Azerbaijani–Mongolian cultural relations (South Azerbaijani: آزربایجان–مونقول مدنی الاقلری, Mongolian: ᠠᠽᠧᠪᠠᠢᠵᠢᠶᠠᠩ ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠰᠣᠶᠣᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠬᠠᠷᠢᠴᠠᠭ᠎ᠠ) started in 13th century with the Mongolian invasion of the areas currently populated by Azerbaijanis. Turkic and Mongolian migration to the area during the Ilkhanate era played major role in forming Azerbaijani people. During the time, Mongols migrated to the area converted to Islam and turkified. In this period Azerbaijani was called "Turkic of our state" by Ibn Muhanna's dictionary. Literatures were written in this language.

During the period of Ilkhanates Shamanist traditions became stronger and lived in folklore, culture, and mythology. In this era, process of conversion to Shia Islam in Iran and Azerbaijan has started. Later on, this became the base for the formation of Turcoman-shia states like Qara Qoyunlu and Safavids.

Orders of Ghazan and Öljaitü khans' and Genghis Khan's laws (Yassa) were used together with Islamic Sharia. During the period of Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu, Azerbaijani Turks considered those Yassas as their national law and remained loyal to it. Ilkhanates applied the Uighur variant of the twelve-animal calendar, which was used until the fall of Qajars. There are toponyms from the Mongol period in the territory of modern Azerbaijan. The "Karabakh" toponym, which is used to name the south of the historical territory of Arran, appeared in this period. In addition to the dialects of the Azerbaijani language, words borrowed from the Mongolian language are also observed in the areas of Eastern Anatolia belonging to the Azerbaijani dialect environment.

Historical and cultural environment

As a result of Mongolian invasion modern Azerbaijani (Arran and Shirvan) cities – Beylagan, Ganja, Barda, Shamkir, Shabran, as well as South Azerbaijani cities – Zanjan, Qazvin, Maragheh, Ardabil were destroyed. In 1236, South Caucasus were already part of the Ögedei khan's state.^[2] From 1256 to 1335 Ilkhanates, and from 1335 to 1337 Chobanids from sulduz tribe were in the region.^[3] Later on Jalalirds (until 1388) and Timurids came to the power.^[4] Mongolian and Turkic noblemen owned the role of political administration in Ilkhanates state. Part of the local Iranian nobility was destroyed. Their lands either seized by the state or Mongolian noblemen. Ilkhanates kept being nomads.^[5]

The reason of the unity between Turkic and Mongolian elements in states emerged after the fall of Mongol Empire was nomadic heritage and thousand year long symbiosis in central Asia. At some point Turkic population and military strength were stronger than Mongols. Ilkhanates used Eastern Turkic despite Western Turkic (Oghuz) was spoken in the areas they controlled. Since Seljuks used Arabic and Persian in official documents, the first use of the Turkic language in official documents in Iran was due to the Mongols. After accepting Islam, most of the Mongols assimilated not to the Persians, but to the Turks, to whom they were culturally closer. Turcomans, who were more numerous than the Mongols and were Muslims, quickly lost the Mongols in their midst due to their shared nomadic lifestyle. In fact, the Islamization of Mongols was one of the aspects of Turkification.^[6]

Hulagu Khan's vizier Nasir al-Din al-Tusi was completely familiar with the Turkic and Mongolian language and script as well as Mongolian and Easter Turkic customs, culture, and traditions. His son also became completely Turkic. The spoken language of vizier Rashid al-Din Hamadani and his sons, who was originally a Jew, was Turkic. He also knew the Mongolian language perfectly. Although his works reached the modern era in Arabic and Persian, he knew how to write in Turkic and Mongolian languages and adopted Turkic customs and traditions. The daughters of Rashid al-Din and his son Ghiyath al-Din were nicknamed "khatun" in Turkic, and one of Rashid al-Din's grandsons was named Artug.^[7]

The short-term presence of Buddhism in Azerbaijan and Iran under the Mongol rule, the introduction and spread of the Uyghur alphabet at the state level for nearly two centuries, and the diffusion of the Chinese painting traditions into the artistic and applied creativity of the region's Muslims and Christians contributed to the formation of a more pluralistic culture in Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus as a whole.^[8]

Formation of Azerbaijanis

Mongol invasions affected the ethnic composition of Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus. According to the Persian geographical work "Ajaib ad-dunya" and Nasavi's chronicle, Turks were the main ethnic elements in the plains of Arran and Mughan on the eve of the Mongol invasion. In the areas of Shirvan and Derbent, there was a mixed ethnic composition in which Iranian speakers and Caucasian speakers played a major role. The Christian population was predominant in the mountainous part of Karabakh, especially in the principality of Khachen.^[9]

