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 Introduction
 
 The Caucasus refers to both a mountain range that physically divides Europe and Asia and a larger region consisting of two parts: the North Caucasus in Russia; and Transcaucasia, or the South Caucasus, comprising Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The North Caucasus includes seven republics—Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya, and Dagestan—while the South Caucasus also includes three breakaway states: Abkhazia and South Ossetia (in Georgia) and Nagorno-Karabakh (in Azerbaijan). Ajaria, located on the border with Turkey, tried unsuccessfully to break away from Georgia. The region is one of the most diversely populated in the world, both linguistically and religiously. Dozens of ethnic groups speak Caucasian, Indo-European, and Altaic languages. The majority of inhabitants are Muslim (predominantly Shia in Azerbaijan and Sunni in the North Caucasus) with smaller numbers of Russian and Georgian Orthodox, Armenian Gregorian, Catholic and Protestant Christians, Jews and Yazidis. During the 4th century CE, first the Armenians and later, the Georgians converted to Christianity. In the 7th century, the Umayyad Caliphate established control over the South Caucasus with many in present-day Azerbaijan embracing Islam. The North Caucasus was under the influence of the Turkic Khazars, whose nobility had converted to Judaism during the 8th century. From about the early 9th century through the mid-11th century, the Bagratid Dynasty ruled over Armenia, and it continued to do so with varying degrees of autonomy in Georgia until the early 19th century. By the 10th century, first Turkic settlers moved into the South Caucasus, followed two centuries later by the Mongols. Thus, by the 14th century, a distinct Azeri Turkish language had evolved. By the 16th century, the Caucasus was a battleground between the Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Turkic Shia Safavid Dynasty of Persia, and over the course of the 19th century, the Russians conquered the entire Caucasus region. From 1918 to 1920 (or 1921 in the case of Georgia), the South Caucasus states were independent for the first time in the 20th century, only to be brought under Soviet control.
 
 Introductory Works
 
 Most introductory works on the Caucasus in the English language have been published either during the last years of the Soviet Union, when indigenous nationalism was becoming more pronounced, or since the end of the Cold War in 1991, when the three states of the South Caucasus achieved their independence and territories either within those countries or Russia sought self-determination. A number of books and articles on Central Asia include Azerbaijan because of its Turkic background, similar to that of predominantly Muslim-populated Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and even Chinese-dominated Xinjiang, but not Persian Tajikistan. King 2008 is the first general history available in English of the modern Caucasus and is very readable. de Waal 2010 is the best brief overview of the modern history of the South Caucasus. Matveeva 2002 is especially useful for understanding the issues that affect minority ethnic groups in the region. Although somewhat dated, Curtis 1995 is a wonderful source for understanding the problems of the early years of independence. Van der Leeuw 2000 is the only general history of Azerbaijan in the English language, while Lang 1981 is a good primer on the Armenian people and culture. Redgate 1998 is great for ancient and medieval history, while Walker 1991 is an excellent primer on the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Suny 1996 provides the most comprehensive account of the history of the South Caucasus region.
 
 Curtis, Glenn E. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Country Studies. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1995.
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 This book is part of the Area Handbook Series sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Army.
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 de Waal, Thomas. The Caucasus: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
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 An excellent survey and analysis of events in the South Caucasus with emphasis on modern times.
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 King, Charles. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
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 This is the first general history of the modern Caucasus from the beginnings of Russian encroachment in the region to the present.
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 Lang, David Marshall. The Armenians: A People in Exile. London: Unwin Hyman, 1981.
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 A brief survey of the Armenian people and culture.
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 Matveeva, Anna. The South Caucasus: Nationalism, Conflict and Minorities. London: Minority Rights Group International, 2002.
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 A concise study of the history and politics of the three independent states, the breakaway regions, and minority ethnic groups.
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 Redgate, A.E. The Armenians. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998.
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 A survey of the history of the Armenian people, with an emphasis on ancient and medieval times.
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 Suny, Ronald Grigor, ed. Transcaucasia, Nationalism, and Social Change: Essays in the History of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Rev. ed. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996.
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 This volume, edited by an eminent scholar of the region, is the only account in English of the entire South Caucasus from ancient times to the present.
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 Van der Leeuw, Charles. Azerbaijan: A Quest for Identity. New York: St. Martin’s, 2000.
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 This is the only general history of Azerbaijan in the English language from antiquity to the present.
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 Walker, Christopher J., ed. Armenia and Karabagh: The Struggle for Unity. London: Minority Rights Publications, 1991.
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 The author explains how the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh region has become an important factor in the national politics of Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.
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 Reference Works
 
 All of the historical dictionaries published by Scarecrow Press and listed below include very useful maps, chronologies, introductions, and bibliographies, in addition to specialized appendices. As there is a paucity of material published in English compared to other areas of the world, these resources take on greater importance than would usually be the case. Minahan 2000 is an excellent reference work of a very general nature that deals in small part with all the various national groups of the Caucasus. Akiner 1983 is noteworthy for its extensive information on ethnic groups (particularly Muslims) in the former Soviet Union. Adalian 2002, Mikaberidze 2007, Raymond and Duffy 1998, and Swietchowski and Collins 1999 offer valuable information on important persons, events, and institutions in the respective parts the Caucasus that they cover. Hewitt 1998 and Jaimoukha 2001, 2005 offer excellent introductions on minorities in the Caucasus that are in need of further research.
 
