Caucasian Albania

Albania (Latin: Albānia, Greek: Ἀλβανία, Albanía, in Old Armenian: Աղուանք Ałuankʿ (Aguank),Parthian: Ardhan, Middle Persian: Arran; Georgian: რანი, Rani); usually referred to as Caucasian Albania for disambiguation with the modern state of Albania (the native name for the country is unknown), is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located) and partially southern Dagestan. Around the first centuries BC and AD the land south of the Greater Caucasus and north of the Lesser Caucasus was divided between Kolchis in the west, Caucasian Iberia in the center and Caucasian Albania in the east. To the southwest was Armenia and to the southeast Atropatene.

After the rise of the Parthian Empire the kings of Caucasian Albania were replaced with an Arsacid family and would later be succeeded by another Iranian royal family in the 5th century AD, the Mihranids.

Names

Caucasus

The Caucasus /ˈkɔːkəsəs/ or Caucasia /kɔːˈkeɪʒə/ is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas.

It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe's highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, 5,642 metres (18,510 ft). Politically, the Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts. The southern parts consist of independent sovereign states, and the northern parts are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.

The region is known for its linguistic diversity: aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian, and Northeast Caucasian families are indigenous to the area.

Name

Pliny the Elder's Natural History (AD 77–79) derives the name of the Caucasus from the Scythian kroy-khasis (“ice-shining, white with snow”).

Throughout Persian history, particularly Sassanid Persia, the Caucasus region was the furthest point of Persian expansion, with areas to the north of Northern Caucasus practically impregnable. Therefore, the mythical mountain of Cafcuh, the highest mountain in the world, was said to be situated in this region, making the Caucasus the limit of the world. Therefore, the Caucasus was the name given to this area for its association with the legendary mountain. The modern name of the region in local languages are all similar to the mountain name, with the main difference being that f has been replaced with a softer w and the last letter being replaced with z.

Caucasus Mountains

The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region.

The Caucasus Mountains include the Greater Caucasus Range, which extends from the Caucasian Natural Reserve in the vicinity of Sochi on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea, aligned west-northwest to east-southeast and reaching nearly to Baku on the Caspian Sea; and the Lesser Caucasus, which runs parallel to the greater range, at a distance averaging about 100 km (62 mi) south. The Meskheti Range is a part of the Lesser Caucasus system. The Greater and Lesser Caucasus ranges are connected by the Likhi Range, which separates the Kolkhida Lowland from the Kura-Aras Lowland. In the southeast the Aras River separates the Lesser Caucasus from the Talysh Mountains which straddle the border of southeastern Azerbaijan and Iran. The Lesser Caucasus and the Armenian Highland constitute the Transcaucasian Highland, which at their western end converge with the highland plateau of Eastern Anatolia in the far north east of Turkey. The highest peak in the Caucasus range is Mount Elbrus in the Greater Caucasus, which rises to a height of 5,642 metres (18,510 ft) above sea level. Mountains near Sochi hosted part of the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Caucasus (Fabergé egg)

The Caucasus Egg is a jewelled enameled Easter egg made by Michael Perkhin under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1893. The egg was made for Alexander III of Russia, who presented it to his wife, the Empress Maria Feodorovna.

Currently the egg is a long term installation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, New York, as part of the Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation.

The Egg

The egg is made of yellow and varicoloured gold, silver, ruby enamel, rose-cut diamonds, portrait diamonds, platinum, ivory, pearls, rock crystal and watercolour on ivory.

It commemorates the Imperial hunting lodge in Abastumani in Caucasus where Grand Duke George spent most of his life after being diagnosed with tuberculosis. Miniatures were done and signed by Krijitski. The miniatures are revealed by opening four pearl-bordered doors around the egg. Each door bears a diamond-set numeral of the year, forming the year 1893. Behind the hinged cover at the top is a portrait of the Grand Duke in his naval uniform.

Albania

Albania (ⁱ/ælˈbeɪniə/, al-BAY-nee-ə, or sometimes /ɔːlˈbeɪniə/, awl-BAY-nee-ə; Albanian: Shqipëri/Shqipëria; Gheg Albanian: Shqipni/Shqipnia, Shqypni/Shqypnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë; Albanian pronunciation: [ɾɛpuˈblika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs]), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than 72 km (45 mi) from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which connects the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.

The modern-day territory of Albania was at various points in history part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia (southern Illyricum), Macedonia (particularly Epirus Nova), and Moesia Superior. The modern Republic became independent after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe following the Balkan Wars. Albania declared independence in 1912 and was recognized the following year. It then became a Principality, Republic, and Kingdom until being invaded by Italy in 1939, which formed Greater Albania. The latter eventually turned into a Nazi German protectorate in 1943. The following year, a socialist People's Republic was established under the leadership of Enver Hoxha and the Party of Labour. Albania experienced widespread social and political transformations during the communist era, as well as isolationism from much of the international community. In 1991, the Socialist Republic was dissolved and the Republic of Albania was established.

Albania (placename)

The toponym Albania may indicate several different geographical regions: a country in the Balkans; an ancient land in the Caucasus; as well as Scotland, Albania being a Latinization of a Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba. This article will cover etymology, as well as trace the usage of the toponyms and related toponyms and ethnonyms from their earliest known occurrence down to present times.

Albania (Caucasus)

Albania as the name of Caucasian Albania, a state and historical region of eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located) and partially southern Dagestan.

However, unlike the names of the other two European countries, this name was an exonym given to them by the Romans, as no one knew what these inhabitants called themselves. Compare also the land in Caucasus called Iberia, with the Iberian peninsula in Europe.

Albania (Balkans)

Albania as the name of a region in the Balkans attested in Medieval Latin. It may derive from an ethnonym, Albanoi, the name of an Illyrian tribe. Some linguists propose a derivation from the Proto-Indo-European root *albho-, which meant 'white'; referring perhaps to the snow-capped mountains of Albania. Others think the source may be a non-Indo-European root *alb-, meaning "hill, mountain", also present in alp "mountain pasture".

Albania (disambiguation)

Albania is an independent state on the Balkan Peninsula in south-eastern Europe.

Albania may also refer to :

States and state subdivisions (Albania-related)