The main two factors in the change of the ethnic composition are the extermination or displacement of the local population, and then the settlement of the victorious Mongols and Turks in the region. For example, Prince Yoshmut, the first Ilkhanate ruler of Arran and Shirvan, settled here with his subjects.^[9] Turkic national identity and culture flourished during the period of the Ilkhanate and the states that replaced the Ilkhanate and kept their traditions alive.^[10]

At the same time as the Turkification of Azerbaijan during the Mongol period, the process of Turkification of the Mongols living there took place, the second process had a positive effect on the first process.^[11] The Mongols who accepted Turkism and Islam were a group that spoke Turkic, but had Mongolian historical memory and continued their nomadic life in Iran, Azerbaijan and Eastern Anatolia. Turko-Mongolian nomads did not lose the military characteristics that are an important function of nomadic life.^[12]

The settlement policy of the Turko-Mongolian tribes

The conquest of the region by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century and the influx of Turkic peoples in the following centuries, including the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, led to Turkification in the area where Azerbaijanis currently live. Most of the tribes that formed the Mongol armies, as well as those who were forced to migrate as a result of the Mongol invasions, were Turks.^[14] Turkologist Zeki Velidi Togan estimates the number of Turkic-Mongolian tribes that came to Azerbaijan as 2 million people according to primary sources.^[15] Nevertheless, it is thought that the physiology of Azerbaijanis is not related to the Mongolian race.^[16]

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary mentions the Turko-Mongol army of Ilkhanate ruler Hulagu Khan among the ancestors of Azerbaijani Turks.^[17] Turks made up a large part of the army of the Ilkhanates, the fifth Mongol nation.^[18] Hulagu and his son Abaqa Khan strategically relocated scattered Turkic and Mongolian people to designated areas in Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, and Anatolia during their rule. This intentional resettlement and portraying local Muslim Oghuz nomads as khans and rulers paved the way for consolidation Azerbaijani Turkic identity.^[19] In the gradual Turkification of Iranian Azerbaijan, the policy of the Ilkhanates to give land shares (iqta', soyurgal) to the leading military leaders played a role. The presence of the khans themselves and their entourage, and then the Turkoman followers starting with the Jalayirids, as well as the nomads who came from Central Asia with Emir Timur, in these mountainous pasture areas was another factor.^[20]

The discrimination of the Mongols against the Tat-Tajik groups during the Ilkhanate era, and opening of canals from the Euphrates river caused the Tats to migrate from Azerbaijan and Iraq-i Ajam (Sultanabad) to Iraq. The rest became Turkic together with the Mongols, and the Azerbaijani language became dominant in Iranian Azerbaijan. The main reason for the settlement of Turks in Azerbaijan is that there are many pastures, gardens, suitable and favorable conditions for raising cattle in this country.^[21] As a result, the territory of Azerbaijan and Iraq-i-Ajam became a yaylak and kishlak for 2 million nomads.^[22]

During the Mongol period, Turkification was clearly observed in South and North Azerbaijan. Hamdallah Qazvini mentions the Turkic settlements here, and Ibn Battuta speaks about the importance of Tabriz Turks. A number of Turkic and Mongolian tribes were moved to the Mughan Plain during the Ghazan Khan's period. The rest of those tribes were met by Adam Olearius in 17th century. Nizari mentions in his work that the Arran region was overflowing with the army of the Turks (Ilkhanate warriors).^[9][13] After the Ilhanates, during the Jalayirids, Timurids, Qara Qoyunlus and Ak Qoyunlus, the Mongols became Turkic, and the Turkic population increased in Iraq, North and South Azerbaijan.^[23]

Although Zakariyya Ghazvini writes that the Turks who lived in the area before the Mongols were removed from the region, in the opinion of Sheikh Safiaddin Ardabili, it is believed that the Turkomans and Kurds in the country remained in their previous places. In any case, the Turks who lived here from the beginning (Seljuk Turks) gave the good territories to the Mongols and Eastern Turks and moved to other parts of the country.^[24]

Settlement regions of tribes

When the Mongols marched into the region, they called on the Kipchaks not to fight and not to help Alans. The reason is that Kipchaks are not ethnically close to Alans, and their religions are not similar. However, later Mongols also captured the lands of the Kipchaks. Kipchaks were forced to go to Shirvan and Arran, as well as Qabala.^[25]

As in the past (Seljuq period), during the Ilkhanate dynasty, Northern Azerbaijan was in the first place in the settlement of Turks and Mongols. In Iranian Azerbaijan, especially around Maragha, Khoy, and Urmia lake had also settlement process as well as Ajam-i-Iraq, the city of Sultaniyya, built between Qazvin-Zanjan, and its surroundings, and partially Ray region.^[11]

