Caucasian Albania is a modernexonym for a former state located in ancient times in theCaucasus, mostly in what is nowAzerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modernendonyms for the area areAghwank andAluank, among theUdi people, who regard themselves as descended from the inhabitants of Caucasian Albania. However, its original endonym is unknown.[6][7][8]
The name Albania is derived from theAncient Greek nameἈλβανία andLatinAlbanía,[9] created from Greek sources that incorrectly translated the Armenian language.[10][11] The prefix "Caucasian" is used to avoid confusion withAlbania in theBalkans, which has no geographical or historical connections to Caucasian Albania.
Little is known of the region's prehistory, including the origins of Caucasian Albania as a geographical and/or ethnolinguistic concept. In the 1st century BC and the 1st century AD, the area south of theGreater Caucasus and north of theLesser Caucasus was divided between Caucasian Albania in the east,Caucasian Iberia in the center,Kolchis in the west,Armenia in the southwest andAtropatene to the southeast.
In 252, Caucasian Albania acknowledged thesuzerainty of theSasanian Empire, appearing among its provinces inShapur I's inscription at the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht. The kingdom would remain an integral part of the empire until its fall. By the end of the 3rd century, the kings of Caucasian Albania were replaced with anArsacid family, and would later be succeeded by anotherIranian royal family in the 5th century AD, theMihranids.
The Armenian historian of the region,Movses Kaghankatvatsi, who left the only more or less complete historical account about the region, explains the name Aghvank as a derivation from the wordału (Armenian for sweet, soft, tender), which, he said, was the nickname of Caucasian Albania's first governor Arran and referred to his lenient personality.[16] Movses Kaghankatvatsi and other ancient sources explainArran orArhan as the name of the legendary founder of Caucasian Albania (Aghvan) or even of the Iranian tribe known asAlans (Alani), who in some versions was a son ofNoah's sonYafet.[17]James Darmesteter, translator of theAvesta, comparedArran withAiryana Vaego[18] which he also considered to have been in theAraxes-Ararat region,[19] although modern theories tend to place this in the east of Iran.
In pre-Islamic times, Caucasian Albania/Arran was a wider concept than that of post-Islamic Arran. Ancient Arran covered all of eastern Transcaucasia, which included most of the territory of the modern-day Azerbaijan Republic and part of the territory ofDagestan. However, in post-Islamic times the geographic notion of Arran reduced to the territory between theKura andAras rivers.[7]
Ancient Caucasian Albania lay on the south-eastern part of theGreater Caucasus mountains. It was bounded byCaucasian Iberia (present-dayGeorgia) to the west, bySarmatia to the north, by theCaspian Sea to the east, and by the provinces ofArtsakh andUtik inArmenia to the west along the Kura river.[21] These boundaries, though, were probably never static—at times the territory of Caucasian Albania included land to the west of the Kura river.[22]
Albania or Arran in Islamic times was a triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the junction of the Kura and Aras rivers,[7][23][dubious –discuss]Mil plain and parts of theMughan plain, and in the pre-Islamic times, corresponded roughly to the territory of the modern-dayRepublic of Azerbaijan.[7]
The kingdom's capital in antiquity wasQabala (Gabala; Kapalak).[25]
Classical sources are unanimous in making the Kura River (Cyros) the frontier between Armenia and Albania after the conquest of the territories on the right bank of Kura by Armenians in the 2nd century BC.[24]
The original territory of Albania was approximately 23,000 km2.[26] After 387 AD the territory of Caucasian Albania, sometimes referred to by scholars as "Greater Albania,"[24] grew to about 45,000 km2.[26] In the 5th century the capital was transferred toPartav in Utik', reported to have been built in the mid-5th century by the King Vache II of Albania,[27] but according to M. L. Chaumont, it existed earlier as an Armenian city.[28]
In a medieval chronicle "Ajayib-ad-Dunia", written in the 13th century by an unknown author, Arran is said to have been 30farsakhs (200 km) in width, and 40farsakhs (270 km) in length. All the right bank of the Kura River until it joined with the Aras was attributed to Arran (the left bank of the Kura was known asShirvan). The boundaries of Arran have shifted throughout history, sometimes encompassing the entire territory of the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan, and at other times only parts of theSouth Caucasus. In some instances, Arran was a part of Armenia.[29]
MedievalIslamic geographers gave descriptions of Arran in general, and of its towns, which includedBarda,Beylagan, andGanja, along with others.
Originally, at least some of the Caucasian Albanians probably spokeLezgic languages close to those found in modernDagestan;[30][31] overall, though, as many as 26 different languages may have been spoken in Caucasian Albania.[32]
Koryun, a pupil of Mesrob Mashtots, in his bookThe Life of Mashtots, wrote about how his tutor created the alphabet:
Then there came and visited them an elderly man, an Albanian named Benjamin. And he (Mashtots) inquired and examined the barbaric diction of the Albanian language, and then through his usual God-given keenness of mind invented an alphabet, which he, through the grace of Christ, successfully organized and put in order.[45]
ACaucasian Albanian alphabet of fifty-two letters, bearing resemblance to Georgian, Ethiopian and Armenian characters,[Note 1] survived through a few inscriptions, and an Armenian manuscript dating from the 15th century.[47] This manuscript,Matenadaran No. 7117, first published byIlia Abuladze in 1937 is a language manual, presenting different alphabets for comparison – Armenian alphabet,Greek,Latin,Syriac,Georgian,Coptic, and Caucasian Albanian among them. The alphabet was titled:"Ałuanicʿ girn ē" (Armenian:Աղուանից գիրն Է, meaning, "These are Albanian letters").
Muslim geographersAl-Muqaddasi,Ibn-Hawqal andEstakhri recorded that a language which they called Arranian was still spoken in the capitalBarda and the rest of Arran in the 10th century.[7]
Iranian contact in the region goes back to theMedian andAchaemenid times. During thisArsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania, theParthian language spread in the region.[2] It is possible that the language and literature for administration and record-keeping of the imperial chancellery for external affairs naturally became Parthian, based on theAramaic alphabet. According to Toumanoff: "the predominance ofHellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by a predominance of "Iranianism", and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated".[2]
With the establishment of the Sassanids,Middle Persian, a closely related language to Parthian,[49] became an official language of theSassanid Empire.[4] At this time, Persian enjoyed even more success than the Caucasian Albanian language and the region was greatly affected by Iran.[3] According toVladimir Minorsky: "The presence of Iranian settlers in Transcaucasia, and especially in the proximity of the passes, must have played an important role in absorbing and pushing back the aboriginal inhabitants. Such names as Sharvan, Layzan, Baylaqan, etc., suggest that the Iranian immigration proceeded chiefly fromGilan and other regions on the southern coast of the Caspian".[50] The presence of the Persian language and Iranian culture continued during the Islamic era.[51][52]
Religion
The original population of the Caucasus followed different pagan religions. UnderAchaemenid,Parthian and especiallySassanid influence,Zoroastrianism also grew in the region.Christianity started to spread in the late 4th century in the Sassanid era.
