Nakhichevan
This article is about the autonomous region; for its capital city see Nakhichevan (city) |
Momine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhichevan. |
The
Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic (
Azerbaijani: Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası,
Armenian: Նախիջեվան,
Russian: Нахичеванская Автономная Республика,
Persian: نخجوان,
Turkish: Nahcivan Özerk Cumhuriyeti), known simply as
Nakhichevan is a
landlocked exclave of
Azerbaijan. The
5,500 km² region borders
Armenia (221 km),
Turkey (9 km) and
Iran (179 km). Its capital is the city of
Nakhichevan, home to the
Nakhichevan State University.
Since it frequently changed kingdoms, empires, sultanates, and khanates, the name of Nakhichevan was altered many times. As part of the
Azerbaijan SSR of the
Soviet Union, it was known as the
Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The city of Nakhichevan was first mentioned in
Ptolemy's "Geography" and other classical writers as Naksuana.
[ Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. "Nakhichevan". St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890-1907]["Nakhichevan", Volume V19, Page 156 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica] Naksuana is ancient Greek for "the land of sweet water". In Armenian, the name literally means "place where they first descended," a
Biblical reference to the descent of
Noah's Ark on the adjacent
Mount Ararat.
[Richard Plunkett and Tom Masters. Lonely Planet: Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, p. 243. ISBN 1740591380] According to other versions, the name Nakhchivan derived from Persian Nagsh-e-Jahan, i.e. "image of the world", which is a reference to the beauty of the area.
[ Hamdollah Mostowfi. Nozhat al-Gholub] [ Evliya Chelebi. Seyahatname] The medieval Arab chronicles referred to the area as Nashava.
[ Ibn Khordadbeh. Book of Roads and Kingdoms (al-Kitab al-Masalik w'al-Mamalik)]Early history
Armenian tradition claims Noah as the founder of Nakhichevan.
The oldest material culture artifacts found in area date back to the
Neolithic Age. The region was part of the states of
Mannae,
Urartu and
Media in 8 " 7 BCE,
Achaemenid state in 6 BCE. It later became part of the
Kingdom of Armenia and was included as part of the
Vaspurakan province, which was ruled by the
Artsruni dynasty during most of its history. In
252,
Sassanid Persians invaded and occupied Armenia until the Romans returned in
287. In
384, Armenia was split between the
Byzantine Empire and the Persians. The Nakhichevan region as well as the rest of Persian Armenia remained a kingdom until 428, when the local nobility overthrew the king, and the Sassanids installed a governor in his place. In the middle 7th century, Nakhichevan was taken by the Arabs and by the 11th century, it was conquered by the
Seljuks.
The Sassanid Persians occupied Armenia in 252 and held it until the Romans returned in 287. In 384 the kingdom was split between the Byzantine or East Roman Empire and the Persians. Western Armenia quickly became a province of the Roman Empire under the name of Armenia Minor; Eastern Armenia remained a kingdom within Persia until 428, when the local nobility overthrew the king, and the Sassanids installed a governor in his place.
In 12th century the city of Nakhichevan became the capital of the Ildegezid
Atabegs of the Azerbaijan state
[Encyclopedia Iranica, "Atabakan-e Adarbayjan", Saljuq rulers of Azerbaijan, 12th"13th, Luther, K. pp. 890-894.]. The magnificent 12th century
mausoleum of Momine khatun, the wife of Ildegizid ruler, Great Atabek Jahan Pehlevan, is the main attraction of modern Nakhichevan. In 13 " 14 centuries the region was invaded by
Mongols and
Tamerlane. In the 15th century, the territory of Nakhichevan became part of the states of
Kara Koyunlu and
Ak Koyunlu.
In the 16th century control of the region passed to the Turkic-speaking
Safavid dynasty of
Persia. Because of its geographic position, it frequently suffered during the wars between
Persia and the
Ottoman Empire in 14th " 18th centuries. In 1604,
Shah Abbas I Safavi, concerned that the lands of Nakhichevan and the surrounding areas would pass into Ottoman hands, decided to institute a
scorched earth policy. He forced most of the local population, regardless of ethnicity or religion, to leave their homes and move deeper into Persia.
[Encyclopedia Iranica. Kangarlu.] Many settled in a neighborhood of Isfahan that was named New Julfa since most of the residents were from the original Julfa (a predominately Armenian town which was looted and burned). The Nakhichevan khanate emerged in the region in 1747 after the death of
Nadir Shah Afshar, the ruler of
Persia.