During the Mongol period, Qajars lived in Khalkhal, Turgais (from the Ilkhanate) in Maragha, Kipchaks and Oirats in Ardabil, Yıvas in Khoy, and Imirs (Amarlu) in the Ghezel Ozan (Gizil Uzan) between Ardabil and Gilan. Even after the invasion of Timurids, part of Ilkhanates continued to live in Maragha. Around Hamadan and in the city, the Qara Qoyunlu people, especially Baharlı branch, formed an important Turkic population.^[13] The main parts of Javanshirs, Ak Qoyunlus and Qara Qoyunlus came from Turkestan to Anatolia and Azerbaijan during the Ilkhanate dynasty.^[26] Among the Turkoman living in Mughan and Arran, the tribe with the most livestock was Chobanli, which was known to have lived during the Jalayirid period.^[27]

According to researchers, 20 large Mongol tribes settled in the territory of Azerbaijan in the 13th-14th centuries. Amongst them, Sulduzs and Jalairs occupy an important place.^[9] Oirats, a Turko-Mongol tribe, were settled in Sheki and Shamakhi region, which was the most powerful and numerous tribe in the Kura basin in its time.^[28] The reason Oirat, Garagali, Kharkhatan, Gegir, Orand and Laladulan tribes settled in Lankaran, Neftchala and Lerik regions may be due to the similarity of these regions to Mongolia.^[29]

It is belived that the reason for placing Kunjut, Junud, Baydarli, and Tangit tribes in Sheki and Qakh areas, which were the borders of Ilkhanate and Golden Horde, was that these tribes had to protect the border against the Golden Horde with their good fighting skills.^[29] In general, the north-western part of Azerbaijan was important for the Turkic states that existed in the Middle Ages because it is at the intersection of the Christian and Muslim worlds.^[30] Mirabbas Mirbaghirzadeh, who conducted research in Zakatala okrug, stated that taking into account that Turkic villages called "Mughal", it is impossible to determine the real number of Mongols. He called only the villages of Jalair and Tanqıt as real, ancient Mongols.^[31]

Bayats came to Azerbaijan in 13th century with the Mongol invaders.^[32][33] Padar tribe was settled in Azerbaijan during the Ilkhanate period. According to one of the claims about the origin of their name, the name "padar" is a phonetic distortion of the name of Chagatai Khan's son Baidar.^[34]

It is believed that Qajars, came to Iran in the 13th century, and then to the South Caucasus,^[35] was one of the Turkic tribes in Hulagu Khan's army.^[36] There is a legend that the name of the Qajar comes from the Mongol leader Qajar Noyan.^[37] According to Mirza Hasan Zonuzi Khoyi, the origin of the Qajar is Turkestan Mongols.^[38] However, other sources think that the Qajars did not come from the Mongols, but from the Khazars.^[39][40]

Mughal ethnonym

After the Mongol invasion, the ethnonym Mughal (Azerbaijani: Muğal) appeared for the Turkic population in the northwest of Azerbaijan.^[41] Translated from the Persian language, the name Moghol (moghul, moghal, mughal, maghol) literally means Mongol.^[42] Russian authors of the 19th century, who studied the ethnography and culture of the Ilisu Sultanate and the Jar-Balakan community, also called the Turkic population of these areas Mughals. Historical sources of the 19th-early 20th century consider the Mughals foreigners to their territory. A. Poserbski thinks that Mughals stayed in the region to protect the power of Genghis Khan and later Emir Timur, and notes that they moved in 13th-15th centuries. D. Bakradze wrote that they are a Turkic tribe that came to the region (Zagatala okrug) with Dagestan daghlis in 18th century. Bakradze thinks that the name Mongol came from the Mongols, who formed the foundation of the Tatar (Azerbaijani) population.^[41] Russian researcher K. Gan in his work "Travel to Kakheti and Dagestan (summer, 1989)" notes:^[31]

After the Avars, the main contingent of the population is the Tatars (Azerbaijani) who are also called "Mughals"... They came here at different times with conquerors who infiltrated from the east. They speak beautiful Adarbayjan (Azerbaijani) dialect.

