Historians about Azarbaijan (Atrpatakan) and Aluania

Historians about Azarbaijan (Atrpatakan) and Aluania

Greek and Roman Historians of Antiquity

Historic documents dealing with Aghvank (Aluania, Albania of the Caucasus) recorded by European historians from the first century BC to the third century AD, given Aghvank’s geographic situation, are obviously not the most exhausting of all. Nevertheless, since the mysterious peoples of the region have long disappeared from the world scene, these records are worthy of consideration.

Aristobolus, who participated in Alexander’s excursions, has recorded the existence of the Aghvans (Aluanians) in the 80s of the third century BC.

Although the peoples collectively called the Aghvans (Aluanians) appear in the fourth century BC in history, the earliest accounts of the tribes living in the region known as Aluania (Aghvank) come from the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Hecate (Hecataeus of Miletos) has noted the existence of a people called the Miks who lived near the Arax. Herodotus calls them Mycians and also mentions other ethnicities such as the Caspians and Utians. Strabo, who lived around 65-63 BC and 21-23 AD in Amasya in Asia Minor, speaks of 26 tribes who lived in Aghvank.

The authors of antiquity report that the state of Aghvank was founded in the first century BC.

Pompey’s invasion of the East brought the Romans to the shores of the Caspian and according to Strabo, Theophanes also went on the expedition. Later, in 34 AD, Marc Anthony reached Aghvank as well.

The historians of this era describe Aluania (Aghvank) a land limited to Armenia in the south (River Kur), Sarmatia in the north (Caucasus mountains), Iberia (Georgia, Olazanes River) in the northwest and the Caspian in the east; a land far smaller than the present day artificial state of counterfeit “Azerbaijan”, whose fabricated “history” cites half of the universe being inside the borders of “Albania”, to whose people and civilization the Tatars of the Caucasus turned “Azeri” have no relation or affinity whatsoever. As with the Islamic historians of a later epoch, the Greek and Roman authors consider the River Kur the border between Armenia and Aghvank.