View source for South Caucasus

{{Short description|Geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia}}
{{About||the 1918 republic|Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic|the Soviet republic|Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox
| bodyclass        = geography
| above            = South Caucasus
| image            = [[File:Caucasus region 1994.jpg|350px]]
| caption          = 1994 map of Caucasus region prepared by the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]]
| location         = [[Eurasia]]
| label1           = Coordinates
| data1            = {{Coord|42|15|40|N|44|07|16|E|source:kolossus-nlwiki_scale:2000000|display=title,inline}}
| label2           = Countries
| data2            = {{ublist|class=nowrap
 |{{flag|Armenia}}
 |{{flag|Azerbaijan}}
 |{{flag|Georgia}}
 }}
{{Collapsible list 
 | title    = [[List of states with limited recognition|''De facto'' states with limited recognition]]
 |{{flag|Abkhazia}}
 |{{flag|South Ossetia}}
{{Collapsible list
 | title    = Related areas
 |{{flag|Iran}}
 |{{flag|Russia}}
 |{{flag|Turkey}}
}}
}}
| label5           = Time Zones
| data5            = [[UTC+04:00]], [[UTC+03:30]] and [[UTC+03:00]]
| label6           = Highest mountain
| data6            = [[Shkhara]] ({{convert|5203|m|ft}})
}}
The '''South Caucasus''', also known as '''Transcaucasia''', or the '''Transcaucasus''', is a geographical region on the border of [[Eastern Europe]] and [[West Asia]], straddling the southern [[Caucasus Mountains]].<ref>{{cite web |work=The World Factbook |title=Caucasus |url=https://www.loc.gov/today/placesinthenews/archive/2006arch/20060503_caucasus.html |publisher=Library of Congress |date=May 2006 |access-date=7 July 2009}}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite web |first=Stephen |last=Mulvey |title=The Caucasus: Troubled borderland |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/460353.stm |work=News |publisher=BBC |date=16 June 2000 |quote=''"The Caucasus Mountains form the boundary between West and East, between Europe and Asia..."'' |access-date=1 July 2009}}</ref> The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and [[Azerbaijan]], which are sometimes collectively known as the '''Caucasian States'''. The total area of these countries measures about {{convert|71850|sqmi|km2|abbr=off|order=flip}}.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia | title=Transcaucasia | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica | access-date=3 December 2014 | author=Solomon Ilich Bruk | url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Transcaucasia}}</ref> The South Caucasus and the [[North Caucasus]] together comprise the larger [[Caucasus]] geographical region that divides [[Eurasia]].

==Geography==

The South Caucasus spans the southern portion of the [[Caucasus Mountains]] and their lowlands, straddling the border between the continents of [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], and extending southwards from the southern part of the [[Main Caucasian Range]] of southwestern [[Russia]] to the [[Turkey|Turkish]] and [[Armenia]]n borders, and from the [[Black Sea]] in the west to the [[Caspian Sea]] coast of [[Iran]] in the east. The area includes the southern part of the [[Greater Caucasus]] mountain range, the entire [[Lesser Caucasus]] mountain range, the [[Colchis Lowland]]s, the [[Kura-Aras Lowland]]s, [[Arasbaran|Qaradagh]], the [[Talysh Mountains]], the [[Lankaran Lowland]], [[Javakheti]] and the eastern portion of the [[Armenian Highland|Armenian Highlands]].

All of present-day [[Armenia]] is in the South Caucasus; the majority of present-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan]], including the [[exclave]] of [[Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic|Nakhchivan]], also fall within the region.{{Citation needed|date=September 2016}} Parts of Iran and Turkey are also included within the region of the South Caucasus.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_2NAgAAQBAJ&q=parts+iran+turkey+in+transcaucasia&pg=PA72|title=Transcaucasian Boundaries|last1=Wright|first1=John|last2=Schofield|first2=Richard|last3=Goldenberg|first3=Suzanne|date=2003-12-16|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135368500|language=en|page=72}}</ref>{{Which|date=November 2023}} Goods produced in the region include [[Petroleum|oil]], [[manganese ore]], [[tea]], [[citrus fruits]], and [[wine]]. It remains one of the most politically tense regions in the post-[[Soviet]] area, and contains two heavily disputed areas: [[Abkhazia]] and [[South Ossetia]]. Between 1878 and 1917, the Russian-controlled province of [[Kars Oblast]] and the county of [[Surmalu uezd]] (present-day [[Iğdır Province]]) were also incorporated into administrative regions of the South Caucasus.{{Citation needed|date=October 2025}}

