Editing Azerbaijan (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Azerbaijan}}

===Antiquity===
{{further|Caucasian Albania}}
[[File:Ancient Azerbaijan 4.jpg|thumb|left|[[Petroglyph]]s in [[Gobustan National Park]] dating back to the [[10th millennium BC]] indicating a thriving culture]]
The earliest evidence of human settlement in the territory of Azerbaijan dates back to the late [[Stone Age]] and is related to the [[Guruchay culture]] of [[Azykh Cave]].<ref>{{cite web| last = Azakov| first = Siyavush| title = National report on institutional landscape and research policy Social Sciences and Humanities in Azerbaijan<!--| agency = Institute of Physics-->| publisher = [[Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences]]| url = http://www.globalsocialscience.org/uploads/c_GlobalSSH%20-%20Azerbaijan%20institutional%20report%20FINAL.pdf| access-date = 27 May 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111116061819/http://www.globalsocialscience.org/uploads/c_GlobalSSH%20-%20Azerbaijan%20institutional%20report%20FINAL.pdf| archive-date = 16 November 2011}}</ref> Early settlements included the [[Scythia]]ns during the 9th century BC.<ref name="Library of Congress" /> Following the Scythians, Iranian [[Medes]] came to dominate the area to the south of the [[Aras (river)|Aras river]].<ref name="dictionary" /> The Medes forged a vast empire between 900 and 700&nbsp;BC, which was integrated into the [[Achaemenid Empire]] around 550&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Journey from Tehran to Chicago: My Life in Iran and the United States, and a Brief History of Iran|author=H. Dizadji |publisher=Trafford Publishing|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4269-2918-2|location=US|pages=105}}</ref> The area was conquered by the Achaemenids leading to the spread of [[Zoroastrianism]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chaumont|first=M. L.|chapter=Albania|title=Encyclopædia Iranica|year=1984|chapter-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/albania-iranian-aran-arm|access-date=15 January 2012|archive-date=26 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526212016/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/albania-iranian-aran-arm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===From the Sasanid period to the Safavid period===
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| direction         = horizontal
| header            = The [[Maiden Tower (Baku)|Maiden Tower]] and the [[Palace of the Shirvanshahs]] in the [[Old City (Baku)|Old City]] of Baku are a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]], built in the 11th–12th centuries.
| image1            = Qız qalası ümumi 2016.jpg
| alt1              = Maiden Tower
| caption1          = 
| width1            = 160
| image2            = Şirvanşahlar saray kompleksi.jpg
| alt2              = Palace of the Shirvanshahs
| caption2          = 
| width2            = 185
}}
The [[Sasanian Empire]] turned [[Caucasian Albania]] into a [[vassal state]] in 252, while King [[Urnayr]] officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Christianity: The Biography: 2000 Years of Global History|last=Shaw|first=Ian|publisher=Zondervan Academic|year=2017|isbn=978-0-310-53628-4}}</ref> Despite Sassanid rule, Caucasian Albania remained an entity in the region until the 9th century, while fully subordinate to Sassanid Iran, and retained its monarchy. Despite being one of the chief vassals of the Sasanian emperor, the Albanian king had only a semblance of authority, and the Sasanian [[marzban]] (military governor) held most civil, religious, and military authority.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Ehsan Yarshater]] |date=1983 |title=The Cambridge history of Iran, Volume 1 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=141 |isbn=978-0-521-20092-9}}</ref>

In the first half of the 7th century, Caucasian Albania, as a vassal of the Sasanians, came under nominal Muslim rule with the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]]. The [[Umayyad Caliphate]] repulsed both the Sasanians and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] from the [[South Caucasus]] and turned Caucasian Albania into a vassal state after Christian resistance led by King [[Juansher]] was suppressed in 667. The power vacuum left by the decline of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]] was filled by numerous local dynasties such as the [[Sallarid dynasty|Sallarids]], [[Sajid dynasty|Sajids]], and [[Shaddadids]]. At the beginning of the 11th century, the territory was gradually seized by the waves of migrating [[Oghuz Turks]] from Central Asia, who adopted a [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] [[ethnonym]] at the time.<ref>Barthold, V.V. ''Sochineniya''; p. 558: "Whatever the former significance of the Oghuz people in Eastern Asia, after the events of the 8th and 9th centuries, it focuses more and more on the West, on the border of the Pre-Asian cultural world, which was destined to be invaded by the Oghuz people in the 11th century, or, as they were called only in the west, by the Turkmen."</ref> The first of these Turkic dynasties established was the [[Seljuk Empire]], which entered the area by 1067.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPrjCwAAQBAJ&q=Tughril+and+Chaghri+Seljuk+Empire&pg=PA6|title=Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs|last1=Canby|first1=Sheila R.|last2=Beyazit|first2=Deniz|last3=Rugiadi|first3=Martina|last4=Peacock|first4=A. C. S.|date=2016-04-27|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-1-58839-589-4|language=en}}</ref>

The pre-Turkic population spoke several [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] and Caucasian languages, among them [[Armenian language|Armenian]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hewsen |first1=Robert H. |last2=Salvatico |first2=Christoper C. |title=Armenia: A Historical Atlas |date=2001 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-33228-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZfZBrFza_IYC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Samuelian |first1=Thomas J. |title=Hewsen, Robert H. (1982). Thomas J. Samuelian, ed. "Ethno-History and the Armenian Influence upon the Caucasian Albanians". Classical Armenian Culture: Influences and Creativity. (Philadelphia: Scholars Press. p. 45.) |date=1982 |publisher=Scholars Press |isbn=978-0-89130-565-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiduAAAAMAAJ&pg=45}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=Hewsen |first= Robert H.
