Editing Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (section)

=== Early history ===
[[File:The grave monument of the prophet Noah.JPG|thumb|upright|A modern [[Noah's Mausoleum (Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan)|mausoleum]] marks the place in [[Nakhchivan (city)|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">{{Cite web|url=http://nakhchivan.preslib.az/en_b1.html#l3|title=Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|website=nakhchivan.preslib.az|access-date=June 14, 2017}}</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>{{cite journal |last1=Zeinalov |first1=A.A. |last2=Valiev |first2=S.S. |last3=Tagieva |first3=E.N. |title=Human environment in the Nakhchivan region during the Mousterian (Based on the Gazma Cave Site, Azerbaijan) |journal=[[Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia]] |date=June 2010 |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=2–6 |doi=10.1016/j.aeae.2010.08.002 |issn = 1531-832X }}</ref> Several archaeological sites dating from the [[Neolithic]] and [[Chalcolithic]] periods have also been found in Nakhchivan, including the ancient towns of [[Kültəpə#Nakhchivan Tepe|Nakhchivan Tepe]] (near the city of Nakhchivan) and [[Ovchular Tepesi]].<ref name="Marro 2022 pp. 111–130">{{cite journal | last=Marro | first=Catherine | title=The View from the North | journal=Paléorient | publisher=OpenEdition | issue=48–1 | date=2022-07-29 | issn=0153-9345 | doi=10.4000/paleorient.1675 | pages=111–130| s2cid=251329025 | url=https://hal.science/hal-03919274/file/PAL48-1_marro-1.pdf }}</ref> Some of the oldest salt mines in the world have also been discovered.<ref>Catherine Marro and Thomas Stöllner, eds. {{cite book | title=On salt, copper and gold: The origins of early mining and metallurgy in the Caucasus | publisher=MOM Éditions | year=2021 | isbn=978-2-35668-074-7 | doi=10.4000/books.momeditions.12257 | page= | editor-last1=Marro | editor-last2=Stöllner | editor-first1=Catherine | editor-first2=Thomas }}</ref>

The region was part of the states of [[Urartu]] and later [[Medes|Media]].<ref name="GreatSoviet">[http://bse.sci-lib.com/article080490.html Нахичеванская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика], [[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]</ref> It became part of the [[Orontid Dynasty|Satrapy of Armenia]] under [[Achaemenid Persia]] c. 521&nbsp;BC. After the death of [[Alexander the Great]] in 323&nbsp;BC several generals of the Macedonian army, including [[Neoptolemus (general)|Neoptolemus]], attempted but failed to take control of the region, and it was ruled by the native Armenian dynasty of [[Orontid Dynasty|Orontids]] until [[Armenia]] was conquered by [[Antiochus III the Great]] (ruled 222–187&nbsp;BC).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/armol-2-R.html|title=Early Indo-European Online: Introduction to the Language Lessons|access-date=June 12, 2016|archive-date=April 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160410040514/http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/armol-2-R.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=May 2023}}

[[File:93-vaspurakan908-1021.gif|thumb|upright=1.3|left|The Nakhichevan region (light purple) at the time of Armenia's [[Vaspurakan|Kingdom of Vaspurakan]] (908–1021).]]

In 189&nbsp;BC, Nakhchivan became part of the new [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]] established by [[Artaxias I]].<ref name="Monuments">Ayvazyan, Argam. ''The Historical Monuments Of Nakhichevan'', pp. 10–12. {{ISBN|0-8143-1896-7}}</ref> Within the kingdom, the region of present-day Nakhchivan was part of the [[Ayrarat]], [[Vaspurakan]] and [[Syunik Province|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 [[Artavasdes I of Armenia|Artavazd I]] massacred the family and seized the lands and formally attached it to the kingdom.<ref>{{in lang|hy}} [[Aram Ter-Ghevondyan|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 Dynasty|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">{{cite web|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1787&letter=A|title=ARMENIA |access-date=June 12, 2016}}</ref> In 428, the Armenian [[Arshakuni Dynasty|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 [[Goghtn|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 [http://armenianhouse.org/koryun/mashtots-en.html 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 {{ISBN|0-04-956009-3}}.</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|thumb|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. {{ISBN|0-520-20497-2}}</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 {{sic|hide=yes|had went}} 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 [[Khurramites|Khorram-Dinān]] ("those of the joyous religion" in Persian).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9002797 |title=Babak |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=June 7, 2007}}</ref> Nakhchivan was finally released from Arab rule in the tenth century by [[Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia|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 [[Seljuq dynasty|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>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071016065206/http://iranica.com/newsite/articles/v2f8/v2f8a073.html Encyclopedia Iranica, "Atabakan-e Adarbayjan"]}}, Saljuq rulers of Azerbaijan, 12th–13th, Luther, K. pp. 890–894.</ref> The magnificent 12th-century [[Momine Khatun Mausoleum|mausoleum of Momine Khatun]], the wife of Ildegizid ruler, Great [[Atabeg]] Jahan Pehlevan, is the main attraction of modern Nakhchivan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1173/|title=The mausoleum of Nakhichevan (#) – UNESCO World Heritage Centre|first=UNESCO World Heritage|last=Centre|access-date=June 12, 2016}}</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>[http://www.iranica.com/newsite/search/searchpdf.isc?ReqStrPDFPath=/home1/iranica/articles/v3_articles/azerbaijan/islamic_history_to_1941&OptStrLogFile=/home/iranica/public_html/logs/pdfdownload.html Encyclopedia Iranica. C. Bosworth. History of Azerbaijan, Islamic period to 1941, page 225]{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The 14th century saw the rise of [[Armenian Catholic Church|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" />