Ayatollah
Ayatollah (Ayatullah). A term meaning “the supreme sign of God”. The full title, ayatollah al-uzma, was given during the Qajar period of Iranian history (eighteenth or nineteenth century) to the Twelver (Ithna 'Ashari) Shi‘ite jurist (mujtahid) who is regarded as the most learned in the matters of the shari’a and whose righteousness (adala) and piety are well established.
The title is given to any Shi‘ite jurist who is able to make independent judgments on the basis of principles laid down in Shi‘ite Ja’fari jurisprudence. Such a jurist is designated as marja-i taqlid, a competent juridical authority who is followed in the matters of the shari’a. In order to facilitate the following of the Shi‘ites, the ayatollah publishes a risalat al-amaliyya (treatise on practical religious guidance) expounding his legal rulings -- his fatwas -- which is accessible to his followers throughout the world. Although any jurist’s advice can be sought in the shari’a, according to later consensus among the Twelver Shi‘ite scholars it is obligatory to seek the guidance of the one who is acknowledged as the most learned (a’lam) and supreme (al-uzma). In the absence of any well-defined hierarchy among the jurists, the position of the ayatollah is based on the level of his learning, usually determined through his students.
In South Asia, the use of the title ayatollah for the learned jurists is more recent than in the Iranian context. Among the Arabic speaking Shi‘ites, the title imam is more commonly used for the marja-i taqlid. Indirectly, behind the authority of an acknowledged ayatollah is the authority of the infallible imam of the Shi‘a.
With the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the advent of the Iranian revolution in 1979, the importance of the title Ayatollah has been increased. Today, the Ayatollah can in many ways be compared to the position of imam.
Today, the title "ayatollah" is granted to top Shia mujtahid, after completing sat'h and kharij studies in the hawza (Shi'a seminary). By then he would be able to issue his own edicts from the sources of religious laws: Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmāˤ and 'Aql "intellect" (rather than the Sunnī principle of Qiyas). Most of the time this is attested by an issued certificate from his teachers. The ayatollah can then teach in hawzas according to his speciality, can act as a reference for their religious questions, and act as a judge. There is an important difference from Shi'a ayatollahs and "saints" in other religions and Sunni Islam. They are not regarded as enlightened by God, but rather by the Word of God.
There are a few women who are equal in ranking to the ayatollahs, and are known as Lady Mujtahideh. A current example of a Lady Mujtahideh is Zohreh Sefati. Historically, there have been several Mujtahidehs in Shi'ism, most famously the women in the family of Allama Hilli.
The name "ayatollah" originates from the Quran where human beings can also be regarded as signs of God, the literal translation of the title in Sura 51:20-21 of the Quran states:
On the earth are signs (Ayat) for those of assured Faith,
As also in your own selves: Will ye not then see?
Only a few of the most important ayatollah are accorded the rank of Grand Ayatollah (Ayatollah Uzma, "Great Sign of God"). This usually happens when the followers of one of the ayatollahs refer to him in many situations and ask him to publish his Juristic book in which he answers the vast majority of daily Muslim affairs. The book is called Resalah, which is usually a reinvention of the book Al-Urwatu l-Wuthqah, according to their knowledge of the most authentic Islamic sources and their application to current life.
Ayatullah see Ayatollah
“the supreme sign of God” see Ayatollah
ayatollah al-uzma see Ayatollah
Ayatollah (Ayatullah). A term meaning “the supreme sign of God”. The full title, ayatollah al-uzma, was given during the Qajar period of Iranian history (eighteenth or nineteenth century) to the Twelver (Ithna 'Ashari) Shi‘ite jurist (mujtahid) who is regarded as the most learned in the matters of the shari’a and whose righteousness (adala) and piety are well established.
The title is given to any Shi‘ite jurist who is able to make independent judgments on the basis of principles laid down in Shi‘ite Ja’fari jurisprudence. Such a jurist is designated as marja-i taqlid, a competent juridical authority who is followed in the matters of the shari’a. In order to facilitate the following of the Shi‘ites, the ayatollah publishes a risalat al-amaliyya (treatise on practical religious guidance) expounding his legal rulings -- his fatwas -- which is accessible to his followers throughout the world. Although any jurist’s advice can be sought in the shari’a, according to later consensus among the Twelver Shi‘ite scholars it is obligatory to seek the guidance of the one who is acknowledged as the most learned (a’lam) and supreme (al-uzma). In the absence of any well-defined hierarchy among the jurists, the position of the ayatollah is based on the level of his learning, usually determined through his students.
In South Asia, the use of the title ayatollah for the learned jurists is more recent than in the Iranian context. Among the Arabic speaking Shi‘ites, the title imam is more commonly used for the marja-i taqlid. Indirectly, behind the authority of an acknowledged ayatollah is the authority of the infallible imam of the Shi‘a.
With the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini and the advent of the Iranian revolution in 1979, the importance of the title Ayatollah has been increased. Today, the Ayatollah can in many ways be compared to the position of imam.
Today, the title "ayatollah" is granted to top Shia mujtahid, after completing sat'h and kharij studies in the hawza (Shi'a seminary). By then he would be able to issue his own edicts from the sources of religious laws: Qur'an, Sunnah, Ijmāˤ and 'Aql "intellect" (rather than the Sunnī principle of Qiyas). Most of the time this is attested by an issued certificate from his teachers. The ayatollah can then teach in hawzas according to his speciality, can act as a reference for their religious questions, and act as a judge. There is an important difference from Shi'a ayatollahs and "saints" in other religions and Sunni Islam. They are not regarded as enlightened by God, but rather by the Word of God.
There are a few women who are equal in ranking to the ayatollahs, and are known as Lady Mujtahideh. A current example of a Lady Mujtahideh is Zohreh Sefati. Historically, there have been several Mujtahidehs in Shi'ism, most famously the women in the family of Allama Hilli.
The name "ayatollah" originates from the Quran where human beings can also be regarded as signs of God, the literal translation of the title in Sura 51:20-21 of the Quran states:
On the earth are signs (Ayat) for those of assured Faith,
As also in your own selves: Will ye not then see?
Only a few of the most important ayatollah are accorded the rank of Grand Ayatollah (Ayatollah Uzma, "Great Sign of God"). This usually happens when the followers of one of the ayatollahs refer to him in many situations and ask him to publish his Juristic book in which he answers the vast majority of daily Muslim affairs. The book is called Resalah, which is usually a reinvention of the book Al-Urwatu l-Wuthqah, according to their knowledge of the most authentic Islamic sources and their application to current life.
Ayatullah see Ayatollah
“the supreme sign of God” see Ayatollah
ayatollah al-uzma see Ayatollah
Aydin-oghlu
Aydin-oghlu. Turkmen dynasty (r. 1308-1425) which ruled over the emirate of the same name in western Anatolia.
Aydin-oghlu. Turkmen dynasty (r. 1308-1425) which ruled over the emirate of the same name in western Anatolia.
Ayeshah
Ayeshah. See ‘A’isha.
Ayeshah. See ‘A’isha.
Ayhan, Ece
Ayhan, Ece (Ece Ayhan) (b. 1931). Turkish poet.
Ece Ayhan see Ayhan, Ece
Ayhan, Ece (Ece Ayhan) (b. 1931). Turkish poet.
Ece Ayhan see Ayhan, Ece
Ayn ud-Dowleh
Ayn ud-Dowleh. Qajar minister who opposed the 1906 Iranian Constitutional Revolution.
Ayn ud-Dowleh. Qajar minister who opposed the 1906 Iranian Constitutional Revolution.
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (1701-1773). Bondu trader from Senegal who was sold into slavery in America and was repatriated. His account of his adventures, published in 1734 and widely read, made him the archetypal “noble savage.” Ayuba was the son of a Bondu Tukolor cleric whose family had originated in Futa Toro. While on a commercial trip to the Gambia region in 1731, he was captured and sold as a slave in Maryland, where he worked on a tobacco farm. His literacy in Arabic attracted the attention of Thomas Bluett, who emancipated him and brought him to England, believing him to be a highly important political personage in his homeland. In Britain, he was presented at the court. In 1734, he returned to West Africa with the aid of the Royal African Company, which hoped to benefit by gaining commercial entry into Bondu, then viewed as a gateway to trade in slaves, gum arabic, and gold. A British trade mission went to Bondu in 1738, but the project collapsed. The Royal African Company itself succumbed in 1752. Ayuba continued to maintain contact with the British in the Gambia region until his death. Bluett’s account of Ayuba’s life until the time of his capture (Some Memoirs of the Life of Job ...), a highly popular book at the time, remains an important source for the eighteenth century history of the Senegambia.
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, also known as Job ben Solomon, was a famous Muslim slave who was a victim of the Atlantic slave trade. Born in Bondu, Senegal, West Africa, Ayuba's memoirs were published as one of the earliest slave narratives, that is, a first-person account of the slave trade, in Thomas Bluett's Some Memories of the Life of Job, the Son of the Solomon High Priest of Boonda in Africa; Who was a Slave about two Years in Maryland; and afterwards being brought to England, was set free, and sent to his native Land in the Year 1734.
