From Sasanian Adurbadagan to Modern Azerbaijan: Historical Background and Developments

Abstract

The author discusses the historical background of the origin of modern Azerbaijan divided by the Araz river into southern or Iranian and northern or the independent Republic of Azerbaijan. The author analyzes the application of the Sasanian name Adurbadagan to both sides of modern Azerbaijan. He believes that the name Azerbaijan originates from the Avestan words Atash or Atar or Azar that means fire. As a historical and political term, Azerbaijan roots deep to Achaemenids’ Aturpatakan (Atropatena) evolving into the Sasanian Adurbadagan - a Zoroastrian center of the empire. Since late Antiquity, Adurbadagan’s military and administrative functions were extended and applied by the Sasanids to all lands in the north from the Aras river, up to Darband fortress in Arran (Albania) in Caucasia. The author argue, since late Antiquity, Adurbadagan and Arran became interchangeable names in the northern bank of the Araz river. In the Islamic period, particularly after Seljuk Turks conquest of Iran, Adurbadagan evolved into the Turkified form of Azarbadajan or Azerbaijan, cementing the modern Azerbaijani Turks’ identity in the south and north sides of the entire Azerbaijan divided by the Araxes.

Full text

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a Canadian Political Science Association, Toronto, Canada.
b Azerbaijan in Global Context, Media and Analysis Centre, Toronto, Canada.
c Don Mills Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Canada.
*Corresponding author: E-mail: mhalifa@azglobalcontext.org;
Chapter 8
Print ISBN: 978-81-19761-29-6, eBook ISBN: 978-81-19761-30-2
From Sasanian Adurbadagan to Modern
Azerbaijan: Historical Background and
Developments
Mahir Khalifa-Zadeh a,b* and Leyla Khalifazadeh c
DOI: 10.9734/bpi/rtass/v9/7649A
ABSTRACT
The author discusses the historical background of the origin of modern
Azerbaijan divided by the Araz river into southern or Iranian and northern or the
independent Republic of Azerbaijan. The author analyzes the application of the
Sasanian name Adurbadagan to both sides of modern Azerbaijan. He believes
that the name Azerbaijan originates from the Avestan words Atash or Atar or
Azar that means fire. As a historical and political term, Azerbaijan roots deep to
Achaemenids’ Aturpatakan (Atropatena) evolving into the Sasanian
Adurbadagan - a Zoroastrian center of the empire. Since late Antiquity,
Adurbadagan’s military and administrative functions were extended and applied
by the Sasanids to all lands in the north from the Aras river, up to Darband
fortress in Arran (Albania) in Caucasia. The author argue, since late Antiquity,
Adurbadagan and Arran became interchangeable names in the northern bank of
the Araz river. In the Islamic period, particularly after Seljuk Turks conquest of
Iran, Adurbadagan evolved into the Turkified form of Azarbadajan or Azerbaijan,
cementing the modern Azerbaijani Turks’ identity in the south and north sides of
the entire Azerbaijan divided by the Araxes.
Keywords: Iran; Sasanian; Adurbadagan; Arran; Caucasus Albania; Azerbaijan.
1. INTRODUCTION
History studies the chronological record of events, usually attempting, on the
basis of a critical examination of source materials, to explain events. History, as a
discipline, is traditionally centered on peoples, cultures, countries, and regions,
but everything has a history that can be described and studied.
Couple hypotheses exist regarding the origins of the name Azerbaijan. According
to the classic tradition, the name comes from the time of Alexander of Macedon’s
conquest of the Achaemenid Empire. In particular, it presumably originates from