Russian rule
After the two Russo-Persian wars and the
Treaty of Turkmenchay, Nakhichevan khanate passed into Russian possession in 1828. With the onset of Russian rule, the
tsarist authorities encouraged massive settlement of Armenians from
Persia and
Turkey to Nakhichevan and other areas of the
Caucasus. Special clauses of the
Turkmenchay and
Adrianople treaties allowed for this.
[ Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Turkmanchai treaty.] According to Russian envoy to Persia
Alexandr Griboyedov, the number of Armenian population settled in Nakhichevan in 1828 exceeded all reasonable limits, and this resulted in tensions between the newcomers and local population. Griboyedov 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.
[ A.S. Griboyedov. Letter to count I.F.Paskevich.] Nakhichevan khanate was dissolved in 1828, its territory was merged with the territory of the Erivan khanate and the area became part of the new Armenian oblast (region), which in 1849 was renamed the
Erivan governorate of the
Russian Empire. Nakhichevan became the Nakhichevan
uyezd of the Erivan governorate of the Russian empire. According to the official statistics of the Russian empire, by the turn of the 20th century Azerbaijanis made up 57% of the region's population, while Armenians constituted 42%.
World War I
During
World War I, Nakhichevan was the scene of much bloodshed, in particular between Armenia and Azerbaijan who both held claims to the area. After the
February Revolution, the region was under the authority of Special Transcaucasian Committee of the
Russian Provisional Government and subsequently the short-lived
Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. When the TDFR was dissolved in May 1918, Nakhichevan,
Nagorno-Karabakh, and Zangezur (today the Armenian province of
Syunik) were heavily contested between the newly formed and short-lived states of the
Democratic Republic of Armenia and the
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. During this time, the
Musavat Party proclaimed in Nakhichevan the Republic of Araks.
[ Great Soviet Encyclopedia. Nakichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.] These disputes eventually erupted into violence and during the summer of 1918, the region came under British occupation.
[Christopher J. Walker. Armenia: The Survival of a Nation, p. 270. ISBN 041504684X] Shortly before the British withdrawl on
July 18, an Azeri revolt began in Nakhichevan, commanded by Turkish colonel,
Khail Bey. The Azeris were soon in control of the region of
Bash Norashen (today
Norashen). Soon, the Azeri forces spread to the northwest towards
Yerevan and within weeks Armenia was compelled to withdraw its authority from Nakhichevan. At the same time, the Azeris, under encouragement of Turkish forces, launched a massacre on Armenian civilians.
[Christopher J. Walker. Armenia: The Survival of a Nation, p. 278. ISBN 041504684X]Mutual violence between Armenians and Azeris over the region countinued. In response to a massacre against Armenians and Greeks,
Thomas B. Hohler of the British embassy in Constantinople privately expressed his concern over the situation to colleague
George Kidston in London on
August 4. "I think things are perhaps a little worse than ever," he wrote. "There seems to be a fine old massacre going on in Nakhichevan." Hohler also expressed concern over the security of the Armenians and Greeks in the area. "I wish I had shewn the same wisdom as regards the repatriation of Greeks and Armenians," he said. "We have quite rightfully turned out a lot of Turks and given the poroperty back to Armenian and Greek owners, but there is no good in doing that unless we are able to gurantee their permanent security."
[Great Britain, Foreign Office. Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939: Vol. IV, 1st series, p. 914.]United States Colonel
W.H. Haskell attempted to mediate the land disputes between both countries.
[Great Britain, Foreign Office. Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939: Vol. II, 1st series, p. 563.] Haskell initally persuaded Azerbaijan to recognize Nakhichevan and Zangezur as a neutral zone under American authority, while holding onto Karabakh. However, the violence between the two countries continued to escalate and battles were fought in all areas by mid-November. On
November 23, Haskell's deputy,
Colonel Rhea managed to to get Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a pact, agreeing to end hostlities and pursue diplomatic ways to solve their territorial differences.
[Great Britain, Foreign Office. Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939: Vol. II, 1st series, p. 569-70.] This agreement had little effect, however, and in mid-December, Azeris from
Ordubad attacked the nearby town of
Lower Akulis (whose population was 80% Armenian). Subsequently, Armenian civilians were massacred, though some managed to escape to the
Upper Akulis stronghold. However, this was destroyed too.