Ayuba came from a prominent Fulbe family of Muslim religious leaders. His grandfather had founded the town of Bondu, and he grew up with Sambo the heir to the Kingdom of Futa. In 1730, while on a trip to the Gambia River to sell two slaves and to buy supplies like paper, Ayuba was captured by a group of Mandingoes. Ayuba became a victim of the ever-growing slave exploitation of the Senegambia region. Before being boarded on his ship to the New World, Ayuba attempted to negotiate a slave exchange with the captain. However, the word did not reach his father in time, and Ayuba was taken aboard. Ayuba was transported to Annapolis, Maryland, where he was purchased by Mr. Tolsey of Kent Island, Maryland. Ayuba was initially put to work in the tobacco fields; however, after being found unsuitable for such work, he was placed in charge of the cattle. While in captivity, Ayuba used to go into the woods to pray. However, after being humiliated by a child while praying, Ayuba chose to run away. He was captured and imprisoned at the Kent County Courthouse. It was there that he was discovered by a lawyer, Thomas Bluett, traveling through on business.
The lawyer was impressed by Ayuba's ability to write in Arabic. When another African who spoke Wolof, a language of a neighboring African ethnic group that Ayuba understood, was able to translate for him, it was then discovered that he had aristocratic blood. Encouraged by the circumstances, Tolsey allowed Ayuba to write a letter in Arabic to Africa. Eventually, the letter reached the office of James Oglethorpe, Director of the Royal African Company. After having the letter authenticated by John Gagnier, the Laudian Chair of Arabic at Oxford, Oglethorpe purchased Ayuba for ₤45.
Bluett and Ayuba traveled to England in 1733. Ayuba learned English, and when he reached England, he was in the company of many prominent people, including the royal family. In July 1734, Ayuba returned to Gambia and later returned to his homeland. His homeland was ravished by war, but being a prosperous individual, he was able to regain his old lifestyle, which included owning his own household slaves. His memoirs were published by Bluett in English and French. Ayuba was an extremely rare exception in the slave trade. Due to his intelligence and monetary prowess, he was able to legally escape the hardships of slavery and return back home to Africa.
Diallo, Ayuba Suleiman see Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Solomon, Job ben see Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Job ben Solomon see Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo (1701-1773). Bondu trader from Senegal who was sold into slavery in America and was repatriated. His account of his adventures, published in 1734 and widely read, made him the archetypal “noble savage.” Ayuba was the son of a Bondu Tukolor cleric whose family had originated in Futa Toro. While on a commercial trip to the Gambia region in 1731, he was captured and sold as a slave in Maryland, where he worked on a tobacco farm. His literacy in Arabic attracted the attention of Thomas Bluett, who emancipated him and brought him to England, believing him to be a highly important political personage in his homeland. In Britain, he was presented at the court. In 1734, he returned to West Africa with the aid of the Royal African Company, which hoped to benefit by gaining commercial entry into Bondu, then viewed as a gateway to trade in slaves, gum arabic, and gold. A British trade mission went to Bondu in 1738, but the project collapsed. The Royal African Company itself succumbed in 1752. Ayuba continued to maintain contact with the British in the Gambia region until his death. Bluett’s account of Ayuba’s life until the time of his capture (Some Memoirs of the Life of Job ...), a highly popular book at the time, remains an important source for the eighteenth century history of the Senegambia.
Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, also known as Job ben Solomon, was a famous Muslim slave who was a victim of the Atlantic slave trade. Born in Bondu, Senegal, West Africa, Ayuba's memoirs were published as one of the earliest slave narratives, that is, a first-person account of the slave trade, in Thomas Bluett's Some Memories of the Life of Job, the Son of the Solomon High Priest of Boonda in Africa; Who was a Slave about two Years in Maryland; and afterwards being brought to England, was set free, and sent to his native Land in the Year 1734.
Ayuba came from a prominent Fulbe family of Muslim religious leaders. His grandfather had founded the town of Bondu, and he grew up with Sambo the heir to the Kingdom of Futa. In 1730, while on a trip to the Gambia River to sell two slaves and to buy supplies like paper, Ayuba was captured by a group of Mandingoes. Ayuba became a victim of the ever-growing slave exploitation of the Senegambia region. Before being boarded on his ship to the New World, Ayuba attempted to negotiate a slave exchange with the captain. However, the word did not reach his father in time, and Ayuba was taken aboard. Ayuba was transported to Annapolis, Maryland, where he was purchased by Mr. Tolsey of Kent Island, Maryland. Ayuba was initially put to work in the tobacco fields; however, after being found unsuitable for such work, he was placed in charge of the cattle. While in captivity, Ayuba used to go into the woods to pray. However, after being humiliated by a child while praying, Ayuba chose to run away. He was captured and imprisoned at the Kent County Courthouse. It was there that he was discovered by a lawyer, Thomas Bluett, traveling through on business.
The lawyer was impressed by Ayuba's ability to write in Arabic. When another African who spoke Wolof, a language of a neighboring African ethnic group that Ayuba understood, was able to translate for him, it was then discovered that he had aristocratic blood. Encouraged by the circumstances, Tolsey allowed Ayuba to write a letter in Arabic to Africa. Eventually, the letter reached the office of James Oglethorpe, Director of the Royal African Company. After having the letter authenticated by John Gagnier, the Laudian Chair of Arabic at Oxford, Oglethorpe purchased Ayuba for ₤45.
Bluett and Ayuba traveled to England in 1733. Ayuba learned English, and when he reached England, he was in the company of many prominent people, including the royal family. In July 1734, Ayuba returned to Gambia and later returned to his homeland. His homeland was ravished by war, but being a prosperous individual, he was able to regain his old lifestyle, which included owning his own household slaves. His memoirs were published by Bluett in English and French. Ayuba was an extremely rare exception in the slave trade. Due to his intelligence and monetary prowess, he was able to legally escape the hardships of slavery and return back home to Africa.
Diallo, Ayuba Suleiman see Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Solomon, Job ben see Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Job ben Solomon see Ayuba Suleiman Diallo
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan (Muhammad Ayub Khan) (Muhammad Ayub) (May 14, 1907 - April 19, 1974). President of Pakistan (1958-1969).
Muhammad Ayub Khan was a Field Marshal during the mid-1960s, and the President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. He became the Pakistan Army's first native Commander in Chief in 1951, and was the youngest full general and self-appointed Field Marshal in Pakistan's military history. He was also the first Pakistani military commander to seize power through a coup.
Muhammad Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907, in Rehanna in the Northwest Frontier Province, then in British India. He grew up in a village in the Hazara district of northwest Pakistan. His father was a non-commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. After his early education in local schools and two years at a university (Aligarh Muslim University), Ayub Khan was admitted to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England.
Commissioned a second lieutenant in the British Indian Army in 1928, Ayub Khan held numerous command and administrative positions under British rule. While serving in the 14th Punjab Regiment during World War II, Ayub Khan saw action in Burma against the Japanese forces.
In 1947, when British India was partitioned into the two states of India and Pakistan, Ayub Khan joined the Pakistan Army. He was posted General Officer Commanding in East Pakistan in 1948 and 1949. In 1951, he was appointed full general and commander in chief of the Pakistan Army.
As commander in chief, Ayub Khan played a key role in negotiating Pakistan’s entry into a number of military alliances sponsored by the United States. Later, from 1954 to 1955, Ayub Khan also served as minister of defense.
When President Iskander Mirza (1899-1969) declared martial law in 1958, he made Ayub Khan its chief administrator. Shortly afterward, Ayub Khan dismissed Mirza, assumed the full powers of president, and imposed marital law. He was confirmed in office by referendum in 1960.
As president, Ayub Khan introduced a system of so-called basic democracies, consisting of tiered local government units, which doubled as electoral colleges. Ayub Khan was re-elected under this system in 1965.
Ayub Khan’s rule is best remembered for the inconclusive 1965 border war with India over Kashmir, the “Basic Democracy,” and the “Great Decade.” “Basic Democracy” was represented by the constitution of 1962, which instituted indirect elections in Pakistan and gave the president extraordinary powers. The “Great Decade” was the official characterization of development plans executed during the ten years of the Ayub regime, providing special incentives for private enterprise and foreign investment. Ironically, just as the official celebrations of the Great Decade got underway, a mass revolt broke out against the economic and political policies of the regime. Ayub Khan resigned in March 1969, leaving the country once more under martial law.
Ayub Khan spent his remaining years in retirement and died at this home near Islamabad on April 19, 1974.
Muhammad Ayub Khan see Ayub Khan
Muhammad Ayub see Ayub Khan
Ayub, Muhammad see Ayub Khan
Khan, Muhammad Ayub see Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan (Muhammad Ayub Khan) (Muhammad Ayub) (May 14, 1907 - April 19, 1974). President of Pakistan (1958-1969).
Muhammad Ayub Khan was a Field Marshal during the mid-1960s, and the President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. He became the Pakistan Army's first native Commander in Chief in 1951, and was the youngest full general and self-appointed Field Marshal in Pakistan's military history. He was also the first Pakistani military commander to seize power through a coup.