==Etymology==
Nowadays, the region is referred to as the ''South Caucasus'' or ''Southern Caucasia'' ({{langx|hy|Հարավային Կովկաս|Haravayin Kovkas}}; {{langx|az|Cənubi Qafqaz}}; {{langx|ab|Агырҭ Кавказ|Agyrt Kavkaz}}; {{lang-ka|სამხრეთ კავკასია|tr}}; {{langx|ru|Южный Кавказ|Yuzhnyy Kavkaz}}). The former name of the region, ''Transcaucasia,'' is a Latin rendering of the [[Russian language|Russian-language]] word ''Zakavkazye'' ({{wikt-lang|ru|Закавказье}}), meaning "[the area] beyond the Caucasus".<ref name="britannica" /> This implies a Russian vantage point, and is analogous to similar terms such as [[Transnistria]] and [[Transleithania]]. Other, rarer forms of this word include ''Trans-Caucasus'' and ''Transcaucasus'' ({{langx|ru|Транскавказ|Transkavkaz}}).

==History==
===Prehistory===
[[Herodotus]], a Greek historian who is known as 'the Father of History' and [[Strabo]], a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian, spoke about autochthonous peoples of the Caucasus in their books. In the Middle Ages, various people, including [[Scythians]], [[Alans|Alani]], [[Huns]], [[Khazars]], [[Arabs]], [[Seljuk dynasty|Seljuq]] [[Turkic peoples|Turks]], and [[Mongols]] settled in Caucasia. These invasions influenced on the culture of the peoples of the South Caucasus. In parallel Middle Eastern influence disseminated the Iranian languages and [[Islam]]ic religion in Caucasus.<ref name="britannica" />

[[File:Caucasus regions map2.svg|thumb|right|Contemporary political map of the Caucasus (including unrecognized states)]]
[[File:Soviet Caucasus map.svg|thumb|Administrative map of [[Caucasus]] in the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], 1957–1991.]]

Located on the peripheries of [[Iran]], [[Russia]] and [[Turkey]], the region has been an arena for political, military, religious, and cultural rivalries and expansionism for centuries. Throughout its history, the region has come under control of various empires, including the [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]], [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]],<ref name="Albert Kirk Grayson 1972 108">{{cite book | title = Assyrian Royal Inscriptions: Volume I | author = Albert Kirk Grayson | publisher = Otto Harrassowitz | location = Wiesbaden | year = 1972 | page = 108 }} §716.</ref> [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]], [[Roman Empire|Roman]], [[Sassanian Empire|Sassanian]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]], [[Umayyad]], [[Abbassid]], [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]], [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], successive [[History of Iran|Iranian]] ([[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]], [[Afsharid dynasty|Afsharid]], [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar]]), and [[Russian Empire]]s, all of which introduced their faiths and cultures.<ref>{{cite book |last=German |first=Tracey |title=Regional Cooperation in the South Caucasus: Good Neighbours Or Distant Relatives? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X3P4nDWn-OMC&pg=PT44 |year=2012 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing Ltd. |isbn=978-1409407218 |page=44 }}</ref> Throughout history, most of the South Caucasus was usually under the direct rule of the various in-Iran based empires and part of the [[History of Iran|Iranian world]].<ref name="iranicaonline.org">[http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/caucasus-index "Caucasus and Iran" in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Multiple Authors]</ref> In the course of the 19th century, [[Qajar Iran]] had to irrevocably cede the region (alongside its territories in [[Dagestan]], [[North Caucasus]]) as a result of the two [[Russo-Persian Wars]] of that century to Imperial Russia.<ref>{{cite book | last=Dowling | first=T.C. | title=Russia at War: From the Mongol Conquest to Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Beyond [2 volumes] | publisher=ABC-CLIO | year=2014 | pages=728–730 | isbn=978-1-59884-948-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KTq2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA728 }}</ref>

Ancient kingdoms of the region included [[Colchis]], [[Urartu]], [[Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity)|Iberia]], [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]] and [[Caucasian Albania|Albania]], among others. These kingdoms were later incorporated into various Iranian empires, including the [[Achaemenid Empire]], the [[Parthian Empire]], and the [[Sassanid Empire]], during which [[Zoroastrianism]] became the dominant religion in the region. However, after the rise of [[Christianity]] and conversion of Caucasian kingdoms to [[Eastern Christianity|the new religion]], Zoroastrianism lost its prevalence and only survived because of Persian power and influence still lingering in the region. Thus, the South Caucasus became the area of not only military, but also religious convergence, which often led to [[Roman–Persian Wars|bitter conflicts]] with successive Persian empires (and later Muslim-ruled empires) on the one side and the [[Roman Empire]] (and later the [[Byzantine Empire]] and [[Russian Empire]]) on the other side.

