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Azerbaijan (Iran)

Encyclopedia : A : AZ : AZE : Azerbaijan (Iran)

This article is about the region in Iran; for other uses, see Azerbaijan (disambiguation).
Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan, also Iranian Azarbaijan or Iranian Azerbaijan (Persian: آذربایجان ایران; Āzārbāijān-e Irān; Azarbaijani language: آذربایجان), is a region in northwestern Iran and south of the Republic of Azarbaijan. The terms Southern Azarbaijan or South Azerbaijan (Azarbaijani language: گوني آذربایجان, Güney Azərbaycan) are also sometimes used to describe the regionEncyclopaedia Iranica: "Azerbaijan", viii "Azerbaijan Turkish", Doerfer, G. page 246, ([LINK])Brown, Cameron S. 2002 (Dec.). "Observations from Azerbaijan." Middle East Review of International Affairs: v. 6, no. 4, ([LINK]), but are criticized by Iranian sources as being incorrect and nationalistic-motivated.Dr. Enayatollah Reza, "Arran: the real name of the Republic Azarbaijan", The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS), ([LINK])Dr. Kaveh Farrokh, "Pan-Turanism takes aim at Azarbaijan: A Geopolitical Agenda", ([LINK])

Contents

Geography

Azarbaijan has an area of 176,512 square kilometers and a population of about 10 million (estimates vary) the Azaris make up the majority of the population in the Iranian regions of Azarbaijan. Azarbaijan is famous for its great natural beauty. There are 17 rivers and two lakes in the region. Cotton, nuts, textiles, tea, machinery and electrical equpiments are main industries. The northern, alpine region, which includes Lake Urmia, is mountainous, with deep valleys and fertile lowlands.

Economy

Grains, fruits, cotton, rice, nuts, and tobacco are grown. Wool, carpets, and metalware are produced. Industries include food processing, cement, textiles, electric equipment, and sugar milling. An oil pipeline runs through the region.

Colleges and Universities

  1. Sahand University of Technology
  2. Tabriz University of Medical Sciences
  3. [Tabriz University of Tarbiat Moallem]
  4. University of Tabriz
  5. [Islamic Azad University of Tabriz]
  6. [Islamic Azad University of Shabestar]
  7. [Islamic Azad University of Maragheh]
  8. [Islamic Azad University of Miyaneh]
  9. [Tabriz Islamic Arts University]
  10. [Azarbaijan University of Tarbiat Moallem, Azarshahr]
  11. [University College of Nabi Akram]
  12. Urmia University of Medical Sciences
  13. Urmia University
  14. [Islamic Azad University of Khoi]
  15. Islamic Azad University of Urmia
  16. Ardabil University of Medical Sciences
  17. Mohaghegh Ardabili University
  18. Islamic Azad University of Ardabil
  19. Islamic Azad University of Khalkhal
  20. [University of Zanjan]
  21. [Zanjan University of Medical Sciences]
  22. [Islamic Azad University of Zanjan]
  23. [Islamic Azad University of Abhar]
  24. Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS)

People

The majority of the people of Azarbaijan are Azaris, who are Shi'a Muslims. There are also Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Jews, Georgians, and Persians. Iranian Azarbaijan is divided into the provinces of East Azarbaijan (1996 pop. 3,325,540), West Azarbaijan (1996 pop. 2,496,320), Ardebil. (1996 pop. 1,168,011), and Zanjan. The chief cities include Tabriz (the capital of East Azarbaijan), Urmia (the capital of West Azerbaijan), Ardebil (the capital of Ardabil), Maragheh, Marand, Zanjan, and Khoy (Khvoy). The region is bounded in the north by Armenia and the Republic of Azarbaijan in the historical Iranian territory of Arran and in the West by Lake Urmia and Kurdish-inhabited Areas of Iran.

History

In ancient times, before the Aryan migration to Iranian Plateau, Azarbaijan was dominated by the Kingdom of Urartu (in Armenia). By the 8th century BC, it had been settled by Medes, and it later formed the province of Media Minor in the Persian Empire. After Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he appointed (328 BC) as governor the Persian general Atropates, who eventually established an independent dynasty. Later, the region, which came to be called Atropatene or Media Atropatene, was much disputed. In the 2nd century BC, it was liberated from Seleucid domination by Mithradates I of Arsacid dynasty, and c. AD 226 it became part of the Sassanid Empire of Ardashir I. Shapur II enlarged Azarbaijan by adding territory in the north known as Arran or Aran (today known as the Republic of Azerbaijanor Azarbaijan).

Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor, briefly held the region in the 7th century, just before the Islamic Conquest of Iran; Arab invaders converted most of its people to Islam and made it part of the caliphate. The Persianized Seljuk Turks dominated the region in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the Mongols under Hulagu Khan established (13th century) their capital at Maragheh. After being conquered by Timur in the 14th century, Tabriz became an important provincial capital of the Timurid empire. It was out of Ardebil (Ancient Artavilla) that the Safavid dynasty arose (c. 1500) to renew the state of Persia. There was fierce fighting between the Ottoman Empire and Persia for Azerbaijan. After brief Ottoman control, Shah Abbas the Great, regained control of the region in 1603.

The northern parts, which today constitute the State of Azarbaijan were ceded to Russia by treaties of 1813 and 1828.

Iranian Azarbaijan was occupied by Soviet forces in 1941, and briefly existed as an autonomous Soviet-supported state, between the Soviet withdrawal in May 1946 and the Iranian re-occupation in November of the same year.

Separatist movements in Azarbaijan can visibly trace their origins back to the colonialist policies of the Soviet Union and Imperial Russia. In a cable sent on July 6th 1945 by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the local Soviet commander in Russian (northern) held Azarbaijan was instructed as such:

"Begin preparatory work to form a national autonomous Azarbaijan district with broad powers within the Iranian state and simultaneously develop separatist movements in the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Gorgan, and Khorasan".Decree of the CC CPSU Politburo to Mir Bagirov, CC Secretary of the Communist Party of Azarbaijan, on "measures to Organize a Separatist Movement in Southern Azarbaijan and Other Provinces of Northern Iran". Translation provided by The Cold War International History Project at The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Culture

Azarbaijan hails from a rich culture from Azari traditions. Many local dances and folk music continue to survive among the various peoples of the provinces. As a longstanding province of Persia, Azarbaijan is mentioned favorably on many occasions in Persian literature by Iran's greatest authors and poets. Examples:

گزیده هر چه در ایران بزرگان
زآذربایگان و ری و گرگان
All the nobles and greats of Iran,
Choose from Azarbaijan, Ray, and Gorgan.
--Vis o Ramin

از آنجا بتدبیر آزادگان
بیامد سوی آذرآبادگان
From there the wise and the free,
set off to Azarbaijan
--Nizami

بیک ماه در آذرآبادگان
ببودند شاهان و آزادگان
For a month's time, The Kings and The Free,
Would choose in Azarbaijan to be
--Ferdowsi

Ethnic status in Iran

The current Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is an Azari, which gives rise to a theory that there is little or no discrimination of Azaris in Iran and that they have equal opportunities compared to other ethnic groups in Iran, such as Persians. However, according to Amnesty International and other international organisations, as well as the local population, there are increasing calls by the Azari to more freely express their ethnic and cultural identity. There is evidence that Azaris may have been discriminated in recent years by the Iranian authorities.[[Citing sources citation needed]] Moreover, Iranian Azaris have complained about the lack of Azari language schools, and there have been reports that newspapers written in Azari (a form of Turkish) may have been banned. At the end of June 2005, scores of people were reportedly arrested following an Azari cultural gathering at Babak Castle in the city of Kalaybar. Similar events in previous years have also met with repression [] [link]. Some also claim that Azaris in Iran are not allowed to freely speak their language, propagate their culture, or maintain their own media outlets.

In contrast to apparent de-facto discrimination of at least some Azaris in Iran, the governemt claims that its policy in the past 30 years has been one of pan-Islamism, which is based on a common Islamic religion of which diverse ethnic groups may be part, and which does not favor or repress any particular ethnicity, including the Persian majority. Persian language is thus merely used as the lingua franca of the country, which helps maintain Iran's traditional centralized model of government.

Furthermore, Article 15 of Iran's constitution reads:

"The use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian."[Iran - Constitution]
According to Amnesty International, "Iranian Azeri Turks, who are mainly Shi’a Muslims, are the largest minority in Iran, [and are] believed to constitute between 25-30 per cent of the population. They are located mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. As Shi’a, they are not subject to the same kinds of discrimination as minorities of other religions, and are well-integrated into the economy, but there is a growing demand for greater cultural and linguistic rights, including implementation of their constitutional right to education through the medium of Turkish. A small minority advocate secession of Iranian Azerbaijan from the Islamic Republic of Iran and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Those who seek to promote Azeri Turkish cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who often accuse them of charges such as 'promoting pan-Turkism'". [Amnesty International. Iran. New government fails to address dire human rights situation]

Famous Azsris of Iran

Azaris (Azeris) - Turkic speaking and non-Turkic speaking - have participated in Iran's history and politics, and continue to do so. Some of the most famous Azeris of Iran involved on national levels are:

References

See also

External links

 

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