|title=Armenia: a Historical Atlas
|location=Chicago
|publisher=University of Chicago Press
|year=2001
|pages=32–33, map 19 (shows the territory of modern Nagorno–Karabakh as part of the [[Orontids]]' Kingdom of Armenia)
}}
</ref><ref name="VII в 1877">Моисей Хоренский. Армянская География VII в. Перевод Патканова К.П. СПб., 1877. стр. 40,17</ref><ref>Hewsen, Robert H. "The Kingdom of Artsakh", in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds. ''Medieval Armenian Culture''. Chico, CA, 1983</ref> and an [[Iranian languages|Iranian language]], [[Old Azeri]], which was gradually replaced by a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]], the early precursor of the [[Azerbaijani language]] of today.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Yarshater
|first=E.
|chapter=The Iranian Language of Azerbaijan
|title=Encyclopædia Iranica
|volume=III/2
|year=1987
|chapter-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-vii
|access-date=15 January 2012
|archive-date=17 November 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117014959/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azerbaijan-vii
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Some linguists have also stated that the [[Tat language (Caucasus)|Tati dialects]] of [[Azerbaijan (Iran)|Iranian Azerbaijan]] and the Republic of Azerbaijan, like those spoken by the [[Tat people (Caucasus)|Tats]], are descended from Old Azeri.<ref>
{{cite book
|last=Ludwig
|first=Paul
|year=1998
|location= Cambridge
|title=Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies
|volume= 1
|edition= Nicholas Sims-Williams (ed.)
|publisher= Wiesbaden: Reichert
|isbn=978-3-89500-070-6
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=Roy
|first=Olivier
|year=2007
|title=The new Central Asia: geopolitics and the birth of nations
|page= 6
|edition= reprint
|publisher=I.B. Tauris
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-eMcn6Ik1v0C&pg=PA7
|isbn=978-1-84511-552-4
}}
</ref>
Locally, the possessions of the subsequent Seljuk Empire were ruled by [[Eldiguzids]], technically vassals of the Seljuk sultans, but sometimes ''de facto'' rulers themselves. Under the Seljuks, local poets such as [[Nizami Ganjavi]] and [[Khaqani]] gave rise to a blossoming of [[Persian literature]] in the region.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Neẓāmī |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |year=2009 |access-date=February 28, 2009 |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413374/Nezami |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204172005/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/413374/Nezami |archive-date=December 4, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Khaqani |title=Khāqānī |author=<!--Not stated--> |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |date=19 March 2024 |access-date=23 November 2020 |archive-date=20 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420084008/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Khaqani |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Shirvanshahs]], the local dynasty of Arabic origin that was later Persianized, became a vassal state of [[Timurid Empire]] of [[Timur]] and assisted him in his war with the ruler of the [[Golden Horde]] [[Tokhtamysh]]. Following Timur's death, two independent and rival Turkoman states emerged: [[Qara Qoyunlu]] and [[Aq Qoyunlu]]. The Shirvanshahs returned, maintaining for numerous centuries to come a high degree of autonomy as local rulers and vassals as they had done since 861. In 1501, the [[Safavid dynasty]] of Iran subdued the Shirvanshahs and gained its possessions. In the course of the next century, the Safavids [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|converted the formerly Sunni population to Shia Islam]],<ref>
{{cite book
|last=R. Ward
|first=Steven
|year=2009
|title=Immortal: a military history of Iran and its armed forces
|url=https://archive.org/details/immortalmilitary00ward
|url-access=limited
|page= [https://archive.org/details/immortalmilitary00ward/page/n57 43]
|publisher=Georgetown University Press
|isbn=978-1-58901-258-5
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite book
|last=Malcolm Wagstaff
|first=John
|year=1985
|title=The evolution of middle eastern landscapes: an outline to A.D. 1840, Part 1840
|page= 205
|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcPWhU10mGMC&pg=PA205
|isbn=978-0-389-20577-7
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=L. Altstadt
|first=Audrey
|year=1992
|title=The Azerbaijani Turks: power and identity under Russian rule
|page= 5
|publisher=Hoover Press
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZVN2MwWZVAC
|isbn=978-0-8179-9182-1
}}
