Caucasus

The Caucasus Mountains are commonly recognized as a natural border between Europe and Asia. Countries in the Caucasus are considered to be in both continents, with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia being considered transcontinental countries.  The northern portion of the Caucasus is known as the Ciscaucasus and the southern portion as the Transcaucasus. The highest peak in the Caucasus is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m), which, in the western Ciscaucasus in Russia, is generally considered the highest point in Europe.

 List of countries 
Sovereign states
 Armenia
 Azerbaijan
 Georgia

Disputed territories
 Abkhazia - claimed but not controlled by Georgia
 South Ossetia - claimed but not controlled by Georgia

 Autonomous republics of the Russian Federation 
 Adygea
 Chechnya
 Dagestan
 Ingushetia  
 Kabardino-Balkaria
 Karachay-Cherkessia
 North Ossetia-Alania

 An other autonomies and formerly disputed territories 
 Adjara
 Nakhchivan

 Formerly 
 Artsakh

 Myths and legends 
The Biblical Mount Ararat, where Noah's Ark landed, is known as the landmark of the ancient Armenian realm.

The peak of Ararat is seasonally capped with snow. In Greek mythology, the Caucasus, or Kaukasos, was one of the pillars supporting the world. Prometheus was chained there by Zeus.

The Roman poet Ovid placed Caucasus in Scythia and said that it was a cold and stony mountain and was the abode of personified hunger.

Related pages
Transcontinental nation
Indo-European languages
Languages of the Caucasus
Russian-Circassian War

 References 
Caucasus: A Journey to the Land Between Christianity and Islam By Nicholas Griffin
Small Nations and Great Powers: A Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict in the Caucasus By Svante E. Cornell
The Caucasus By Ivan Golovin

 Other websites 
 BBC News: North Caucasus at a glance, September 8 2005
United Nations Environment Programme map: Landcover of the Caucasus 
United Nations Environment Programme map: Population density of the Caucasus 
 Information about the history


Category:Regions
Category:Mountains of Europe
Category:Roman Empire
Category:Byzantine Empire
Category:Ottoman Empire
Category:Russian Empire