Timeline of Azerbaijanis

​Caucasian Albania, Roman-Parthian rivalry, and Sassanian conquest

550 BCE - 9 BCE

Caucasian Albanians are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of Azerbaijan. Early invaders included the Scythians in the 9th century BCE. The South Caucasus was eventually conquered by the Achaemenids around 550 BCE. During this period, Zoroastrianism spread in Azerbaijan.

4 CE - 8 CE

Caucasian Albania's ruler, King Urnayr, officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century CE, and Albania would remain a Christian state until the 8th century.

Following the overthrow of the Median Empire, all of what is today Azerbaijan was invaded by the Persian king Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BCE. This empire lasted over 250 years and was conquered later by Alexander the Great and led to the rise of Hellenistic culture throughout the former Persian Empire. 

330 BCE - 252 CE

The Achaemenids were defeated by Alexander the Great in 330 BCE.Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the 1st century BCE and largely remained independent until the Sassanids made the kingdom a province in 252 CE.

The Seleucid Greeks inherited the Caucasus following Alexander's death in 323 BCE, but were ultimately beset by pressures from Rome, secessionist Greeks in Bactria, and most adversely the Parthians (Parni), another nomadic Iranian tribe from Central Asia, which made serious inroads into the northern eastern Seleucid domains from the late 4th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE and this ultimately allowed local Caucasian tribes to establish an independent kingdom for the first time since the Median invasion.

Islamic conquest

664 CE - 667 CE

Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and Byzantines as they marched into the Caucasus region. The Arabs made Caucasian Albania a vassal state after the Christian resistance, led by Prince Javanshir, surrendered in 667. 

667 CE - 1000CE

Between the 9th and 10th centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the Kura and Aras rivers as Arran. During this time, Arabs from Basra and Kufa came to Azerbaijan and seized lands that the indigenous peoples had abandoned.

Seljuqs and successor states

The Seljuq period of Azerbaijan's history was possibly even more pivotal than the Arab conquest as it helped shape the ethno-linguistic nationality of the modern Azerbaijani Turks.

11th - 12th Centuries

At the beginning of the 11th century, the territory was gradually seized by waves of Oghuz Turkic tribes emanating from Central Asia. The first of these Turkic dynasties was the Ghaznavids from northern Afghanistan, who took over part of Azerbaijan by 1030. They were followed by the Seljuqs, a western branch of the Oghuz who conquered all of Iran and the Caucasus and pressed on to Iraq where they overthrew the Buyids in Baghdad in 1055.

During the Seljuq period, the influential vizier of the Seljuq sultans, Nizam ul-Mulk (a noted Persian scholar and administrator) is noted for having helped introduce numerous educational and bureaucratic reforms. His death in 1092 marked the beginning of the decline of the once well-organized Seljuq state that further deteriorated following the death of Sultan Ahmad Sanjar in 1153.

12th - 13th Centuries

The title of Atabeg was common during the Seljuq rule of the Middle East starting in the 12th century. Under their rule from the end of 12th to early 13th centuries, Azerbaijan emerged as an important cultural center of the Turkic people. Palaces of the Atabeg Eldegizids (eldeniz) and the Shirvanshahs hosted distinguished people of the time, many of whom were outstanding Muslim artisans and scientists. The most famous of the Atabeg rulers was Shams al-din Eldeqiz (Eldeniz).

Under the Seljuqs, great progress was achieved in different sciences and philosophy by Azerbaijanians like Bahmanyar, Khatib Tabrizi, Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi and others. Azerbaijanian poets such as Nizami Ganjavi and Khaqani Shirvani, who lived in this region, epitomize the highest point in refined medieval Persian literature. In addition, the region experience a building boom and the unique of architecture of the Seljuq period is epitomized by the fortress walls, mosques, schools, mausoleums, and bridges of Baku, Ganja and Absheron which were built during the 12th century.

Mongols and Ilkhanid rule

13th Century

In 1225, Jalaleddin Kharazmshah of Khwarezmid Empire put an end to the Atabeg rule.