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general Aturpat - a commander of the Persian King Darius III’s army’s left wing in
the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. The armies of the Army of Macedon under
Alexander the Great and the Persian Army under King Darius III fought one
another at the Battle of Gaugamela, also known as the Battle of Arbela, in 331
BC. The Achaemenid Empire suffered a fatal blow in this second and last conflict
between the two monarchs, which led to Alexander's total conquest of the
empire [1].
Nobleman Aturpat (in Pahlavi) or Atropates (in Greek) was King Darius III’s
general and satrap of Media. He commanded Median, Arranian (Greek:
Albanian), Iberian, Sacasenian troops in the Battle of Gaugamela. Army. During
the battle, Atropates’ units pushed Alexander’s army to stop the advance and
implemented defensive measures. Only Alexander’s personal intervention with
fresh troops allowed the Macedonians to stop their retreat and concentrate on a
victorious advance in the center, facing troops under direct command of Darius
III. It was a unique moment in the battle. The Macedonian right wing had begun
to retreat and, if King Darius III realized and utilized it, the battle’s outcome would
have been completely different. However, as is well-known, Darius III’s poor
commanding and leadership skills resulted in the catastrophic defeat of the
Achaemenids Army [2] .
Fig. 1. Aturpat (Greek: Atropates) meets Alexander of Macedon, painting,
National Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
One month after Darius III’s death in June 330 B.C., Atropates surrendered to
Alexander. Later, in a personal meeting (Fig. 1), Alexander mentioned Atropates’
military skills and esteemed him so highly that Atropates’ daughter was married

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to Perdiccas - a close ally to Alexander and commander of the Macedonian
cavalry. The marriage took place at the famous mass wedding in Susa in
February 324 BC. Moreover, Atropates also offered 100 Amazons, as Greeks
called beautiful female-archers from Media and Albania, for Alexander’s military
elite massive wedding in Susa [3]. Moreover, Atropates also offered 100
Amazons, as Greeks called beautiful female-archers from Media and Arran
(Albania), for Alexander’s military elite massive wedding in Susa.
In 324 B.C. Atropates pacified unrest against the Greeks, and Alexander decided
to keep Atropates as a King of the land which later became the independent
Kingdom of Atropatena (in Greek) or Aturpatakan (in Parthian or Arsakid
Pahlavi). Thus, as someone assumes, Aturpat (Atropates) occupies a significant
place in the history of Azerbaijan. His name, possibly, is the key to understand
the origin of the name Azerbaijan - a land of fire.
Indeed, Aturpat, a nobleman and general, was a follower of Zarathustra
(Zoroaster). The name Aturpat comes from Avesta’s word “Atare-pata”. The word
“Atur” is derived from the Avestan “Atar” or “Atash” or “Azar” that means fire.
“Pat” may be derived from the Avestan “payu” meaning “guardian” or “protector”.
The transcription of name Aturpat from Pahlavi (Middle Persian) could be
“protected by fire” [4].
1.1 Aturpatakan (Atropatena)
After Alexander’s death in June 323 B.C., Atropates secured his rule in a part of
Media, known as Atropatena or Lesser Media, which was mostly settled by the
Medes, a founding Iranian tribe of the Median Empire, preceding the
Achaemenids.
Atropatena is Aturpatan in Old Persian. During the subsequent Parthian era the
Old Persian name Aturpatan evolved to the Middle Persian Aturpatakan. In Old
and Middle Persian (Pahlavi), “Atur”, as mentioned early, means fire. The
Encyclopedia Iranica describes Aturpatakan as “a place where the holy fire is
protected”.
Indeed, Aturpatakan was the only place in Ancient Iran where Zoroastrianism
was never challenged by other religions, particularly the Greek pantheon (Fig. 2).
Moreover, it is highly likely that Aturpatakan was the place where the prophet
Zarathustra was born and the Holy Avesta was kept in the sacred fire Adur
Gushnasp temple (now Takht-e Soleyman, Iranian Azerbaijan) [5].
Under the Seleucids, Atropates, as King of Atropatena, tried to minimize the
impact of the Hellenistic religion on Zoroastrianism. He enjoyed full support from
the Zoroastrian clergy—Magi and priests. The Atropatena’s capital was Ganzak,
a cultural and logistical hub. It was a fortress and stronghold of Zoroastrianism.
The Encyclopedia Iranica mentions: “It was presumably the capital of Atropates
and his descendants, under whom, it seems, the chief Median sacred fire Adur