Muhammad Ayub Khan was born on May 14, 1907, in Rehanna in the Northwest Frontier Province, then in British India. He grew up in a village in the Hazara district of northwest Pakistan. His father was a non-commissioned officer in the British Indian Army. After his early education in local schools and two years at a university (Aligarh Muslim University), Ayub Khan was admitted to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, England.
Commissioned a second lieutenant in the British Indian Army in 1928, Ayub Khan held numerous command and administrative positions under British rule. While serving in the 14th Punjab Regiment during World War II, Ayub Khan saw action in Burma against the Japanese forces.
In 1947, when British India was partitioned into the two states of India and Pakistan, Ayub Khan joined the Pakistan Army. He was posted General Officer Commanding in East Pakistan in 1948 and 1949. In 1951, he was appointed full general and commander in chief of the Pakistan Army.
As commander in chief, Ayub Khan played a key role in negotiating Pakistan’s entry into a number of military alliances sponsored by the United States. Later, from 1954 to 1955, Ayub Khan also served as minister of defense.
When President Iskander Mirza (1899-1969) declared martial law in 1958, he made Ayub Khan its chief administrator. Shortly afterward, Ayub Khan dismissed Mirza, assumed the full powers of president, and imposed marital law. He was confirmed in office by referendum in 1960.
As president, Ayub Khan introduced a system of so-called basic democracies, consisting of tiered local government units, which doubled as electoral colleges. Ayub Khan was re-elected under this system in 1965.
Ayub Khan’s rule is best remembered for the inconclusive 1965 border war with India over Kashmir, the “Basic Democracy,” and the “Great Decade.” “Basic Democracy” was represented by the constitution of 1962, which instituted indirect elections in Pakistan and gave the president extraordinary powers. The “Great Decade” was the official characterization of development plans executed during the ten years of the Ayub regime, providing special incentives for private enterprise and foreign investment. Ironically, just as the official celebrations of the Great Decade got underway, a mass revolt broke out against the economic and political policies of the regime. Ayub Khan resigned in March 1969, leaving the country once more under martial law.
Ayub Khan spent his remaining years in retirement and died at this home near Islamabad on April 19, 1974.
Muhammad Ayub Khan see Ayub Khan
Muhammad Ayub see Ayub Khan
Ayub, Muhammad see Ayub Khan
Khan, Muhammad Ayub see Ayub Khan
Ayub, Muhammad
Ayub, Muhammad. See Ayub Khan, Muhammad.
Ayub, Muhammad. See Ayub Khan, Muhammad.
‘ayyarun
‘ayyarun ('ayyaran). Arabic term which refers to vagabonds -- the tenth to twelfth century urban gangs that subscribed to futuwwa ideals and often appeared as military opponents of state regimes.
Áyyārūn, Arabic for "scoundrel" or "vagabond", refers to a person associated with a class of warriors in Iraq and Iran from the 9th to the 12th centuries. They were associated with futuwa/futuwwa, or medieval Islamic organizations located in cities.
The 'ayyarun fought for Islam in Asia, though most of the writing about them centers on their Baghdad activities of the 10th to the 12th centuries. Baghdad was ruled by the Buyids (945–1055), and was a very lawless city, caused by fighting between Sunnis and Shi'ites. The 'ayyarun did many terrible things such as extorting taxes on roads and markets, burning wealthy quarters and markets, and looting the homes of the rich by night. For several years (1028–33), Al-Burjumi and Ibn al-Mawsili, leaders of the 'ayyarun, ruled the city due to governmental instability.
The 'ayyarun have been commonly called thieves and robbers, though these activities were highlighted during times of weak government and civil war, when their role as a military force most likely made them fight on multiple sides, angering many. During times of more stable government, their unlawful activities decreased, and when the Seljuqs ruled in the 12th century, their activities almost ceased. The 'ayyarun also made war against much of society in reaction to social injustices.
Outside of Baghdad, the 'ayyarun were closely allied with the middle class, and helped maintain the current order. The Saffarids (861-1003) of eastern Iran were in fact an 'ayyarun dynasty. They are thought by some historians to have contributed to the weakening of Baghdad, clearing the way for the horrific destruction of the city by the Mongols.
vagabonds see ‘ayyarun
'ayyaran see ‘ayyarun
scoundrels see ‘ayyarun
‘ayyarun ('ayyaran). Arabic term which refers to vagabonds -- the tenth to twelfth century urban gangs that subscribed to futuwwa ideals and often appeared as military opponents of state regimes.
Áyyārūn, Arabic for "scoundrel" or "vagabond", refers to a person associated with a class of warriors in Iraq and Iran from the 9th to the 12th centuries. They were associated with futuwa/futuwwa, or medieval Islamic organizations located in cities.
The 'ayyarun fought for Islam in Asia, though most of the writing about them centers on their Baghdad activities of the 10th to the 12th centuries. Baghdad was ruled by the Buyids (945–1055), and was a very lawless city, caused by fighting between Sunnis and Shi'ites. The 'ayyarun did many terrible things such as extorting taxes on roads and markets, burning wealthy quarters and markets, and looting the homes of the rich by night. For several years (1028–33), Al-Burjumi and Ibn al-Mawsili, leaders of the 'ayyarun, ruled the city due to governmental instability.
The 'ayyarun have been commonly called thieves and robbers, though these activities were highlighted during times of weak government and civil war, when their role as a military force most likely made them fight on multiple sides, angering many. During times of more stable government, their unlawful activities decreased, and when the Seljuqs ruled in the 12th century, their activities almost ceased. The 'ayyarun also made war against much of society in reaction to social injustices.
Outside of Baghdad, the 'ayyarun were closely allied with the middle class, and helped maintain the current order. The Saffarids (861-1003) of eastern Iran were in fact an 'ayyarun dynasty. They are thought by some historians to have contributed to the weakening of Baghdad, clearing the way for the horrific destruction of the city by the Mongols.
vagabonds see ‘ayyarun
'ayyaran see ‘ayyarun
scoundrels see ‘ayyarun
Ayyubids
Ayyubids. Name of the dynasty founded by Saladin which ruled Egypt, Muslim Syria-Palestine, the major part of Upper Mesopotamia and the Yemen from 1169 until the Mongol conquest in 1260.
The Ayyubids were a Kurdish dynasty in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. There were minor branches in Baalbek, Homs, Karak, Hamat, Baniyas, Subayba and al-Busra. Their main capitals were Damascus and Cairo. Named after the Kurdish military leader Ayyub from Armenia, who entered the service of the Zangids as 'Abbasid governor of Takrit near Baghdad and became governor of Damascus. His brother, Shirkuh, and his son, Salah al-Din (Saladin), became military leaders of the Fatimids in Egypt. Saladin (1138-1193), the greatest Islamic hero of the Crusades, became vizier of Cairo in 1169, removed the Fatimids in 1171, and united Egypt and Syria under his rule (under the formal sovereignty of the caliph of Baghdad). In 1175, he adopted the title of sultan, occupied Aleppo in 1181, and gained sovereignty of northern Mesopotamia, he led the battle against the Crusaders and was able to win Jerusalem back from them in 1187 (with a victory at Hattin). Following his death, the empire was divided between his five sons and his brother, al-Adil (1193/1200-1218), who by 1200 had restored the unity of the realm. In 1218, the empire was once again divided. A main dynastic branch with the sultanate under al-Kamil (1218-1238) in Cairo and secondary branches in Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs (Hims). The main branch in Cairo ended in 1250 with the assassination of the sultan al-Muazzam by the Mamelukes, the secondary branches of Damascus and Aleppo were removed in 1260 by the Ilkhanids, and the Homs (Hims) branch by the Mamelukes in 1262, one branch remained in Hama until 1341. The Ayyubids of Yemen constitute an independent branch.
