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This article is about the region in Iran; for other uses, see Azerbaijan (disambiguation).

Azarbaijan or Azerbaijan, also Iranian Azarbaijan (Persian: آذربایجان ایران; Āzārbāijān-e Irān; Azeri: آذربایجان), is a region in northwestern Iran and south of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The terms Southern Azerbaijan or South Azerbaijan (Azeri: گوني آذربایجان, Güney Azərbaycan) are also sometimes used to describe the region^[1][2], but are criticized by Iranian sources as being incorrect and nationalistic-motivated.^[3][4]

Azarbaijan has an area of 176,512 square kilometers and a population of about 7 million (estimates vary) the Azerbaijanis make up the majority of the population. Azarbaijan is famous for its great natural beauty. There are 17 rivers and two lakes in the region. Cotton, nuts, textiles, tea, machinery and electrical equpiments are main industries. The region, which includes Lake Urmia, is mountainous, with deep valleys and fertile lowlands.

Grains, fruits, cotton, rice, nuts, and tobacco are grown. Wool, carpets, and metalware are produced. Industries include food processing, cement, textiles, electric equipment, and sugar milling. An oil pipeline runs through the region.

The majority of the people of Azarbaijan are Azeris, who are Shi'a Muslims. There are also Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Jews, and Persians. Iranian Azerbaijan is divided into the provinces of East Azarbaijan (1996 pop. 3,325,540), West Azarbaijan (1996 pop. 2,496,320), Ardebil. (1996 pop. 1,168,011), and Zanjan. The chief cities include Tabriz (the capital of East Azarbaijan), Urmia (the capital of West Azarbaijan), Ardebil (the capital of Ardabil), Maragheh, Marand, Zanjan, and Khoy (Khvoy). The region is bounded in the north by Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and in the West by Lake Urmia and Kurdish-inhabited Areas of Iran.

In ancient times, before the Aryan migration to Iranian Plateau, Azarbaijan was dominated by the kings of Van and Urartu (in Armenia). By the 8th century BC, it had been settled by Medes, and it later formed the province of Media Minor in the Persian Empire. After Alexander the Great conquered Persia, he appointed (328 BC) as governor the Persian general Atropates, who eventually established an independent dynasty. Later, the region, which came to be called Atropatene or Media Atropatene, was much disputed. In the 2nd century BC, it was liberated from Seleucid domination by Mithradates I of Arsacid dynasty, and c. AD 226 it became part of the Sassanid Empire of Ardashir I. Shapur II enlarged Azarbaijan by adding territory in the north known as Arran or Aran (today known as the Republic of Azerbaijan).

Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor, briefly held the region in the 7th century, just before the Islamic Conquest of Iran; Arab invaders converted most of its people to Islam and made it part of the caliphate. The Persianized Seljuk Turks dominated the region in the 11th and 12th centuries, and the Mongols under Hulagu Khan established (13th century) their capital at Maragheh. After being conquered by Timur in the 14th century, Tabriz became an important provincial capital of the Timurid empire. It was out of Ardebil (Ancient Artavilla) that the Safavid dynasty arose (c. 1500) to renew the state of Persia. There was fierce fighting between the Ottoman Empire and Persia for Azarbaijan. After brief Ottoman control, Shah Abbas the Great, regained control of the region in 1603.

Azarbaijan hails from a rich culture from Azari traditions. Many local dances and folk music continue to survive among the various peoples of the provinces. As a longstanding province of Persia, Azarbaijan is mentioned favorably on many occasions in Persian literature by Iran's greatest authors and poets. Examples:

گزیده هر چه در ایران بزرگان
زآذربایگان و ری و گرگان

All the nobles and greats of Iran,
Choose from Azarbaijan, Ray, and Gorgan.
--Vis o Ramin

از آنجا بتدبیر آزادگان
بیامد سوی آذرآبادگان

From there the wise and the free,
set off to Azarbaijan
--Nizami

بیک ماه در آذرآبادگان
ببودند شاهان و آزادگان

For a month's time, The Kings and The Free,
Would choose in Azarbaijan to be
--Ferdowsi

Existence of Azaris in the highest ranks of the leadership in Iran like current Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, could support this idea that there is no discrimination about Azaris in Iran and they have equal opportunities compare with other ethnicity like Persians. It is sometimes claimed that Iranian Azeris (Azaris) are not allowed to freely speak their language, propagate their culture, or have their own ethnic media.

This is not fully accurate however: Iran's claimed government policy in the past 30 years has been one of pan-Islamism, which excludes ethnicity (including Persians) altogether from the equation as a variable. Persian language is thus merely used as the lingua franca of the country to keep the republic functioning, and the centralized authority model of government is one with a long precedent in Iran's past.

Furthermore, Article 15 of Iran's constitution reads:

"The use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian."^[5]

According to Amnesty International, "Iranian Azeri Turks, who are mainly Shi’a Muslims, are the largest minority in Iran, believed to constitute between 25-30 per cent of the population. They are located mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. As Shi’a, they are not subject to the same kinds of discrimination as minorities of other religions, and are well-integrated into the economy, but there is a growing demand for greater cultural and linguistic rights, including implementation of their constitutional right to education through the medium of Turkish. A small minority advocate secession of Iranian Azerbaijan from the Islamic Republic of Iran and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Those who seek to promote Azeri Turkish cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who often accuse them of vague charges such as "promoting pan-Turkism"". ^[6]

Azeris (Azaris), more than any other minority of Iran, have participated in Iran's history and politics, and continue to do so. Some of the most famous Azeris of Iran involved on national levels are:

• Parviz Fattah, current Minister of Energy
• Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran ^[7]
• Mohammad Khatami, former president, is half Azeri ^[7]
• Hakim Nezami Ganjavi, prominent poet
• Qatran Tabrizi, poet
• Ahmad Kasravi, nationalist politician and author
• Samad Behrangi, writer
• Sattar khan, constitutional revolutionary leader
• Bagher khan, constitutional revolutionary leader
• Kazem Sadegh-Zadeh
• Parvin E'tesami, poetess
• Karim Bagheri, soccer star
• Ali Daei, soccer star
• Iraj Mirza, poet and politician
• Maqsud Ali Tabrizi
• Hassan Roshdiyyeh
• Shams Tabrizi, mystic
• Ali Salimi
• Ali Soheili, Prime Minister of Iran
• Ebrahim Hakimi, Prime Minister of Iran
• Mahmud Jam, Prime Minister of Iran
• Mohammad Hossein Shahriar, famous poet
• Sheikh Mohammad Khiyabani, famous cleric
• Arteshbod Ghareh baghi, Iran's last Army Chief of Staff under the Pahlavi regime. (autobiography)
• Ali Javan

• Southern Azerbaijan National Awakening Movement
• Güney Azərbaycan Milli Oyanis Hərəkati
• http://www.zerbaijan.com/azeri/nasibzade2.html
• GunAz TV
• http://www.today.az/news/politics/23700.html
• http://www.qsl.net/yb0rmi/vosa.htm
• http://www.southazerbaijan.com/
• "Azerbaijan" (Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition; 2001-05)
• Azerbaijan entries in the Encyclopedia Iranica