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The Azerbaijanis(; in to the Iranian Plateau . The Azeris are typically Muslim and have a mixed cultural heritage of Turkic , Iranian , and Caucasian elements. Despite living on both sides of an international border, the Azeris form a single ethnic group. "Azerbaijani" , ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' (retrieved 2007 ) This included parts of the current Republic of Azerbaijan. The treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the border between Russia and Persia (today known as Iran ). As a result of this separate existence, the Azeris are mainly secular in the 2007 ) HISTORY See Also: History of Azerbaijan History of Iran Azerbaijan is believed to be named after '' 2006 ). Azerbaijan has seen a host of inhabitants and invaders, including Caucasians , Medes , Scythia ns, Persians , Armenians , Greeks , Romans , Khazars , Arabs , Oghuz , Seljuks , Mongols , and Russians . Ancient period 2006 ). Sassanid control ended with their defeat by Muslim Arabs in 642 CE. "Islamic Conquest", Library of Congress... Medieval period 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.p. 71 Between the ninth and tenth centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the Kura and Aras rivers as '' Arran ''.p. 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. ''A History of Islamic Societies'' by Ira Lapidus, p. 48. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1988), ISBN 0-521-77933-2 (retrieved 7 June 2006 ). 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 Azarbaijan from 816–837, led by a local commoner named Bābak . ''The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates'' by Hugh Kennedy , p. 166. Longman Group, London (1992), ISBN 0-582-40525-4 (retrieved 7 June 2006 ). However, despite pockets of continued resistance, the majority of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan converted to Islam. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, Kurdish dynasties of Shaddadid and Rawadid ruled parts of Azerbaijan. In the middle of the eleventh century, the 2006 ) However, Iranian cultural influence survived extensively, as evidenced by the works of then contemporary writers such as Persian poet Nezāmī Ganjavī . 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 .p.45 Turkic dominion was interrupted by the Mongols in 1227 and later the Mongols and Tamerlane ruled the region until 1405. Turkic rule returned with the Sunni Qara Qoyunlū (Black Sheep Turkmen) and Aq Qoyunlū (White Sheep Turkmen), who dominated Azerbaijan until the Shi'a Safavids took power in 1501.p. 285p.113 Modern period , Persia.]] The Safavids, who rose from Iranian Azerbaijan and lasted until 1722, established the modern Iranian state. The Safavid Empire , University of Calgary (retrieved 2006 ). Noted for achievements in state building, architecture, and the sciences, the Safavid state crumbled due to internal decay and external pressures from the Russians and Afghans . The Safavids encouraged and spread Shi'a Islam which is an important part of the national identity of Iranian Azerbaijani people as well as many Azerbaijanis north of the Aras. The Safavids encouraged the arts and culture and Shah Abbas the Great created an intellectual atmosphere which according to some scholars was a new ''Golden Age of Persia''.Kathy Sammis, ''Focus on World History: The First Global Age and the Age of Revolution'', pg 39. He reformed the government and the military, and responded to the needs of the common people. Ottoman rule followed the brief Safavid state, before conquest by Nadir Shah Afshar , a chieftain from Khorasan who reduced the power of the Shi'a.p. 300 The brief reign of Karim Khan came next, followed by the Qajars , who ruled Azerbaijan and Iran starting in 1779.p. 106 Russia loomed as a threat to Persian holdings in the Caucasus in this period. The Russo-Persian Wars began in the eighteenth century and ended in the early nineteenth century with the Gulistan Treaty of 1813 and the Turkmenchay Treaty in 1828, which officially gave the Caucasian portion of Qajar Iran to the Russian Empire.Alstadt Iranian Azerbaijan's role in the Iranian constitutional revolution cannot be underestimated. The greatest figures of the democracy seeking revolution were both from Iranian Azerbaijan. The Constitutional Revolution of 1906–11 shook the Qajar dynasty, whose kings had virtually sold the country to the tobacco and oil interests of the British Empire and had lost territory to the Russian empire. A parliament (Majlis) came into existence by the efforts of the constitutionalists. It was accompanied in some regions by a peasant revolt against tax collectors and landlords, the only