The following is a list of the Ayyubid rulers:
In Egypt:
1169 al-Malik al-Nasir I Salah al-Din (Saladin)
1193 al-Malik al-‘Aziz ‘Imad al-Din
1198 al-Malik al-Mansur Nasir al-Din
1200 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Damascus and Aleppo)
1218 al-Malik al-Kamil I Nasir al-Din (from Damascus)
1238 al-Malik al-‘Adil II Sayf al-Din (from Damascus)
1240 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Damascus)
1249 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Turan-Shah (from Damascus and Diyarbakr [Hisn Kayfa])
1250-52 al-Malik al-Ashraf II Muzaffar al-Din
Bahri Mamelukes
In Damascus:
1186 al-Malik al-Afdal Nur al-Din ‘Ali
1196 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Egypt and Aleppo)
1218 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Sharaf al-Din
1227 al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Dawud
1229 al-Malik al-Ashraf I Muzaffar al-Din (from Diyarbakr)
1237 al-Malik al-Salih ‘Imad al-Din (first reign)
1238 al-Malik al-Kamil I Nasir al-Din (from Egypt)
1238 al-Malik al-‘Adil II Sayf al-Din (from Egypt)
1239 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Egypt, Damascus, Diyarbakr [Hisn Kayfa]) (first reign)
1239 al-Malik al-Salih ‘Imad al-Din (second reign)
1245 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Egypt) (second reign)
1249 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Turan-Shah (from Egypt)
1250-60 al-Malik al-Nasir II Salah al-Din (from Aleppo)
Mongol conquest
In Aleppo:
1183 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Egypt, Damascus, Diyarbakr)
1186 al-Malik al-Zahir Ghiyath al-Din
1216 al-Malik al-‘Aziz Ghiyath al-Din
1237-60 al-Malik al-Nasir II Salah al-Din (from Damascus)
Mongol conquest
In Diyarbakr (Mayyafariqin and Jabal Sinjar):
1185 al-Malik al-Nasir I Salah al-Din (Saladin) (from Egypt)
1195 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Egypt, Damascus, and Aleppo)
1200 al-Malik al-Awhad Najm al-Din Ayyub
1210 al-Malik al-Ashraf I Muzaffar al-Din (from Damascus)
1220 al-Malik al-Muzaffar Shihab al-Din
1244-60 al-Malik al-Kamil II Nasir al-Din
In Diyarbakr (Hisn Kayfa and Amid):
1232 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Egypt, Damascus, and Diyarbakr/Mayyafariqin)
1239 al-Malik al-Muazzam Turan-Shah (from Egypt and Damascus)
1249 al-Malik al-Muwahhid Taqi al-Din
1283 al-Malik al-Kamil III Muhammad
? al-Malik al-‘Adil Mujir al-Din
? al-Malik al-‘Adil Shihab al-Din
? al-Malik al-Salih Abu Bakr
1378 al-Malik al-‘Adil Fakhr al-Din
? al-Malik al-Ashraf Sharaf al-Din
1433 al-Malik al-Salih Salah al-Din
1452 al-Malik al-Kamil IV Ahmad
1462 Khalil(?)
? Sulayman
? al-Husayn
Aq Qoyunlu conquest
In Yemen:
1174 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Shams al-Din Turan-Shah
1181 al-Malik al-‘Aziz Zahir al-Din Tughtigin
1197 Mu‘izz al-Din Isma‘il
1202 al-Malik al-Nasir Ayyub
1214 al-Malik al-Muzaffar Sulayman
1215-29 al-Malik Mas‘ud Salah al-Din
Rasulids
The Ayyubids were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origins centered in Cairo and Damascus that ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries of the Christian calendar. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they gradually gained independence from them under Saladin, Ayyub's son. In 1171, Saladin proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt after dissolving the Fatimid Caliphate upon the death of al-Adid. The Ayyubids spent the next decade launching conquests throughout the region and by 1183, the Ayyubid state included Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up to the borders of modern-day Tunisia. Most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, consisting of Palestine and Transjordan fell to the Ayyubids after their victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders regained control of Palestine's coastline in the 1190's.
After the death of Saladin, his sons contested control over the empire, but Saladin's brother al-Adil eventually established himself as sultan in 1200. In the 1230s, the Ayyubid rulers of Syria attempted to assert their indepedence from Egypt and remained divided until Egytpian sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored Ayyubid unity by taking over most of Syria, except for Aleppo, by 1247. By then, local Muslim dynasties had driven out the Ayyubids from Yemen, the Hejaz, and parts of Mesopotamia. After repelling a Crusader invasion of the Nile Delta, as-Salih Ayyub's Mamluk generals overthrew al-Mu'azzam Turanshah who succeeded Ayyub after his death in 1250. This effectively ended Ayyubid power in Egypt and a number of attempts by the rulers of Syria, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo, to recover it failed. In 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and wrested control of what remained of the Ayyubid territories soon after. The Mamluks, who forced out the Mongols after the destruction of the Ayyubid dynasty, maintained the Ayyubid principality of Hama until deposing its last ruler in 1341.
During their relatively short-lived tenure, the Ayyubids ushered in an era of economic prosperity in the lands they ruled and the facilities and patronage provided by the Ayyubids led to a resurgence in intellectual activity in the Islamic world. This period was also marked by an Ayyubid process of vigorously strenghtening Sunni Muslim dominance in the region by constructing numerous madrasas (Islamic schools) in their major cities.
Ayyubids. Name of the dynasty founded by Saladin which ruled Egypt, Muslim Syria-Palestine, the major part of Upper Mesopotamia and the Yemen from 1169 until the Mongol conquest in 1260.
The Ayyubids were a Kurdish dynasty in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq. There were minor branches in Baalbek, Homs, Karak, Hamat, Baniyas, Subayba and al-Busra. Their main capitals were Damascus and Cairo. Named after the Kurdish military leader Ayyub from Armenia, who entered the service of the Zangids as 'Abbasid governor of Takrit near Baghdad and became governor of Damascus. His brother, Shirkuh, and his son, Salah al-Din (Saladin), became military leaders of the Fatimids in Egypt. Saladin (1138-1193), the greatest Islamic hero of the Crusades, became vizier of Cairo in 1169, removed the Fatimids in 1171, and united Egypt and Syria under his rule (under the formal sovereignty of the caliph of Baghdad). In 1175, he adopted the title of sultan, occupied Aleppo in 1181, and gained sovereignty of northern Mesopotamia, he led the battle against the Crusaders and was able to win Jerusalem back from them in 1187 (with a victory at Hattin). Following his death, the empire was divided between his five sons and his brother, al-Adil (1193/1200-1218), who by 1200 had restored the unity of the realm. In 1218, the empire was once again divided. A main dynastic branch with the sultanate under al-Kamil (1218-1238) in Cairo and secondary branches in Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs (Hims). The main branch in Cairo ended in 1250 with the assassination of the sultan al-Muazzam by the Mamelukes, the secondary branches of Damascus and Aleppo were removed in 1260 by the Ilkhanids, and the Homs (Hims) branch by the Mamelukes in 1262, one branch remained in Hama until 1341. The Ayyubids of Yemen constitute an independent branch.
The following is a list of the Ayyubid rulers:
In Egypt:
1169 al-Malik al-Nasir I Salah al-Din (Saladin)
1193 al-Malik al-‘Aziz ‘Imad al-Din
1198 al-Malik al-Mansur Nasir al-Din
1200 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Damascus and Aleppo)
1218 al-Malik al-Kamil I Nasir al-Din (from Damascus)
1238 al-Malik al-‘Adil II Sayf al-Din (from Damascus)
1240 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Damascus)
1249 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Turan-Shah (from Damascus and Diyarbakr [Hisn Kayfa])
1250-52 al-Malik al-Ashraf II Muzaffar al-Din
Bahri Mamelukes
In Damascus:
1186 al-Malik al-Afdal Nur al-Din ‘Ali
1196 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Egypt and Aleppo)
1218 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Sharaf al-Din
1227 al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Dawud
1229 al-Malik al-Ashraf I Muzaffar al-Din (from Diyarbakr)
1237 al-Malik al-Salih ‘Imad al-Din (first reign)
1238 al-Malik al-Kamil I Nasir al-Din (from Egypt)
1238 al-Malik al-‘Adil II Sayf al-Din (from Egypt)
1239 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Egypt, Damascus, Diyarbakr [Hisn Kayfa]) (first reign)
1239 al-Malik al-Salih ‘Imad al-Din (second reign)
1245 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Egypt) (second reign)
1249 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Turan-Shah (from Egypt)
1250-60 al-Malik al-Nasir II Salah al-Din (from Aleppo)
Mongol conquest
In Aleppo:
1183 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Egypt, Damascus, Diyarbakr)
1186 al-Malik al-Zahir Ghiyath al-Din
1216 al-Malik al-‘Aziz Ghiyath al-Din
1237-60 al-Malik al-Nasir II Salah al-Din (from Damascus)
Mongol conquest
In Diyarbakr (Mayyafariqin and Jabal Sinjar):
1185 al-Malik al-Nasir I Salah al-Din (Saladin) (from Egypt)
1195 al-Malik al-‘Adil I Sayf al-Din (from Egypt, Damascus, and Aleppo)
1200 al-Malik al-Awhad Najm al-Din Ayyub
1210 al-Malik al-Ashraf I Muzaffar al-Din (from Damascus)
1220 al-Malik al-Muzaffar Shihab al-Din
1244-60 al-Malik al-Kamil II Nasir al-Din
In Diyarbakr (Hisn Kayfa and Amid):
1232 al-Malik al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (from Egypt, Damascus, and Diyarbakr/Mayyafariqin)
1239 al-Malik al-Muazzam Turan-Shah (from Egypt and Damascus)
1249 al-Malik al-Muwahhid Taqi al-Din
1283 al-Malik al-Kamil III Muhammad
? al-Malik al-‘Adil Mujir al-Din
? al-Malik al-‘Adil Shihab al-Din
? al-Malik al-Salih Abu Bakr
1378 al-Malik al-‘Adil Fakhr al-Din
? al-Malik al-Ashraf Sharaf al-Din
1433 al-Malik al-Salih Salah al-Din
1452 al-Malik al-Kamil IV Ahmad
1462 Khalil(?)
? Sulayman
? al-Husayn
Aq Qoyunlu conquest
In Yemen:
1174 al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam Shams al-Din Turan-Shah
1181 al-Malik al-‘Aziz Zahir al-Din Tughtigin
1197 Mu‘izz al-Din Isma‘il
1202 al-Malik al-Nasir Ayyub
1214 al-Malik al-Muzaffar Sulayman
1215-29 al-Malik Mas‘ud Salah al-Din
Rasulids
The Ayyubids were a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origins centered in Cairo and Damascus that ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries of the Christian calendar. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they gradually gained independence from them under Saladin, Ayyub's son. In 1171, Saladin proclaimed himself sultan of Egypt after dissolving the Fatimid Caliphate upon the death of al-Adid. The Ayyubids spent the next decade launching conquests throughout the region and by 1183, the Ayyubid state included Egypt, Syria, northern Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, and the North African coast up to the borders of modern-day Tunisia. Most of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, consisting of Palestine and Transjordan fell to the Ayyubids after their victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders regained control of Palestine's coastline in the 1190's.
