Shirvan

Shirvan (Şirvan; ), also spelled as Shirwan and Šervān, is a historical region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both Islamic and modern times. Today, the region, an industrially and agriculturally developed part of Azerbaijan that stretches between the western shores of the Caspian Sea and the Kura River and is centred on the Shirvan Plain. .

Medieval History and etymology
Vladimir Minorsky believes that names such Sharvan (Shirwan), Layzan and Baylaqan are Iranian names from the Iranian languages of the Coast of Capsian. Shervan is a male name is Persian, means Cyprus tree (Sarv is the Arabic equivalent, used in today's Persian language to describe a Cyprus tree), reference (Dehkhoda dictionary). However the name is also connected popularly to Anushiravan, the Sassanid King. Another meaning of Shirwan according to the Dehkhoda dictionary is protector/protected of/by the lions.

The name is first attested during the Sassanian epoch, when it was used to denote the northern part of Caucasian Albania, or Arran. After the Islamic conquest, it became a hereditary possession of the Khalif's governors. Between 799 and 1538, the territory was ruled by the dynasty of Shirvanshahs. It was there that the Persian poet Khaqani (Khaghani) was born. The capital of the Shirvanshahs was Shamakhi. Afterwords the region passed unto the Safavid, Afshar and Qajar empires. In the 18th century, Shirvan was a khanate whose ruler paid homage to Persia. The Russians briefly overran it during the Russo-Persian War, 1722-1723. After the Treaty of Gulistan of 1813 the region was absorbed by Imperial Russia.

According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, Shirwan proper comprised the easternmost spurs of the Caucasus range and the lands which sloped down from these mountains to the banks of the Kur river. But its rulers strove continuously to control also the western shores of the Caspian Sea from Ḳuba (the modern town of Quba) in the district of Maskat in the north, to Baku in the south. To the north of all these lands lay Bab al-Abwab or Derbend, and to the west, beyond the modern Goychay, the region of Shaki. In mediaeval Islamic times, and apparently in pre-Islamic Sāsānid ones also, Shirwan included the district of Layzan, which probably corresponds to modern Lahidj, often ruled as a separate fief by a collateral branch of the Yazidi Shirwan Shahs.''

The 19th century native historian and writer Abbasgulu Bakikhanov defines it as: "The country of Shirvan to the east borders on the Caspia Sea, and to the south on the river Kur, which separates it from the provinces of Moghan and Armenia".

Shirvanshahs
Shirvanshah also spelled as Shīrwān Shāh or Sharwān Shāh, was the title in mediaeval Islamic times of a Persianized dynasty of Arabic origin. They ruled the area independently or as a vassal of larger empires from 800 A.D. up to 1607 A.D. when Safavid rule became firmly established.

Safavid and Afsharid Era
When the Shirwanshah Shah dynasty was ended by the Safavid Shah Tahmasp I, Shirwan formed a province of Persia and was usually governed by a Khan, who is often called Beylerbey or Amir al-Umara. Shirwan was taken by the Ottomans in 1578, however Safavid rule was restored by 1607. In 1722 the Khan of Quba, Husayn Ali, submitted to Peter the Great and was accepted as his dginitary. By the treaty between Russian and Ottoman empire in the year 1724, the coast of the territory of Baku, which was occupied by the Russians, was separated from the rest of Shirvan, which was left to the Ottomans. It was only when Nadir Shah defeated the Ottomans, that the Russians ceded the coastal land and the area became part of the Afsharid empire.

Modern history up to Azerbaijan S.S.R
When the Qajars had succeeded in restoring the unity of Persia, the sons of the Khan were no more able to maintain their independence than the other Caucasian chiefs and had to choose between Russia and Persia. The Khan of Shirwan, Mustafa, who had already entered into negotiations with Zubov, submitted to the Russians in 1805, who occupied Derbend and Baku next year (1806), but soon afterwards he made overtures to the Persians and sought help from them. By the peace of Gulistan (12/24 October 1813), Persia gave up all claim to Darband, Quba, Shirwan and Baku. Nevertheless, Mustafa continued to have secret dealings with Persia. It was not till 1820 that his territory was occupied by Russian troops; the Khan fled to Persia and Shemakha was incorporated in Russian territory.

