Azerbaijanis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Azeris)
Jump to: navigation, search
"Azeri" redirects here. For other uses, see Azeri (disambiguation).
This article is about the Azerbaijani ethnic group. For an analysis of the population of the Republic of Azerbaijan, see Demographics of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijanis
Azərbaycanlılar, Azərilər
آذربایجانلیلار، آذریلر
Portrait of Nasimi.jpg
Qudsi.jpg
Fuzûlî.jpg
Mfakhundov.jpg
Mammad Amin Rasulzade.jpg
Nigar Shikhlinskaya.jpg
Colonel pesian.JPG
Hamida Javanshir.jpg
Khan Nakhichevanski.jpg
Natavan.jpg
Portrait photo of Nariman Narimanov taken in 1913.jpg
Mehmandarov.jpg
Üzeyir Hacıbəyov5.gif
S mammadova2.jpg
Leyla Mammadbeyova.JPG
Shikhlinski.jpg
Tofik Bahramov stamp.jpg
Shahriyar.jpg
Stamps of Azerbaijan, 2007-813.jpg
Heydar Aliyev 1997.jpg
Vagit Alekperov2011.jpg
Aziza BakuJazz2007.jpg
Mir Hussein Mousavi Iranian reformist1.jpg
Sami Yusuf 2011 cropped.jpg
Zadeh-barcelona-1997@92x115.gif
Rustam Ibragimbekov foto.jpg
Eurovision Song Contest 2012, semi-final allocation draw (2).jpg
Ali Khamenei,.jpg
Googoosh on Javanan e Emrooz.JPG
Stamps of Azerbaijan, 2012-1047.jpg
Total population
approx. 28–35 million[1][2]
Regions with significant populations
 Iran

15 million
(e.g. Encyclopædia Britannica.)[3]
12,9 to 18 million
(e.g. CIA factbook, Knüppel, etc.)[4][5]

18 to 27 million
(e.g. criticism R. Elling)[6][7]
 Azerbaijan 9,477,100[8]
 Iraq 657,000 to 3,000,000[9][10][11]
 Russia 603,070 to 1,500,000[12][13]
 Turkey 530,000 to 2,500,000[13][14]
 Georgia 284,761[15]
 Kazakhstan 85,292[16]
 Ukraine 45,176[17]
 Uzbekistan 44,400[18]
 Turkmenistan 33,365[19]
 Syria 30,000[20]
 United States 24,377 to 400,000[21][22][23]
 Netherlands 18,000[24]
 Kyrgyzstan 17,823[25]
 Germany 15,219[26]
 United Kingdom 6,220[27]
 Belarus 5,567[28]
 Canada 4,580[29]
 Latvia 1,657[30]
 Austria 1,000[31]
 Estonia 923[32]
 Lithuania 788[33]
 Norway 501[34]
 Australia 290[35]
Languages
Azerbaijani
Religion
Predominantly Shia Islam; minority Sunni Islam, Bahá'í faith,[36][37] Zoroastrianism[38] Irreligion, [39] Christianity[40][41]
Related ethnic groups
Turkic peoples (Oghuz Turks), Iranian peoples (specifically Persians and Tats), Caucasian peoples

The Azerbaijanis or Azeris[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] (/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːni/; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycanlılar, آذربایجانلیلار) are the Turkic-speaking ethnic group[52][53][54][55][56][57][58] living mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan and in Iran (especially in Iranian Azerbaijan), as well as in neighboring states. Commonly referred to as Azeris/Āzarīs (آذری - Azəri) or "Azeri Turks"[59][60] (AzərbaycanTürkləri) they live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau. The Azeris are predominantly Shi'a Muslim[3][61] and have a mixed cultural heritage including Iranian,[62] Turkic[63] and Caucasian elements but they identify themselves mostly with their Turkic heritage and language.

Following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1813 and 1828, the territories of the Qajar Empire in the Caucasus were ceded to the Russian Empire and the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders between Czarist Russia and Qajar Iran.[64][65] The formation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 established the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Despite living on two sides of an international border, the Azeris form a single ethnic group.[3] However, northerners and southerners differ due to nearly two centuries of separate social evolution of Iranian Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijanis in Russian/Soviet-influenced Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani language unifies Azeris, and is mutually intelligible with Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, Turkish, and the dialects spoken by the Iraqi Turkmen, all of which belong to the Oghuz, or Western, group of Turkic languages.[66]

History of Azerbaijan

Part of a series on
Azerbaijani people
Culture
By country or region
Religion
Language
Persecution
Main article: History of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is believed to be named after Atropates, a Persian[67][68][69][70] satrap (governor) who ruled in Atropatene (modern Iranian Azerbaijan).[71][72]:2 The name Atropates means "protected by fire". An alternative theory is that Azerbaijan is the combination of two Persian words, "Āzar" meaning "(holy) fire" and "pāygān" meaning "the place of".[73]

Ancient residents of the area spoke the Ancient Azari language, which belonged to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages.[74] In the 11th century A.D. with Seljukid conquests, Oghuz Turkic tribes started moving across the Iranian plateau into the Caucasus and Anatolia. The influx of the Oghuz and other Turkmen tribes was further accentuated by the Mongol invasion.[75] Here, the Oghuz tribes divided into various smaller groups, some of whom – mostly Sunni – moved to Anatolia (i.e., the Ottomans) and became settled, while others remained in the Caucasus region and later – due to the influence of the Safaviyya – eventually converted to the Shia branch of Islam. The latter were to keep the name "Turkmen" or "Turcoman" for a long time: from the 13th century onwards they gradually Turkified the Iranian-speaking populations of Azerbaijan, thus creating a new identity based on Shia and the use of Oghuz Turkic. Today, this Turkic-speaking population is known as Azerbaijani.[63]

Ancient period

Caucasian-speaking Albanian tribes are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of the region where the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan is located.[76] Early Iranian settlements included the Scythians in the ninth century BC.[77] Following the Scythians, the Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the Aras River.[73] Ancient Iranian people of Medes forged a vast empire between 900 and 700 BC, which the Achaemenids integrated into their own empire around 550 BC. During this period, Zoroastrianism spread in the Caucasus and in Atropatene.

Alexander the Great defeated the Achaemenids in 330 BC, but allowed the Median satrap Atropates to remain in power. Following the decline of the Seleucids in Persia in 247 BC, an Armenian Kingdom exercised control over parts of Caucasian Albania.[78] Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the first century BC and largely remained independent until the Persian Sassanids made their kingdom a vassal state in 252 AD.[79]:38 Caucasian Albania's ruler, King Urnayr, went to Armenia and then officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the fourth century AD, and Albania remained a Christian state until the 8th century.[80][81] Sassanid control ended with their defeat by Muslim Arabs in 642 AD.[82]

Medieval period

Shah Ismail I founder of the Safavid dynasty in Iran was likely of Azerbaijani origin.

Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and Byzantines as they marched into the Caucasus region. The Arabs made Caucasian Albania a vassal state after the Christian resistance, led by Prince Javanshir, surrendered in 667.[79]:71 Between the ninth and tenth centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the Kura and Aras rivers as Arran.[79]:20 During this time, Arabs from Basra and Kufa came to Azerbaijan and seized lands that indigenous peoples had abandoned; the Arabs became a land-owning elite.[83]:48 Conversion to Islam was slow as local resistance persisted for centuries and resentment grew as small groups of Arabs began migrating to cities such as Tabriz and Maraghah. This influx sparked a major rebellion in Iranian Azerbaijan from 816–837, led by a local Zoroastrian commoner named Bābak.[84] However, despite pockets of continued resistance, the majority of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan converted to Islam. Later, in the 10th and 11th centuries, parts of Azerbaijan were ruled by the Kurdish dynasties of Shaddadid and Rawadid.