</ref> as they did with the population in what is modern-day Iran.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akiner|first=Shirin |author-link= Shirin Akiner |year=2004|title=The Caspian: Politics, Energy and Security|page= 158 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N8IKR0oqdRkC|isbn=978-0-7007-0501-6}}</ref> The Safavids allowed the Shirvanshahs to remain in power under Safavid suzerainty until 1538, when Safavid King [[Tahmasp I]] completely deposed them and made the area into the Safavid [[Safavid Shirvan|province of Shirvan]]. The Sunni Ottomans briefly managed to occupy present-day Azerbaijan as a result of the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)|Ottoman–Safavid War of 1578–1590]]; by the early 17th century, they were ousted by Safavid Iranian ruler [[Abbas I of Persia|Abbas I]]. In the wake of the demise of the Safavid dynasty, [[Baku]] and its environs were briefly occupied by the Russians as a consequence of the [[Russo-Persian War (1722–1723)|Russo-Persian War of 1722–1723]]. Remainder of present Azerbaijan was [[Nader Shah#First Ottoman campaign and the reconquest of the Caucasus|occupied by the Ottomans]] from 1722 to 1736.<ref name="ĀŠRAFIRANICA">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Balland |first=D. |title=ĀŠRAF ḠILZAY |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |access-date=2011-12-31 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asraf-gilzay-the-afghan-chief-who-ruled-as-shah-over-part-of-iran-from-1137-1725-to-1142-1729 |archive-date=17 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117002952/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/asraf-gilzay-the-afghan-chief-who-ruled-as-shah-over-part-of-iran-from-1137-1725-to-1142-1729 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite brief intermissions such as these by Safavid Iran's neighboring rivals, the land remained under Iranian rule from the earliest advent of the Safavids up to the course of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Swietochowski|first=Tadeusz |author-link= Tadeusz Swietochowski |year=1995|title=Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition|pages= 69, 133 |publisher=Columbia University Press |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FfRYRwAACAAJ&q=Russia+and+Iran+in+the+great+game:+travelogues+and+orientalism|isbn=978-0-231-07068-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=L. Batalden|first=Sandra |year=1997|title=The newly independent states of Eurasia: handbook of former Soviet republics|page= 98|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WFjPAxhBEaEC&q=The+newly+independent+states+of+Eurasia:+handbook+of+former+Soviet+republics|isbn=978-0-89774-940-4}}</ref>

===Modern history===
[[File:Political map of the eastern part of the Southern Caucasus between 1795–1801.svg|300px|thumb|Political map of the eastern part of the [[South Caucasus]] between 1795 and 1801]]

After the Safavids, the area was ruled by the Iranian [[Afsharid dynasty]]. After the death of [[Nader Shah]] in 1747, many of his former subjects capitalized on the eruption of instability. [[Khanates of the Caucasus|Numerous khanate]]s with various forms of autonomy<ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Walker
|first1=Christopher J.
|title=Armenia, the survival of a nation
|date=1980
|publisher=Croom Helm
|page=45
|isbn=978-0-7099-0210-2
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y85tAAAAMAAJ
|quote=Tsitsianov next moved against the semi-independent Iranian khanates. On the thinnest of pretexts, he captured the Muslim town of Gandja, the seat of Islamic learning in the Caucasus (...)
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Saparov
|first1=Arsène
|title=From Conflict to Autonomy in the Caucasus: The Soviet Union and the Making of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno Karabakh
|date=2014
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-1-317-63783-7
|quote=Even though these principalities [the khanates] had not been under Iranian suzerainty since the assassination of [[Nadir Shah]] in 1747, they were traditionally considered an inalienable part of Iranian domains. (...) To the semi-independent Caucasian principalities, the appearance of the new Great Power (...)}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite journal
|last=Kashani-Sabet
|first=Firoozeh
|date=May 1997
|title=Fragile Frontiers: The Diminishing Domains of Qajar Iran
|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies
|volume=29 |issue=2 |page=210 |quote=In 1795, Ibrahim Khalil Khan, the wali of Qarabagh, warned Sultan Selim III of Aqa Muhammad Khan's ambitions. Fearing for his independence, he informed the Sultan of Aqa Muhammad Khan's ability to subdue Azerbaijan and later Qarabagh, Erivan, and Georgia.
|doi=10.1017/s0020743800064473
|doi-access=free| issn = 0020-7438}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last1=Barker
|first1=Adele Marie
|last2=Grant
|first2=Bruce
|title=The Russia Reader: History, Culture, Politics
|date=2010
|publisher=Duke University Press
|isbn=978-0-8223-4648-7
|page=253
|quote=But they were relatively more accessible given the organization of small, centralized, semi-independent khanates that functioned through the decline of Iranian rule after the death of Nadir Shah in the mid-eighteenth century (...)}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite book
|last1=Avery
|first1=Peter
|last2=Hambly |first2= Gavin
|title=The Cambridge History of Iran
|year=1991
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-20095-0
|page=126
|quote=Agha Muhammad Khan could now turn to the restoration of the outlying provinces of the Safavid kingdom. Returning to Tehran in the spring of 1795, he assembled a force of some 60,000 cavalries and infantry and in Shawwal Dhul-Qa'da/May, set off for Azarbaijan, intending to conquer the country between the rivers Aras and Kura, formerly under Safavid control. This region comprised a number of khanates of which the most important was ''Qarabagh'', with its capital at Shusha; Ganja, with its capital of the same name; Shirvan across the Kura, with its capital at Shamakhi; and to the north-west, on both banks of the Kura, Christian Georgia (Gurjistan), with its capital at Tiflis.
