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This region should not be confused with modern-day Albania in south-eastern Europe.

Caucasian Albania
4th century BC–8th century AD
Borders of Caucasian Albania in Late Antiquity.
Status	Kingdom
Capital	Qabala, Barda
Common languages	Caucasian Albanian
Religion	Paganism, Christianity
Historical era	Antiquity
• Established	4th century BC
• Disestablished	8th century AD
Preceded by Succeeded by Achaemenid Empire Rashidun Caliphate
Today part of	Azerbaijan  Dagestan

Albania (Latin Albānia, Greek Ἀλβανία, in Old Armenian: Աղուանք Ałuankʿ, Parthian Ardhan, Middle Persian Arran, usually referred to as Caucasian Albania for disambiguation with the modern state of Albania; the native name for the country is unknown) is a name for the historical country of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day Azerbaijan (where both of Caucasian Albanian capitals were located) and partially southern Dagestan.

Names

The Parthian name was Ardhan ( Middle Persian: Arran). The Arabic was ar-Rān. The name of the country in the language of the native population, the Caucasian Albanians, is not known.

Aghuank (Old Armenian: Աղուանք Ałuankʿ, Modern Armenian: Աղվանք Aġvank’) is the Armenian name for Caucasian Albania. Armenian authors mention that the name derived from the word "Aghu" («Աղու») meaning amiable in Armenian. The term Aghuank is polysemous and is also used in Armenian sources to denote the region between the Kur and Araxes rivers as part of Armenia. In the latter case it is sometimes used in the form "Armenian Aghuank" or "Hay-Aghuank" .

The Armenian historian of the region, Movses Kaghankatvatsi, who left the only more or less complete historical account, also explains the name Aghvank as a derivation from the word Aghu (Armenian for sweet, soft, tender), which, he said, was the nickname of Caucasian Albania's first governor Arran and referred to his lenient personality. Moses of Kalankatuyk and other ancient sources explain Arran or Arhan as the name of the legendary founder of Caucasian Albania (Aghvan) or even as the Iranic tribe known as Alans (Alani), who in some versions was son of Noah's son Yafet (Japheth). James Darmesteter, translator of the Avesta, compared Arran with Airyana Vaego which he also considered to have been in the Araxes-Ararat region, although modern theories tend to place this in the east of Iran.

Geography

In pre-Islamic times, Caucasian Albania/Arran was a wider concept than that of post-Islamic Arran. Ancient Arran covered all eastern Transcaucasia, which included most of the territory of modern day Azerbaijan Republic and part of the territory of Dagestan. However in post-Islamic times the geographic notion of Arran reduced to the territory between the rivers of Kura and Araks.

The ancient Caucasian Albania lay on the south-eastern part of the Greater Caucasus mountains. It was bounded by Caucasian Iberia (present-day Georgia) to the west, by Sarmatians of the Caucasus to the north, by the Caspian Sea to the east, and by the provinces of Artsakh and Utik in Armenia to the west, along the river Kura .

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 Kura and Aras rivers, including the highland and lowland Karabakh (Artsakh), Mil plain and parts of the Mughan plain, and in the pre-Islamic times, corresponded roughly to the territory of modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan.

The districts of Albania were the following :

1. Kambysene
2. Getaru
3. Elni / Xeni
4. Begh
5. Shake
6. Xolmaz
7. Kapalak
8. Hambasi
9. Gelavu
10. Hejeri
11. Kaladasht

The kingdom's capital during antquity was Qabala (Kapalak).

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 B.C..

The original territory of Albania was approximately 23.000 km² . After 387 A.D. the territory of Caucasian Albania, sometimes referred to by scholars as "Greater Albania," grew to about 45,000 km². In the 5th century the capital was transferred to Partav in Utik', reported to have been built in the mid-5th century by the King Vache II of Albania, but according to M. L. Chaumont, it existed earlier as an Armenian city.

In a medieval chronicle "Ajayib-ad-Dunia", written in the 13th century by an unknown author, Arran is said to have been 30 farsakhs (200 km) in width, and 40 farsakhs (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 as Shirvan). 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 the South Caucasus. In some instances Arran was a part of Armenia.

Medieval Islamic geographers gave descriptions of Arran in general, and of its towns, which included Barda, Beylagan, and Ganja, along with others.

History

Median and Achaemenid era

According to one hypothesis, Caucasian Albania was incorporated in the Median empire. Persian penetration into this region at a very early date is connected with the need to defend the northern frontier of the Iranian empire.. Possibly already under the Achaemenids some measures were taken to protect the Caucasian passes against the invaders however the foundation of Darband and series of gates is traditionally ascribed to the Sassanid empire. Albania was incorporated in the Achaemenid empire and were under the command of the satrapy of Media in the later period.