After the death of Saladin, his sons contested control over the empire, but Saladin's brother al-Adil eventually established himself as sultan in 1200. In the 1230s, the Ayyubid rulers of Syria attempted to assert their indepedence from Egypt and remained divided until Egytpian sultan as-Salih Ayyub restored Ayyubid unity by taking over most of Syria, except for Aleppo, by 1247. By then, local Muslim dynasties had driven out the Ayyubids from Yemen, the Hejaz, and parts of Mesopotamia. After repelling a Crusader invasion of the Nile Delta, as-Salih Ayyub's Mamluk generals overthrew al-Mu'azzam Turanshah who succeeded Ayyub after his death in 1250. This effectively ended Ayyubid power in Egypt and a number of attempts by the rulers of Syria, led by an-Nasir Yusuf of Aleppo, to recover it failed. In 1260, the Mongols sacked Aleppo and wrested control of what remained of the Ayyubid territories soon after. The Mamluks, who forced out the Mongols after the destruction of the Ayyubid dynasty, maintained the Ayyubid principality of Hama until deposing its last ruler in 1341.
During their relatively short-lived tenure, the Ayyubids ushered in an era of economic prosperity in the lands they ruled and the facilities and patronage provided by the Ayyubids led to a resurgence in intellectual activity in the Islamic world. This period was also marked by an Ayyubid process of vigorously strenghtening Sunni Muslim dominance in the region by constructing numerous madrasas (Islamic schools) in their major cities.
Azad, Abu’l-Kalam
Azad, Abu’l-Kalam. See Abu’l-Kalam Azad.
Azad, Abu’l-Kalam. See Abu’l-Kalam Azad.
Azeri
Azeri (Azerbaijanis). The people who occupy the land of ancient Medea which is today known as Azerbaijan. Azeri is the name of this Turkic people as well as of their language and literature in Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijanis are an ethnic group mainly living in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Commonly referred to as Azeris/Āzarīs or Azeri Turks, the Azeris also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau. The Azeris are predominantly Shia Muslim and have a mixed heritage of Iranic, Caucasian, and Turkic elements.
Despite living on two sides of an international border since the treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828), after which Iran lost its then northern territories to Russia, the Azeris form a single ethnic group. However, northerners and southerners differ due to nearly two centuries of separate social evolution in Russian/Soviet-influenced Azerbaijan and Iranian Azarbaijan. The Azerbaijani language unifies Azeris, and is mutually intelligible with Turkmen, Qashqai and Turkish (including the dialects spoken by the Iraqi Turkmen), all of which belong to Oghuz, or Western, group of Turkic languages.
Following the Russian-Persian Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, Persian territories in the Caucasus were ceded to the Russian Empire and the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders with Russia and present-day Iran. The formation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 established the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan as it is today. As a result of this separate existence, the Azeris are mainly secular in Azerbaijan and religious Muslims in Iran. Since Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been renewed interest in religion and cross-border ethnic ties
Azerbaijan is believed to be named after Atropates, a Median satrap (governor) who ruled in Atropatene (modern Iranian Azerbaijan). Atropates is derived from Old Persian roots meaning "protected by fire." Azerbaijan has seen a host of inhabitants and invaders, including Medes, Scythians, Persians, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, Khazars, Arabs, Oghuz Turks, Seljuq Turks, Mongols, and Russians.
Ancient Azeris spoke the Ancient Azeri language, which belonged to the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. In the 11th century of the Christian calendar with Seljukid conquests, Oghuz Turkic tribes started moving across the Iranian plateau into the Caucasus and Anatolia. The influx of the Oghuz and other Turkmen tribes was further accentuated by the Mongol invasion. The Oghuz tribes divided into various smaller groups, some of whom — mostly Sunni - moved to Anatolia (i.e. the Ottomans) and became settled, while others remained in the Caucasus region and later — due to the influence of the Safawiyya - eventually converted to the Shi'ite branch of Islam. The latter were to keep the name "Turkmen" or "Turcoman" for a long time: from 13th century onwards they gradually Turkified the Iranian-speaking populations of Azerbaijan, thus creating a new identity based on Shiism and the use of Oghuz Turkic. However, it is notable that the Turkification of Azeris was completed only by the late 1800s, while the old Iranic speakers can still be found in tiny isolated recesses of the mountains or other remote areas (such as Harzand, Galin Guya, Shahrud villages in Khalkhal and Anarjan). Today, this Turkic-speaking population is also known as Azeris.
Caucasian Albanians are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of the region where modern day Republic of Azerbaijan is located. Early Iranian settlements included the Scythians in the ninth century B.C.T. Following the Scythians, the Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the Aras. The Medes forged a vast empire between 900-700 B.C.T., which was integrated into the Achaemenids Empire around 550 B.C.T. During this period, Zoroastrianism spread in the Caucasus and Atropatene. The Achaemenids, in turn, were defeated by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.T., but the Median satrap Atropates was allowed to remain in power. Following the decline of the Seleucids in Persia in 247 B.C.T., an Armenian Kingdom exercised control over parts of Caucasian Albania between 190 B.C T. to 387 C.C.. Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the first century B.C.T. and largely remained independent until the Persian Sassanids made the kingdom a vassal state in 252 C.C.: Albania's ruler, King Urnayr, officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the fourth century C.C., and Albania would remain a Christian state until the 8th century. Sassanid control ended with their defeat by Muslim Arabs in 642 C.C.
Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and Byzantines as they marched into the Caucasus region. The Arabs made Caucasian Albania a vassal state after the Christian resistance, led by Prince Javanshir, surrendered in 667. Between the ninth and tenth centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the Kura and Aras rivers as Arran. During this time, Arabs from Basra and Kufa came to Azerbaijan and seized lands that indigenous peoples had abandoned. The Arabs became a land-owning elite. Conversion to Islam was slow as local resistance persisted for centuries and resentment grew as small groups of Arabs began migrating to cities such as Tabriz and Maraghah. This influx sparked a major rebellion in Iranian Azarbaijan from 816–837, led by a local Zoroastrian commoner named Bābak. However, despite pockets of continued resistance, the majority of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan converted to Islam. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, Kurdish dynasties of Shaddadid and Rawadid ruled parts of Azerbaijan.
In the middle of the eleventh century, the Seljuq dynasty overthrew Arab rule and established an empire that encompassed most of Southwest Asia. The Seljuk period marked the influx of Oghuz nomads into the region and, thus, the beginning of the turkification of Azerbaijan as the West Oghuz Turkic language supplanted earlier Caucasian and Iranian ones.
However, Iranian cultural influence survived extensively, as evidenced by the works of then contemporary writers such as Persian poet Nezāmī Ganjavī. The emerging Turkic identity was chronicled in epic poems or dastans, the oldest being the Book of Dede Korkut, which relate allegorical tales about the early Turks in the Caucasus and Asia Minor. Turkic dominion was interrupted by the Mongols in 1227 and later the Mongols and Tamerlane ruled the region until 1405. Turkic rule returned with the Sunni Qara Qoyunlū (Black Sheep Turkmen) and Aq Qoyunlū (White Sheep Turkmen), who dominated Azerbaijan until the Shi'a Safavids took power in 1501.
The Safavids, who rose from Iranian Azarbaijan and lasted until 1722, established the modern Iranian state. Noted for achievements in state building, architecture, and the sciences, the Safavid state crumbled due to internal decay and external pressures from the Russians and Afghans. The Safavids encouraged and spread Shi'a Islam which is an important part of the national identity of Iranian Azarbaijani people as well as many Azerbaijanis north of the Aras. The Safavids encouraged the arts and culture and Shah Abbas the Great created an intellectual atmosphere which according to some scholars was a new Golden Age of Persia. He reformed the government and the military, and responded to the needs of the common people.
