The Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic (TDFR) was a short- lived state in the Caucasus that included most of the territory of present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and parts of Russia and Turkey. The region was part of the Russian Empire, but as this dissolved in 1917 with the February and October Revolutions the Transcaucasian Commissariat took over in Transcaucasia. In March 1918, as the First World War continued, the Commissariat initiated unsuccessful peace talks with the Ottoman Empire, which had invaded the region. Russia withdrew from the war later that month, conceding parts of the Transcaucasus to the Ottomans. Faced with an Ottoman offensive, on 22 April 1918 the Commissariat dissolved itself and established the TDFR. The Ottoman Empire immediately recognized the TDFR, which directed its legislature, the Seim, to hold peace talks. These broke down and, fearing fresh Ottoman attacks, Georgian delegates in the Seim declared independence on 26 May. Armenia and Azerbaijan each declared themselves independent on 28 May, ending the federation.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcaucasian_Democratic_Federative_Republic
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1841:
Scottish surgeon James Braid observed a demonstration of animal magnetism, which inspired him to study the subject he eventually called hypnotism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Braid_%28surgeon%29
1927:
The Holland Tunnel, connecting Manhattan with Jersey City under the Hudson River, opened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Tunnel
1966:
The Israeli military conducted a large cross-border assault on the Jordanian-controlled West Bank village of Samu in response to a Fatah land mine incident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samu_incident
2015:
Coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris perpetrated by the Islamic State killed 130 people and injured 413 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_2015_Paris_attacks
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
insatiate: (archaic or literary) That is not satiated; insatiable. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/insatiate
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Every good poet includes a critic; the reverse will not hold. --William Shenstone https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Shenstone