up the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan in 2001. The Jugha cemetery was a unique collection of several thousand carved stone crosses on Azerbaijan's southern border with Iran. But after 18 years of conflict between Azerbaijan and its western neighbour, Armenia, it has been confirmed that the cemetery has vanished."<ref name=times>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web

}}</ref>

Armenians have long sounded the alarm that the Azerbaijanis intend to eliminate all evidence of Armenian presence in Nakhchivan and to this end, have been carrying out massive and irreversible destruction of Armenian cultural traces. "The irony is that this destruction has taken place not during a time of war but at a time of peace," Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian told The Times.<ref name=times/> Azerbaijan has consistently denied these accusations. For example, according to the Azerbaijani ambassador to the US, Hafiz Pashayev, the videos and photographs "show some unknown people destroying mid-size stones", and "it is not clear of what nationality those people are", and the reports are Armenian propaganda designed to divert attention from what he claimed was a "state policy (by Armenia) to destroy the historical and cultural monuments in the occupied Azeri territories".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A number of international organizations have confirmed the complete destruction of the cemetery. The Institute for War and Peace Reporting reported on April 19, 2006, that "there is nothing left of the celebrated stone crosses of Jugha."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), the Azerbaijan government removed 800 khachkars in 1998. Though the destruction was halted following protests from UNESCO, it resumed four years later. By January 2003 "the 1,500-year-old cemetery had completely been flattened" according to Icomos.<ref>ICOMOS World Report 2006/2007 on Monuments and Sites in Danger</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On December 8, 2010, the American Association for the Advancement of Science released a report entitled "Satellite Images Show Disappearance of Armenian Artifacts in Azerbaijan".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The report contained the analysis of high resolution satellite images of the Julfa cemetery, which verified the destruction of the khachkars.

The European Parliament has formally called on Azerbaijan to stop the demolition as a breach of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2006, Azerbaijan barred a Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) mission from inspecting and examining the ancient burial site, stating that it would only accept a delegation if it also visited Armenian-occupied territory. "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 Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A renewed attempt was planned by PACE inspectors for August 29 – September 6, 2007, led by British MP Edward O'Hara. As well as Nakhchivan, the delegation would visit Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi, and Nagorno Karabakh.<ref>"Pace Mission to Monitor Cultural Monuments", S. Agayeva, Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan, August 22, 2007.</ref> The inspectors planned to visit Nagorno Karabakh via Armenia; however, on August 28, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to PACE released a demand that the inspectors must enter Nagorno Karabakh via Azerbaijan. On August 29, PACE Secretary-General Mateo Sorinas announced that the visit had to be cancelled because of the difficulty in accessing Nagorno Karabakh using the route required by Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Armenia issued a statement saying that Azerbaijan had stopped the visit "due solely to their intent to veil the demolition of Armenian monuments in Nakhijevan".<ref>Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Press Release August 29, 2007.</ref>

In 2022, the Cornell University-led monitoring group Caucasus Heritage Watch released a report detailing the "complete destruction of Armenian cultural heritage" in Nakhchivan starting the 1990s.<ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According the report, out of 110 medieval and early modern Armenian monasteries, churches and cemeteries identified from archival sources, 108 were deliberately and systematically destroyed between 1997 and 2011.<ref name=":5" /> In some cases, such as the Saint Thomas Monastery in Yukhari Aylis (Agulis), mosques or other civic buildings were built on the site of the destroyed buildings.<ref name=":5" />

Recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

In the late 1990s the Supreme Assembly issued a non-binding declaration recognising the sovereignty of the self-proclaimed 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 could prompt the Republic of Cyprus to recognise the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Close relations between Nakhchivan and Turkey probably initiated this recognition.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Culture

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Nakhchivan is one of the cultural centers of Azerbaijan.Template:Citation neededTemplate:POV statement In 1923, a musical subgroup was organized at the State Drama Theater (renamed the Nakhchivan Music and Drama Theater in 1965).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Aras Song and Dance Ensemble (established in 1959) is another famous group. Dramatic performances staged by an amateur dance troupe were held in Nakhchivan in the late 19th century. Theatrical art also greatly contributed to Nakhchivan's culture. The creative work of Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, Huseyn Javid, and Huseyn Arablinski (the first Azerbaijani theatre director) stemmed from Nakhchivan.<ref name="GreatSoviet" /> The region has also produced noteworthy Armenian artists, too, such as Soviet actress Hasmik Agopyan. Nakhchivan has also at times been mentioned in works of literature. World-renowned Soviet composer Aram Khatchaturian, the Armenian Hovnatanian painter family, as well as the actor Yervand Manaryan, have shaped the cultural wealth of Nakchivan, too.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Nizami, the Persian poet, once wrote:

که تا جایگه یافتی نخچوان

Oh Nakhchivan, respect you've attained,

بدین شاه شد بخت پیرت جوان

With this King in luck you'll remain.

