THE HISTORY OF
AZERBAIJAN – (I)
(Until the
Seljuks…)
Since the
ancient times, several views have been put forward on the
position of Azerbaijan, the Turkish homeland that
constitutes a bridge between the east and the west. In
ancient times, the northwestern provinces of Medya (the land
of the Meds), at times Arran and Sirvan, and the Caucasian
Azerbaijan after the foundation of the Republic of
Azerbaijan (May 28, 1918) have been stated as Azerbaijan
geographically. Consisting of Tabriz and its vicinity until
the 20th Century, Northwestern Iran was known as
Azerbaijan; however after the foundation of the Republic of
Azerbaijan in Southeastern Caucasus, this region has been
regarded as Azerbaijan. Nevertheless, the linguistic,
cultural and ethnographic values of regional people, as well
as historical facts, should be taken into consideration
while setting the borders of Azerbaijan.
In history, the
borders of Azerbaijan have broadened or narrowed depending
on the strength of states ruling the country. For this
reason, it would be more realistic to consider the
territories where Turks have lived as Azerbaijan. The
combination of Turkish communities like Oghuz and Kuman (Qipchak)
that settled in the region since the second half of the 11th
Century, and the Uyghur, Uzbek, Kazak and Tatar people that
arrived with the Moghul Armies has resulted in the Turkish
entity that calls itself Azeri that has a population of
around 30-35 million in Iran and the USSR. In regard with
history, language and ethnography, Azerbaijan is a wider
country than the region enclosed by the Caspian Sea in the
east, Dagestan in the north, Georgia in the northwest,
Armenia in the southwest and Iran in the south, that is the
borders of May 28, 1918. Iraq-i Acem, that is the region
lying between the southeastern ends of the Caucasian
Mountains to the south of Lake Urmia, Cibal Deylem, Gilan,
Arran, Sirvan, the islands of Nargin and Vulf around the
Avsaran Peninsula at the Caspian Sea, and the large and
small islands in the Gulf of Kizilagac like Sari Ada and
Duvan are located within the borders of Azerbaijan.
Including the territories in Russia and Iran, the total
surface area of Azerbaijan is 198,37 km2.
There is no
agreement on the name of Azerbaijan, either. The most
ancient known names in history are Adhurbadhaghan or
Adharbadhagan. This name is known as Atrpatakan by
Armenians, Atropatene by Hellenic people, and Aderbigan by
Syriacs. The most ancient claim on the name of Azerbaijan is
that the Iranian Atropatnes, the satrap (governor) appointed
by Alexander arrived there in 328 BC. This name took its
place in Farsi as Azerbad, and the name of the region became
Azerbadgan, meaning “the Land of Atropateness”.
Circles trying
to define the word etymologically prefer a definition
comprising the word “Azer”, which means “fire”, and “gan”
that means place, derived from the geological location of
the region. The word Atropat, used to define a part of Iran
since 227 BC, has been Arabicized following the arrival of
Islamic armies, turned into “Azerbaijan” and maintained this
name till the present time.
The settlement
of Turks in the region of Azerbaijan has continued in
intervals since ancient times. Between 1000-500 BC, the
Qipchak Steppes in northern Black Sea became the settlement
of communities of Asian origin. These are called Skuthoi in
Greek sources, and Asbkuzai in Assyrian sources. These
communities known generally as Iskits are the “Saka Turks”.
In 7th Century BC, the Caucasus and Azerbaijan
are observed to be the most desired land between Sakas and
Persians. The city of Sakasan, the center of the Saka
communities in Azerbaijan, is located within the Uti
province close to Girdiman in Samhorcay. It is possible to
come across with memories about Afrasyab, the legendary hero
of Sakas. It is commonly said that the cut head of Afrasyab
was buried under the Darvaze Sar gate of Tabriz, and that
Sange Surah in Arran was the last shelter of Afrasyab.
Another Turkish
incursion carried out through the Caucasus to Azerbaijan and
Anatolia is the Anatolian Campaign of the Asian Hun Turks
dating back to 395. The Hun tribes from the Don River
region, commanded by chiefs named Basak and Kursak, arrived
to Malatya and Cukurova along the Qarasu-Euphrates Valley
through Erzurum presently located in Turkey; besieged the
cities of Urfa, Antakye and Sur, and reached the environs of
Jerusalem. This military campaign that terrified the Sasanis
(one of the great kingdoms of Iran), and ended in the return
of the Huns to Azerbaijan as quickly over Central Anatolia,
and then to their bases. Three years later, in 398, a second
Hun incursion, similar to the first one, was observed.
