evidence: Naxçıvan, exclave and autonomous republic of Azerbaijan, in the southern part of the Transcaucasian plateau. It is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the west. The republic, which is mostly mountainous except for a plain in the west and southwest, lies to the east and north of the middle Aras River, which forms the frontier with Iran and Turkey. [...] The republic, especially the capital city of Naxçıvan (Nakhichevan), has a long history dating back to about 1500 bce. Historically, the Persians, Armenians, Mongols, and Turks competed for the area, but it passed to Russia in 1828, and in 1924 it became an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union. Naxçıvan became part of independent Azerbaijan in 1991.