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Gushnasp was established on a hill nearby. Later developments show that the
fire became closely associated with both Ganzak and Lake Urmia” [6].
Fig. 2. Aurtpatakan (Atropatena)
Aturpatakan or Atropatena was an independent or semi-independent (vassal of
Arsakid Parthia) kingdom until the 3 CE. Atropatena and Parthia considered
Rome a great threat and allied themselves in a long-lasting war with the Romans.
Later, Atropatena was absorbed by the Sasanian Empire and Aturpatakan
evolved to Adurbadagan (in Pahlavi).
1.2 Adurbadagan/Adarbadagan
As the result of the transition from Old Persian to Middle Persian (Pahlavi), the
word “Atur” or “Atar” evolved to “Adur” or “Adar”, and so Aturpatakan has been
named Adurbadagan or Adarbadagan by the Sasanians.
In the Seleucid and Parthian eras, Aturpatakan (Adurbadagan) played a central
role as a stronghold against the Greek and Roman pantheons, respectively, to
preserve and expand Zoroaster’s faith. In the Sasanian era, Adurbadagan
became the religious center of the empire. The chief Median sacred fire temple of
Atur or Adur Gushnasp (Pahlavi) was established sometime in the Parthian
period on a hill near Aturpatakan’s capital Ganzak.
The Sasanians proclaimed Zoroaster’s faith as an imperial religion and
Adurbadagan occupied the role of the empire’s religious core, holding the temple
Adur Gushnasp as the imperial sacred fire of the highest grade. The Byzantines
as well acknowledged the imperial and religious value of Adurbadagan holding

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fire Adur Gushnasp. During the Byzantine-Sassanian War of 602-628 CE, the
Byzantian emperor Heraclius, in 623 CE, occupied Adurbadagan and sacked out
fire Adur Gushnasp, aiming to crash the Sassanian will and power to fight [7].
Adur Gushnasp—an Atash Bahram (Parthian: Ataxsh-i-Wahram [8] or Pahlavi:
Adur Wahram—“fires of Victory”, Zoroastrian name of God of War and Victory)
was the Zoroastrian most sacred or “cathedral” fire of the highest grade
established in the late Achaemenid or Parthian era in Adurbadagan (Fig. 3). The
temple was linked to the warrior class (Pahlavi: arteshtar) to which the Sasanian
dynasty belonged itself. Since King Bahram V (420-438 CE), the Sasanian kings
after coronation pilgrimage to the temple providing royal gifts and celebrate
Nowruz (Pahlavi: No Ruz). Adur Gushnasp continued to burn down up to 11th
century [9].
Fig. 3. Ruins of Sasanids’ most sacred fire temple Adur Gushnasp, Takht-e
Soleyman, Iranian Azerbaijan
During the late Sasanian period, the Sasanian King Kawad I (488-96, 499-531)
and his son Khosrow I Anushirvan (531-579) conducted military and
administrative reforms to establish a quadripartition of the empire. The reform
was aimed improving the empire’s military and defense capabilities to lead a
long-lasting permanent war with Byzantium, as well as to address direct threats
from Turks and Khazars in Caucasia. The reform was designed to strengthen the
empire’s defense following the establishment of four quarters or sides (Pahlavi:
kust) reported to the assigned trustworthy general (Pahlavi: spahbed) for each
quarter [10,11].
King Khosrow I Anushirvan abolished the one-person command of Eranspahbed
(Pahlavi: Isbahbadh al-bilad, Artestaran salar, the office of the marshal or general
of all Iranian forces) [12] and replaced it with four generals (spahbed) reporting
directly to the Shahanshah (king of kings). As a result of the reform, kust-i
Adurbadagan (quadrant or side of Adurbadagan) was established holding

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Adurbadagan spahbed (general) and Adurbadagan amargar (financial or
administrative officer) as well. The office of supreme military command
(Isbahbadh) of Azerbaijan, with specially assigned Adurbadagan general
(spahbed), was covered Adurbadagan, Arran (Caucasus Albania) and Armin
(Arminyaya or Armenia) [12-16] (Fig. 4 and Fig. 5).
Fig. 4. The Sasanian Military Commander seal: Gorgon i Mehran…ud
hujadag Xusro wuzurg eran— kust-i Adurbadagan spahbed, (Maksymiuk,
2015). The seal was found in Azargushnasp (Pahlavi: Adur Gusnasp),
Takht-e Soleyman, Iranian Azerbaijan; (M. Khalifa-zadeh translation:
Gorgon, Khusraw Iran's Great House of Mihran - region Adurbadagan's
[Azerbaijan] general)
The establishment of kust-i Adurbadagan with a specially assigned general was
designed to improve the empire’s military and defense capabilities and to
strengthen the central power of the Shahanshah. Moreover, the reform aimed to
strengthen Zoroastrianism in lands bordering the Christian Orthodox Byzantium
and Turks in the Caucasus. The Sassanids considered kust-i Adurbadagan the
most important quadrant because of its military potential and geographical
location. The kust included the province of Adurbadagan (a religious center of the
empire) and all adjoining lands in the north and west from the Araz River up to
the Khazar lands in the Caspian Sea.
The establishment of kust-i Adurbadagan allowed to redesign the Sassanian
military architecture in this part of the empire, projecting Adurbadagan’s
structures and functions to the north over the Araz river up to Caucasia’s
Darband fortress as Adurbadagan shahr (country, in Pahlavi) [17].