In the middle of the eleventh century, the Seljuq dynasty overthrew Arab rule and established an empire that encompassed most of Southwest Asia. The Seljuk period marked the influx of Oghuz nomads into the region, who are considered to be the founding stock of modern Azeri people. The emerging Turkic identity was chronicled in epic poems or dastans, the oldest being the Book of Dede Korkut, which relate allegorical tales about the early Turks in the Caucasus and Asia Minor.[79]:45 Turkic dominion was interrupted by the Mongols in 1227, but it returned with the Timurids and then Sunni Qara Qoyunlū (Black Sheep Turkmen) and Aq Qoyunlū (White Sheep Turkmen), who dominated Azerbaijan, large parts of Iran, eastern Anatolia, and other minor parts of West Asia, until the Shi'a Safavids took power in 1501.[79]:113[83]:285

Early modern period

The Safavids, who rose from around Ardabil in Iranian Azerbaijan and lasted until 1722, established the foundations of the modern Iranian state.[85] The Safavids, alongside their Ottoman arch rivals, dominated the entire West Asian region and beyond for centuries. At its peak under Shah Abbas the Great, it surpassed its political and ideological arch rival the Ottoman empire in military strength. Noted for achievements in state building, architecture, and the sciences, the Safavid state crumbled due to internal decay (mostly royal intrigues), ethnic minority uprisings and external pressures from the Russians, and the eventually opportunistic Afghans, who would mark the end of the dynasty. The Safavids encouraged and spread Shi'a Islam, as well as the arts and culture, and Shah Abbas the Great created an intellectual atmosphere that according to some scholars was a new "golden age".[86] He reformed the government and the military, and responded to the needs of the common people.[86]

After the Safavid state disintegrated, it was followed by the conquest by Nadir Shah Afshar, a Sunni chieftain from Khorasan who reduced the power of the Shi'a,[83]:300 and, exceptionally noted for his military genius, making Iran reach its greatest extent since the Sassanid Empire. The brief reign of Karim Khan came next, followed by the Qajars, who ruled Azerbaijan and Iran from 1779.[79]:106 Russia loomed as a threat to Persian and Turkish holdings in the Caucasus in this period. The Russo-Persian Wars, despite already having had minor military conflicts in the 17th century, officially began in the eighteenth century and ended in the early nineteenth century with the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813 and the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828, which ceded the Caucasian portion of Qajar Iran to the Russian Empire.[72]:17 While Azerbaijanis in Iran integrated into Iranian society, Azerbaijanis who used to live in Aran, were incorporated into the Russian Empire.

Modern period in Azerbaijan

Map of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic presented by the Azerbaijani delegation Paris Peace Conference in 1919.

After the collapse of the Russian Empire during World War I, Azerbaijan, together with Armenia and Georgia became part of the short-lived Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic. This was followed by March Days massacres[87][88][89] that took place between March 30 and April 2, 1918 in the city of Baku and adjacent areas of the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire.[90] When the republic dissolved in May 1918, Azerbaijan declared independence as the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR). The ADR was the first modern parliamentary republic in the Muslim world.[91][92][93] Among the important accomplishments of the Parliament was the extension of suffrage to women, making Azerbaijan the first Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men.[92] Another important accomplishment of ADR was the establishment of Baku State University, which was the first modern-type university founded in Muslim East.[92]

By March 1920, it was obvious that Soviet Russia would attack the much-needed Baku. Vladimir Lenin said that the invasion was justified as Soviet Russia could not survive without Baku's oil.[94][95] Independent Azerbaijan lasted only 23 months until the Bolshevik 11th Soviet Red Army invaded it, establishing the Azerbaijan SSR on April 28, 1920. Although the bulk of the newly formed Azerbaijani army was engaged in putting down an Armenian revolt that had just broken out in Karabakh, Azeris did not surrender their brief independence of 1918–20 quickly or easily. As many as 20,000 Azerbaijani soldiers died resisting what was effectively a Russian reconquest.[96]

The brief independence for northern Azerbaijan in 1918–1920 was followed by over 70 years of Soviet rule.[66]:91 After the restoration of independence in October 1991, the Republic of Azerbaijan became embroiled in a war with neighboring Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.[66]:97

Modern period in Iran

Sattar Khan (1868–1914) was a major revolutionary figure in the late Qajar period in Iran.

In Iran, Azerbaijanis such as Sattar Khan sought constitutional reform.[97] The Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906–11 shook the Qajar dynasty. A parliament (Majlis) was founded on the efforts of the constitutionalists, and pro-democracy newspapers appeared. The last Shah of the Qajar dynasty was soon removed in a military coup led by Reza Khan. In the quest to impose national homogeneity on a country where half of the population were ethnic minorities, Reza Shah banned in quick succession the use of the Azerbaijani language in schools, theatrical performances, religious ceremonies, and books.[98]

Upon the dethronement of Reza Shah in September 1941, Soviet forces took control of Iranian Azerbaijan and helped to set up the Azerbaijan People's Government, a client state under the leadership of Sayyid Jafar Pishevari backed by Soviet Azerbaijan. The Soviet military presence in Iranian Azerbaijan was mainly aimed at securing the Allied supply route during World War II. Concerned with the continued Soviet presence after World War II, the United States and Britain pressured the Soviets to withdraw by late 1946. Immediately thereafter, the Iranian government regained control of Iranian Azerbaijan.

According to Professor Gary R. Hess:

On December 11, an Iranian force entered Tabriz and the Peeshavari government quickly collapsed. Indeed the Iranians were enthusiastically welcomed by the people of Azerbaijan, who strongly preferred domination by Tehran rather than Moscow. The Soviet willingness to forego its influence in (Iranian) Azerbaijan probably resulted from several factors, including the realization that the sentiment for autonomy had been exaggerated and that oil concessions remained the more desirable long-term Soviet Objective.[99]

Origins of Azerbaijani people

Main article: Origin of the Azerbaijanis
An Azeri noblewoman from Shamakhi, circa 1897.

In many references, Azerbaijanis are designated as a Turkic people, due to their Turkic language.[100][101] However, modern-day Azerbaijanis are believed to be primarily the descendants of the Caucasian Albanian[102][103] and Iranian peoples who lived in the areas of the Caucasus and northern Iran, respectively, prior to Turkification. Historian Vladimir Minorsky writes that largely Iranian and Caucasian populations became Turkic-speaking:

In the beginning of the 5th/11th century the Ghuzz hordes, first in smaller parties, and then in considerable numbers, under the Seljuqids occupied Azerbaijan. In consequence, the Iranian population of Azerbaijan and the adjacent parts of Transcaucasia became Turkophone while the characteristic features of Ādharbāyjānī Turkish, such as Persian intonations and disregard of the vocalic harmony, reflect the non-Turkic origin of the Turkicised population.[104]

Thus, centuries of Turkic migration and turkification of the region helped to formulate the contemporary Azerbaijani ethnic identity.

Turkification

Main article: Turkification
Portrait of Muhammad Fuzûlî by Azim Azimzade (1914). Fuzûlî is considered one of the greatest Azerbaijani poets.[105]

The earliest major Turkic incursion of the area now known as Azerbaijan began and accelerated during the Seljuk period.[100] The migration of Oghuz Turks from present-day Turkmenistan, which is attested by linguistic similarity, remained high through the Mongol period, as many troops under the Ilkhans were Turkic. By the Safavid period, the Turkification of Azerbaijan continued with the influence of the Kizilbash. The very name Azerbaijan is derived from the pre-Turkic name of the province, Azarbayjan or Adarbayjan, and illustrates a gradual language shift that took place as local place names survived Turkification, albeit in altered form.[74]

Most academics view the linguistic Turkification of predominantly non-Turkic-speaking indigenous peoples and assimilation of small bands of Turkic tribes as the most likely origin for the Azeris.[72]:6–7

Iranian origin

Main articles: Iranian peoples, Persian peoples, Tat people (Iran) and Tat people (Caucasus)

The Iranian origins of the Azerbaijanis likely derive from ancient Iranian tribes, such as the Medes in Iranian Azerbaijan, and Scythian invaders who arrived during the eighth century BC. It is believed that the Medes mixed with Mannai.[106] Ancient written accounts, such as one written by Arab historian Al-Masudi, attest to an Iranian presence in the region:

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Iranian religion of Zoroastrianism was prominent throughout the Caucasus before Christianity and Islam.[108][109][110] It has also been hypothesized that the population of Iranian Azerbaijan was predominantly Persian-speaking before the Oghuz arrived. This claim is supported by the many figures of Persian literature, such as Qatran Tabrizi, Shams Tabrizi, Nizami Ganjavi, and Khaghani, who wrote in Persian prior to and during the Oghuz migration, and Nozhat al-Majales anthology, as well as by Strabo, Al-Istakhri, and Al-Masudi, who all describe the language of the region as Persian. The claim is mentioned by other medieval historians, such as Al-Muqaddasi.[74]

Encyclopædia Iranica says "The Turkish speakers of Azerbaijan (q.v.) are mainly descended from the earlier Iranian speakers".[111] The continued presence of pockets of Iranian speakers; Talysh and Caucasian Tats are present in Azerbaijan.