indigenous mainstay of the monarchy. Pro-democracy newspapers appeared, and Iranian intellectuals began to relish the modernist breezes blowing from Paris and Petrograd. The Qajar Shah and his British advisers crushed the Constitutional Revolution, but the demise of the dynasty could not be long postponed. The last Shah of the Qajar dynasty was soon removed by a military coup led by Reza Khan , an officer of an old Cossack regiment, which had been created by Czarist Russia and officered by Russians to protect the Qajar ruler and Russian interests. In the quest of imposing national homogeneity on the country where half of the population consisted of ethnic minorities, Reza Shah issued in quick succession bans on the use of Azerbaijani language on the premises of schools, in theatrical performances, religious ceremonies, and, finally, in the publication of books.Tadeusz Swietochowski, ''Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition'' (ISBN 0-231-07068-3) With the dethronement of Reza Shah in September 1941, Russian troops captured Tabriz and northwestern Persia for military and strategic reasons. Azerbaijan People's Government , a client state set up by the order of Stalin himself, under leadership of Sayyid Jafar Pishevari was proclaimed in Tabriz Cold War International History Project 1945–46 Iranian Crisis However, under pressure by the Western countries, the Soviet army was soon withdrawn, and the Iranian government regained control over Iranian Azerbaijan by the end of 1946. According to Professor. Gary R. Hess: While the Azeris in Iran largely integrated into modern Iranian society, the northern Azeris lived through the transition from the Russian Empire to brief Independence from 1918–1920 and then incorporation into the Soviet Union despite pleas by Woodrow Wilson for their independence at the Treaty Of Versailles conference. The Republic of Azerbaijan achieved independence in 1991, but became embroiled in a war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia . ORIGINS , Azerbaijan .]] In many references, Azerbaijanis are designated as a 2006 ) ''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 ). "Turkic Peoples", ''Encyclopedia Americana'', volume 27, page 276. Grolier Inc., New York (1998) ISBN 0-7172-0130-9 (retrieved 8 June 2006 ). However, modern-day Azerbaijanis are believed to be primarily the descendants of the Caucasian and Iranic peoples who lived in the areas of the Caucasus and northern Iran, respectively, prior to Turkification . Various historians including Vladimir Minorsky explain how largely Iranian and Caucasian populations became Turkish-speaking: Thus, centuries of Turkic migration and turkification of the region helped to formulate the modern Azerbaijani ethnic group. Turkification See Also: Turkification Oghuz languages (1868-1914) was a major revolutionary figure in the late Qajar period in Iran.]] Although, "Turkic penetration probably began in the 2006 ). Most academics view this migration as the most likely source of a Turkic background, but one that most likely involved the ''linguistic'' Turkification of predominantly non-Turkic-speaking indigenous peoples and assimilation of small bands of Turkic tribes.DictionaryAltstadt Iranian origin See Also: Iranian origin of the Azerbaijanis , a twelfth-century writer and philosopher, in Baku , Azerbaijan . Nezami is a major literary figure to both Azeris and Persians.]] The Iranian origins of the Azeris likely derive from ancient Iranic tribes, such as the 2006 ). Ancient written accounts, such as one written by Arab historian Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi(896-956), attest to an Iranian presence in the region: (Al Mas'udi, Kitab al-Tanbih wa-l-Ishraf, De Goeje, M.J. (ed.), Leiden, Brill, 1894, pp. 77-8) Scholars see cultural similarities between modern Persians and Azeris as evidence of an ancient Iranian influence. "Azerbaijan" , ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' (retrieved 2006 ). and the name Azerbaijan itself. Various sources such as 2006 ). As a precursor to these modern groups, the Ancient Azaris are also hypothesized as ancestors of the modern Azerbaijanis. Caucasian origin (1838-1924), a leading Azeri industrialist and philanthropist.]] According to Encyclopedia Britannica: The Caucasian origin mostly applies to the Azeri's of the Caucasus, most of whom are now inhabitants of the Republic of Azerbaijan. There is evidence that, despite repeated invasions and migrations, aboriginal 2006 ).Rare Caucasus Albanian Text This Caucasian influence extended further south into 2006 ). Genetics 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 Azerbaijani case; the Azeris of Azerbaijan republic most of all genetically