The brief Ottoman occupation followed the Safavid state. After the defeat of the Afghans and the re-conquest by Nadir Shah Afshar, a chieftain from Khorasan tried to stabilize the internal affair by balancing the power of the Shi'a. The brief reign of Karim Khan came next, followed by the Qajars, who ruled Azarbaijan and Iran starting in 1779. Russia loomed as a threat to Persian holdings in the Caucasus in this period. The Russo-Persian Wars began in the eighteenth century and ended in the early nineteenth century with the Gulistan Treaty of 1813 and the Turkmenchay Treaty in 1828, which officially gave the Caucasian portion of Qajar Iran to the Russian Empire.
Iranian Azerbaijan's role in the Iranian constitutional revolution cannot be underestimated. The greatest figures of the democracy seeking revolution, Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan, were both from Iranian Azerbaijan. The Constitutional Revolution of 1906–11 shook the Qajar dynasty, whose kings had virtually sold the country to the tobacco and oil interests of the British Empire and had lost territory to the Russian empire. A parliament (Majlis) came into existence by the efforts of the constitutionalists. It was accompanied in some regions by a peasant revolt against tax collectors and landlords, the only indigenous mainstay of the monarchy. Pro-democracy newspapers appeared, and Iranian intellectuals began to relish the modernist breezes blowing from Paris and Petrograd. The Qajar Shah and his British advisers crushed the Constitutional Revolution, but the demise of the dynasty could not be long postponed. The last Shah of the Qajar dynasty was soon removed by a military coup led by Reza Khan, an officer of an old Cossack regiment, which had been created by Czarist Russia and officered by Russians to protect the Qajar ruler and Russian interests. In the quest of imposing national homogeneity on the country where half of the population consisted of ethnic minorities, Reza Shah issued in quick succession bans on the use of Azerbaijani language on the premises of schools, in theatrical performances, religious ceremonies, and, finally, in the publication of books.
With the dethronement of Reza Shah in September 1941, Russian troops captured Tabriz and northwestern Iran for military and strategic reasons. Azerbaijan People's Government, a client state set up by the order of Stalin himself, under leadership of Sayyid Jafar Pishevari was proclaimed in Tabriz. However, under pressure by the Western countries, the Soviet army was soon withdrawn, and the Iranian government regained control over Iranian Azerbaijan by the end of 1946.
While the Azaris in Iran largely integrated into modern Iranian society, the Azeris in what is today called the Republic of Azerbaijan lived through the transition from the Russian Empire to brief independence from 1918–1920 and then incorporation into the Soviet Union despite pleas by Woodrow Wilson for their independence at the Treaty of Versailles conference. The Republic of Azerbaijan achieved independence in 1991, but became embroiled in a war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
Azerbaijanis see Azeri
Azaris see Azeri
Azeri Turks see Azeri
Azeri (Azerbaijanis). The people who occupy the land of ancient Medea which is today known as Azerbaijan. Azeri is the name of this Turkic people as well as of their language and literature in Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijanis are an ethnic group mainly living in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Commonly referred to as Azeris/Āzarīs or Azeri Turks, the Azeris also live in a wider area from the Caucasus to the Iranian plateau. The Azeris are predominantly Shia Muslim and have a mixed heritage of Iranic, Caucasian, and Turkic elements.
Despite living on two sides of an international border since the treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828), after which Iran lost its then northern territories to Russia, the Azeris form a single ethnic group. However, northerners and southerners differ due to nearly two centuries of separate social evolution in Russian/Soviet-influenced Azerbaijan and Iranian Azarbaijan. The Azerbaijani language unifies Azeris, and is mutually intelligible with Turkmen, Qashqai and Turkish (including the dialects spoken by the Iraqi Turkmen), all of which belong to Oghuz, or Western, group of Turkic languages.
Following the Russian-Persian Wars of the 18th and 19th centuries, Persian territories in the Caucasus were ceded to the Russian Empire and the treaties of Gulistan in 1813 and Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders with Russia and present-day Iran. The formation of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 established the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan as it is today. As a result of this separate existence, the Azeris are mainly secular in Azerbaijan and religious Muslims in Iran. Since Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, there has been renewed interest in religion and cross-border ethnic ties
Azerbaijan is believed to be named after Atropates, a Median satrap (governor) who ruled in Atropatene (modern Iranian Azerbaijan). Atropates is derived from Old Persian roots meaning "protected by fire." Azerbaijan has seen a host of inhabitants and invaders, including Medes, Scythians, Persians, Armenians, Greeks, Romans, Khazars, Arabs, Oghuz Turks, Seljuq Turks, Mongols, and Russians.
Ancient Azeris spoke the Ancient Azeri language, which belonged to the Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. In the 11th century of the Christian calendar with Seljukid conquests, Oghuz Turkic tribes started moving across the Iranian plateau into the Caucasus and Anatolia. The influx of the Oghuz and other Turkmen tribes was further accentuated by the Mongol invasion. The Oghuz tribes divided into various smaller groups, some of whom — mostly Sunni - moved to Anatolia (i.e. the Ottomans) and became settled, while others remained in the Caucasus region and later — due to the influence of the Safawiyya - eventually converted to the Shi'ite branch of Islam. The latter were to keep the name "Turkmen" or "Turcoman" for a long time: from 13th century onwards they gradually Turkified the Iranian-speaking populations of Azerbaijan, thus creating a new identity based on Shiism and the use of Oghuz Turkic. However, it is notable that the Turkification of Azeris was completed only by the late 1800s, while the old Iranic speakers can still be found in tiny isolated recesses of the mountains or other remote areas (such as Harzand, Galin Guya, Shahrud villages in Khalkhal and Anarjan). Today, this Turkic-speaking population is also known as Azeris.
Caucasian Albanians are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of the region where modern day Republic of Azerbaijan is located. Early Iranian settlements included the Scythians in the ninth century B.C.T. Following the Scythians, the Medes came to dominate the area to the south of the Aras. The Medes forged a vast empire between 900-700 B.C.T., which was integrated into the Achaemenids Empire around 550 B.C.T. During this period, Zoroastrianism spread in the Caucasus and Atropatene. The Achaemenids, in turn, were defeated by Alexander the Great in 330 B.C.T., but the Median satrap Atropates was allowed to remain in power. Following the decline of the Seleucids in Persia in 247 B.C.T., an Armenian Kingdom exercised control over parts of Caucasian Albania between 190 B.C T. to 387 C.C.. Caucasian Albanians established a kingdom in the first century B.C.T. and largely remained independent until the Persian Sassanids made the kingdom a vassal state in 252 C.C.: Albania's ruler, King Urnayr, officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the fourth century C.C., and Albania would remain a Christian state until the 8th century. Sassanid control ended with their defeat by Muslim Arabs in 642 C.C.
Muslim Arabs defeated the Sassanids and Byzantines as they marched into the Caucasus region. The Arabs made Caucasian Albania a vassal state after the Christian resistance, led by Prince Javanshir, surrendered in 667. Between the ninth and tenth centuries, Arab authors began to refer to the region between the Kura and Aras rivers as Arran. During this time, Arabs from Basra and Kufa came to Azerbaijan and seized lands that indigenous peoples had abandoned. The Arabs became a land-owning elite. Conversion to Islam was slow as local resistance persisted for centuries and resentment grew as small groups of Arabs began migrating to cities such as Tabriz and Maraghah. This influx sparked a major rebellion in Iranian Azarbaijan from 816–837, led by a local Zoroastrian commoner named Bābak. However, despite pockets of continued resistance, the majority of the inhabitants of Azerbaijan converted to Islam. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, Kurdish dynasties of Shaddadid and Rawadid ruled parts of Azerbaijan.
In the middle of the eleventh century, the Seljuq dynasty overthrew Arab rule and established an empire that encompassed most of Southwest Asia. The Seljuk period marked the influx of Oghuz nomads into the region and, thus, the beginning of the turkification of Azerbaijan as the West Oghuz Turkic language supplanted earlier Caucasian and Iranian ones.
However, Iranian cultural influence survived extensively, as evidenced by the works of then contemporary writers such as Persian poet Nezāmī Ganjavī. The emerging Turkic identity was chronicled in epic poems or dastans, the oldest being the Book of Dede Korkut, which relate allegorical tales about the early Turks in the Caucasus and Asia Minor. Turkic dominion was interrupted by the Mongols in 1227 and later the Mongols and Tamerlane ruled the region until 1405. Turkic rule returned with the Sunni Qara Qoyunlū (Black Sheep Turkmen) and Aq Qoyunlū (White Sheep Turkmen), who dominated Azerbaijan until the Shi'a Safavids took power in 1501.
The Safavids, who rose from Iranian Azarbaijan and lasted until 1722, established the modern Iranian state. Noted for achievements in state building, architecture, and the sciences, the Safavid state crumbled due to internal decay and external pressures from the Russians and Afghans. The Safavids encouraged and spread Shi'a Islam which is an important part of the national identity of Iranian Azarbaijani people as well as many Azerbaijanis north of the Aras. The Safavids encouraged the arts and culture and Shah Abbas the Great created an intellectual atmosphere which according to some scholars was a new Golden Age of Persia. He reformed the government and the military, and responded to the needs of the common people.