The Arab conquest and theChalcedonian crisis led to severe disintegration of theChurch of Caucasian Albania. Starting from the 8th century, much of the local populationconverted to Islam. By the 11th century there already were conciliar mosques in Partaw,Qabala and Shaki; the cities that were the creed of Caucasian Albanian Christianity.[53]
These Islamised groups would later be known asLezgins andTsakhurs or mix with theTurkic andIranian population to form present-dayAzeris, whereas those that remained Christian were gradually absorbed byArmenians[54] or continued to exist on their own and be known as theUdi people.
The Caucasian Albanian tribes ofHereti were converted toEastern Orthodoxy byDinar, Queen of Hereti in the 10th century. The religious affairs of this small principality were now officially administered by theGeorgian Orthodox Church. In 1010, Hereti became absorbed into the neighbouring Georgian kingdom ofKakheti. Eventually, in the early 12th century, these lands became part of theGeorgian Kingdom underDavid the Builder finalising the process of theirGeorgianisation.[55]
History
The history of Albania before the 6th century BC is unknown.
Median and Achaemenid era
According to one hypothesis, Caucasian Albania was incorporated in theMedian empire,[28] as early as the 7th or 6th century BC. However, an increasingPersian influence on the region is usually believed to be connected with the defence of Persia's northern frontiers,[27][28] from invading nomads. As early as theAchaemenid empire, measures may have been taken to fortify the Caucasian passes. By the mid-6th century BC, Albania has been incorporated in theAchaemenid empire; it was later controlled by the Achaemenid satrapy ofMedia.[28][56] The building of fortifications and gates in and aroundDarband is traditionally ascribed to theSassanid Empire.[27]
Hellenistic era
The ruins of the gates of the Albanian capitalQabala
The Greek historianArrian mentions (perhaps anachronistically) the Caucasian Albanians for the first time in thebattle of Gaugamela, where the Albanians, Medes, Cadussi and Sacae were under the command ofAtropates.[28] Albania first appears in history as a vassal state in the empire ofTigranes the Great ofArmenia (95-56 BC).[57] The kingdom of Albania emerged in the eastern Caucasus in 2nd or 1st century BC and along with theGeorgians andArmenians formed one of the three nations of theSouthern Caucasus.[24][58] Albania came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence.[27][59][60][61][62]
Herodotus,Strabo, and other classical authors repeatedly mention theCaspians but do not seem to know much about them; they are grouped with other inhabitants of the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, like the Amardi, Anariacae, Cadusii, Albani (see below), and Vitii (Eratosthenes apud Strabo, 11.8.8), and their land (Caspiane) is said to be part of Albania (Theophanes Mytilenaeus apud Strabo, 11.4.5).[63]
The original population of the territories on the right bank of Kura before the Armenian conquest consisted of various autochthonous people. Ancient chronicles provide the names of several peoples that populated these districts, including the regions ofArtsakh andUtik. These wereUtians, Mycians,Caspians, Gargarians, Sakasenians, Gelians, Sodians,Lupenians, Balas[ak]anians, Parsians and Parrasians.[6] According toRobert H. Hewsen, these tribes were "certainly not of Armenian origin", and "although certain Iranian peoples must have settled here during the long period of Persian and Median rule, most of the natives were not even Indo-Europeans".[6] He also states that the several peoples of the right bank of Kura "were highly Armenicized and that many were actually Armeniansper se cannot be doubted". Many of those people were still being cited as distinct ethnic entities when the right bank of Kura was acquired by the Caucasian Albanians in 387 AD.[6]
TheLatin rock inscription close to Boyukdash mountain inGobustan, Baku, which mentionsLegio XII Fulminata, is the world's easternmost Latin inscription known.[66] In Albania, Romans reached theCaspian Sea for the first time.[66]
In 69-68 BCLucullus, having overcome Armenian rulerTigranes II, approached the borders of Caucasian Albania and was succeeded byPompey.[68]
After the 66-65 BC wintering Pompey launched theIberian campaign. It is reported byStrabo upon the account ofTheophanes of Mytilene who participated in it.[69] As testified byKamilla Trever, Pompey reached the Albanian border at modernQazakh District of Azerbaijan.Igrar Aliyev showed that this region called Cambysene was inhabited mainly by stock-breeders at the time. When fording theAlazan river, he was attacked by forces of Oroezes, King of Albania, and eventually defeated them. According toPlutarch, Albanians "were led by a brother of the king, named Cosis, who as soon as the fighting was at close quarters, rushed upon Pompey himself and smote him with a javelin on the fold of his breastplate; but Pompey ran him through the body and killed him".[70] Plutarch also reported that "after the battle, Pompey set out to march to the Caspian Sea, but was turned back by a multitude of deadlyreptiles when he was only three days march distant, and withdrew into Lesser Armenia".[71] The first kings of Albania were certainly the representatives of the local tribal nobility, to which attest their non-Armenian and non-Iranian names (Oroezes, Cosis and Zober in Greek sources).[72]
The population of Caucasian Albania of the Roman period is believed to have belonged to either theNortheast Caucasian peoples[7] or theSouth Caucasian peoples.[73]According toStrabo, the Albanians were a group of 26 tribes which lived to the north of theKura river and each of them had its own king and language.[6] Sometime before the 1st century BC they federated into one state and were ruled by one king.[74]
Strabo wrote of the Caucasian Albanians in the 1st century BC:
At the present time, indeed, one king rules all the tribes, but formerly the several tribes were ruled separately by kings of their own according to their several languages. They have twenty-six languages, because they have no easy means of intercourse with one another.[74]
Caucasian Albania was a vassal of the Roman Empire around 300 AD.
