South Caucasus
South Caucasus, also referred to as Transcaucasia or Transcaucasus, is the southern portion of the
Caucasus region between
Europe and
Asia, extending from the
Greater Caucasus to the
Turkish and
Iranian borders, between the
Black and
Caspian Seas.
The area includes the
Colchis Lowland,
Kura Lowland, Talysh Mountains,
Lenkoran Lowland, Caucasus Minor, and Javakheti-Armenian Uplands.
All of
Armenia is in Transcaucasia; the majority of
Georgia and
Azerbaijan, including the exclave of
Naxivan, fall within this area.
Encyclopedia
South Caucasus, also referred to as
Transcaucasia or
Transcaucasus, is the southern portion of the
Caucasus region between
Europe and
Asia, extending from the
Greater Caucasus to the
Turkish and
Iranian borders, between the
Black and
Caspian Seas.
The area includes the
Colchis Lowland,
Kura Lowland, Talysh Mountains,
Lenkoran Lowland, Caucasus Minor, and Javakheti-Armenian Uplands.
All of
Armenia is in Transcaucasia; the majority of
Georgia and
Azerbaijan, including the exclave of
Naxçivan, fall within this area. The countries of the region are producers of
oil,
manganese ore,
tea,
citrus fruits, and
wine.
In Western languages, the terms
Transcaucasus and
Transcaucasia are translations of the
Russian zakavkazje meaning "the area beyond the Caucasus Mountains", i.e., as seen from the Russian capital .
The region remains one of the most complicated in the post-
Soviet area, and comprises three heavily disputed areas –
Abkhazia and
South Ossetia in
Georgia, and
Nagorno-Karabakh in
Azerbaijan.
History
The region was unified as a single political entity twice – during the
Russian civil war from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918, and under the
Soviet rule from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936.
The area of Transcaucasia, in particular where modern day Georgia & Armenia are located, is one of the native areas of the wine producing vines
vitis vinifera, the
European grapevine, hav ...
. Some experts speculate that this maybe the birthplace of wine production. Archeological excavation and carbon dating of grape pips from the area have dated back to 7000-5000BC.
See also
Footnotes
Sources and references
