CAUCASIAN SHIRVAN AREA RUG

Shirvan rugs were and are produced in the Shirvan region of modern-day Azerbaijan, a country at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is just south of the Caucasus mountain range, east of Gendje, and west of the Baku peninsula. Baku is the capital. Azerbaijan became an independent state in 1991 after gaining sovereignty from Russia. The population of Shirvan is primarily Azeri Turks but there was at one time a large population of Armenians as well. The best known of the Southern Caucasian rugs are the Kazak, Karabagh, Gendje, Moghan, Talish, and Shirvan. The Northern Caucasian rugs include the Kuba, Dagestan, and the Derbend.