Albania is also mentioned byDionysius Periegetes (2nd or 3rd century AD) who describes Albanians as a nation of warriors, living by the Iberians and the Georgians.[75]
In 1899 a silver plate featuring Romantoreutics was excavated near Azerbaijani village ofQalagah.The rock inscription near the south-eastern part of Boyukdash's foot (70km fromBaku) was discovered on June 2, 1948, by Azerbaijani archaeologistIshag Jafarzadeh. The legend is IMPDOMITIANO CAESARE·AVG GERMANIC L·IVLIVS MAXIMVS> LEG XII·FVL. According toDomitian's titles in it, the related march took place between 84 and 96. The inscription was studied by Russian expertYevgeni Pakhomov, who assumed that the associated campaign was launched to control theDerbent Gate and that theXII Fulminata has marched out either fromMelitene, its permanent base, or Armenia, where it might have moved from before.[76] Pakhomov supposed that the legion proceeded to the spot continually along theAras River. The later version, published in 1956, states that the legion was stationing inCappadocia by that time whereas the centurion might have been in Albania with some diplomatic mission because for the talks with the Eastern rulers the Roman commanders were usually sending centurions.[77]
In 1953 twelve denarii of Augustus were unearthed.[67] In 1958 one denarius, coined in c. 82 AD, was revealed in theŞamaxı trove.[67]
During the reign of Roman emperorHadrian (117-138) Albania was invaded by theAlans, an Iranian nomadic group.[78] This invasion promoted an alliance between Rome and the Albanians that was reinforced underAntoninus Pius in 140 AD. Sassanians occupied the area around 240 AD but after a few years, the Roman Empire regained control of Caucasian Albania.
In 297 the treaty of Nisibis stipulated the reestablishment of the Roman protectorate overCaucasian Iberia and Albania. But fifty years later Rome lost the area that since then remained an integral part of theSasanian Empire.
UnderParthian rule, Iranian political and cultural influence increased in the region.[2] Whatever the sporadic suzerainty of Rome, the country was now a part—together with Iberia (East Georgia) and (Caucasian) Albania, where other Arsacid branches reigned—of apan-Arsacid family federation.[2] Culturally, the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by a predominance of "Iranianism", and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before,Parthian became the language of the educated.[2] An incursion in this era was made by theAlans who between 134 and 136 attacked Albania, Media, and Armenia, penetrating as far as Cappadocia. ButVologases persuaded them to withdraw, probably by paying them.
In 252–253, Caucasian Albania, along withCaucasian Iberia andGreater Armenia, was conquered and annexed by theSassanid Empire. Albania became avassal state of the Sassanid Empire,[79] but retained its monarchy; the Albanian king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sassanidmarzban (military governor) of the territory.[Note 2]
The Roman Empire again obtained control of Caucasian Albania as a vassal state for a few years around 300 AD, but then the Sassanids regained control and subsequently dominated the area for centuries until theArab invasions.
In the middle of the 4th century, King Urnayr of Albania arrived in Armenia and was baptized byGregory the Illuminator, but Christianity spread in Albania only gradually, and the Albanian king remained loyal to the Sassanids. After the partition of Armenia between Byzantium and Persia (in 387 AD), Albania with Sassanid help was able to seize from Armenia all the right bank of the river Kura up to river Araxes, including Artsakh and Utik.[28]
In the mid-5th century, the Sassanid KingYazdegerd II passed an edict requiring all the Christians in his empire to convert toZoroastrianism, fearing that Christians might ally with Roman Empire, which had recently adopted Christianity as its official religion. This led to a rebellion of Albanians, along with Armenians and Georgians. At theBattle of Avarayr, the allied forces of Caucasian Albania, Georgia, and Armenia, devoted to Christianity, suffered defeat at the hands of the Sassanid army. Many of the Armenian nobility fled to the mountainous regions of Albania, particularly to Artsakh, which had become a center for resistance to Sassanid Persia. The religious center of the Albanian state also moved here. However, King Vache of Albania, a relative of Yazdegerd II, was forced to convert to Zoroastrianism, but soon thereafter converted back to Christianity.
According toThe History of the Country of Albania, Peroz ordered the Albanian kingVache II to have the city ofPerozapat ("the city of Peroz" or "Prosperous Peroz") constructed. However, this is unlikely as the Kingdom of Caucasian Albania had been abolished by Peroz after suppressing a revolt by Vache II in the mid-460s.[85] The city was seemingly founded by Peroz himself after the removal of the ruling family in Caucasian Albania. Due to its more secure location, it was made the new residence of the Iranianmarzbans.[86] Albania remained kingless until 485, whenVachagan III (r. 485–510) was installed on the throne by Peroz's brother and successorBalash (r. 484–488).[87] In 552, the seat of the Albanian Catholicos was also transferred to Partaw.[28][88]
By the end of the 5th century, the ancientArsacid royal house of Albania, a branch of the ruling dynasty ofParthia, became extinct, and in the 6th century, it was replaced by princes of the Persian or ParthianMihranid family, who claimed descent from the Sassanids. They assumed the Persian title of Arranshah (i.e. theShah of Arran, the Persian name of Albania).[7] The ruling dynasty was named after its Persian founder Mihran, who was a distant relative of the Sasanians.[89] The Mihranid dynasty survived under Muslim suzerainty until 821–22.[90]
In the late 6th to early 7th centuries the territory of Albania became an arena of wars between Sassanid Persia,Byzantium, and theKhazar Khanate, the latter two very often acting as allies against Sassanid Persia. In 628, during theThird Perso-Turkic War, the Khazars invaded Albania, and their leaderZiebel declared himself Lord of Albania, levying a tax on merchants and the fishermen of the Kura and Araxes rivers "in accordance with the land survey of the kingdom of Persia". Most of Transcaucasia was under Khazar rule before the arrival of the Arabs.[27] However, some other sources state that the Khazars later left the region because of political instability.[91]