 Adalian, Rouben Paul. Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2002.
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 Includes entries on cities, royal dynasties, political organizations, and national leaders.
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 Akiner, Shirin. Islamic Peoples of the Soviet Union. London: Kegan Paul International, 1983.
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 This book, which includes an appendix on non-Muslim Turkic peoples, is, despite the collapse of the Communist state in 1991, an indispensable guide to dozens of ethnic groups found throughout the former Soviet Union.
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 Hewitt, George, ed. The Abkhazians: A Handbook. New York: St. Martin’s, 1998.
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 Covers a wide variety of subjects, including history, geography, economics, and cultural issues.
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 Jaimoukha, Amjad M. The Chechens: A Handbook. London: Routledge, 2005.
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 Covers a wide variety of subjects, including history, geography, economics, and cultural issues.
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 Jaimoukha, Amjad M. The Circassians: A Handbook. New York: Palgrave McMillan, 2001.
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 Covers a wide variety of subjects, including history, geography, economics, and cultural issues.
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 Mikaberidze, Alexander. Historical Dictionary of Georgia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2007.
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 Includes entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions.
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 Minahan, James B. One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000.
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 General reference work on the various national groups of the Caucasus.
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 Raymond, Boris, and Paul Duffy. Historical Dictionary of Russia. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 1998.
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 As the North Caucasus is still under Russian rule, it is best to consult this volume.
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 Swietchowski, Tadeusz, and Brian C. Collins. Historical Dictionary of Azerbaijan. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow, 1999.
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 Includes entries on historical periods, events, and significant personalities.
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 General Overviews
 
 Throughout the last century, only a limited number of scholars wrote about the region, and those old standards have been supplemented in recent years, with publishers and the public taking a greater interest in the region. More works have tended to concentrate on Armenia and the Armenian experience, but presented below is a selection covering the region more broadly. Walker 1990 provides a sympathetic and thorough account of 19th and 20th century Armenian history, while Lang 1962 does the same for Georgia. Swietchowski 1995 covers both Russian- and Iranian-controlled Azerbaijan over the same period of time. Suny 1993 provides an informative and very readable collection of articles on Armenia, primarily during the 20th century. Peimani 2002 concentrates on political and economic issues in both the Caucasus and Central Asia following independence from the Soviet Union, while Broxup 1992 offers a collection of essays on the history of the North Caucasus, primarily during the last two centuries.
 
 Broxup, Marie Bennigsen, ed. The North Caucasus Barrier: The Russian Advance towards the Muslim World. New York: St. Martin’s, 1992.
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 An important collection of essays that place the current political situation in the region in historical perspective.
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 Lang, David Marshall. A Modern History of Soviet Georgia. New York: Grove, 1962.
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 This is a general history, primarily of the last two centuries. At the time of publication it was a rare English-language monograph on the subject.
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 Peimani, Hooman. Failed Transition, Bleak Future? War and Instability in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.
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 A political and economic assessment of the countries in the region after one decade of independence; the author emphasizes the predominance of authoritarianism and poor economies.
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 Suny, Ronald Grigor. Looking toward Ararat: Armenia in Modern History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993.
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 A collection of articles that were published previously, primarily in the journal Armenian Review and in another book by Suny, Armenia in the Twentieth Century (Chico, CA: Scholar’s Press, 1983).
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 Swietochowski, Tadeusz. Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
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 Examines the last two centuries of Azerbaijan’s history, in both Iran and the Caucasus, focusing on the similarities and differences of the people living on both sides of the frontier.
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 Walker, Christopher J. Armenia: The Survival of a Nation. Rev. 2d ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 1990.
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 A well-documented general history of the Armenian people, giving heavy emphasis to developments during the 19th and 20th centuries and including an appendix with numerous biographies. Text is available online.
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 Textbooks
 
 Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the three South Caucasus republics, there have been a number of published accounts in English by journalists and scholars that can serve as textbooks for university students in history and political science, dealing either with the Caucasus as a whole or with individual countries. Goldenberg 1994 is excellent in the extent of its coverage of the whole Caucasus region. Hiro 1994 is very thorough in geographical and historical coverage, but outside of Azerbaijan the volume is concerned with Central Asia. Hunter 1994 and Herzig 1999 are concerned largely with recent developments and better for political science courses. Hovannisian 2004 is more comprehensive than Payaslian 2007, but both are very readable surveys of Armenian history. Suny 1994 and Altstadt 1992 are indispensable for their thorough historical coverage of Georgia and Azerbaijan, respectively.
 