The Mongol invasion of the Middle East and Caucasus was a devastating event for Azerbaijan and most of its neighbors. From 1220, Begin beg began to pay tributes to the Mongols. Jebe and Subotai made the small state neutral. In 1231, the Mongols occupied most of Azerbaijan and killed the KhorezmshahJalaladdin, who had overthrown the Atabeg dynasty. In 1235 the Mongols destroyed cities of Ganja, Shamkir, Tovuz, Shabran on their way to conquer Kievan Russia. By the 1236, all of Transcaucasia was in the hands of Ogedei khan.

The end of Mongol rule and the Kara Koyunlu-Agh Koyunlu rivalry

14th Century

The last Il-khanid ruler, Abu Sa'id, died without an heir which led to the Ilkhan state's disintegration into small sultanates. The next state in the territory of Azerbaijan, in the 1330s, was that of the Jalayirids, who ruled Iraq, western Persia, and most of Azerbaijan. The Jalayirid Sultanate lasted about fifty years, until it was disrupted by Tamerlane's conquests and the revolts of the Kara Koyunlu (Qara Qoyunlu) also known as 'Black Sheep Turks'.

The first Jalayirid ruler was Hasan Buzurg (d. 1356) who ascended the throne in Tabriz in 1337.

Tamerlane (Amir Timur) launched a devastating invasion of Azerbaijan in 1380s, and temporarily incorporated Azerbaijan into his vast domain that spanned much of Eurasia. The Shirvanshah state under Shirvanshah Ibrahim I were also vassals of Timur and assisted Timur in his war with the Mongol ruler Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde. Azerbaijan experienced social unrest and religious strife during this period due to sectarian conflict initiated by Hurufi,Bektashi and other movements.

15th Century

Following Timur's death in 1405, his fourth son Shah-Rukh came to power and reigned until 1446. To the west of Shah-Rukh's domain two new rival Turkic states emerged – the Kara Koyunlu based around Lake Van and the Ak Koyunlu (or White Sheep Turks) centered around Diyarbakır. Initially, it was the Kara Koyunlu who were ascendant when their chief Kara Yusuf overcame Sultan Ahmad, the last of Jalayirids, and conquered South of Azerbaijan in 1410, establishing his capital at Tabriz. Under Jahan-Shah, the Kara Koyunlu expanded their territory into central Iran and as far east as Khurasan. Later, however, the Ak Koyunlu came into greater prominence under Uzun Hasan, overcoming Jahan-Shah and the Qara Qoyunlu in 1468. Uzun Hasan ruled all of Iran, Azerbaijan and Iraq until his death in 1478. Both Ak Koyunlu and Kara Koyunlu, continued the Timurid tradition of generous patrons of literature, poetry and the arts as the renowned Islamic miniature paintings of Tabriz illustrate.

The Shirvanshahs

16th Century

Shīrwān Shāh or Sharwān Shāh, was the title in mediaeval Islamic times of a Persianized dynasty of Arabic origin.^[20] The Shirvanshah established a native Azeri state^[21] and were rulers of Shirvan, a historical region in present-day Azerbaijan. The Shirvanshahs established the longest Islamic dynasty in the Islamic world.

The role of the Shirvanshah state was important in the national development of Azerbaijan. The Shirvanshahs maintained a high degree of autonomy as local rulers and vassals from 861 until 1539, and provided a continuity that lasted longer than any other dynasty in the Islamic world. There are two periods of an independent Shirvan state: first in 12th century, under Sultans Manuchehr and Axsitan who built the stronghold of Baku, and second in 15th century under the Derbendid dynasty. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the Shirvanshahs were vassals of the Mongol and Timurid empires.

Safavids and the rise of Shi'a Islam

16th - 17th Centuries

The Safavid (Safaviyeh) were a Sufi religious order centered in Iran and formed in 1330s by Sheikh Safi Al-Din(1252–1334), after whom it was eponymously named.

The Safavids, led by Ismail I, expanded their base in Ardabil, conquering the Caucasus, parts of Anatolia,Mesopotamia, Central Asia, and western parts of South Asia. During the same period, Ismail sacked Baku in 1501 and persecuted the Sunni Shirvanshahs.

