Tālīsh[a] (Talysh: Tolış; Azerbaijani: Talış; Persian: تالش, romanized: Tālesh) is a region in the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea.

According to the medieval Persian author Hamdalla Qazvini, the Tavalish region was located between the cities of Sultaniye and Ardabil (the name is the Arabic plural form of the word "Talish").

[24] The Safavid shahs (kings) of Iran attempted to control local Talysh chiefs by subordinating them to obedient officials.

The familial succession of the chiefs gave rise to dynasties that dominated local affairs and sought to consolidate their influence whenever the national government weakened.

[25] During the Russian invasion of Iran, the people of Talish volunteered to fight for the Safavid monarch Tahmasp II (r. 1722–1732).

The latter was unable to provide them with military or material support; all he could do was give them an ineffective permit that allowed them to collect the taxes of Rasht.

[25] By the end of 1735, the reconquest of northern and western Iran was completed, being led by the Iranian military leader Nader.

At the head of the uprising was Kalb Hussein-bek, who declared disobedience to the supreme authority, who was supported and helped by the Talysh.

According to the treaty of Gulistan, such places as Kargara, Namin and Zuvand passed from the Talysh Khanate to Persia.

In accordance with the order of General Ivan Paskevich, the chief governor of Georgia, dated May 2, 1828, the “Provisional Talysh administration” was established under the leadership of a chairman (manager) appointed from Russian military ranks.

And on the basis of the "Institution for the administration of the Transcaucasian region" dated April 10, 1840, the "Provisional Talysh government" was abolished.

Finally, in 1846, on the basis of the “Regulations on the Division of the Transcaucasian Territory” dated December 14, 1845, the Talyshinsky district was renamed into Lenkoransky and became part of the newly formed Shemakha (from 1859 – Baku) province of the Russian Empire.

[36] [37] In 1918, in the Talysh-Mugan region with its local Muslim and Russian population refused to submit to the newly formed Azerbaijan Republic.

One of the active leaders of the partisan movement in Mugan, a prominent participant in the revolutionary uprising of Lankaran, David Danilovich Chirkin, was elected chairman of the Regional Council; the congress approved one of the workers of the Lenkoran branch of the cooperative society "Samopomich" – Shirali Akhundov from the Talysh village of Khavzava [7].

Throughout the 65 years of the existence of the Azerbaijan SSR, the Talysh population felt itself the object of various restrictions on the part of the local authorities.

who deliberately pursued a policy of assimilation of the Talysh region, and at the same time artificially limited its economic development.

Kurds and Talysh were recorded as Azerbaijanis in their passports, and before independence, the country was not considered as separate nationalities when conducting population censuses in Azerbaijan.

On June 21, 1993, in Lankaran, a group of Talysh officers led by Colonel Alikram Hummatov proclaimed the Talysh-Mugan Autonomous Republic.

At the meeting of the Milli Mejlis, Alikram Hummatov was elected president of the autonomous republic, he met twice with the new head of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev, but neither the first agreed to give up autonomy, nor the second, to recognize it.

Alikram Hummatov fled, but Azerbaijani loyalists handed him over to the law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

[44][45] Under the pretext of containing anti-constitutional goals in the program, the "Party of Equality of the Peoples of Azerbaijan" was banned, although it actually continued to exist.

In July 2018, Fakhraddin Aboszoda was detained by the Russian authorities and at the beginning of 2019 extradited to Azerbaijan, where he was brought to trial for anti-state activities.

On July 15, 2018, a group of young activists, together with Alikram Hummatov, formed the government of the Talysh-Mugan Autonomous Republic in exile.

[11] This territory shapes the historical habitat of Talysh people who have lived a nomadic life, moving along the mountainous streams.

[1] Northern part of the Talish includes the districts of Astara, Lankaran, Lerik, Yardymli, Masally, and Jalilabad, with the exception of the small sub-district of Anbaran located on the western side of the mountain chain in the Ardabil province.

Within this locale, the arboreal vegetation is particularly diverse, representing the most abundant assortment in the Caucasus region and harboring numerous endemic species.

Hirkan National Park (with a total area of 21 435 ha) was established in Talysh, conserving a plethora of relict and endemic plant species from the Tertiary era.