 Altstadt, Audrey L. The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1992.
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 Aside from a short chapter on the origins and early history of the Azeris, this is an account of Azerbaijan under Russian and Soviet rule, including a brief period of independence following the Second Russian Revolution.
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 Goldenberg, Suzanne. Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-Soviet Disorder. London: Zed Books, 1994.
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 This book also covers the North Caucasus and is written by a journalist with a great appreciation of history.
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 Herzig, Edmund. The New Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1999.
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 A comprehensive and readable overview of politics, international relations, economics, and security issues.
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 Hiro, Dilip. Between Marx and Muhammad: The Changing Face of Central Asia. London: HarperCollins, 1994.
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 This account of modern history and politics by a well-respected journalist also includes chapters of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, as the last three are the region’s immediate Muslim neighbors.
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 Hovannisian, Richard G., ed. Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. 2 vols. New York: St. Martin’s, 2004.
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 This is a very comprehensive and readable history of Armenians in the Middle East and Caucasus, with a couple of chapters on those living in the diaspora. Originally published in 1997, this is the paperback edition.
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 Hunter, Shireen. The Transcaucasus in Transition: Nation-Building and Conflict. Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1994.
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 Relates politics and international relations to ethnic, cultural, and historical factors.
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 Payaslian, Simon. A History of Armenia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
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 A concise, well-documented, and very readable general history of historical and modern Armenia.
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 Suny, Ronald Grigor. The Making of the Georgian Nation. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994.
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 A comprehensive history of the Georgian people, from their origins to just after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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 Bibliographies
 
 There are no book-length bibliographies available on the Caucasus. The best course, therefore, is to consult bibliographies at the end of books specifically on the Caucasus. The best of these is an annotated bibliographical essay in King 2008 that is divided both chronologically and by topic. Good but not as thorough as King’s bibliography is the one at the end of Curtis 1995. In addition, all of the historical dictionaries from Scarecrow Press cited in the Reference Works section of this entry include good bibliographies on the individual countries or peoples on which they focus. Also, consult the handbooks on peoples from George Hewitt and Amjad M. Jaimoukha cited in Reference Works.
 
 Curtis, Glenn E. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia: Country Studies. Area Handbook series. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. 1995.
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 See pages 257–268 for the bibliography.
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 King, Charles. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
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 See pages 269–275 for the bibliography.
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 Journals
 
 There is only one academic journal dealing specifically with the region as a whole, the Caucasian Review of International Affairs, and it is only available online. There are a couple of academic journals that are concerned with both the Caucasus and Central Asia; one is only available online, and the other, the well-established Central Asian Survey, is available both online and in print. The journal Armenian Review, also well established, is only available in print. Most of the other academic journals listed below cover the former Communist Bloc and only occasionally publish articles on the Caucasus; all of these are available both in print and online. The Caucasus region received scant attention by those academics interested in the Soviet Union or the Communist Bloc until recently and unfortunately, the case has been quite similar with regard to those scholars concerned with the Middle East and the Islamic world. Central Asian Survey is the best journal covering the region in terms of the respective academic disciplines, and it is the one most often cited by scholars. The two online journals are best for contemporary events, while the Armenian Review is excellent for that area of the Caucasus.
 
 Armenian Review.
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 Published in Watertown, Massachusetts, since 1948, this quarterly journal includes articles by scholars dealing with all types of topics on the people and history of Armenia.
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 Central Asian Survey.
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 Published by Routledge since 1982 and now issued four times a year. It is multidisciplinary and includes articles concerned with the history, politics, economies, cultures, and religions of former Soviet Central Asia and the North and South Caucasus as well as Xinjiang, Mongolia, Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan.
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 Caucasian Review of International Affairs.
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 This quarterly, based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, includes articles providing background on and analysis of regional and international affairs regarding the South Caucasus in particular.
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 Central Asia and the Caucasus: Journal of Social and Political Studies.
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 Published by the Central Asia and Caucasus Information and Analytical Center (Luleo, Sweden) in Russian and English and issued six times a year, and online since 2000, this journal specializes in current affairs in the region.
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 Communist and Post-Communist Studies.
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 Published by Elsevier (Amsterdam) since 1957 and issued four times a year, this journal covers the domestic policies and international relations of all Communist and post-Communist states, including matters of ideology, economy, and society.
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 Europe-Asia Studies.
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 Published by Routledge since 1949 and now issued ten times a year. Known until 1993 as Soviet Studies. It covers the history as well as current political, economic, and social affairs of former Communist bloc states.
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 Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs.
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 Published by Routledge since 1979 and now issued three times a year. Deals with Muslim populations under the rule of non-Muslims, such as those in Russia and Georgia, as well as occasionally covering Muslim movements in the former Soviet Union.
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 Nationalities Papers.
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 Published by Routledge since 1972 and now issued five times a year. It is the only academic journal concerned exclusively with non-Russian nationalities of the former Soviet Union and Communist Eastern Europe, including Muslims and the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia.
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 Islam in the Caucasus
 