People and Culture
The term Shirvani/Shirvanli is still in use in Azerbaijan to designate the people of Shirvan region, as it was historically. . Since ancient time, the bulk population of Shirvan were Caucasian speaking groups. Later on Iranianization of this native population and subsequent Turkification since the Seljuq era occurred. The bulk of the population today are Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanis, although there are also smaller Caucasian speaking and Iranian speaking minorities.

Caucasian Population
The original population were Paleo-Caucasians and spoke Caucasian languages like the Caucasian Albanians. Today other Daghestani Caucasian languages such as Udi, Lezgin and Avar are still spoken in the region.

Iranic Influence and Population
Iranian penetration started since the Achaemenid era and continued in the Parthia era. However it was during the Sassanid era were the influence really increased and Persian colonies were setup in the region. According to Vladimir Minorsky: ''The presence of Iranian settlers in Transcaucasia, and especially in the proximity of the passes, must have played an important role in absorbing and pushing back the aboriginal inhabitants. Such names as Sharvan, Layzan, Baylaqan, etc., suggest that the Iranian immigration proceeded chiefly from Gilan and other regions on the southern coast of the Caspian''. Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Al-Masudi (896-956), the Arab historian states Persian presence in Aran, Bayleqan, Darband, Shabaran, Masqat and Jorjan. From 9th century, the urban population of Shirwan increasingly moved to Persian language. while the rural population seems to mostly have retained their old Caucasian languages. Up to the nineteenth century, there was still a large number of Tat population (who claim to be descendants of Sassanid era Persian settlers), however due to similar culture and religion with Turkic speaking Azerbaijanis, this population was partly assimilated.

Turkification of the region
Turkic penetration in the region started in the Khazar era, however there are no unambiguous references to settlements. The Turkification of the region started in the Seljuq era, although the area in parallel maintained its Persian culture under the Persianized Shirvanshah until the Safavid era. From the Safavid era onwards, the Turkification of the region accelerated, where the bulk of the population adopted Turkic languages and the population was eventually fused into the modern Azerbaijani people

The bulk of the population consisted of Turkic speakers with an admixture of Arabs and Persians.

According to The Earth and its Inhabitants, published in 1891:

In their habits those of the lower Kura, Shirvan, and Baku approach nearer to the Persians than to the Turks. They seldom practice polygamy, and their women generally work freely with unveiled faces. On the whole they are remarkably tolerant, nor does the Shia sect take advantage of its decide to ascendancy to persecute either the Sunnite Mohammedans or their Christian neighbors.

At the same time, according to An Illustrated Description of the Russian Empire published in 1855, the population of Shirvan was mostly made up of Persians:

Shirvan was formerly a province of Persia…The inhabitants of this province are chiefly Mohammedan Persians.

However, in Russian empire Shia Muslims in general were referred to as Persians. Russian Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published in 1890-1907, stated that the most numerous people in Baku governorate were “Azerbaijani Tatars, who are incorrectly called Persians. They are similar to Persians in many ways, but their language is Turko-Tatar”.

To distinguish Turkic speakers of Iranian descent from other Turkic peoples, the Russians introduced the term Azerbaijani in the later half the 19th century. Russian Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published in 1890, states :

some scholars (Yadrintsev, Kharuzin, Chantre) suggested to change the terminology of some Turko-Tatar people, who somatically don’t have much in common with Turks, for instance, to call Azerbaijani Tatars (Iranians by race) Azerbaijans.

External links and References

 * V. Minorsky, A History of Sharvan and Darband in the 10th-11th Centuries, Cambridge, 1958.
 * WorldStatesmen- Azerbaijan
 * Great Soviet Encyclopedia, article on Shirvan

Şirvan Schirwan Shirvan fa:شیروان Chirvan (province) შირვანი Širvanas Szyrwan Shirvan Ширван Шервон