Iranian theory regarding the origin of the Azerbaijanis
Encyclopedia
The Azerbaijani
are of mixed ethnic origin, the oldest element deriving from the indigenous population of eastern Transcaucasia and possibly from the Medians of northern Persia. This population was Persianized during the period of the Sassanian dynasty of Iran (3rd–7th century ce). Turkicization of the population can be dated from the region’s conquest by the Seljuq Turks in the 11th century and the continued influx of Turkic
populations in subsequent centuries, including those groups that migrated during the Mongol conquests in the 13th century. (The greater portion of the tribes that formed the Mongol forces or were stimulated by the Mongol conquest to migrate were Turkic.)
origin of the Azeris defines a link between Azeris and their pre-Turkification Caucasian past and mostly applies to the Azeri's of the Caucasus, most of whom are now inhabitants of what is now the Republic of Azerbaijan. There is evidence that, despite repeated invasions and migrations, aboriginal Caucasian
s may have been culturally assimilated, first by Iranians
, such as the Alans
, and later by the Oghuz Turks
. Considerable information has been learned about the Caucasian Albanians including their language, history, early conversion to Christianity
, and close ties to the Armenians
. Many academics believe that the Udi language
, still spoken in Azerbaijan, is a remnant of the Albanians' language.
This Caucasian influence extended further south into Iranian Azarbaijan. During the 1st millennium BCE, another Caucasian people, the Mannaeans
(Mannai) populated much of this area. This ancient country was in northwestern Iran, south of Lake Urmia
. During the period of its existence in the early 1st millennium bc, Mannai was surrounded by three major powers: Assyria, Urartu, and Media. With the intrusion of the Scythians and the rise of the Medes in the 7th century, the Manneans lost their identity and were subsumed under the term Medes.
has revealed common genetic markers that support an autochthonous background for most Azeri Turks. There is evidence of limited genetic admixture derived from Central Asians (specifically Haplogroup H12
), notably the Turkmen
, that is higher than that of their neighbors, the Georgians
and Armenians
. MtDNA analysis indicates that the main relationship with Iranians is through a larger West Eurasian group that is secondary to that of the Caucasus, according to a study that did not include Azeri Turks, but Georgians who have clustered with Azeri Turks in other studies. The conclusion from the testing shows that the Azeri Turks of the republic are a mixed population with relationships, in order of greatest similarity, with the Caucasus, Iranians and Near Easterners, Europeans, and Turkmen. Other genetic analysis of mtDNA and Y-chromosomes indicates that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between Europeans and Near Easterners, but that they are more closely related to Near Easterners overall.
Another study, conducted in 2003 by the Russian Journal of Genetics, compared Iranian-language speakers of the Republic of Azerbaijan (the Talysh
and Tats
) with Turkic Azerbaijanis (Azeri Turks) and found that the genetic structure of that populations, compared with the other Iranian-speaking populations (Persians from Iran, Ossetins, and Tajiks), were closer to Turkic Azerbaijanis than to Iranian-speaking populations elsewhere.
In 2006 M. Regueiro and A.M. Cadenas of Stanford University
show that the population of central Iran (Isfahan) group to Caucasian Azeri people more than population of Turkey in terms of haplogroup distributions and genetic homogeneity.
Genetic testing has also revealed Azeri population of Iran group more with other Iranian peoples especially with central Iranian people of Isfahan and Azeri population from the Republic of Azerbaijan group more with Caucasian people and people of central Iran .
, Encyclopaedia of Islam
, Encyclopædia Iranica
, Encyclopædia Britannica
, Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse
, and World Book Encyclopedia
.
Professor. Ighrar Aliyev also mentions that the Arab historians Baladhuri, Masudi, Ibn Hawqal and Yaqut have mentioned this language by name. Medieval historians and scholars also record that the language of the region of Azerbaijan, as well as its people there, as Iranians who spoke Iranian languages. Among these writes are Al-Istakhri, Al-Masudi, Ibn al-Nadim, Hamzeh Esfahani, Ibn Hawqal, Al-Baladhuri, Moqaddasi, Yaghubi, Hamdallah Mostowfi, and Al-Khwarizmi.
