The South Caucasus is a mountainous, geopolitical area of south-central Eurasia, also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Transcaucasus. For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four. More specifically, the South Caucasus area spans the southern portion of the Caucasus Mountains and its lowlands, lying between the two continents of Europe and Asia and extending from the southern part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range of southwestern Russia and going southerly to the Turkish and Iranian borders, travelling between the Black and Caspian Seas. This article is about the terrestrial Eurasian mountain range Greater Caucasus (Большой Кавказ Azerbaijani: Böyük Qafqaz Dağları sometimes translated as "Caucasus Major" "Big Caucasus" or "Large Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Black Sea is an inland Sea bounded by southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Anatolian peninsula ( Turkey The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged Sea. The area includes the southern part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain range, the entire Lesser Caucusus Mountain range, the Colchis Lowlands and Kura-Aras Lowlands, the Talysh Mountains, the Lenkoran Lowlands, and the Javakheti-Armenian Uplands. In ancient Geography, Colchis or Kolchis ( Georgian and Laz: კოლხეთი k'olxeti; Greek:, Kolchís The Kura-Aras Lowland, Kura-Aras Depression or Kura-Aras Basin (Kür-Araz ovalığı is a vast depression in central-southern Azerbaijan defined Talysh Mountains (کوههای تالش Kuha e Talesh) is a mountain chain in northwestern Iran, in the northwest section of the Elburz Mountains, extending The Lankaran Lowland (Lənkəran ovalığı is a narrow strip of Lowland in southern Azerbaijan by the Caspian Sea, the southward extension of the The Armenian Highland (Russian Armyanskoye Nagorye; also known as the Armenian Upland or Armenian Plateau, also referred as Eastern Armenia) The Transcaucasus, or South Caucasus area, is a part of the entire Caucasus geographical region that essentially divides the Eurasian transcontinent into two. The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East For the superstate in George Orwell 's novel see Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
All of Armenia is in Transcaucasia; the majority of Georgia and Azerbaijan, including the exclave of Naxçivan, fall within this area. Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası Նախիջևանի Ինքնավար Հանրապետություն Нахичеванская Автономная The countries of the region are producers of oil, manganese ore, tea, citrus fruits, and wine. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Manganese (ˈmæŋgəniːz is a Chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market Citrus is a common term and Genus of Flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, originating in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice
In Western languages, the terms Transcaucasus and Transcaucasia are translations of the Russian zakavkazie meaning "the area beyond the Caucasus Mountains", i. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages e. , as seen from the Russian capital (analogous to the Roman terms Transalpine and Transpadania). The region remains one of the most complicated in the post-Soviet area, and comprises three heavily disputed areas – Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, and Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Abkhazia (Аҧсны Apsny აფხაზეთი Apkhazeti or Abkhazeti Абха́зия Abhazia) is a De facto South Ossetia ( or; Хуссар Ирыстон Xussar Iryston; Южная Осетия Yuzhnaya Osetiya; სამხრეთი ოსეთი Samxreti Georgia ( საქართველო, Sakartvelo) is a Transcontinental country in the Caucasus region situated at the dividing line between For the republic see Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Nagorno-Karabakh is a Region in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South
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History
Located on the peripheries of Persia, Turkey, and Russia, the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism for centuries. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Throughout its history, the Caucasus was usually incorporated into the Iranian world. Greater Iran (in Irān-e Bozorg, or fa ایرانزمین Irān-zamīn; the Encyclopedia Iranica uses the term At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquered the territory from the Qajars. The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The Qajar dynasty (also known as Ghajar or Kadjar ( ( - or دودمان قاجار) is a common term to describe Iran (then known as Persia) under [1]
Ancient kingdoms of the region included Armenia, Albania, and Iberia, among others. Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani This region should not be confused with modern-day Albania in south-eastern Europe. This article is about the people of ancient Georgia For the Iberians of ancient Iberian Peninsula see Iberians. These kingdoms were later incorporated into various empires, including Media, Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sassanid Empire. The Medes were an ancient Iranian people who lived in the northwestern portions of present-day Iran. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of The Sassanid Empire or Sassanian Dynasty or Sassanian Dynasty (ساسانیان) is the name used for the third Iranian dynasty and the second Persian empire By this time, Zoroastrianism had become the dominant religion of the region; however, the region would go through two other religious transformations. Zoroastrianism (ˌzɔroʊˈæstriəˌnɪzəm is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings Owing to the rivalry between Persia and Rome, and later Byzantium, the latter would invade the region several times, although never being able to hold it. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial However, because Armenia had become a Christian entity, Christianity began to overtake Zoroastrianism. With the Islamic conquest of Persia, the region came under the rule of the Arabs and Islam spread throughout the region. The Islamic conquest of Persia (633–656 led to the end of the Sassanid Empire and the eventual extirpation of the Zoroastrian religion in Persia The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding The region would later be conquered by the Seljuks, Mongols, local kingdoms and khanates, as well as, once again, Persia, until its conquest by Russia. The Great Seljuq Empire was a Medieval Sunni Muslim empire established by the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks that once controlled
The region was unified as a single political entity twice – during the Russian Civil War (Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic) from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under the Soviet rule (Transcaucasian SFSR) from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936. The Russian Civil War (1917–1923 was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR Закавказская демократическая Федеративная Республика (ЗКДФР Zakavkazskaya Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 451 - The Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sassanid Empire takes place Year 1918 ( MCMXVIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (Հայաստանի Խորհրդային Սոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն Azerbaijani: Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 1922 ( MCMXXII) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
The area of Transcaucasia, in particular where modern day Georgia and Armenia are located, is one of the native areas of the wine producing vines vitis vinifera. Vitis vinifera ( Common Grape Vine) is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and Some experts speculate that this may be the birthplace of wine production. [2] Archeological excavation and carbon dating of grape pips from the area have dated back to 7000-5000BC. [3]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Thorez, Pierre. "Caucasus." Encyclopaedia Iranica. June 2, 2007
- ^ Hugh Johnson Vintage: The Story of Wine pg 15 Simon & Schuster 1989
- ^ Ibid. The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East The North Caucasus, also Ciscaucasus, Ciscaucasia or Forecaucasia, is the northern part of the Caucasus region between Europe The term Ibero-Caucasian (or Iberian-Caucasian) was proposed by Georgian linguist Arnold Chikobava for the union of the three language families that are This article deals with the various Ethnic groups inhabiting the Caucasus region pg 17
Sources and references
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