Caucasian origin

Main article: Peoples of the Caucasus

According to Encyclopædia Britannica:

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.[3]

There is evidence that, despite repeated invasions and migrations, aboriginal Caucasians may have been culturally assimilated, first by Ancient Iranian peoples and later by the Oghuz. Considerable information has been learned about the Caucasian Albanians including their language, history, early conversion to Christianity. The Udi language, still spoken in Azerbaijan, may be a remnant of the Albanians' language.[112]

This Caucasian influence extended further south into Iranian Azerbaijan. During the 1st millennium BC, another Caucasian people, the Mannaeans (Mannai) populated much of Iranian Azerbaijan. Weakened by conflicts with the Assyrians, the Mannaeans are believed to have been conquered and assimilated by the Medes by 590 BC.[113]

Genetics

Iranian Azerbaijanis have stronger genetic affinity with their immediate geographic neighbors than with populations from Central Asia.[114]

Genetic studies demonstrate that northern Azerbaijanis are more closely related to other Caucasian people like Georgians and Armenians than they are to Iranians or Turks.[115] Iranian Azerbaijanis are genetically more similar to northern Azerbaijanis and the neighboring Turkic population than they are to geographically distant Turkmen populations.[116] Iranian-speaking populations from Azerbaijan (the Talysh and Tats) are genetically closer to Azerbaijanis of the Republic than to other Iranian-speaking populations (Persian people and Kurds from Iran, Ossetians, and Tajiks).[117] Such genetic evidence supports the view that the Azerbaijanis originate from a native population long resident in the area who adopted a Turkic language through a process of "elite dominance", i.e. a limited number of Turkic immigrants had a substantial cultural impact but left only weak patrilineal genetic traces.[114][115][116]

MtDNA analysis indicates that Persians, Anatolians and Caucasians are part of a larger West Eurasian group that is secondary to that of the Caucasus.[118][119] While genetic analysis of mtDNA indicates that Caucasian populations are genetically closer to Europeans than to Near Easterners, Y-chromosome results indicate closer affinity to Near Eastern groups.[115]

Iranians have a relatively diverse range of Y-chromosome haplotypes. A population from central Iran (Isfahan) shows closer similarity in terms of haplogroup distributions to Caucasians and Azerbaijanis than to populations from southern or northern Iran.[120] The range of haplogroups across the region may reflect historical genetic admixture,[121] perhaps as a result of invasive male migrations.[115]

Ethnonym

Historically the Turkic speakers of Iranian Azerbaijan and the Caucasus called themselves or were referred to by others as Muslims, Persians,[122] Turks, or Ajams (by Kurds),[123] and religious identification prevailed over ethnic identification. When the South Caucasus became part of the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century, the Russian authorities, who traditionally referred to all Turkic people as Tatars, defined Tatars living in the Transcaucasus region as Caucasian or Aderbeijanskie (Адербейджанские) Tatars to distinguish them from other Turkic groups.[124] The Russian Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, written in the 1890s, also referred to Tatars in Azerbaijan as Aderbeijans (адербейджаны),[125] but noted that the term had not been adopted widely.[126] This ethnonym was also used by Joseph Deniker:

[The purely linguistic] grouping [does not] coincide with the somatological grouping: thus the Aderbeijani of the Caucasus and Persia, who speak a Turkish language, have the same physical type as the Hadjemi-Persians, who speak an Iranian tongue.[127]

In Azerbaijani language publications, the expression "Azerbaijani nation" referring to those who were known as Tatars of the Caucasus first appeared in the newspaper Kashkul in 1880.[128]

Demographics and society

See also: Azerbaijani population, Demographics of Azerbaijan and Demographics of Iran
Azerbaijani populated regions of the Caucasus
Azerbaijani noblemen from Erivan (Yerevan), 1860

The vast majority of Azerbaijanis live in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan. Between 11.2 and 20 million Azerbaijanis live in Iran, mainly in the northwestern provinces. Approximately 8 million Azerbaijanis are found in the Republic of Azerbaijan. A diaspora of over a million is spread throughout the rest of the world. According to Ethnologue, there are over 1 million speakers of the northern Azerbaijani dialect in southern Dagestan, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.[129] No Azerbaijanis were recorded in the 2001 census in Armenia,[130] where the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resulted in population shifts. Other sources, such as national censuses, confirm the presence of Azerbaijanis throughout the other states of the former Soviet Union. Ethnologue reports that 1 million South Azerbaijanis live outside Iran, but these figures include Iraqi Turkmen, a distinct though related Turkic people.[14]

Azeris in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijanis are by far the largest ethnic group in Azerbaijan (over 90%). The literacy rate is very high, and is estimated at 99.5%.[131] Azerbaijan began the twentieth century with institutions based upon those of Russia and the Soviet Union, with an official policy of atheism and strict state control over most aspects of society. Since independence, there is a secular democratic system.

Azerbaijani society has been deeply impacted by the war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, which has displaced nearly 1 million Azerbaijanis and put strain on the economy.[citation needed] Azerbaijan has benefited from the oil industry, but high levels of corruption have prevented greater prosperity for the masses.[132] Despite these problems, there is a renaissance in Azerbaijan as positive economic predictions and an active political opposition appear determined to improve the lives of average Azerbaijanis.[73][133]

Azerbaijanis in Iran

Main article: Iranian Azerbaijanis
Major Ethnic Groups of Iran

While population estimates in Azerbaijan are considered reliable due to regular censuses, the figures for Iran remain questionable. Since the early twentieth century, successive Iranian governments have avoided publishing statistics on ethnic groups.[134] Unofficial population estimates of Azerbaijanis in Iran range from 16% by the CIA and Library of Congress[4][135] up to 40% by Azerbaijani nationalists. An independent poll in 2009 placed the figure at around 20–22%.[136]

Azerbaijanis in Iran are mainly found in the northwest provinces: West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, parts of Hamadan, Qazvin, and Markazi.[135] Azerbaijani minorities live in the Qorveh[137] and Bijar[138] counties of Kurdistan, in Gilan,[139][140][141][142][143][144] as ethnic enclaves in Galugah in Mazandaran, around Lotfabad and Dargaz in Razavi Khorasan,[145] and in the town of Gonbad-e Qabus in Golestan.[146] Azerbaijani mostly live in West and northwest parts of Iran. But large Azerbaijani populations can be found in central of Iran (Tehran # Alborz) due to internal migration. Azerbaijanis make up 25%[147][148] of Tehran's population and 30.3%[149] – 33%[135][150] of the population of the Tehran Province. Azerbaijanis in Tehran live in all of the cities Tehran Province.[151] They are the largest ethnic groups after Persians in Tehran and the Tehran Province.[152][153] and many Iranian Azerbaijanis with Khorasani Turks living in Khorasan Province area, Azerbaijanis have emigrated and resettled in large numbers to Khorasan[154] especially Mashhad.[155]

Generally, Azerbaijanis in Iran were regarded as "a well integrated linguistic minority" by academics prior to Iran's Islamic Revolution.[156][157] Despite friction, Azerbaijanis in Iran came to be well represented at all levels of "political, military, and intellectual hierarchies, as well as the religious hierarchy".[134]