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Fig. 5. The Sasanian Military Commander seal: Sed-hos i Mehran shahr
asbed ud hujadag Xusro wuzurg eran— kust-i Adurbadagan's spahbed, [7].
The seal was found in Azargushnasp (Pahlavi: Adur Gusnasp), Takht-e
Soleyman, Iranian Azerbaijan. (M. Khalifa-zadeh translation: Sedhos,
Khusraw Iran's Great House of Mehran's country army commander - region
Adurbadagan's [Azerbaijan] general)
The Sasanian reform strategy was pragmatic and effective. It strengthened the
empire’s defense and military capabilities by incorporating Arranian (Albanian)
troops into the Sasanian Imperial army under the Adurbadagan spahbed’s
(general) command. However, the establishment of kust Adurbadagan had a
clear religious function, as mentioned, because the province Adurbadagan,
holding the most sacred fire Adur Gushnasp, was the imperial center of
Zoroastrianism. Thus, projecting Adurbadagan’s military and administrative
functions to the north of the Araz River (Araxes) was of paramount significance to
the Sassanids enforcing both the central Shahanshah’s power and the
Zoroastrian faith in Arran (Albania) which was challenged by the Orthodox
Byzantium (Caucasus Albania was baptized into Nestorian Orthodox Christianity
at the beginning of the 7th CE) [18] . It increased Zoroastrian gravity and the
importance of Adurbadagan as an imperial religious center, cementing the
Sasanian power and Zoroastrianism (as the unique imperial religion) under
Adurbadagan shahr umbrella in the geographical region where the military and
religious rivaling with the Orthodox Byzantium was in the stages of war [18].

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Fig. 6. Sasanian province Adurbadagan and Arran (Caucasus Albania)
The establishment of Adurbadagan’s command (Isbahbadh) [7] under a specially
assigned general (spahbed) centralized and expanded military operations up to
the Darband fortress on the frontier with the Turks and Khazars in Caucasia.
Despite Darband, at the time, was within the semi-independent Arran state
(Pahlavi: Arranshahr), the Sasanians maintained military garrisons under the
direct supervision of Adurbadagan’s spahbed (Fig. 6). They strongly believed that
Arraninan (Albanian) forces alone were not enough to stop the Turks from
penetrating the Darband passage deep into Iran (Pahlavi: Eranshahr) [19,13] .
The Sassanian Kings (Shahanshah) and Kings of Arran (Arranshah) improved
Darband’s fortifications by constructing double walls and the Narin Gala citadel
on the hill. The fortified defense line was erected to protect a narrow passage
between the Caucasus Mountains and the Caspian Sea, blocking the invasion of
Turks and Khazars.
It is noteworthy that Azerbaijani and Dagestani scholars translated many Pahlavi
inscriptions on the Darband walls. One of the inscriptions confirms the Darband’s
subordination to Adurbadagan’s tax or revenue officer (Pahlavi: amargar). The
Pahlavi wall inscription “en ud az en abarbar Darius-i Adurbadagan amargar”
was translated as: “This and higher than this made by Dariush, Adurbadagan’s
revenue/tax collector” [20] (Fig. 7 and Fig. 8).

