Azerbaycan

Azerbaycan is a historical region frequently mentioned in ancient and Islamic period sources of Kurdish history to define the eastern belt of the geography inhabited by Kurds and Kurdish settlements. In early sources, the region appears both as one of the lands inhabited by the Kurdish population and among the titles of historical and geographical writings concerning the region.

In Geographical Literature

In geographical literature, Azerbaycan is one of the regions discussed alongside Iran, Sind, Horasan, Sicistan, and the Caspian Sea basin, which constitute the eastern half of the Islamic world (Vol. 2, p. 18). Yâkūt el-Hamevî lists the regions densely populated by Kurds as Cezîre, Cibal, Ermeniyye, and Azerbaycan (Vol. 2, p. 26).

Political and Military Events

The region is also a stage where political and military events related to Kurds took place. Khorenatsi writes that I. Ardeşir, the founder of the Sasanian state, pursued a Parthian dignitary who rebelled against him, through Korduk all the way to Azerbaycan (Vol. 1, p. 77). In the geographical description of the region, Azerbaycan is intertwined with Kurdish settlements: the geography of Mardastan, localized from the northeast of Lake Van towards Azerbaycan and present-day Iranian territories, is one such example (Vol. 1, p. 78).

Kurdish Dynasties and Borders

The domains of Kurdish dynasties also extended to Azerbaycan. The dominion of the Mervânîs, who ruled in Northern Mesopotamia between 983 and 1085, extended from Musul in the south to the border of Ahlât, to the city of Selmâs in Azerbaycan in the east, and to Diyarbekir in the west (Vol. 1, p. 129). İbn Said el-Mağribî mentions Azerbaycan and Ran separately as two distinct sultanates, namely the Sultanate of Azerbaycan and the Sultanate of Ran (Vol. 2, p. 59). The Revvadîs are considered one of the oldest Kurdish emirates and are stated to have encompassed a large part of Azerbaycan (Vol. 2, p. 61).

Mamluk-era geographers also took Azerbaycan as a basis when delimiting the region; for example, Kalkaşendî gives the western border of the Cibal region as Azerbaycan (Vol. 2, p. 56) and also defines Azerbaycan's border within neighboring regions (Vol. 2, p. 60). When describing the geographical scope of Kürdistan, the southern part of the West Azerbaycan province is also included in this framework (Vol. 2, p. 55).

Works Serving as Sources for the Region's History

Finally, Azerbaycan is not only a place where events occurred but also the name of works that shed light on the region's history. Two separate works titled Tarihu Azerbaycan, which are now lost and thought to contain information about the Şeddâdîs, are mentioned among the foremost works serving as sources for the region's history (Vol. 1, p. 102).