Representatives of the administration of Tsarist Russia and Russian historiography called Azerbaijanis "Tatars" ("Tatars of Aderbaijan"). The reason for this was to mark them with Tatar identity, and to associate the emergence of Azerbaijanis in the region only with the Mongol invasions.^[41]

Apart from the Turks and Lezgins, there was also a community called "mughanli" (Azerbaijani: muğanlı) who were descendants of Mongols in the Quba Khanate.^[43]

Toponyms

Since the 13th century, place names of Mongolian origin began to appear in Azerbaijan.^[45] Such toponyms show traces of Mongolian tribes in Azerbaijan and their influence on the formation of Azerbaijanis. It is thought that the name of the city of Sumgait comes from the Mongolian tribe Sugaut, and the names of the settlements of Corat and Ələt come from the tribes of the same name. The use of the Absheron peninsula as a kishlak by Mongolian tribes has led this place to have names of Mongolian origin.^[9] Other areas bearing the traces of Mongol era tribes are Xançobanlı, Cəlayir, Kurqan, Küngüt (Aşağı və Baş Küngüt), Cunud, Tanqıt, Elciqan, Uriyad, Onqutlu, Tatar, Tatarlı, Xarxatan, Aratkənd, Çirkin, Damğalı, Dolanlar, Alar.^[46] 7 Bucaq village in Azerbaijan are associated with the Mongol era, the bucaqs are considered to be part of the Nogai tribe mixed with the Turks. After the fall of the Golden Horde, Nogai people spread over a large area.^[47]

During the Mongol period, the old toponyms were replaced or used together with Mongolian variants. For example, when Rashid al-Din Hamadani described the battle between Ilkhanate and the Golden Horde on the banks of Aghsu river [az] (Azerbaijani: Ağsu, lit. 'white water'), he used Mongolian name of the river – "Chagan Muran". It means "white water" or "white river".^[9] The city of Salyan was called "Dalan-Navur" in Mongolian.^[28]

Some of the toponyms seen in historical works, starting with Hulagu Khan and especially Abaqa Khan, are in Turkic, and some are in Mongolian. Lake Sevan in Armenia, which Azerbaijanis call Goycha (Azerbaijani: Göyçə), was called "Kokcha sea" during the rule of Abaga Khan.^[48] Some Mongolian place names had Turkic and Persian words used together at first, but later on Persian words were gradually forgotten.^[11]

According to the legend mentioned by 19th century author I. Linevich, the city of Qakh was called Toraghay (Azerbaijani: Torağay) until 16th century. This word was mentioned in Mahmud Kashgari's dictionary called "Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk". According to the dictionary, it means "shelter between the mountains" in the Kipchak language. Considering the city of Qakh is located in a lowland area between the mountains, it can be said that the Kipchaks who came through the North Caucasus settled in Qakh and called the area as "Toraghay". One of the districts of the regional center of Qakh is still called Qakh-mughal. This can be explained as the influence of Mongol period.^[31]

From 15th century (Mongol period), the southern part of Arran began to be called "Garabagh" (Azerbaijani: Qarabağ, lit. 'Black garden'). The word "qara" is of Turkic origin, and "bağ" is of Persian origin.^[49][50] Ilkhanates used Karabakh region of Arran as kışlak. The oath ceremonies of the supreme khans were held here with Turkic-Mongolian traditions. For example, Ghazan Khan came to the throne in Karabakh in 1295.^[44]

Place	Tribe	Origin	Belongs to
Khalkhal	Qajars	Turkic
Maragha	Turgays
Ardabil	Kipchaks and Oirats	Turkic and Mongolian
Khoyda	Yıvas	Turkic
Gizil Ozan	Imirli
Hamadan	Qara Qoyunlu (Baharlu)	Turkic
Anatolia and Azerbaijan	Javanshirs, Aq qoyunlus and Qara Qoyunlus	Turkic
Sheki and Shamakhi	Oirat	Mongolian	Jalayirs
Qakh	Baydarly, Tangyt	Mongolian
Aşağı və Baş Küngüt, Künkütçay	Kingli	Mongolian
Cunud	Sunnit	Mongolian
Lankaran, Neftçala and Lerik	Oirat, Qaraqaşlı, Xarxatan, Orand
Köhnə Gəgir və Gəgiran	Kikir
Sumgaıt, Corat və Ələt	Suqaut, Corat və Ələt	Mongolian
Aşağı Bucaq	Bucaq	Mongolian	Nogai
Çeşməli (Tovuz)	Çirkinlilər	Mongolian
Darğalı (Qəmərli)	Damğalı	Mongolian
Dolanlar, Lələdulan, Əvçədulan	Dolanlar	Mongolian
Günnüt	Günnüt	Mongolian
Üngütlü	Ongut	Mongolian
Oncallı (Qax)	Onja (Əncə)	Turkic	Kipchaq

Sources: ^[29][51]

Language

According to Zeki Velidi Togan, the main norms of the Azerbaijani language during the Mongolian dynasty – Ilkhanate period were formed as a result of the mutual influence of the Turkic languages – Oghuz-Turkmen, Kipchak and East Turkestan. The author notes that in the first half of the 14th century, when Ibn Muhanna was compiling the dictionary of Turkic and Mongolian languages spoken during the Ilkhanate period, he mentioned "Turkic language of our country" (Turki arzina) in addition to "Turkmen" and "Turkistan language". The examples attributed to "the Turkic language of our country" in the dictionary can be considered the first examples of the Azerbaijani language.^[1] According to experts such as P. M. Melioranski, Bekir Chobanzade, and Ahmad Jafaroghlu, the Azerbaijani language is meant here.^[52]