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Fig. 7. Arran (Caucasian Albania) Darband fortress' wall Pahlavi official
inscription. It transcribes as, “ēn ud az ēn ābarbar Daryuš ī Ādurbādagān
āmārgar”, and translates as “This and higher than this made by Dariush,
revenue/tax collector of Adurbadagan [Azerbaijan]” [16,20]
Fig. 8. Darband wall Pahlavi “ēn ud az ēn ābarbar Daryuš ī
Ādurbādagān āmārgar” inscription drawing [16,20]
The Pahlavi writings on the Darband wall and the Sasanian garrisons’
location [20] in Arran’s (Albanian) fortresses of Darband, Torpakh kala
(Sahrestan Yazdegerd), Beshbarmag and in the Gilgilchay Defense Wall under
the Adurbadagan’s general (spahbed) command as well as kust-i Adurbadagan
marzban (administrative office) location in the Adurbadagan province’s city of
Ardebil clearly confirm the projection of Adurbadagan’s political, military and
administrative functions to the north from the Araxes. Later, historical

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developments indicate that Arran and Adurbadagan became interchangeable
names in the region (Bosworth, n.d.; ARRAN, n.d.).
It is not surprising that Adurbadagan’s name and functions were projected onto
Arran (Albania). The local Arranian (Albanian) nobility was close to the Sasanian
crown and Arranian (Albanian) troops were integrated into the Sasanian army
under command of Adurbadagan spahbed. Thus, despite that the Caucasus
Albania (Arran) was an independent (from time to time) or semi-independent
state, however, the defense was under Adurbadagan spahbed command who
was at the time famous Iranian military and political hero—spahbed Rostam
Farrokhzad of Adurbadagan. General and Prince of Adurbadagan Rostam
Farrokhzad was a member of the Pahlav clan of Ispahbudhan family (House)—
one of the Seven Great (Pahlavi: wuzurgan) House of the Sasanian Empire
claiming its descent to the Arsacids of Parthia [12].
At the same time, the King of Arran (Varaz Grigor (628-637), Zoroastrian name
that may have been Gadvsnasp prior to his second baptizing into dyophysite
(Chalcedonian doctrine) (Toumanoff, 1961) Orthodox Nestorian Christianity, was
adopted as the title of Arranshah. He was a member of the wuzurgan Mihran
family (a Pahlav noble-family, separated or branch of the Ispahbudhan House).
Moreover, Arranshah Varaz Grigor was related to the Sasanian Shahanshah
Khosrow I Anushirvan or even “being himself a noble of the family of Ardashir I”
and Prince Javanshir (Pahlavi: Juansher) of the Caucasus Albania (Arran) was a
son of Varaz Grigor. The Pahlav House of Mihran held high ranking positions in
the Sasanian hierarchy and occupied high command over frontline in the north,
leading the negotiations with the Khaqan of Turks [12].
Notably, the famous Sasanian general Rostam Farrokhzad of Adurbadagan
escorted and introduced Prince Javanshir to the last Sasanian King Yazdegird III
(632-651) in Ctesiphon, the Sasanian capital. Prince Javanshir has occupied a
significant place in the history of Azerbaijan and Iran (Fig. 9).
On November 636, in the famous Battle of al-Qadisiyyah between the Sasanians
and Muslim Arabs, Prince Javanshir was the commander of the Arranian
(Albanian) troops, which were part of the Imperial Army under the command of
spahbed Rostam Farrokhzad of Adurbadagan.
In 637, Javanshir with 3000 - 4000 troops [21], helped arrange King Yazdegird
III’s evacuation from the Sasanian capital Ctesiphon sieged by the Muslims.
Later, Yazdegerd III awarded Javanshir two golden spears and shields and
acknowledged his bravery, awarding a flag—the Standard of Jamshid (Pahlavi:
Derafsh-e Kavian) which was the highest honor for loyalty and bravery in the figh
with the Muslim Arabs. Before the final defeat of the Sassanian army at the Battle
of Nahavand in 642, Javanshir arrived in Adurbadagan. One can assume that he
planned to resume command of the Sassanian Adurbadagan military in the wake
of the death of Rostam, and because of Yazdegerd’s strong will to collect a new
army in Media to fight the Arabs. However, Rostam’s brother Farrukhzad was

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assigned as the Adurbadagan spahbed and Javanshir fled back to the Albanian
capital Partaw (now Barda, present-day Azerbaijan).
Fig. 9. Javanshir, Prince and General (Spahbed) of Arran (Caucasian
Albania), National Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
1.3 Azarbaijan/Azerbaijan
Since the Muslim conquest of Iran following the disintegration of the Sasanian
empire and Caucasus Albania, Muslim Arabs have followed the Sassanian
tradition applying Adurbadagan as shahr to both south and north banks of the
Araz river [5]. The Muslims followed the Sasanian military command structure
and Sasanian fortifications’ infrastructure designed to protect the Araxes’s
northern lands keeping a garrison in Caucasia’s Darband. In the meantime, since
the Muslim conquest of Iran, the Middle Persian (Pahlavi) experienced great
Arabic influence, and many Pahlavi words evolved into new form of writing and
reading. In fact, Adurbadagan shahr transformed into Azarbadajan (Arabic
pronunciation), and finally, thanks to the Turkification that followed, evolved into
Azarbaijan or Azerbaijan (in Azerbaijani Turkish).
Since the Sasanian era, the central and northern and northwestern parts of Iran
particularly Adurbadagan, Arran, and Armin (Arminiyaya or Armenia),