Ebn al-Moqaffa’ (d. 142/759) is quoted by ibn Al-Nadim in his famous Al-Fihrist as stating that Azerbaijan, Nahavand, Rayy, Hamadan and Esfahan speak Pahlavi (Fahlavi) and collectively constitute the region of Fahlah.
A very similar statement is given by the medieval historian Hamzeh Isfahani when talking about Sassanid Iran. Hamzeh Isfahani writes in the book Al-Tanbih ‘ala Hoduth alTashif that five "tongues" or dialects, were common in Sassanian Iran: Pahlavi (Fahlavi), Dari
, Parsi
(Farsi), Khuzi and Soryani. Hamzeh (893-961 A.D.) explains these dialects in the following way:
Ibn Hawqal states:
It should be noted that Ibn Hawqal mentions that some areas of Armenia are controlled by Muslims and others by Christians.
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Al-Masudi
(896-956), the Arab
historian states:
Al-Moqaddasi (d. late 4th/10th cent.) considers Azerbaijan as part of the 8th division of lands. He states: "The languages of the 8th division is Iranian (al-‘ajamyya). It is partly partly Dari and partly convoluted (monqaleq) and all of them are named Persian".
Al-Moqaddasi also writes on the general region of Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and states:
Ahmad ibn Yaqubi mentions that the "People of Azerbaijan are a mixture of ‘Ajam-i Azari (Ajam is a term that developed to mean Iranian) of Azaris and old Javedanis (followers of Javidan the son of Shahrak who was the leader of Khurramites and successed by Babak Khorramdin)."
Zakarrya b. Moháammad Qazvini's report in Athar al-Bilad, composed in 674/1275, that "no town has escaped being taken over by the Turks except Tabriz" (Beirut ed., 1960, p. 339) one may infer that at least Tabriz had remained aloof from the influence of Turkish until the time.
From the time of the Mongol invasion, most of whose armies were composed of Turkic tribes, the influence of Turkish increased in the region. On ther hand, the old Iranian dialects remained prevalent in major cities. Hamdallah Mostawafi writing in the 1340s calls the language of Maraqa as "modified Pahlavi"(Pahlavi-ye Mughayyar). Mostowafi calls the language of Zanjan (Pahlavi-ye Raast). The language of Gushtaspi covering the Caspian border region between Gilan to Shirvan is called a Pahlavi language close to the language of Gilan.
Even after the Turkic invasions and subsequent Turkification of the area, which lasted several centuries, travelers and scholars cited Persian being used up to the 17th century in Tabriz
. Even the Ottoman
Turkish
explorer Evliya Çelebi
(1611–1682) mentions this in his Seyahatname. He also reports that the elite and learned people of Nakhichevan and Maragheh spoke Pahlavi, during his tours of the region. Additionally, the old Pahlavi-based language of Azerbaijan is now extinct.
Also, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published in 1890, writes that Azeri's are only linguistically Turkic and Iranians by race:
The book Man, published in 1901, comes to the same conclusion:
Moreover, according to Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse
:
According to Professor Vladimir Minorsky:
According to Professor Xavier De Planhol
:
and
Prof. Gernot Windfuhr states:
According to Professor. Tadeusz Swietochowski
:
The Encyclopædia Britannica
states:
have Persian roots. Tabriz
, Baku
, Absheron
, Ganja
, and the country (as well as people) name itself Azerbaijan
, are just a few examples. Also, many of the cities in these regions were founded before Turkic tribes reached the area. The first mention of Baku was in 885, before the Turkic invasions of the 10th and 11th centuries.
Archaeological evidence discovered in these regions show a large Zoroastrian
, a monotheistic Iranian religion, influence along with an Iranian presence of more than 3000 years, starting with the settlement of the Medes in the area, both of which shaped the Iranian identity of the region that lasted until the Turkic invasions. However, no evidence has been discovered that the Huns ever created permanent settlements in the area, as some Turkish historians claim.
