Encyclopedia/3. History, Societies & Civilizations/09. Modern Nations/07. Eastern Europe & Caucasus • Curated by Admin Timeline.sg
History of Azerbaijan (AI-generated, sourced to Wikipedia).
Chronological Storyline (30 Milestones)
323 BCE
Atropatene kingdom established
Following Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia, Atropates, a Persian satrap, established a semi-independent kingdom in what is now Iranian and Republic of Azerbaijan, giving the region its name. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan By SKopp and others - Own work using: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Also see: https://president.az/azerbaijan/symbols, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342965
642 CE
Arab conquest of Azerbaijan
Arab forces conquered Caucasian Albania and Atropatene, bringing Islam to the region and ending centuries of Zoroastrian and Christian dominance. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Arab conquest of Azerbaijan By Mohammad Adil (talk) - I created this work entirely by myself.Transferred from en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17975019
816 CE
Babak Khorramdin revolt
Babak Khorramdin led a major Khurramite rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate from his fortress in northwestern Azerbaijan, resisting Arab rule for over two decades. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Illustrated leaf from the Tarikhnama of Abu 'Ali Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Bal'ami; Afshin and Babak arriving at Samarra. Persia, Safavid dynasty, 16th century (Babak detail) By 16th century artist - Christies, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=193571092
1054 CE
Seljuk Turks arrive
Seljuk Turkic forces under Tughril entered Azerbaijan, beginning the Turkification of the region and the gradual establishment of Turkic language and culture. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan By SKopp and others - Own work using: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Also see: https://president.az/azerbaijan/symbols, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342965
1136 CE
Eldiguzid Atabeg dynasty founded
Shams ad-Din Eldiguz established the Atabeg dynasty of Azerbaijan, ruling a vast territory from Nakhchivan to northern Iran and presiding over a flourishing of Turkic-Islamic culture. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan By SKopp and others - Own work using: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Also see: https://president.az/azerbaijan/symbols, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342965
1220 CE
Mongol invasion begins
Mongol armies under Jebe and Subutai invaded Azerbaijan, devastating cities including Ganja and Tabriz and ushering in centuries of Mongol and Turkoman rule. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan By SKopp and others - Own work using: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Also see: https://president.az/azerbaijan/symbols, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342965
1501 CE
Safavid dynasty established
Shah Ismail I, of Azerbaijani Turkic origin, founded the Safavid dynasty and declared Twelver Shi'ism the state religion, profoundly shaping the religious identity of Azerbaijan. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of the Safavid Dynasty from 1576[1] to 1666[2][3] By Safavid_Flag.png: Orange Tuesday (talk) The original uploader was Orange Tuesday at English Wikipedia. derivative work: Himasaram (talk) - Safavid_Flag.png, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11856267
1722 CE
Russian forces invade Baku
Peter the Great's forces captured Baku and parts of the Caspian coast during the Russo-Persian War, marking Russia's first major military incursion into Azerbaijani territory. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Fleet of Peter the Great (1909) by Eugene Lanceray. By Eugene Lanceray - http://bugaeff.ru/tag/kartiny-po-russkoj-istorii/page/2/, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11063929
1813 CE
Treaty of Gulistan signed
The Treaty of Gulistan ended the first Russo-Persian War, ceding most of present-day Azerbaijan north of the Aras River to the Russian Empire. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Treaty of Gulistan By en:User:Siamax Original uploader was Kaveh at fa.wikipedia - Map collection of the Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Originally from * Farsi Wikipedia, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2218013
1828 CE
Treaty of Turkmenchay
The Treaty of Turkmenchay concluded the second Russo-Persian War, formally dividing Azerbaijani lands between Russia and Persia along the Aras River, a division that persists today. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Ivan Paskevich with Abbas Mirza sign the Treaty of Turkmanchay at the conclusion of 1826-1828 Russo-Persian wars. By Vladimir Moshkov - [1], description in Russian at [2], Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7881669
1846 CE
Baku oil industry begins
Large-scale industrial oil extraction began near Baku, transforming the city into one of the world's most important oil-producing centers by the late 19th century. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Oil fields in Azerbaijan By Indigoprime - Originally uploaded to Flickr as Azerbaijan OIlfields, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5447212