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experienced a high degree of Turkification [22]. The first Oghuz Turkic tribes
(Afshars) began penetrating Iran as early as the 5th CE. The local population of
Sassanian Adurbadagan shahr (province and kust) was involved into the
permanent and long-lasting (5th-11th centuries) process of Turkification following
the gradual transition from the Adari Iranian language to Azeri Turkic or
Azerbaijani Turkish. Simultaneously, entire Adurbadagan region experienced the
settlement of Turkic tribes fueling the partial or full absorption of the local
population by the Turks.
The Seljuk Turk’s conquering of Iran in the 11th century [23] became a dominant
force creating the ethnic and cultural foundation of contemporary Azerbaijani
Turks or Azerbaijanis identity on both sides of the Araxes. The Seljuk Turk’s
massive influx and conquering accelerated local Adari language
degradation [24] and its gradual replacement by Azeri or Azeri Turkish. This
process created a common political, religious, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic
space, or the sole identity of Azerbaijani Turks on both sides of the Araxes [25].
The conquering of the Seljuk Turks and the subsequent Turkification
fundamentally changed the ethnic composition of Iran. It created a new political
balance within Iran, resulting in the origin of the entire Azerbaijan and later
Azerbaijani Turks’ identity on both banks of the Araxes, and shifted the nature of
Iran into Muslim Shi’a power under the Turkic dynasties’ rule.
Fig. 10. Jahanshah Kara Koyunlu (1438-1567), Sultan of Azerbaijan.
Emperor of Persia (Iran)

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Notably, after the defeat of Jahan Shah (Sultan of Azerbaijan, Emperor of Persia,
son of Sultan of Azerbaijan Yusef Kara of Kara Koyunly, a leader of the Kara
Koyunlu Turkic dynasty in Azerbaijan and Arran, Fig. 10) (Uzun Ḥasan &
Turkmen Ruler, n.d.) by Uzun Hasan , the 9th Shahanshah of the Turkic Ak
Koyunlu dynasty, in the Battle of Chapakchur (November 11, 1467), the name
Arran was totally abolished (Bosworth, n.d.) as a political term. Uzun Hasan
(1453-1478) proclaimed Azerbaijan’s Tabriz as the capital of the Turkic Ak
Koyunlu Empire and translated the Quran into Turkic.
Next, with the rise of the Safavid Turkic dynasty in Iran, the forces of Shah Ismail
I Safavid (1487-1524, maternal grandson of Uzun Hasan of Ak Koyunlu, Fig. 11)
defeated and killed Shirvanshah Farruh Yassar of Shirvan (Persianized dynasty)
in the Battle of Jabani in 1500. The Shirvanshah Yassar’s defeat accelerated the
disintegration of the state of Shirvanshahs on the northern side of the Araxes,
following its absorption by the Safavid Empire in 1538. The disintegration of
Shirvanshahs terminated Shirvans’ political functioning, cementing entire
Azerbaijan under the Safavids. However, Shirvan and Arran, as geographical
terms, have survived until today. The Turkic Safavids proclaimed Azerbaijan’s
Tabriz as the capital of the empire. The Safavids, following the Sasanian
tradition, valued both parts of Turkic speaking Azerbaijan (Adurbadagan) as the
core of the empire.
Fig. 11. Ismail I (1487-1524), founder of Turkic Safavid dynasty, Shah of
Iran, died in Ardebil, Azerbaijan, Iran