}}
</ref> emerged. The rulers of these khanates were directly related to the ruling dynasties of Iran and were vassals and [[Commoners|subjects]] of the Iranian shah.<ref>Encyclopedia of Soviet law By Ferdinand Joseph Maria Feldbrugge, Gerard Pieter van den Berg, William B. Simons, Page 457</ref> The khanates exercised control over their affairs via international trade routes between Central Asia and the West.<ref>
{{cite book
|last = King
|first = Charles
|author-link = Charles King (professor of international affairs)
|year = 2008
|title = The ghost of freedom: a history of the Caucasus
|page = 10
|publisher = University of Michigan
|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HyJpAAAAMAAJ
|isbn = 978-0-19-517775-6
}}
</ref>

Thereafter, the area was under the successive rule of the Iranian [[Zand dynasty|Zand]]s and [[Qajar dynasty|Qajars]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Hacikyan|editor1-first=Agop Jack|editor-link1=Agop Jack Hacikyan|editor2-last=Basmaijan|editor2-first=Gabriel|editor3-last=Franchuk|editor3-first=Edward S.|editor4-last=Ouzounian|editor4-first=Nourhan|title=The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the eighteenth century to modern times|date=2005|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=978-0-8143-3221-4|page=6}}</ref> From the late 18th century, [[Russian Empire|Imperial Russia]] switched to a more aggressive geo-political stance towards Iran and the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>Gabor Agoston, Bruce Alan Masters. [https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA125 ''Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire''] Infobase Publishing, 1 January 2009 {{ISBN|978-1-4381-1025-7}} p. 125</ref> Russia actively tried to gain possession of the Caucasus region which was, for the most part, in the hands of Iran.<ref name=CAUCAIRANICA>{{cite encyclopedia
| author=Multiple Authors
| title=Caucasus and Iran
| encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica
| access-date=3 September 2012
| url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caucasus-index
| archive-date=20 October 2021
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020103816/https://iranicaonline.org/articles/caucasus-index
| url-status=live
}}</ref> In 1804, the Russians [[Siege of Ganja (1804)|invaded and sacked the Iranian town of Ganja]], sparking the [[Russo-Persian War (1804–13)|Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Tucker|editor1-first=Spencer C.|title=A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|page=1035|isbn=978-1-85109-672-5|quote=January 1804. (...) Russo-Persian War. Russian invasion of Persia. (...) In January 1804 Russian forces under General Paul Tsitsianov (Sisianoff) invade Persia and storm the citadel of Ganjeh, beginning the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813).}}</ref> The militarily superior Russians ended the war with a victory.<ref>{{cite book |first=Erik |last=Goldstein |title=Wars and Peace Treaties: 1816 to 1991 |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-415-07822-1 |page=67 }}</ref> Following Qajar Iran's loss, it was forced to concede suzerainty over most of the khanates, along with Georgia and Dagestan to the Russian Empire, per the [[Treaty of Gulistan]].<ref name="books.google.nl">Timothy C. Dowling (2014). [https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 ''Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond''] pp. 728–729 ABC-CLIO, {{ISBN|978-1-59884-948-6}}</ref>

[[File:Взятии штурмом крепости Гянджи.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Battle of Ganja (1804)|The siege of Ganja Fortress in 1804]] during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813]]The area to the north of the Aras River was Iranian territory until Russia occupied it in the 19th century.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /><ref>{{cite book |last=L. Batalden|first=Sandra |year=1997|title=The Newly Independent States of Eurasia: Handbook of Former Soviet Republics|page= 98|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WFjPAxhBEaEC|isbn=978-0-89774-940-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Ebel |first1=Robert E.|last2=Menon |first2=Rajan |year=2000|title=Energy and conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus|page= 181 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-sCpf26vBZ0C&q=Energy+and+conflict+in+Central+Asia+and+the+Caucasus|isbn=978-0-7425-0063-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Andreeva|first=Elena |year=2010|title=Russia and Iran in the great game: travelogues and orientalism|page= 6 |edition= reprint|publisher=Taylor & Francis | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FfRYRwAACAAJ|isbn=978-0-415-78153-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Çiçek, Kemal|author2=Kuran, Ercüment |year=2000|title=The Great Ottoman-Turkish Civilisation|publisher=University of Michigan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c5VpAAAAMAAJ|isbn=978-975-6782-18-7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Karl E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPBn2KZWNuMC |title=Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia |last2=Brysac |first2=Shareen Blair |date=2009-03-17 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-7867-3678-2 |page=66 |language=en}}</ref> About a decade later, in violation of the Gulistan treaty, the Russians invaded Iran's [[Erivan Khanate]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Cronin|editor1-first=Stephanie|title=Iranian-Russian Encounters: Empires and Revolutions since 1800|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-62433-6|page=63|quote=Perhaps the most important legacy of Yermolov was his intention from early on to prepare the ground for the conquest of the remaining khanates under Iranian rule and to make the River Aras the new border. (...) Another provocative action by Yermolov was the Russian occupation of the northern shore of Lake Gokcha (Sivan) in the Khanate of Iravan in 1825. A clear violation of Golestan, this action was the most significant provocation by the Russian side. The Lake Gokcha occupation clearly showed that it was Russia and not Iran which initiated hostilities and breached Golestan and that Iran was left with no choice but to come up with a proper response.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Dowling|editor1-first=Timothy C.|title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond|date=2015|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-948-6|page=729|quote=In May 1826, Russia, therefore, occupied Mirak, in the Erivan khanate, in violation of the Treaty of Gulistan.}}</ref> This sparked the final bout of hostilities between the two, the [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)|Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828]]. The resulting [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]] forced Qajar Iran to cede sovereignty over the Erivan Khanate, the [[Nakhchivan Khanate]] and the remainder of the [[Talysh Khanate]].<ref name="books.google.nl" /> After the incorporation of all Caucasian territories from Iran into Russia, the border between the two was set at the Aras River.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Alexander Mikaberidze]] |date=2015 |title=Historical Dictionary of Georgia |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |page=664 |isbn=978-1-4422-4146-6}}</ref>

