History of Azerbaijan 2: ADHARBAYJAN, ISLAMIZATION & TURKIFICIATION

Iran is home to ancient civilizations. Although today they are Turkified, Azerbaijanis can trace their history back to several centuries before Christ with the foundation of Atropatene from the ashes of Media. This series presents the main points of the history of Azerbaijan, without bias from Armenian or Caucasian Azerbaijani sources. 2: ADHARBAYJAN, ISLAMIZATION & TURKIFICIATION The Median province of Atropatene was an inseparable piece of Greater Iran. This all changed when Arabs conquered the Iranian civilization. This invasion would change the history of Iranian peoples forever, as it introduced Islam to its people, replacing the former Zoroastrian religion. Following an era of heavy Arabic influence, a larger threat emerged in the East. Mongoloid nomads who terrorized the entire Asian continent, excluding India and the Middle East, began to expand to the west. Of these mongoloid people, the Seljuqs, a Turcoman dynasty, claimed the entire Greater Iran, and extended its borders to the gates of Europe. The arrival of Turcomans in the Middle East changed the history of dozens of nations. Among the affected were the Atropats. Through Arabic and Turkic pronunciation, Autrpatakan, the native name of Atropatene, changed to Āḏarbāy[e]jān, or more easily, Adharbayjan. Turcomans migrated to the Middle East in large numbers, most notably in Armenia, Albania, Anatolia and Atropatene. The nomadic invaders assimilated many nations in the process, which caused the extinction of some civilizations, especially of those with a fragile unity, like the Albanians. Following the fall of the Great Seljuq Empire, powerful tribesmen in Nakhichevan, called the Ildenizids (aka Eldiguzids), held in their dominion the entirety of Adharbayjan and many surrounding regions. However, the entity barely lasted a century, weakened by Georgia, and later conquered by the Khwarezmian and Mongolian empires. ________________________ Main Source: http://www.iranica.com/ AZV09.2