Culture of Azerbaijan
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The culture of Azerbaijan (
History
The heritage, culture, and civilization of Azerbaijan have ancient and modern roots. Its people are believed to be descendants of ancient peoples who include indigenous Caucasian Albanian tribes, such as the Scythians and Alans, and the later Oghuz Turks.
Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albanians are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of the land, north of the
Islamic period
For centuries before Islam arrived in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, the region was under Sassanid Iranian rule; before that, it was ruled by Parthian Iranians. Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and the
Seljuks and successor states
After the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate, Azerbaijan was ruled by the Iranian Sallarid, Sajid, and Shaddadid dynasties. At the beginning of the 11th century, waves of Oghuz Turks arrived from Central Asia. The first ruling Turkic dynasty was the Ghaznavids, from present-day northern Afghanistan, who took over part of Azerbaijan by 1030. They were followed by the Seljuks, a western branch of the Oghuz, who conquered Iran and the Caucasus pressing on to Iraq and overthrowing the Buyid dynasty in Baghdad in 1055.
Shirvanshahs
Shīrwān Shāh,[8] or Sharwān Shāh,[8] was the title in medieval Islamic Azerbaijan for the ruler of the Shirvan region.[8][need quotation to verify] The Shirvanshahs established a dynasty which ruled Aran and parts of Dagestan,[9] in addition to Shirvan, and was one of the Islamic world's longest-lasting dynasties.
Safavids and the rise of Shia Islam
The
From Iranian to Russian rule
The region of Aran had been under Persian-based empires for millennia; the last one was ruled by the
in the east.Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
After the Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, the
Architecture
Azerbaijani architecture combines Eastern and Western elements. Many medieval buildings, such as Baku's
19th century
Azerbaijan's 19th-century architecture was influenced by the expansion of towns, the application of Russian town-planning principles and the layouts of Ganja,
20th century
The first stage of Azerbaijan's architectural development during the
A number of schools were built in Baku and other Azerbaijani cities between 1933 and 1936. Four-story buildings, designed by S.Dadashov and M.Useynov in Baku and other cities, are distinguished by their expressiveness. Classic forms, combined with national architecture traditions, are typical of the projects.
Neft Daşları (also known as the Oil Rocks), a steel-pillar settlement in the open sea, heralded a new era of post-war architecture. Built in connection with the discovery of rich oil fields in the Caspian Sea in 1949, it includes houses, cultural objects and overpasses.
A new period of town-building and architectural development began in Azerbaijan during the 1960s. Baku (the capital) expanded during the decade, and the city's architecture defined its image.
Cinema
Azerbaijan's film industry dates back to 1898 in Baku.[19]
Cuisine
Azerbaijani cuisine, influenced by the foods of other cultures, also has distinctive features. Many foods which are indigenous to the country appear in the cuisines of other cultures. Azerbaijani cuisine is deeply rooted in the country's history, traditions and values.
Pomegranate festival
The annual Goychay Pomegranate Festival, usually held in October, features pomegranates from Goychay District, a parade, and traditional Azerbaijani dances and music.[20]
Dance
Azerbaijani dances are ancient and melodious. They are danced at formal celebrations, and the dancers wear festive clothes. The dances are fast, and require skill.[21] Azerbaijani clothing is preserved in its national dances.[22]
Examples
- Zaqatala Rayon. The dance explores middle age; middle-aged people in the region are called Abayi, and the dance is generally performed by middle-aged men and women.[23]
- Karadakh. Popular in Shaki and Zaqatala Rayon, it is played slowly.
- Chichekler ("flowers" in Azeri) is an elegant dance performed by girls in two forms: slow and fast. It was created in 1910. A group of girls collects flowers, forming circles and triangles as they dance. The music is upbeat and energetic.[24]
- Innaby (Azerbaijani: İnnabı; "name of a fruit"), performed by one or two girls, illustrate a young woman's airs and coquettishness.
- Gangi (Azerbaijani: Cəngi; "dagger", martial music) calls the people to unity, friendship and invincibility.[25]
- Lezginka (Azerbaijani: Ləzgi) is a popular Caucasian dance.
- Mirzayi (Azerbaijani: Mirzəyi) is traditionally played at weddings and performed by men and women with handkerchiefs.
- Uzundara (Azerbaijani: Uzundərə; "long valley") is an elegant and lyrical dance performed by women and popular in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The song originates in a valley between Aghdam and Prishib (Azerbaijani: Prişib) in Karabakh.
Folk arts
Major elements of Azerbaijani culture are its decorative and applied arts. They are represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing, jewellery, engraving in metal, carving in wood, stone and bone, carpet-making, pattern-weaving and printing, knitting and embroidery. Azerbaijani decorative arts have been documented by merchants, travellers and diplomats.
