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Caspiane

historic region in West Asia

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 10, 2026
Entity authorityQ3661891
Source-derived summary

Caspiane or Kaspiane (Greek: Κασπιανή, Armenian: Կասպք Kaspkʿ) was the land populated by the tribe of Caspians, after whom it received its name. Originally a province of the Median kingdom in the 3rd–2nd centuries BC, the land of the Caspians was conquered in the 2nd century BC, then passed to Caucasian Albania under the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire in the 5th century, and later became an independent state. In the 2nd century AD, it became known as Paytakaran, and after 387 AD became a part of the Caucasian Albanian larger region of Balasakan.

It roughly corresponded to the modern Mughan plain and Qaradagh regions.

Return to Zion

Some biblical scholars had suggested that Kasiphia from the Book of Ezra is Caspiane, due to phonetic resemblance. Ezra, who saw there were not many Levites for recreating the Hebrew worship, asked Iddo, who led the Israelites (it is not specified whether they were from the Northern Kingdom of Israel or the Kingdom of Judah) and Canaanite servants who were exiled alongside them, for reinforcement. Iddo sent him 38 Levites and 220 Canaanite Servants (who were descendants of those King David enslaved) to join the Jews who were returning to Zion.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Caspiane” is historic region in West Asia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Caspiane, historic and region, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 199-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Caspiane, historic and region is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “historic region in West Asia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3661891. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Caspiane”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Caspiane primary sources, Caspiane archive and Caspiane research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Caspiane”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Caspiane” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.