Despite the Russian conquest, throughout the entire 19th century, preoccupation with [[Culture of Iran|Iranian culture]], [[Literature of Iran|literature]], and language remained widespread among Shia and Sunni intellectuals in the Russian-held cities of Baku, Ganja and Tiflis ([[Tbilisi]], now Georgia).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gasimov |first1=Zaur |title=Observing Iran from Baku: Iranian Studies in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2022|volume=55|issue=1|page=38|doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1865136|s2cid=233889871 |quote=The preoccupation with Iranian culture, literature, and language was widespread among Baku-, Ganja-, and Tiflis-based Shia as well as Sunni intellectuals, and it never ceased throughout the nineteenth century. }}</ref> Within the same century, in post-Iranian Russian-held East Caucasia, an Azerbaijani national identity emerged at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Gasimov1">{{cite journal |last1=Gasimov |first1=Zaur |title=Observing Iran from Baku: Iranian Studies in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2022|volume=55|issue=1|page=37|doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1865136|s2cid=233889871 |quote=Azerbaijani national identity emerged in post-Persian Russian-ruled East Caucasia at the end of the nineteenth century, and was finally forged during the early Soviet period.}}</ref> As a result of the Russian conquest, the [[Azerbaijanis]] are nowadays parted between two nations: Iran and Azerbaijan.<ref>Swietochowski, Tadeusz. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EPP3ti4hysUC&pg=PA104 ''Eastern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia 2003''] Taylor and Francis, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-85743-137-7}} p. 104</ref>

After the collapse of the Russian Empire during [[World War I]], the short-lived [[Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]] was declared, constituting the present-day republics of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia. It was followed by the [[March Days]] massacres<ref name="smithmusavat">{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Michael |date=April 2001 |title=Anatomy of Rumor: Murder Scandal, the Musavat Party and Narrative of the Russian Revolution in Baku, 1917–1920 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=36 |issue=2 |page=228 |doi= 10.1177/002200940103600202|s2cid=159744435 |quote=''The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members were killed in the fighting; up to 12,000 Muslim civilians perished; thousands of others fled Baku in a mass exodus''}}</ref><ref name="minahan">{{cite book |title=Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States |last=Minahan |first=James B. |isbn=978-0-313-30610-5 |page=22 |quote=''The tensions and fighting between the Azerbaijanis and the Armenians in the federation culminated in the massacre of some 12,000 Azerbaijanis in Baku by radical Armenians and Bolshevik troops in March 1918''|year=1998 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref> that took place between 30 March and 2 April 1918 in Baku and adjacent areas of the [[Baku Governorate]].<ref name="Smith">{{cite web |url=http://old.sakharov-center.ru/publications/azrus/az_004.htm |title=Pamiat' ob utratakh i Azerbaidzhanskoe obshchestvo/Traumatic Loss and Azerbaijani. National Memory |author=Michael Smith |website=Azerbaidzhan i Rossiia: obshchestva i gosudarstva (Azerbaijan and Russia: Societies and States) |publisher=Sakharov Center |access-date=21 August 2011 |language=ru |archive-date=1 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401031542/http://old.sakharov-center.ru/publications/azrus/az_004.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> When the republic dissolved in May 1918, the leading [[Musavat]] party declared independence as the [[Azerbaijan Democratic Republic]] (ADR), adopting the name of "Azerbaijan", a name that prior to the proclamation of the ADR was solely used to refer to the adjacent [[Iranian Azerbaijan|northwestern region of contemporary Iran]].<ref name="I.B.Tauris" /><ref name="I.B. Tauris" /><ref name="Amsterdam University Press" /> The ADR was the first modern [[parliamentary republic]] in the Muslim world.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /><ref name="kazemzadeh" /><ref>Schulze, Reinhard. A Modern History of the Islamic World. I.B.Tauris, 2000. {{ISBN|978-1-86064-822-9}}.</ref> Among the important accomplishments of the Parliament was the extension of suffrage to women, making ADR the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men.<ref name="kazemzadeh" /> [[Baku State University]], first modern university founded in the Muslim East, was established during this period.<ref name="kazemzadeh">{{Cite book| last = Kazemzadeh | first = Firuz |author-link=Firuz Kazemzadeh | title = The Struggle for Transcaucasia: 1917–1921 | publisher = The New York Philosophical Library | year= 1951 | isbn = 978-0-8305-0076-5 | pages = 124, 222, 229, 269–270 }}</ref>
[[File:1ST AZ REP.GIF|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Map presented by the delegation of Azerbaijan in the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|1919 Paris Peace Conference]]]]

Independent Azerbaijan lasted only 23 months until the [[Bolshevik]] [[11th Army (RSFSR)|11th Soviet Red Army]] invaded it, establishing the [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic]] on 28 April 1920. Although the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had  broken out in [[Karabakh]], Azerbaijanis did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily. As many as 20,000 Azerbaijani soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pope|first=Hugh |year=2006|title=Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world|page= 116 |location=New York |publisher=The Overlook Press |isbn=978-1-58567-804-4}}</ref> Within the ensuing early Soviet period, the Azerbaijani national identity was forged.<ref name="Gasimov1"/>

On 13 October 1921, the Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia signed an agreement with Turkey known as the [[Treaty of Kars]]. The previously independent [[Republic of Aras]] would also become the [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic]] within the Azerbaijan SSR by the treaty of Kars. On the other hand, Armenia was awarded the region of [[Syunik Province|Zangezur]] and Turkey agreed to return [[Gyumri]] (then known as Alexandropol).<ref>{{cite book |title=Ethnic nationalism and regional conflict: the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia |last1=Raymond Duncan |first1=Walter |last2=Holman (Jr.)
