Studies on Azerbaijan and Turk's History Azərbaycan və Türk tarixi araşdırmaları

Abstract From the beginning of the twentieth century, with the occurrence of deep political, social, and civil upheavals in the political poles of the Middle East, the destinies of the peoples living in this geography began to change. The cries of these peoples, rising in the flow of new thoughts, began to circulate from nation to nation like a chain, and the melodies of freedom began to leap from one people to another. The freedom movement that took place in Russia starting from 1905 is considered the beginning of this freedom movement. This freedom movement, which later spread to the Qajars and Ottomans, moved in the direction of limiting the unlimited powers of the ruling authority and ensuring the participation of the people in governing the country. Because Azerbaijan was a neighbor to Russia and the Ottoman Empire, it did not remain aloof from these political and social upheavals. The Baku, Tiflis, and southern elite and merchant class, who were in close contact with the Ottomans, gradually brought the ideas of the Russian Socialists and the Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (Turkists) to the Azerbaijanis. In this article, we will discuss the influence of the Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress on the Azerbaijani Constitutional Movement.

Abstract Yahya Zoka was a writer, archaeologist, and art historian of Iran. Since his youth and student days, he was interested in the hypothesis of the Kasravi Azeri language, and he undertook some research on this topic, and he published the results of his research and findings in numerous articles. Nine of these articles by Yahya Zoka were published in 1990 by the Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Endowment Foundation under the title “Essays on the Language of the Azerbaijani People.” In this article, three examples of Yahya Zoka’s articles, titled “Two Newly Discovered Azeri Ghazals,” “Kreingan Dialect,” and “Gelin-Qiyeh or Harzandi Dialect,” are reviewed and criticized. The article “Two Newly Discovered Azeri Ghazals” is related to the publication of a poetry collection named Badr Shirvani (845-789 AH). This collection was printed and published by Abolfazl Hashem-oghly Rahimov in the publications of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan Socialist Republic. In that divan, there are two ghazals and a mulamme, which were composed in a special dialect. Zoka has considered these two ghazals to be related to the Azeri language and has attempted to introduce it. The “Essay on the Keringan Dialect” is the result of Yahya Zokaa's research during her stay of several months in the border areas of Iran along the Aras River in 1949. During this time, she collected notes on the Tati language of the “Keringan” people from the villages of the Qara-Dagh region of East Azerbaijan and published them in Tehran in 1953. “The Dialect of Gelin Qiyeh or Harzandi” is the title of an article written by the author about the language of the people of Gelin Qiyeh village in Marand province. This article is based on information collected by him during his visit to this village in 1954. It contains five sections: “Dictionary”, “A Few Grammatical Points About the Harzandi Dialect”, “Conjugation of Several Verbs”, “Translation of Several Proverbs into the Harzandi Dialect”, and “Text in the Harzandi Dialect” with its Persian translation.

Abstract In this article, the author addresses the movements of the people of Azerbaijan on 21 Azar, which led to the establishment of a government with limited authority within the country of Iran. The interest in this movement and the vast diversity of perspectives and opinions arising from this interest remain vibrant and dynamic. The historiography of the 21 Azar movement, which is being enriched today with new research, is the best testament to this claim. Rejecting the notion that this movement was artificial, the author argues that while not denying the foreign role (in this case, the Soviet government) in the 21 Azar movement to varying degrees, another point must also be considered: the movement promoted by the Soviet government – the official bearer of communist ideology – in Azerbaijan was directed precisely towards a national-democratic orientation. The author's studies show that there is no suspicious aspect in the record of the migrants to Azerbaijan beyond the Aras River.

Abstract The subject of Turkic hero image of Hz.Ali is not been reserached in folklore. Generally Hz.Ali compared with the |Turkic heros of Dede Korkut, Oğuz Kağan, Manas and sometimes with Koroghlu and etc in folkloric texts. Hero form a wholeness with yell, power, angry moods, miracles, horse and sword. Despite the texts about Hz.Ali it could be processed in many sides, were researched only from the side of imamate. The task of state to analyze some of the texts about Hz.Ali, and making a comparison, based on the turkic heroic epos tradition, to show that, Hz.Ali described in the folkloric texts not as imam but like Turkic epic hero. In this way the state will change the perspective to accept Hz Ali not only imam, but also as a hero of turkic epos. We used search scanning and comparison method in the article.In this way we had the chance to access many texts. While writing the article we based not only the texts collected form Azerbaijan, also based on the battletexts (cenkname) collected from Trukey. Generally we applied the batlle texts about Hz.Ali, scinetific articles also.