1872 CE
Oil gushes at Balakhani
The first major oil gusher at Balakhani near Baku triggered an oil rush, attracting international investment and making the Russian Empire one of the world's leading oil producers. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Oil fields in Azerbaijan By Indigoprime - Originally uploaded to Flickr as Azerbaijan OIlfields, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5447212
1908 CE
First Azerbaijani opera staged
Uzeyir Hajibeyov's 'Leyli and Majnun,' the first opera in the Islamic world, premiered in Baku, marking a milestone in Azerbaijani cultural modernization. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli (Hajibeyov) By Unknown author - Üzeyir Hacıbəyli, 1940-cı illər, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81967148
May 28, 1918 CE
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic declared
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed in Tbilisi, becoming the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world and granting women voting rights. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan (1918–1920) By This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this file: - Derivative works of this file: Flag of Azerbaijan 1918.svg, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=172930015
Sep 1, 1918 CE
Battle of Baku
Ottoman and Azerbaijani forces captured Baku after fierce fighting against British, Armenian, and Russian Bolshevik defenders, ending the short-lived Baku Commune. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan By SKopp and others - Own work using: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Also see: https://president.az/azerbaijan/symbols, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342965
Apr 28, 1920 CE
Red Army invades Azerbaijan
Soviet Russian forces invaded Azerbaijan, toppling the Democratic Republic and establishing the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Красная армия в Баку, май 1920 г. By Unknown author - http://museum.rosneft.ru/past/chrono/year/1920/, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9522096
Mar 1, 1922 CE
Transcaucasian SFSR formed
Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia were merged into the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR, dissolving their separate Soviet republics. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of the Transcaucasian SFSR, according to K.A.Ivanov's "Flags of the World". The hammer and sickle within the star was not mentioned in the constitutional description, nor did it appear on actual flags. By Aivazovsky - https://www.vexillographia.ru/zsfsr/zsfsr.htm, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=961848
1936 CE
Azerbaijan SSR established
The Transcaucasian SFSR was dissolved, and the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic became a separate union republic within the Soviet Union. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Azerbaijan SSR established By Unknown author, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=600352
1948 CE
Stalin deports Azerbaijanis
Soviet authorities began mass deportations of Azerbaijanis from Armenia to Azerbaijan as part of Stalin's population transfer policies, displacing over 100,000 people. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Crimea (village of Uskut) after the deportation of the indigenous people - the Crimean Tatars. Photo of 1945, that is, new residents of Crimea have not yet had time to settle. Isaac Dunaevsky wrote: ⠀ "I believe that Crimea without Tatars lost its exoticism, which created its unique beauty and aroma of the true East. Only "former places" remained of Crimea, deprived of those people who created the content of these places, language, customs, mores, costumes and everyday life. When next to the sakley in Koreiz you saw a dirty Tatar or an eternally lazy man sitting in a lamb hat on the sunniest ashes of a Tatar, heard their speech and saw tobacco leaves hanging along the walls - it was Crimea. When near the Bakhchisarai Palace you saw a slender, young Tatar woman carrying a basket of peaches or goosebble on her shoulder - it was Crimea. And now there are only names left, and then I don't know why." By Unknown author - [The QIRIM blog https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ZaOsUlCrX/], Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90791143
1969 CE
Heydar Aliyev leads Azerbaijan
Heydar Aliyev became First Secretary of the Azerbaijani Communist Party, beginning a political career that would dominate the country for decades. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Heydar Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan (1993-2003) By Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - president.az (hi-res), CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90114879
Feb 1, 1988 CE
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupts
The regional council of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join Armenia, sparking mass demonstrations and ethnic violence that escalated into a full-scale war. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Nagorno-Karabakh War By Nicholas Babaian, Oleg Litvin, Jalpeyrie, MarshallBagramyan, collage: Gulustan - File:Azeri tanks in Nagorno-Karabakh.jpg, File:Refugeesaz.jpg, File:NKR war.JPG, File:Tank memorial Stepanakert.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10364055
