Information About ™Azeri |
This article is about the ethnic group called Azeris; for the inhabitants of Azerbaijan , see Demographics Of Azerbaijan . For other similar terms and uses, see Azeri (disambiguation) and Azerbaijan (disambiguation) .
Azerbaijanis ( numbering ca. 30 million worldwide. The majority, around 16-23 million (estimates vary) {Link without Title} {Link without Title} , live in Iran . The rest, around 8 million, live in the Republic Of Azerbaijan . There are also sizeable communities in Turkey , Georgia , Russia , USA , Canada , and Germany . The overwhelming majority are Shi'a Muslims . ORIGINS Much has been debated about the ethnic, cultural and linguistic origin of the Azerbaijani (or Azeri) people. Ultimately, the 'debate' over the origins of the Azerbaijani people has to do with historic claims over their territory as well as 20th century notions of nationalism. The debate basically involves three conflicting viewpoints: whether the Azeris are of a Turkic background, ultimately from Central Asia ; or are an Iranian People who simply changed their language following Turkic invasions; or are indigenous to the Caucasus and simply adopted the Turkic language and converted to Islam . Thus, determining whether a Turkic, Iranic (or Iranian), or Caucasian background defines the Azeris also has much to do with the historical views of Azeri neighbors as well. This historical debate aside, genetic analysis of MtDNA , have shown that Azerbaijanians are more closely related genetically to their geographic neighbors in the Caucasus and not to their linguistic neighbors elsewhere. In addition, studies have demonstrated that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between European and Near Eastern populations, but that they are more closely related to European than to Near Eastern populations. By contrast the analysis of Y-chromosome shows a closer genetic relationship with the Near East than with Europe. These studies suffer from numerous drawbacks and any conclusion must be drawn cautiously. The analysis have been done only on a very limited set of genes and also no sample have been taken from Iran where most of Azerbaijanis live. Analyses of Autosomal Chromosome s are needed to verify these controversial hypotheses. {Link without Title} A fair number of historians contend that the nation of Azerbaijanis are descendants of ancient tribes, in particular the Oghuz Turks , but also, other Altaic invaders including the Huns , Gokturks , Khazars , Barsils, Kurtugurs, Saragurs, Kipchaks and others. Still others believe that the Azeris are native to the Caucasus and are actually the descendants of the Albanians Of The Caucasus , whose language may have been akin to the Udi Language , which is part of the Northeast Caucasian family of languages that includes Abkhazian among others. Adherants to this view believe that the earlier inhabitants of what is today Azerbaijan mingled with and absorbed various cultural traits from smaller groups of ruling elites of Iranic and Turkic background over time, as the population was '' Turkified '' in the linguistic sense and adopted many Persian cultural elements including Zoroastrianism and the Shi'a sect of Islam . Turkic background examined Turkic invaders have been coming to Azerbaijan for centuries, but it remains unclear if all or most settled and remained in Azerbaijan (as opposed to other parts of the Caucasus and Southwest Asia ) or simply came and went over the ages, until one group, the Oghuz remained in large enough numbers to alter the region. Morphological factors of the Azeri people in isolated rural areas appears quite similar to some nearby Turkic Peoples , especially with regards to the Turkmen and Turks of Turkey . According to Caucasus Albanian historian Moses Kalankatly , in the period between 191-200 CE , hordes of Barsil and Khazar Turks crossed the Kura river into what is today known as Azerbaijan. Other noted historians include Tabari , who describes in detail various incursions into Azerbaijan by Ural-Altaic tribes (Huns and Khazars) in the 4th and 5th centuries CE. Tabari also states that by the mid-6th century, there was a significant Turkish presence in Azerbaijan and other adjacent regions. Kalankatly also states that in the year 629, the army of the Gokturks as well as a series Khazar Turkic tribes entered Azerbaijan and declared the land to be the "eternal possession" of the Turks. Byzantine sources of the mid-6th century refer to the "settlement of Khazar Turks" in the left bank of the Kura river and Kalankatly makes reference to a "Hun state" on the left bank of the Kura River in the 7th century. According to Professor Peter B. Golden, "In the course of the seventh century, the two major tribal unions emerged in Azerbaijan under the Turk banner: the Khazars and the Bulgars...the Khazars formed the bulk of the Turk forces used by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (610-640) in his counter-offensive against the Sasanids (rulers) in Azerbaijan". A pre-Islamic Turkic presence in Azerbaijan is evident in literature after the Islamic conquest of the region, in an era that was famous for its historical, geographical and scientific analyzations of the world by Muslim scholars. According to the 7th century work of Ubeid ibn Shariyya al-Jurhumi, the Muslim Caliph Mueviyyen (661-680) was told that Azerbaijan "has long been a land of Turks. Having gathered over there, they have mixed with one another and become integrated." It must also be noted that the famous "Book of Dede Korkut" which is the epic of the Oghuz Turks (considered by Azeris to be their primary ancestors) was written in central-Asia in the 6th and 7th centuries. What should be noted is that the demographics and social conditions are difficult to ascertain under 'Turkic' rule. Many question remain difficult to answer including whether the Turkic tribes replaced the peoples who lived in Azerbaijan before their arrival or simply mixed with them? Possible Iranian origins Life for rural Azeris of Iran closely resembles that of Persians and in large cities such as Tabriz , Urmia and