 The study of Islamic institutions and the practices of the Muslim peoples in the Caucasus is not as well developed as is the case with Central Asia. Such issues are generally discussed peripherally to the interaction of Russia (and the Soviet Union) with various Muslim regions. As Russia expanded into borderlands, its Muslim population increased dramatically, particularly as it sought to reconcile having a national religion while allowing a degree of autonomy to subjects outside that faith. The Soviet Union, while promoting an atheist ideology and restricting religious practices, attempted to manipulate the religious establishments. Cornell 2006 offers an excellent account of Political Islam in Azerbaijan as well as governmental policies. Bennigsen and Wimbush deal with how the Soviet Union attempted to reconcile Marxist nationalism with Islam (1979) and the important role Sufism has played historically in the Caucasus region (1985). Crews 2006 asserts that the Russian Empire’s policies toward Muslims were similar in nature to the Ottoman “millet” system. Yemelianova 2002 provides an excellent historical overview of Russia’s encounter with Muslim-populated regions, while Hunter 2004 relates this relationship more toward foreign policy concerns. Gammer 2007 is concerned primarily with the North Caucasus and the relationship between ethno-nationalism and Islam. Hahn 2007 deals with the threat of jihadist groups in the North Caucasus to international and U.S. security.
 
 Cornell, Svante E. The Politicization of Islam in Azerbaijan. Washington, DC, and Uppsala, Sweden: The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, 2006.
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 This joint publication of Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and Uppsala University examines the historical development of Islam as well as present-day governmental policy, societal currents, and external influences affecting the rise of Islamic groups in Azerbaijan. Available online.
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 Bennigsen, Alexandre, and S. Enders Wimbush. Muslim National Communism in the Soviet Union: A Revolutionary Strategy for the Colonial World. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1979.
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 Traces the development of the doctrine of Muslim national communism advocated by the Volga Tatar Sultan Galiev. The concept of “proletarian nations” in Central Asia and the Caucasus assisted in reconciling Marxist nationalism with Islam.
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 Bennigsen, Alexandre, and S. Enders Wimbush. Mystics and Commissars: Sufism in the Soviet Union. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
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 Sufi mysticism, which is popular in the Caucasus, has historically served as a mechanism for nearly all Muslim resistance to Russian and Soviet rule. This study reviews and analyzes the organization of Sufism in the region.
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 Crews, Robert D. For Prophet and Tsar: Islam and Empire in Russia and Central Asia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006.
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 This is a study and analysis of the Russian Empire’s policies toward its Muslim subjects. Russia developed an arrangement similar to the Ottoman “millet” system that had broad support.
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 Gammer, Moshe, ed. Ethno-Nationalism, Islam and State in the Caucasus. London: Routledge, 2007.
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 This book comprises thirteen chapters and deals mainly with the republics of the North Caucasus and, especially, Chechnya. There are two chapters concerned specifically with Islam: one on the relation between Islam and legal systems in the northwestern Caucasus from the 19th century to the present, and one comparing the congregations of important Shia and Sunni mosques in Azerbaijan.
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 Hahn, Gordon M. Russia’s Islamic Threat. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007.
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 The author contends that jihadist groups in the North Caucasus offer a potential threat to international and U.S. security. He examines the historical, socioeconomic, demographic, political, and religious factors behind the movements in Chechnya, Dagestan, and Kabardino-Balkaria, as well as Russian policy toward these groups.
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 Hunter, Shireen T. Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 2004.
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 Some of the most useful sections of this book are chapters 1 and 8, which deal with historical background under the Russian Empire and Soviet Union and post-1991 Russian policy toward Central Asia and the South Caucasus, respectively. Other chapters touch upon Russia’s policies in the North Caucasus and other Islamic regions and their connection to foreign relations with countries in the Islamic world.
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 Yemelianova, Galina M. Russia and Islam: A Historical Survey. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 2002.
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 This book, which begins its coverage with the Turkic Khazars’ encounters with proto-Russians, devotes more than half its coverage to the Caucasus and Central Asia. One chapter, titled “Chechnya and Political Islam,” exclusively deals with the region.
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 Works on Specific Countries/Territories
 
 There are some works that do not specifically fit the categories listed above. The best works on respective territories and their peoples are listed here.
 