The Iranian Parthians established and installed several eponymous branches in the South Caucasus, namely the [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia]], the [[Arsacid dynasty of Iberia]], and the [[Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania]].

===Middle ages and Russian rule===
In the middle of the 8th century, with the capture of [[Derbend]] by the [[Umayyad]] armies during the [[Arab–Khazar wars]], most of the South Caucasus became part of the [[Caliphate]] and [[Islam]] spread throughout{{dubious|date=May 2016}} the region.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus |last=King |first=Charles |year=2008 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199884322 |page=[https://archive.org/details/ghostoffreedomhi0000king/page/65 65] |url=https://archive.org/details/ghostoffreedomhi0000king|url-access=registration }}</ref> Later, the [[Eastern Orthodox|Orthodox Christian]] [[Kingdom of Georgia]] dominated most of the South Caucasus. The region was then conquered by the [[Great Seljuq Empire|Seljuk]], [[Mongol Empire|Mongol]], [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]], [[Safavid dynasty|Safavid]], [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]], [[Afsharid Empire|Afsharid]] and [[Qajar Empire|Qajar]] dynasties.

After two wars in the first half of the 19th century, namely the [[Russo-Persian War (1804-1813)]] and the [[Russo-Persian War (1826-1828)]], the [[Russian Empire]] conquered most of the South Caucasus (and [[Dagestan]] in the [[North Caucasus]]) from the Iranian [[Qajar dynasty]], severing historic regional ties with Iran.<ref name="iranicaonline.org"/><ref>Allen F. Chew. ''An Atlas of Russian History: Eleven Centuries of Changing Borders''. [[Yale University Press]], 1967. pp 74</ref> By the [[Treaty of Gulistan]] that followed after the 1804-1813 war, Iran was forced to cede modern-day [[Dagestan]], Eastern [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], and most of the [[Azerbaijan Republic]] to Russia. By the [[Treaty of Turkmenchay]] that followed after the 1826-1828 war, Iran lost all of what is modern-day [[Armenia]] and the remainder of the contemporary Azerbaijani Republic that remained in Iranian hands. After the [[Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829)|1828-1829]] war, the Ottomans ceded Western Georgia (except [[Adjaria]], which was known as Sanjak of Batum), to the Russians, who populated this new southern boundary mostly with undesirable citizens and tolerated heretics (''[[Spiritual Christianity|sektanty]]'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Breyfogle |first1=Nicholas Brenton |title=Heretics and Colonizers: Forging Russia's Empire in the South Caucasus |date=June 2005 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=0-8014-4242-7 |url=https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801477461/heretics-and-colonizers}}</ref>

In 1844, what comprises present-day [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]], and [[Azerbaijan]] were combined into a single czarist government-general, which was termed a vice-royalty in 1844-1881 and 1905–1917. Following the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|1877-78 Russo-Turkish War]], Russia annexed [[Kars]], [[Ardahan]], [[Ağrı|Agri]] and [[Batumi]] from the [[Ottoman Turks|Ottomans]], joined to this unit, and established the province of [[Kars oblast|Kars Oblast]] as its most south-westerly territory in the South Caucasus.

===Modern era===
[[File:European Union Eastern Partnership.svg|thumb|Members of the [[Eastern Partnership]]]]
After the [[Russian Revolution|fall of the Russian Empire]] in 1918, the South Caucasus region was unified into a single political entity twice, as the [[Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic]] from 9 April 1918 to 26 May 1918,<ref>{{Citation |last=Kazemzadeh |first=Firuz |author-link=Firuz Kazemzadeh |year=1951 |title=The Struggle for Transcaucasia (1917–1921) |publisher=Philosophical Library |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-95-600040-8|pages=177–183, 215–216}}</ref> and as the [[Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic]] from 12 March 1922 to 5 December 1936.