According to Peter Golden, "steady pressure from Turkic nomads was typical of the Khazar era, although there are no unambiguous references to permanent settlements",[92] whileVladimir Minorsky stated that, in Islamic times, "the town of Qabala lying betweenShirvan andShakki was a place where Khazars were probably settled".[20]
Impact of Armenian politics, culture and civilization
Armenian politics, culture and civilization played a critical role in the entire history of Caucasian Albania (Aghvank, in Armenian).[93] This, due to the fact that after the partition of theKingdom of Armenia byPersia andByzantium in 387 AD, the Armenian provinces ofArtsakh andUtik were disassociated from the Armenian kingdom and included byPersians into a single province (marzpanate) called Aghvank (Arran).[94] This new unit included: the original Caucasian Albania, found between the River Kura and the Great Caucasus; tribes living along the Caspian shore; as well as Artsakh and Utik, two territories now detached from Armenia.[95][96][97]
The Armenian medieval atlasAshkharhatsuyts (Աշխարացույց), compiled in the 7th century byAnania Shirakatsi (Անանիա Շիրակացի, but sometimes attributed toMovses Khorenatsi as well), categorizes Artsakh and Utik as provinces of Armenia despite their presumed detachment from theArmenian Kingdom and their political association with Caucasian Albania and Persia at the time of his writing.[99] Shirakatsi specifies that Artsakh and Utik are "now detached" from Armenia and included in "Aghvank," and he takes care to distinguish this new entity from the old "Aghvank strictly speaking" (Բուն Աղվանք) situated north of the river Kura. Because it was more homogeneous and more developed than the original tribes to the north of the Kura, the Armenian element took over Caucasian Albania's political life and was progressively able to impose its language and culture.[100][101]
The Armenian population of Artsakh and Utik remained in place as did the entire political, social, cultural and military structure of the provinces.[61][102] In the 5th century, early medieval historian Khorenatsi (Խորենացի) testifies that the population of Artsakh and Utik spoke Armenian, with the River Kura, in his words, marking the "boundary of Armenian speech" (... զեզերս հայկական խօսիցս).[103][104][105] though this does not mean that its population consisted exclusively of ethnic Armenians.[97][106]
Whatever little is known about Caucasian Albania after 387 AD comes from the Old Armenian textHistory of the Land of Aghvank (Պատմություն Աղվանից Աշխարհի) by the Armenian authorMovses Kaghankatvatsi (also known as Movses Daskhurantsi),[107] which in essence is the history of Armenia's provinces of Artsakh and Utik.[100] Kaghankatvatsi, repeating Khorenatsi, mentions that the very name "Aghvank"/"Albania" is of Armenian origin, and relates it to the Armenian word "aghu" (աղու, meaning "kind," "benevolent".[108] Khorenatsi states that "aghu" was a nickname given to Prince Arran, whom the Armenian KingVologases I (Vagharsh I) appointed as governor of northeastern provinces bordering on Armenia. According to a legend reported by Khorenatsi, Arran was a descendant of Sisak, the ancestor of the Siunids of Armenia'sprovince of Syunik, and thus a great-grandson of the ancestral eponym of the Armenians, theForefather Hayk.[109] Kaghankatvatsi and another Armenian author, Kirakos Gandzaketsi, confirm Arran's belonging to Hayk's bloodline by calling Arranshahiks "a Haykazian dynasty".[110]
In Kaghankatvatsi'sHistory and in the historical text of the Armenian early medieval authorAgathangelos, the Kingdom of Aghvank's feudal system, including its political terminology, was Armenian.[113] As in Armenia, nobles of Aghvank are referred to by the termsnakharars (նախարար),azats (ազատ), hazarapets (հազարապետ), marzpets (մարզպետ), shinakans (շինական), etc.[100][107]
Princely families, which were later mentioned in Kaghankatvatsi'sHistory were included in the Table of Ranks called"Gahnamak" (direct translation: "List of Thrones," Arm. Գահնամակ) of the Kingdom of Armenia, which defined Armenia's aristocratic hierarchy.[114] Princely families of Caucasian Albania were also included in the Table of Armies called"Zoranamak" (Arm. Զորանամակ) of the Kingdom of Armenia which determined military obligations of key aristocratic families before the Armenian King in times of war.[100]
As in Armenia, the "Albanian" clergy used exclusively Armenian church terms for clerical hierarchy (katholikos/կաթողիկոս, vardapet/վարդապետ, sargavag/սարգավագ, etc.)[100][115] Identifiably Armenian are also most if not all toponyms found in theHistory. Not only are the names of most towns, villages, mountains, and rivers uniquely Armenian morphologically, exactly the same toponyms were and are still found in other parts of historical Armenia. They include the root kert ("town") for towns (Arm.: կերտ, such Dastakert, Hnarakert – compare with Tigranakert or modern Stapanakert in Nagorno Karabakh),[116] shen and kan (village) for villages (Arm. շեն, and կան, such as Karashen or Dyutakan), etc.[117]
After the partition, the capital city of Caucasian Albania was moved from the territories on the eastern bank of the River Kura (referred to by Armenians "Aghvank Proper," Arm. Բուն Աղվանք) to Partav, located in the former Armenian province of Utik. This was followed by the transfer of the Seat of the Kingdom of Albania's religious leader (Katholicos) from territories north of Kura to Partav.[107]
The Kingdom of Albania was converted to Christianity at the start of the 4th century by none other than the Armenian evangelizerSt. Gregory the Enlightener (Arm. Սբ. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ), who baptized Armenia into the first Christian state by 301 AD.[118] In about 330 AD, the grandson of St. Gregory, St. Grigoris, ecumenical head of the eastern provinces of Armenia, was designated bishop for the Kingdom of Aghvank. Mausoleum interning Grigoris’ remains, theAmaras Monastery stands as the oldest dated monument inNagorno Karabakh. Amaras was started by St. Gregory and completed by St. Grigoris himself.[119]
According to tradition, the Amaras Monastery housed the first Armenian school in historical Armenia,[120] which was opened early in the 5th century by the inventor of the Armenian alphabet St. Mesrob Mashtots. St. Mesrob Mashtots was intensely active in preaching Gospel in Artsakh and Utik. Movses Kaghankatvatsi'sHistory dedicates four separate chapters to St. Mashtots’ mission, referring to him as "enlightener" and "saint" (chapters 27, 28 and 29 of Book One, and chapter 3 of Book Two).[121] Overall, St. Mesrob made three trips to the Kingdom of Albania where he toured not only the Armenian lands of Artsakh and Utik but also territories to the north of the River Kura.[121]