[Christopher J. Walker. Armenia: The Survival of a Nation, p. 278-79. ISBN 041504684X]Sovietization
British troops withdrew from Nakhichevan in late August 1919 and were replaced by the 11th
Red Army and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed on
July 28,
1920 with "close ties" to the Azerbaijan SSR. In November, on the verge of taking over Armenia, the Bolsheviks in order to attract public support, promised they would allot Nakhichevan to Armenia, along with Karabakh and Zangezur. This was fulfilled when the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee issued a declaration celebrating the "victory of Soviet power in Armenia," proclaimed that both Nakhichevan and Zangezur should be awarded to the Armenian people as a sign of Azerbaijani people's support for Armenia's fight against the former Dashnak government
[Tim Potier. Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: A Legal Appraisal, p. 4. ISBN 9041114777]:
Vladimir Lenin, although welcoming this act of "great Soviet fraternalism" where "boundaries had no meaning among the family of Soviet peoples," did not agree with the motion and instead called for the people of Nakhichevan to be consulted in a referendum. According to the formal figures of this referendum, held at the beginning of 1921, 90% of Nakhichevan's population wanted to be included in the Azerbaijan SSR "with the rights of an autonomous republic."
The Armenian population of the area (which constituted 40% in 1917
[Security and Froeign Policy in the Central Asian and Caucasian Republics by Prof. Avtandil Menteshashvili]) decreased considerably by 1926 (down to 15%)
[Armenia: A Country Study: The New Nationalism, The Library of Congress]) due to forced emigration and persecution.
The decision to make Nakhichevan a part of modern-day Azerbaijan was reaffirmed
March 16,
1921 in the
Treaty of Moscow between the Soviet Union and the newly-founded
Republic of Turkey. In addition to this move, the treaty also established an agreement in which the the Soviet Union would cede areas once comprising the western region of Russian Armenia (
Kars,
Iğdır,
Ardahan, and
Artvin) to Turkey in exchange for
Adjara. This deal was reaffirmed on
October 23, in the
Treaty of Kars [Text of the Treaty of Kars] and on
February 9,
1924, the Soviet Union officially established the Nakhichevan ASSR. Further territorial adjustments in 1931 ceded a portion of Armenia's Syunik region to Nakhichevan as well as the town of
Karki which became an
exclave of the region. This act however was not completed without compensation for Armenia's loss and the Armenian-inhabited region of
Lori was ceded from
Georgia to Armenia.
[Atlas of Conflicts: Armenia and Karabakh: Territorial Disputes of 1921-22 And Future Territorial Adjustments of 1931]Nakhichevan in the Soviet Union
As a constituent part of the Soviet Union, tensions lessened over the ethnic composition of Nakhichevan or any territorial claims regarding it. Instead, it became an important point of industrial production with the mining of salt, molybdenum. Armenians and Azeris in the region also managed to develop friendships. However, throughout the Soviet years, Nakhichevan's Armenian population gradually decreased as many emigrated to the
Armenian SSR. In 1926, 15% of region's population was Armenian and by 1979 this number shrunk to 1.4%
[Armenia: A Country Study: The New Nationalism, The Library of Congress]. The Azeri population, meanwhile increased substantially with both a higher birth rate and immigration (going from 85% in 1926 to 96% by 1979
).
Tensions between Armenians and Azeris were reignited in the late-1980s by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In the summer of 1989, Azerbaijan's Popular Front managed to pressure the Azerbaijan SSR to instigate a partial railway and air blockade against Armenia, effectively crippling Armenia's economy as 85% of the cargo and goods arrived through rail traffic. In response, Armenia closed the railway to Nakhichevan, thereby strangling the exclave's only link to the rest of the Soviet Union. During the
Nagorno-Karabakh War, areas in Armenia's southern province of Syunik were reportedly being shelled from Nakhichevan. Armenia responded by invading and occupying the Karki exclave. Although Azerbaijan accused Armenia of planning to advance into the main territory, they abstained from doing so because of fears by a possible intervention from Turkey on behalf of Azerbaijan, thus triggering a greater regional conflict. Had Armenia invaded Nakhichevan, Turkey would have been faced with the threat of being completely cut off from Azerbaijan geographically.