Scholars see cultural similarities between modern Persians and Azeris as evidence of an ancient Iranian influence. Azeri's celebrate a number of Iranian holidays, most notably Norouz
. Researchers also describe the lives of Azeri villagers and Persian villagers to be very similar in terms of tradition and culture. The literature of the region was also written in Persian, with writers such as Qatran Tabrizi
, Shams Tabrizi
, Nezami
, and Khaghani, writing in Persian prior to and during the Oghuz invasions.
Also, remnants of former Iranian tribes that survived Turkification also provides evidence of the Iranian character of Azeri's. The Talyshs
and Tats
are both an Iranian people who speak Iranian languages, with Tats speaking a dialect of Persian.
and non Indo-European speakers, in Iran. The study found that the Azeris of Iran do not have a similar FSt and other genetic markers found in Anatolian and European Turks. However, the genetic Fst and other genetic traits like MRca and mtDNA of Iranian Azeris were identical to Persians in Iran. Some new genetic studies suggest that recent erosion of human population structure might not be as important as previously thought, and overall genetic structure of human populations may not change with the immigration events and thus in the Azerbaijanis' case; the Azeris of the Azerbaijan Republic most of all genetically resemble to other Caucasian people like Armenians, and people the Azarbaijan region of Iran to other Iranians.
states:
historian, declared that the Oghuz Turks had come to Transoxiana
in the period of the caliph
Al-Mahdi
in the years between 775 and 785. In the period of the Abbasid
caliph Al-Ma'mun
(813 – 833), the name Oghuz starts to appear in the works of Islamic writers. By 780, the eastern parts of the Syr Darya
were ruled by the Karluk Turks and the western region (Oghuz steppe) was ruled by the Oghuz Turks.
Oghuz dominance in Southwestern Asia begins in the 11th century, with the Seljuk Empire. The Southwestern Turkic dialects gradually supplanted the Tat
, Azari
, and Middle Persian
dialects in northern Iran, and a variety of Caucasian languages in the Caucasus, particularly Udi
, and had become the dominant during the High to Late Medieval period, under the rule of the White Sheep Turkomans and Black Sheep Turkomans (14th to 15th century), the process of Turkification
being mostly complete by the Safavid
period (16th century).
Azerbaijani people
The Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
are of mixed ethnic origin, the oldest element deriving from the indigenous population of eastern Transcaucasia and possibly from the Medians of northern Persia. This population was Persianized during the period of the Sassanian dynasty of Iran (3rd–7th century ce). Turkicization of the population can be dated from the region’s conquest by the Seljuq Turks in the 11th century and the continued influx of Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
populations in subsequent centuries, including those groups that migrated during the Mongol conquests in the 13th century. (The greater portion of the tribes that formed the Mongol forces or were stimulated by the Mongol conquest to migrate were Turkic.)
Caucasian substrate
The CaucasianCaucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
origin of the Azeris defines a link between Azeris and their pre-Turkification Caucasian past and mostly applies to the Azeri's of the Caucasus, most of whom are now inhabitants of what is now the Republic of Azerbaijan. There is evidence that, despite repeated invasions and migrations, aboriginal Caucasian
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
s may have been culturally assimilated, first by Iranians
Ancient Iranian peoples
Iranian peoples first appear in Assyrian records in the 9th century BCE. In Classical Antiquity they were found primarily in Scythia and Persia...
, such as the Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
, and later by the Oghuz Turks
Oghuz Turks
The Turkomen also known as Oghuz Turks were a historical Turkic tribal confederation in Central Asia during the early medieval Turkic expansion....
. Considerable information has been learned about the Caucasian Albanians including their language, history, early conversion to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and close ties to the Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
. Many academics believe that the Udi language
Udi language
The Udi language, spoken by the Udi people, is a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It is believed an earlier form of it was the main language of Caucasian Albania, which stretched from south Dagestan to current day Azerbaijan.The language is spoken by about...
, still spoken in Azerbaijan, is a remnant of the Albanians' language.
