IRAN AND THE SOUTHERN CAUCASUS: A STRUGGLE FOR INFLUENCE
Abstract
It is a well-known fact that for many centuries the Southern Caucasus was of strategic importance for the great powers that dominated at different historical times. The Roman Army’s advances on the Caucasus under the command of General Pompey (66-65 BC) and General Mark Antony (36 BC) mark the beginning of the great powers’ struggle and provide ample evidence of the attempts to secure their interests in this strategic part of the world. And in 75 AD, Roman Emperor Domitian sent Legio XII Fulminate to support the allied kingdoms of Iberia and Albania (the present-day republics of Georgia and Azerbaijan, respectively). A rock inscription was found near the shores of the Caspian Sea (Gobustan, 60-70 km from Baku in the Azerbaijan Republic) that mentions the presence of one of the centurions of XII Fulminate named Lucius Julius Maximus.1
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