Map of Greater Azerbaijan (Adalet Tahirzadeh)

Whole Azerbaijan ( az, Bütöv Azərbaycan) is an

irredentist Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent sta ...

concept Concepts are defined as abstract ideas. They are understood to be the fundamental building blocks of the concept behind principles, thoughts and beliefs. They play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied by s ...

of uniting presumed historically Azerbaijani-inhabited territories into the

Republic of Azerbaijan A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

History

The idea of "Whole Azerbaijan" was formulated by Piruz Dilanchi in 1991 and defined in 1992 by Azerbaijani president

Abulfaz Elchibey Abulfaz Elchibey ( az, Əbülfəz Elçibəy; 24 June 1938, in Nakhchivan – 22 August 2000, in Ankara) was an Azerbaijani political figure and a former Soviet dissident. His real name was Abulfaz Gadirgulu oghlu Aliyev (Azerbaijani: ''Əbülf� ...

(s. 1992-93). In 1991, Dilanchi founded the SANLM nationalist organization and in 1997 Elchibey founded the "Whole Azerbaijan Union" (Bütöv Azərbaycan Birliyi) organization. Elchibey published his book on the idea, ''Bütöv Azərbaycan yolunda'', in Turkey in 1998. It claimed that the borders of Azerbaijan should extend from

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It is ...

to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...

. Elchibey claimed that this was a territory of Azerbaijani historical ethnic presence. He proposed that Azerbaijan had right to rule it, under a proposed system of governance called "United Azerbaijani Lands" (Birləşmiş Azərbaycan Yurdları). After his death in 2002, it was published postmortem. He opposed the idea of a separate and independent

South Azerbaijan Historically, the name Azerbaijan was used to refer to the region located south of the Aras River- today known as Iranian Azerbaijan, located in northwestern Iran. The region in the north of the Aras River, which is today called the Republic of Azer ...

Political initiatives

The term Whole Azerbaijan continued in political initiatives including the SANLM (CAMAH) and

Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party The Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party ( az, Bütöv Azərbaycan Xalq Cəbhəsi Partiyası), sometimes translated as the All-Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, is a political party in Azerbaijan. At the parliamentary election of 1 November 2015 th ...

Boundaries

Although the boundaries of Whole Azerbaijan are not strictly defined, some proponents portray them as encompassing the following areas *

(''Cənubi Azərbaycan'') - provinces of

East Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan Province ( fa, استان آذربایجان شرقی ''Āzarbāijān-e Sharqi''; az-Arab, شرقی آذربایجان اوستانی) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia ...

, West Azerbaijan,

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

and Zanjan *

Western Azerbaijan Western Azerbaijan ( az, Qərbi Azərbaycan) is an Irredentism, irredentist political concept that is used in the Republic of Azerbaijan mostly to refer to the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Azerbaijani statements claim that the territory ...

(''Qərbi Azərbaycan'') - most of the territory of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

* Derbent (''Dərbənd'') -

Derbentsky district Derbentsky District (russian: Дербе́нтский райо́н; lez, Дербент район; az, Дәрбәнд раjонy, italic=no, Dərbənd rayonu) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty ...

Republic of Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...

Borchali The Borchaly uezd, was a county (''uezd'') of the Tiflis Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, and later of the independent and Soviet republics of Georgia. Its administrative center was the town of Shulavery (present-da ...

(''Borçalı'') - part of the

Kvemo Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region (mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location Kvem ...

province of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

References

External links

* {{Pan-nationalist concepts Azerbaijani nationalism

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Politics of Azerbaijan Azerbaijani irredentism

History

Political initiatives

Boundaries

See also

References

External links