This Caucasian influence extended further south into Iranian Azarbaijan. During the 1st millennium BCE, another Caucasian people, the Mannaeans
Mannaeans
The Mannaeans were an ancient people who lived in the territory of present-day Iran and Azerbaijan, around the 10th to 7th centuries BC...
(Mannai) populated much of this area. This ancient country was in northwestern Iran, south of Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
. During the period of its existence in the early 1st millennium bc, Mannai was surrounded by three major powers: Assyria, Urartu, and Media. With the intrusion of the Scythians and the rise of the Medes in the 7th century, the Manneans lost their identity and were subsumed under the term Medes.
Genetic testing
Although genetic testing proves the Turkification of the region rather than the Azeri Turks being descendants of migrants from Central Asia, it also shows that the region is a mixed one. Though the population of Azerbaijan is culturally diverse, genetic testingGenetic testing
Genetic testing is among the newest and most sophisticated of techniques used to test for genetic disorders which involves direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. Other genetic tests include biochemical tests for such gene products as enzymes and other proteins and for microscopic...
has revealed common genetic markers that support an autochthonous background for most Azeri Turks. There is evidence of limited genetic admixture derived from Central Asians (specifically Haplogroup H12
Haplogroup H (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup H is a Y-chromosome haplogroup.This haplogroup is found at a high frequency in South Asia. It is generally rare outside of the South Asia but is common among the Romani people, particularly the H-M82 subgroup.-Origins:...
), notably the Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
, that is higher than that of their neighbors, the Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
and Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
. MtDNA analysis indicates that the main relationship with Iranians is through a larger West Eurasian group that is secondary to that of the Caucasus, according to a study that did not include Azeri Turks, but Georgians who have clustered with Azeri Turks in other studies. The conclusion from the testing shows that the Azeri Turks of the republic are a mixed population with relationships, in order of greatest similarity, with the Caucasus, Iranians and Near Easterners, Europeans, and Turkmen. Other genetic analysis of mtDNA and Y-chromosomes indicates that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between Europeans and Near Easterners, but that they are more closely related to Near Easterners overall.
Another study, conducted in 2003 by the Russian Journal of Genetics, compared Iranian-language speakers of the Republic of Azerbaijan (the Talysh
Talysh people
Talysh are an Iranian people indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language, one of the Northwestern Iranian languages...
and Tats
Tats
Tats are an Iranian people, presently living within Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia ....
) with Turkic Azerbaijanis (Azeri Turks) and found that the genetic structure of that populations, compared with the other Iranian-speaking populations (Persians from Iran, Ossetins, and Tajiks), were closer to Turkic Azerbaijanis than to Iranian-speaking populations elsewhere.
In 2006 M. Regueiro and A.M. Cadenas of Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
show that the population of central Iran (Isfahan) group to Caucasian Azeri people more than population of Turkey in terms of haplogroup distributions and genetic homogeneity.
Genetic testing has also revealed Azeri population of Iran group more with other Iranian peoples especially with central Iranian people of Isfahan and Azeri population from the Republic of Azerbaijan group more with Caucasian people and people of central Iran .
Iranian substrate
The Iranian origin of the Azeris defines a link between present-day Azeris and their pre-Turkification Iranian past and mostly applies to Iranian Azeris. It is supported by historical accounts, by the existence of the Old Azari language, present day place names, cultural similarities between Iranian peoples and Azeris, and archaeological and ethnical evidence. It is also favored by notable scholars and sources, such as Vladimir Minorsky, Richard Frye, Xavier De PlanholXavier De Planhol
Xavier de Planhol is an Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and a universally acknowledged authority on political geography...
, Encyclopaedia of Islam
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The Encyclopaedia of Islam is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies. It embraces articles on distinguished Muslims of every age and land, on tribes and dynasties, on the crafts and sciences, on political and religious institutions, on the geography, ethnography, flora and...
, Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica
Encyclopædia Iranica is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times...
, Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
, Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse
Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse
Following the work of Pierre Larousse on the Grand dictionnaire Universel, this ten-volume dictionary was published between 1982 and 1985 by éditions Larousse. It is an encyclopedia and a dictionary merged in a single alphabetical listing...
