Nij, Azerbaijan

The town of Nij (also, Nidzh; Azerbaijani: Nic, in Udi НыъжӀ or НиъжӀ), located forty kilometers south west of Qabala in Azerbaijan, is the world's only settlement of Udi people. It has a population of 5,744.

History

The forefathers of the Udi people were members of one of the twenty six Caucasian Albanian tribes who played an important role in the creation of the state of Caucasian Albania, which was situated in Azerbaijan and in the southern territories of Daghestan (currently in the Russian Federation) in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.

Ancient Udi was the principal language of Caucasian Albania. The Udi tribe was described in the writings of Herodotus,Strabo and Pliny the Elder. According to these chroniclers, the Udis became politically active following their involvement in the military incursions into Greece of Persian Emperor Xerxes I.

They are the only ethnic minority retaining their affiliation to Christianity in Azerbaijan. The Caucasian Albanian-Udi Apostolic Autocephalous Church is located in Nij. The Udi language is a North Caucasian language. Modern Udis are bilingual in both Udi and the Azeri language.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan (ⁱ/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn/ AZ-ər-by-JAHN; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan [ɑzærbɑjdʒɑn]), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası), is a transcontinental country in the Caucasus region, situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short border with Turkey in the northwest.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic proclaimed its independence in 1918 and became the first Muslim-majority democratic and secular republic. It was also the first Muslim-majority country to have operas, theaters and modern universities. The country was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920 as the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence on 30 August 1991, before the official dissolution of the USSR. In September 1991, the disputed Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh region re-affirmed its willingness to create a separate state as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The region, effectively independent since the beginning of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1991, is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan until a final solution to its status is found through negotiations facilitated by the OSCE.

Azerbaijan (disambiguation)

Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan may refer to:

See also

Azerbaijan (newspaper)

The Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan) is a state-owned newspaper and public journal published by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan.

References

External links