Resentment came with Pahlavi policies that suppressed the use of the Azerbaijani language in local government, schools, and the press.[158] However with the advent of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, emphasis shifted away from nationalism as the new government highlighted religion as the main unifying factor. Within the Islamic Revolutionary government there emerged an Azerbaijani nationalist faction led by Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, who advocated greater regional autonomy and wanted the constitution to be revised to include secularists and opposition parties; this was denied.[159] Islamic theocratic institutions dominate nearly all aspects of society. The Azerbaijani language and its literature are banned in Iranian schools.[160] There are signs of civil unrest due to the policies of the Iranian government in Iranian Azerbaijan and increased interaction with fellow Azerbaijanis in Azerbaijan and satellite broadcasts from Turkey have revived Azerbaijani nationalism.[161] In May 2006, Iranian Azerbaijan witnessed riots over publication of a cartoon depicting a cockroach speaking Azerbaijani[162] that many Azerbaijanis found offensive.[163][164] The cartoon was drawn by Mana Neyestani, an ethnic Azerbaijani, who was fired along with his editor as a result of the controversy.[165][166]

Despite sporadic problems, Azerbaijanis are an intrinsic community within Iran, and living conditions of Azerbaijanis in Iran closely resemble those of Persians:

The life styles of urban Azerbaijanis do not differ from those of Persians, and there is considerable intermarriage among the upper classes in cities of mixed populations. Similarly, customs among Azerbaijani villagers do not appear to differ markedly from those of Persian villagers.[135]

Azeris are famously active in commerce and in bazaars all over Iran their voluble voices can be heard. Older Azeri men wear the traditional wool hat, and their music & dances have become part of the mainstream culture. Azeris are well integrated, and many Azeri-Iranians are prominent in Persian literature, politics, and clerical world.[167]

There is cross-border trade between Azerbaijan and Iran, and Azerbaijanis go into Iran to buy goods that are cheaper, but the relationship is tense.[160]

Ethnic groups

See also: Azerbaijanis Ethnic groups

Diaspora

See also: Azerbaijani diaspora

Women

See also: Women in Azerbaijan and Women in Iran
Azeri female from Baku (1900 postcard)

In Azerbaijan, women were granted the right to vote in 1919.[168] Women have attained Western-style equality in major cities such as Baku, although in rural areas more reactionary views remain.[73] Violence against women, including rape, is rarely reported, especially in rural areas, not unlike other parts of the former Soviet Union.[169] In Azerbaijan, the veil was abandoned during the Soviet period.[170] Women are under-represented in elective office but have attained high positions in parliament. An Azerbaijani woman is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Azerbaijan, and two others are Justices of the Constitutional Court. In the 2010 election, women constituted 16% of all MPs (twenty seats in total) in the National Assembly of Azerbaijan.[171] Abortion is available on demand in the Republic of Azerbaijan.[172] The human rights ombudsman since 2002, Elmira Suleymanova, is a woman.

In Iran, a groundswell of grassroots movements have sought gender equality since the 1980s.[135] Protests in defiance of government bans are dispersed through violence, as on 12 June 2006 when female demonstrators in Haft Tir Square in Tehran were beaten.[173] Past Iranian leaders, such as the reformer ex-president Mohammad Khatami promised women greater rights, but the Guardian Council of Iran opposes changes that they interpret as contrary to Islamic doctrine. In the 2004 legislative elections, nine women were elected to parliament (Majlis), eight of whom were conservatives.[174] The social fate of Azerbaijani women largely mirrors that of other women in Iran.

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Azerbaijan and Culture of Iran

In many respects, Azerbaijanis are Eurasian and bi-cultural, as northern Azerbaijanis have absorbed Russo-Soviet and Eastern European influences, whereas the Azerbaijanis of the south have remained within the Turko-Iranian and Persianate tradition. Modern Azerbaijani culture includes significant achievements in literature, art, music, and film.

Language and literature

Main articles: Azerbaijani language and Azerbaijani literature

The Azerbaijanis speak Azerbaijani (sometimes called Azerbaijani Turkish or Azeri), a Turkic language descended from the Western Oghuz Turkic language that became established in Azerbaijan in the 11th and 12th century CE. Early Oghuz was mainly an oral language, and the later compiled epics and heroic stories of Dede Korkut probably derive from an oral tradition. The first accepted Oghuz Turkic text goes back to 15th century. The first written, classical Azerbaijani literature arose after the Mongol invasion.[175] Some of the earliest Azerbaijani writings trace back to the poet Nasimi (died 1417) and then decades later Fuzûlî (1483–1556). Ismail I, Shah of Safavid Persia wrote Azerbaijani poetry under the pen name Khatâ'i. Modern Azerbaijani literature continued with a traditional emphasis upon humanism, as conveyed in the writings of Samad Vurgun, Shahriar, and many others.[176]

Azerbaijanis are generally bilingual, often fluent in either Russian (in Azerbaijan) or Persian (in Iran). As of 1996, around 38% of Azerbaijan's roughly 8,000,000 population spoke Russian fluently.[177] An independent telephone survey in Iran in 2009 reported that 20% of respondents could understand Azerbaijani, the most spoken minority language in Iran, and all respondents could understand Persian.[136]

Religion

Main articles: Religion in Azerbaijan, Islam in Azerbaijan and Islam in Iran

The majority of Azerbaijanis are Twelver Shi'a Muslims. Religious minorities include Sunni Muslims (mainly Hanafi, but also Shafi'i such as Sunni Azerbaijanis in Dagestan),[178][179] and Christians.[180] An unknown number of Azerbaijanis in the Republic of Azerbaijan have no religious affiliation. Many describe themselves as cultural Muslims.[73] There is a small number of Naqshbandi Sufis among Muslim Azerbaijanis.[181] Christian Azerbaijanis number around 5,000 people in the Republic of Azerbaijan and consist mostly of recent converts.[40][41] Some Azerbaijanis from rural regions retain pre-Islamic animist or Zoroastrian-influenced[182] beliefs, such as the sanctity of certain sites and the veneration of fire, certain trees and rocks.[183] In Azerbaijan, traditions from other religions are often celebrated in addition to Islamic holidays, including Norouz and Christmas. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijanis have increasingly returned to their Islamic heritage as recent reports indicate that many Azerbaijani youth are being drawn to Islam.[184]

Performance art

See also: Music of Azerbaijan and Music of Iran
Azerbaijani singers Ell & Nikki won the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.

Azerbaijanis express themselves in a variety of artistic ways including dance, music, and film. Azerbaijani folk dances are ancient and similar to that of their neighbors in the Caucasus and Iran. The group dance is a common form found from southeastern Europe to the Caspian Sea. In the group dance the performers come together in a semi-circular or circular formation as, "The leader of these dances often executes special figures as well as signaling and changes in the foot patterns, movements, or direction in which the group is moving, often by gesturing with his or her hand, in which a kerchief is held."[185] Solitary dances are performed by both men and women and involve subtle hand motions in addition to sequenced steps.

Azerbaijani musical tradition can be traced back to singing bards called Ashiqs, a vocation that survives. Modern Ashiqs play the saz (lute) and sing dastans (historical ballads).[186] Other musical instruments include the tar (another type of lute), balaban (a wind instrument), kamancha (fiddle), and the dhol (drums). Azerbaijani classical music, called mugham, is often an emotional singing performance. Composers Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Gara Garayev and Fikret Amirov created a hybrid style that combines Western classical music with mugham. Other Azerbaijanis, notably Vagif and Aziza Mustafa Zadeh, mixed jazz with mugham. Some Azerbaijani musicians have received international acclaim, including Rashid Behbudov (who could sing in over eight languages) and Muslim Magomayev (a pop star from the Soviet era).

In Iran, Azerbaijani music has taken a different course. According to Iranian Azerbaijani singer Hossein Alizadeh, "Historically in Iran, music faced strong opposition from the religious establishment, forcing it to go underground."[187] As a result, most Iranian Azerbaijani music is performed outside of Iran amongst exile communities.

Azerbaijani film and television is largely broadcast in Azerbaijan with limited outlets in Iran. Some Azerbaijanis have been prolific film-makers, such as Rustam Ibragimbekov, who wrote Burnt by the Sun, winner of the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1994. Many Iranian Azerbaijanis have been prominent in the cinematic tradition of Iran, which has received critical praise since the 1980s.