Kaghankatvatsi'sHistory describes Armenian influence on the Church of Aghvank, whose jurisdiction extended from Artsakh and Utik to regions to the north of the River Kura, in the territories of the "original", "pre-Armenian" Caucasian Albania.[122] One of the consequences of this was that the Armenian language progressively supplanted Albanian as the language of church and state (and only if there was any single "Albanian" language in the first place which is doubtful because the population of Albania/Aghvank was described as consisting of as many 26 different tribes).[122] In the same 7th century, Armenian poetDavtak Kertogh writes hisElegy on the Death ofGrand Prince Juansher, where each passage begins with a letter of Armenian script in alphabetical order.[116][123]
KingVachagan III helped to implant Christianity in Caucasian Albania, through a synod allowing the church legal rights in some domestic issues.[124] In 498 AD (in other sources, 488 AD)[citation needed] in the settlement named Aluen (Aghuen) (present-dayAgdam District of Azerbaijan), an Albanian church council convened to adopt laws further strengthening the position of Christianity in Albania.[citation needed]
Albanian churchmen took part in missionary efforts in the Caucasus and Pontic regions. In 682, thecatholicos,Israel, led an unsuccessful delegation to convertAlp Iluetuer, the ruler of theNorth Caucasian Huns, to Christianity. The Albanian Church maintained a number of monasteries in theHoly Land.[125] In the 7th century,Varaz-Grigor, ruler of Albania, and "his nation" were christened by EmperorHeraclius at Gardman.[126]
After the overthrow ofNerses in 705,[non sequitur] the Caucasian Albanian elite decided to reestablish the tradition of having their Catholicoi ordained through the Patriarch of Armenia, as it was the case before 590.[127] This event is generally regarded as the abolition of the Church of Caucasian Albania, and the lowering of its denominational status to that of a Catholicate within the body of the Armenian Apostolic Church.[53]
Sassanid Albania fell to theIslamic conquest of Persia in the mid-7th century and was incorporated into theRashidun Caliphate. KingJavanshir of Albania, the most prominent ruler ofMihranid dynasty, fought against the Arab invasion ofcaliphUthman on the side of SassanidIran. Facing the threat of the Arab invasion on the south and theKhazar offensive on the north, Javanshir had to recognize the caliph's suzerainty. The Arabs then reunited the territory with Armenia under one governor.[28]
By the 8th century, "Albania" had been reduced to a strictly geographical andtitular ecclesiastical connotation,[128] and was referred to as such by medieval Armenian historians; on its place sprang a number principalities, such as that of the Armenian principality and kingdom ofKhachen, along with various Caucasian, Iranian and Arabic principalities: the principality ofShaddadids, the principality ofShirvan, the principality ofDerbent. Most of the region was ruled by the PersianSajid dynasty from 890 to 929. The region was at times part of theAbbasid province ofArmenia based on numismatic and historical evidence.
Early Muslim ruling dynasties of the time includedRawadids, Sajids,Salarids, Shaddadids,Shirvanshahs, and theSheki andTiflis emirates. The principal cities of Arran in early medieval times wereBarda (Partav) andGanja. Barda reached prominence in the 10th century, and was used to house amint. Barda was sacked by theRus andNorse several times in the 10th century as a result of theCaspian expeditions of the Rus. Barda never revived after these raids and was replaced as capital byBaylaqan, which in turn was sacked by the Mongols in 1221. After this Ganja rose to prominence and became the central city of the region. The capital of the Shaddadid dynasty, Ganja was considered the "mother city of Arran" during their reign.
The history of Caucasian Albania has been a major topic of Azerbaijani revisionist theories, which came under criticism in Western and Russian academic and analytical circles, and were often characterized as "bizarre" and "futile".[129][130][131][132][133][134][135][136][137]
In his article "The Albanian Myth", Russian historian and anthropologistVictor Schnirelmann states that Azerbaijani academics have been "renaming prominent medievalArmenian political leaders, historians and writers, who lived inNagorno-Karabakh and Armenia into "Albanians"". Schnirelmann argues that these efforts were first launched in the 1950s and were directed towards "ripping the population of early medieval Nagorno Karabakh off from their Armenian heritage" and "cleansing Azerbaijan of Armenian history".[138] In the 1970s, Azerbaijan made a transition from ignoring, discounting or concealing Armenian historical heritage in Soviet Azerbaijan to misattributing and mischaracterizing it as examples of Azerbaijani culture by arbitrarily declaring "Caucasian Albanians" as ancestors of modern Azerbaijanis.[139] In this regard,Thomas de Waal, a scholar at theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace, writes about the political context of Azerbaijan's historical revisionism:
This rather bizarre argument has the strong political subtext that Nagorno Karabakh had in fact been Caucasian Albanian and that Armenians had no claim to it.[140]
Schnirelmann states that a significant revisionist method used by Azerbaijani scholars was "re-publishing of ancient and medieval sources, where the term "Armenian state" was routinely and systematically removed and replaced with "Albanian state".[141] American authorGeorge Bournoutian gives examples of how that was done byZiya Bunyadov, vice-chairman ofAzerbaijani Academy of Sciences,[142] who earned the nickname of "Azerbaijan’s foremost Armenophobe".[141][143]
According to de Waal:
Buniatov’s scholarly credentials were dubious. It later transpired that the two articles he published in 1960 and 1965 on Caucasian Albania were directplagiarism. Under his own name, he had simply published, unattributed, translations of two articles, originally written in English by Western scholarsC.F.J. Dowsett andRobert Hewsen.[144]
Hewsen, a historian fromRowan College and the acknowledged authority in this field, wrote in his volumeArmenia: A Historical Atlas, published byUniversity of Chicago Press:
Scholars should be on guard when using Soviet and post-Soviet Azeri editions of Azeri, Persian, and even Russian and Western European sources printed in Baku. These have been edited to remove references to Armenians and have been distributed in large numbers in recent years. When utilizing such sources, the researchers should seek out pre-Soviet editions wherever possible.
