Azerbaijan on Saturday is celebrating Republic Day, the 104th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Republic. Mammad Amin Rasulzade was then chosen a leader of the newly formed republic. With the pact, the empire recognized the independence of Azerbaijan, which could in return request its military help in case of any threat. Near the end of World War I, on Sept. 15, 1918, an elite Ottoman force under the leadership of Nuri Pasha (Killigil) called the Caucasus Islamic Army was sent to Azerbaijan in response to Azerbaijan's plea, along with the Azerbaijani National Army and volunteer forces, and liberated Baku from Armenian and Bolshevik occupation, paying the price in 1,132 people killed. Baku's liberation paved the way for the transfer of the capital from Ganja to Baku and ensuring Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, and set the basis for its contemporary boundaries. Azerbaijan first declared independence from the Russian Tsar regime but was toppled after almost two years in 1920 by the Soviet Union. As the heir to the Azerbaijani Democratic Republic, on Oct. 18, 1991, Azerbaijan reestablished its status as an independent state.
