MakhachkalaMakhachkala (), previously known as Petrovskoye (Петровское; 1844–1857) and Port-Petrovsk (Петровск-Порт; 1857–1921), or by the local Kumyk name of Anji, is the capital and largest city of Dagestan, Russia. The city is located on the Caspian Sea, covering an area of , with a population of over 623,254 residents, while the urban agglomeration covers over , with a population of roughly 1 million residents. Makhachkala is the fourth-largest city in the Caucasus, the largest city in the North Caucasus and the North Caucasian Federal District, as well as the third-largest city on the Caspian Sea.
ArdabilArdabil (, Ardabīlor Ardebīl)Ardabīl) is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of 2016, there were 529,374 inhabitants in Ardabil living in 158,627 households. with the majority belonging to the Shia denomination of Islam. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaijanis and the primary language of the people is Azerbaijani. Ardabil is known for its trade in silk and carpets. Ardabil rugs are renowned and the ancient Ardabil carpets are considered among the best of classical Persian carpets.
Lake UrmiaLake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in the Middle East and the sixth-largest saltwater lake on Earth, with a surface area of approximately , a length of , a width of , and a maximum depth of .
VolgogradVolgograd (Волгогра́д), formerly Tsaritsyn (Цари́цын; tsɐˈrjitsɨn) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (Сталингра́д; stəljɪnˈɡrat) (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area of , with a population of slightly over one million residents. Volgograd is the sixteenth-largest city by population size in Russia, the second-largest city of the Southern Federal District, and the fourth-largest city on the Volga.
AtropateneAtropatene (Ātṛpātakāna; Ἀτροπατηνή), also known as Media Atropatene, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established in 323 BC by the Persian satrap Atropates. The kingdom, centered in present-day northern Iran, was ruled by Atropates' descendants until the early 1st-century AD, when the Parthian Arsacid dynasty supplanted them. It was conquered by the Sasanians in 226, and turned into a province governed by a marzban ("margrave").
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan (UKˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn,_-ˈdʒæn, USˌɑːzərbaɪˈdʒɑːn,_ˌæz-; Azərbaycan, ɑːzæɾbɑjˈdʒɑn), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia (Republic of Dagestan) to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the west, and Iran to the south. Baku is the capital and largest city.
QazvinQazvin (kæzˈviːn; قزوین, ɢæzˈviːn, also Romanized as Qazvīn, Qazwin, Kazvin, Kasvin, Caspin, Casbin, Casbeen, or Ghazvin) is a city in the Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Iran, and serves as capital of the district, county, and province. It is the largest city in Qazvin province. Qazvin was a capital of the Safavid dynasty for over forty years (1555–1598) and nowadays is known as the calligraphy capital of Iran. It is famous for its traditional confectioneries (like Baghlava), carpet patterns, poets, political newspaper and Pahlavi influence on its accent.
Fuzuli (poet)Muhammad bin Suleyman (Məhəmməd Süleyman oğlu, مَحمد سلیمان اوغلی; 1483–1556), better known by his pen name Fuzuli (Füzuli, فضولی), was a 16th-century poet who composed works in his native Azerbaijani, as well as Persian and Arabic. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets of Turkic literature and a prominent figure in both Azerbaijani and Ottoman literature. Fuzuli's work was widely known and admired throughout the Turkic cultural landscape from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with his fame reaching as far as Central Asia and India.
Baku GovernorateThe Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province (guberniya) of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea port of Baku. Area (1897): 34,400 sq. versts, population (1897): 789,659. The Baku Governorate bordered Persia to the south, the Elizavetpol Governorate (the Tiflis and Erivan governorates before 1868) to the west, the Dagestan Oblast to the north, and the Baku gradonachalstvo to the east on the Absheron Peninsula.
Afshar peopleAfshar (Əfşar افشار; Avşar, Afşar; Owşar اوْوشار; Afshār) is a tribe of Oghuz Turkic origin, that split into several groups in Iran, Turkey and Afghanistan. During the Seljuk conquests of the 11th century, they moved from Central Asia into the Middle East. They are noted in history for being one of the Qizilbash tribes that helped establish the Safavid dynasty of Iran, and for being the source of descent of Iran's Afsharid dynasty. Nader Shah, who became the monarch of Iran in 1736, was from the Qereklu clan (قرخلو) of Afshars.