resemble to other Caucasian people like Armenians Testing hypotheses of language replacement in the Caucasus and people the Azarbaijan region of Iran to other Iranians Is urbanisation scrambling the genetic structure of human populations? . Studies conducted in the Caucasus A 2003 study found that: " 2006 ). The conclusion from the testing shows that the Caucasian 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-chromosome s indicates that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between Europeans and Near Easterners, but that they are more closely related to Near Easterners overall.ibid. Another study, conducted in 2003 by the ''Russian Journal of Genetics'', compared Iranians in Azerbaijan (the Talysh and Tats ) with Turkic Azerbaijanis and found that, Studies conducted at Cambridge University A recent study of the genetic landscape of Iran was completed by a team of 2006 ). The study found that the Azerbaijanis 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. Ethnonym Historically the people of the present day Republic of Azerbaijan were known as Arranians or also refers to Azerbaijanis as Aderbeijans in some articles. Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. "Turks". St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890-1907 According to the article Turko-Tatars of the above encyclopedia, Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary. "Turko-Tatars". St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890-1907.}} DEMOGRAPHICS AND SOCIETY See Also: Demographics of Azerbaijan Demographics of Iran There are an estimated 24 to 33 million Azerbaijanis in the world, but census figures are difficult to verify. The vast majority live in Azerbaijan and 2006 ). While population estimates in Azerbaijan are considered reliable due to regular censuses taken, the figures for Iran remain questionable. Since the early twentieth century, successive Iranian governments have avoided publishing statistics on ethnic groups.''The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan'' edited by Ali Banuazizi and Myron Weiner, Part II: Iran. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, N.Y. (1988), ISBN 0-8156-2448-4 (retrieved 2006 ). A large expatriate community of Azerbaijanis is found outside Azerbaijan and Iran. According to 2006 ). Ethnologue further reports that an additional 1 million South Azeris live outside Iran, but these figures most likely are a reference to the Iraqi Turkmen , a distinct though related Turkic people.ibid. Azeris in Azerbaijan By far the largest ethnic group in Azerbaijan (over 90%), the Azeris generally tend to dominate most aspects of the country. Unlike most of their ethnic brethren in Iran, the majority of Azeris are secularized from decades of official Soviet 2006 ). Whereas most urban Azeris are educated, education remains comparatively lower in rural areas. A similar disparity exists with healthcare. Azeri society has been deeply impacted by the war with Armenia over 2006 ).The Cultural Renaissance Azeris in Iran See Also: Azeris in Iran , an Iranian pop Diva of Azeri ethnicity.]] Azerbaijanis in Iran are mainly found in the northwest provinces: East Azerbaijan , West Azerbaijan , Ardabil , Zanjan , Kordestan , Qazvin , Hamedan , and Markazi . Many others live in Tehran , Fars Province , and other regions.Azarbaijanis Generally, Azeris in Iran have been "a well integrated linguistic minority" according to academics such as anthropologist Patricia Higgins.pp.188–191 In fact, until the Pahlavi period in the twentieth century, "the identity of Iran was not exclusively Persian, but supra-ethnic", as much of the political leadership, starting from the eleventh century, had been Turkic.ibid. The Iranian and Turkic groups were integrated until twentieth century nationalism and communalism began to alter popular perception.Ibid. 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."ibid. Resentment came with Pahlavi policies that suppressed the use of the 2006 ). Despite sporadic problems, Azeris are an intrinsic community within Iran. Currently, the living conditions of Azeris in Iran closely resemble that of Persians : Andrew Burke writes: Azeris in Iran are in high positions of authority with the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei currently sitting as the Supreme Leader . Azeris in Iran remain quite conservative in comparison to most Azeris in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Nonetheless, since the Republic of Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, there has been renewed interest and contact between Azeris on both sides of the border. See Also: Azeris in Georgia Azeris in Armenia Azeris in Russia Azeris in Turkey CULTURE See Also: Culture