Carpets
Azerbaijan is an ancient centre of carpet-weaving. Archaeological evidence indicates carpet-weaving (in addition to agriculture, stock-raising, metalworking, pottery and ceramics) dating to the 2nd millennium BC.
Baku carpets
Baku carpets are known for the softness of their material, intense colours, and decoration. They have about 10 motifs (including medallions and geometrically-stylized plants) and are exported.
Ganja carpets
Karabakh carpets
The Karabakh carpet is named after the Karabakh region (present-day Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent lowland territories). Karabakh carpets have 33 compositions.
Shirvan carpets
Shirvan is one of Azerbaijan's most ancient regions. Carpet-weaving is widespread among sedentary and nomadic residents. The Shirvan school accounts for carpets manufactured in the following towns and villages: Shemaha, Maraza, Akhsu, and Kurdamir. The school has 25 compositions; Salyan carpets, with similar artistic and technical features, are also included. Shirvan carpets are characterized by intricate designs depicting everyday life, birds, and people.
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Late-19th-century rug market in Ganja
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19th-century Gasimushaghi carpet from Şəlvə, Lachin
Novruz, other holidays, and symbols
Novruz is a traditional Persian regional holiday, celebrating the New Year and spring, which is observed on the vernal equinox (March 21–22). It symbolizes renewal and fertility.
Festivities, rooted in
During the Soviet era, the celebration of Novruz was unofficial and sometimes prohibited.[27] Since Azerbaijani independence, Novruz has been a public holiday. Each Tuesday of the preceding four weeks is devoted to one of the four elements: water, fire, earth and wind.[28][29]
Other public and traditional holidays include Ramadan, Women's Day, Ramazan Bayrami, Gurban Bayrami, Republic Day, Constitution Day, Victory Day, Armed Forces Day, Salvation Day, and Flag Day.[30] In rural areas, harvests are celebrated. Commemorative and remembrance days include Black January, the commemoration of the Khojaly massacre, and the March Days.
Symbols include the eight-pointed star combined with the fire element in the national emblem. The country's flag dates to the late Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. "Azərbaycan marşı", its national anthem, was written by Ahmad Javad with music by Uzeyir Hajibeyov.
Literature
Azerbaijani literature is written in Azerbaijani, Azerbaijan's state language. Its closest relatives are Turkish and Turkmen. Azeri, an Oghuz language (a sub-branch of the Turkic languages), is mutually intelligible with other Oghuz dialects spoken in Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Russia, the Balkans and the Middle East.
The language arrived with the invasion and settlement of waves of Turkic tribes from Central Asia over several centuries. The indigenous language of the region around the Aras was a mixture of Iranian Tati, Talyshi, and Armenian; Talyshi is still spoken in parts of Azerbaijan. With the increasing dominance of Turkic rulers, the region's language was gradually infused with Turkic. As a result of the Soviet Union's language policy, Russian is widely spoken as a second language.
Classical era
Except for the Book of Dede Korkut (which may date to the 9th century CE[31] and was first transcribed by the 14th century),[31] the earliest known figure in Azeri literature is Pur Hasan Asfaraini, who composed a diwan of Persian and Turkic ghazals.[32][33] He used his own name for the Persian ghazals, and the pen name Hasan Oghlu for his Turkic poems.[32] Nizami Ganjavi (born in Ganja) is considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature, bringing a colloquial, realistic style to the Persian epic.[34][35]
During the 14th century, what comprises the present-day Republic of Azerbaijan was ruled by the
Soviet era
Under Soviet rule, particularly under Joseph Stalin, Azeri writers who did not conform to the Communist Party line were persecuted. Bolsheviks sought to destroy the nationalist, intellectual elite who had become established during the short-lived Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and, during the 1930s, many writers and intellectuals became mouthpieces for Soviet propaganda.
Influences
Persian and Arabic literature have influenced Azeri literature, especially during its classical era. Influential Persian poets include Ferdowsi, Sanai, Hafez, Saadi Shirazi, Attar of Nishapur, and Rumi. The Quran and Hadith have also influenced Azeri literature. Arabic poets include Al-Hallaj who has influenced Sufi literature.
