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Azerbaijan was its own nation for a brief period of time. They had an even higher percentage of Azeris at the time. Over the years they have been kicked out of countries. Azerbaijan wasn't a country until the USSR dissolved in 1991.

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Will they Succeed in becoming a nation state?

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Will they Succeed in becoming a nation state?

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I would say in Azerbaijan they already are, if not than it would be hard to without doing something bad such as ethnic cleansing. In Iran however it would be extremely hard as they are the minority in that country.

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theCurrent | Continental Currency Exchange

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Welcome to the South Caucasus, a fascinating and historical region at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. In our journey through Azerbaijan, we'll discover a country that has been touched and impacted by some of the world's greatest empires on the rocky road to independence.

Want to learn more about Azerbaijan?

Human habitation in Azerbaijan goes back thousands and thousands of years, though it wasn't until the 9 th century BCE when proper settlement began to flourish. Over the course of antiquity some of the rulers of Azerbaijan included Alexander the Great, the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, Albania, and the Sassanids (a pre-Islamic Iranian empire).

Medieval and Early Modern Azerbaijan

As a part of Caucasian Albania, Azerbaijan (and 'Albania' as a whole) was subject to the control of the Sassanids for much of the early Middle Ages. This lasted until the vast Umayyad Caliphate (and the new Islamic faith) seized the land. As the power of the Caliphate eventually waned, many different Turkic groups moved into and settled in the region. This was a time of shifting allegiances and numerous power struggles. To add to the uncertainty, foreign powers including the Ottoman Empire and Russia both controlled large swathes of land at various points throughout the 16 th, 17 th, and 18 th centuries. In the midst of this, the Safavids (from Iran) laid the groundwork for Shia Islam in Azerbaijan - something that has lasted to this day.

Moving into the 19 th century, Azerbaijan was caught between self-ruling khanates and foreign rulers (namely Imperial Russia). Until the end of World War I, Russia was the dominant force in the land after seizing much of the Caucasus from Iran. After an attempt at a regional union, the independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) was declared in 1918 - with the basis of a parliamentary system.

The people of Azerbaijan did not have long to celebrate unfortunately, as less than two years later the Soviet Union set its sights on the country (and its vast oil reserves). After a bloody resistance, Azerbaijan (as well as Georgia and Armenia) became Soviet republics. During WWII, many Azerbaijani's fought against the Germans while Baku supplied about 80% of all oil to the Soviet Eastern Front.

As the Soviet Union began to collapse, Azerbaijan formally became independent once more in 1991. The early years of independence were greeted with the Nagorno-Karabakh war against Armenia - which the latter won and claimed a large amount of Azerbaijani territory. At the same time, there was a military coup as well as widespread corruption and bureaucracy to deal with. Things have since settled down, however the ruling government is still criticized for corruption, an authoritarian style, and other abuses. Despite this, Azerbaijan ranks high in categories such as human development, employment, and quality of life.

In part thanks to its central location in Eurasia, Azerbaijani culture is a mix of many different traditions and backgrounds. This includes local folklore and history, the Islamic faith, and newer, Western influences as well. Music and folk art are among the most enduring images of Azerbaijan's culture today.

The flag of Azerbaijan includes a tricolour of blue, red, and green as well as the star and crescent that is well known throughout the region. The blue denotes the variety of Turkic peoples in the country, the red represents democracy and the modern state, while the green is meant to symbolize the wider connection to the Muslim world.

Vegetables are the staple of any Azerbaijani diet, with fresh produce making up many of the meals. Beyond this, the dishes use 'homegrown' ingredients from various regions around the country - with fish popular around the Caspian Sea while local meat is found elsewhere. Plov (a rice dish) is the most well known food while black tea is the national beverage.

Sports are popular in Azerbaijan with freestyle wrestling widely considered the national sport. The country usually puts on strong showings at the Olympics in this event (the country recently won seven freestyle wrestling medals at Rio 2016). Chess is also popular in the country, with many of the world's greatest players hailing from Azerbaijan. Along with soccer (as per usual), chess is one of the most followed sports in the country.

Geography of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan is located in the South Caucasus, right on the border of Asia and Europe. The Caspian Sea in the east, the Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north, and the flatlands in the central part of the country are the dominating features of Azerbaijan. In addition, the country is well known for unique mud volcanoes throughout the land.

The largest city in Azerbaijan (by far) is the capital, Baku, which is home to more than 2 million people. Recently, Baku has increased its profile on the world stage by hosting international events including a Grand Prix, Eurovision, and some matches in the upcoming Euro 2020 soccer tourney.

Facts about Azerbaijan

Baku is known as the 'City of Winds' thanks to high winds (makes sense)

Azerbaijan was the shirt sponsor of Spanish soccer club Atlético de Madrid recently

There is a town on stilts in the Caspian Sea

It is one of the world's leading caviar producers

Alfred Nobel (think prizes) got most of his wealth from Azerbaijani oil

There's so much more to discover about 'The Land of Fire'...and you can do that right now with our Travel Guide and Currency Spotlight!
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Azerbaijan flag, history, culture, geography, facts, and more

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Welcome to the South Caucasus, a fascinating and historical region at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. In our journey through Azerbaijan, we'll discover a country that has been touched and impacted by some of the world's greatest empires on the rocky road to independence. Want to learn more about Azerbaijan?

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They were deeply affected by the Armenian war with 1,000,000 Azeris being displaced. Azerbaijan had numerous struggles with the USSR as well.

