Azerbaijan Through History: Who Ruled Its Lands
The land of today's Azerbaijan appears on 39 historical border maps from 500 BC to today. Over that time it was held, in whole or in part, by 30 different states, among them Armenia, Persia, Azerbaijan, USSR, Ottoman Empire.
AzerbaijanExplore the history of Azerbaijan in the interactive map
Compare 1000 with today · Azerbaijan as a state on the map
Who ruled the land of Azerbaijan, map by map
Share of sample points inside today's borders held by each state on each map. Areas with no organised state on the map are left out.
Historic cities in Azerbaijan
Questions
Which empires and states ruled the territory of Azerbaijan?
On the border maps from 500 BC to today, the largest shares of the territory of modern Azerbaijan belonged to Armenia, Persia, Azerbaijan, USSR, Ottoman Empire, Sasanian Empire, along with 24 other states.
What was Azerbaijan part of in 1000?
On the border map for 1000, most of the territory of today's Azerbaijan lay within Khazars.
What was Azerbaijan part of in 1500?
On the border map for 1500, most of the territory of today's Azerbaijan lay within Emirate of the White Sheep Turks.
What was Azerbaijan part of in 1900?
On the border map for 1900, most of the territory of today's Azerbaijan lay within Persia.
Further reading
Last updated 9 November 2026. Sources: border data from historical-basemaps, land and rivers from Natural Earth; texts written for Chronica Maps from standard reference works. How we make the maps.