In 451, coming
through the Caucasus, the Huns settled in the south of
Mughan and founded there a city called Balasagun. The Huns,
called Halanduruk or Haylendurk (Armenian) in several
sources, are called Kurd or Ekrad-a Bilasagun in Arabic
sources. Calling themselves the Mughan Kurds or Mugan
Turkmen during the reign of the Harzemshahs, these
communities are most probably the remnants of the Akhuns.
The second
biggest wave of migration occurred in 466 and the Aghaceri
Turkish tribes, belonging to the European Huns, settled in
Azerbaijan. Sasani sources call these people “Ak Katlan”,
and the Byzantines name them “Akatzir”. A part of the
Aghaceris that settled in Azerbaijan moved to Aleppo and
Damascus between 1180-1412, and another part settled in and
around Erdebil in Southern Azerbaijan.
The third wave
of migration to Azerbaijan was carried out by the Sabirs.
The Sabirs (Savar, Savir, Suvar or Sibir), crossing Derbent
in 558 and the Kur River in 575, settled in between Baku and
Kuba, and in Lenkeran. Along with the Sabirs, the Bulgarian
and Belencar Turks, united as under the name “Hazar”,
settled in the regions of Arran, Mughan, Gilan and Lenkeran.
They would play a considerably important role in the
establishment of the Hazar Turkish State. Later on, the
biggest lake in Asia would be named after this Turkish
state: The Caspian (Hazar) Sea.
During the
incursion of the Muslim Armies to Azerbaijan, this place was
belonging to the Hazar Empire, having Erdebil as their
center. During the invasion, Arabs saw Maragha fit to being
their military encampment. Arabs settled in Azerbaijan in
the form of an invasion, several Arab tribes were settled in
the region, and the local entities, deprived of their lands,
became slaves of the newcomers. Along with Arabs, several
Turkish communities that accepted Islam also arrived in
Azerbaijan. Particularly, commanders of Turkish origin in
the Abbasid Period (750-1258) led the settlement of several
Turkish entities in the region. The new Turkish settlers of
the region became a great source of confidence for
commanders of Turkish origin serving in the Abbasid Army.
Mubarek et-Turki, one of these Turkish commanders, had the
inner castle of Ghazvin repaired and gave his name there.
Zirek el-Turki, another Turkish commander, was sent by
Caliph Mutevekkil to suppress the Beni Bu’ays Commanders
that revolted in Merand (848). Later on, another Turkish
commander named Muhammed B. Sul was appointed as the
governor of Armenia and Azerbaijan. On the other hand,
Turkish commander Buga arrived in Azerbaijan with a force of
4000 troops and settled around 20.000 Hazar and Bulgarian
Turks in Shamkhor. Constituting one of the most important
events in 8th Century, the Babek uprising broke
out in Azerbaijan and Turkish commanders and Turkish armies
proved highly effective in suppressing this rebellion.
Uprising in the city of Al-Bazz, Babek quickly seized power
in Armenia, Esfahan, Mosul and Hamedan (816-817). Caliph
Mutasem (833-82) assigned Iranian commander el-Afsin Haydar
b. Kavus to suppress the uprising (June 3, 835). Later on
Babek was delivered to the Caliph and was executed upon his
order in January 4, 838.
Following the
dominance of the Arabs in Azerbaijan, the Arabic language
and literature became influential in the Arabization of the
region, but after a short while this dissipated within the
Farsi language and culture. Starting from the second half of
the 9th Century, the Abbasid Stated started to
tremble and local families started to act semi-independently
in their own regions occasionally. One of those was the Sac
sons Family that ruled Azerbaijan. This principality
(889/890-929) founded by Muhammed el-Afsin, son of Abu’s Sac
Divdad B. Yusuf Divdest, was the first “Semi-Independent
Turkish Principality” in the region. Following Sac sons,
until the arrival of the Seljuks, several principalities
ruled Azerbaijan.
Until the 9th
Century, the Turkish migration to Azerbaijan has taken place
in the north of the Caucasus. The Turkish communities that
settled in Azerbaijan as a result of these intermittent
migrations, blended with native communities. Assimilated,
most of these Turks were represented by local elements. The
ones who could endure were blended with the Turkmen
communities that arrived in Azerbaijan subsequently.
However, the actual Turkish settlement in Azerbaijan started
with the Seljuks, accelerated in the reign of the Ilhanlis,
and completed in the Karakoyunlu, Akkoyunlu and Safevi
Dynasties. In this context, the Turkish tribes that arrived
and settled in the region in the 11th Century can
be considered as the ancestors of Turks in present day
Azerbaijan.
