Azerbaijani historian: Soviet era distorted Caucasian Albania's history

A seminar titled Historical View on the Heritage of Caucasian Albania was held with the presentation of Doctor of Historical Sciences Hasan Hasanov.

According to Report, the seminar, organized at the initiative of the Media and Broadcasting Council of Azerbaijan, provided extensive information on existing historical facts about Caucasian Albania, attempts to falsify Albanian heritage, unfounded Armenian claims to this heritage, and the importance of presenting historical realities correctly to the international community.

In his speech, Hasanov noted that misleading information about the history of Albania and Atropatene existed in Soviet‑era literature: "Those sources claimed that Albania and Atropatene emerged simultaneously, but this does not reflect the truth."

According to him, the word Albania is of Turkic origin, meaning "hero", and Albania was initially part of Atropatene: "This lasted for seven centuries – from the 7th century BC to the 1st century AD. Afterwards, Albanians separated from Atropatene for certain reasons and achieved independence. In other words, Albania emerged from Atropatene."

The historian also highlighted the presence of three religions in Albania's territory: Christianity, Judaism, and Tengriism. He explained that when Islam arrived, followers of Tengriism accepted it without resistance, while some Christians converted to Islam and others split into two branches, joining Armenians and Georgians.

Hasanov dismissed Armenian claims of being heirs to the Albanian legacy as baseless, citing Azerbaijani architect and historian Davud Akhundov's research as evidence: "He studied all Albanian temples and concluded that every monument in Albania's territory belongs to Albanian civilization. In many cases, links to Turkic traditions were also identified. Overall, research on Albanian history remains insufficient."

He further pointed out shortcomings in school textbooks and said he had appealed to the Ministry of Science and Education regarding this issue.

Hasanov emphasized that Armenian claims over Ganjasar and Khudavang demonstrate that territorial claims against Azerbaijan persist in Armenia:

"Davud Akhundov's monograph is a detailed study in this context. These monuments have no connection to Armenians."

In conclusion, the professor stressed that falsification of Albanian temples by Armenians is widespread.