Both times these Transcaucasian entities dissolved, although the region would remain politically bound together in the [[Soviet Union]] in the form of the three separate Soviet Socialist Republics of [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan]] and [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sahakyan |first=Mher D. |last2=Lo |first2=Kevin |date=2025-03-09 |title=Hotspot Geopolitics: Political Economy of the Belt and Road Initiative in South Caucasus |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s41111-025-00281-7 |journal=Chinese Political Science Review |language=en |doi=10.1007/s41111-025-00281-7 |issn=2365-4244 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> When the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union|Soviet Union dissolved]] in 1991, all three emerged as internationally recognized sovereign states. Transit through the South Caucasus has been hampered since 1989 due to the ongoing [[Turkish–Azeri blockade of Armenia]].

The [[Russo-Georgian War]] took place in 2008 across the South Caucasus, contributing to further instability in the region, which is as intricate as the Middle East, due to the complex mix of religions (mainly Muslim and Orthodox Christian) and ethno-linguistic groups.

Since their independence, the three countries have had varying degrees of success in their relations with Russia and other countries. In Georgia, after the [[Rose Revolution]] in 2004, the country, like the [[Baltic states]], began [[European integration|integrating]] into wider European society by opening up relations with [[NATO]] and the [[European Union]]. Armenia continues to foster [[Armenia–Russia relations|relations with Russia]], while also developing [[Armenia–European Union relations|ties with the EU]]. Azerbaijan relies less on Russia, strategically partnering with [[Turkey]]. All three South Caucasus countries are members of the [[Council of Europe]], the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]], the [[European Political Community]], and participate in the EU's [[Eastern Partnership]] and [[Euronest Parliamentary Assembly]]. All three South Caucasus countries are also members of NATO's [[Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council]] and [[Partnership for Peace]].

On 8 November 2023, the [[European Commission]] issued an official recommendation to grant EU [[Accession of Georgia to the European Union|candidate status]] to Georgia, which was confirmed on 14 December 2023. Georgia, thus becoming, the first country in the South Caucasus to receive EU candidate status.<ref>{{cite web|title=European Commission Recommends EU Candidacy for Georgia|date=8 November 2023 |url=https://civil.ge/archives/568259|accessdate=7 February 2024|language=en}}</ref> On 12 March 2024, the [[European Parliament]] passed a resolution confirming Armenia meets Maastricht Treaty [[s:Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union/Title VI: Final Provisions#Article 49|Article 49]] requirements and that the country may apply for EU membership.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2024-0163_EN.html|title=Joint Motion for a Resolution on closer ties between the EU and Armenia and the need for a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia &#124; RC-B9-0163/2024 &#124; European Parliament|website=www.europarl.europa.eu}}</ref> On 12 February 2025, Armenia's parliament approved a bill officially endorsing [[Accession of Armenia to the European Union|Armenia's EU accession]].<ref>[https://eurasianet.org/armenia-formalizes-closer-ties-with-the-west Armenia formalizes closer ties with the West]</ref>