During the reign of Ismail I and his son Tahmasp, Shi'a Islam was imposed upon the formerly Sunni population of Iran and Azerbaijan. Imposition of Shi'a Islam was especially harsh in Shirvan, where a large Sunni population was massacred. Iran became a feudal theocracy during this period and the Shah was held to be the divinely ordained head of state and religion. During this period, the Qizilbashi chiefs were designated wakils (or legal administrators) with offices in charge of provincial administration and the class of Shia Islamic Ulema was created.

The wars with the Sunni Ottoman Empire, the arch rivals of the Safavids, continued during the reign of Shah Tahmasp. The important Safavid cities of Shamakha, Ganja and Baku were occupied by Ottomans in the 1580s.

Khanates of late 18th and early 19th centuries

While civil conflicts took hold in Iran, most of Azerbaijan was shortly occupied by the Ottomans (1722 to 1736).Meanwhile (from 1722 until 1735), during the reign of Peter the Great, the coastal strip along the Caspian Sea comprising Derbent, Baku and Salyan came shortly under Imperial Russian rule.

After the collapse of the Safavid empire, Nadir Shah Afshar (Nadir Guli Bey), an Iranian military genius of Turcoman origin came into power. He wrested control over Iran, banished the Afghans for good in 1729, and proceeded to go on an ambitious military spree, conquering as far as east as Delhi, and having the dream of founding another great Persian Empire. Not fortifying his Persian base severely exhausted his army. Nadir had effective control over Shah Tahmasp II and then ruled as the Regent of the infant Abbas III, until 1736, when he had himself crowned as Shah. The coronation of Nadir Shah took place in Mughan, in the present territory of Azerbaijan.

After Nadir Shah's assassination in 1747, the Persian Empire under the Afsharids disintegrated. Several Muslim khanates, wich had been established during the Safavids and Afsharids, became de facto independent. The former eunuch Agha Muhammad Khan of the Qajars could now turn to the restoration of the outlying provinces of the Safavid and Afsharid kingdom.

]The most powerful among the northern khans was Fat'h Ali Khan of Quba (died 1783), who managed to unite most of the neighboring khanates under his rule and even mounted an expedition to take Tabriz, fighting with Zand dynasty. Another powerful khanate was that of Karabakh, which subdued neighboring Nakhchivan khanate and parts of Erivan khanate.

Raise of Qajar

By 1796, Agha Muhammed Khan Qajar had raided and reconquered all of the former territories lost, including all of the Caucasus up to Dagestan in the North Caucasus. The Georgians, who had betrayed the Persians with the Treaty of Georgievsk, paid a high toll: their lands were reconquered by the Persians in the sack of Tblisi. Some khanates made the fateful decision to ask for Russian help, while others were content with Qajar rule. However, following the sudden death of the capable Agha Mohammad Khan, the Russians found themselves in the situation to annex control over Georgia and Dagestan, who had willingly asking for Russian suzerainty earlier. The Qajars responded to these events by declaring war under Fath Ali Shah, which started with initial Persian success and continued until 1813, until the Russians invaded Tabriz.

Russian rule

Following their defeat by Russia, Qajar Persia was forced to sign the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813, which acknowledged the loss of Dagestan, Georgia and most of Azerbaijan territory to Russia.

Another Russo-Persian war in 1826–28 resulted in another crushing defeat for the Iranian army. The Russians dictated another infamous final settlement as per the Treaty of Turkmenchay, which resulted in the Qajars of Persia ceding all of their Caucasian territories in 1828. The treaty established the current borders of Azerbaijan and Iran as the rule of local khans ended. In the Russian controlled territories, two provinces were established that later constituted the bulk of the modern Republic – Elisavetpol (Ganja) province in the west, and Shamakha province in the east.

At the beginning of Russian administration, the Tsars did not significantly interfere with local affairs and the migration of the Christian population into Azerbaijan was minimal. As a result of a catastrophic earthquake in 1858, the capital of the eastern province was transferred from Shamakha to Baku which attained greater importance over time.

Two Azerbaijans: North (the Republic of Azerbaijan) and South Azerbaijan (Iran) 

Following the division of Azerbaijan the geographical concepts North and South took on a political meaning. North Azerbaijan traversed a path from Russian colonisation to independence; however South Azerbaijan continues to exist within the structure of Iran. 