, and World Book Encyclopedia
World Book Encyclopedia
The World Book Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia published in the United States. It is self-described as "the number-one selling print encyclopedia in the world." The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, and...
.
Historical accounts and the ancient Azari language
According to Vladimir Minorsky, around the 9th-10th century:Professor. Ighrar Aliyev also mentions that the Arab historians Baladhuri, Masudi, Ibn Hawqal and Yaqut have mentioned this language by name. Medieval historians and scholars also record that the language of the region of Azerbaijan, as well as its people there, as Iranians who spoke Iranian languages. Among these writes are Al-Istakhri, Al-Masudi, Ibn al-Nadim, Hamzeh Esfahani, Ibn Hawqal, Al-Baladhuri, Moqaddasi, Yaghubi, Hamdallah Mostowfi, and Al-Khwarizmi.
Ebn al-Moqaffa’ (d. 142/759) is quoted by ibn Al-Nadim in his famous Al-Fihrist as stating that Azerbaijan, Nahavand, Rayy, Hamadan and Esfahan speak Pahlavi (Fahlavi) and collectively constitute the region of Fahlah.
A very similar statement is given by the medieval historian Hamzeh Isfahani when talking about Sassanid Iran. Hamzeh Isfahani writes in the book Al-Tanbih ‘ala Hoduth alTashif that five "tongues" or dialects, were common in Sassanian Iran: Pahlavi (Fahlavi), Dari
Dari (Zoroastrian)
Dari is a Northwestern Iranian ethnolect spoken as a first language by an estimated 8,000 to 15,000 Zoroastrians in and around the cities of Yazd and Kerman in central Iran...
, Parsi
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
(Farsi), Khuzi and Soryani. Hamzeh (893-961 A.D.) explains these dialects in the following way:
Ibn Hawqal states:
It should be noted that Ibn Hawqal mentions that some areas of Armenia are controlled by Muslims and others by Christians.
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Al-Masudi
Al-Masudi
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali al-Mas'udi , was an Arab historian and geographer, known as the "Herodotus of the Arabs." Al-Masudi was one of the first to combine history and scientific geography in a large-scale work, Muruj adh-dhahab...
(896-956), the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
historian states:
Al-Moqaddasi (d. late 4th/10th cent.) considers Azerbaijan as part of the 8th division of lands. He states: "The languages of the 8th division is Iranian (al-‘ajamyya). It is partly partly Dari and partly convoluted (monqaleq) and all of them are named Persian".
Al-Moqaddasi also writes on the general region of Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and states:
Ahmad ibn Yaqubi mentions that the "People of Azerbaijan are a mixture of ‘Ajam-i Azari (Ajam is a term that developed to mean Iranian) of Azaris and old Javedanis (followers of Javidan the son of Shahrak who was the leader of Khurramites and successed by Babak Khorramdin)."
Zakarrya b. Moháammad Qazvini's report in Athar al-Bilad, composed in 674/1275, that "no town has escaped being taken over by the Turks except Tabriz" (Beirut ed., 1960, p. 339) one may infer that at least Tabriz had remained aloof from the influence of Turkish until the time.
From the time of the Mongol invasion, most of whose armies were composed of Turkic tribes, the influence of Turkish increased in the region. On ther hand, the old Iranian dialects remained prevalent in major cities. Hamdallah Mostawafi writing in the 1340s calls the language of Maraqa as "modified Pahlavi"(Pahlavi-ye Mughayyar). Mostowafi calls the language of Zanjan (Pahlavi-ye Raast). The language of Gushtaspi covering the Caspian border region between Gilan to Shirvan is called a Pahlavi language close to the language of Gilan.
Even after the Turkic invasions and subsequent Turkification of the area, which lasted several centuries, travelers and scholars cited Persian being used up to the 17th century in Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
. Even the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Turkish
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
explorer Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
(1611–1682) mentions this in his Seyahatname. He also reports that the elite and learned people of Nakhichevan and Maragheh spoke Pahlavi, during his tours of the region. Additionally, the old Pahlavi-based language of Azerbaijan is now extinct.