 |first2=G. Paul |year=1994 |publisher= Westview Press |location= US |isbn= 978-0-231-07068-3 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/ethnicnationalis00dunc/page/109 109–112] |url=https://archive.org/details/ethnicnationalis00dunc|url-access=registration }}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Azerbaijan played a crucial role in the strategic energy policy of the [[Soviet Union]], with 80 percent of the Soviet Union's oil on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] being supplied by Baku. By decree of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]] in February 1942, the commitment of more than 500 workers and employees of the oil industry of Azerbaijan were awarded orders and medals. [[Operation Edelweiss]] carried out by the German [[Wehrmacht]] targeted Baku because of its importance as the energy (petroleum) dynamo of the USSR.<ref name="Swietochowski Borderland" /> A fifth of all Azerbaijanis fought in the Second World War from 1941 to 1945. Approximately 681,000 people (with over 100,000 women) went to the front, while the total population of Azerbaijan was 3.4&nbsp;million at the time.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://www.contact.az/topics_en.asp?id=4902&pb=2&vr=en&yr=2011&mdn=1| title = Azerbaijan celebrates day of victory over fascism| date = 9 May 2011| publisher = "Contact.az"| access-date = 9 May 2011| archive-date = 24 March 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120324035253/http://www.contact.az/topics_en.asp?id=4902&pb=2&vr=en&yr=2011&mdn=1| url-status = live}}</ref> Some 250,000 people from Azerbaijan were killed on the front. More than 130 Azerbaijanis were named [[Hero of the Soviet Union|heroes of the Soviet Union]]. Azerbaijani Major-General [[Azi Aslanov]] was twice awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.azernews.az/en/Nation/20409-Victory_over_Nazis_%E2%80%98was_impossible_without_Baku_oil%E2%80%99|title=Victory over Nazis 'was impossible without Baku oil'|date=8 May 2010|publisher="AzerNEWS"|access-date=8 May 2010|archive-date=4 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904204708/http://www.azernews.az/en/Nation/20409-Victory_over_Nazis_%E2%80%98was_impossible_without_Baku_oil%E2%80%99|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Independence===
[[File:RedArmy Paratroops Baku 1990.jpg|thumb|[[Soviet Army]] [[paratrooper]]s during the [[Black January]] tragedy in 1990]]
Following the politics of ''[[glasnost]]'' initiated by [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], civil unrest and ethnic strife grew in various regions of the Soviet Union, including [[Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast|Nagorno-Karabakh]],<ref name=Croissant>{{Cite book | first = Croissant | last = Michael P. | title = The Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: causes and implications | place = Westport, CT | publisher = Praeger Publishers | year = 1998 | pages = 36, 37 | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ZeP7OZZswtcC&pg=PP1| isbn = 978-0-275-96241-8 }}</ref> an autonomous region of the Azerbaijan SSR. The disturbances in Azerbaijan, in response to Moscow's indifference to an already heated conflict, resulted in calls for independence and secession, which culminated in the [[Black January]] events in Baku.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://hrw.org/reports/1995/communal|title=Human Rights Watch. "Playing the "Communal Card": Communal Violence and Human Rights"|publisher=[[Human Rights Watch]]|access-date=12 May 2011|archive-date=11 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011042435/http://www.hrw.org/reports/1995/communal/|url-status=live}}</ref> Later in 1990, the [[Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR|Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR]] dropped the words "Soviet Socialist" from the title, adopted the "Declaration of Sovereignty of the Azerbaijan Republic" and restored the flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic as the state flag.<ref name="Meclis">{{cite web |url= http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/content/70 |title= Milli Məclisin tarixi. Azərbaycan SSR Ali Soveti (1920–1991-ci illər) |trans-title= The history of Milli Majlis. Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan SSR (1920–1991) |access-date= 1 December 2010 |archive-date= 30 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151030231625/http://www.meclis.gov.az/?%2Faz%2Fcontent%2F70 |url-status= live }}</ref> As a consequence of the failed [[1991 Soviet coup attempt]] in Moscow, the Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted a Declaration of Independence on 18 October 1991 which was affirmed by a nationwide referendum in December, while the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist on 26 December.<ref name="Meclis"/> The country celebrates its [[Day of Restoration of Independence (Azerbaijan)|Day of Restoration of Independence]] on 18 October.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NCez3ZuV3NoC&pg=PA116 |page=116 |title=Azerbaijan |author=David C. King |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |year=2006|isbn=978-0-7614-2011-8 }}</ref>

The early years of independence were overshadowed by the [[First Nagorno-Karabakh war]] with the ethnic Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peacemaker.un.org/armeniaazerbaijan-bishkekprotocol94|title=Bishkek Protocol {{!}} UN Peacemaker|publisher=United Nations|access-date=2019-08-23|archive-date=6 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206161539/https://peacemaker.un.org/armeniaazerbaijan-bishkekprotocol94|url-status=live}}</ref> By the end of the hostilities in 1994, Armenians controlled 14–16 percent of Azerbaijani territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref name="cia">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Azerbaijan|access-date=8 May 2022 |year=2022}}</ref><ref name="DeWaal">[[Thomas De Waal|De Waal, Thomas]] (2013). ''Black Garden: Armenia And Azerbaijan Through Peace and War''. New York: New York University Press, p. 286. {{ISBN|978-0-8147-1945-9|0814719457}}.