== Demographics ==
[[File:Life expectancy in the South Caucasus.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Development of [[life expectancy]] in the countries of the South Caucasus]]
[[File:Life expectancy in the South Caucasus and its neighbours.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Development of life expectancy in the countries of the South Caucasus and in the neighboring countries]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%; border:1px solid black; background:#fafafa"
|+ {{big|Historical population of the South Caucasus}}
!Year
!Armenia
!Azerbaijan
!Georgia
!Total
|-
|1897
|798,853<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Korkotyan |first=Zaven |url=http://haygirk.nla.am/upload/1512-1940/1901-1940/hayastani_bnakchutyuny_1932.pdf |title=Խորհրդային Հայաստանի բնակչությունը վերջին հարյուրամյակում (1831-1931) |publisher=Pethrat |year=1932 |location=Yerevan |pages=167 |language=hy |trans-title=The population of Soviet Armenia in the last century (1831–1931) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202085400/http://haygirk.nla.am/upload/1512-1940/1901-1940/hayastani_bnakchutyuny_1932.pdf |archive-date=2 February 2022}}</ref> {{better source needed|date=March 2023}}
|1,806,700<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=18 February 2019 |title=Azərbaycanda dеmоqrаfik vəziyyət |url=https://www.stat.gov.az/news/index.php?id=4131 |publisher=State Statistical Committee of Azerbaijan |language=az}}</ref>
|1,919,400<ref>ჯაოშვილი, ვახტანგ. საქართველოს მოსახლეობა XVIII–XX საუკუნეებში./Jaoshvili, Vakhtang. Population of Georgia in the XVIII–XX centuries. Metsniereba, Tbilisi, 1984, pp. 92</ref>
|'''4,524,953'''
|-
|1908
|877,322<ref name=":0" /> {{better source needed|date=March 2023}}
|2,014,300<ref name=":1" />
|
|
|-
|1914
|1,014,255<ref name=":0" /> {{better source needed|date=March 2023}}
|2,278,245
|2,697,500<ref name="auto2">ჯაოშვილი, ვახტანგ. საქართველოს მოსახლეობა XVIII–XX საუკუნეებში./Jaoshvili, Vakhtang. Population of Georgia in the XVIII–XX centuries. Metsniereba, Tbilisi, 1984, pp. 95</ref>
|'''5,990,000<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Pipes |first=Richard |date=1959 |title=Demographic and Ethnographic Changes in Transcaucasia, 1897-1956 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4323084 |journal=Middle East Journal |publisher=Middle East Institute |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=48 |jstor=4323084 }}</ref>'''
|-
|1916–17
|993,782<ref name=":0" /> {{better source needed|date=March 2023}}
|2,353,700<ref name=":1" />
|2,357,800<ref name="auto2" />
|'''5,705,282'''
|-
| colspan="5" |'''[[World War I|First World War]] and [[Russian Revolution]]'''
|-
|1920–22
|780,000
|1,863,000
|2,677,000
|'''5,321,000<ref name=":2" />'''
|-
|1926
|880,464
|2,314,571
|2,666,494
|'''5,861,529<ref>{{Cite web |title=Приложение. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1926 г. СССР, республики и их основные регионы. |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_26.php?reg=29 |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=Демоскоп Weekly}}</ref>'''
|-
|1929
|
|
|
|'''6,273,000<ref name=":2" />'''
|-
|1931
|1,050,633<ref name=":0" /> {{better source needed|date=March 2023}}
|
|
|'''6,775,000<ref name=":2" />'''
|-
|1932
|
|
|
|'''6,976,000<ref name=":2" />'''
|-
|1933
|
|
|
|'''7,110,000<ref name=":2" />'''
|-
|1939
|1,282,338
|3,205,150
|3,540,023
|'''8,027,511<ref>{{Cite web |title=Приложение. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1939 года. |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr_nac_39_ra.php?reg=0 |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=Демоскоп Weekly}}</ref>'''
|-
|1956
|
|
|
|'''9,000,000<ref name=":2" />'''
|-
|1959
|1,763,048
|3,697,717
|4,044,045
|'''9,504,810<ref>{{Cite web |title=Приложение. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 г. |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr59_reg1.php |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=Демоскоп Weekly}}</ref>'''
|-
|1970
|2,491,873
|5,117,081
|4,686,358
|'''12,295,312<ref>{{Cite web |title=Приложение. Численность наличного населения городов, поселков городского типа, районов и районных центров СССР по данным переписи на 15 января 1970 года по республикам, краям и областям (кроме РСФСР) |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/ussr70_reg1.php |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=Демоскоп Weekly}}</ref>'''
|-
|1979
|3,037,259
|6,026,515
|4,993,182
|'''14,056,956<ref>{{Cite web |title=Приложение. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1979 г. |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng_age_79.php |website=Демоскоп Weekly}}</ref>'''
|-
|1989
|3,304,776
|7,037,867
|5,400,841
|'''15,743,484<ref>{{Cite web |title=Приложение. Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. |url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/sng89_reg1.php |access-date=9 April 2022 |website=Демоскоп Weekly}}</ref>'''
|-
|1999–2002
|3,213,011<ref name="2001census">[http://docs.armstat.am/census/pdfs/51.pdf Information from the 2001 Armenian National Census]</ref>
|7,953,400<ref name=":1" />
|3,991,300<ref name="gapanalysis2">{{Cite web |date=2017-11-29 |title=Population Dynamics in Georgia – An Overview Based on the 2014 General Population Census Data |url=https://geostat.ge/media/20624/3.-Population-Dynamics_ENGL-_print_F.pdf |access-date=2022-02-02 |work=UNFPA, National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) |language=en}}</ref>
|'''15,157,711'''
|-
|2009–14
|3,018,854<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Results of 2011 Population Census of the Republic of Armenia (Figures of the Republic of Armenia), trilingual / Armenian Statistical Service of Republic of Armenia |url=http://www.armstat.am/en/?nid=81&id=1512 |access-date=2018-01-10 |website=armstat.am}}</ref>
|8,922,000<ref name=":1" />
|3,713,804<ref>ჯაოშვილი, ვახტანგ. საქართველოს მოსახლეობა XVIII–XX საუკუნეებში./Jaoshvili, Vakhtang. Population of Georgia in the XVIII–XX centuries. Metsniereba, Tbilisi, 1984.</ref>
|'''15,654,658'''
|}