Hellenistic era

The Greek historian Arrian mentions (perhaps anachronistically) the Caucasian Albanians for the first time in the battle of Gaugamela, where the Albanians, Medes, Cadussi and Sacae were under the command of Atropates.

An Albanian kingdom was founded in the 2nd century BC. Albanians are mentioned for the first time in 331 BC at the Battle of Gaugamela as participants from the satrapy of Media, although their mention here is "perhaps anachronistic", according to Robert Hewsen.

Albania first appears in history as a vassal state in the empire of Tigranes the Great of Armenia (95-56 BC). The kingdom of Albania emerged in the eastern Caucasus in 2nd or 1st century B.C. and along with the Georgians and Armenians formed one of the three nations of the Southern Caucasus. Albania came under strong Armenian religious and cultural influence.

Herodotus, Strabo, and other classical authors repeatedly mention the Caspians 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).

In the 2nd century BC parts of Albania were conquered by the kingdom of Armenia, presumably from Medes (although possibly it was earlier part of Orontid Armenia).

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 of Artsakh and Utik. These were Utians, Mycians, Caspians, Gargarians, Sakasenians, Gelians, Sodians, Lupenians, Balasanians, Parsians and Parrasians. According to Robert 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." He also states that the several peoples of the right bank of Kura "were highly Armenicized and that many were actually Armenians per 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.

Roman Empire

There was an enduring relation of Albania with Ancient Rome. The Latin rock inscription close to Boyukdash mountain in Qobustan, Baku, which mentions Legio XII Fulminata, is the world's easternmost Roman evidence known. In Albania, Romans reached the Caspian Sea for the first time. The Roman coins circulated in Caucasian Albania till the end of the 3rd century AD. Two denarii, unearthed in the 2nd century BC layer, were minted by Clodius and Caesar. The coins of Augustus are ubiquitous. The Qabala treasures revealed the denarii of Otho, Vespasian, Trajan and Hadrian.

In 69-68 BC Lucullus, having overcome Armenian ruler Tigranes II, approached the borders of Caucasian Albania and was succeeded by Pompey. After the 66-65 BC wintering Pompey launched the Iberian campaign. It is reported by Strabo upon the account of Theophanes of Mytilene who participated in it. As testified by Kamilla Trever, Pompey reached the Albanian border at modern Qazakh Rayon of Azerbaijan. Igrar Aliyev showed that this region called Cambysene was inhabited mainly by stock-breeders at the time. When fording the Alazan river, he was attacked by forces of Oroezes, King of Albania, and eventually defeated them. According to Plutarch, 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". Plutarch also reported that "after the battle, Pompey set out to march to the Caspian Sea, but was turned back by a multitude of deadly reptiles when he was only three days march distant, and withdrew into Lesser Armenia"..

The population of Caucasian Albania of the Roman period is believed to have belonged to either the Northeast Caucasian peoples or the South Caucasian peoples. According to Strabo, the Albanians were a group of 26 tribes which lived to the north of the Kura river and each of them had its own king and language. Sometime before the 1st century BC they federated into one state and were ruled by one king .

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

In 1899 a silver plate featuring Roman toreutics was excavated near Azerbaijani village of Qalagah.

The rock inscription near the south-eastern part of Boyukdash's foot (70 km from Baku) was discovered on June 2, 1948 by Azerbaijani archaeologist Ishag Jafarzadeh. The legend is IMPDOMITIANO CAESARE·AVG GERMANIC L·IVLIVS MAXIMVS> LEG XII·FVL. According to Domitian's titles in it, the related march took place between 84 and 96. The inscription was studied by Russian expert Yevgeni Pakhomov, who assumed that the associated campaign was launched to control the Derbent Gate and that the XII Fulminata has marched out either from Melitene, its permanent base, or Armenia, where it might have moved from before. Pakhomov supposed that the legion proceeded to the spot continually along the Aras River. The later version, published in 1956, states that the legion was stationing in Cappadocia 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.

In 1953 twelve denarii of Augustus were unearthed. In 1958 one denarius, coined in ca. 82 AD, was revealed in the Şamaxı trove.

During the reign of Roman emperor Hadrian (117-138) Albania was invaded by the Alans, an Iranian nomadic group. This invasion promoted an alliance between Rome and the Albanians that was reinforced under Antoninus Pius in 140 AD. Sassanians occupied the area around 240 Ad but after a few years the Roman Empire regained control of Caucasian Albania.