• Qarabağlar türbə kompleksinin ümumi görünüşü.jpg

  Garabaghlar Mausoleum

• Palace of Nakhchivan Khans.jpg

  Palace of Nakhchivan Khans

• Ordubad cümə məscidi ümumi görünüş.jpg

  Juma Mosque, Ordubad

• Mömünəxatun türbəsi 2018.jpg

  Momine Khatun Mausoleum

• Nakhichevan Mausoleum.jpg

  Yusif ibn Kuseyir Mausoleum

• Gülüstan türbəsi bərpadan sonra.jpg

  Juma Mosque, Ordubad

• Şeyx Xorasan türbəsin.jpg

  Khanegah tomb

Media

Radio broadcasting in Nakhchivan began on 1 April 1932 under Soviet rule. Television broadcasting began later on 12 March 1963, with the launch of Nakhchivan TV. State-owned radio and television broadcasting in the autonomous republic is managed by the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The Nukhchikhan Information Agency was founded in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Under the Ministry of Communications and New Technologies, the Voice of Nakhchivan radio network was founded in 2001 and the Kanal 35 television station was founded in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Both ceased operations in May 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Archaeology

The very early Kura-Araxes culture flourished in Nakhchivan before spreading to many other areas, as far as Palestine. This region reveals the genesis and chronology of this Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age culture. Kültəpə is an important early Chalcolithic site in Nakhchivan. Another such site is Makhta Kultepe. Recent excavations at Ovcular Tepesi allow the dating of the initial stage of formation of Kura-Araxes culture to 4200–3400 BC.<ref>Bakhshaliev V.B. (2013), Proto Kura-Araxes ceramics of Nakhchivan</ref>

The Naxçivan Archaeological Project is the first-ever joint American-Azerbaijani program of surveys and excavations, that was active since 2006.<ref>Nakhchivan Archaeological Project oglanqala.net</ref> In 2010–11, they have excavated the large Iron Age fortress of Oğlanqala.<ref>2010 / 2011 Season oglanqala.net</ref>

In Nakhchivan, there are also numerous archaeological monuments of the early Iron Age, and they shed a lot of light on the cultural, archaeological and agricultural developments of that era. There are important sites such as Ilikligaya, Irinchoy, and the Sanctuary of Iydali Piri in Kangarli region.<ref>Archaeological Treasures Of Nakhchivan – OpEd – Eurasia Review 2016</ref>

Notable people

File:Heydar Aliyev 1997.jpg

Heydar Aliyev, former President of Azerbaijan, was born in Nakhchivan.

Political leaders

• Heydar Aliyev, former President of Azerbaijan (1993–2003).
• Abulfaz Elchibey, former President of Azerbaijan (1992–1993).
• Rasul Guliyev, former speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan (1993–1996) and opposition leader.
• Christapor Mikaelian, founding member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.
• Stepan Sapah-Gulian, leader of the Armenian Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (19th–20th century).
• Garegin Nzhdeh, famous Armenian revolutionary, military leader and political thinker.
• Vasif Talibov, chairman of the Supreme Assembly of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from 1995 to 2022.

Religious leaders

• Alexander Jughaetsi (Alexander I of Jugha), Catholicos of All Armenians (1706–1714).

Military leaders

• Abdurahman Fatalibeyli, Soviet army major who defected to the German forces during World War II.
• Ehsan Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian military general.
• Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian cavalry general and the only Muslim to serve as General-Adjutant of the Russian Tsar.
• Ismail Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian military general.
• Kelbali Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian military general.
• Jamshid Khan Nakhchivanski, Soviet and Azerbaijani military general.
• Yusif Mirzayev, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Maharram Seyidov, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Kerim Kerimov, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Sayavush Hasanov, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Mirasgar Seyidov, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Ali Mammadov, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Ibrahim Mammadov, National Hero of Azerbaijan.
• Amiraslan Aliyev, National Hero of Azerbaijan.

Writers and poets

• Huseyn Javid Rasizade, poet and playwright.
• Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, writer and satirist.
• Mammed Said Ordubadi, writer.
• Mammad Araz, poet.

Scientists

• Alec (Alirza) Rasizade, an American professor of history and political science, the author of the Rasizade's algorithm.
• Ruben Orbeli, Soviet archaeologist, historian and jurist, who was renowned as the founder of Soviet underwater archaeology.

Others

• Bahruz Kangarli, Azerbaijani painter.
• Haji Aliyev, Wrestling, World and European champion.
• Vladimir Makogonov, chess International Master and Grandmaster.
• Ajami Nakhchivani, architect and founder of the Nakhchivan school of architecture.
• Gaik Ovakimian, Soviet Armenian spy.
• Ibrahim Safi, Turkish artist.
• Natavan Gasimova, volleyball player
• Rza Tahmasib, Azerbaijani film director.

Gallery

• Momine Fragment.jpg

  Brickwork and faience pattern on the Momine Khatun mausoleum

• Nakhichevan02.JPG

  Medieval-period ram-shaped grave monuments collected near the Momine Khatun mausoleum

• Nakhichevan04.JPG

  Ram-shaped grave monument embedded in concrete

• Batabat Mountains.jpg

  The Batabat region of Shakhbuz

• Nakhichevan05.jpg

  General view of Ordubad with a range of high mountains in neighboring Iran in the distance

• Nakhichevan06.jpg

  Houses in Ordubad photographed near the east bank of Ordubad-chay (also known as the Dubendi stream)

• Nakhichevan07.jpg

  Narrow streets in Ordubad

• Nakhichevan08.jpg

  A mosque in a quarter of Ordubad

• Jolfa-Aras2.jpg

  Aras River on the Iranian border near Julfa

• Nakhichevan09.jpg

  Mountainous terrain of Nakhchivan

• Julfa-khachkars.jpg

  Armenian khachkar cemetery at Julfa

See also

• List of Chairmen of the Supreme Majlis of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
• Nakhchivan Memorial Museum
• Nakhchivan culture
• Nakhchivan Garrison, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces stationed in Nakhchivan (also referred to as the Nakhchivan Army)
• Thamanin in southeast Turkey

References

Notes

References

Sources

• Template:Cite book

Further reading

• Template:Cite journal

External links

• Official website of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
• Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
• Nakhchivan Guide
• Silent Erasure - A Satellite Investigation of the Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan

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