Portal:Azerbaijan

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The Azerbaijan Portal

A view of Baku, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (UK: /ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn, -ˈdʒæn/ (listen), US: /ˌɑːzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn, ˌæz-/; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan [ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia (Republic of Dagestan) to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918 and became the first secular democratic Muslim-majority state. In 1920, the country was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijan SSR. The modern Republic of Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, shortly before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the same year. In September 1991, the ethnic Armenian majority of the Nagorno-Karabakh region formed the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. The region and seven surrounding districts are internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan pending a solution to the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE, although became de facto independent with the end of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994. Following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the seven districts and parts of Nagorno-Karabakh were returned to Azerbaijani control.

The vast majority of the country's population (97%) is nominally Muslim, but the constitution does not declare an official religion and all major political forces in the country are secularist. Azerbaijan is a developing country and ranks 88th on the Human Development Index. It has a high rate of economic development, literacy, and a low rate of unemployment. However, the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, in power since 1993, has been accused of authoritarian leadership under the leadership of both Heydar Aliyev and his son Ilham Aliyev, and deteriorating the country's human rights record, including increasing restrictions on civil liberties, particularly on press freedom and political repression. (Full article...)

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The Battle of Kalbajar took place in March and April 1993, during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. It resulted in the capture of the Kalbajar District of Azerbaijan by Armenian military forces.

Kalbajar lies outside the contested enclave of the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO). The offensive was the first time Armenian forces from Nagorno-Karabakh had advanced beyond the boundaries of the enclave (besides the capture of Lachin in 1992). Kalbajar District, located between Armenia and the western border of the former NKAO, was composed of several dozen villages and its provincial capital, also named Kalbajar. The Armenian side launched an attack from four directions, including Armenia proper. After initial heavy resistance, the Azerbaijani defence quickly collapsed and the provincial capital fell on April 3, 1993. Armenian forces captured an area of more than 1,900 square kilometres, establishing a second overland link between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. (Full article...)

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Did you know (auto-generated)

... that Azerbaijan has been a member of the Council of Europe, an organization promoting human rights, for more than twenty years, despite holding political prisoners and rigging elections?
... that the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan made the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic the first successful republic in the Muslim world?
... that the blue stripe in the Azerbaijani flag reflects the country's Turkic heritage?
... that with the help of Turkish and Azerbaijani agents, Muslims in Armenia revolted in 1919–1920 and massacred over 10,000 Armenians?
... that the Nakhichevan uezd was home to more than 54,000 Armenians until they perished through the events of 1918–1920 as a result of the Russian Revolution?
... that Marina Nekrasova was the first woman artistic gymnast to represent Azerbaijan at the Olympics?

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More Did you know

... that Yanar Dag (pictured) is a natural fire that burns "eternally" on a hillside on the Absheron Peninsula in Azerbaijan?}}

... that Baku's Maiden Tower was showcased on many Azerbaijani banknotes for 14 years?

... that after the collapse of American cotton exports in the 1860s, Azerbaijan became a large-scale cotton producer, often planting it rather than food crops?

General images

The following are images from various Azerbaijan-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Qajar-style painting of mullahs with the shah (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 2Transcaucasia in the early 19th century (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 31748 maps of Shirvan, the Caucasus and Persia (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 4Cut pomegranate (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 5Side view of the Church of Kish (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 6The Maiden Tower, in Baku's Old City (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 7Topographic map of Azerbaijan (from Geography of Azerbaijan)
Image 8Sasanid silver plate from Shamakhi District (Azerbaijan State Museum of History) (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 9Baku's first film studio during the early 1920s (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 10Carpet based on Nizami Ganjavi's 12th-century Layla and Majnun (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 11Gobustan rock art (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 12Iran around 1900 (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 1315th-century Shirvanshah mausoleum in Baku (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 14Pottery from Kul-Tepe I (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 15Battle-scene miniature in the Palace of Shaki Khans (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 16The Caucasus after the Treaty of Gulistan, in which Persia ceded most of its northern khanates to Russia after the first Russo-Persian war (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 17Oil derricks in Balaxanı around 1890 (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 18"Hounds and Jackals" game (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 19Ismail I's empire (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 2019th-century Gasimushaghi carpet from Şəlvə, Lachin (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 21Ateshgah of Baku, a Hindu and Zoroastrian temple (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 22Petroglyphs in Gobustan National Park date back to 10,000 BC. (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 23Azerbaijan map of Köppen climate classification zones (from Geography of Azerbaijan)
Image 24Arabic inscriptions on the surviving Gate of Ganja (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 25Shah Abbas I of Safavid at a banquet. Detail from a ceiling fresco, Chehel Sotoun palace, Isfahan (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 26Momine Khatun Mausoleum in Nakhchivan (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 27Roman inscription in Qobustan (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 28Goytepe site (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 29Heydar Aliyev during a 1997 Pentagon visit (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 301996 Azerbaijani postage stamp commemorating Novruz (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 31Ilham Aliyev in Munich in 2010 (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 32The Achaemenid empire at its greatest extent (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 33Shah Abbas I at a banquet (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 34Early caliphates:
  Muhammad, 622–632

  Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661

  Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750
(from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 35Soviet postage stamp commemorating Azerbaijani musical instruments (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 36Azerbaijani deputies to the 1907 Second Russian State Duma. Seated left is Fatali Khan Khoyski; seated right is Khalil Khasmammadov. (from History of Azerbaijan)
Image 37Late-19th-century rug market in Ganja (from Culture of Azerbaijan)
Image 38Mammad Amin Rasulzade, a founder and spokesperson of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, was widely regarded as Azerbaijan's national leader. (from History of Azerbaijan)

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This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Azerbaijan}}) or categorized correctly. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.