Indeed in 297 the treaty of Nisibis stipulated the reestablishment of the Roman protectorate over Caucasian Iberia and Albania. But fifty years later Rome lost the area that since then remained an integral part of the Sasanian Empire.

Parthian period

Under Parthian rule, Iranian political and cultural influence increased in the region. 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 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. An incursion in this era was made by the Alans who between 134 and 136 attacked Albania, Media, and Armenia, penetrating as far as Cappadocia. But Vologases persuaded them to withdraw, probably by paying them.

Sassanid period

In 252-253, Caucasian Albania, along with Caucasian Iberia and Greater Armenia, was conquered and annexed by the Sassanid Empire. Albania became a vassal state of the Sassanid Empire, but retained its monarchy; the Albanian king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sassanid marzban (military governor) of the territory.

Romans obtained again control of Caucasian Albania as a vassal state for a few years around 300 AD, but soon after that the Sassanians dominated again the area for centuries until the Arab invasions.

Albania was mentioned among the Sasanian provinces listed in the trilingual inscription of Shapur I at Naqsh-e Rustam.

In the middle of the 4th century the king of Albania Urnayr arrived in Armenia and was baptized by Gregory 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.

Sasanian king Yazdegerd II passed an edict requiring all the Christians in his empire to convert to Mazdaism, fearing that Christians might ally with Roman Empire, which had recently adopted Christianity. This led to a rebellion of Albanians, along with Armenians and Iberians. In a battle that took place in 451 AD in the Avarayr field, the allied forces of the Armenian, Albanian and Iberian kings, 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 became a center for resistance to Sassanid Persia. The religious center of the Albanian state also moved here. However, the Albanian king Vache, a relative of Yazdegerd II, was forced to convert to the official religion of the Sasanian empire, but soon reverted back to Christianity.

In the middle of the 5th century by the order of the Persian king Peroz I Vache built in Utik the city initially called Perozabad, and later Partaw and Barda, and made it the capital of Albania. Partaw was the seat of the Albanian kings and Persian marzban, and in 552 A.D. the seat of the Albanian Catholicos was also transferred to Partaw.

After the death of Vache, Albania remained without a king for thirty years. The Sasanian Balash reestablished the Albanian monarchy by making Vachagan, son of Yazdegerd and brother of the previous king Vache, the king of Albania.

By the end of the 5th century, the ancient Arsacid royal house of Albania, a branch of the ruling dynasty of Parthia, became extinct, and in the 6th century it was replaced by princes of the Persian or Parthian Mihranid family, who claimed descent from the Sasanians. They assumed a Persian title of Arranshah (i.e.the shah of Arran, the Persian name of Albania). The ruling dynasty was named after its Persian founder Mihran, who was a distant relative of the Sasanians. The Mihranid dynasty survived under Muslim suzerainty until 821-2.

In the late 6th – early 7th centuries the territory of Albania became an arena of wars between Sasanian Persia, Byzantium and the Khazar kaganate, the latter two very often acting as allies. In 628, during the Third Perso-Turkic War, the Khazars invaded Albania, and their leader Ziebel 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. The Albanian kings retained their rule by paying tribute to the regional powers. According to Peter Golden, "steady pressure from Turkic nomads was typical of the Khazar era, although there are no unambiguous references to permanent settlements", while Vladimir Minorsky stated that, in Islamic times, "the town of Qabala lying between Sharvan and Shakki was a place where Khazars were probably settled".

Armenian impact

Armenian politics, culture and civilization played a critical role in the entire history of Caucasian Albania (Aghvank, in Armenian). This, due to the fact that after the partition of the Kingdom of Armenia by Persia and Byzantium in 387 AD, the Armenian provinces of Artsakh and Utik were disassociated from Armenia proper and included by Persians into a single province (marzpanate) called Aghvank (Arran). 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.

The Armenian medieval atlas Ashkharatsuits (Աշխարացույց), compiled in the 7th century by Anania Shirakatsi (Անանիա Շիրակացի, but sometimes attributed to Movses Khorenatsi as well), categorizes Artsakh and Utik as provinces of Armenia despite their presumed detachment from the Armenian Kingdom and their political association with Caucasian Albania and Persia at the time of his writing. 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.

Armenian population of Artsakh and Utik remained in place as did the entire political, social, cultural and military structure of the provinces. In the 5th century, Armenia’s foremost early medieval historian Movses Khorenatsi (Մովսես 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). though this does not mean that its population consisted exclusively of ethnic Armenians.