According to Fuat Köprülü, new Turko-Oghuz tribes, who came from the East to West (Azerbaijan and Eastern Anatolia) as a result of Mongol invasions, added new elements to language of Oghuz people (Turkmans/Turkmen) who settled here earlier during the Seljuk period.^[53]

In all forms of the Azerbaijani language there are words borrowed from Mongolian language: yekə (big), qadağan (prohibited), qayçı (scissors), nöqtə (dot), hündür (tall), keşik (guard). These loanwords represent a common Ilkhanate heritage (1256–1335). Unlike Azerbaijani Turkish, Anatolian Turkish does not have such loanwords taken from the Mongolian.^[54] In addition, words borrowed from the Mongolian language can be found in the dialects of the Azerbaijani language belonging to the Shirvan region. It is extralinguistic in nature and closely related to historical events.^[55]

Literature

Folklore & mythology

Mongol invasion and the Ilkhanate rule over both Iranian Azerbaijan and modern Azerbaijan in the subsequent periods led to strengthening of the Shamanistic customs spread there. The customs of Shamanism have undergone changes under the influence of Islam. Some of them have been preserved. The rules of ancient traditions have continued to live in cultural environment of Azerbaijan – in children's folklore and games, ceremonies and beliefs of people. For example, the aş eaten by Azerbaijanis on Thursdays in honor of the spirits of the dead is an ancient form of Shamanism.^[56]

It is believed that saya [az; tr] is a Shamanic god and that Sayanism originated in Azerbaijan. The connection between saya and the words Yaya, Dz'aya and Dzayagg mean god in Mongolian shows that saya comes from Shamanism. The belief about saya came to the Altai, and from there to Anatolia and Azerbaijan under the influence of the old shaman Turko-Mongolian cultural environment.^[57]

In Maragha, the first capital of the Ilkhanate state, there is a stone-hewn tomb dating back to the Mongol period. The building is deeply connected with Mongolian burial customs. The name of the village where the tomb is located is Varoy in local Azerbaijani literature. This name is linguistically similar to the village of Varay (Viyar) located in Sultaniyya, which was the Elkhani capital in last years of the state. The name of both villages is close to the word Vara given in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk by Mahmud Kashgari. According to dictionary the word is connected with the myth of the separation of earth and sky. The roots of this expression may go back to religious beliefs about death. The words Varoy and Varay may be words that have been preserved in the Turkic language throughout history and have survived to the present day.^[58]

Azerbaijani researchers Mammadhuseyn Tahmasib [az] and Məmmədağa Sultanov [az] claimed that the folklore hero Molla Nasraddin was the minister of the Ilkhanate period, Nasreddin Tusi. The reasons for this are that they lived in the same period, Tusi included anecdotes in one of his works, ridiculed astrologers as a scientist, Molla Nasraddin went to Emir Timur as a representative of the country, the parallel between Nasraddin Tusi being sent to Hulagu Khan by the ruler of Alamut, and both of them having the same name – Hasan. However, Mammadhuseyn Tahmasib stated that this information is not a substantial evidence, but just an allegation.^[59][60]

Tapdig Goy oglu, the hero of an Azerbaijani fairy tale and son of Tufan Div [az], was expelled from heaven to earth. He is part of a legendary group of heroes, akin to God's children in Turkic and Mongolian legends, sent to cleanse the earth of demonic forces.^[61][62] In another Azerbaijani tale, princes throw apples to girls to choose their betrothed, a custom that existed among the Mongols living in Azerbaijan in the 17th century.^[63][63]

Written literature

The beginning of written classic Azerbaijani Turkic literature coincides with the period after the Mongol invasion.^[64][65][66] The rapid development and spread of literature in the Azerbaijani language is entirely a result of Mongol period.^[10] The development of a special style of Azerbaijani poetry between 13th and 14th centuries was partly related to the Eastern Turkic traditions brought to the region from Khorasan during the Mongol period.^[65] One of the reasons why Azerbaijanis created their own literature and played a role in its independent evolution was the fact that there were more Turkic and Mongolian elements in Azerbaijan than in Anatolia.^[67]

