How Azerbaijan Drew Its Own Borders for Itself in 1920

Source: League of Nations Archive (archives.ungeneva.org) — the chapters "The Borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan" and "The Origin of Azerbaijan" from the booklet *La République de l'Azerbaïdjan du Caucase*, published by the Delegation of Azerbaijan to the League of Nations circa 1920. Translated from the French original.

A notable detail: in Section V, when describing the border with "Caucasian Armenia," Azerbaijan itself declared a straight line running through Lake Gokcha (Sevan), thereby claiming part of the territory that today lies entirely within the borders of the Republic of Armenia. Below is the full translation of the document.

THE BORDERS OF THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN

I. — The Northern Border

Azerbaijan's northern border begins at the point where the Choloki River flows into the Black Sea (on the border with Georgia). It ascends along this river up to the Adjara mountain range.

Following this mountain range westward, it passes through the peaks of Khino (8,522 ft), Tochnaur (8,735 ft), Gotimeria (8,769 ft), Sallar-Dagh (8,162 ft), the Zekar Pass, Mount Nageba, and reaches the summit of Sagalatlobachi (8,141 ft).

From there it descends to the south-east, following the Keida-Su river, a tributary of the Kura. Crossing this river, it heads along the Tiselva tributary toward the Chitis-Kibe summit (8554 feet), follows the watershed of the Kura's tributaries, descends south to the river, near the village of Akhachen, then, continuing southward, follows the Kura up to the village of Kurtanakev.

Thereafter the boundary runs eastward along the line of the former administrative divisions — the district of Akhalkalaki, the province of Kars, the district of Alexandropol, and the governorate of Erevan — passing through the summits of Gek-Dagh (9152 feet), Uch-Tapalar (9783 feet), Ortul-Dagh (8030 feet), Okiuz-Dagh (8018 feet), and Ak-Chala (10500 feet).

From this point it ascends northward, following the former administrative boundary line between the districts of Akhalkalak and Borchalu, then passes through the peaks of Emlikli (10,017 feet) and Agrikar (9,765 feet), along the Davakran mountain range, and reaches the summit of Mount Dali-Dagh (8,624 feet).

From this point it turns eastward, passes through the peaks of Inyak-Dagh (6,636 feet) and Bulak-Dagh (6,317 feet), and reaches the village of Alexanderhilf.

Beyond this village the border follows the Khrami River as far as the village of Arukhlo and the summits of Great Tkiatam-Tapa, running in a north-easterly direction parallel to the Alexandropol–Tiflis railway, three versts to the west, crossing it, as well as, further on, the Tiflis–Yelizavetpol railway, at a distance of 6 kilometres from Navtlugh station.

Then the border again turns eastward and passes through the summits of Kara-Dara, Sari-yar, Karavan-Tapa, Naomari (3,185 feet), the villages of Muganlo and Tullar (on the Yora River), the summit of Lambeli (2,537 feet), the Katar mountain range, the summit of Mliatis and, finally, the mountains of Bilenta (3,052 feet) and Nikoratsikha (3,290 feet). Then, rising to the north, it reaches the confluence of the Taran-Kobu and Azan rivers, passing through the village of Kara-Akach. Continuing in the same direction, it follows the Taran-Kobu, Abzhit and Mazim-chay rivers up to the summit of Mount Tinov-Rosso (11,104 feet).

Turning again to the east (the border of the North Caucasian Republic), it stretches from the Main Caucasus Range to the summit of Mount Guton (12,005 feet). It then descends north-east from the Main Caucasus Range, following the secondary mountains that form the watershed between the upper reaches of the Avar-Koysu, Kara-Koysu and Kazikumukh-Koysu rivers (on one side) and the Samur, Chirakh-chay and Ulu-chay rivers (on the other side), passing through the Kalanker-Kats pass (11,480 feet), Mount Khachkharva (13,083 feet), the Lakazan pass (11,961 feet), the Dolti-Dagh range, and the mountains Viralgu (12,851 feet), Nusar-Dagh (12,270 feet) and Alakhun-Dagh (12,629 feet).

Finally, it again rises to the north, crosses the Ulu-chay river two kilometers south of the village of Itsari, and, following the watershed of the aforementioned rivers up to elevation 2108, turns eastward and reaches the Caspian Sea 20 kilometers south of Buynak station, on the Baku–Petrovsk railway line.

II. — The Eastern Border

From twenty kilometers southeast of the Buinaksk station the border runs along the Caspian Sea to the city of Astara (Caucasian), near the former Russo-Persian border.

III. — The Southern Border

From Astara (Caucasian) this border abuts Persia up to the point where the former borders of Russia, Persia and Turkey intersected, and then follows the former Russo-Turkish border up to Cape Kop-Mukh on the Black Sea.

IV. — The Western Border

From Cape Kop-Mukh to the mouth of the Chorokh River, Azerbaijan's western border runs along the Black Sea coast.

V. — The Border of Caucasian Armenia

Azerbaijan's land border with Armenia begins at the summit of Mount Aglagan (9,833 feet), runs westward, crosses the Alexandrapol–Akhalkalaki highway 18 kilometers south of Kzyl-Koch station (village of Gyullu-Bulagh), and proceeds to the Arpachay River, opposite the village of Dagh-Kepri.

