History of the Caucasus

Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia, completed in 303 AD, UNESCO World Heritage Site, religious centre of the world's oldest Christian state

Petroglyphs in Gobustan, Azerbaijan, dating back to 10,000 BC indicating a thriving culture. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site considered to be of "outstanding universal value"

The history of the Caucasus region can be divided into the history of the Northern Caucasus (Ciscaucasia), historically in the sphere of influence of Scythia and Southern Russia (Eastern Europe), and that of the Southern Caucasus (Transcaucasia; Caucasian Albania, Georgia, Armenia), in the sphere of influence of Anatolia, Assyira and Persia (Southwest Asia).

In Modern times, the Southern Caucasus was part of the Persian Empire while the Northern Caucasus was conquered into the Russian Empire in the 19th century (Caucasian Wars), and later the South was also conceded to Russia by the Persians.

The Caucausus was a scene of intense fighting during the Second World War. Nazi Germany attempted to capture the region in 1942 by a two-pronged attack towards both the western bank of the Volga by seizing the city of Stalingrad, and by a drive southeast towards Baku, a major center of oil production. The Nazis intended to establish a Reichskommissariat Kaukasus to control the Caucasian territories of the Soviet Union. Considerable parts of the northern Caucasus fell under German occupation, but the invasion eventually faltered as it failed to accomplish either goal, and the Germans were driven back west following their defeat at Stalingrad.

Following the end of the Soviet Union, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia became independent in 1991.

The Caucasus region is subject to various territorial disputes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leading to the Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988–1994), the Ossetian-Ingush conflict (1989–1991), the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), the First Chechen War, 1994–1996 and the Second Chechen War (1999–2009).