Nakhchivan has a long history dating back to the Neolithic period. Armenia had the area for a thousand years. Nakhchivan became part of the Safavid dynasty of Persia in the sixteenth century. After the last Russo-Persian War, the Nakhchivan khanate became part of the Russian Empire in 1828. The region has had much bloodshed between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. They both claim the region.