#south-caucasus — Public Fediverse posts

Friday, May 15, 2026

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2026/05/friday-may-15-2026/

For three decades, Yerevan has been cut off from regional logistics networks after Azerbaijan and Turkey closed their borders in the early 1990s
https://timesca.com/a-new-southern-gate-how-the-eu-armenia-summit-unlocks-a-critical-southern-branch-for-the-middle-corridor/

#Armenia #SouthCaucasus #CentralAsia and #Europe ##Roads

The Yerevan EPC summit sent a signal to Central Asia: post-Soviet states can widen ties with Europe without making a clean break from Moscow https://ow.ly/SIOl50YVb9r #Europe #CentralAsia #SouthCaucasus #Diplomacy #EPC2026 #YerevanSummit #Geopolitics

European Summit in Yerevan Sen...

A bronze solar disk buried with women. Painted clay panels on the walls of Iron Age homes. Eight years of excavation is rewriting the prehistory of Georgia’s long-overlooked highland plateau. #Archaeology #SouthCaucasus #BronzeAge @antiquity.ac.uk https://www.anthropology.net/p/the-hill-of-ashes

#CfA #Masterclass with Bryan Ward-Perkins: “The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity database"

📌 8 May 2026 | in Yerevan, Georgia | organised by #MWSGeorgiaBranchOffice | for students from #Armenia and #SouthCaucasus

📅 Deadline: 17 April 2026

🔗 https://mwsgeorgien.hypotheses.org/files/2026/03/CfA_Masterclass-with-Prof-Bryan-Ward-Perkins.pdf

Yazids

Also spelled Yesidis.

They’re a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, & Iran, with small numbers living in Armenia & Georgia (the country). Endogamy is the cultural practice of only marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group. The majority of the Yazidis remaining in the Middle East today live in Iraq, primarily in the governorates of Nineveh & Duhok.

Yazidism came about through a complex historical process involving a pre-Islamic Kurdish religious substratum & teachings of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir. Generally, scholars regard Yazidism as an independent religious tradition with deep roots in ancient Iranian beliefs, shaped by later Sufi influences. Yazidism was adopted by many Kurdish tribes & Emirates. It reached as far west as Antioch & as far east as Sulaymaniyah. Sulaymaniyah/Slemani is a city in the East of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Yezidi manuscripts (called misurs) were written in the 13th century. It contains lists of Kurdish tribes affiliated with Yezidi Pir saints. Only 2 of the 40 total manuscripts have been published so far. Namely, the Misur of Pir Sini Darani & the Misur of Pir Xetib Pisi. The list in the Misur of Pir Sini Darani includes several large tribes that have been largely or fully Islamized today.

From the 14th century on, Yazidis developed their own religious & political institutions in the areas where they lived. The Yezidi territories were divided into 7 administrative centers. Each has its own Sincaq (This is an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire). More commonly known as Tawis among the Yezids. Sincaqs are sacred bronze effigies bearing the image of a bird or peacock to symbolize Tawusi Melek. They serve as symbols of power for each administrative center.

Every 6 months, the Yezidi Quwals, who are trained reciters of Qewls & other forms of sacred oral Yezidi tradition, were sent out to other Yezidi-inhabited areas with military protection from the central administrative region of Shekhan & the spiritual center of Lalish.

This tradition serves to preserve the Yazidi faith & doctrine. The Qewals, supported by voluntary alms, led a Sincaq through Yazidi villages to maintain spiritual legitimacy & symbolize the authority of Lalish & the Mir.

During WWI, the Armenian genocide of 1915 caused a mass exodus of Yazidis from Van, Kars, & Bazid, Turkey. Together with many Armenians, they fled from the Ottoman Empire in masses to Transcaucasia (a.k.a. South Caucasus. This is located on the border of Eastern Europe & West Asia, which straddles the southern Caucasus Mountains.).

They followed their families/relatives who had already migrated to the territories of the Russian Empire after fleeing during the Russo-Turkish wars in 1828-1829 & 1877-1878. In May 1918, Ottomans crossed the Akhuryan River to invade the Armenian Republic. The Yezidi participation in the decisive Battle of Sardarabad is still commemorated by Armenians.