North Azerbaijan defeated the mighty colonial system of the Russian Empire, which had endured for more than one hundred years, and in May 1918 declared its independence as a state: the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was established. The ADR was recognised de-facto by the world community in January 1920. However, in April of the same year the ADR collapsed as a result of occupation by Soviet Russia and sovietisation began: the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan was established. The Soviet era continued until 1991. On 18 October 1991, the Constitutional Act of the State Independence of Azerbaijan was approved. 

Russian Invasion in Iran

The burden of the Russo-Persian War (1826–28) was on the tribes of Qaradağ region, who being in front line, provided human resources and provision of Iranian army. In the wake of the war a significant fraction of the inhabitants of this area lived as nomadic tribes (ایلات). The major tribes included; Cilibyanlu 1500 tents and houses, Karacurlu 2500, Haji Alilu 800, Begdillu 200, and various minor groups 500. At the time Ahar, with 3500 inhabitants, was the only city of Qaradağ. The Haji-Alilu tribe played major rule in the later political developments.

Following the start of a period of high amounts of Russian influences in all of Northern Iran including Azerbaijan (all of Northern Iran fell into Russia's sphere of influence for decades), after 1905 the representatives of Azerbaijan were very active in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution in particular as a response to this.

Raise of Nationalism in Azerbaijan

1900 - 1906

By 1900, the population of Baku increased from 10,000 to roughly 250,000 people as a result of worker migration from all over the Russian Empire, Iran, and other places. The growth of Baku and the progression of an exploitative economy resulted in the emergence of an Azeri nationalist intelligentia that was educated and influenced by European and Ottoman ideas. Influential thinkers like Hasan bey Zardabi, Mirza Fatali Akhundov and later, Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Nariman Narimanov and others spurred a nationalist discourse and rallied against poverty, ignorance, extremism and sought reforms in education and the emancipation of the dispossessed classes, including women. The financial support of philanthropist millionaires such as Haji Zeynalabdin Taghiyev also bolstered the rise of an Azeri middle-class.

Following the disastrous Russo-Japanese war, an economic and political crisis erupted in Baku, starting with a general strike of oil workers in 1904. In 1905, class and ethnic tensions resulted in Muslim-Armenian ethnic rioting during the first Russian Revolution. The Tsarist governments had, in fact, exploited ethnic and religious strife to maintain control in a policy of divide and rule.

Modernising Ideology of Azerbaijan

1906 - 1917

The situation improved during 1906–1914, when a limited parliamentary system was introduced in Russia and Muslim MPs from Azerbaijan were actively promoting Azeri interests. In 1911, the pan Turkist and pan Islamist Musavat Party, inspired by the left of center modernizing ideology espoused by Mammed Amin Rasulzade, was formed. Founded clandestinely, the party expanded rapidly in 1917, after the overthrow of the Tsarist regime in Russia. The most essential components of the Musavat ideology were secularism, nationalism, and federalism, or autonomy within a broader political structure. However, the party's right- and left-wings differed on certain issues, most notably land distribution. The leader of the party was the left-leaning Mammed Amin Rasulzade.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 ultimately led to the granting of rights to the local population of Azerbaijan and the granting of self-rule, but this autonomy also led to renewed ethnic conflict between Azeris and Armenians.

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

28th May 1918

Mammad Amin Rasulzade was one of the founding leaders and speaker of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918, he was widely regarded as the national leader of Azerbaijan.

At the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, an independent republic was proclaimed in Ganja on May 28, 1918 following an abortive attempt to establish a federal Transcaucasian Republic with Armenia and Georgia. This was the first Democratic Republic established in Islamic World.

Azerbaijan was proclaimed a secular republic and its first parliament opened on December 5, 1918. British administration initially did not recognize the Republic but tacitly cooperated with it. By mid-1919 the situation in Azerbaijan had more or less stabilized, and British forces left in August 1919. However by early 1920, advancing Bolshevik forces, victorious in Russian Civil War, started to pose a great threat to young republic, which also engaged in a conflict with Armenia over the Karabakh.

