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| ===Important Dynasties=== | ===Important Dynasties=== | ||
Revision as of 08:53, 3 June 2004
Azerbaijanis are commonly associated with the ancient land of Azerbaijan as well as neighbouring areas. They are the descendants of Turks (primarily the Oghuz Turks) who have inhabited the land since antiquity.
Other Turkic Peoples
Other Turkic peoples who have inhabited Azerbaijan besides those labeled as the Oghuz Turks (majority population in Azerbaijan in the 10th and 11th centuries) were the Scythians and Massagets (both reffered to as Ishkuz) Salars, Avars, Huns, Gok-Turks, Barsils, Saragurs, Kurtugurs, Khazars and the Ilkhanids. The ancient civilizations of the land such as that of Sumer, Elam, Urartu, Mannai, Media and Albania were inhabited by Ural-Altaic (proto-Turkic) peoples. It should be noted that under Mongol pressure in the 13th century, Turkic tribes under the Ilkhanid banner also settled in large numbers in Azerbaijan to escape Mongol persecution.
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. The standard Azerbaijani language developed from the 10th century onwards. 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 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 pre-Islamic civilizations such as that of Sumer, Elam, Urartu, Mannai, Media and Caucasian Albania. The oldest spot of human habitation, the cave of Azykh, as well as the Garden of Eden, which some apparently locate 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
- Zoroaster
- Shemseldin Ildeniz
- Shah Ismayil
- Nizami Genjevi
- Uzun Hesen
- Sattar Khan
- Shahriar
- Nadir Shah Afshar
- 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 refer 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. Their identity as both Turks and Shia Muslims connect them linguistically, culturally and religiously with some of their diverse neighbours. The Azerbaijani population is 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.