Sports

See also: Azerbaijan national football team, Azerbaijan at the Olympics and List of Azerbaijani Olympic medalists
Chess player Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.

Sports have historically been an important part of Azerbaijani life. Horseback competitions were praised in the Book of Dede Korkut and by poets and writers such as Khaqani.[188] Other ancient sports include wrestling, javelin throwing and fencing.

The Soviet legacy has in modern times propelled some Azerbaijanis to become accomplished athletes at the Olympic level.[188] The Azerbaijani government supports the country's athletic legacy and encourages youth participation. Football is popular in both Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan. There are many prominent Azerbaijani soccer players such as Ali Daei, the world's all-time leading goal scorer in international matches and the former captain of the Iran national soccer team. Azerbaijani athletes have particularly excelled in weight lifting, gymnastics, shooting, javelin throwing, karate, boxing, and wrestling.[189] Weight lifters, such as Iran's Hossein Reza Zadeh, world super heavyweight lifting record holder and two times Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004, or Hadi Saei is a former Iranian Azerbaijanis[190] Taekwondo athlete who became the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and Nizami Pashayev, who won the European heavyweight title in 2006, have excelled at the international level.

Chess is another popular pastime in Azerbaijan.[191] The country has produced many notable players, such as Teimour Radjabov, Vugar Gashimov and Shahriyar Mammadyarov, both highly ranked internationally.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Azerbaijani". Joshua Project. Retrieved 24 January 2012. 
  2. ^ Sela, Avraham (2002). The Continuum Political Encyclopedia of the Middle East. Continuum. p. 197. ISBN 0-8264-1413-3. 30–35 million 
  3. ^ a b c d "Azerbaijani (people)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 24 January 2012. 
  4. ^ a b "Iran". CIA: The World Factbook. CIA. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 04 Octoboer 2012. 16% of 77,891,220 [12.5 million]  Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^
    • Michael Knüppel, "TURKIC LANGUAGES OF PERSIA: AN OVERVIEW", Encyclopaedia Iranica [1] "Altogether, one-sixth of today’s Iranian population is turcophone or bilingual (Persian and Turkic; see Doerfer, 1969, p. 13).
    • Mehrdad Izady – Columbia University – Gulf 2000 Project – Language Map of Iran – 2012 http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/maps.shtml"
    • Swietochowski, Tadeusz; Collins, Brian C. (1999). Historical dictionary of Azerbaijan. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3550-9. "15 million (1999)"
  6. ^
    • Shaffer, Brenda (2003). Borders and Brethren: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity. MIT Press. pp. 221–225. ISBN 0-262-19477-5"There is considerable lack of consensus regarding the number of Azerbaijanis in Iran ...Most conventional estimates of the Azerbaijani population range between one-fifth to one-third of the general population of Iran, the majority claiming one-fourth" Azerbaijani student groups in Iran claim that there are 27 million Azerbaijanis residing in Iran."
    • Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: S-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 1765. ISBN 978-0-313-32384-3"Approximately (2002e) 18,500,000 Southern Azeris in Iran, concentrated in the northwestern provinces of East and West Azerbaijan. It is difficult to determine the exact number of Southern Azeris in Iran, as official statistics are not published detailing Iran's ethnic structure. Estimates of the Southern Azeri population range from as low as 12 million up to 40% of the population of Iran – that is, nearly 27 million..."
  7. ^
    • Ali Gheissari, "Contemporary Iran:Economy, Society, Politics: Economy, Society, Politics", Oxford University Press, 2 April 2009. pg 300Azeri ethnonationalist activist, however, claim that number to be 24 million, hence as high as 35 percent of the Iranian population"
    • Rasmus Christian Elling,Minorities in Iran: Nationalism and Ethnicity after Khomeini , Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. Excerpt: "The number of Azeris in Iran is heavily disputed. In 2005, Amanolahi estimated all Turkic-speaking communities in Iran to number no more than 9 million. CIA and Library of congress estimates range from 16 percent to 24 precent -- that is, 12-18 million people if we employ the latest total figure for Iran's population (77.8 million). Azeri ethnicsts, on the other hand, argue that overall number is much higher, even as much as 50 percent or more of the total population. Such inflated estimates may have influenced some Western scholars who suggest that up to 30 percent (that is, some 23 million today) Iranians are Azeris." [2]
  8. ^ "Population by ethnic groups". The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014. 
  9. ^ "Azerbaijani, South". Ethnologue. Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  10. ^ Dabrowska, Karen; Hann, Geoff (2008), Iraq Then and Now: A Guide to the Country and Its People, Bradt Travel Guides, ISBN 1-84162-243-5
  11. ^ Phillips, David L. (2006), Losing Iraq: Inside the Postwar Reconstruction Fiasco, Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-05681-4
  12. ^ "Итоги переписи". 2010 census. Russian Federation State Statistics Service. 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  13. ^ a b van der Leeuw, Charles (2000). Azerbaijan: a quest for identity : a short history. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-312-21903-1. 
  14. ^ a b Lewis, M. Paul (2009). "Azerbaijani, South". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. SIL International. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  15. ^ "Ethnic groups by major administrative-territorial units" (PDF). 2002 census. National Statistics Office of Georgia. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  16. ^ "Population by national and/or ethnic group, sex and urban/rural residence (2009 census)". Agency for the Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Retrieved 15 August 2012. 
  17. ^ "About number and composition population of Ukraine by data All-Ukrainian census of the population 2001". Ukraine Census 2001. State Statistics Committee of Ukraine. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  18. ^ "The National Structure of the Republic of Uzbekistan". Umid World. 1989. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  19. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 года. Национальный состав населения по республикам СССР. Демоскоп Weekly (in Russian) (493–494). 1–22 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  20. ^ "Azerbaijani, South". Ethnologue. Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  21. ^ "Azerbaijani-American Council rpartners with U.S. Census Bureau". News.Az. 28 December 2009. Retrieved 2012-07-11. 
  22. ^ http://www.azeris.org/images/proclamations/May28_BrooklynNY_2011.JPG
  23. ^ "Obama, recognize us – St. Louis American: Letters To The Editor". Stlamerican.com. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 2012-07-11. 
  24. ^ "The Kingdom of the Netherlands: Bilateral relations: Diaspora" (PDF). Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  25. ^ "5.01.00.03 Национальный состав населения" (PDF) (in Russian). National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyz Republic. 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  26. ^ "Foreign population on 31.12.2006 by citizenship and selected characteristics". Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). Retrieved 3 February 2012. [dead link]
  27. ^ "Nationality and country of birth by age, sex and qualifications Jan - Dec 2013 (Excel sheet 60Kb)". www.ons.gov.uk. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 11 June 2014. 
  28. ^ "Population Census 2009". National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. Retrieved 17 April 2013. 
  29. ^ "Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households". Statistics Canada. 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2013.  In the 2011 census, 1,985 people indicated 'Azeri'/'Azerbaijani' as a single response and 2,595 as part of multiple origins.