Azerbaijan received de facto recognition by the Allies as an independent nation in January 1920 at the Versailles Paris Peace Conference. The republic was governed by five cabinets, all formed by a coalition of the Musavat and other parties including the Socialist Bloc, the Independents, the Liberals, the Social-Democratic Party Hummat (or Endeavor) Party and the Conservative Ittihad (Union) Party. The premier in the first three cabinets was Fatali Khan Khoyski; in the last two, Nasib Yusifbeyli. The president of the parliament, Alimardan Topchubashev, was recognized as the head of state. In this capacity he represented Azerbaijan at the Versailles Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan

1920 - 1921

Aided by Azeri dissidents in the Republican government, the Red Army invaded Azerbaijan on April 28, 1920. The bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in Karabakh. The Azeris did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily. As many as 20,000 died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest. However, it has to be noticed that the installation of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was made easier by the fact that there was a certain popular support for Bolshevik ideology in Azerbaijan, in particular among the industrial workers in Baku. The same day a Soviet government was formed under Nariman Narimanov. Before the year was over, the same fate had befallen Armenia, and, in March 1921, Georgia as well.

South Azerbaijan and Its Effect in Iranian Modern History

1905-1917

South Azerbaijan has lived a different history within the structure of Iran. The idea of liberty, however, has also been the main theme of this history. South Azerbaijan was one of the main centres of the Iran revolution from 1905-1911 and played an important role in the adoption of the Constitution. The demand for autonomy arose for the first time in this period. From 1917-1920 the democratic movement expanded even further. A revolt led by Sheikh Mahammad Khiyabani was crowned with success on 7 April 1920. On 23 June the National Government was established. The governmental circles of Iran overthrew the National Government on 14 September and Khiyabani was killed. 

Azerbaijan People's Government - South Azerbaijan

1945-1946

Another separation attempt took place in November 1945, when the Azerbaijan People’s Government was created with the support of the Soviets. During the first week of September 1945, the Azerbaijani Democratic Party, now led by Jafar Pishevari, a long-time leader of the revolutionary movement in Gilan, declared itself to be in control of Iranian Azerbaijan, promised liberal democratic reforms, and disbanded the local branch of Tudeh. 

Later in September 1945, at its first congress, the Azerbaijani Democratic Party authorized the formation of a peasant's militia. This militia started a bloodless coup on November 18, 1945 and by November 21, 1945 they had captured all remaining government posts in the province and Iranian Azerbaijan "became an autonomous republic under the direction of a 39-member national executive committee". The only Prime Minister of this short-lived republic was Ahmad Kordary (variously spelled Kordari or Kodari).

On June 13, 1946, an agreement was reached between the Central Government [in Tehran] and the delegates from Azerbaijan, headed by Pishevari. By that agreement, Pishevari agreed to abandon its autonomy, to relinquish its ministries and premiership and to become once more part of Iran. Its parliament was to be transformed into a provincial council- a system recognized and provided for in the Iranian Constitution.

By mid-December 1946, the Iranian army reentered Tabriz, thus putting an end to Azerbaijan People's Government after a full year of its existence.During the lawless interregnum, approximately 500 supporters of ADP were killed.

Pahlavis

1925 - 1979

The Pahlavis accession to power (1925-1979) extended policies which discriminated against South Azerbaijan. In spite of this, it remained one of the centres of the liberation movement. During World War II, the democratic movement in South Azerbaijan flourished again. In December 1945 the Democratic Government of Azerbaijan was established, but this government also collapsed within a year, in December 1946. South Azerbaijan also played an active role in the revolution of 1978-1979, which resulted in the overthrow of the Pahlavis’ regime. However, the expected democratic changes were not implemented. South Azerbaijan could not separate as a united geographical territory from the structure of Iran and, instead, the policy of dividing it into different administrative and territorial units was continued. 

Soviet Azerbaijan

1920 - 1991

After the peaceful surrender of the national government to Bolshevik forces, Azerbaijan was proclaimed a Soviet Socialist Republic on April 28, 1920. Shortly after, the Congress of the Peoples of the East was held in September 1920 in Baku. Although formally an independent state, the Azerbaijan SSR was dependent upon and controlled by the government in Moscow.

