Azerbaijan - Etymology - Encyclopedia II

There are several hypotheses regarding the origins of the name "Azerbaijan." The most common theory is that it is derived from "Atropatan." Atropat was the satrap at the time of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty, and gained independence after Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenids. The region was known as Media Atropatia or Atropatene at the time.

There are also alternative opinions that the term is a slight Turkification of Azarbaijan, in turn an Arabicized version of the original Persian name Âzarâbâdagân, made up of âzar+âbadag+ân (âzar=fire; âbâdag=cultivated area; ân=suffix of pluralization); that it traditionally means "the land of eternal flames" or "the land of fire", which is probabely implies Zoroastrian fire temples in this land. Some Azeri historians contend that the name is made up of four Azerbaijani components: az+er+bay+can, which means "the land of the brave Az people" or "an elevated place for the wealthy and exalted."

Historically, a large part of the territory of the present-day Azerbaijan Republic has been called Arran, named after Arran, a legendary founder of Caucasian Albania. However, the precise location identified by this name has shifted somewhat over time, currently referring to the lowland Karabakh plains situated between the Kura and Araks rivers.

Some opponents of the name Azerbaijan assert that it is anachronistic to use it in a historical context before 1918, because, they say, the term was first introduced by the national intelligentsia in early 20th century and later was endorsed by the Bolsheviks, with intention of claiming the northern province of Persia. To substantiate this claim they state that until the early 20th century the population of present-day Azerbaijan had no clear ethnic identification and referred to themselves primarily as "Muslims."

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Etymology", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page