[Michael P. Croissant. The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Causes and Implications, p. 81. ISBN 0275962415]Post-Soviet history
In January 1990, the
Supreme Soviet of the Nakhichevan ASSR issued a declaration stating the intention for Nakhichevan to secede from the USSR to protest the Soviet Union's actions during
Black January. It was the first part of the Soviet Union to declare independence, beating
Lithuania's declaration by only a few weeks. However, this was short-lived and soon Nakhichevan joined the rest of Azerbaijan when it became independent in 1991 as the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic. It now exists and is internationally recognized as a constituent part of Azerbaijan governed by its own elected
parliament.
|
Subdivisions of Nakhichevan. |
Main article: Subdivisions of Azerbaijan
Nakhichevan is subdivided into eight
administrative divisions. Seven of these are
rayons. Its capital, the city (şəhər) of
Nakhichevan is treated separately. Under Soviet rule, the rayons of Sharur and Sadarak were originally bounded together, forming the rayon of Ilyich, named, obviously after Vladimir
Ilyich Lenin. Its capital was a town of the same name. In 1991, the rayon was split and renamed by the government of Azerbaijan.
#
Babek (Babək)#
Julfa (Culfa)#
Kangarli (Kəngərli)#
Nakhichevan (city; Naxçıvan)#
Ordubad#
Sadarak (Sədərək) (includes the
Karki exclave in Armenia)#
Shakhbuz (Şahbuz)#
Sharur (Şərur)
Nakhichevan is an atmospheric, semi-desert region that is separated from the main portion of Azerbaijan by Armenia. The Zangezur mountain range makes up its southeastern border with Armenia while the
Araks River defines its border with Iran. It is extremely arid and mountainous and contains large salt deposits. Major industries in the region include the mining of minerals such as salt, molybdenum, and lead, cotton ginning/cleaning, silk spinning, fruit canning, meat packing, tobacco producing, growing of grain and market garden produce, and, in the dryer regions, sheep farming. Nakhichevan contains very basic facilities and lacks heating fuel during the winter.
As of 1990, Nakhichevan's population was estimated to be 350,000. 98% of the population are
Azeris. Ethnic
Russians constituted the remaining population. The Armenians remaining were expelled by Azerbaijani forces during the
Nagorno-Karabakh War as part of the forceful exchange of population between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
|
Former Azerbaijan President Heydar Aliyev was born in Nakhichevan. |
Throughout history, Nakhichevan has brought up many prominent people. These include:
*
Lusik Aguletsi*
Hindushah ibn Nakhichevani*
Abdurrakhman en Neshevi*
Ekmouladdin Nakhichevani*
Ajami Nakhchivani*
Ehsan Khan Nakhichevanski*
Kelbali Khan Nakhichevanski*
Ismail Khan Nakhichevanski*
Hussein Khan Nakhichevanski*
Jamshid khan Nakhichevanski*
Garegin Ter-Harutiunian (Garegin Njdeh)
*
Heydar Aliyev*
Abulfaz ElchibeyThe poet
Nizami, considered a master of
Persian literature 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. |
Examples of Armenian khachkars from Julfa. |
* The
Armenian Revolutionary Federation claims that Nakhichevan belongs to Armenia. The programme of the party states:
The borders of United Armenia shall include all territories designated as Armenia by the Treaty of Sevres as well as the regions of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Javakhk, and Nakhichevan.[Programme of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation] The Armenian government officially denies these claims.
* Iranian nationalists claim Nakhichevan as part of
Greater Iran.
* Nakhichevan's parliament issued a non-binding declaration in the late 1990's recognizing the sovereignty of the
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and calling upon Azerbaijan to do so. While sympathetic to the TRNC,
Azerbaijan has not followed suit because of Greek Cypriot threats to recognize the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
[Overview - Cyprus Country Guide - World Travel Guide]* Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of embarking on a campaign between 1998 and December 2005 to completely demolish the cemetery of finely carved Armenian
khachkars in
Julfa.
[World Watches In Silence As Azerbaijan Wipes Out Armenian Culture] Numerous Armenian organizations and authorities, including the Foreign Ministry, have sent official protests to the
UNESCO and the United States Ambassador to Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan denies there has been destruction despite a confirmation by the
IWPR.
[Azerbaijan: Famous Medieval Cemetery Vanishes] According to the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the US
Khafiz Pashayev, the videos and photographs that have surfaced show some unknown people destroying some mid-size stones and is not clear of what ethnicity those people are. Instead, the ambassador asserts that the Armenian side started a propaganda campaign against Azerbaijan to divert attention from the destruction of Azerbaijani monuments in Armenia.
[Regnum News Agency Report] On
May 30,
2006, Azerbaijan barred the
European Parliament from inspecting and examining the ancient burial site.
[European Parliament: Azeri Authorities Committed Flagrant Vandalism Act] 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."
[European Parliament On Destruction of Cultural Heritage]*
History of Nakhichevan*
Official website of Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic*
Armenian History and Presence in Nakhichevan
