The first settlements in the territory of modern Bashkortostan were set up in the early Paleolithic period; however, it was the Bronze Age which served as a spur to populate this territory. When people of Abashevo culture started settling here, they possessed high skills in manufacturing bronze tools, weapons, and decorations. They were the first to establish permanent settlements in the Southern Urals.
Bashkortostan is a territory in the Southern Urals and in Cis-Urals, named after its native people - Bashkirs (bashkort). The Russian (Slavonic) name of the country — Bashkiriya — formed at the end of the XVI century. Originally it was used in the form «Bashkir’», «Bashkirda», «Bashkir horde». The first written references to Bashkir tribes were in compositions of Herodotus (fifth century B.C.). The ethnonym Bashkirs first became known in the 9th century. Valuable information is contained in works by Sallam Tardzheman (IX cent.) and Ibn-Fadlan (X cent.); Al-Balkhi (X cent.) wrote about Bashkirs as a people, divided into two groups, one of which inhabited the Southern Urals, the other near the Danube river , close to the boundaries of Byzantium. His contemporary Ibn-Ruste wrote that Bashkirs were «an independent people, occupying territories on both sides of the Ural mountain ridge between Volga, Kama, Tobol and upstream of Yaik river».
After the early-feudal Mongolian state had broken down, the territory of modern Bashkortostan was divided between Kazan, Siberia Khanates and Nogai Horde. The tribes that lived there were headed by bi (tribal heads). After Kazan fell to Ivan the Terrible in 1554–1555, representatives of western and northwestern Bashkir tribes approached the Tsar with a request to voluntarily join the Muscovy.
Starting from the second half of the 16th century, Bashkiria's territory began taking shape as a part of the Russian state. In 1798 the Spiritual Assembly of Russian Muslims was established— an indication that the tsarist Government recognized the rights of Bashkirs, Tatars, and other Muslim nations to profess Islam and perform religious rituals. Ufa Governorate (guberniya), with a center in Ufa, was formed in 1865— another step towards territorial identification.
After the Russian revolution, Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) was established, firstly as Little Bashkortostan, but eventually all of Ufa Governorate was incorporated into the newly established republic. During the Soviet period, Bashkiria was granted broad autonomous rights— the first among other Russian regions. The administrative structure of the Bashkir ASSR was based on principles similar to those of other autonomous republics of Russia.
The extraction of crude oil in Bashkiria began in 1932. At the end of 1943, large crude oil deposits were discovered. During World War II, Bashkiria became one of the major regions of the Soviet Union to accommodate plants and factories evacuated from Western Russia, as well as great masses of people, as well as providing the country with weaponry, fuel, and foodstuffs. After the war, a good number of industries were further developed in Bashkiria such as mining, machine building and, especially, oil-refining. Bashkiria's industry became a solid base for the further economic growth of all European outlying territories of Russia.
On October 11, 1990 the Supreme Soviet of the Republic adopted the Declaration on state sovereignty of the Bashkir ASSR. On February 25, 1992 the Bashkir ASSR was renamed the Republic of Bashkortostan.
On March 31, 1992 a Federative Compact "On separation of authorities and powers among federal organs of power of the Russian Federation and the organs of power of the Republic of Bashkortostan" was signed. On August 3, 1994 a Compact "On separation of authorities and mutual delegating of powers among the organs of power of the Russian Federation and the organs of power of the Republic of Bashkortostan" was signed.