  30. ^ Poleshchuk, Vadim (March 2001). "Accession to the European Union and National Integration in Estonia and Latvia" (PDF). European Center for Minority Issues. Retrieved 18 January 2012. 232 citizens 
  31. ^ "The Republic of Austria: Bilateral relations" (PDF). Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 18 January 2012. 
  32. ^ "Population Census of 2011". Statistics Estonia. Retrieved 24 January 2015.  Select "Azerbaijani" under "Ethnic nationality".
  33. ^ "Population by national and/or ethnic group, sex and urban/rural residence". United Nations Statistics Division. Retrieved 17 January 2012. 
  34. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, 1 January 2013". 
  35. ^ 2006 Australian Census. NB According to the 2006 census, 290 people living in Australia identified themselves as of Azeri ancestry, although the Australian-Azeri community is estimated to be larger. . Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  36. ^ http://www.bahai.az/ Azerbaidjan Bahai
  37. ^ http://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C9%99hailik Azerbaidjan Bahai
  38. ^ "Azerbaijan". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  39. ^ "Today.Az - Covering Azerbaijan inside and outside". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  40. ^ a b "5,000 Azerbaijanis adopted Christianity" (in Russian). Day.az. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  41. ^ a b "Christian Missionaries Becoming Active in Azerbaijan" (in Azerbaijani). Tehran Radio. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2012. 
  42. ^ Mark R. Beissinger; Nader Entessar; Edward Friedman; Solomon Gashaw; Noel Jacob Kent; Alan LeBaron; Herbert S.Lewis; James Quirin; Virginia Sapiro; Ronald J. Schmidt; Douglas Spitz; Tekle M. Woldemikael; Crawford Young (1993). Azeri Nationalism in the Former Soviet Union and Iran. The University of Wisconsin Press. p. 116. 
  43. ^ "Azeri Genetics - DNA of Azerbaijan's Turkic people". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  44. ^ ETHNIC SITUATION IN THE CAUCASUS. Rauf A. Guseynov
  45. ^ Ayse Pamir Dietrich Language Policy and the Status of Russian in the Soviet Union and the Successor States outside the Russian Federation. p. 2.
  46. ^ CENTRAL ASIA and THE CAUCASUS. "CA& Press® AB". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  47. ^ CENTRAL ASIA and THE CAUCASUS. "CA& Press® AB". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  48. ^ "An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  49. ^ "CEEOL Transitions Online , Issue 01/19 /2010". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  50. ^ Sabrina Tavernise. The New York Times – 22.10.2008
  51. ^ "THE IRANIAN: Azeri ethnic roots, Aylinah Jurabchi". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  52. ^ Borders and Brethren, Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity; by Branda Shaffer; page 158 Retrieved 25 July 2013
  53. ^ Muslim Communities Reemerge; by Andreas Kappeler, Gerhard Simon and Gerog Brunner; National Identity of Azerbaijan; page 46 Retrieved 25 July 2013
  54. ^ An Encyclopædia Britannica Company, Merriam-Webster, Azerbaijani Retrieved 25 July 2013
  55. ^ "Azerbaijani (people)" Encyclopædia Britannica
  56. ^ An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples by Peter B. Golden. Otto Harrasowitz (1992), ISBN 3-447-03274-X. Retrieved 8 June 2006.
  57. ^ http://www.usazeris.org/USAN_factsheet_refugees.pdf
  58. ^ name="Americana - Turkic Peoples", Encyclopedia Americana, volume 27, page 276. Grolier Inc. , New York (1998) ISBN 0-7172-0130-9. Retrieved 8 June 2006.
  59. ^ Bani-Shoraka, Helena (2005). "Language Policy and Language Planning: Some Definitions". In Rabo, Annika; Utas, Bo. The Role of the State in West Asia. Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. p. 144. ISBN 91-86884-13-1. [dead link]
  60. ^ Thernstrom, Stephan; Orlov, Ann; Handlin, Oscar (1981). Harvard Encyclopedia of American ethnic groups. Harvard University Press. p. 171. In their homeland the Azerbaijanis, or Azeri Turks as they are sometimes called... 
  61. ^ Robertson, Lawrence R. (2002). Russia & Eurasia Facts & Figures Annual. Academic International Press. p. 210. ISBN 0-87569-199-4. 
  62. ^ "Azerbaijan". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  63. ^ a b Roy, Olivier (2007). The new Central Asia. I.B. Tauris. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-84511-552-4. The mass of the Oghuz who crossed the Amu Darya towards the west left the Iranian plateaux, which remained Persian, and established themselves more to the west, in Anatolia. Here they divided into Ottomans, who were Sunni and settled, and Turkmens, who were nomads and in part Shiite (or, rather, Alevi). The latter were to keep the name 'Turkmen' for a long time: from the 13th century onwards they 'Turkised' the Iranian populations of Azerbaijan (who spoke west Iranian languages such as Tat, which is still found in residual forms), thus creating a new identity based on Shiism and the use of Turkish. These are the people today known as Azeris. 
  64. ^ Harcave, Sidney (1968). Russia: A History: Sixth Edition. Lippincott. p. 267. 
  65. ^ Mojtahed-Zadeh, Pirouz (2007). Boundary Politics and International Boundaries of Iran: A Study of the Origin, Evolution, and Implications of the Boundaries of Modern Iran with Its 15 Neighbors in the Middle East by a Number of Renowned Experts in the Field. Universal. p. 372. ISBN 1-58112-933-5. 
  66. ^ a b c Nichol, James (1995). "Azerbaijan". In Curtis, Glenn E. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. ISBN 0-8444-0848-4. 
  67. ^ Minahan, James (2000). Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States. Greenwood. p. 20. ISBN 0-313-30610-9. 
  68. ^ Lendering, Jona. "Atropates (Biography)". Livius.org. Retrieved 27 January 2012. 
  69. ^ Chamoux, Francois (2003). Hellenistic Civilization. Blackwell Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 0-631-22241-3. 
  70. ^ Bosworth, A. B.; Baynham, E. J. (2002). Alexander the Great in Fact and Fiction. Oxford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 0-19-815287-6. 
  71. ^ Atabaki, Touraj (2000). Azerbaijan: Ethnicity and the Struggle for Power in Iran. I. B. Tauris. p. 7. ISBN 1-86064-554-2. 
  72. ^ a b c Altstadt, Audrey L. (1992). The Azerbaijani Turks: Power and Identity under Russian Rule. Hoover Institution Press. ISBN 0-8179-9182-4. 
  73. ^ a b c d e "Country Study: Azerbaijan". Federal Research Division Library of Congress. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  74. ^ a b c Yarshater, E (18 August 2011). "The Iranian Language of Azerbaijan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
  75. ^ Bosworth, C. E. (12 August 2011). "Arran". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
  76. ^ Coene, Frederik (2010). The Caucasus: An Introduction. Routledge. p. 97. ISBN 0-415-48660-2. 
  77. ^ "Countries and Territories of the World". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  78. ^ "Armenia-Ancient Period". Federal Research Division Library of Congress. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  79. ^ a b c d e f Swietochowski, Tadeusz; Collins, Brian C. (1999). Historical dictionary of Azerbaijan. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3550-9. 15 million (1999) 
  80. ^ Chaumont, M. L. (29 July 2011). "Albania". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  81. ^ Alexidze, Zaza (Summer 2002). "Voices of the Ancients: Heyerdahl Intrigued by Rare Caucasus Albanian Text". Azerbaijan International 10.2: 26–27. Retrieved 25 January 2012. 
  82. ^ "Sassanid Empire". The Islamic World to 1600. University of Calgary. 1998. Retrieved 3 February 2012. 
  83. ^ a b c Lapidus, Ira (1988). A History of Islamic Societies. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77933-2. 
  84. ^ Kennedy, Hugh (1992). The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. Longman. p. 166. ISBN 0-582-40525-4. 
  85. ^ "The Safavid Empire". University of Calgary. Archived from the original on 27 April 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2006. 
  86. ^ a b Sammis, Kathy (2002). Focus on World History: The First Global Age and the Age of Revolution. J. Weston Walch. p. 39. ISBN 0-8251-4370-5. 
  87. ^ Russia and a Divided Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition, by Tadeusz Świętochowski, Columbia University Press, 1995, p. 66