Abstract This essay analyzes Atabay, a groundbreaking film in Iranian cinema created by Hadi Hejazifar, an Azerbaijani screenwriter and actor from Khoy. Through the story of Atabay and his nephew Aydın, the film explores themes of homeland, identity, linguistic oppression, generational trauma, and the illusion of love. The narrative highlights the sociocultural struggles of Azerbaijani Turks, including discrimination, loss of cultural heritage, and the drying of Lake Urmia. Symbolic elements—such as Atabay chasing an empty plastic bag “up and down the hills to no avail” and the repeated mispronunciation of “Aydın”—underscore the film’s critique of cultural alienation. The essay further examines the film’s cinematography, use of Azerbaijani architecture and folklore, and its portrayal of paradoxes within modern Azerbaijani identity. Ultimately, it argues that Atabay is a post‑modern realist work rooted in national consciousness, reflecting both the beauty and the tragedy of a homeland under pressure.

Abstract It has been one hundred years since the First Turcological Congress was held in Baku, from February 26 to March 6, 1926. Both during the days of the congress and in the following years, hundreds of articles and dozens of books on the topic were published not only in Azerbaijan but also in the former Soviet Union, Turkey, Iran, and other countries. The congress was widely discussed on radio and television, highlighting the care and attention given to the cultural development of Turkic peoples. As they say, in articles, programs, and studies, the visible aspects of the congress were brought to the forefront. The members of the First Turcological Congress were accused of nationalism and anti-Soviet propaganda, labeled as "enemies of the people," and executed in 1937, which led to the true nature of the events remaining in obscurity. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some previously secret archives were opened, and researchers have tried to uncover the true objectives of the colonial authorities. Some of the new-generation researchers have suggested that the Soviet secret services facilitated the organization of the First Turcological Congress in order to identify nationalist and patriotic individuals and eliminate them. By carefully examining the history of the past 200 years, it becomes clear that the First Turcological Congress was not held solely to eliminate the intellectuals of the Turkic peoples. This congress was part of the assimilation policy of the Russian colonizers. During the Tsarist era, secret and subtle measures were implemented to Christianize and assimilate the peoples under Russian rule. Since the Soviet Union was based on an atheistic ideology and had promised to liberate the peoples who were under Tsarist rule, it changed the form of the assimilation policy. After dividing these people into small groups, it planned to erase their language, culture, and history and to Russify them. Documents from the archives of the Azerbaijan Communist Party and the Azerbaijan National Security Service show that arrests began two days after the congress, as there were sufficient KGB agents and informants present. The first people arrested were not the scientists and politicians who had participated in the congress, but members of the technical staff. Thus, on March 8, the scientific secretary of the congress, Ali Yusifzada-one of the young people sent abroad by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic to study at the École Nationale d’Administration in France and who had returned to the country—was interrogated, along with Ahmed Hajinski and Dadash Hasanov. They were questioned for nearly three months. The investigators were mostly interested in conversations that took place outside the congress and in the people who participated in them. Repression and pressure began against those whose names were mentioned during the initial investigation, and by 1937, many of them living in the Soviet Union had been executed.

Abstract Urmia holds an important and prominent place in the history and literature of Azerbaijan. The tumultuous and sometimes bloody history of this region has been unable to erase its rich literary heritage. Urmia was one of the important centers of Sufism and mysticism, and scholars and poets such as Husam al-Din Chalabi emerged from this region.
The poetry literature of Urmia can be divided into three main sections:
Ancient Poets: The remaining works from this period are scarce, and some of them are in Arabic. Poets of Divan Literature: These poets composed poems in the classical style (Qasida, Ghazal, Rubai, etc.) and compiled divans (collections of poetry).
Qoshma Poets (Ashug Literature): This is the most important and dynamic branch of Urmia's poetry. Urmia's qoshmas typically consist of four stanzas and are performed in gatherings of music and recitation. This literature is the richest oral heritage of the region, preserved orally and transmitted from generation to generation, and has been documented in the recent century, although many works still remain uncollected.
In the contemporary era, poets of Urmia are primarily active in two forms: syllabic poetry (Ashug) and classical metrical poetry (Aruz). There are also experiments in modern poetry forms, but this area has not yet matured or achieved a distinct position.