According to de Waal, a disciple of Bunyadov,Farida Mammadova, has "taken the Albanian theory and used it to push Armenians out of the Caucasus altogether. She had relocated Caucasian Albania into what is now the Republic of Armenia. All those lands, churches, and monasteries in the Republic of Armenia—all had been Albanian. No sacred Armenian fact was left un-attacked". De Waal describes Mammadova as a sophisticated end of what "in Azerbaijan has become a very blunt instrument indeed".[146][147] BothZiya Bunyadov andFarida Mammadova are known for theiranti-Armenian public pronouncements and pamphlets.[147][148][149]
Historical revisionism in Azerbaijan supported a number of policies on the ground, including cultural vandalism directed against Armenian monuments in Soviet and post-Soviet Azerbaijan.[130] Armenian memorial stone crosses known as "khachkars" on the territory of Azerbaijan were regularly misrepresented as "Caucasian Albanian" both before and after Azerbaijan's independence.[150] Furthermore, mischaracterization of Armeniankhachkars as supposedly non-Armenian monuments of Caucasian Albania was associated with acts ofcultural vandalism against Armenian historical monuments inNakhichevan.[129] The Khachkar destruction in Nakhchivan refer to the systematic campaign by the government ofAzerbaijan to completely demolish theArmenian cemetery in Julfa with thousands of Armeniankhachkars near the town ofJulfa (known as Jugha in Armenian), Nakhchivan. Claims by Armenians that Azerbaijan was undertaking a systematic campaign to destroy and remove the monuments first arose in late 1998 and those charges were renewed in 2002 and 2005.[151]Adam T. Smith, an anthropologist and associate professor of anthropology at theUniversity of Chicago, called the removal of the khachkars "a shameful episode in humanity's relation to its past, a deplorable act on the part of the government of Azerbaijan which requires both explanation and repair". Smith and other scholars, as well as severalUnited States Senators, signed a letter to theUNESCO and other organizations condemning Azerbaijan's government.[152] Azerbaijan instead contends that the monuments were not of Armenian, but ofCaucasian Albanian, origin, which, perThomas De Waal, did not protect "the graveyard from an act in the history wars".[153]
Anti-Armenian cultural vandalism in Azerbaijan perpetrated with the use of revisionist theories on Caucasian Albania was also noted in northern Azerbaijan, where Norwegian archeologists were involved in the restoration of anArmenian-Georgian church in the village of Kish near the city ofShaki. Azerbaijanis erased Armenian inscriptions on the church's walls, which led to by an official complaint byNorwegian foreign ministry.[154]
Furthermore, revisionist theories about Caucasian Albania have also been used by Azerbaijani statesmen in the ongoing Azerbaijani-Georgian dispute over the territorial status ofDavid Gareja monastery complex, a Georgian spiritual and historical monument partially located on the territory ofAzerbaijani Republic. David Gareja is a rock-hewn Georgian Orthodox monastery complex in the Kakheti region of Eastern Georgia, on the semi-desert slopes of Mount Gareja, some 60–70 km southeast of Georgia's capital Tbilisi. Giorgi Manjgaladze, Georgia's deputy foreign minister proposed that Georgia would be willing to exchange other territory for the remainder of David Gareja because of its historical and cultural significance to the Georgians.[155][156] Baku disapproves of this land swap,[157] and in April 2007, Azerbaijan's deputy foreign ministerKhalaf Khalafov told a press conference inBaku that it was "out of the question" for Azerbaijan to "give up its claims to the borderlands" including David Gareja. Khalafov then stated that the monastery "was home to the Caucasian Albanians, who are believed to have been the earliest inhabitants of Azerbaijan".[158] Georgian art historian Dimitri Tumanishvili dismissed this claim and stated that the complex "is covered in the work of Georgian masters". "There are Georgian inscriptions everywhere dating back to the sixth century," he said, "There are no traces of another culture there. After that, I don’t think you need any further proof."[159]
^Nevertheless, "despite being one of the chief vassals of SasanianShahanshah, the Albanian king had only a semblance of authority, and the Sassanidmarzban (military governor) held most civil, religious, and military authority.
^abcdefToumanoff, Cyril.The Arsacids.Encyclopædia Iranica. excerpt:"Whatever the sporadic suzerainty of Rome, the country was now a part—together with Iberia (East Georgia) and (Caucasian) Albania, where other Arsacid branched reigned—of a pan-Arsacid family federation. Culturally, the predominance of Hellenism, as under the Artaxiads, was now followed by a predominance of "Iranianism," and, symptomatically, instead of Greek, as before, Parthian became the language of the educated"
^abShnirelman, V.A.(2001), 'The value of the Past: Myths, Identity and Politics in Transcaucasia', Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology. pp 79: "Yet, even at the time of Caucasian Albania and later on, as well, the region was greatly affected by Iran and Persian enjoyed even more success than the Albanian language".
^abBenjamin W. Fortson, "Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction", John Wiley and Sons, 2009. pg 242: "Middle Persian was the official language of the Sassanian dynasty"
^abcdefghHewsen, Robert H. (1982). "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians". InSamuelian, Thomas J. (ed.).Classical Armenian Culture: Influences and Creativity. Chicago: Scholars Press. pp. 27–40.
^Bais, Marco (2001).Albania Caucasica: ethnos, storia, territorio attraverso le fonti greche, latine e armene (in Italian). Mimesis.
^Dudwick, Nora (1990). "The Case of the Caucasian Albanians: Ethnohistory and Ethnic Politics".Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique.31 (2/3):377–383.JSTOR20170734.
^History of Armenia composed by abbotChamchian, Mikayel.Պատմութիւն Հայոց (History of Armenia). Venice, 1786, p. 131.
^A. Yanovskiy,About the Ancient Caucasian Albania (А. Яновский, О древней Кавказской Албании. Журнал МНЛ, 1864, ч. II, с. 180.)
^S. V. Yushkov,On question of the boundaries of ancient Albania. Moscow, 1937, p. 137. (С. В. Юшков, К вопросу о границах древней Албании. «Исторические записки АН СССР», т. I, М., 1937, с. 137.)
^Ghevond Alishan,Aghuank (Ղևոնդ Ալիշան, «Աղուանք»), Venice: "Bazmavep", 1970, N 11-12, p. 341.
^The History of Aluank by Moses of Kalankatuyk. Book I, chapter IV
^Balayan, Vahram (2005). Zovig Balian, Gayane Hairapetyan (ed.).Artsakh History. Yerevan, Armenia: Scientific Council of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. pp. 55–56.ISBN99930-2-078-8.
^C. J. F. Dowsett. "The Albanian Chronicle of Mxit'ar Goš", Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 21, No. 1/3. (1958) p. 475: "In Albania, Xacen, part of the old province of Arcax, had preserved its independence, and we know that it was partly at the request of one of its rulers, Prince Vaxtang, that Mxit'ar composed his lawbook".
