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AZERBAIJAN (also spelt ADERBIJAN; the...

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 81 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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AZERBAIJAN (also spelt ADERBIJAN; the Azerbadegan of See also:medieval writers, the Athro patakan and Atropatene of the ancients) , the See also:north-western and. most important See also:province of See also:Persia. It is separated from See also:Russian territory on the N. by the See also:river See also:Aras (Araxes), while it has the See also:Caspian See also:Sea, See also:Gilan and See also:Khamseh (See also:Zenjan) on the E., See also:Kurdistan on the S., and See also:Asiatic See also:Turkey on the W. Its See also:area is estimated at 32,000 sq. m.; its See also:population at 11 to 2 millions, comprising various races, as Persians proper, See also:Turks, Kurds, Syrians, Armenians, &c. The See also:country is See also:superior in fertility to most provinces of Persia, and consists of a See also:regular See also:succession of undulating eminences, partially cultivated and opening into extensive plains. Near the centre of the province the mountains of Sahand rise in an accumulated See also:mass to the height of 12,000 ft. above the sea. The highest See also:mountain of the province is in its eastern See also:part, See also:Mount Savelan, with an See also:elevation of 15,792 ft., and the Talish Mountains, which run from north to See also:south, parallel to and at no See also:great distance from the Caspian, have an See also:altitude of 9000 ft. The See also:principal See also:rivers are the Aras and Kizil Uzain, both receiving numerous tributaries and flowing into the Caspian, and the Jaghatu, Tatava, Murdi, Aji and others, which drain into the See also:Urmia See also:lake. The country to the See also:west of the lake, with the districts of Selmas and Urmia, is the most prosperous part of Azerbaijan, yet even here the intelligent traveller laments the want of enterprise among the inhabitants. Azerbaijan is one of the most productive provinces of Persia. The orchards and gardens in which many villages are embosomed yield delicious fruits of almost every description, and great quantities, dried, are exported, principally to See also:Russia. Provisions are cheap and abundant, but there is a lack of forests and See also:timber trees. See also:Lead, See also:copper, See also:sulphur, See also:orpiment, also See also:lignite, have been found within the confines of the province; also a See also:kind of beautiful, variegated, translucent See also:marble, which takes a high See also:polish, is used in the construction of palatial buildings, tanks, See also:baths, &c., and is known as See also:Maragha, or-See also:Tabriz marble.

The See also:

climate is healthy, not hot in summer, and See also:cold in See also:winter. The cold sometimes is severely See also:felt by the poor classes owing to want of proper See also:fuel, for which a great part of the population has no substitute except dried cow-dung. See also:Snow lies on the mountains for about eight months in the See also:year, and See also:water is everywhere abundant. The best soils when abundantly irrigated yield from 50- to 6o-See also:fold, and the water for this purpose is supplied by the innumerable streams which intersect the province. The natives of Azerbaijan make excellent soldiers, and about a third of the See also:Persian See also:army is composed of them. The province is divided into a number of administrative sub-provinces or districts, each with a h¢kim, See also:governor or sub-governor, under the governor-See also:general, who under the Kajar See also:dynasty has always been the See also:heir-apparent to the See also:throne of Persia; assisted by a responsible See also:minister appointed by the shah. The administrative divisions are as follows:—Tabriz and environs; Uskuh; Deh-Kharegan; Maragha; Miandoab; See also:Saujbulagh; Sulduz; Urmia; Selmas; See also:Khoi; Maku; Geiger; Merend; Karadagh; Arvanek; Talish; See also:Ardebil; Mishkin; Khalkhal; Hashtrud; Garmrud; Afshar; Sain Kaleh; Ujan; Sarah. The See also:revenue amounts to about £200,000 per annum in See also:cash and kind, and nearly all of it is expended in the province for the See also:maintenance of the See also:court of the heir-apparent, the salaries and pay to See also:government officials, troops, See also:pensions, &c.

End of Article: AZERBAIJAN (also spelt ADERBIJAN; the Azerbadegan of medieval writers, the Athro patakan and Atropatene of the ancients)

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