History
The name is first attested during the Sassanian epoch, when it was used to denote the northern part of Caucasian Albania, or Arran. After the Islamic conquest, it became a hereditary possession of the Khalif's governors.
Between 799 and 1538, the territory was ruled by the Shirvanshahs (a particular Persian title of the royal rank of Shah). It was there that the Persian poet Khaqani (Khaghani) was born. The capital of the Shirvanshahs was Shamakhi.
In the 18th century, Shirvan was a khanate whose ruler paid homage to Persia. The Russians briefly overran it during the Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723. After the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813 the region was absorbed by Imperial Russia.
The regions of Shirvan and Arran later formed the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Shirvan is known for the quality of its rugs.
People
Shirvan's population consisted of Lezgian, Avar, Udi, Kryz and Iranian languages speaking Tats. This population was slowly Turkisized since the 11th century onward, yet some speakers of the Caucasian languages still live in the distant villages of Shamakha, Shaki, Qabala, and Oguz.See also
References
External links
- WorldStatesmen- Azerbaijan
- Great Soviet Encyclopedia, article on Shirvan
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Thursday July 24, 2008 at 18:11:08 PDT (GMT -0700)
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