The Republic of Aras was a short-lived and unrecognized state in the South Caucasus

South Caucasus

The South Caucasus is a geopolitical region located on the border of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia also referred to as Transcaucasia, or The Trans-Caucasus...

, roughly corresponding with the territory that is now the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

. Named after the Aras River that formed its southern border, the republic was declared in December 1918 by Jafar Kuli Khan Nakhchivanski with support from the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...

's ruling party, the Musavat Party

Equality Party (Azerbaijan)

The Müsavat Party is the oldest existing political party in Azerbaijan. Its history can be divided into three periods: Early Musavat, Musavat-in-exile and New Musavat.-Early Musavat :...

, and the Young Turk

Young Turks

The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...

 government of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

.

The creation of the Republic of Aras was in response to a border proposal by Sir John Oliver Wardrop

Oliver Wardrop

Sir John Oliver Wardrop, KBE, CMG was a British diplomat, traveller and translator, primarily known as the United Kingdom's first Chief Commissioner of Transcaucasus in Georgia, 1919-21, and also as the founder and benefactor of Kartvelian studies at Oxford University.After traveling to Georgia ...

, British Chief Commissioner in the South Caucasus, that would have assigned the area to the Armenian Republic. Its existence was ended when troops from the Democratic Republic of Armenia

Democratic Republic of Armenia

The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...

 advanced into the region and succeeded in taking control over it in mid-June 1919 during the Aras War. However, this triggered an advance into the Nakhichevan region by the army of the Azerbaijan republic, and by the end of July Armenia had lost control of the region.

See also

• Nakhchivan
• Khanate of Nakhichevan
• Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
  Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
  The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was the first successful attempt to establish a democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world . The ADR was founded on May 28, 1918 after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917 by Azerbaijani National Council in...
  
  
• Democratic Republic of Armenia
  Democratic Republic of Armenia
  The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...