Jan 20, 1990 CE
Black January massacre
Soviet troops violently cracked down on pro-independence protesters in Baku, killing over 130 civilians and galvanizing the Azerbaijani independence movement. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
20 yanvar şəhidlərinə həsr edilmiş abidə. By Rəcəb Həsənbəyov - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=107570846
Oct 18, 1991 CE
Azerbaijan declares independence
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan's parliament adopted a constitutional act restoring independence and sovereignty. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan. Scan of the document from State archive of Azerbaijan Republic. By Национальный Совет Азербайджана - State Archives of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34317596
Feb 26, 1992 CE
Khojaly massacre
Armenian forces killed hundreds of Azerbaijani civilians in the town of Khojaly during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, becoming a defining national tragedy for Azerbaijan. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Flag of Azerbaijan By SKopp and others - Own work using: http://www.elibrary.az/docs/remz/pdf/remz_bayraq.pdf and http://www.meclis.gov.az/?/az/topcontent/21 Also see: https://president.az/azerbaijan/symbols, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342965
Sep 1, 1994 CE
Contract of the Century signed
Azerbaijan signed a landmark agreement with a consortium of international oil companies to develop Caspian Sea oil fields, transforming the country's economic future. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Oil fields in Azerbaijan By Indigoprime - Originally uploaded to Flickr as Azerbaijan OIlfields, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5447212
Oct 1, 1994 CE
Aliyev returns to power
Heydar Aliyev, former Soviet leader, was elected president, stabilizing the country after years of political turmoil and military setbacks in Nagorno-Karabakh. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Heydar Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan (1993-2003) By Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - president.az (hi-res), CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=90114879
Oct 1, 2003 CE
Ilham Aliyev becomes president
Ilham Aliyev succeeded his father Heydar Aliyev as president following an election criticized by international observers, establishing a dynastic political system. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Ilham Aliyev in December 2025 By Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - president.az, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=181042137
May 1, 2012 CE
Eurovision held in Baku
Azerbaijan hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku after winning the previous year, showcasing the country's oil-funded modernization to an international audience. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
English (en): Eurovision Song Contest 2012 map Finalist countries Countries eliminated in the semi-finals (2004-present) Countries that participated in the past, but not in 2012 Countries boycotting the contest After SF1 Finalist countries Countries set to compete in the second semi-final Countries eliminated in the first semi-final After list of participants is out Countries pre-qualified for the final Countries set to compete in the semi-finals Before list of participants is out Countries that confirmed their intention to participate Other Countries eliminated in Kvalifikacija za Millstreet (1993) / the audio-only qualifying round (1996) Relegated countries unable to participate (1994-1995; 1997-2003) By Sims2aholic8 - This file was derived from: Eurovision events Map 2008-2014.svg:, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145406904
Sep 27, 2020 CE
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War
Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive that recaptured significant territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, ending in a Russian-brokered ceasefire after 44 days. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Vectorisation of File:2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war map.png By Kalj, based of File:2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war map.png by User:Golden - See File:2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war map.png, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99452389
Sep 1, 2023 CE
Karabakh offensive and dissolution
Azerbaijan conducted a swift military operation resulting in the dissolution of the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the mass exodus of its Armenian population. Source — Wikipedia, "Azerbaijan":
Map of the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh war showing Azerbaijan day-to-day advances. Made using OpenTopoMap data. Heavily influenced by SuriyakMaps' (https://twitter.com/suriyakmaps) and MapperKrumm's (https://twitter.com/Krummapper) work. By Rr016 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=137974243
![Flag of the Safavid Dynasty from 1576[1] to 1666[2][3]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Safavid_Flag.svg/500px-Safavid_Flag.svg.png)