^Strabo had no knowledge of any city in Albania, although in the 1st century ADPliny mentions the initial capital of the kingdom - Qabala. The name of the city has been pronounced in many different ways including Gabala, Kabalaka, Shabala, and Tabala.
^abcdeMinorsky, Vladimir.A History of Sharvan and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries. Cambridge, 1958.
^abcdefghChaumont, M. L."Albania".Encyclopædia Iranica. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10.
^Abi Ali Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Rustah, al-A'laq Al-Nafisah, Tab'ah 1, Bayrut : Dar al-Kutub al-ʻIlmiyah, 1998, pg 96-98.
^abИстория Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. М., «Восточная литература», 2002.ISBN5-02-017711-3 (History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): At this time the multi-ethnic population of left-bank Albania was increasingly adopiting the Persian language. Mainly, this applies to the cities of Aran and Shirvan, as the two main regions on the territory of Azerbaijan began to be called in the 9th-10th centuries. With regard to the rural population, it would seem that they mostly retained for a long time their old languages, related to the modern Daghestanian languages, especially Lezgin. (Russian text: Пестрое в этническом плане население левобережной Албании в это время все больше переходит на персидский язык. Главным образом это относится к городам Арана и Ширвана, как стали в IX-Х вв. именоваться два главные области на территории Азербайджана. Что касается сельского населения, то оно, по-видимому, в основном сохраняло еще долгое время свои старые языки, родственные современным дагестанским, прежде всего лезгинскому.)
^J. Gippert, W. Schulze. Some Remarks on the Caucasian Albanian Palimpsests / Iran and the Caucasus 11 (2007). "Rather, we have to assume that Old Udi corresponds to the language of the ancient Gargars (cf. Movsēs Kałankatuac‘i who tells us that Mesrob Maštoc‘ (362–440) created with the help [of the bishop Ananian and the translator Benjamin] an alphabet for the guttural, harsh, barbarous, and rough language of the Gargarac‘ik‘)".
^abК. В. Тревер. Очерки по истории и культуре Кавказской Албании. М—Л., 1959:"Как известно, в V в. Месроп Маштоц, создавая албанский алфавит, в основу его положил гаргарское наречие албанского языка («создал письмена гаргарского языка, богатого горловыми звуками»). Это последнее обстоятельство позволяет высказать предположение, что именно гаргары являлись наиболее культурным и ведущим албанским племенем".
^Peter R. Ackroyd. The Cambridge history of the Bible. Cambridge University Press, 1963. Vol. 2. p. 368: "The third Caucasian people, the Albanians, also received an alphabet from Mesrob, to supply scripture for their Christian church. This church did not survive beyond the conquests of Islam, and all but few traces of the script have been lost, and there are no remains of the version known".
^Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Land of Aluank, translated from Old Armenian by Sh. V. Smbatian. Yerevan: Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), 1984
^Joseph L. Wieczynski, George N. Rhyne. The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History. Academic International Press, 1976.ISBN0-87569-064-5,ISBN978-0-87569-064-3
^Thomson, Robert W. (1996).Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles. Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-826373-2.
^Minorsky, Vladimir (1958). "A History of Sharvan and Darband in the 10th–11th Centuries", Cambridge, 1958.
^Istakhari(1994), Ibrahim. " Masalek va Mamalek", tr. As’ad ibn Abdullah Tustari, Majmueyeh Enteshārat Adabi o Tarikho Moqufāt Doctor Afshar, Tehran. On Istakhri: Estakhri of the 10th century also states: "In Azerbeijan, Armenia and Arran they speak Persian and Arabic, except for the area around the city of Dabil: they speak Armenian around that city, and in the country of Barda people speak Arranian". Original Arabic: و لسان اذربيجان و ارمينيه و الران الفارسيه و العربيه غير ان اھل دبيل و حواليھا یتکلمون بالارمنيه، و نواحی بردعه لسانھم ارانيه (Estakhari, Abu Eshaq Ebrahim. Masalek va Mamalek. Bonyad Moqufat Dr. Afshar, Tehran, 1371 (1992-1993))
^История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века. М., «Восточная литература», 2002.ISBN5-02-017711-3 (History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): The polyethnic population of Albania left-bank at this time is increasingly moving to the Persian language. Mainly this applies to cities of Aran and Shirvan, as begin from 9-10 centuries[clarification needed] named two main areas in the territory of Azerbaijan. With regard to the rural population, it would seem, mostly retained for a long time, their old languages, related to modern Daghestanian family, especially Lezgin. (Russian text: Пестрое в этническом плане население левобережной Албании в это время все больше переходит на персидский язык. Главным образом это относится к городам Арана и Ширвана, как стали в IX-Х вв. именоваться два главные области на территории Азербайджана. Что касается сельского населения, то оно, по-видимому, в основном сохраняло еще долгое время свои старые языки, родственные современным дагестанским, прежде всего лезгинскому.
^Bruno Jacobs, "ACHAEMENID RULE IN Caucasus" inEncyclopædia Iranica. January 9, 2006. Excerpt: "Achaemenid rule in the Caucasus region was established, at the latest, in the course of the Scythian campaign ofDarius I in 513-12 BCE. The Persian domination of the cis-Caucasian area (the northern side of the range) was brief, and archeological findings indicate that the Great Caucasus formed the northern border of the empire during most, if not all, of the Achaemenid period after Darius"
^Robert H. Hewsen. "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians", in: Samuelian, Thomas J. (Ed.), Classical Armenian Culture. Influences and Creativity, Chicago: 1982
^Тревер К. В.Очерки по истории и культуре кавказской Албании IV в. до н. э. — VII в. н. э. М.-Л., 1959, p 145
^Chorbajian, Levon; Donabédian, Patrick; Mutafian, Claude (1994).The Caucasian Knot. Zed Books. p. 54.ISBN1-85649-288-5.The Caucasian Albania state was established during the second to first centuries BC and, according to Strabo, was made up of 26 tribes. It seems that their language was Ibero-Caucasian.
^An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples by Peter B. Golden. Otto Harrasowitz (1992),ISBN3-447-03274-X (retrieved 8 June 2006), p. 385–386.
^Hewsen, Robert H.Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, map Caucasian Albania.