  88. ^ Smith, Michael (April 2001). "Anatomy of Rumor: Murder Scandal, the Musavat Party and Narrative of the Russian Revolution in Baku, 1917-1920". Journal of Contemporary History 36 (2): 228. The results of the March events were immediate and total for the Musavat. Several hundreds of its members were killed in the fighting; up to 12,000 Muslim civilians perished; thousands of others fled Baku in a mass exodus 
  89. ^ Minahan, James B. Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States. p. 22. ISBN 0-313-30610-9. The tensions and fighting between the Azeris and the Armenians in the federation culminated in the massacre of some 12,000 Azeris in Baku by radical Armenians and Bolshevik troops in March 1918 
  90. ^ Michael Smith. "Pamiat' ob utratakh i Azerbaidzhanskoe obshchestvo/Traumatic Loss and Azerbaijani. National Memory". Azerbaidzhan i Rossiia: obshchestva i gosudarstva (Azerbaijan and Russia: Societies and States) (in Russian). Sakharov Center. Retrieved 21 August 2011. 
  91. ^ Swietochowski, Tadeusz (1995). Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition. Columbia University Press. pp. 69, 133. ISBN 978-0-231-07068-3. 
  92. ^ a b c Kazemzadeh, Firuz (1951). The Struggle for Transcaucasia: 1917–1921. The New York Philosophical Library. pp. 124, 222, 229, 269–270. ISBN 978-0-8305-0076-5. 
  93. ^ Schulze, Reinhard. A Modern History of the Islamic World. I.B.Tauris, 2000. ISBN 978-1-86064-822-9.
  94. ^ Горянин, Александр (August 28, 2003). Очень черное золото (in Russian). GlobalRus. Archived from the original on 6 September 2003. Retrieved August 28, 2003. 
  95. ^ Горянин, Александр. История города Баку. Часть 3. (in Russian). Window2Baku. 
  96. ^ Pope, Hugh (2006). Sons of the conquerors: the rise of the Turkic world. New York: The Overlook Press. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-58567-804-4. 
  97. ^ Pistor-Hatam, Anja (20 July 2009). "Sattār Khan". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 6 February 2012. 
  98. ^ Swietochowski, Tadeusz (1995). Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-07068-3. 
  99. ^ Hess, Gary. R. (March 1974). "The Iranian Crisis of 1945–46 and the Cold War" (PDF). Political Science Quarterly 89 (1). Retrieved 28 January 2012. 
  100. ^ a b Golden, Peter B. (1992). An Introduction to the History of the Turkic Peoples. Otto Harrasowitz. pp. 385–386. ISBN 3-447-03274-X. 
  101. ^ "Turkic Peoples". Encyclopedia Americana 27. Grolier. 1998. p. 276. ISBN 0-7172-0130-9. 
  102. ^ Kobishchanov, Yuri M. (1979). Axum. Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 89. ISBN 0-271-00531-9. 
  103. ^ Suny, Ronald G. (July–August 1988). "What Happened in Soviet Armenia?". Middle East Report (153, Islam and the State): 37–40. 
  104. ^ Minorsky, V. "Azarbaijan". In Bearman, P.;Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W. P. Encyclopaedia of Islam (2nd ed.). Brill. 
  105. ^ "Fuzuli, Mehmed bin Süleyman" in Encyclopædia Britannica
  106. ^ Zadok, Ran (15 August 2006). "Mannea". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  107. ^ Al Mas'udi (1894). De Goeje, M.J., ed. Kitab al-Tanbih wa-l-Ishraf (in Arabic). Brill. pp. 77–78.  Arabic text: "قد قدمنا فيما سلف من كتبنا ما قاله الناس في بدء النسل، وتفرقهم على وجه الأرض، وما ذهب إليه كل فريق منهم في ذلك من الشرعيين وغيرهم ممن قال بحدوث العالم وأبى الانقياد إلى الشرائع من البراهمة وغيرهم، وما قاله أصحاب القدم في ذلك من الهند والفلاسفة وأصحاب الاثنين من المانوية وغيرهم على تباينهم في ذلك، فلنذكر الآن الأمم السبع ذهب من عني بأخبار سوالف الأمم ومساكنهم إلى أن أجل الأمم وعظماءهم كانوا في سوالف الدهر سبعاً يتميزون بثلاثة أشياء: بشيمهم الطبيعية، وخلقهم الطبيعية، وألسنتهم فالفرس أمة حد بلادها الجبال من الماهات وغيرها وآذربيجان إلى ما يلي بلاد أرمينية وأران والبيلقان إلى دربند وهو الباب والأبواب والري وطبرستن والمسقط والشابران وجرجان وابرشهر، وهي نيسابور، وهراة ومرو وغير ذلك من بلاد خراسان وسجستان وكرمان وفارس والأهواز، وما اتصل بذلك من أرض الأعاجم في هذا الوقت وكل هذه البلاد كانت مملكة واحدة ملكها ملك واحد ولسانها واحد، إلا أنهم كانوا يتباينون في شيء يسير من اللغات."
  108. ^ "Various Zoroastrian Fire-Temples". University of Calgary. 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on 30 April 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2006. 
  109. ^ "Ethnicity, Nationalism and Conflict in the South Caucasus". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  110. ^ "Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  111. ^ Frye, R. N. (15 December 2004). "Peoples of Iran". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  112. ^ Schulze, Wolfgang (2001/2). "The Udi Language". University of Munich. Retrieved 29 January 2012.  Check date values in: |date= (help)
  113. ^ "Mannai". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 June 2006. 
  114. ^ a b Yepiskoposian, L. et al. (2011). "The Location of Azaris on the Patrilineal Genetic Landscape of the Middle East (A Preliminary Report)". Iran and the Caucasus 15 (1): 73–78. doi:10.1163/157338411X12870596615395. 
  115. ^ a b c d Nasidze, Ivan; Sarkisian, Tamara; Kerimov, Azer; Stoneking, Mark (2003). "Testing hypotheses of language replacement in the Caucasus" (PDF). Human Genetics 112 (3): 255–261. doi:10.1007/s00439-002-0874-4. PMID 12596050. 
  116. ^ a b Andonian l. et al. (2011). "Iranian Azeri's Y-Chromosomal Diversity in the Context of Turkish-Speaking Populations of the Middle East" (PDF). Iranian J Publ Health 40 (1): 119–123. 
  117. ^ Asadova, P. S. et al. (2003). "Genetic Structure of Iranian-Speaking Populations from Azerbaijan Inferred from the Frequencies of Immunological and Biochemical Gene Markers". Russian Journal of Genetics 39 (11): 1334–1342. doi:10.1023/B:RUGE.0000004149.62114.92. 
  118. ^ Quintana-Murci, L. et al. (2004). "Where West Meets East: The Complex mtDNA Landscape of the Southwest and Central Asian Corridor". American Journal of Human Genetics 74 (5): 827–845. doi:10.1086/383236. PMC 1181978. PMID 15077202. 
  119. ^ Nasidze, S; Stoneking, M. (2001). "Mitochondrial DNA variation and language replacements in the Caucasus". Proceedings of the Royal Society B 268 (1472): 1197–1206. doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1610. PMC 1088727. PMID 11375109. 
  120. ^ Regueiro, M. et al. (2006). "Iran: Tricontinental Nexus for Y-Chromosome Driven Migration" (PDF). Human Heredity 61 (3): 132–143. doi:10.1159/000093774. PMID 16770078. 
  121. ^ Zerjal, T. et al. (2002). "A Genetic Landscape Reshaped by Recent Events: Y-Chromosomal Insights into Central Asia". American Journal of Human Genetics 71 (3): 466–482. doi:10.1086/342096. PMC 419996. PMID 12145751. 
  122. ^ Баку, губернский город // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона: В 86 томах (82 т. и 4 доп.). — СПб., 1890—1907.
  123. ^ Kemp, Geoffrey; Stein, Janice Gross (1995). Powder Keg in the Middle East. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 214. ISBN 0-8476-8075-4. 
  124. ^ Алфавитный список народов, обитающих в Российской Империи (in Russian). Demoscope Weekly. 2005. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  125. ^ Тюрки. Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1890–1907. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  126. ^ Тюрко-татары. Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1890–1907. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  127. ^ Deniker, Joseph (1900). Races et peuples de la terre (in French). Schleicher. p. 294. 
  128. ^ Mostashari, Firouzeh (2006). On the Religious Frontier: Tsarist Russia and Islam in the Caucasus. I. B. Tauris. p. 129. ISBN 1-85043-771-8. 
  129. ^ Lewis, M. Paul (2009). "Azerbaijani, North". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. SIL International. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  130. ^ "Table 5.1 De Jure Population (Urban, Rural) by Age and Ethnicity". Census 2001. National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  131. ^ "Azerbaijan". International Human Development Indicators. United Nations. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  132. ^ "Report on corruption in Azerbaijan oil industry prepared for EBRD & IFC investigation arms" (PDF). The Committee of Oil Industry Workers' Rights Protection. October 2003. Archived from the original on 24 July 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2006. 
  133. ^ Abbasov, Shahin; Arifoglu, Farid (27 March 2005). "Azerbaijan: Opposition Parties Prepare to Vigorously Contest Parliamentary Election". Eurasia.net. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  134. ^ a b Banuazizi, Ali; Weiner, Myron, ed. (1988). The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan Part II: Iran. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2448-4. 