Whatever little is known about Caucasian Albania after 387 AD comes from the text “History of the Land of Aghvank” (Պատմություն Աղվանից Աշխարհի) attributed to two Armenian authors: Movses Kaghankatvatsi and Movses Daskhurantsi. This text, written in Old Armenian, in essence represents the history of Armenia’s provinces of Artsakh and Utik. Kaghankatvatsi, repeating Movses Khorenatsi, mentions that the very name “Aghvank”/“Albania” is of Armenian origin, and relates it to the Armenian word “aghu” (աղու, meaning “kind,” “benevolent”. Khorenatsi states that “aghu” was a nickname given to Prince Arran, whom the Armenian king Vagharshak I appointed as governor of northeastern provinces bordering on Armenia. According to a legendary tradition reported by Khorenatsi, Arran was a descendant of Sisak, the ancestor of the Siunids of Armenia’s province of Syunik, and thus a great-grandson of the ancestral eponym of the Armenians, the Forefather Hayk. Kaghankatvatsi and another Armenian author, Kirakos Gandzaketsi, confirm Arran’s belonging to Hayk’s blood line by calling Arranshahiks “a Haykazian dynasty.”

In Movses Kaghankatvatsi’s “History” and in the historical text of the Armenian early medieval author Agathangelos, the Kingdom of Aghvank’s feudal system, including its political terminology, was Armenian. As in Armenia, nobles of Aghvank are referred to by the terms nakharars (նախարար), azats (ազատ), hazarapets (հազարապետ), marzpets (մարզպետ), shinakans (շինական), etc.

Princely families, which were later mentioned in Movses Kaghankatvatsi’s “History …” 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. 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.

As in Armenia, the “Albanian” clergy used exclusively Armenian church terms for clerical hierarchy (katholikos/կաթողիկոս, vardapet/վարդապետ, sargavag/սարգավագ, etc.) Identifiably Armenian are also most if not all toponyms found in the “History” 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), , shen and kan (village) for villages (Arm. շեն, and կան, such as Karashen or Dyutakan), etc.

First names of most rulers, commoners and clergy in Movses Kaghankatvatsi’s “History …” are uniquely Armenian. Many of these names survived centuries and are still used only by modern Armenians. These include: Vachagan (Վախագան), Vache (Վաչե), Bakur (Բակուր), Taguhi (Թագուհի), Vrtanes (Վրթաննես), Viro (Վիրո), Varaz-Trdat (Վարազ-Տրդաթ), Marut (Մարութ), etc. Some of these names can be translated from Armenian as common words: e.g. Taguhi means “queen” and Varaz means “wild boar.” In fact, Armenians to this day use the first name Aghvan (Աղվան) that directly refers to the Kingdom of Aghvank.

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. </ref>The History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movsēs Dasxuranc'i. Translated by Charles Dowsett. London: Oxford University Press, 1961, pp. 3-4 “Introduction” </ref>

Kingdom of Albania was converted to Christianity at the start of the fourth century by none other than the Armenian evangelizer St. Gregory the Enlightener (Arm. Սբ. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ), who baptized Armenia into the first Christian state by 301 AD 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, the Amaras Monastery stands as the oldest dated monument in Nagorno Karabakh. Amaras was started by St Gregory and completed by St. Grigoris himself.

According to tradition, the Amaras Monastery housed the first Armenian school in the historical Armenia, which was opened early in the fifth 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’s “History” 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). 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.

Movses Kaghankatvatsi’s “History” 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. One of the consequences of this was that 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). Although Mesrob Mashtots provided the Albanian king with an alphabet, shortly after inventing a script for his fellow Armenians in 406 AD, the main “Albanian” language, Gargarean, disappeared, with only a few fragments of inscriptions dated from the sixth and seventh centuries. In contrast, Armenian language flourished in the Armenian portion of Aghvank. The 7th-century Armenian linguist and grammarian Stephanos Syunetsi stated in his work that Armenians of Artsakh had their own dialect, and encouraged his readers to learn it. In the same 7th century, Armenian poet Davtak Kertogh writes his Elegy on the Death of Grand Prince Juansher, where each passage begins with a letter of Armenian script in alphabetical order.

Christianization

The polytheistic religion of Albania was centered on the worship of three divinities, designated by Interpretatio Romana as Sol, Zeus, and Luna.

Christianity started to enter Caucasian Albania at an early date, according to Movses Kaghankatvatsi, as early as during the 1st century. The first Christian church in the region was built by St. Eliseus, a disciple of Thaddeus of Edessa, at a place called Gis (believed to be the modern-day Kish). In 498 AD (in other sources, 488 AD) in the settlement named Aluen (Aghuen) (present day Agdam region of Azerbaijan), an Albanian church council convened to adopt laws further strengthening the position of Christianity in Albania.