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The Savafids appointed Beglarbegis in the following major provinces: Isfahan,
Azerbaijan, Qaradag and Qarabaq. The administrative reform in the Safavid
period confirmed the final political abolishment of the Arran (Caucasus Albania)
and Shirvan (state of Shirvan Shahs) to the north of the Araxes as independent
or semi-independent entities, securing them as geographical and historical
toponymies till modern time.
Undoubtedly, the Seljuk and later Safavid eras facilitated the sailing of the
northern part of Iran as Azerbaijan to the 18th century Iran of Qajars, which was
the Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin from present-day Azerbaijan. However,
several defeats of Qajar Iran by the Russian empire, following the early 19th
century Russo-Persian wars, pushed them to sign the painful Treaties of
Golestan (1813) and Turkmanchay (1828). Both treaties forced Iran to cede the
Qajar’s Caucasian or Azerbaijani khanates including the Iravan khanate (present-
day Armenia), to Imperial Russia [26,27].
1.4 Modern Azerbaijan: South (Iranian) Azerbaijan and North
(Independent Republic of) Azerbaijan
Many the Imperial Russia’s official documents indicate the newly gained
territories from Qajar Iran as Aderbeijani (Azerbaijani) khanates. On September
4, 1795, Russia’s Empress Catherin the Great wrote to General Gudovich: “… [
we] have cordially to invite officers of Aga Mohammad Shah [Qajar] and, if he
wants to be acknowledged as a Shah, he must stop his [military] operations in
the region close to the Caspian Sea and named as the khanates of Darband,
Baku, Talish, Shusha and others locating in Aderbeijan [present-day
Azerbaijan]” [28].
On January 8, 1804, following the capture of Ganja fortress (present-day
Azerbaijan), the Commander-in-chief of the Russian forces in Caucasia, General
Titsianov, wrote to Russia’s Caucasian Governor Kasparov: “Thanks to the
location of Ganja fortress, which keeps the whole Aderbeijan [Azerbaijan] in fear,
it is the most important purchase for Russia; and I would like to update on this
event recommending to inform about this great victory in all places of the
gubernia [region] which is under your control” (Gezalov, n.d.) [29-31].
Next, British Imperial cables from Persia confirmed that the ceded Caucasian
khanates were Azerbaijan. On June 27, 1864, British Keith E. Abbot, H.M.
Consul-General in Tabriz (Iranian Azerbaijan), sent a cable to the Foreign Office
stating the following: “The country which is known to the Persians as Azerbaijan
is divided between them and Russia… This area includes the following
territorials: …Mohammedian countries of Erivan, Nakhchevan, Karabagh,
Ghenja, Shirwan, Sheky, Shamachy, Bakou, Koobeh, Salian and a portion of
Talish” (present-day Azerbaijan). In the same cable he also states the following:
“The population of Russian Azerbaijan consists of mixed races, Mohhammedan
and Christians, amounting probably to 700,000 to 800,000 souls. Persian
Azerbaijan extends southward to the range of mountains known as the Kaflan
Kooh. The country included in these boundaries, and perhaps, a large part, if not

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all, of Russian Azerbaijan, is generally recognized as the Media Atropatena of
ancient geography” (Abbott, 1863-1864) (Fig. 12).
Fig. 12. Map of Qajar Iran khanates of northern and southern Azerbaijan,
18th - 19th century
Moreover, Imperial Russia referred to the local population on both sides of the
Araz River Aderbeijanskiye (Azerbaijani) Tatari (Tatars of Aderbeijan or
Azerbaijan) because they spoke, as Russians believed, in the same or similar
language as Russia’s Tatars in Kazan (Velichko, 1904) .
As a result of the above-mentioned historical developments, the phenomenon of
two Azerbaijans—South (Iranian) Azerbaijan and North (Russian) Azerbaijan
emerged, creating a new geopolitical landscape in Caucasia and on both banks
of the Araxes in the beginning of the 19th century [32-35].