</ref> During the war many atrocities and pogroms by both sides were committed including the massacres at [[Capture of Gushchular and Malibeyli|Malibeyli, Gushchular]] and [[Capture of Garadaghly|Garadaghly]] and the [[Khojaly massacre]], along with the [[Baku pogrom]], the [[Maraga massacre]] and the [[Kirovabad pogrom]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10611FF3C5D0C708CDDAA0894DA494D81 |title=Massacre by Armenians Being Reported |work=The New York Times |date=3 March 1992 |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=11 March 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311133234/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10611FF3C5D0C708CDDAA0894DA494D81 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smolowe |first=Jill |url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,975096,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228104647/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,975096,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2005 |magazine=Time |title=Tragedy Massacre in Khojaly |date=16 March 1992 |access-date=9 September 2013}}</ref> Furthermore, an estimated 30,000 people were killed and more than a million people were displaced (more than 800,000 Azerbaijanis and 300,000 Armenians).<ref>[http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/1283/conflict_that_can_be_resolved_in_time.html A Conflict That Can Be Resolved in Time: Nagorno-Karabakh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208204939/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/1283/conflict_that_can_be_resolved_in_time.html |date=8 December 2015 }}. ''International Herald Tribune''. 29 November 2003.</ref> Four [[United Nations Security Council]] resolutions ([[United Nations Security Council Resolution 822|822]], [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 853|853]], [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 874|874]], and [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 884|884]]) demand for "the immediate withdrawal of all Armenian forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan."<ref>{{cite web | title = General Assembly adopts resolution reaffirming territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, demanding withdrawal of all Armenian forces | publisher = United Nations General Assembly | date = 14 March 2008 | url = https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10693.doc.htm | access-date = 14 March 2008 | archive-date = 21 January 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090121030056/https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10693.doc.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> Many Russians and Armenians fled Azerbaijan as refugees during the 1990s.<ref>[http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp083003.shtml Southern Caucasus: Facing Integration Problems, Ethnic Russians Long For Better Life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209000151/http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/pp083003.shtml |date=9 December 2015 }}. EurasiaNet.org. 30 August 2003.</ref> According to the 1970 census, there were 510,000 ethnic [[Russian diaspora|Russians]] and 484,000 Armenians in Azerbaijan.<ref>"[http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Azerbaijan+Soviet+Socialist+Republic Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103114602/http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Azerbaijan+Soviet+Socialist+Republic |date=3 November 2011 }}". The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979).</ref>

===Aliyev family rule, 1993–present===
[[File:Nagorno-Karabakh conflict map (pre-2020).png|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Military situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region prior to the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]]]]
In 1993, democratically elected President [[Abulfaz Elchibey]] was overthrown by a military insurrection led by Colonel [[Surat Huseynov]], which resulted in the rise to power of the former leader of Soviet Azerbaijan, [[Heydar Aliyev]]. In 1994, Huseynov, by that time the prime minister, attempted another military coup against Heydar Aliyev, but he was arrested and charged with treason.<ref>{{cite news| title = Timeline: Azerbaijan A chronology of key events| work = BBC News| date = 31 March 2011| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/europe/country_profiles/1235740.stm| access-date = 22 May 2011| archive-date = 9 April 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120409150446/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/europe/country_profiles/1235740.stm| url-status = live}}</ref> In 1995 [[1995 Azerbaijani coup d'état attempt|another coup]] was attempted against Aliyev, this time by the commander of the Russian [[OMON]] special police unit, [[Rovshan Javadov]]. The coup was averted, resulting in the death of Javadov and disbanding of Azerbaijan's OMON units.<ref name="bbc">{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97DB500B7A486B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|title=Azeri rights activist says 35 imprisoned special police unit members very sick|date=2 June 2000|work=BBC Archive|access-date=15 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081632/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97DB500B7A486B&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D|archive-date=18 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="lt">{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/22723287.html?dids=22723287:22723287&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+18,+1995&author=SONNI+EFRON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Azerbaijan+Coup+Attempt+Crushed+Caucasus:+Loyal+forces+storm+a+building+and+overcome+mutinous+police+units,+president+reports.&pqatl=google|title=Azerbaijan Coup Attempt Crushed Caucasus: Loyal forces storm a building and overcome mutinous police units, president reports.|date=18 March 1995|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=15 August 2009|first=Sonni|last=Efron|archive-date=24 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624093851/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/22723287.html?dids=22723287:22723287&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+18,+1995&author=SONNI+EFRON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Azerbaijan+Coup+Attempt+Crushed+Caucasus:+Loyal+forces+storm+a+building+and+overcome+mutinous+police+units,+president+reports.&pqatl=google|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the same time, the country was tainted by rampant corruption in the governing bureaucracy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3191598.stm|title=Aliyev and son keep it in the family|date=14 October 2003|work=BBC News|access-date=14 October 2003|first=Stephen|last=Mulvey|archive-date=1 March 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040301162406/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3191598.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 1998, Aliyev was re-elected for a second term.

