MILITARY AND POLITICAL RIVALRY IN THE CAUCASUS-CASPIAN REGION IN THE 16TH-17TH CENTURIES AND AZERBAIJAN

This article explores the growing role of the Caucasus-Caspian region in global geopolitical and geoeconomic processes during the Middle Ages. It provides a detailed examination of the military and political events that took place during this period and reveals the struggle of the main rival forces to establish control over the main trade routes extending from Europe and China, India and Central Asia. In this regard, the extremely important military-strategic and economic significance of one of the main branches of the Great Silk Road is shown - the famous Caspian Route, which ran along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, which became famous back in ancient times. The aim of the study is to analyze the military-political processes occurring in the region during the Middle Ages and to reveal the military events taking place from the 3rd century until the end of the 14th century in the region, which was subjected to spontaneous geo-ethnopolitical pressure from successive diverse military-political forces. In the course of studying this problem, the main responsibilities were to highlight the great migrations of peoples, as well as the invasions of the Arabs, Rus, Seljuks, Mongols, Golden Horde and Timurids, which coincided with the directions of the main world trade routes, including the Caspian, and constituted one of their main strategic goals. In this article, historical-chronological and comparative research methods were used to reveal the problem posed. In the final part of the article, it is noted that the Middle Ages marked the intensification of military and political rivalry in the Caucasus-Caspian region for control over the Caspian route. Beginning in the 10th century, the first signs of a renewed desire of non-Caspian states to penetrate and strengthen their position in this region by one means or another were observed. With the emergence of the powerful Ottoman Empire and strong Azerbaijani states – Ak-Koyunlu - from the mid-15th century, and then from the beginning of the 16th century – The Safavid state, the Caucasus-Caspian region became one of the key elements in the relations between Asia and Europe, which during this period acquired the character of a military-political confrontation.本文探讨了中世纪时期高加索-里海地区（Caucasus-Caspian region）在全球地缘政治与地缘经济进程中日益凸显的核心作用。文中对该时段的军事与政治事件展开细致考据与梳理，揭示了主要敌对势力为掌控连通欧洲、中国、印度与中亚的全域主要贸易通道所展开的激烈博弈。就此背景，本文阐明了丝绸之路（Great Silk Road）核心分支之一——沿里海西海岸延伸的著名里海航线（Caspian Route）的极端重要的军事战略与经济价值，该航线早在古代便已享誉寰宇。本研究旨在剖析中世纪该区域内的军政演进进程，并梳理公元3世纪至14世纪末该区域发生的各类军事事件——彼时该区域接连遭受来自多股更迭的多元军政势力的自发地缘民族政治施压。 在本研究推进过程中，核心工作在于厘清大规模民族迁徙浪潮，以及阿拉伯人、罗斯人、塞尔柱人、蒙古人、金帐汗国（Golden Horde）与帖木儿王朝（Timurids）的入侵活动：此类军事行动均契合包括里海航线在内的全球主要贸易通道的走向，且将掌控此类通道列为核心战略目标之一。本文采用历史编年法与比较研究法对所提出的问题进行剖析。文末指出，中世纪时期高加索-里海地区为争夺里海航线控制权的军政博弈日趋白热化。自10世纪起，非里海沿岸国家开始显现出通过各类手段渗透并巩固其在该区域势力范围的初步动向。15世纪中期起，强大的奥斯曼帝国（Ottoman Empire）与强盛的阿塞拜疆政权白羊王朝（Ak-Koyunlu）相继崛起；16世纪初萨法维王朝（Safavid state）建立后，高加索-里海地区成为欧亚关系中的关键枢纽，此时期的欧亚关系也呈现出鲜明的军政对抗特征。