 Ajaria
 
 This region, with its historical intertwining of religious, national, and local identities throughout the Soviet period, has avoided much of the turmoil that has plagued other former Soviet “autonomous” areas, yet it is one of the most understudied. Pelkmans 2006 deals with the fluidity of identity in a distinct borderland in the South Caucasus region.
 
 Pelkmans, Mathijs. Defending the Border: Identity, Religion, and Modernity in the Republic of Georgia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006.
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 This is an excellent anthropological study that deals with the historically shifting borderland between Christian Russia/Soviet Union and Georgia on one hand and the Muslim Ottoman Empire/Turkey on the other hand.
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 Armenia
 
 This country has received the greatest amount of attention of all the South Caucasus republics and regions on all aspects of its history, and most authors are of Armenian ethnicity. Hovannisian 1967 provides a very thorough examination of politics in Armenia during a critical time period, from the first Russian Revolution to the end of Ottoman participation in World War I. Gregorian 1972 offers a brief overview of Russian influence in Armenia, while Matossian 1962 provides in an in-depth study of Soviet policies from the 1920s through the 1950s. Libardian 1999 gives an inside account of Armenian politics during the 1990s, while Masih and Krikorian 1999 surveys not only the politics and international relations, but also the economics of independent Armenia.
 
 Gregorian, Vartan. “The Impact of Russia on the Armenians and Armenia.” In Russia and Asia: Essays on the Influence of Russia on the Asian Peoples. Edited by Wayne S. Vucinich. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1972.
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 A brief overview of Russian influence in Armenia.
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 Hovannisian, Richard G. Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
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 A study of the history of the Armenians, primarily from March 1917, the time of the first Russian Revolution, to October 1918, the time of the Mudros armistice ending Ottoman participation in World War I. Hovannisian followed up this work with a multivolume study of Armenia’s brief period of independence right after World War I.
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 Libardian, Gerard J. The Challenge of Statehood: Armenian Political Thinking since Independence. Watertown, MA: Blue Crane Books, 1999.
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 An account of Armenian politics during the first decade of independence by a former senior advisor to independent Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrossian.
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 Masih, Joseph R., and Robert O. Krikorian. Armenia: At the Crossroads. Oxford: Taylor & Francis, 1999.
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 A survey of the politics, international relations, and economics of independent Armenia.
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 Matossian, Mary Kilbourne. The Impact of Soviet Policies in Armenia. Leiden, the Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1962.
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 A good study and rare English-language monograph dealing specifically with this period in history.
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 Azerbaijan
 
 Of all the South Caucasus republics, this was the last to develop a national identity and many studies use the terms “Turks” or “Muslims” to describe the predominant people of the area. Bennigsen 1972 offers a brief overview of Russian influence over the European and Caucasian Muslims, while Mostashari 2006 focuses on the Russian colonization and administration of Azerbaijan during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Swietchowski 1985 deals with the early development of Azeri national identity, while Bölükbaşı 2001 asserts that Soviets created condition favorable for the growth of nationalism that were enhanced by the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
 
 Bennigsen, Alexandre. “The Muslims of European Russia and the Caucasus.” In Russia and Asia: Essays on the Influence of Russia on the Asian Peoples. Edited by Wayne S. Vucinich. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1972.
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 A brief overview of Russian influence on the European and Caucasian Muslims.
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 Bölükbaşı, Suha. “Nation-building in Azerbaijan: The Soviet Legacy and the Impact of the Karabakh Conflict.” In Identity Politics in Central Asia and the Muslim World: Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Labor in the Twentieth Century. Edited by Willem van Schendel and Erik J. Zürcher, pp. 35–63. London: I.B. Tauris, 2001.
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 The author asserts that the Soviets had created favorable conditions for the growth of nationalism in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus, and that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has solidified nationalist feelings.
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 Mostashari, Firouzeh. On the Religious Frontier: Tsarist Russia and Islam in the Caucasus. London: I.B. Tauris, 2006.
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 Focuses on the Russian colonization and administration of Azerbaijan during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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 Swietchowski, Tadeusz. Russian Azerbaijan, 1905–1920: The Shaping of National Identity in a Muslim Community. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
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 Deals with the largest national group in the South Caucasus during the period from the 1905 Revolution in Russia until the Soviet conquest of Azerbaijan.
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 Chechnya
 
 The North Caucasus was much more difficult for the Russians to conquer than the South Caucasus, and, of the areas in the North Caucasus, Chechnya fought the most to maintain its independence. Gammer 2006 provides an excellent study of Russian-Chechen relations from the 16th century to the present, while Hughes 2007 concentrates on the complexities of the recent Russian-Chechen conflict, which transformed from a secular struggle to a religious calling.
 