[[Ilham Aliyev]], Heydar Aliyev's son, became chairman of the [[New Azerbaijan Party]] as well as [[President of Azerbaijan]] when his father died in 2003. He was [[Azerbaijani presidential election, 2013|re-elected to a third term]] as president in October 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keesings.com/search?kssp_search_phrase=azerbaijan&x=0&y=0&kssp_a_id=53026n01aze&kssp_selected_tab=article |title=Nov 2013 – Action against opposition |website=Keesing's Record of World Events |volume=59 |date=November 2013 |page=53026 |access-date=15 May 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517115635/http://www.keesings.com/search?kssp_search_phrase=azerbaijan&x=0&y=0&kssp_a_id=53026n01aze&kssp_selected_tab=article |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2018, Aliyev secured his fourth consecutive term in the [[2018 Azerbaijani presidential election|election]] that was boycotted by the main opposition parties as fraudulent.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Welle (www.dw.com) |first1=Deutsche |title=Azerbaijan's strongman Ilham Aliyev re-elected for fourth consecutive term {{!}} DW {{!}} 11.04.2018 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/azerbaijans-strongman-ilham-aliyev-re-elected-for-fourth-consecutive-term/a-43349870 |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=11 April 2018 |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215232600/https://www.dw.com/en/azerbaijans-strongman-ilham-aliyev-re-elected-for-fourth-consecutive-term/a-43349870 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 27 September 2020, clashes in the unresolved [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]] resumed along the [[Nagorno-Karabakh Line of Contact]]. Both the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia reported military and civilian casualties.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh goes on despite US mediation |url=https://apnews.com/article/europe-azerbaijan-armenia-41a103bcde14fa8b28968000d7992b84 |work=Associated Press |date=24 October 2020 |access-date=15 November 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404032113/https://apnews.com/article/europe-azerbaijan-armenia-41a103bcde14fa8b28968000d7992b84 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement]] and the end of the six-week [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War|war between Azerbaijan and Armenia]] was widely celebrated in Azerbaijan, as they made significant territorial gains.<ref>{{cite news |title=Fury and celebrations as Russia brokers peace deal to end Nagorno-Karabakh war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-armenia-azerbaijan-war-fighting-peace-deal-b1720219.html |work=The Independent |date=11 November 2020 |access-date=15 November 2020 |archive-date=4 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404091111/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-armenia-azerbaijan-war-fighting-peace-deal-b1720219.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the much improved economy,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Strong economic performance in Caucasus amid geopolitical turmoil |url=https://www.ebrd.com/news/2022/strong-economic-performance-in-caucasus-amid-geopolitical-turmoil.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=www.ebrd.com |language=en |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001093818/https://www.ebrd.com/news/2022/strong-economic-performance-in-caucasus-amid-geopolitical-turmoil.html |url-status=live }}</ref> particularly with the exploitation of the [[Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli|Azeri–Chirag–Guneshli]] oil field and [[Shah Deniz gas field]], the Aliyev family rule has been criticized with election fraud,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Azerbaijan: The veneer of democracy is peeling off Baku's authoritarian political structure |url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-the-veneer-of-democracy-is-peeling-off-bakus-authoritarian-political-structure |access-date=23 September 2023 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002073457/https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-the-veneer-of-democracy-is-peeling-off-bakus-authoritarian-political-structure |url-status=live }}</ref> high levels of economic inequality<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haas |first=Devin |date=2023-08-14 |title=Rural Azerbaijan risks falling further behind wealthy Baku |url=https://emerging-europe.com/news/rural-azerbaijan-risks-falling-further-behind-wealthy-baku/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=Emerging Europe |language=en-GB |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929194954/https://emerging-europe.com/news/rural-azerbaijan-risks-falling-further-behind-wealthy-baku/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Corruption in Azerbaijan|domestic corruption]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stocks |first=Miranda Patrucic, Ilya Lozovsky, Kelly Bloss, and Tom |title=Azerbaijan's Ruling Aliyev Family and Their Associates Acquired Dozens of Prime London Properties Worth Nearly $700 Million |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora-papers/azerbaijans-ruling-aliyev-family-and-their-associates-acquired-dozens-of-prime-london-properties-worth-nearly-700-million |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=OCCRP |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331114634/https://www.occrp.org/en/the-pandora-papers/azerbaijans-ruling-aliyev-family-and-their-associates-acquired-dozens-of-prime-london-properties-worth-nearly-700-million |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2023, Azerbaijan [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|launched an offensive]] against the breakaway [[Republic of Artsakh]] in Nagorno-Karabakh that resulted in the dissolution and reintegration of Artsakh on 1 January 2024 and the [[Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|flight of nearly all ethnic Armenians from the region]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Demourian |first=Avet |date=2023-09-29 |title=More than 80% of Nagorno-Karabakh's population flees as future uncertain for those who remain |url=https://apnews.com/article/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia-separatist-government-5f7b940643a3d6e63a6f3d512158e51a |access-date=2024-01-02 |website=[[AP News]] |language=en |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930164119/https://apnews.com/article/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia-separatist-government-5f7b940643a3d6e63a6f3d512158e51a |url-status=live }}</ref>