^Robert H. Hewsen, "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians," in Classical Armenian Culture: Influences and Creativity, ed. Thomas J. Samuelian (Philadelphia: Scholars Press, 1982), p. 45
^Hewsen, Robert H.Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 32–33, map 19 (shows the territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh as part of theOrontids' Kingdom of Armenia)
^abМоисей Хоренский. Армянская География VII в. Перевод Патканова К.П. СПб., 1877. стр. 40,17
^Peter R. Ackroyd. The Cambridge history of the Bible. — Cambridge University Press, 1963. — vol. 2. — p. 368:"The third Caucasian people, the Albanians, also received an alphabet from Mesrop, to supply scripture for their Christian church. This church did not survive beyond the conquests of Islam, and all but few traces of the script have been lost..."
^Hewsen, Robert H.Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, map "Armenia according to Anania of Shirak’
^abcdeRobert H. Hewsen, "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians," in Classical Armenian Culture: Influences and Creativity, ed. Thomas J. Samuelian (Philadelphia: Scholars Press, 1982)
^Hewsen, Robert H. "The Kingdom of Artsakh," in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds.Medieval Armenian Culture. Chico, CA, 1983
^Walker, Christopher J. Armenia and Karabagh: The Struggle for Unity. Minority Rights Group Publications, 1991, p. 10
^Moses Khorenatsi. History of the Armenians, translated from Old Armenian by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978, Book II
^Strabo,op. cit., book XI, chapters 14–15 (Bude, vol. VIII, p. 123)
^Svante E. Cornell.Small Nations and Great Powers. 2001, p. 64
^V. A. Shnirelman. Memory wars. Myths, identity and politics in Transcaucasia. Academkniga, Moscow, 2003ISBN5-94628-118-6
^abcdThe History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movsēs Dasxuranc'i. Translated by Charles Dowsett. London: Oxford University Press, 1961, pp. 3-4 "Introduction"
^Moses Khorenatsi. History of the Armenians, translated from Old Armenian by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978, p.
^Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Land of Aluank, translated from Old Armenian by Sh. V. Smbatian. Yerevan: Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), 1984, p. 43
^Kirakos Gandzaketsi. "Kirakos Gandzaketsi’s history of the Armenians," Sources of the Armenian Tradition. New York, 1986, p. 67
^Viviano, Frank. "The Rebirth of Armenia", National Geographic Magazine, March 2004
^John Noble, Michael Kohn, Danielle Systermans. Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Lonely Planet; 3 edition (May 1, 2008), p. 307
^Агатангелос, «История Армении» («История св. Григория и обращения Армении в христианство»), пер. с древнеарм. К. С. Тер-Давтяна и С. С. Аревшатяна, изд-во «Наири», Ер., 2004.(рус.). as in the text: «Они суть избранные ишханы (князья), наместники, краеначальники, тысяцкие, десятитысяцкие страны армянской, дома Торгомова». Стр. 796
^Adonts, Nikoghaios. Armenia in the Period of Justinian: The Political Conditions based on theNaxarar System. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, 1970, p. 34-41
^Н.Адонц. «Дионисий Фракийский и армянские толкователи», Пг., 1915, 181-219
^abAgop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk.The Heritage of Armenian Literature. Wayne State University Press (December 2002), pp. 94–99
^Ulubabian, Bagrat. Studies in the History of the Eastern Province of Armenia. 5th-7th Centuries, Yerevan, 1981, pp. 55-58
^abMovses Kalankatuatsi.History of the Land of Aluank, translated from Old Armenian by Sh. V. Smbatian. Yerevan: Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), 1984, p. 27
^Moses Khorenatsi. History of the Armenians, translated from Old Armenian by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978
^Viviano, Frank. "The Rebirth of Armenia," National Geographic Magazine, March 2004, p. 18,
^abMovses Kalankatuatsi.History of the Land of Aluank, Book I, chapters 27, 28 and 29; Book II, chapter 3
^abChorbajian, Levon;Donabedian Patrick; Mutafian, Claude.The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh. NJ: Zed Books, 1994, Albanian episode
^Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Land of Aluank, translated from Old Armenian by Sh. V. Smbatian. Yerevan: Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), 1984,Elegy on the Death of Prince Juansher
^Gasanov, Magomed,On Christianity in Dagestan,Iran & the Caucasus, Vol.5, 2001:80.
^Yo'av Karny, Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, pp. 376, chapter "Ghosts of Caucasian Albania". Karny writes: "The quest for Azerbaijan's antiquity had actually begun well before Soviet collapse and reached its climax in the late 1980s. The fierce debates it generated had an eerily existential, rather than scholarly quality. They were conducted along the lines of "I am, therefore you are not," or better, "You were not, therefore I am". The debates locked horns with an intensity that outsiders findbizarre andfutile".
^Thomas De Waal. The Caucasus: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, USA. 2010. pp. 107–108, characterization as "bizarre" on page 107
^Yo'av Karny, Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, pp. 371-400, chapter "Ghosts of Caucasian Albania"
^Thomas De Waal. The Caucasus: An Introduction. Oxford University Press, USA. 2010, p. 107
^abEsayi Hasan Jalaeants (Author), George A. Bournoutian (Translator). Brief History of the Aghuank Region: (Patmut'iwn Hamarot Aghuanits Erkri). Mazda Publishers (July 2009), Introduction, pp. 9-21
^George A. Bournoutian. Rewriting History: Recent Azeri Alterations of Primary Sources Dealing with Karabakh. Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies (1992,1993), Volume 6
^See discussion of Ziya Bunyadov in Thomas De Waal. Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. 2004, pages 152-153, 143
^Thomas De Waal. 'Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. 2004, p. 152
^Robert Hewsen.Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, p. 291
^Thomas De Waal. 'Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. 2004, p. 153 143
^(in Russian) Buniyatov, Ziya. "Concerning the events in Karabakh and Sumgait".Elm. No. 19, May 13, 1989, p. 175. Excerpts of this text can be found inLevon Chorbajian;Patrick Donabedian;Claude Mutafian.The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geopolitics of Nagorno-Karabagh. London: Zed Books, 1994, pp. 188-189.ISBN1-85649-288-5.
^Yo'av Karny, Highlanders: A Journey to the Caucasus in Quest of Memory, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001, p. 376
^Pickman, Sarah (June 30, 2006)."Tragedy on the Araxes". Archaeology.org. RetrievedApril 16, 2007.
Bais, Marco (2001).Albania caucasica: ethnos, storia, territorio attraverso le fonti greche, latine e armene (in Italian). Roma: Mimesis Edizioni.ISBN88-87231-95-8.
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