At the beginning of the 14th century, the historian Vassaf wrote verses in Azerbaijani Turkic and mixed them with Eastern Turkic spelling. While the words in the Turkic in the works of Nasiraddin Tusi correspond to Eastern Turkic, the words in the works of Hamdullah Qazvini are in the Azerbaijani dialect. There are prayers, sermons and religious verses written in a Turkic language, which is a mixture of Eastern Turkish and Azerbaijani Turkic, dating back to the first half of the 14th century. In the second half of the 14th century, in Azerbaijan, on the one hand, the works of Khwarazm and Transoxian Turkic poets, including Khujandi, were read, and on the other hand, works were written in Azerbaijani Turkish based on these themes. Among them, Imadaddin Nasimi, Gazi Burhanaddin and Mustafa Zarir [az] from Salur Turks can be mentioned.^[1]

Nasir Bakuvi, who lived in 14th century, wrote the 55-couplet-long mukhammas in Azerbaijani. The mukhammas was written between 1306 and 1310 and is dedicated to Ilkhanate ruler Muhammad Oljaytu. The work describes Olcaytu's arrival in Baku and the administrative measures he took here.^[68]

Works in Azerbaijani Turkish developed during the period of Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (1316-1335). The fact that the Azerbaijani language takes a leading place together with Uyghur is evident from the information in the historical works and from the fact that Ajam poets used words from these two languages in their works.^[1]

The literary trend that developed during the Mongol period included the Jalayirid ruler Sultan Ahmad. The fact that Sultan Ahmad wrote poems in Turkic is confirmed in the work of Abul Mahasin Yusif Bey Tanribirdi "Al-Nujum al-Zuhirra". The ghazal he wrote shows that Azerbaijani Turkish was used as a literary language in the Jalairid palaces.^[69] Sultan Ahmad's ghazal ensured the continuity of Turks and the Turkic language, which prevailed in Jalayirid-Turkic identity fusion.^[70]

Music

Azerbaijan's art music is intricately linked to the mugham tradition, which combines elements from Iranian, Arabic, and Turkic artistic styles. Uzeyir Hajibeyov asserted that the tradition disintegrated around the end of the fourteenth century during the Mongol rule. Afterward, each ethnic group reconstructed its own system from the remnants.^[71]

Sultan Ahmad highly appreciated the musicologist Abdulgadir Maraghayi. Maraghayi had two small couplets in Azerbaijani language. These are called tuyugh and koshuk. It is said that the song was composed for Emir Timur and was sung in front of him. These verses written by Maragayi in Azerbaijani demonstrate the role of the Turkic language in musical gatherings.^[69] Abdulgadir Maragayi notes in his work that Turks like to compose in Ushshag, Nava and Busalik mughams, but other mughams are also used.^[72]

Social life

Religion

The Mongols used the fact that the religions of Kipchaks and Alans were not similar while persuading the Kipchaks to be neutral in the struggle with the Alans.^[25] Shamanic rites were performed in the palace of Hulagu Khan and his son Abaga Khan during the Ilkhanate period. The performed rites influenced Turkic Sufis in Anatolia and Azerbaijan.^[73]

Azerbaijan served as a showcase for Buddhist methods and material culture.^[74] The Ilkhanates used their wealth to create gold and silver forms of Buddha in Azerbaijan and Khorasan.^[75] Hulagu Khan built a prominent Buddhist temple in Khoy. The territory of Khoy was called "Turkic country"^{[n 1][76]} because of the khitay (Chinese) population who came from Uyguristan. This suggests the presence of an immigrant Buddhist population that settled in the area by choice or/and on purpose. They were associated with early Buddhist temple construction in the region and provided masters and students for the project.^[77] In addition, it is believed that Buddhist temples were built in Arran, where the Ilkhanates spent winter.^[78]

Ahmdd Tekuder Khan, the son of Abaga Khan, was extremely interested in Turkic sheikhs. While wintering in Arran, he engaged in sama (musical zikr) in house of a Turkic sheikh named Ishan Mengli. The entry of Jalal ad-Din Rumi into the path of spiritual dance and attraction occurred through a dervish from Tabriz, after witnessing the influence of Turkic Sufi masters. Turkic Sufis of Azerbaijan also managed to win the hearts of the Seljuks in Konya. In addition, as Ibn Batuta noted, it is assumed that Azerbaijani, Anatolian and Khorasan Turkic veterans who built camps around Crimea and lived on war products participated in the campaigns of Nogai Khan, the army general of the Golden Horde.^[79]

The Rifiyyah (Ahmadiyya) sect, spread in Iraq, Azerbaijan, Anatolia and even in Golden Horde, benefited from Mongolian shamanism. Mongols used their Sufi role to gain influence in the Islamic environment.^[80] The Mongol army fought against supersticious sects (e.g. Javvaliqi) and protected Turkic Sufis such as Bektashi and Baraghi. Superstitious sects wanted to slander the rites of Turkic dervishes by calling them "the work of the devil". Azerbaijan is also among the territories where Javaliqis are dispersed in a distraught and miserable manner.^[81]

