1. Introducing the Caucasus; Part I: Place, peoples and culture; 2. Caucasus paradigms revisited; 3. Peoples, languages and lore; 4. The early Christian Caucasus; 5. The Muslim Caucasus: the role of 'adats and shari¿ah; Part II: Political history; 6. The 'long millennium': the Caucasus from the medieval to the early modern periods; 7. The Caucasus in the Russian Empire; 8. Between the Russian Empire and the USSR: the independence of Transcaucasia as a socio-political transformation; 9. The Soviet Caucasus, 1920-91: resistance and accommodation; Part III: The contemporary Caucasus: politics, economics and societies; 10. Azerbaijan: politics, society and economy since independence; 11. The new Georgia: politics, economy and society; 12. Armenia: from revolution to revolution; 13. The north-eastern Caucasus: Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia; 14. The north-western Caucasus: Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachaevo-Cherkessia and Adygea; Part IV: Conflict and political violence; 15. Ethno-territorial and secessionist conflicts: causes and trajectories; 16. Unrecognised statehood? The de facto states of the South Caucasus; 17. Jihadist violence in the North Caucasus: political, social and economic factors; 18. Transnational Salafi and jihadist networks: from an independent insurgency to a leaderless network; Part V: The Caucasus in the wider world; 19. Russia in the Caucasus; 20. The South Caucasus and the West: from hegemony to contestation; 21. Turkey and the Caucasus: mutual interests and influences in the post-Soviet era; 22. The Caucasus and Iran; 23. The Caucasus and the Caspian Sea: legality, energy politics and regional security; Part VI: Societal and cultural dynamics; 24. Demography of the Caucasus; 25. Gender and society in the Caucasus; 26. Civil society in the Caucasus: voluntary youth organisations; 27. New media and digital activism: comparing Armenia and Chechnya