The brief Ottoman occupation followed the Safavid state. After the defeat of the Afghans and the re-conquest by Nadir Shah Afshar, a chieftain from Khorasan tried to stabilize the internal affair by balancing the power of the Shi'a. The brief reign of Karim Khan came next, followed by the Qajars, who ruled Azarbaijan and Iran starting in 1779. Russia loomed as a threat to Persian holdings in the Caucasus in this period. The Russo-Persian Wars began in the eighteenth century and ended in the early nineteenth century with the Gulistan Treaty of 1813 and the Turkmenchay Treaty in 1828, which officially gave the Caucasian portion of Qajar Iran to the Russian Empire.
Iranian Azerbaijan's role in the Iranian constitutional revolution cannot be underestimated. The greatest figures of the democracy seeking revolution, Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan, were both from Iranian Azerbaijan. The Constitutional Revolution of 1906–11 shook the Qajar dynasty, whose kings had virtually sold the country to the tobacco and oil interests of the British Empire and had lost territory to the Russian empire. A parliament (Majlis) came into existence by the efforts of the constitutionalists. It was accompanied in some regions by a peasant revolt against tax collectors and landlords, the only indigenous mainstay of the monarchy. Pro-democracy newspapers appeared, and Iranian intellectuals began to relish the modernist breezes blowing from Paris and Petrograd. The Qajar Shah and his British advisers crushed the Constitutional Revolution, but the demise of the dynasty could not be long postponed. The last Shah of the Qajar dynasty was soon removed by a military coup led by Reza Khan, an officer of an old Cossack regiment, which had been created by Czarist Russia and officered by Russians to protect the Qajar ruler and Russian interests. In the quest of imposing national homogeneity on the country where half of the population consisted of ethnic minorities, Reza Shah issued in quick succession bans on the use of Azerbaijani language on the premises of schools, in theatrical performances, religious ceremonies, and, finally, in the publication of books.
With the dethronement of Reza Shah in September 1941, Russian troops captured Tabriz and northwestern Iran for military and strategic reasons. Azerbaijan People's Government, a client state set up by the order of Stalin himself, under leadership of Sayyid Jafar Pishevari was proclaimed in Tabriz. However, under pressure by the Western countries, the Soviet army was soon withdrawn, and the Iranian government regained control over Iranian Azerbaijan by the end of 1946.
While the Azaris in Iran largely integrated into modern Iranian society, the Azeris in what is today called the Republic of Azerbaijan lived through the transition from the Russian Empire to brief independence from 1918–1920 and then incorporation into the Soviet Union despite pleas by Woodrow Wilson for their independence at the Treaty of Versailles conference. The Republic of Azerbaijan achieved independence in 1991, but became embroiled in a war over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.
Azerbaijanis see Azeri
Azaris see Azeri
Azeri Turks see Azeri
Azeri
Azeri (Azeris of Iran). Azeri constitute the largest linguistic minority in Iran. They are a unique national minority, clearly Iranian in identity, culture and history. They are Shi‘a, a distinctive characteristic of Iranian society, and live in the northwestern provinces of East and West Azerbaijan, in migrant communities of long standing in Tehran and in scattered towns and villages between Azerbaijan and Tehran. They call themselves and are called by other Iranians Azerbaijani, Azeri or simply Turk.
The major Turkish migration into Azerbaijan dates from the eleventh century, with the Seljuk conquest of Iran. It was completed by the fifteenth century. From the establishment of the Shi‘a Safavid Empire (1501-1722), which had its origins in Azerbaijan and was brought to power by the Shahsevan, through the Qajar dynasty (1796-1925), when the Qajar Crown Prince was based in Tabriz, and into the contemporary era, Azeri have been politically prominent in central government politics.
Two political issues -- nationalism and regional autonomy -- have been central to Azerbaijani politics. The wealth and strategic location of Azerbaijan and the relatively sizable middle class of merchants, religious scholars and intellectuals, particularly in Tabriz, contributed to the activism of Azeri in nationalist and liberal democratic politics in the twentieth century. Azeri from Tabriz were in the forefront of the Tobacco Protest of 1891-1892, the first significant popular protest against the encroachments of foreign interests in Iranian affairs. The Tobacco Revolt, which brought together the religious classes, merchants and intellectuals in joint political efforts, cast the pattern of protest and cooperation that marked successive developments of nationalist politics.
Azeri, in particular residents of Tabriz, were in the vanguard of the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which sought to establish parliamentary government, limit the excesses of the Qajar shahs and restrict foreign influence in Iran’s internal political and commercial affairs. The first parliamentary delegates from Tabriz constituted the core of the liberal, nationalist faction in the Majlis, the national assembly .
Movements for increased regional autonomy have been characteristic of Azeri politics from the post-World War I era to the present day. In 1917, following the withdrawal of Russian and Turkish troops, Azerbaijani nationalists rebuffed Turkish efforts at annexation and Bolshevik overtures of alliance, though they resisted control from Tehran and called the province Azadistan, “land of freedom,” a term that reappears in Azeri politics.
In 1945, Mohammad Pishevari led a Soviet supported movement towards Azerbaijani autonomy. Although the Azeri responded positively to increased independence, legitimation of Azeri literature and culture and social reforms, popular disillusionment followed Pishevari’s failure to combine local autonomy with Iranian nationalism. During the Mossadeq era of Iranian nationalist politics (1951-1952) and the subsequent years of economic development and reform under Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, Azeri continued pressing for more autonomy and increased development funds from the central government. Although there was dissatisfaction with the Pahlavi regime and the amount of money that was devoted to Azerbaijan’s development, there was no evidence of Azeri flirtation with separatist movements. Liberal democratic movements flourished in Azerbaijan, and many National Front leaders were Azeri. Men such as Mehdi Bazargan, who later became Prime Minister in the first Islamic Revolutionary government after the fall of the Shah, and Ramatollah Moqaddam, a liberal member of the Assembly of Experts and the first Governor General of Azerbaijan in the Khomeini government, are Azeri with deep family roots in Azerbaijan.
The Islamic Revolution in 1978 once again brought the Azeri traditions of liberal nationalism and desire for local autonomy into focus. In the very early stages of the revolution, when popular protests against the Shah began to sweep Iran, riots in Tabriz, called for by the Azeri Ayatollah Sheriatmadari in February 1978, crystallized the opposition and focused protest on issues of human rights. Individual Azeri such as Bazargan and Moqaddam, through such dissident political movements as the Freedom Front and the Radical Movement, pushed for the liberalization of the Shah’s human rights policies and for greater political freedom and participation.
After the demise of the Pahlavi government, the Azeri found themselves in opposition to the policies of the Khomeini regime, in particular to the elevation of Khomeini to the position of ultimate political judge and Faqi and to the infringement of Khomeini’s Persian speaking revolutionary guards and officials on Azerbaijan’s local rule. This disagreement led to riots in Tabriz in December 1979 over the issue of the constitution and local autonomy. Because the Tabriz demonstrations were held under the banner of Ayatollah Sheriatmadari and called for Ramatollah Moqaddam to be re-appointed Governor of the province, both of these Azeri lost favor with Khomeini’s revolutionary regime. Sheriatmadari was placed under virtual house arrest in Qom, stripped of his access to media and to his Azeri followers. Moqaddam was forced into exile, in spite of his support for the revolution. Former Prime Minister Bazargan remained in Iran and continued to express hope for liberalization of human rights policies. He urged granting increased autonomy to local regions in an effort to reacquire political loyalty not only from the Azeri but also from the more alienated minorities, particularly the Kurds.
Azeri (Azeris of Iran). Azeri constitute the largest linguistic minority in Iran. They are a unique national minority, clearly Iranian in identity, culture and history. They are Shi‘a, a distinctive characteristic of Iranian society, and live in the northwestern provinces of East and West Azerbaijan, in migrant communities of long standing in Tehran and in scattered towns and villages between Azerbaijan and Tehran. They call themselves and are called by other Iranians Azerbaijani, Azeri or simply Turk.
The major Turkish migration into Azerbaijan dates from the eleventh century, with the Seljuk conquest of Iran. It was completed by the fifteenth century. From the establishment of the Shi‘a Safavid Empire (1501-1722), which had its origins in Azerbaijan and was brought to power by the Shahsevan, through the Qajar dynasty (1796-1925), when the Qajar Crown Prince was based in Tabriz, and into the contemporary era, Azeri have been politically prominent in central government politics.
Two political issues -- nationalism and regional autonomy -- have been central to Azerbaijani politics. The wealth and strategic location of Azerbaijan and the relatively sizable middle class of merchants, religious scholars and intellectuals, particularly in Tabriz, contributed to the activism of Azeri in nationalist and liberal democratic politics in the twentieth century. Azeri from Tabriz were in the forefront of the Tobacco Protest of 1891-1892, the first significant popular protest against the encroachments of foreign interests in Iranian affairs. The Tobacco Revolt, which brought together the religious classes, merchants and intellectuals in joint political efforts, cast the pattern of protest and cooperation that marked successive developments of nationalist politics.
