“GEGHARD”
SCIENTIFIC ANALYTICAL
FOUNDATION
2025
2025
The population of Atropatene, with Iranian spiritual values, cultural traditions, and collective memory, now is predominantly Turkic-speaking.
However, before the spread of Turcophony, this population spoke an Iranian language called Azari. Collections of poetic works written in Azari or local Iranian dialects are important evidence of the Iranian nature, Iranophone, and subsequently, the secondary status of Turkic language that spread in Atropatene.
The poetic works with inter-dialectal differences left by authors living in Atropatene are part of the cultural layer that showcases the true Iranian image of Atropatene. It should be noted that the Iranian language name "Azari" is the adjectival form of the name Atropatene and is etymologically unrelated to the Turkic language that is now widespread in Atropatene and is the official language of the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan. And the circulation of this Turkic language under the name Azeri (the Turkic pronunciation of the language name Azari) testifies to the phenomenon of secondary use of the term, where the allochthonous language adopted an already recognized language name.
Apart from the direct textual evidence of the Iranian language Azari, another crucial piece of evidence attesting to the reality of Atropatene are the toponyms, which has remained unchanged for millennia, even when the population of the region has changed its language, religion, and demographic composition.
Ibn Khordadbeh, a 10th-century author, was one of the first to mention a comprehensive list of the cities and provinces of Atropatene. Most of them have survived unchanged to this day and do not contain any Turkic elements: Maragheh, Mianaj, Ardabil, Varsan, Seysar, Barzeh, Saborkhast, Tabriz, Marand, Khoy, Kulsareh, Mughan, Barzand, J/Ganze, J/Gabravan, Narir/z, Urmia, Salmas/t, Shiz, Baj/gravan, Salah, Sandbaya, Baz, Sarab, Daskiwar, and others[1].
Regarding the question of the language spoken in Atropatene, it should be noted that it has been preserved through poetry since the 13th century. Some of these works are Persianized, meaning they are enriched with Persian vocabulary, while others are written in pure local dialects and are difficult to decipher. These poems were written by both known and unknown authors.
One of the outstanding examples demonstrating the presence of Iranian culture not only in Atropatene but also in Arran and Shirvan is the anthology "Nuzhat al-Majālis". This book embraces the works of 114 Persian-speaking poets who lived in the regions of Atropatene, Arran, and Shirvan. The poems are written either in Persian or in local Iranian dialects. In the preface, we read that the quatrains of these Iranian poets were sung in Sufi gatherings, markets, public places, and other places.
Therefore, Persian and local Iranian dialects were the common and everyday language of the population of Arran and Shirvan at that time. The book also includes works by female poets. It should be noted that women, who usually were not educated, wrote in Persian, that is, in the language they used in their daily lives. The book was written in the 1290s and includes works by authors who lived in the 11th-13th centuries.
This anthology reflects the culture of Arran and Shirvan during that era, providing evidence that the inhabitants of this region were Iranian-speaking and were embedded within the Iranian cultural environment. Notably, 24 of the poets featured in this book were from Gandzak. It should be noted that no other book written in Turkic in that region and during that period, similar to the "Nuzhat al-Majālis" anthology, is known.
The famous Iranian scholar Mohammad-Amin Riahi, who was born in the city of Khoy, Iran and studied the anthology, noted that the 'Nuzhat al-Majālis' is a reflection of the social situation of the time [in Atropatene, Arran, and Shirvan], which shows the prevalence of Persian language and Iranian culture. The use of Persian colloquial expressions in the poems, the names of professions of some poets, testifies to the knowledge of this language in the area. In the poems of this anthology, the influence of a northwestern Iranian language, whose dialects were widespread in the region, is clearly noticeable[2].
The present-day Oghuz Turkic language, spoken in Atropatene and the Republic of Azerbaijan, entered the region together with the Seljuk invasions and continued to spread in subsequent centuries. The establishment of the Safavid dynasty in Iran and the linguistic processes that followed were pivotal for the spread of the Turkic language.
[1] ʻAbbās Zaryāb, Āẓarbāijān, in: The Great Islamic Encyclopaedia, v. 1, 2004, 198.
[2] Riyahi, Mohammad, “Nozhat al-Majāles,”in: Encyclopedia Iranica.