During the Ilkhanates period, the conversion to Shiism, which would continue for a long time, began in Iran and Azerbaijan. During this period, the base of Turkoman-Shiite states such as Qara Qoyunlu and Safavids was formed. The theological works written by Shia scholars, including Nasraddin Tusi, Allama al-Hilli, Ibn Tawus, etc., which came out of Shia madrasas, are one of the factors that promote the spread of Shiism in the region. By the time the last Ilkhanate ruler, Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, died, the Shiite population had begun to reach 20 percent of the empire's population.^[82]

Law

Although the Ilkhanates accepted Islam, they did not stop the execution of the laws (Yassa) of Genghis Khan due to the decisions of the period of Öljaitü and Özbeg Khan. Ghazan Khan also took into account the decision to follow Islamic Sharia and Genghis Khan's Yassa together. Azerbaijani and Eastern Anatolian Turks considered the laws of Yassa as their national law during the period of Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu and remained loyal to it.^[83]

Rashid al-Din Hamadani's sons Giyasaddin and Jalaluddin were praised and loved by the Turks for their virtues and morals, and for their knowledge of Ilkhanate laws and regulations.^[7] Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan was loved by the people of Azerbaijan and Anatolia and was remembered as one of the 4 fair sultans in Azerbaijan.^[84]

Later, Anatolian Turks considered themselves citizens of Ilkhanate and obeyed its laws. The Azerbaijani poet of the Timurid period, Gazi Burhanaddin, wrote that the force that could force him to do something, just as his lover could do, was the yassa and the khan's friendship, the identity card he knew was the khan's stamp, the state system he knew was khagan, ulu khan, sultan, bey, tutgavul (a security system to protect caravans and roads).^[85]

In Iraq-i-Ajam and Azerbaijan, Mongols and Eastern Turks were not engaged in agriculture, so they employed farmers in their territories. In addition, the princes of Juji and Chagatai receive taxes from their hereditary (inçü) lands in Azerbaijan, and this did not change even though the war with the Ilkhanates continued.^[86]

Calendar

During the Ilkhanate dynasty, all Turkoman Oghuz clans of Azerbaijan and Eastern Anatolia used Turkic year and month names.^[87] The use of the 12 animal calendar was due to the influence of Eastern Turkic, and the Mongols adopted the Uighur version of the calendar. Although Mongolian translations were used, Turkish names have retained their importance. In Rashid al-Din Hamadani's historical work, year names are used 26 times in Turkic and 34 times in Mongolian. The names of the months were only in Turkic. In Iran, the Turko-Mongolian animal calendar was used together with the Hijri calendar from the end of the Mongol rule until the fall of Qajars.^[88]

Nobility

I. P. Petrushevsky's research shows that Buddhists and Nestorians were often allied at Ilkhanate palace, while the Muslim elite, supported by factions of the Turkic military aristocracy and Iranian bureaucrats, opposed them. Sometimes the Jews sided with Buddhists.^[89]

In the 13th-15th centuries, the lands of the old feudal lords in present-day Azerbaijan and Armenia gradually passed into the hands of the hereditary heads of the nomadic tribes.^[90] The Orlat dynasty, which ruled the Sheki rulership that arose at the end of the 14th century, was an Azerbaijanized Turkic-speaking Mongol dynasty. Two members of this dynasty are known – Seyyid Ali Orlat [az] (ca. 1393 – 1399) and Seyyid Ahmad Orlat [az] (1399 – 1423/1424).^[91][92][93] Darğalar village is located in the Barda region of Azerbaijan. It is believed that the village was founded by Mongol tax officials, descendants of the Dargas, and took its name from them.^[29][94]

Nökər is a title historically used for members of the noble class in Mongol states.^[95] It is one of the warrior classes that existed in Turko-Mongol societies in Middle Ages. Translated from the Mongolian language, it means "companion", "warrior", "servant", "helper" and "slave". Amongst Turks, this expression is used in the sense of a groom or groom's son's companion.^[96][97] The title of servant also existed in Azerbaijan.^[95] This title can be found in the Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu states as well.^[97] Evliya Çelebi notes that the khanates of Baku, Ganja and Iravan had a certain number of servants.^[95] In the military unit of the Kangarly Cavalry [az; ru] during the Russian Tsarist period, soldiers and nokars came after gentlemen, viceroys and lawyers. The servants of the Kangarli cavalry had a special mark on their collars.^[98] The word "nökər" is a name given to a male servant in the modern Azerbaijani language.^[95]

