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Revision as of 20:47, 2 June 2004
Azerbaijanis are commonly associated with the ancient land of Azerbaijan. They are the descendants of Turks (primarily the '''Oghuz Turks''') who have inhabited the land since antiquity.
Other Turkic Peoples
Other Turkic peoples to have inhabited Azerbaijan besides those labeled "Oghuz Turks" were the Scythians (Ishkuz of the 7th century B.C.) Avars, Huns, Gok-Turks, Barsils, Saragurs, Kurtugurs and the Ilkhanids. It should be noted that under Mongol rule in the 13th century, Turkic tribes under the Ilkhanid banner also settled in large numbers in Azerbaijan.
Language
The Azerbaijanis speak Azerbaijani(often called Azerbaijani Turkish or Azeri) that belongs to a Turkic branch of the Altaic languages. Azerbaijani is very close to Turkish (the language of Turkey) and Turkmen (the language of Turkmenistan) which are also languages which have emerged from the Oghuz Turks. During the initial period of the Republic of Azerbaijan's independence, the official language of Azerbaijan was called "Turk dili" or "Turkish" but since 1994 the name of the language has been changed to Azerbaijani.
Development
The modern language and the nationhood of the Azerbaijanis developed from from the 10th to the 13th centuries, after the Oghuz Turkish migrations and the decline of the Oghuz Yabgu state in Central Asia. This is time span that is called Azerbaijan's national, cultural and linguistic "golden age." The Azerbaijanis are also rich inheritants of several ancient civilizations such as that of Sumer, Elam, Urartu, Mannai, ] and Caucasian Albania. The oldest spot of human habitation, the cave of Azykh, as well as the Garden of Eden which existed in South Azerbaijan are also part of Azerbaijani people's heritage.
Historic and National Figures of Azerbaijan
- Babek
- Dede Gorgud
- Muhammad Fizuli
- Imadedin Nesimi
- Koroglu
- Shah Ismayil
- Nizami Genjevi
- Uzun Hesen
- Sattar Khan
- Memed-Emin Resulzada
- Sheykh Muhammad Khiabani
- Jafar Pishevari
- Ebulfezl Elchibey.
Important Dynasties
Demographics
Besides the newly-independent Republic of Azerbaijan which has a population of around 8 million, the Azerbaijani people number a significant amount in Iran (in a region some reffer to as South Azerbaijan.) They also inhabit in the Dagestan republic of the Russian Federation, where they number around 80,000 people. There are 307,000 Azerbaijanis in Georgia, 500,000 in Turkey and have sizeable communities in Iraq and the United States.
More than 90% of Azerbaijanis are Shia Muslims. They are believed to number approximately 40 million or so worldwide(the majority living in Iran) although estimates vary. Most are farmers and urban-dwellers, while a small percentage are tribal and rural.