Also, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published in 1890, writes that Azeri's are only linguistically Turkic and Iranians by race:
The book Man, published in 1901, comes to the same conclusion:
Modern Opinions
Professor Richard Frye also states:Moreover, according to Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse
Grand Dictionnaire Encyclopedique Larousse
Following the work of Pierre Larousse on the Grand dictionnaire Universel, this ten-volume dictionary was published between 1982 and 1985 by éditions Larousse. It is an encyclopedia and a dictionary merged in a single alphabetical listing...
:
According to Professor Vladimir Minorsky:
According to Professor Xavier De Planhol
Xavier De Planhol
Xavier de Planhol is an Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of Paris-Sorbonne and a universally acknowledged authority on political geography...
:
and
Prof. Gernot Windfuhr states:
According to Professor. Tadeusz Swietochowski
Tadeusz Swietochowski
Tadeusz Swietochowski is a Polish-American historian and Caucasologist. He is a Professor of the History Dept. at Monmouth University, Honorary Doctor of Khazar University and Baku State University and Honorary Member of Central Eurasian Studies Society. His fields include the modern history of...
:
The Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
states:
Place names, culture, and archaeological evidence
Many place names in the present day Republic of Azerbaijan and Iranian AzarbaijanAzerbaijan (Iran)
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan , also Iranian Azerbaijan, Persian Azarbaijan is a region in northwestern Iran. It is also historically known as Atropatene and Aturpatakan....
have Persian roots. Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...
, Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
, Absheron
Abseron
Absheron Rayon , also spelled as Apsheron, is a rayon of Azerbaijan demarkated in 1963. Although it shares the same name as the Absheron Peninsula, the area covered by the rayon is not conterminous, being further west and mostly inland....
, Ganja
Ganja, Azerbaijan
Ganja is Azerbaijan's second-largest city with a population of around 313,300. It was named Yelizavetpol in the Russian Empire period. The city regained its original name—Ganja—from 1920–1935 during the first part of its incorporation into the Soviet Union. However, its name was changed again and...
, and the country (as well as people) name itself Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, are just a few examples. Also, many of the cities in these regions were founded before Turkic tribes reached the area. The first mention of Baku was in 885, before the Turkic invasions of the 10th and 11th centuries.
Archaeological evidence discovered in these regions show a large Zoroastrian
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, a monotheistic Iranian religion, influence along with an Iranian presence of more than 3000 years, starting with the settlement of the Medes in the area, both of which shaped the Iranian identity of the region that lasted until the Turkic invasions. However, no evidence has been discovered that the Huns ever created permanent settlements in the area, as some Turkish historians claim.
Scholars see cultural similarities between modern Persians and Azeris as evidence of an ancient Iranian influence. Azeri's celebrate a number of Iranian holidays, most notably Norouz
Norouz
Nowrūz is the name of the Iranian New Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nowruz is also widely referred to as the Persian New Year....
. Researchers also describe the lives of Azeri villagers and Persian villagers to be very similar in terms of tradition and culture. The literature of the region was also written in Persian, with writers such as Qatran Tabrizi
Qatran Tabrizi
Abū-Mansūr Qatrān-i Tabrīzī was a royal Persian poet.He was born in Sahar near Arrah, bihar Tabriz and was the most famous panegyrist of his time in Iran. His full name according to an old manuscript handwritten by the famous poet Anvari Abivardi is Abu Mansur Qatran al-Jili al-Azerbaijani...
, Shams Tabrizi
Shams Tabrizi
Shams-i-Tabrīzī or Shams al-Din Mohammad was a Persian Muslim, who is credited as the spiritual instructor of Mewlānā Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi and is referenced with great reverence in Rumi’s poetic collection, in particular Diwan-i Shams-i Tabrīzī...
, Nezami
Nezami
Nizami Ganjavi , Nizami Ganje'i, Nizami, or Nezāmi , whose formal name was Niẓām ad-Dīn Abū Muḥammad Ilyās ibn-Yūsuf ibn-Zakkī ,was a 12th-century Persian poet. Nezāmi...