The dynasties that replaced the Ilkhanates (Jalairs, Chobanids, Timurids, Aq Qoyunlus, Safavids, Afshars, Qajars) implemented the system of administration of Iran by Turko-Mongolian nomadic political and military elite. Azerbaijani-speaking^{[99][100][101]} Nadir Shah, the first ruler of the Afshar dynasty, held a congress in Mughan according to the Turko-Mongol tradition and thus became the ruler. He ordered his poets to write poems about him repeating the conquests of Genghis Khan. The Azerbaijani-speaking^{[102][103][104][105]} Qajars claim that the beginning of their dynasty came from Qajar Noyon, the son of a Mongol commander, and hung paintings of Genghis Khan in Qajar-style clothes in their palaces.^[106]

Culinary

The "Yinshan zhengyao", a court recipe book of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1330s), was inspired by Inner and Western Asia. Azerbaijani cuisine includes elements similar to the foods found in this cookbook. An example of such dishes is piti. The piti dish of Azerbaijan is similar to the harissa dish of Iraq, and thus to a number of recipes in the Mongolian book. Quince is also added to Azerbaijan's bozbash dish, as is often done in "Yinshan zhengyao". Jams and sherbets of Azerbaijani cuisine are reminiscent of Turkic and Eastern cuisines and "Yinshan zhenqiao" recipes.^[107] The roots of the kebab dish prepared in Azerbaijani, Iranian and Russian cuisine go back to the time when the territory of these countries lived as a part of the old Mongolian civilization.^[108]

Cultural heritage in modern era

In the 13th century, 11 arched bridges, one of Khudaferin bridges, were built over Araz or its old ruins were restored. One of the reasons for this was the need to move a large army due to the wars between the Ilkhanates and the Golden Horde. Also, the discovery of the remains of the Aladag tent-city built for the nobles in the north shows that a bridge was needed to move people, horses, chickens, etc. across the Aras river for a short period of time (2–3 days).^[109]

The Garabaghlar tomb complex, located in the Kangarli district of Nakhchivan, belonging to the Ilkhanate era, includes a tomb, a double minaret, and the remains of a religious building located between these two monuments. It is written in the inscription: "The construction of this building was ordered by Jahan Qudi Khatun". Qudi Khatun is believed to be Qutui Khatu, the wife of Ilkhanate ruler Abaqa.^[110]

Traces of archaic traditions created by artists working in the workshops of Ilkhanate vizier Rashid al-Din at the beginning of the 14th century can also be seen in the miniatures of the 15th century Baku artist Abdul Bagi Bakuvi [az; ru; uk]. Bakuvi's "Horse and its Master" is an Islamic version of a warrior image that was very popular in China during the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties.^[111][112]

Poet Jafar Jabbarly describes the colors of the flag in his poem "Azerbaijani flag" published in Azerbaijan newspaper:

Historical chronology

Era	Person	Events of the era
Mongol Empire (until 1256)
1229–1241	Ögedei Khan	Conquering South Caucasus until 1236
Ilkhanate (1256–1335)
1256–1265	Hulagu Khan	Making the army to be consist of Turkic-Mongolian tribes and executing shamanist rituals in palace
1282–1284	Tekuder	Being interested in Turkic sheikhs, and performing Sufi ceremony – sama while spending winter in Arran
from 14th century		"Garabahg" toponym started being used
1295–1304	Ghazan Khan	Locating Turkic tribes on Mughan plain. Executing Genghis Khan's rules with Islamic sharia
beginning of the 14th century	Vassaf	Writing couplets in Azerbaijani Turkish
1st half of the 14th century	Ibn Muhanna	Noting Azerbaijani as "Turkish of our state" in Turkic and Mongolian dictionary
1306–1310	Nasir Bakuvi	Ilkhanates ruler – Öljaitü wrote 55-couplet long mukhammas in Azerbaijani
1316–1335	Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan	Developing of literatures in Azerbaijani Turkish
1st half of 14th century		Writing of prays, khutbahs, and manzumahs in mix of Eastern Turkish and Azerbaijani Turkish
Tabriz rule of Jalayirid sultanate (1358–1388)
2nd half of 14th century		Khwarazm and Transoxiana poets including Hujandin wrote their poems in Azerbaijani Turkish
1382–1388	Ahmad Jalayir	Using Azerbaijani Turkish in Jalayir's palace
Tabriz rule of Timurid empire (1388–1408)
	Abd al-Qadir Maraghi	Composing song in Turkic for Emir Timur
Safavid state
17th century		Adam Olearius noted Turkic and Mongolian tribes placed by Ghazan Khan

Gallery

• 
  A pottery plate from the Ilkhanate period discovered in Beylagan
• 
  Remains of silk fabric from the Ilkhanate era (13th century)

See also

• Culture of Azerbaijan

Notes

References

Sources

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Further reading