Then it descends south, following the Arpa-Fihuy up to the village of Giasso-Kurdasi, which lies 2 kilometers northwest of the small station of Karakul, then turns east to the summit of Mount Kara-Keynah (9,917 feet).

From there it follows the tributary of the Abaran River in a south-easterly direction as far as the village of Zeyna, at a distance of 5 kilometres from the Tiflis–Yerevan railway, then turns eastward along a line parallel to that same railway, as far as the village of Agbash, which lies 7 kilometres north of that line.

Following the Garnichay River, it ascends to the north-west, passes through the summits of Agh-Dagh (10,906 feet), Kara-Kaya (11,178 feet), and Guzal-dara, turns westward and reaches the village of Zagalu on the eastern shore of Lake Gokcha (Sevan).

The border of Caucasian Armenia crosses the lake in a straight line up to the village of Semyonovka and, following the former administrative division of the Yelizavetpol and Erivan governorates, reaches the summit of Mount Beche-Kechmaz (the common point of intersection of the borders of the Erivan, Yelizavetpol and Tiflis governorates), then turns north along the administrative boundary line of the Yelizavetpol and Tiflis governorates, up to the summit of Mount Chimal (3465 feet).

Finally, this border descends to the southwest, passing successively over the Shakh-Alkham, Shakh-Takhte, Lalvar, and Lejan mountains, and ends at the summit of Mount Aglagan, on the border of the two states — Azerbaijan and Armenia.

THE REPUBLIC OF CAUCASIAN AZERBAIJAN

I. The Origin of Azerbaijan. — The Independent Khanates and Their Fall

Origin: The southeastern region of the Caucasus, or Transcaucasia proper, has been inhabited since the most ancient times, up to the shores of the Caspian Sea, partly by Turkic and partly by Tatar tribes, which, merging over time with Iranian elements, were assimilated into the Turkic people, predominant in number, strength, and vigor. As a result of this merging, the natives of this part of the Caucasus came to be called "Turks of Azerbaijan," or simply "Azerbaijanis," after the name of the country they inhabited.

Situated on the path of the frequent invasions heading from Asia to Europe, Azerbaijan occupied a vast territory, stretching from the Caucasus mountain range to the Caspian Sea and beyond Lake Urmia. The central territory that gave the country its name was the region adjoining the Caspian Sea, known today as the Baku province, with the city of the same name and its world-famous oil fields.

This region, due to the abundance of gases accumulated in its subsoil, was called in ancient times the "Land of Eternal Fires" or the "Mines of Fire," and it is precisely from here that the name "Azerbaijan" or "Azeristan" arose, derived from the Old Persian word "Azerpatigan." Reaching back to the most distant centuries, this name is confirmed not only by historical data, but also by the actual power of those eternal fires, which in the region of Baku — the capital of Azerbaijan — testify better than any parchment of human chronology to the origin of the name Azerbaijan (Azeristan). This country, like its fires, has survived in spite of all the bitterness of fate, which has brought so many upheavals to its political, social, and economic life. Renowned conquerors have ruled over its lands — from Alexander the Great to Lenkthemur, the Arabs, the Persians, the Ottoman Turks, and others. These upheavals inevitably brought about profound changes in the territorial and ethnic composition of Azerbaijan. One part of the country was annexed to Persia by force of arms, while the other remained geographically within the boundaries of the Caucasus — a circumstance that played an important role in the subsequent fate of the Caucasian portion of Azerbaijan.

The Independent Khanates and Their Fall: For a long time this region, as before, remained entirely independent from a political standpoint. In the 17th century it consisted of independent khanates, some of which, under the pressure of circumstances, at times accepted the suzerainty of the then all-powerful Persian shahs — which, however, did not prevent the khans from frequently waging war against that very Persia, as well as against Turkey, Georgia, and, finally, Russia.

These wars were primarily defensive in nature and were waged first and foremost with the aim of defending the independence of the khanates of Caucasian Azerbaijan. In this respect, their struggle became especially fierce when a serious threat began to loom over them from Russia. Weakening Persia and Turkey through incessant wars and taking into its embrace Georgia, which, seeking salvation, had thrown itself toward it, Russia strove for the conquest of the Caucasus and the enslavement of all the peoples inhabiting it.

The history of this land is full of heroic episodes, when small khanates, weapons in hand, valiantly advanced against the Russian regiments and, watering their native soil with the blood of their sons, valiantly defended their independence. They preserved it until the beginning of the 19th century and even throughout its first quarter. It was then that the independent khanates fell one after another: in 1813 the khanates of Karabakh, Ganja, Sheki, Shirvan, Derbent, Kuba, Baku and Talysh were annexed to Russia, and in 1828 those of Yerevan and Nakhichevan.

Having lost their independence, all these khanates, as Russian domination was consolidated and as a consequence of the authorities' overtly Russifying tendencies, gradually lost those ties that had united them with the other parts of the "land of eternal fires." Henceforth the name "Azerbaijan" belonged solely to the neighboring Persian province, with the city of Tabriz as its center.

Arbitrarily partitioning the annexed territory, changing the ancient names of cities and regions — for example, the name of such a major center of Azerbaijan as…

The source text breaks off at precisely this point: the available pages of the archival scan end here, and the punctuation reflects the document's actual interruption, not an omission on our part.