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Fig. 13. Map of modern Azerbaijan: southern (Iranian) and northern
(independent Republic of Azerbaijan)
After the Russian Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the national Musavat
government in Ganja proclaimed independence of northern Azerbaijan from
Imperial Russia on May 28, 1918. Thus, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
(ADR) emerged as the first Western-style state in the Muslim world. The ADR
political system was based on Western secular values and established the
National Parliament (Milli Majlis), granting equal voting rights to women as well
as switching from Arabic to the Latin alphabet.
Finally, as a result of the Soviet collapse in 1991, northern or Soviet (Russian)
Azerbaijan proclaimed its return to independence as the Republic of
Azerbaijan—a political and historical descent of the ADR of 1918. On December
25, 1991, Iran recognized the independence of the Republic of Azerbaijan
(Fig. 13).
2. CONCLUSION
As it was seen, the name Azerbaijan is deeply rooted in the Achaemenids era
and possibly originates from Avestan Adur or Atash. In the Sassanids period,
Azerbaijan (Adurbadagan, in Pahlavi) became the principal Zoroastrian center of
the empire, housing the sacred cathedral fire of Adur Gushnasp.
In the 5th-6th century, the Sassanids implemented reforms designed to
strengthen the empire’s structure and military capabilities during the war with the
Byzantines and Turks. They pushed forward the gravity of Adurbadagan, the
empire’s Zoroastrian core, into the defense and consolidation of the Sasanian

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132
power in military and politically sensitive Caucasia to address direct threats from
the Byzantium, Khazars and Turks.
The Sassanids reorganized the empire’s architecture, expanding Adurbadagan’s
military and administrative functions to Darband in Caucasia as under the
Adurbadagan shahr or kust umbrella. The newly discovered Sasanian (kust-i
Adurbadagan spahbed) military seals in Takht-e Soleyman (Iranian Azerbaijan)
and Pahlavi writings on Caucasia’s Derbent walls confirm that Arran and
Adurbadagan were interchangeable names on the north bank of the Araxes since
late Antiquity.
After the disintegration of the Arranshahr (Caucasus Albania) and Shirvanshahs,
paralleling the large-scale Turkification process in the central and northern parts
of the Oghuz Turk dynasties’ Iran, the entities like Arran and Shirvan lost their
political essence and were replaced by Azerbaijan, the Turkified form of
Adurbadagan. However, the historical and geographical functioning of Arran and
Shirvan has survived until modern times.
Historically, as we have seen, the names Arran and Azerbaijan were
interchangeably used to refer to the northern bank of the Araxes. Thus,
Azerbaijan applied for the larger area combining both south and north sides of
the Araxes. The term Arran, however, was used for a narrower area implying not
for the whole territory of the Araxes’ north bank.
Finally, the Turkification process gave birth to the Azerbaijani Turks identity,
holding the Azerbaijani Turkish language as a key element as well as cementing
the whole of Azerbaijan on both sides of the Araz river. The population on the
river’s both banks became the same ethnic group sharing the common language
and religion. However, the historical and geographical partitioning of Azerbaijan
by the Araxes into southern and northern parts culminated in the present-day
geopolitical reality of modern Azerbaijan, representing the combination of
Southern (or Iranian) Azerbaijan, and Northern—the independent Republic of
Azerbaijan. The existence of two Azerbaijans shapes history and geopolitics
between and around Iran and the independent Republic of Azerbaijan.
COMPETING INTERESTS
Authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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Biography of author(s)
Mahir Khalifa-Zadeh
Canadian Political Science Association, Toronto, Canada and Azerbaijan in Global Context, Media and
Analysis Centre, Toronto, Canada.
Research and Academic Experience: He has research and academic experience in Iranian studies,
Israeli studies, Central Asia and Caucasian studies, post-Soviet studies.
Research Specialization: His area of research includes History, Politics, International Affairs, Global
Security.
Number of Published papers: He has published 40 research articles in several reputed journals to his
credits.
Special Award: He got Certificate of Service, OSCE, Wien, Austria.
Any other remarkable point(s): In 2017, he became the Director and Founder, Azerbaijan in Global
Context (azglobalcontext.org) - Media and Analysis Centre, Toronto, Canada. He became Professor of
Political Science and International Relations, International Eco-Energy Academy, Baku, Azerbaijan in
2012. In 2011, he acted as a Political Scientist/Analyst, Canadian Political Science Association, Toronto,
Canada. During 2010-2011, he attached with Centre for Research on Globalization: Montreal, Canada.
During 1994-2008, He worked Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan. During 1993-
1994, he joined Centre for Strategic Research and Forecasting under the National Parliament (Milli
Majles), Baku, Azerbaijan. He received Ph.D., ITEB, Moscow, USSR in 1992.
___________________________________________________________________________________
© Copyright (2023): Author(s). The licensee is the publisher (B P International).
DISCLAIMER
This chapter is an extended version of the article published by the same author(s) in the following journal.
Advances in Historical Studies, 12: 63-75, 2023.
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