Albanian churchmen took part in missionary efforts in the Caucasus and Pontic regions. In 682, the catholicos, Israel, led an unsuccessful delegation to convert Alp Iluetuer, the ruler of the North Caucasian Huns, to Christianity. The Albanian Church maintained a number of monasteries in the Holy Land.

After the overthrow of Nerses in 705, 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. 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.

Islamic era

It has been suggested that this section be split out into another article. (Discuss) (October 2009)

Sassanid Albania fell to the Islamic conquest of Persia in the mid 7th century and was incorporated into the Rashidun Caliphate. King Javanshir of Albania, the most prominent ruler of Mihranid dynasty, fought against the Arab invasion of caliph Uthman on the side of the Sasanid Iran. Facing the threat of the Arab invasion on the south and the Khazar offensive on the north, Javanshir had to recognize the caliph's suzerainty. The Arabs then reunited the territory with Armenia under one governor.

By the 8th century, "Albania" had been reduced to a strictly geographical and titular ecclesiastical connotation, 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 of Khachen, along with various Caucasian, Iranian and Arabic principalities: the principality of Shaddadids, the principality of Shirvan, the principality of Derbent. Most of the region was ruled by the Sajid Dynasty of Azerbaijan from 890 to 929. The region was at times part of the Abbasid province of Armenia based on numismatic and historical evidence.

Early Muslim ruling dynasties of the time included Rawadids, Sajids, Salarids, Shaddadids, Shirvanshahs, and the Sheki and Tiflis emirates. The principal cities of Arran in early medieval times were Barda (Partav) and Ganja. Barda reached prominence in the 10th century, and was used to house a mint. Barda was sacked by the Rus and Norse several times in 10th century as result of the Caspian expeditions of the Rus. Barda never revived after these raids and was replaced as capital by Baylaqan, 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 territory of Arran became a part of the Seljuk empire, followed by the Ildegizid state. It was taken briefly by the Khwarizmid dynasty and then overran by Mongol Hulagu empire in the 13th century. Later, it became a part of Chobanid, Jalayirid, Timurid, and Safavid states.

Ethnogenesis

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).. After the Caucasian Albanians were Christianized in the 4th century, the western parts of the population were gradually assimilated by the ancestors of modern Armenians,, and the eastern parts of Caucasian Albania were Islamized and absorbed by Iranian and subsequently Turkic peoples(modern Azerbaijanis). Small remnants of this group continue to exist independently, and are known as the Udi people..

The pre-Islamic population of Caucasian Albania might have played a role in the ethnogenesis of a number of modern ethnicities, including the Azerbaijanis, the Armenians of the Nagorno-Karabakh, the Georgians of Kakhetia, the Laks, the Lezgins and the Tsakhurs of Daghestan.

Alphabet and language

A Caucasian Albanian alphabet of fifty-two letters, some bearing a resemblance to Armenian or Georgian characters, has only survived through a few manuscripts and inscriptions, dating from the 15th century. The alphabet records Old Udi, an earlier stage of the contemporary Udi language, for which reason it is also known as Old Udi script.

The script survives in an Armenian manuscript from the 15th century, Matenadaran No. 7117, first published by Ilia Abuladze in 1937. It is a language manual, presenting different alphabets for comparison - Armenian, Greek, Latin, Syrian, Georgian, Coptic, and Caucasian Albanian among them. The alphabet was titled: "Ałuanicʿ girn ē" (Template:Lang-hy, meaning, "These are Albanian letters").

According to Movses Kaghankatvatzi, the Caucasian Albanian alphabet was devised by Mesrob Mashdots, an Armenian monk, theologian and linguist and inventor of the Armenian alphabet. A disciple of Saint Mesrob, Koriun, in The Life of Mashtots, wrote:

Then there came and visited them an elderly man, an Albanian named Benjamin. And he 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.

The distinctive Caucasian Albanian language persisted into early Islamic times, and Muslim geographers Al-Muqaddasi, Ibn-Hawqal and Al-Istakhri recorded that the language which they called Arranian was still spoken in the capital Barda and the rest of the country in the 10th century. The Udi language, spoken by 8000 people mostly in Azerbaijan, and also Georgia, is thought to be the last remnant of the language once spoken in Caucasian Albania.

Religion

The Arab conquest and the Chalcedonian crisis led to severe disintegration of the Church of Caucasian Albania. Starting from the 8th century, much of the local population converted to Islam. By the 11th century there already were conciliar mosques in Partaw, Chabala and Shaki; the cities that were the creed of Caucasian Albanian Christianity.

These Islamised groups would later be known as Lezgins and Tsakhurs or mix with the Turkic and Iranian population to form present-day Azeris, whereas those that remained Christian were gradually absorbed by Armenians or continued to exist on their own and be known as the Udi people.