  135. ^ a b c d e "Country Profile: Iran". Federal Research Division Library of Congress. May 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2012. 16% of 70 million [14.5 million] 
  136. ^ a b Terror Free Tomorrow (May 2009). "Results of a New Nationwide Public Opinion Survey of Iran before the June 12, 2009 Presidential Elections". New America Foundation. 21.6% of 70,495,782 [15.2 million] 
  137. ^ http://www.ghorveh.gov.ir/Default.aspx?TabID=62
  138. ^ "بیجار". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  139. ^ "کتابخانه". 18 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  140. ^ Encyclopædia Iranica:Manjil
  141. ^ "ی ی /". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  142. ^ http://guilan.irib.ir/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=913:-&catid=291:shahr
  143. ^ "خدمات مكافحة الحشرات ورش المبيدات". خدمات مكافحة الحشرات ورش المبيدات. Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  144. ^ http://www.deilamestan.com/news_loader/news.aspx?index=268
  145. ^ Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie (2008). Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world. Elsevier. Retrieved 30 January 2012. ; p. 112-113
  146. ^ "GONBAD-E QĀBUS". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  147. ^ "Tehran". Looklex Encyclopaedia. Retrieved 2013-07-04. 
  148. ^ "The Council of Public Culture". The Council of Public Culture. 19 January 2013. 
  149. ^ National Bibliography Number: 2887141 / plan review and assess the country's culture indicators (indicators Ghyrsbty) {report}: Tehran Province / General Council of the Order of the Executive Director is responsible for planning and policy: Mansoor Vaezi; run company experienced researchers Us - ISBN 978-600-6627-42-7 * Publication Status: Tehran - Institute Press book, published in 1391 * appearance: 296 p: table (the color), diagrams (colored part)
  150. ^ "Country Study Guide-Azerbaijanis". STRATEGIC INFORMATION AND DEVELOPMENTS-USA. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 
  151. ^ "Assessment for Azerbaijanis in Iran". UNHCR. 31 December 2003. Retrieved 2013-07-05. 
  152. ^ "Azeris". World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous People. Retrieved 2013-07-05. 
  153. ^ "Tehran, Political situation". Municipality of Tehran. Retrieved 2013-08-16. 
  154. ^ "AZERBAIJAN vi. Population and its Occupations and Culture". Encyclopædia Iranica. August 18, 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 
  155. ^ "Mourning Azerbaijanis residing in Mashhad". Mehr News Agency. August 18, 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2013. 
  156. ^ Higgins, Patricia J. (1984). "Minority-State Relations in Contemporary Iran". Iranian Studies 17 (1): 37–71. doi:10.1080/00210868408701621. 
  157. ^ Binder, Leonard (1962). Iran: Political Development in a Changing Society. University of California Press. pp. 160–161. OCLC 408909. 
  158. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1982). Iran between Two Revolutions. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-10134-5. 
  159. ^ Menashri, David (1980). "Shi'ite Leadership: In the Shadow of Conflicting Ideologies". Iranian Studies 13: 1–4. doi:10.1080/00210868008701567. 
  160. ^ a b "Azerbaijan-Iran tensions increasing". BBC News. 14 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-29. 
  161. ^ Koknar, Ali M. (6 June 2006). "Iranian Azeris: A Giant Minority". The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  162. ^ "Cartoon". Iranian Archives 1995–2007. 2 June 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  163. ^ Fathi, Nazila (29 May 2006). "Ethnic Tensions Over Cartoon Set Off Riots in Northwest Iran". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 June 2006. 
  164. ^ Collin, Matthew (28 May 2006). "Iran Azeris protest over cartoon". BBC News. Retrieved 29 January 2012. 
  165. ^ "Cockroach Cartoonist Jailed In Iran". The Comics Reporter. 24 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2 June 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2006. 
  166. ^ "Iranian paper banned over cartoon". BBC. 23 May 2006. Archived from the original on 25 June 2006. Retrieved 15 June 2006. 
  167. ^ Burke, Andrew (2004). Iran. Lonely Planet. pp. 42–43. ISBN 1-74059-425-8. 
  168. ^ "US Suffrage Movement Timeline, 1792 to present". Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership. 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  169. ^ "Women's rights in Azerbaijan". OneWomen. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  170. ^ Heyat, Farideh (2002). Azeri Women in Transition: Women in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. RoutledgeCurzon. pp. 80–113. ISBN 0-7007-1662-9. 
  171. ^ "2010 Parliamentary Election Results". Day.az. 7 November 2010. Archived from the original on 10 November 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  172. ^ Abortion Policies: a Global Review 1. United Nations. 2001. p. 41. ISBN 92-1-151351-0. 
  173. ^ Harrison, Frances (12 June 2006). "Iran police beat women activists". BBC. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  174. ^ Sadr, Shadi (9 June 2004). "Women's Gains at Risk in Iran's New Parliament". Women's Enews. Retrieved 1 February 2012. 
  175. ^ Javadi, H.; Burill, K. (18 August 2011). "Azeri Literature in Iran". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  176. ^ Blair, Betty (Spring 1996). "Contemporary Literature". Azerbaijan International. Archived from the original on 16 June 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2006. 
  177. ^ Suny, Ronald G. (1996). Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. DIANE Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 0-7881-2813-2. 
  178. ^ (Russian) Igor Dobayev. Radicalisation of Islamic Movements in Central Asia and the North Caucasus: A Comparative Political Analysis. Chapter IV: Islam and Islamism in the Republic of Dagestan. СКНЦ ВШ ЮФУ: Moscow, 2010.
  179. ^ Boyle, Kevin; Sheen, Juliet (1997). Freedom of Religion and Belief. Routledge. p. 273. ISBN 0-415-15978-4. 
  180. ^ "Azerbaijan - Religion In Azerbaijan". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  181. ^ "External factors of radicalization of Islam in the Caucasus" (in Russian). RIA Dagestan. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  182. ^ Barbara West. Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania. Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN 1438119135; p. 72.
  183. ^ "Azerbaijan: Culture and Art". Embassy of the Azerbaijan Republic in the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  184. ^ Amirova, Leyla (28 August 2007). "Azerbaijan young increasingly drawn to Islam". Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  185. ^ "Avaz". Stanford University Persian Student Association. Retrieved 11 June 2006. 
  186. ^ Perry, John R. (2011). "Cultural currents in the Turco-Persian world of Safavid and post-Safavid times". In Mitchell, Colin P. New Perspectives on Safavid Iran: Empire and Society. Taylor & Francis. p. 90. ISBN 0-203-85463-2. 
  187. ^ "Hossein Alizadeh Personal Reflections on Playing Tar". Azerbaijan International. Winter 1997. Retrieved 30 January 2012. 
  188. ^ a b "Sport History in Azerbaijan". Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Retrieved 3 February 2012. 
  189. ^ Deck, Laurel (Winter 1996). "The Ministry of Youth and Sports". Azerbaijan International. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006. Retrieved 11 June 2006. 
  190. ^ "هادي ساعي مدال خود را تقديم به مردم آذربايجان كرد". Retrieved 18 March 2015. 
  191. ^ "Tourism and sport". Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Italy. Retrieved 3 February 2012. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Azerbaijani people.
Regions with Azerbaijani population.
Traditional areas
Former Soviet Union
Europe
Asia
Americas
See also
Majority
Other
Minority
Caucasic peoples
Kartvelian peoples
Pontic peoples
Circassians
Other Pontic
Caspian peoples
Avar–Andic
Tsezic
Lezgic
Nakh
Other Caspian
Altaic peoples
Turkic peoples
Mongolic peoples
Indo-European peoples
Iranian peoples
Slavic peoples
Hellenic peoples
Other IE peoples
Afro-Asiatic peoples
Semitic peoples
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Azerbaijanis&oldid=652089799"