{{clear|right}}

==Wine==
The South Caucasus, in particular where modern-day [[Turkey]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Armenia]] and [[Iran]] are located, is one of the native areas of the wine-producing vine ''[[Vitis vinifera]]''.<ref name=plonk>[http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/dishing/2011/01/but_was_it_plon.html But was it plonk?], ''[[Boston Globe]]''</ref> Some experts speculate that the South Caucasus may be the birthplace of wine production.<ref>Hugh Johnson ''Vintage: The Story of Wine'' pg 15 Simon & Schuster 1989</ref> Archaeological excavations and carbon dating of [[grape seeds]] from the area have dated back to 8000–5000 BC.<ref>Johnson pg 17</ref> Wine found in Iran has been dated to {{circa|lk=no|7400}} BC<ref name=plonk/> and {{circa|lk=no|5000}} BC,<ref>{{cite news |first=Amy |last=Ellsworth| title=7,000 Year-old Wine Jar |url=http://www.penn.museum/blog/collection/125th-anniversary-object-of-the-day/7000-year-old-wine-jar-object-of-the-day-24/ |work=[[Penn Museum]] |date=18 July 2012}}</ref> while wine found in Georgia has been dated to {{circa|lk=no|8000}} BC.<ref>{{cite news|title='World's oldest wine' found in 8,000-year-old jars in Georgia |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41977709 |publisher=[[BBC]] |date=13 November 2011 |access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Mark |last=Berkowitz |title=World's Earliest Wine |url=http://www.archaeology.org/9609/newsbriefs/wine.html |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |journal=Archaeology |volume=49 |issue=5 |year=1996 |access-date=25 June 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Cultures of The World: Georgia|last1=Spilling |first1=Michael |last2=Wong |first2=Winnie |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7614-3033-9 |page=128|publisher=Marshall Cavendish }}</ref> The earliest [[winery]], dated to {{circa|lk=no|4000}} BC, was found in Armenia.<ref name=plonk/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Azerbaijan|Georgia (country)|Europe}}
* [[Caucasus]]
* [[Caucasus Greeks]]
* [[Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations]]
* [[Eastern Europe]]
* [[Eastern European Group]]
* [[Eurasian Economic Union]]
* [[Eurovoc]]
* [[EU Strategy for the South Caucasus]]
* [[Ibero-Caucasian languages]]
* [[North Caucasus]] (Ciscaucasia)
* [[Peoples of the Caucasus]]
* [[Post-Soviet states]]
* [[Regions of Europe]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |last1=Shahinyan |first1=Arsen K. |title=The Southern Boundaries of the Southern Caucasus |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |date=2022 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=418–424 |doi=10.1163/1573384X-20220407|s2cid=254388941 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|South Caucasus}}
* [https://english.caucasianjournal.org/ ''Caucasian Journal''] – a multilingual online journal on the South Caucasus
* [http://www.cria-online.org/ Caucasian Review of International Affairs – an academic journal on the South Caucasus]
* [http://www.laender-analysen.de/cad/pdf/CaucasusAnalyticalDigest29.pdf Caucasus Analytical Digest – Journal on the South Caucasus]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050212020428/http://www.bartleby.com/65/tr/Transcau.html Transcaucasia (The Columbia Encyclopedia article)]
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle = Transcaucasia |volume= 23 |pages = 513–515 |last= Kropotkin |first= Peter Alexeivitch |author-link= Peter Kropotkin|short= 1}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Transcaucasia |volume= 27 | page = 172 |short= 1}}

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{{Asia topics}}
{{Europe topics}}
{{Regions of the world}}
{{Regions of Europe|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:South Caucasus| ]]
[[Category:Caucasus]]
[[Category:Geography of West Asia]]
[[Category:Eastern Europe]]
[[Category:West Asia]]
[[Category:Regions of Asia]]
[[Category:Regions of Europe]]