Azerbaijan

The land was home in antiquity to Caucasian Albania and to Zoroastrian fire temples kindled by its natural gas. Over the centuries it was ruled by Persian, Arab, and Turkic powers, and dynasties such as the Shirvanshahs left their mark, while the people came to speak a Turkic language and embrace Islam. The region was divided between Russia and Persia in the nineteenth century, and in 1918 the northern part briefly became the first secular democratic republic in the Muslim world before being absorbed into the Soviet Union, regaining independence in 1991.

Azerbaijan's landscape ranges from the high peaks of the Greater Caucasus in the north to lowland plains around the central rivers and a long coastline on the landlocked Caspian Sea, the largest inland body of water in the world. The country has a great variety of climates within a small area, from cold mountains to a semi-arid centre and humid subtropical lowlands in the southeast. Its Caspian shore and the lands beneath it hold the oil and gas that have shaped its modern history.

The flag of Azerbaijan has three horizontal bands of blue, red, and green, with a white crescent moon and an eight-pointed star in the centre of the red band. The blue is said to represent the country's Turkic heritage, the red its drive toward modernity and progress, and the green its ties to Islam. The crescent and star are traditional symbols of Islam, and the eight points of the star are sometimes linked to the branches of the Turkic peoples.

The majority of Azerbaijanis are Muslims, predominantly of the Shia branch, which connects them to neighbouring Iran, alongside a significant Sunni minority, yet Azerbaijan is a notably secular state with a tradition of religious tolerance. The land's deeper religious history includes Zoroastrianism, the ancient Persian faith that revered fire, fitting for a place where flames once rose from the ground, and small communities of Christians and Jews have long lived in the country.

Azerbaijani cuisine draws on Persian, Turkic, and Caucasian traditions, rich in herbs, fruit, and spices. Its signature dish is plov, a saffron-scented rice served with meat, fruit, or herbs in many varieties, considered the crown of the cuisine. Kebabs, dolma of stuffed vine leaves and vegetables, and rich stews are staples, and the country is famous for its tea culture, with strong black tea served from ornate pots, often accompanied by jam and sweets.

Although oil and gas dominate the economy, agriculture remains important to Azerbaijan, favoured by its varied climates. The fertile lowlands produce cotton, grains, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables, and the country has a long tradition of growing grapes for wine and tea on its humid southern coast. Caviar from the sturgeon of the Caspian Sea is a famous, if now scarce, delicacy. Farming sustains much of the rural population away from the energy industry.

Azerbaijan's ancient fire worship and its early embrace of modernity stand out in its history: Baku was a cradle of the world's petroleum industry, producing a large share of the globe's oil at the turn of the twentieth century. The brief democratic republic of 1918 was a milestone in the Muslim world. Since independence in 1991, the country has been shaped above all by its long conflict with neighbouring Armenia over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan has a population of around 10 million people, the great majority ethnic Azerbaijanis, a Turkic people, with various minorities. The population is concentrated on the plains and along the Caspian coast, above all in the capital, Baku, a fast-modernising city of oil wealth whose skyline of new towers rises beside a medieval walled old town. A large number of ethnic Azerbaijanis also live across the border in neighbouring Iran.