The Caucasian Albanian tribes of Hereti were converted to Eastern Orthodoxy by Dinar, Queen of Hereti in the 10th century. The religious affairs of this small principality were now officially administered by the Georgian Orthodox Church. In 1010, Hereti became absorbed into the neighbouring Georgian kingdom of Kakheti. Eventually in the early 12th century, these lands became part of the Georgian Kingdom under David the Builder finalising the process of their Georgianisation.

See also

• Shirvan
• Artsakh

Notes

1. James Stuart Olson, Albanía. An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. ISBN 0313274975
2. ^ 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, pp. 27-40.
3. ^ Bosworth, Clifford E. Arran. Encyclopædia Iranica. Cite error: The named reference "Bosworth" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
4. ^ V. Minorsky. Caucasica IV. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 15, No. 3. (1953), p. 504
5. History of Armenia composed by abbot Chamchian, Mikayel. Պատմութիւն Հայոց (History of Armenia). Venice, 1786, p. 131.
6. A. Yanovskiy, About the Ancient Caucasian Albania. (А. Яновский, О древней Кавказской Албании. Журнал МНЛ, 1864, ч. II, с. 180.)
7. S. V. Yushkov, On question of the boundaries of ancient Albania. Moskow, 1937, p. 137. (С. В. Юшков, К вопросу о границах древней Албании. «Исторические записки АН СССР», т. I, М., 1937, с. 137.)
8. Ghevond Alishan, Aghuank (Ղևոնդ Ալիշան, «Աղուանք»), Venice: "Bazmavep", 1970, N 11-12, p. 341.
9. The History of Aluank by Moses of Kalankatuyk. Book I, chapter IV
10. Moses Kalankatuatsi. History of country of Aluank. Chapter IV.
11. Darmesteter's translation and notes
12. Darmesteter, James (trans., ed.). "Vendidad." Zend Avesta I (SBE 4). Oxford University Press, 1880. p. 3, p. 5 n.2,3.
13. Anon. Armenian "Geography" («Աշխարհացոյց»), Sec. IV, Asia, The lands of Greater Asia.
14. 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."
15. ^ Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 40-41. ISBN 978-0-226-33228-4
16. Strabo had no knowledge of any city in Albania, although in the first century AD Pliny mentions the initial capital of the kingdom - Qabala. The name of the city was pronounced in many different ways including Kabalaka, Shabala, Tabala, present-day Qabala
17. ^ Template:Hy icon Yeremyan, Suren T. «Հայաստանը ըստ «Աշխարհացույցի» (Armenia According to the "Ashkharhatsuyts"). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1963, p. 34.
18. ^ Minorsky, Vladimir. A History of Sharvan and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries. Cambridge, 1958.
19. ^ Chaumont, M. L. Albania. Encyclopædia Iranica. Cite error: The named reference "Chaumont" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
20. 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.
21. Bruno Jacobs, "ACHAEMENID RULE IN Caucasus" in Encyclopædia Iranica. January 9, 2006. Excerpt: "Achaemenid rule in the Caucasus region was established, at the latest, in the course of the Scythian campaign of Darius 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"
22. Hewsen, Robert H (2001). Armenia: A Historcial Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-2263-3228-4.
23. Тревер К. В. Очерки по истории и культуре кавказской Албании IV в. до н. э. — VII в. н. э. М.-Л., 1959, p 144
24. Encyclopædia Britannica. Article: Azerbaijan
25. Walker, Christopher J. Armenia and Karabagh: The Struggle for Unity. London: Minority Rights Group Publications, 1991, p. 10.
26. Istorija Vostoka. V 6 t. T. 2, Vostok v srednije veka Moskva, «Vostochnaya Literatura», 2002. ISBN 5-02-017711-3
27. 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
28. Schmitt Rüdiger.Caspians. Encyclopædia Iranica.
29. Hewsen, Robert H (2001). Armenia: A Historcial Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 32, 58. ISBN 0-2263-3228-4.
30. Rome and Caucasian Albania (google book in Italian)
31. ^ Template:Ru iconЕ.В. Федорова. "Императорский Рим в лицах". Ancientcoins.narod.ru. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
32. ^ Template:Ru iconИльяс Бабаев. "Какие монеты употребляли на рынках Азербайджана". Irs-az.com. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
33. Template:Ru icon"Страбон о Кавказской Албании". Irs-az.com. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
34. К. Алиев. К вопросу об источниках Страбона в описании древней Кавказской Албании. Ж. Доклады АН Азерб. ССР, XVI, 1960, № 4, с. 420-421
35. Plutarch, The Parallel Lives. Pompey, 35
36. Plutarch, The Parallel Lives: "Pompey", 36
37. Chorbajian, Levon (1994). The Caucasian Knot. Zed Books. p. 54. ISBN 1856492885. 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. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
38. ^ Strabo. Geography, book 11, chapter 14.
39. Пахомов, Е.А. Римская надпись I в. н.э. и легион XII фульмината. "Изв. АН Азерб. ССР", 1949, №1
40. Всемирная история. Энциклопедия, том 2, 1956, гл. XIII
41. Encyclopaedia Britannica 1911, s.v. "Albania, Caucasus".
42. ^ Toumanoff, Cyril. The Arsacids. Encyclopædia Iranica.
43. Ehsan Yarshater. The Cambridge history of Iran, Volume 1. Cambridge University Press, 1983. ISBN 052120092X, 9780521200929, p. 141
44. Gignoux. "Aneran". Encyclopaedia Iranica: "The high priest Kirder, thirty years later, gave in his inscriptions a more explicit list of the provinces of Aneran, including Armenia, Georgia, Albania, and Balasagan, together with Syria and Asia Minor."
45. Encyclopaedia Britannica: "The list of provinces given in the inscription of Ka'be-ye Zardusht defines the extent of the empire under Shapur
46. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of Albania. Book 1, Chapter XV
47. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of Albania. Book 2, Chapter VI
48. Moses Kalankatuatsi. History of country of Aluank. Chapter XVII. About the tribe of Mihran, hailing from the family of Khosrow the Sasanian, who became the ruler of the country of Aluank
49. The Cambridge History of Iran. 1991. ISBN 0521200938
50. An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples by Peter B. Golden. Otto Harrasowitz (1992), ISBN 3-447-03274-X (retrieved 8 June 2006), p. 385–386.
51. chapter “History” in article “Azerbaijan.” Encyclopedia Britannica online edition.
52. Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, map Caucasian Albania.
53. 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
54. 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 the Orontids' Kingdom of Armenia)
55. Моисей Хоренский. Армянская География VII в. Перевод Патканова К.П. СПб., 1877. стр. 40,17
56. Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001, map “Armenia according to Anania of Shirak’
57. 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)
58. Hewsen, Robert H. “The Kingdom of Artsakh,” in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds. Medieval Armenian Culture. Chico, CA, 1983
59. Walker, Christopher J. Armenia and Karabagh: The Struggle for Unity. Minority Rights Group Publications, 1991, p. 10
60. Istorija Vostoka. V 6 t. T. 2, Vostok v srednije veka Moskva, «Vostochnaya Literatura», 2002. ISBN 5-02-017711-3
61. Moses Khorenatsi. History of the Armenians, translated from Old Armenian by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978, Book II
62. Strabo, op. cit., book XI, chapters 14–15 (Bude, vol. VIII, p. 123)
63. Svante E. Cornell. Small Nations and Great Powers. 2001, p. 64
64. V. A. Shnirelman. Memory wars. Myths, identity and politics in Transcaucasia. Academkniga, Moscow, 2003 ISBN 5-94628-118-6
65. Моисей Хоренский. Армянская География VII в. Перевод Патканова К.П. СПб., 1877. стр. 40,17
66. The History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movsēs Dasxuranc'i. Translated by Charles Dowsett. London: Oxford University Press, 1961, pp. 3-4 “Introduction”
67. 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)
68. Moses Khorenatsi. History of the Armenians, translated from Old Armenian by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978, p.
69. 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
70. Kirakos Gandzaketsi. “Kirakos Gandzaketsi’s history of the Armenians,” Sources of the Armenian Tradition. New York, 1986, p. 67
71. 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
72. 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)
73. The History of the Caucasian Albanians by Movsēs Dasxuranc'i. Translated by Charles Dowsett. London: Oxford University Press, 1961, pp. 3-4 “Introduction”
74. Adonts, Nikoghaios. Armenia in the Period of Justinian: The Political Conditions based on the Naxarar System. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, 1970, p. 34-41
75. 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)
76. 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)
77. Н.Адонц. «Дионисий Фракийский и армянские толкователи», Пг., 1915, 181-219
78. Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk. The Heritage of Armenian Literature. Wayne State University Press (December 2002), pp. 94–99
79. Ulubabian, Bagrat. Studies in the History of the Eastern Province of Armenia. 5th-7th Centuries, Yerevan, 1981, pp. 55-58
80. Armenian Names.
81. Armenian Names.
82. Ս. Ավագյան. Հայկական անուններ. Երևան, Լույս հրտ, 1982, p. 15
83. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Land of Aluank, translated from Old Armenian by Sh. V. Smbatian. Yerevan: Matenadaran (Institute of Ancient Manuscripts), 1984, p. 27
84. Moses Khorenatsi. History of the Armenians, translated from Old Armenian by Robert W. Thomson. Harvard University Press, 1978
85. Viviano, Frank. “The Rebirth of Armenia,” National Geographic Magazine, March 2004, p. 18,
86. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Land of Aluank, Book I, chapters 27, 28 and 29; Book II, chapter 3
87. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of the Land of Aluank, Book I, chapters 27, 28 and 29; Book II, chapter 3
88. Chorbajian, Levon; Donabedian Patrick; Mutafian, Claude. The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh. NJ: Zed Books, 1994, Albanian episode
89. Chorbajian, Levon; Donabedian Patrick; Mutafian, Claude. The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh. NJ: Zed Books, 1994, Albanian episode
90. Н.Адонц. «Дионисий Фракийский и армянские толкователи», Пг., 1915, 181—219
91. 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
92. Agop Jack Hacikyan, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk. The Heritage of Armenian Literature. Wayne State University Press (December 2002), pp. 94–99
93. Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of Albania. Book 2, Chapter LII
94. Movses Kaghankatvatsi, The History of the Country of Albania, III.VIII–XI
95. ^ Template:Ru icon Igor Kuznetsov.Udis
96. Chorbajian. Caucasian Knot, pp. 63-64.
97. Тревер К. В. Очерки по истории и культуре кавказской Албании IV в. до н. э. — VII в. н. э. М.-Л., 1959, p 145
98. Ronald G. Suny: What Happened in Soviet Armenia? Middle East Report, No. 153, Islam and the State. (Jul. - Aug., 1988), pp. 37-40.
99. История Востока. В 6 т. Т. 2. Восток в средние века.]М., «Восточная литература», 2002. ISBN 5-02-017711-3 (History of the East. In 6 volumes. Volume 2. Moscow, publishing house of the Russian Academy of sciences «East literature»): The multi-ethnic population of Albania left-bank at this time is increasingly moving to the Persian language. Mainly this applies to cities of Aran and Shirwan, as begin from 9-10 centuries 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 левобережнoй 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.
100. Udis by Igor Kuznetsov
101. Stuart, James (1994). An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 27. ISBN 0313274975. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
102. Joseph L. Wieczynski, George N. Rhyne. The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History. Academic International Press, 1976. ISBN 0875690645, 9780875690643
103. Thomson, Robert W. (1996). Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198263732. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
104. Moses Kalankatuyk, The History of Aluank, I, 27 and III, 24.
105. See Koriun, Ch. 16.
106. Caucasian Albanian Script. The Significance of Decipherment by Dr. Zaza Alexidze.
107. Ronald G. Suny: What Happened in Soviet Armenia? Middle East Report, No. 153, Islam and the State. (Jul. – Aug., 1988), pp. 37–40.
108. Template:Ru icon Caucasian Albania. The Eastern Orthodox Encyclopædia.