of Azerbaijan Culture of Iran In many respects, Azeris are Eurasian and bi-cultural, as northern Azeris have absorbed Russo-Soviet and Eastern European influences, whereas the Azeris of the south have remained within the Turko-Iranian and Persianate tradition. Modern Azeri culture includes significant achievements in literature, art, music, and film. Language and literature , sixteenth-century poet.]] See Also: Azerbaijani language Azerbaijani literature The Azerbaijanis speak 2006 ). In addition to their mother tongue, many Azerbaijanis are equally at home in Russian and/or Persian . Religion See Also: Religion in Azerbaijan Islam in Azerbaijan Christianity in Azerbaijan Islam in Iran The majority of Azerbaijanis are , including Norouz and Christmas . Performance art See Also: Music of Azerbaijan Music of Iran Azeris express themselves in a variety of artistic ways including dance, music, and the media. Azeri folk dances are ancient and similar to that of their neighbours in the Caucasus and Iran. The group dance is a common form found from 2006 ). Solitary dances are performed by both men and women and involve subtle hand motions in addition to sequenced steps. Azeri musical tradition can be traced back to singing 2006 ). Other musical instruments include the Tar (another type of lute), Duduk (a wind instrument), Kamancha (fiddle), and the Dhol (drums). Azeri 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 Azeris, notably Vagif Mustafa Zadeh and Aziza Mustafa Zadeh , mixed Jazz with mugham. Some Azeri 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). Meanwhile in Iran, Azeri music has taken a different course. According to Iranian Azeri singer 2006 ). As a result, most Iranian Azeri music is performed outside of Iran amongst exile communities. Azeri film and television is largely broadcast in Azerbaijan with limited outlets in Iran. Some Azeris 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 Azeris 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 2004 Summer Olympics .]] Sports have historically been an important part of Azeri life. Numerous competitions were conducted on horseback and praised by poets and writers such as Gatran Tabrizi and 2006 ). Other ancient sports include wrestling, javelin throwing and ox-wrestling. The Soviet legacy has in modern times propelled some Azeris to become accomplished athletes at the Olympic level. "Azerbaijan" , ''Eurolympic.org'' (retrieved 2006 ). Weight lifters, such as Iran's Hossein Reza Zadeh , world’s super heavyweight lifting record holder and two times Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004 and Nizami Pashayev , who won the European heavyweight title in 2006, have excelled at the international level. Chess is another popular pastime in Azerbaijan. The country has produced many notable players, such as Teimour Radjabov and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov , both highly ranked internationally. INSTITUTIONS Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan have developed distinct institutions as a result of divergent socio-political evolution. Azerbaijan began the twentieth century with institutions based upon those of Russia and the Soviet Union, with strict state control over most aspects of society. Since, they have moved towards the adoption of Western social models as of the late twentieth century. Since independence, relaxed state controls have allowed local Civil Society to develop. In contrast, in Iranian Azerbaijan Islamic theocratic institutions dominate nearly all aspects of society, with most political power in the hands of the Supreme Leader Of Iran and the Council Of Guardians . Yet both societies are in a state of change. In Azerbaijan there is a secular democratic system that is mired in political corruption and charges of election fraud. Azerbaijan's civil society is a work in progress: Despite these problems Azerbaijan has an active political opposition that seeks more expansive democratic reforms.Opposition parties Azeris in Iran remain intertwined with the Islamic republic's 2006 ). WOMEN .]] See Also: Iranian women Azeri females have historically struggled against a legacy of male domination but have made great strides since the twentieth century. In Azerbaijan, women were granted the right to vote in 1919. "US Suffrage Movement Timeline, 1792 to present" , Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership (retrieved 2006) In Iran, the continued unequal treatment of women has been met with increasingly vocal protests, including that of 2006 ) The social fate of Azeri women largely mirrors that of other women in Iran. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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