 Gammer, Moshe. The Lone Wolf and the Bear: Three Centuries of Chechen Defiance of Russian Rule. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2006.
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 Examines the conflict between the Russia and the Chechen people from the 16th century until the recent wars, and in the process provides a comprehensive examination of modern Chechen history.
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 Hughes, James. Chechnya: From Nationalism to Jihad. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.
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 A thorough study of the recent conflict in Chechnya, from its causes to its transformation over the years from a secular struggle to a religious calling. Hughes deals with the uses of terrorism and how Chechnya compares with other nationalist and ethnic conflicts.
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 Georgia
 
 This region has had the most autonomy historically, but it has received less scholarly attention than Armenia. Of the South Caucasus republics, it has the smallest number of inhabitants identifying with the predominant ethnicity of the country, and in recent years it has sought the closest ties with countries in the West. Lang offers both a brief overview of Russian influence in Georgia (Lang 1972) and a unique study of Georgia from the mid-17th century to the early 19th century, when Russia occupied the country, (Lang 1957). Jones 2005 deals with the development of Georgian socialism, which became an important political force, from the late 19th to early 20th century. Wheatley 2005 provides a study of political development during the first decade of Georgia’s independence from the Soviet Union.
 
 Jones, Stephen F. Socialism in Georgian Colors: The European Road to Social Democracy, 1883–1917. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2005.
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 Examines the rise of the Social Democratic movement in a country where the Mensheviks were the dominant party during Georgia’s brief period of independence following World War I.
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 Lang, David Marshall. “A Century of Russian Impact on Georgia” In Russia and Asia: Essays on the Influence of Russia on the Asian Peoples. Edited by Wayne S. Vucinich. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1972.
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 A brief overview of Russian influence in Georgia.
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 Lang, David Marshall. The Last Years of the Georgian Monarchy, 1658–1832. New York: Columbia University Press, 1957.
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 This is a good study and a rare English-language monograph of this time period in history.
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 Wheatley, Jonathan. Georgia from National Awakening to Rose Revolution: Delayed Transition in the Former Soviet Union. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2005.
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 A useful study of the political development of independent Georgia. The work began as a project by Wheatley to investigate democratization.
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 Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia
 
 The region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been effectively occupied by Armenia, while the “independence” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia has been recently recognized by Russia. Much of the instability in the South Caucasus can be attributed to these former Soviet autonomous areas. Chorbajian 2001 offers the most in-depth study of Nagorno-Karabakh during the 1990s, while Lynch 2004 examines the political, military, and economic dynamics not only of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but also touches upon those of South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and Transnistria in Moldova.
 
 Chorbajian, Levon, ed. The Making of Nagorno-Karabagh: From Secession to Republic. New York: Palgrave, 2001.
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 A collection of essays covering many different aspects of the issue of this breakaway region.
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 Lynch, Dov. Engaging Eurasia’s Separatist States: Unresolved Conflicts and De Facto States. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2004.
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 This book, which deals with Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Transnistria (a territory that separated from Moldova), examines the political, military, and economic dynamics—both internal and external—behind the continuing existence of those separatist territories as possible solutions to these problems.
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 Works on Historical and Political Issues Involving People of the Caucasus
 
 The time periods and historical events listed here are those that have received the most attention by scholars.
 
 Armenian Genocide/Massacres
 
 This is one of the most historically controversial subjects. It has shaped the worldview of Armenians, who label the Ottoman Empire’s actions in 1915–1916 as “genocide,” while the Republic of Turkey disputes this description and refuses responsibility for the events. Taner Akçam is part of a new group of Turks who are challenging the standard accounts in that country that the events of the time do not constitute genocide, and the Armenians are also to blame for their disloyalty to the Ottoman state (see Akçam 2006). Lewy 2005 attempts to bridge the two different historiographies of Armenians and Turks.
 
 Akçam, Taner. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Macmillan, 2006.
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 A well-researched account by a Turkish historian that explains how Ottoman authorities initiated actions against the Armenians during World War I.
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 Lewy, Guenter. The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2005.
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 This well-researched account by an American historian points out that two different historiographies have developed concerning the events of World War I; he states that there is a difference between ineptness and premeditation on the part of the Ottoman regime, and he accepts the former as the most reasonable explanation.
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 First World War and Aftermath
 
 The First World War affected the Caucasus region greatly. The turmoil of the Russian Revolutions and subsequent civil war gave the South Caucasus republics a short-lived chance at independence. Gökay 1997 provides an excellent study of how Turkey and the Caucasus dealt with British and Russian imperialism during and following World War I. Kazemzadeh 1981 covers a similar time period but is more concerned with internal developments in the South Caucasus. Suny 1972 offers a unique study of a short-lived Bolshevik regime in Baku and the surrounding territory during 1917–1918.
 