, and Khaghani, writing in Persian prior to and during the Oghuz invasions.
Also, remnants of former Iranian tribes that survived Turkification also provides evidence of the Iranian character of Azeri's. The Talyshs
Talysh people
Talysh are an Iranian people indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language, one of the Northwestern Iranian languages...
and Tats
Tats
Tats are an Iranian people, presently living within Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia ....
are both an Iranian people who speak Iranian languages, with Tats speaking a dialect of Persian.
Genetics and physical appearance
A recent study of the genetic landscape of Iran was completed by a team of Cambridge geneticists led by Dr. Maziar Ashrafian Bonab (an Iranian Azarbaijani). Bonab remarked that his group had done extensive DNA testing on different language groups, including Indo-EuropeanIndo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
and non Indo-European speakers, in Iran. The study found that the Azeris of Iran do not have a similar FSt and other genetic markers found in Anatolian and European Turks. However, the genetic Fst and other genetic traits like MRca and mtDNA of Iranian Azeris were identical to Persians in Iran. Some new genetic studies suggest that recent erosion of human population structure might not be as important as previously thought, and overall genetic structure of human populations may not change with the immigration events and thus in the Azerbaijanis' case; the Azeris of the Azerbaijan Republic most of all genetically resemble to other Caucasian people like Armenians, and people the Azarbaijan region of Iran to other Iranians.
Opposition
The Azeris in Iran and the Azeris in the Republic of Azerbaijan are not exactly the same people ethnically, although have linguistic,historic and religious bonds. This is supported by genetic testing that has shown Azeris in the republic of being mainly of Caucasian descent, while Azeris in Iran being of Iranic descent. Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
states:
- Although Genetic testing proves the Turkification of the region rather than Azeris being of Turkic stock, it also shows that the region is a mixed one. Though the population of Azerbaijan is culturally diverse, genetic testingGenetic testingGenetic testing is among the newest and most sophisticated of techniques used to test for genetic disorders which involves direct examination of the DNA molecule itself. Other genetic tests include biochemical tests for such gene products as enzymes and other proteins and for microscopic...
has revealed common genetic markers that support an autochthonous background for most Azeris. A 2002 study found that: "Y-chromosome haplogroups indicate that Indo-European-speaking Armenians and Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanians from the republic are genetically more closely related to their geographic neighbors in the Caucasus than to their linguistic neighbors elsewhere." The authors of this study suggest that this indicates a language replacement of indigenous Caucasian peoples. There is evidence of limited genetic admixture derived from Central Asians (specifically Haplogroup H12Haplogroup H (Y-DNA)In human genetics, Haplogroup H is a Y-chromosome haplogroup.This haplogroup is found at a high frequency in South Asia. It is generally rare outside of the South Asia but is common among the Romani people, particularly the H-M82 subgroup.-Origins:...
), notably the TurkmenTurkmen peopleThe Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
, that is higher than that of their neighbors, the GeorgiansGeorgiansThe Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
and ArmeniansArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
. MtDNA analysis indicates that the main relationship with Iranians is through a larger West Eurasian group that is secondary to that of the Caucasus, according to a study that did not include Azeris, but Georgians who have clustered with Azeris in other studies. The conclusion from the testing shows that the Azeris are a mixed population with relationships, in order of greatest similarity, with the Caucasus, Iranians and Near Easterners, Europeans, and Turkmen. Other genetic analysis of mtDNA and Y-chromosomes indicates that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between Europeans and Near Easterners, but that they are more closely related to Near Easterners overall. Another study, conducted in 2003 by the Russian Journal of Genetics, compared Iranian-language speakers in Azerbaijan (the TalyshTalysh peopleTalysh are an Iranian people indigenous to a region shared between Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Talysh language, one of the Northwestern Iranian languages...
and TatsTatsTats are an Iranian people, presently living within Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia ....