Like other union republics, Azerbaijan was affected by Stalin's purges in the 1930s. During that period, sometimes referred to as the "Red Terror", thousands of people were killed, including notable Azeri figures such as Huseyn Javid, Mikail Mushvig, Ruhulla Akhundov, Ayna Sultanova and others. Directing the purges in Azerbaijan was Mir Jafar Baghirov, the first secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, who followed Stalin's orders without question.

In an attempt to end the growing structural crisis, in 1969, the government in Moscow appointed Heydar Aliyev as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan. Aliyev temporarily improved economic conditions and promoted alternative industries to the declining oil industry, such as cotton. He also consolidated the republic's ruling elite, which now consisted almost entirely of ethnic Azeris, thus reverting the previous trends at "rapprochement". In 1982, Aliyev was made a member of the Communist Party's Politburo in Moscow, the highest position ever attained by an Azeri in the Soviet Union. In 1987, when Perestroika started, he was forced to retire by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev whose policies Aliyev opposed.

The late 1980s, during the Gorbachev era, were characterized by increasing unrest in the Caucasus, initially over the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. A political awakening came in February 1988 with the renewal of the ethnic conflict, which centered on Armenian demands for the unification of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of Azerbaijan SSR Armenia by March 1988, while pogroms of the Armenian population in Baku and Sumgait took place. Russia forced enforced military rule on several occasions but unrest continued to spread.

Independent Azerbaijan

1991

While during 1990–1991 Azerbaijan gave more sacrifices in a struggle for independence from the USSR than any other Soviet republic, the declaration of independence introduced by President Ayaz Mutalibov on August 30, 1991 followed the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt.

In December 1991 in a nationwide referendum, Azerbaijani voters approved the Declaration of Independence adopted by the Supreme Council; with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan is recognized as independent state at first by Turkey, Israel, Romania and Pakistan.

Conflict of Azerbaijan - Armenia

1992

Karabakh's Armenian leadership proclaimed an independent republic. In what was now a full-scale war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Armenians gained the upper hand, with covert assistance from the Russian Army. Major atrocities were committed, with the Khojaly massacre of Azeri civilians on February 25, 1992 causing a social uproar over the government inaction. Mütallibov was forced to submit his resignation to the National Assembly of Azerbaijan on March 6, under pressure from the Azerbaijan Popular Front.

Elchibey presidency

1992-1993

The former Communists failed to present a viable candidate at the 1992 elections and Abulfaz Elchibey, the leader of the Popular Front of Azerbaijan (PFA) and former dissident and political prisoner, was elected president with more than 60% of the vote. His program included opposition to Azerbaijan's membership in the Commonwealth of Independent States, closer relations with Turkey, and a desire for extended links with the Iranian Azerbaijanis.

Heydar Aliyev, who had been prevented from running for president by an age limit of 65, was doing well in Nakhichevan. He had to contend with an Armenian blockade of Nakhichevan. In turn, Armenia suffered when Azerbaijan halted all rail traffic into and out of Armenia, cutting most of its land links with the outside world. The negative economic effects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict seemed to illustrate the interdependence of the Transcaucasian nations.

Heydar Aliyev presidency 

1993-2003

On 3 October 1993 a presidential election was held, and Aliyev won overwhelmingly. As a result of reforms and the signing of the so-called "Contract of The Century" in October 1994 (over the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli giant oil field) that led to increased oil exports to western markets, the economy began improving. 

In October 1998, Aliev was re-elected as president for a second term. In early 1999, a giantShah Deniz gas field was discovered making Azerbaijan potentially a major gas exporter. A gas export agreement was signed withTurkey by 2003. Work on a long awaited Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Erzerum gas pipeline started in 2003. The oil pipeline was completed in 2005 and the gas pipeline in 2006. Azerbaijan is also a party to the proposed Nabucco Pipeline.

Ilham Aliyev presidency

From 2013

Heydar Aliyev fell ill and, in April 2003, collapsed on stage and could not return to public life. By summer 2003 he was placed into intensive care in the United States where he passed away on December 12, 2003.

In the 2003 election, Ilham Aliyev was elected president the same year. Ilham Aliyev was re-elected in 2008 with 87%.

On 24 October 2011 Azerbaijan was elected as a non-permanent member to United Nations Security Council. The term of office began on January 1, 2012.