Ardabil , many Azeris resemble the Iranian Ethnic Groups . Nearly all the of the vocabulary and habits related to settled life in large cities of Iranian Azerbaijan such as Tabriz , Urmia and Ardabil are still the original Iranian ( Tatic ) vocabulary and habits which have survived the linguistic Turkification of the region. Other qualities that link the Azeris to the Persians include the word ''Azerbaijan'' which is attested to have been derived from the Persian ''Azar-padegan'' and means ''The Land of the Protector of Fire''. Alternatively, the name is believed to have come from Atropates , an Iranic leader who ruled Azerbaijan during the period of Alexander Of Macedon 's defeat of the Achaemenid Persian Empire . The word Atropates itself means the "Protector of Fire". From a historical perspective, according to the 1911 '' Encyclopædia Britannica '' "the people of the Mada (Mata), the Medes , appear in history first in 836 B.C., when the Assyrian conqueror Shalmaneser II in his wars against the tribes of the Zagros received the tribute of the Amadai... Herodotus gives a list of six Median tribes among them, the Paraetaceni...names in the Assyrian inscriptions prove that the tribes in the Zagros and the northern parts of Media {Link without Title} were Iranian but an aboriginal population...perhaps connected with the numerous tribes of the Caucasus (northern Azerbaijan, Albania)...Gelae, Tapuri, Cadusii, Amardi, Utii and other tribes in northern Media (Azerbaijan) and on the shores of the Caspian were not Iranians. With them Polybius, Strabo and Pliny mention the Anariaci, whom they consider as a particular tribe; but in reality their name, the Non-Aryans, is the comprehensive designation of all these small tribes..." A Caucasian background rediscovered Many modern Azeris, not unlike the Turks of Turkey, have, during their journey into discovering their roots, come across forgotten possible ancestors. As many modern Turkish historians looked to the possibility that groups such as the . In addition, some believe that the Udi language, which is a Caucasian Language is a remnant of the ancient Albanians who were assimilated into various invading cultures over time. Lastly, ethnic animosity and rivalry with many of their neighbors has possibly prevented the modern Azeris from examining possible ties to their immediate neighbors. What remains difficult to determine is the overall number of Turkic invaders which may not have been enough to alter the population dramatically in the genetic sense. Genetic evidence The population of Azerbaijan is undoubtedly diverse, but there appear to be distinct traits that have been discovered through linguistic background, the Azeris, like the Turks Of Turkey , do not share most of their genetic background with Central Asian populations, although there is evidence of genetic admixture derived from Central Asian Turkic groups, in particular the Turkmen found across the Caspian Sea , that is higher than that of their neighbors including the Georgians , Armenians , and Persians . Other tests indicate that the Azeris not only closely resemble their Caucasian neighbors, but also display many genetic markers found in European populations. {Link without Title} The preliminary conclusion from the series of genetic testing shows the Azeris to be a somewhat mixed population with relationships, in order of greatest similarity, mainly with the Caucasus followed by lesser similarities with Europeans, Iranian peoples, and Turkic peoples. Genetic analysis of MtDNA , have shown that Azerbaijanians are more closely related genetically to their geographic neighbors in the Caucasus and not to their linguistic neighbors elsewhere. In addition, studies have demonstrated that Caucasian populations are genetically intermediate between European and Near Eastern populations, but that they are more closely related to European than to Near Eastern populations. By contrast the analysis of Y-chromosome shows a closer genetic relationship with the Near East than with Europe. These studies suffer from numerous drawbacks and any conclusion must be drawn cautiously. The analysis have been done only on a very limited set of genes and also no sample have been taken from Iran where most of Azerbaijanis live. Analyses of Autosomal Chromosome s and a wider sampling are needed to verify these controversial hypotheses. {Link without Title} . LANGUAGE See Also: Azerbaijani language The Azerbaijanis speak Azerbaijani (sometimes called Azerbaijani Turkish or Azeri), a Turkic Language which is mutually intelligible with Turkish , with minor variations in accent. Some other Turkic languages include Turkmen (see also Turkic Peoples ), Yakut and Uzbek . The standard Azerbaijani language developed from the 10th Century onwards. Prior to the 10th century, there were various Turkish dialects spoken across the region. The modern written language of the Azerbaijanis developed from the 10th to the 13th Centuries , after the Oghuz Turkic migrations and the decline of the Oghuz Yabgu state in Central Asia. This is the timespan that is called Azerbaijan's cultural and linguistic "golden age." DEMOGRAPHICS There are about total 23 to 40 million Azerbaijanis in the world, but census figures are incomplete. Since early 20th century successive Iraninan governments, have avoided publishing any statistics on ethnics groups. This policy presents difficulty in providing any statistics on distribution and size of ethnicity in Iran . The population size of Turkic speaking ethnic groups, are estimated to be much higher in Iran than official publications. | |||||||||||||||||||
| <tr><td> | "http://wwwciagov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ajhtml#PeopleCIA" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Facts Book on Azerbaijan </td><td>7,911,974 </td><td> %906 </td><td>7,168,248</td></tr> |
||||||||||||||||||
| <tr><td> | "http://wwwciagov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/irhtml#PeopleCIA" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Facts Book on Iran </td><td> 68,017,860 </td><td>%24</td><td>16,324,286</td></tr> |