Azerbaijan

As perpetuation of my "World Heraldry 3D" project, here is the Coat of Arms and 3D Map (overplayed with flag) of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan,officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Respublikası) is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south. The exclave of Nakhchivan is bounded by Armenia to the north and east, Iran to the south and west, while having a short borderline with Turkey to the northwest.

Azerbaijan has an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The country was among the birthplaces of mankind and is located at the heart of ancient civilizations. Furthermore the country is known to be among the most progressive and secular Islamic societies. Aside from having been the first Muslim country to have operas, theater plays, and a democratic republic, Azerbaijan today is among the Muslim countries where support for secularism and tolerance is the highest. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first democratic and secular republic in the Muslim world, was established in 1918, but was incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1920. Azerbaijan regained independence in 1991. Shortly thereafter, during the Nagorno-Karabakh War, neighboring Armenia occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, its surrounding territories and the enclaves of Karki, Yukhary Askipara, Barkhudarly and Sofulu. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which emerged in Nagorno-Karabakh, continues to be not diplomatically recognized by any nation and the region is still considered a de jure part of Azerbaijan, despite being de facto independent since the end of the war.

Azerbaijan is a secular and a unitary republic. It is one of the six independent Turkic states as well as an active member of the Turkic Council and the TÜRKSOY community. Azerbaijan has diplomatic relations with 158 countries and holds membership in 38 international organizations. It is one of the founding members of GUAM and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On May 9, 2006 Azerbaijan was elected to membership in the newly established Human Rights Council by the United Nations General Assembly (the term of office began on June 19, 2006). A Special Envoy of the European Commission is present in the country, which is also a member of the United Nations, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. Azerbaijan is a correspondent at the International Telecommunication Union and member of the Non-Aligned Movement and holds observer status in World Trade Organization.

The Constitution of Azerbaijan does not declare an official religion but the majority of people adhere to the Shia branch of Islam, although Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity rather than religion and Azerbaijan remains as one of the most liberal majority-Muslim nations. After gaining its independence, Azerbaijan has reached a high level of human development, economic development, standard of living, and literacy as well as a low rate of unemployment and intentional homicide compared to other Eastern European and CIS countries. On 1 January 2012, the country started a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

By the Constitutional Law of the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan Republic, approved on January 19, 1993, one of the projects, developed in 1919-1920 with certain alterations was confirmed the national emblem of the Azerbaijan Republic. The state emblem of Azerbaijan mixes traditional and modern symbols. The focal point of the emblem is the fire symbol. This symbol comes from the fact that Azerbaijan has many everlasting fires which also gives the name "land of eternal fire". At the bottom of the emblem is a stalk of wheat, representing the main agricultural product of the nation, which was also part of the earlier arms. The other plant represented at the bottom is oak. The colors used in composing the emblem are taken from the national flag. The green represents that Azerbaijan is an Islamic country. Red represents the development and democracy of Azerbaijan. The blue represents that the Azerbaijanis are one of the Turkic peoples. The star itself stands for the eight branches of the Turkic peoples, and between each point of the star, there is a smaller eight pointed star found.

The National Emblem of the Azerbaijan Republic symbolizes the independence of Azerbaijan. The national emblem is the image of an oriental shield and a semicircle formed by the branches of an oak-tree and ears resting on it. The shield contains the image of a fire in the center of an eight-point star against a background of the colors of the National flag of Azerbaijan.

As always, the “Azerbaijan 3D” designs are available on a limited number of selected hi quality products via my “World Heraldry” galleries at Zazzle. You may simply follow the direct links in the article to navigate to the corresponding galleries. I will also make my designs available free of charge for non-commercial use to any government and military officials of the corresponding countries, as well as for non-commercial and personal use, such as school projects, presentations, forum avatars to businesses and individuals.

The above information provided in part by Wikipedia, The Heraldry Society, Global Security, and official websites of the above-mentioned countries.