) with Turkic-language Azerbaijanis and found that,
- Ancient historians, including HerodotusHerodotusHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, PolybiusPolybiusPolybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
and StraboStraboStrabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, mention the region as a mixed one, with Iranian and non-Iranian groups, such as the UtiiUdi languageThe Udi language, spoken by the Udi people, is a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It is believed an earlier form of it was the main language of Caucasian Albania, which stretched from south Dagestan to current day Azerbaijan.The language is spoken by about...
, a Caucasian group that still exists in Azerbaijan.
Oghuz arrival
Ibn al-Athir, an ArabArab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
historian, declared that the Oghuz Turks had come to Transoxiana
Transoxiana
Transoxiana is the ancient name used for the portion of Central Asia corresponding approximately with modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgystan and southwest Kazakhstan. Geographically, it is the region between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers...
in the period of the caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Al-Mahdi
Al-Mahdi
Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Mahdi , was the third Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 158 AH to 169 AH . He succeeded his father, al-Mansur....
in the years between 775 and 785. In the period of the Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
caliph Al-Ma'mun
Al-Ma'mun
Abū Jaʿfar Abdullāh al-Māʾmūn ibn Harūn was an Abbasid caliph who reigned from 813 until his death in 833...
(813 – 833), the name Oghuz starts to appear in the works of Islamic writers. By 780, the eastern parts of the Syr Darya
Syr Darya
The Syr Darya , also transliterated Syrdarya or Sirdaryo, is a river in Central Asia, sometimes known as the Jaxartes or Yaxartes from its Ancient Greek name . The Greek name is derived from Old Persian, Yakhsha Arta , a reference to the color of the river's water...
were ruled by the Karluk Turks and the western region (Oghuz steppe) was ruled by the Oghuz Turks.
Oghuz dominance in Southwestern Asia begins in the 11th century, with the Seljuk Empire. The Southwestern Turkic dialects gradually supplanted the Tat
Tat language
The Tat language or Tat/Tati Persian or Tati is a Southwestern Iranian language and a variety of Persian spoken by the Tats in Azerbaijan and Russia. According to the Ethnologue, it's spoken by 18,000 people in Azerbaijan, 8000 in Iran, and 2300 in Russia. Its written form is related to Middle...
, Azari
Ancient Azari language
Azari is the name used for the Iranian language composed of groups of dialects which were spoken in Azerbaijan at one time. Some linguists have also designated the southern Tati dialects of Azerbaijan like those spoken by the Tats around Khalkhal, Harzand and Keringan as a remnant of Azari...
, and Middle Persian
Middle Persian
Middle Persian , indigenously known as "Pârsig" sometimes referred to as Pahlavi or Pehlevi, is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times became a prestige dialect and so came to be spoken in other regions as well. Middle Persian is classified as a...
dialects in northern Iran, and a variety of Caucasian languages in the Caucasus, particularly Udi
Udi language
The Udi language, spoken by the Udi people, is a member of the Lezgic branch of the Northeast Caucasian language family. It is believed an earlier form of it was the main language of Caucasian Albania, which stretched from south Dagestan to current day Azerbaijan.The language is spoken by about...
, and had become the dominant during the High to Late Medieval period, under the rule of the White Sheep Turkomans and Black Sheep Turkomans (14th to 15th century), the process of Turkification
Turkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
being mostly complete by the Safavid
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning...
period (16th century).
See also
- History of AzerbaijanHistory of AzerbaijanAzerbaijan or Azarbaijan is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. It's bounded by Caspian Sea to the east, Russia's Daghestan region to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia and Turkey to the southwest, and Iran to the south...
- History of IranHistory of IranThe history of Iran has been intertwined with the history of a larger historical region, comprising the area from the Danube River in the west to the Indus River and Jaxartes in the east and from the Caucasus, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and Egypt...
- AzerbaijanAzerbaijanAzerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
- Azerbaijani peopleAzerbaijani peopleThe Azerbaijanis are a Turkic-speaking people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as in the neighbourhood states, Georgia, Russia and formerly Armenia. Commonly referred to as Azeris or Azerbaijani Turks , they also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to...
- TurkificationTurkificationTurkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...