The political doctrine of Pan-Turkism proposed by Ziya Gökalp was intended to be implemented in a three-stage system. After the first stage, which involved the mass Turkification of the subject nations of the Ottoman Empire, the second stage was planned: the creation of an Oghuz state, which would include the Ottoman Empire, Eastern Transcaucasia, the Turkic-speaking countries of Central Asia (Khorezm), and the Iranian province of Atropatene-Azerbaijan. Within the scope of implementing the Oghuz state plan, a military-political concept was developed, consisting of both short-term and long-term strategies. Accordingly, the immediate plan envisaged, along with the conquest of Eastern Transcaucasia, the creation of a so-called “Azerbaijan” – an “East Caucasian Muslim” formation, which, as a temporary implementation phase, would become the main operational and political stronghold of the Young Turk-Musavat alliance. Subsequently, on the basis of this formation within the Ottoman Empire, a so-called “Great Azerbaijan” state was to be created, extending from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, from Batumi to Baku, including the Iranian Atropatene-Azerbaijan province. The long-term plan envisioned “Great Azerbaijan” as the first link in the creation of a pan-Oghuz state, which would bridge the Ottoman Empire with the Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia, ultimately laying the groundwork for the third phase –the establishment of a Turanian Empire under a common Pan-Turkic roof. Although the “Great Azerbaijan” project has periodically changed its tactics, its political goal has remained unchanged. During the Soviet era, realizing the impossibility of militarily annexing the Armenian territories, Azerbaijani leadership adopted a new strategy. Instead of massacres, persecutions, and forced displacements, they implemented a policy of ethnic cleansing, disenfranchisement, national discrimination, distortion of demographic data, Turkification of place names, cartographic falsifications, and appropriation of civilizational values.

Keywords“Great Azerbaijan” Eastern Transcaucasia Pan-Turkism falsification toponym map topocid

In any given part of the world, forced demographic changes to the ethnic population inevitably result in changes to the local linguistics as well as the evolution and alteration of toponyms. The resulting changes can give politicians and extremists the possibility to exploit the changes to augment their claims and incursions. In extreme cases, such as the “scorched earth” policy adopted by Shah Abbas of Iran in the so called “protectorates” of Nakhchivan, Syuniq and Karabakh, the Armenian ethnic population was decimated. The elimination of the ethnic Armenians gave an opportunity to the Turkish speaking remaining minority of the local population the possibility to claim ownership of these lands. Through the citation of historical facts and cartographic evidence, the article discusses the reasons for the naming of Lake Sevan in Armenia as “Gokcha”, and the exploitation of this new toponym in an attempt to prove ownership of the lake, through the presentation of dubious documents and arguments.

KeywordsArmenia Sevan Azerbaijan Gökcha Shah Abbas Cartography Toponyms.