 Gökay, Bülent. A Clash of Empires: Turkey between Russian Bolshevism and British Imperialism, 1918–1923. London: I.B. Tauris, 1997.
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 Examines developments in the Caucasus and Turkey and how they affected the foreign policies and actions of Soviet Russia and Great Britain.
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 Kazemzadeh, Firuz. The Struggle for Transcaucasia (1917–1921). Westport, CT: Hyperion, 1981.
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 This book, originally published in 1951, integrates the history of the respective states of South Caucasus during a brief period of independence.
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 Suny, Ronald Grigor. The Baku Commune, 1917–1918: Class and Nationality in the Russian Revolution. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1972.
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 A study of the short-lived Bolshevik regime that was separate from the independent state of Azerbaijan.
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 Since Independence in 1991
 
 Early works on the region concentrated on the geopolitics. While both Banuazizi and Weiner 1994 and Mesbahi 1994 are primarily concerned with Central Asia, the latter provides more attention to the issues of the Caucasus. Unfortunately, the time period covered is quite limited, but the work is nonetheless very useful for understanding the unstable situation just after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
 
 Banuazizi, Ali, and Myron Weiner, eds. The New Geopolitics of Central Asia and its Borderlands. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994.
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 A portion of this book has essays on Azerbaijan’s relations with both Turkey and Iran, exploring how these affect relations with other states in the South Caucasus.
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 Mesbahi, Mohiaddin, ed. Central Asia and the Caucasus after the Soviet Union. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1994.
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 The first two of this book’s four parts are the most useful for the study of the both the North and South Caucasus.
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 Works on Russian/Soviet Involvement in the Caucasus
 
 For almost two centuries, Russia (and later the Soviet Union) controlled the region and sought to use its presence there to exert an influence in neighboring countries. Khodarkovsky 2002 concentrates on Russia’s early encounters with the Muslim peoples in Europe, while Atkin 1980 deals with the Russian conquest of borderlands in the Caucasus from the Iranian Qajar dynasty. Kazamzadeh 1974 provides a concise account of 400 years of Russian involvement in the Caucasus, while Rhinelander 1975 concentrates on Russian imperial policy during the early 19th century and the interplay between centralist and regionalist tendencies. Vucinich 1972 contains a number of concise essays on the influence of Russia in the Caucasus and other areas of Asia. Lenczowski 1968 deals with Russian and Western interests in the Caucasus and Iran from the end of World War I until the beginning of the Cold War, while Fawcett 1992 concentrates on the crisis over Azerbaijan following World War II and its role in the start of the Cold War. Seely 2000, despite the title, is primarily concerned with the two Russo-Chechen wars following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
 
 Atkin, Muriel. Russia and Iran, 1780–1828. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1980.
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 A study of an important time period, during which Russia took the territories of Dagestan and Azerbaijan from the newly established Iranian Qajar dynasty.
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 Fawcett, Louise L‘Estrange. Iran and the Cold War: The Azerbaijan Crisis of 1946. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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 When the crisis ended, leaders from the Azerbaijan People’s Republic fled to Soviet Azerbaijan. This book examines the Azerbaijan Democratic Party’s impact on this crisis, as well as the policies of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and the United States.
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 Kazemzadeh, Firuz. “Russian Penetration of the Caucasus.” In Russian Imperialism: From Ivan the Great to the Revolution. Edited by Taras Hunczak. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1974.
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 A review and analysis of the earliest contacts with Russian merchants in the mid-15th century through the 19th century.
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 Khodarkovsky, Michael. Russia’s Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500–1800. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
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 This study examines Russia’s objectives, expansion into the region, and the policies it adopted in areas to the south and southeast of the Slavic core of the state just prior to its conquest of the Caucasus.
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 Lenczowski, George. Russia and the West in Iran, 1918–1948: A Study in Big-Power Rivalry. 1949. Reprint, New York: Greenwood, 1968.
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 A good part of this book examines the Soviet conquest of South Caucasus and subsequent attempts to exert Russian influence in Iran, including the Azerbaijan region.
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 Rhinelander, Hamilton. “Russia’s Imperial Policy: The Administration of the Caucasus in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century,” Canadian Slavonic Papers 17, nos. 2–3 (1975): 218–235.
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 This essay is a study primarily of policy toward Georgia and the interplay between centralist and regionalist tendencies. Dagestan and Azerbaijan remained largely outside of the Caucasian administration based in Tbilisi.
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 Seely, Robert. The Russo-Chechen Conflict, 1800–2000: A Deadly Embrace. London: Routledge, 2000.
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 The bulk of the book is concerned with the politics of the conflict and Russia’s military performance in the two wars following the breakup of the Soviet Union.
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 Vucinich, Wayne S., ed. Russia and Asia: Essays on the Influence of Russia on the Asian Peoples. Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1972.
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 Interestingly, while Armenians, Georgians, and most Muslims in the Caucasus would like to be considered European in the post—Cold War era, these peoples are covered in individual essays in this work.
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 Works on Relations Between the Independent Caucasus States and With Other Countries
 
