Aras (river) in the context of "Azerbaijan"

The Treaty of Turkmenchay was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). It was second of the series of treaties (the first was the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the last, the 1881 Treaty of Akhal) signed between Qajar Iran and Imperial Russia that forced Iran to cede or recognize Russian influence over the territories that formerly were part of Iran.

The treaty was signed on 22 February 1828 (5 Sha'ban 1243) in Torkamanchay (a village between Tabriz and Tehran). It made Iran cede the control of several areas in the South Caucasus to Russia: the Erivan Khanate, the Nakhchivan Khanate and the remainder of the Talysh Khanate. The boundary between Russia and Iran was set at the Aras River. These territories are now Armenia, the south of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan and Iğdır Province (now part of Turkey).

The Kura-Aras Lowland, Kura-Aras Depression or Kura-Aras Basin (Azerbaijani: Kür-Araz ovalığı) is a vast depression in central-southern Azerbaijan defined by the valleys of the Kura River and Aras River. It is situated by the West shore of the Caspian Sea and is part of the Aral-Caspian Depression. It is delimited by the Greater Caucasus from the North, Lesser Caucasus from the West and the Talysh Mountains from the South. The name is derived from the names of the two rivers in the area: the Kura and the Aras.

The Kura, also known in Georgian as Mtkvari (Georgian: მტკვარი, romanized: mt'k'vari [ˈmt'k'ʷäɾi]), is an east-flowing transboundary river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of the Lesser Caucasus, while its main tributary, the Aras, drains the south side of those mountains. Starting in northeastern Turkey, the Kura flows through to Georgia, then into Azerbaijan, where it receives the Aras as a right tributary, and finally enters the Caspian Sea. The total length of the river is 1,515 kilometres (941 mi).

People have inhabited the Caucasus region for thousands of years and first established agriculture in the Kura Valley over 4,500 years ago. Large, complex civilizations eventually grew on the river, but by 1200 CE most were reduced to ruin by natural disasters and foreign invaders. The increasing human use, and eventual damage, of the watershed's forests and grasslands, contributed to a rising intensity of floods through the 20th century. In the 1950s, the Soviet Union started building many dams and canals on the river. Previously navigable up to Tbilisi in Georgia, the Kura is now much slower and shallower, having been harnessed by irrigation projects and hydroelectric power stations. The river is now moderately polluted by major industrial centers like Tbilisi and Rustavi in Georgia.

The Hrazdan (Armenian: Հրազդան, Hrazdan) is a major river and the second largest in Armenia. It originates at the northwest extremity of Lake Sevan and flows south through the Kotayk Province and Armenia's capital, Yerevan; the lake in turn is fed by several streams. In the Ararat plain it joins the Aras river along the border with Turkey. It joins as a left tributary the Kura river, which then flows into the Caspian Sea.

A series of hydro-electric projects have been constructed on the Hrazdan. Its waters are in demand to irrigate crops.

Tālīsh (Talysh: Tolış; Azerbaijani: Talış; Persian: تالش, romanized: Tālesh) is a region in the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. It is a homeland of the indigenous Talysh people, who inhabit the region and speak the Talysh language. The territory and the language set apart Talish from its neighbors.

Talish is now divided between Azerbaijan and Iran. It stretches north from the Sefīd-Rūd river, which cuts through the Alborz mountains in Iran's Gilan province, to the Aras river in the south of the Republic of Azerbaijan.