Journalism
In 1875, Akinchi (Əkinçi / اکينچی ), The Cultivator) was the first Azeri newspaper published in the Russian Empire. It was founded by Hasan bey Zardabi, a journalist and education advocate.[43] A 2015 Washington Post editorial noted that a number of Azerbaijani journalists, bloggers, lawyers, and human-rights activists have been subjected to lengthy pretrial detention for their criticism of President Ilham Aliyev and other government authorities.[44]
Music
Azerbaijani music is influenced by the music of Iran, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and resembles Iranian and Turkish music.[45]
Mugham
Azerbaijani classical music of Azerbaijan, known as
Unlike Central Asian mugham, the Azeri form is less rigid (comparable to improvised jazz).[46] UNESCO proclaimed Azerbaijani mugham a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7 November 2003.[47] New York Times music critic Jon Pareles called Mugham singer Alim Qasimov "one of the greatest singers alive".[48]
An annual Mugham Festival is held in Shaki. Held in Shusha until 1988, it was moved to Shaki in November 1994 because of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
Meykhana
Meykhana is an Azerbaijani literary and folk rap tradition[49] consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people who improvise on a subject. Its name derives from the Turkish meyhane (tavern, pub), which originated from the Persian words mey (wine) and hane (house).[50] Since the Middle Ages, poets have gathered in meyhanes to exchange verses extemporaneously; their audience would decide which poet had improvised the most elegant, clever verses.
Instruments
Azerbaijani musical instruments include fourteen
Ashiqs
Ashiqs are traveling bards who sing and play the saz, a type of lute. Their songs are partially improvised around a common base. The Ashiq tradition in the Turkic cultures of Anatolia, Azerbaijan and Central Asia has its origins in ancient shamanism.[52]
Religion
About 93 percent of Azerbaijan's population is nominally Muslim, and approximately five percent of the population belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Muslim religious observance is relatively low, and Muslim identity tends to be based more on culture and ethnicity than on religion. The Muslim population is approximately 70 percent Shia and 30 percent Sunni, with differences not defined sharply. Fairly-large expatriate Christian and Muslim communities exist in Baku, the capital, and are generally permitted to worship freely.
Islam
Christianity
About 3.1% to 4.8% of Azerbaijan's population is nominally Christians, an estimate of between 280,000 and 450,000.[53] Orthodoxy is represented in Azerbaijan by the Russian and Georgian Orthodox Churches. The Russian Orthodox churches are part of the Eparchy of Baku and the Caspian Region. The Catholic Church in Azerbaijan, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome, has 400 adherents; about half are foreign diplomats or work for oil companies.[54]
Judaism
Azerbaijan has three communities of Jews (
Zoroastrianism
Cultural reforms
After independence, Azerbaijan has taken measures to protect its cultural values, enhance its cultural life and cooperate with international organizations in this area. Legislation has been adopted by the
The
Azerbaijan joined the European Heritage Days project, initiated by the Council of Europe and the European Union, in 2000. The European Heritage Days – 2003 Campaign was hosted in Azerbaijan from 26 to 28 September of that year. The campaign planned to open restored monuments, review monuments being restored, exhibit and catalogue the 2003 International Photo Initiative, and conduct the European Common Heritage Program and European Cultural Heritage Campaign at schools and universities.[56]
The topic of the 2005 European Heritage Days, held in Azerbaijan, was "Civilizations and peacekeeping processes". It had two events: the East-West Baku International Festival and a youth photo contest and exhibition.[56]
Azerbaijan became the member of UNESCO in 1992, and the UNESCO National Commission in Azerbaijan (within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) was established by decree of President Heydar Aliyev in 1994. Azerbaijan joined UNESCO conventions on the preservation of cultural values and heritage, the recognition of specialities in higher education, diplomas and degrees, and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.[57]
Baku's
Concerts, jubilees, seminars and symposiums, conferences and congresses, meetings and festivities were organized within the framework of UNESCO
Baku was declared the 2009 capital of Islamic culture when it hosted the sixth Islamic Conference of Culture Ministers.[61] The city hosted the World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017,[62] supported by UNESCO, the UN Alliance of Civilizations, the North-South Center of the Council of Europe, ISESCO and Euronews.[63]
See also
- Ashik Kerib, a film celebrating Azerbaijani culture
- Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan
- Women in Azerbaijan
- Azerbaijani fairy tales
- Azerbaijani-Mongolian cultural relations
Notes
- ^ The name used for the region north of the Aras from before the arrival of the Arabs to the Qajar period.[citation needed]
References
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To many, the fact that Ouseley—who had made such efforts to cultivate the Shah—drafted the humiliating Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 following the Russo-Persian War which awarded most of the western flank of the Caspian, including Dagestan, Mingrelia, Abkhazia, Derbent and Baku, to Russia, seemed nothing less than an act of betrayal.
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- Persian Azerbaijan will be one entity, because the population of both has a big similarity. On this basis, the word Azerbaijan was chosen. Of course right now when the word Azerbaijan is used, it has two meanings as Persian Azerbaijan and as a republic, its confusing and a question rises as to which Azerbaijan is talked about.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ISBN 978-1-86064-554-9.
- Iranian province of Azerbaijan.
- ISBN 978-90-485-1928-6.
The region to the north of the river Araxes was not called Azerbaijan prior to 1918, unlike the region in northwestern Iran that has been called since so long ago.
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