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The Azeris are spread out throughout countries, but most of them are found in Azerbaijan and Iran. Azerbaijan might be a considered a nation-state, because 90% of the people there are Azeri and 95% are muslim. That mean that 9 out of every 10 people share a cultural and religious background. The majority of Azeris however are found in Iran. There are over 15 million Azeris in Iran compared to 8-9 million in Azerbaijan

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Azerbaijani is the official language of Azerbaijan. It is also the language of the majority population of the country. Several minority languages are also spoken in Azerbaijan. Most of these languages with the exception of a few like Armenian, Georgian, etc., are endangered languages. The use of English, treated as a foreign language in Azerbaijan, is steadily increasing in the country.

The Most Popular And Official Language Of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani, also called the Azeri, is the most widely spoken language in Azerbaijan. The language is spoken by 92.5% of the population of the country. More than half of these speakers are monolingual implying that they can only communicate in Azerbaijani. Being a member of the Turkic family, Azerbaijani is closely related to the Turkish language. The language also serves as the official language of the country. Outside Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani is spoken in South Russia and Northern Iran. However, the dialects are different from that spoken in Azerbaijan. Despite the number of Azerbaijani speakers in Iran being higher than that in Azerbaijan itself, the language has been discouraged in Iran for decades. In Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani serves as the primary language of education and is used widely in government administration, media channels, and in the daily life of the people of the country.

The Minority Languages Of Azerbaijan

Several minority languages are spoken in Azerbaijan. Russian and Armenian are the most widely spoken minority languages in the country. Each of these two languages serves as the mother tongue of around 1.5% of the population of the country. Armenian is spoken almost exclusively in the break-away Nagorno-Kharabakh region of the country. The country also has a dozen other minority languages, many of which are endangered due to the extremely low number of speakers of these languages. Among the minority languages of Azerbaijan, all except Armenian, Georgian, Talysh, Lezgian, and Avar, are endangered. Although these languages have a small number of speakers in Azerbaijan, they are popular elsewhere. Even among these languages, Talysh, Lezgian, and Avar are classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

Lezgian

A Lezgic language, Lezgian is spoken by the Lezgins living in northern Azerbaijan. It is classified as a vulnerable language by UNESCO.

Avar

A language of the Northeast Caucasian family, Avar is spoken in parts of north-western Azerbaijan and Dagestan. It is spoken by about 762,000 people worldwide.

Talysh

The Talysh language, an Iranian language, is spoken in parts of Iran and southern Azerbaijan. Although it has about 500,000 to 1 million speakers, its popularity is constantly decreasing. Thus, UNESCO also classifies this language as vulnerable in its Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Endangered Languages Of Azerbaijan

Several minority languages that are spoken in Azerbaijan are endangered languages. These languages are spoken by less than 10,000 to less than 1,000 people. The modernisation of the country is also further decreasing the popularity of these languages. Here is a description of some of these languages:

Budukh

Budukh is spoken by about 200 ethnic Budukhs in some parts of Quba Rayon in Azerbaijan. It is a Samur language belonging to the Northeast Caucasian language family. The language is designated as "severely endangered" in the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.

Juhuri

Also known as the Judeo-Tat, the Juhuri is spoken by the Mountain Jews of Azerbaijan and Dagestan. It is also spoken in Israel. A member of the Indo-European languages, Juhuri is closely related to Persian. It is classified as "endangered" by the UNESCO.

Kryts

A Samur language of the Northeast Caucasian language family, Kryts is spoken in Azerbaijan's Quba Rayon region. As of 1975, the language was spoken by about 6,000 people. The dialects of Kryts are all quite distinct and can even be classified as separate languages. Kryts is classified as a "severely endangered" language by the UNESCO.

Khinalug

Also classified as severely endangered, the Khinalug, a Northeast Caucasian language, has around 1,500 speakers in northern Azerbaijan's Quba Rayon region. The UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger labels Khinalug as a "severely endangered" language.

Cek

A Northeast Caucasian language, Cek or Jek is spoken by about 1,500 to 11, 000 people of the Jek community inhabiting the Jek village in northern Azerbaijan. It is not a written language but uses the Azeri language for literary representation.

Rutul

The Rutul ethnic group living in parts of Azerbaijan and Dagestan speak the Rutul language. According to the 2010 census, there were about 30,000 speakers of this language worldwide. The UNESCO classified the Rutul as an endangered language.

Tsakhur

The Tsakhur is spoken by the Tsakhurs in parts of Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan. About 13,000 people in Azerbaijan speak this language. The UNESCO labels this language as "definitely endangered."

Tat

An Iranian language, the Tat is spoken by the Tat people of Azerbaijan and Russia. It is also one of the endangered languages of Azerbaijan.

Udi

The Udi language is spoken by about 4,000 people in Nij, an Azerbaijani village in Qabala Rayon. The language is also spoken in parts of the Oghuz Rayon in the country and in some parts of Russia. The Udi language belongs to the Northeast Caucasian language family and is classified as "severely endangered" by the UNESCO.

Immigrant Languages Of Azerbaijan

Immigrants to Azerbaijan speak their own languages or mother tongues. These include Assyrian, Belarusian, Georgian, Polish, Ukrainian, Iranian Persian, Dargwa, Tatar, Turkish, and some others. The number of speakers of these languages varies from a few hundred to a few thousand. The immigrant languages are used mainly at the homes of the immigrants and the usage of these languages is confined to the respective communities.

Foreign Languages Spoken In Azerbaijan

Both Russian and English play significant roles in the education system of Azerbaijan. These languages are taught as second and third languages in the country's schools. The popularity of English is also fast growing in the country since knowledge in the language opens up better opportunities in education and work worldwide for the youth of the nation.

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What Languages Are Spoken In Azerbaijan?

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Azerbaijani is the official language of Azerbaijan. It is also the language of the majority population of the country. Several minority languages are also spoken in Azerbaijan. Most of these languages with the exception of a few like Armenian, Georgian, etc., are endangered languages.