References

• Template:It icon Marco Bais Albania caucasica: ethnos, storia, territorio attraverso le fonti greche, latine e armene. Mimesis Edizioni. Roma, 2001 ISBN 8887231958
• Template:Ru icon Movses Kalankatuatsi. The History of Aluank. Translated from Old Armenian (Grabar) by Sh.V.Smbatian, Yerevan, 1984.
• Template:En icon Koriun, The Life of Mashtots, translated from Old Armenian (Grabar) by Bedros Norehad.
• Template:Ge icon Movses Kalankatuatsi. History of Albania. Translated by L. Davlianidze-Tatishvili, Tbilisi, 1985.
• Template:Ru icon Movses Khorenatsi The History of Armenia. Translated from Old Armenian (Grabar) by Gagik Sargsyan, Yerevan, 1990.
• Template:En icon Ilia Abuladze. About the discovery of the alphabet of the Caucasian Albanians. - "Bulletin of the Institute of Language, History and Material Culture (ENIMK)", Vol. 4, Ch. I, Tbilisi, 1938.

External links

• Encyclopedia Iranica. Albania, Ancient country in Caucasus, by M. Chaumont
• About the Caucasian Albania
• About the Caucasian Albania (section 10)
• Wolfgang Schulze (Munich): Caucasian Albanian
• Caucasian History

v t e Historical regions of Caucasian Albania
	Caspiane Gardman Cambysene Utik Begh Eghni Shake Kholmaz Gelavu Kaladash Kapalak Hegeri Cholaa Lpina Hereti

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• Articles to be split from October 2009
• Caucasian Albania
• Caucasus
• Former countries in Europe
• History of Azerbaijan
• History of Dagestan