Lezgistan

Lezgistan is a Caucasus region inhabited by Lezgins, spanning parts of southern Dagestan in Russia and northern Azerbaijan. Its name has also appeared in political and historical discussions of Lezgin identity and territorial claims.

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Lezgins: A Northeast Caucasian people native mainly to southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. Their settlement across the modern border gives Lezgistan its name and human geography.
Caucasian Albania: An ancient kingdom in the eastern Caucasus, centered in parts of present-day Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan. Its territory overlapped parts of the wider area later associated with Lezgins.
Lezgin National Movement: A political movement advocating the rights and interests of Lezgins in Russia and Azerbaijan. Its demands gave modern political significance to the idea of a unified Lezgin region.
Lezgin autonomy movement: Efforts to secure political self-government or stronger rights for Lezgin communities. Autonomy claims are distinct from proposals to unite Lezgin-inhabited lands across borders.
Lezgian language: A Northeast Caucasian language spoken chiefly in southern Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. Its distribution helps define the cultural geography associated with Lezgistan.
Safavid Empire: An Iranian dynasty that ruled from 1501 to 1736 and shaped much of the South Caucasus. Safavid rule contributed to the region’s history before its incorporation into the Russian Empire.
Sadval: A Lezgin political movement founded in 1990 that advocated unification of Lezgin-inhabited territories. Sadval made the prospect of a cross-border Lezgin territory a prominent political issue.
Separatism: Political advocacy for a region or group to separate from an existing state. Some political interpretations of Lezgistan are framed as separatist, while the geographic label need not imply secession.
Dagestan: A republic of Russia on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, in the northeastern Caucasus. Southern Dagestan forms the northern portion of the region described as Lezgistan.
Treaty of Gulistan: An 1813 treaty ending the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and ceding territories to Russia. Its territorial settlement helped place the lands of Lezgistan within Russian imperial rule.