Abstract The First World War and the resulting calamities had such a profound impact on Azerbaijan, especially West Azerbaijan, that it is referred to in public memory as the "Jilloluq" (The Time of Flight). Following the Jilloluq, the southern regions of West Azerbaijan, from Salmas and Urmia to Saujbulagh (Mahabad), Saqqez, and Baneh, were occupied by the Kurds of Simko. One of the individuals who managed to document the events of this period through his own writing was Mohammad Tamaddon, a native of Urmia. His "Forced Journey" is an account of the oppression and crimes perpetrated by Simko's Kurds against him and the peace-loving people of Urmia and Azerbaijan. After the threat from the Kurds was repelled from Urmia, Mohammad Tamaddon returned to his city and vividly depicts the plundered state of the city.

Abstract The Il-e Nafar tribe, residing in Fars province, is one of the Turkmen tribes with a rich historical background. Like other Oghuz Turkmens, it possesses its own specific symbol or tamgha, which has various applications. These applications include carving the tamgha on the tombstones of tribe members and branding it on livestock. This practice serves to distinguish the animals of the Il-e Nafar tribe from those of neighboring tribes and facilitates the identification and return of lost animals. This research, by reviewing the Ancient Turkic (Göktürk) Empire, the Yenisei inscriptions, the ancient Turkic runic script, the Orkhon Valley inscriptions, and the Orkhon alphabet, investigates the historical background of the Oghuz Turkmens and the Il-e Nafar tribe. Finally, it analyzes the similarities and correspondences between the tamghas of the Il-e Nafar tribe and ancient Turkic symbols.

Abstract Emir Timur, the founding ruler of the Timurid State, which influenced world history for more than a hundred years, is a great Turkish sovereign who has made a name for himself with his cultural activities as well as his political activities. Sitting on the Timurid throne for 36 years, Emir Timur expanded his borders with his large-scale expeditions and influenced many countries from Anatolia to Mongolia, from Iran to India. In 1400, the Syrian campaign was one of the most important campaigns of Emir Timur. It is seen that the hostile foreign policy of the Mamluk sultans against Amir Timur was effective in the realisation of the campaign. Amir Timur, who wanted to eliminate the Mamluk trouble before marching to the Ottoman capital, entered Syria with a large army and left behind a devastation with deep effects. The civilised cities such as Aleppo and Damascus, which were occupied by Emir Timur, could not return to their former glory for many years after the withdrawal of the Timurid army. In this sense, the traces left by the Timurid ruler in Syria were recorded by the sources of the period, and Emir Timur was established in the minds of the people of the region as a destructive and cruel ruler in general.The high cultural level of the Timurid ruler became public with the Syrian campaign, and Ibn Khaldūn, one of the great scholars of the period, recorded the intellectual accumulation of the ruler in his memoirs.The information provided by the author includes both the personality of Emir Timur and the Timurid occupation of Damascus.

Abstract The Ayrumlu tribe, as a branch of the Oghuz Turkish tribes and related to the Rumlu tribe—one of the seven main Qizilbash tribes of the Safavids—is today dispersed across three countries: Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. It has played a key role in the political and military developments of Azerbaijan and Iran. This article, adopting a historical-analytical approach and based on primary sources (such as Ottoman Tahrir Defters, Russian AKAK documents, and Persian texts like *Ahsan al-Tawarikh*) and secondary sources (works by Faruk Sümer, Fahrettin Kırzıoğlu, and others), examines the historical roots (migration from Anatolia to Azerbaijan after 1301 AD and the evolution of the name from Rumlu to Ayrumlu), tribal structure (a confederation of four clans: Dashlu, Akıncı, Aghsaqlo, and Shams al-Dinlu), culture and language (the Ayrum dialect as one of the recognized dialects of Azerbaijani Turkish in northwestern Azerbaijan), and their role during the Safavid (border-guarding in Chokhur-e Sa'd and border battles), Afsharid, and Qajar periods (establishment of the Shorayel Sultanate, conflicts with the Russians, migration after the Treaty of Turkmenchay, settlement in Somay and Margavar of Urmia, ethnic challenges, and their role in border security). Findings indicate that the Ayrumlu were not merely a subordinate tribal unit, but a driving force in consolidating the eastern borders of the Safavids and the northern borders of the Qajars, which led to the fading of a Rumlu-centric identity and the establishment of an independent Ayrumlu identity. This research emphasizes the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of this tribe and offers suggestions for future research.