 With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the South Caucasus and Central Asia have attracted the attention of neighboring states, as well as the United States and its Western allies, for strategic reasons. The former Soviet republics have sought to diversify their political, economic, and military ties without getting involved in the conflicts of their Middle Eastern neighbors, while Russia has sought to reassert its influence in the South Caucasus. Chufrin 2001, Cornell 2001, Rubenstein and Smolansky 1995, and Wright 1996 are all concerned with the interaction of the independent South Caucasus republics, local ethnic groups, and outside powers, with Chufrin and Cornell providing the most comprehensive coverage, including American policies and interests in addition to those of Russia, Turkey, and Iran. While Novikova 2000 concentrates on relations between Armenia and its Middle Eastern neighbors, Bishku 2009 provides an in-depth study of the foreign policies of the three South Caucasus republics regarding Israel, which has important interests in the region that overlap with those of Turkey and oppose those of Iran. Bishku 2010 complements the above essay by examining the relations of the South Caucasus republics with all their Muslim neighbors in the Middle East. Mesbahi 2004 and Winrow 2000 offer the most thorough studies of Iran’s and Turkey’s respective interests in the Caucasus; both countries, just like Israel, need to take into account bilateral relations with Russia, which are obviously more important in political and economic terms than their respective interests in the South Caucasus states.
 
 Bishku, Michael B. “The South Caucasus Republics and Israel.” Middle Eastern Studies 45, no. 2 (2009): 295–314.
 DOI: 10.1080/00263200802697415Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
 Deals with the respective national security concepts of the three states, the historical determinants of their foreign policies, and the bilateral relations of those countries with Israel. Bishku also examines how these ties with the Jewish state affect and are affected by relations with Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
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 Bishku, Michael B. “The South Caucasus Republics and the Muslim Middle East: Political and Economic Imperatives.” Mediterranean Quarterly 21, no. 3 (2010): 26-46.
 DOI: 10.1215/10474552-2010-014Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
 A companion piece to Bishku 2009 that examines not only ties with Turkey and Iran, but also the Arab states.
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 Chufrin, Gennady, ed. The Security of the Caspian Sea Region. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
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 This book, sponsored by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, has essays from a vast array of international scholars, government officials, and business leaders focusing on the geopolitical environment of all the countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as the policies of Russia, the United States, Turkey, and Iran.
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 Cornell, Svante E. Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus. Richmond, UK: Curzon, 2001.
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 This excellent and comprehensive study examines the underlying factors in all the recent Caucasian conflicts, their contemporary history, and the interests of Russia, Turkey, Iran, and the United States in these developments.
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 Mesbahi, Mohiaddin. “Iran and Central Asia: Paradigm and Policy.” Central Asian Survey 23, no. 2 (2004): 109–139.
 DOI: 10.1080/02634930410001310508Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
 The author asserts that Iranian foreign policy toward the Caucasus and Central Asia is affected by Russian-Iranian relations, the geopolitics of Islam, the influence of the United States, and a “vision of Iran’s centrality.”
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 Novikova, Gayane. “Armenia and the Middle East.” Middle East Review of International Affairs 4, no. 4 (December 2000): 60–66.
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 Reviews and analyzes Armenia’s relations in the region, primarily with Turkey, Iran, and Israel, and how these relations are affected by Russia and the United States. Available online
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 Rubinstein, Alvin Z., and Oles M. Smolansky. Regional Power Rivalries in the New Eurasia: Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1995.
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 This volume emphasizes the bilateral relations of these three countries with each other regarding the South Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as with some of the other countries in the region.
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 Winrow, Gareth M. Turkey and the Caucasus: Domestic Interests and Security Concerns. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 2000.
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 Deals with all aspects of Turkish policymaking regarding the Caucasus, including the role of both the state and society. Winrow examines security, economic, and energy issues, as well as ethnic sentiment.
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 Wright, John F.R., Suzanne Goldenberg, and Richard Schofield, eds. Transcaucasian Boundaries. London: Routledge, 1995.
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 This book is the product of a conference at the School of Oriental and African Studies at University College, London, and was one of the earliest attempts to examine the sources of instability that existed in the Caucasus following the breakup of the Soviet Union, from borders to the interaction of local ethnic groups and outside powers.