Map of Greater Azerbaijan (Adalet Tahirzadeh)

Whole Azerbaijan ( az, Bütöv Azərbaycan) is an irredentist

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 Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

-inhabited territories into the Republic of Azerbaijan.

History

The idea of "Whole Azerbaijan" was formulated by

Piruz Dilanchi Pirouz Dilanchi ( az, Piruz Dilənçi; born Ali Ismayilfiruz, علی اسماعیل فیروز; May 1965 in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-Azerbaijani separatist leader. He has also written multiple poems and is the author of eight books in Azer ...

in 1991 and defined in 1992 by

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.

Political initiatives

The term Whole Azerbaijan continued in political initiatives including the SANLM (CAMAH) and Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party.

Boundaries

Although the boundaries of Whole Azerbaijan are not strictly defined, some proponents portray them as encompassing the following areas * South Azerbaijan (''Cənubi Azərbaycan'') - provinces of East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Ardabil 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 *

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 province of Georgia

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