Yazidism is a monotheistic faith based on belief in 1 God, who created the world & entrusted it into the care of a Heptad of the 7 Holy Beings. Often known as angels or heft sirr (the 7 Mysteries). Preeminent among these is Tawusi Melek (also known as Melek Taus), the Peacock Angel. Traditionally, Yazidis who marry non-Yazidis are considered to have converted to the religion of their spouse.

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A drone strike in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan has escalated tensions between Baku and Tehran, raising concerns about stability in the South Caucasus https://ow.ly/GxkK50Yroih #Azerbaijan #Iran #Nakhchivan #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics #Baku #Tehran #DroneStrike

How an Incident on the Azerbai...

Drones reportedly launched from Iran struck Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan exclave, injuring civilians and raising fears the widening conflict could spill into the South Caucasus https://ow.ly/bXqU50YpHcY #Azerbaijan #Iran #Nakhchivan #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics #droneattack

Azerbaijan Accuses Iran of Dro...

Col. Douglas MacGregor: Why would anyone in the Caucasus make themselves dependent on the U.S. or Europe? Your real options are #India, #Russia and #Iran — not us. ▶️ youtu.be/watch?v=TRgL... #Armenia #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics youtube.com/shorts/iSNql...

Douglas Macgregor: Why would a...

“There’s no such thing as Armenia finding its security by the U.S. The U.S. is thousands of miles away and #Armenia counts for nothing in U.S. politics.” — Jeffrey Sachs Full show ▶️ youtu.be/r7IH9YG88PY #TRIPP #SouthCaucasus #TrumpRoute #DonaldTrump youtube.com/shorts/eXaUn...

The US is thousands of miles a...

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/09/wednesday-september-10-2025/

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Russian weapons contain growing number of Chinese components — War has changed: Ukraine’s tech pioneers are leading the fight West can’t afford to ignore — HUR publishes Russian military order, claims proof of Moscow increasing military footprint in Armenia — Russia striking NATO while China invades Taiwan ‘plausible’ scenario, experts say … and more

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/07/tuesday-july-8-2025/

🇮🇷 IRAN | 🇦🇲 ARMENIA
🔴 Iran & Armenia Hold Border Threat Drills

🔸 Joint two-day drills included IRGC elite forces, snipers, heavy weapons.
🔸 Simulated “terrorist attacks” on checkpoints near shared border.
🔸 Armenia still maintains warm ties with Tehran despite West pivot.

#Iran #Armenia #MilitaryDrills #Karabakh #IRGC #SouthCaucasus #Security

[08:42] New Georgian president sworn in amid protests

Mikheil Kavelashvili, a hardline critic of the West, took the oath of office as Georgia's president, amid a political crisis in the South Caucasus country, whose government has frozen European Union application talks, provoking major protests.

https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2024/1229/1488368-georgia-politics/

#MikheilKavelashvili #West #Georgia #SouthCaucasus #EuropeanUnion

𝗪𝗜𝗞𝗜𝗣𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗔 𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗬

✧ European stonechat ✧

The European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It is found across Europe, as far east as Ukraine and the South Caucasus, and in parts of North Africa. It breeds in heathland, coastal dunes and rough grassland, and is either short-distance migratory or n...

#NorthAfrica #SouthCaucasus #Africa #Europe #Ukraine #Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_stonechat

#Armenia signs on to become member of International Criminal Court (#ICC), despite that meaning it would be obligated to arrest Vladimir #Putin, leader of its closest ally #Russia, if he ever visits. Membership takes effect after 60 days. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/3/armenia-to-join-international-criminal-court-wrong-decision-russia-says

#geopolitics #geography #Caucasus #SouthCaucasus #intergovernmental #internationallaw @geopolitics

Self-declared, #Armenia-backed Republic of #Artsakh (#NagornoKarabakh) says it will formally dissolve by end of this year, 22 years after declaring #independence from #Azerbaijan. Its military has already surrendered. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/09/28/nagorno-karabakh-separatist-government-says-it-will-dissolve-itself-by-january-2024_6140487_4.html

#defacto #defactostates #geography #parastates #statehood #separatism #Caucasus #SouthCaucasus #geographyteacher #geopolitics @geography @geopolitics