Azeri, in particular residents of Tabriz, were in the vanguard of the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which sought to establish parliamentary government, limit the excesses of the Qajar shahs and restrict foreign influence in Iran’s internal political and commercial affairs. The first parliamentary delegates from Tabriz constituted the core of the liberal, nationalist faction in the Majlis, the national assembly .
Movements for increased regional autonomy have been characteristic of Azeri politics from the post-World War I era to the present day. In 1917, following the withdrawal of Russian and Turkish troops, Azerbaijani nationalists rebuffed Turkish efforts at annexation and Bolshevik overtures of alliance, though they resisted control from Tehran and called the province Azadistan, “land of freedom,” a term that reappears in Azeri politics.
In 1945, Mohammad Pishevari led a Soviet supported movement towards Azerbaijani autonomy. Although the Azeri responded positively to increased independence, legitimation of Azeri literature and culture and social reforms, popular disillusionment followed Pishevari’s failure to combine local autonomy with Iranian nationalism. During the Mossadeq era of Iranian nationalist politics (1951-1952) and the subsequent years of economic development and reform under Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi, Azeri continued pressing for more autonomy and increased development funds from the central government. Although there was dissatisfaction with the Pahlavi regime and the amount of money that was devoted to Azerbaijan’s development, there was no evidence of Azeri flirtation with separatist movements. Liberal democratic movements flourished in Azerbaijan, and many National Front leaders were Azeri. Men such as Mehdi Bazargan, who later became Prime Minister in the first Islamic Revolutionary government after the fall of the Shah, and Ramatollah Moqaddam, a liberal member of the Assembly of Experts and the first Governor General of Azerbaijan in the Khomeini government, are Azeri with deep family roots in Azerbaijan.
The Islamic Revolution in 1978 once again brought the Azeri traditions of liberal nationalism and desire for local autonomy into focus. In the very early stages of the revolution, when popular protests against the Shah began to sweep Iran, riots in Tabriz, called for by the Azeri Ayatollah Sheriatmadari in February 1978, crystallized the opposition and focused protest on issues of human rights. Individual Azeri such as Bazargan and Moqaddam, through such dissident political movements as the Freedom Front and the Radical Movement, pushed for the liberalization of the Shah’s human rights policies and for greater political freedom and participation.
After the demise of the Pahlavi government, the Azeri found themselves in opposition to the policies of the Khomeini regime, in particular to the elevation of Khomeini to the position of ultimate political judge and Faqi and to the infringement of Khomeini’s Persian speaking revolutionary guards and officials on Azerbaijan’s local rule. This disagreement led to riots in Tabriz in December 1979 over the issue of the constitution and local autonomy. Because the Tabriz demonstrations were held under the banner of Ayatollah Sheriatmadari and called for Ramatollah Moqaddam to be re-appointed Governor of the province, both of these Azeri lost favor with Khomeini’s revolutionary regime. Sheriatmadari was placed under virtual house arrest in Qom, stripped of his access to media and to his Azeri followers. Moqaddam was forced into exile, in spite of his support for the revolution. Former Prime Minister Bazargan remained in Iran and continued to express hope for liberalization of human rights policies. He urged granting increased autonomy to local regions in an effort to reacquire political loyalty not only from the Azeri but also from the more alienated minorities, particularly the Kurds.
Azhar, 'Abdul Samad
Azhar, 'Abdul Samad. See 'Abdul Samad Azhar.
Azhar, 'Abdul Samad. See 'Abdul Samad Azhar.
Azhari, al-
Azhari, al- (895-980). Arab lexicographer.
Azhari, al- (895-980). Arab lexicographer.
‘Aziz bi-’llah, al-
‘Aziz bi-’llah, al- (b. 955). Fatimid caliph from 975-996. He was the first whose reign began in Egypt.
Al-Aziz was the fifth Caliph of the Fatimids.
Since Abdallah, the heir to the throne, had died before his father Ma'ad al-Muizz Li-Deenillah (953-975), his brother Abu l-Mansur Nizar al-Aziz acceded to the Caliphate with the help of Jawhar as-Siqilli. Under Al-Aziz the Fatimid Empire stretched as far as Palestine and Syria (from 977/978). Mecca and Medina also acknowledged the suzerainty of the Fatimids.
The reign of Al-Aziz was primarily significant for the strengthening of Fatimid power in Egypt and Syria, which had then only very recently been conquered (969). In 975 al-'Aziz took control of Baniyas in an attempt to subdue the anti-Fatimid agitation of the Sunni Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Nablusi and his followers. The bedouin Tayyi' tribe was defeated in Palestine 982 and finally subjugated at Damascus 983. Towards the end of his reign Al-Aziz sought to extend his power to northern Syria, focusing his attention on the Hamdanids of Aleppo. The fact that they were under the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire resulted in the outbreak of war with this great power, a conflict which would not be resolved until the reign of al-Hakim (996-1021).
Another notable development during al-Aziz's reign was the introduction of foreign slave armies. When the Berber troops from the Maghrib continued to be successful in the wars against the Carmathians in Syria, Al-Aziz began setting up units composed of Turkish slave soldiers, or Mamelukes.
Through the expansion of the bureaucracy (in which many Jews and Christians acquired important posts) the foundations were laid for the immense power of the succeeding Caliphs. His appointment of a Jewish governor over Syria, however, led to grumbling by his Muslim subjects, who claimed they were being pushed out of important posts. As a result, Al-Aziz ordered his Christian and Jewish officials to employ more Muslims in their offices.
The Egyptian economy was also nurtured, and tax revenue thereby increased, through the expansion of streets and canals and the establishment of a stable currency. The general economic well-being was also apparent in an elaborate building program.
The reign of Al-Aziz was also culturally significant. His grand Vizier Yaqub ibn Killis (979-991) founded the al-Azhar University in Cairo (988) which went on to become the most important center of learning in the Islamic world. Likewise a library with 200,000 volumes was built in Cairo.
Al-Aziz died on 13 October 996. His son Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996-1021) succeeded him as Caliph.
‘Aziz bi-’llah, al- (b. 955). Fatimid caliph from 975-996. He was the first whose reign began in Egypt.
Al-Aziz was the fifth Caliph of the Fatimids.
Since Abdallah, the heir to the throne, had died before his father Ma'ad al-Muizz Li-Deenillah (953-975), his brother Abu l-Mansur Nizar al-Aziz acceded to the Caliphate with the help of Jawhar as-Siqilli. Under Al-Aziz the Fatimid Empire stretched as far as Palestine and Syria (from 977/978). Mecca and Medina also acknowledged the suzerainty of the Fatimids.
The reign of Al-Aziz was primarily significant for the strengthening of Fatimid power in Egypt and Syria, which had then only very recently been conquered (969). In 975 al-'Aziz took control of Baniyas in an attempt to subdue the anti-Fatimid agitation of the Sunni Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Nablusi and his followers. The bedouin Tayyi' tribe was defeated in Palestine 982 and finally subjugated at Damascus 983. Towards the end of his reign Al-Aziz sought to extend his power to northern Syria, focusing his attention on the Hamdanids of Aleppo. The fact that they were under the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire resulted in the outbreak of war with this great power, a conflict which would not be resolved until the reign of al-Hakim (996-1021).
Another notable development during al-Aziz's reign was the introduction of foreign slave armies. When the Berber troops from the Maghrib continued to be successful in the wars against the Carmathians in Syria, Al-Aziz began setting up units composed of Turkish slave soldiers, or Mamelukes.
Through the expansion of the bureaucracy (in which many Jews and Christians acquired important posts) the foundations were laid for the immense power of the succeeding Caliphs. His appointment of a Jewish governor over Syria, however, led to grumbling by his Muslim subjects, who claimed they were being pushed out of important posts. As a result, Al-Aziz ordered his Christian and Jewish officials to employ more Muslims in their offices.
The Egyptian economy was also nurtured, and tax revenue thereby increased, through the expansion of streets and canals and the establishment of a stable currency. The general economic well-being was also apparent in an elaborate building program.
The reign of Al-Aziz was also culturally significant. His grand Vizier Yaqub ibn Killis (979-991) founded the al-Azhar University in Cairo (988) which went on to become the most important center of learning in the Islamic world. Likewise a library with 200,000 volumes was built in Cairo.
Al-Aziz died on 13 October 996. His son Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996-1021) succeeded him as Caliph.
'Aziz, Tariq
'Aziz, Tariq (Tariq 'Aziz) (Mikhail Yuhanna) (Tareq 'Aziz). Iraqi politician and foreign minister.
Tariq Aziz, also spelled Ṭāriq ʿAzīz, original name Mikhail Yuhanna (b. April 28, 1936, Qaḍā Talkīf, Iraq — d. June 5, 2015, Al-Nāṣiriyyah, Iraq), was an Iraqi public official who served as Foreign Minister (1983–91) and Deputy Prime Minister (1979–2003) in the Ba'thist government of Saddam Hussein.
Mikhail Yuhanna, later and more popularly known as Tariq Aziz or Tareq Aziz, was a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein for decades. Their association began in the 1950s, when both were Ba'ath party activists, while the party was still officially banned.
Since Saddam Hussein was both Prime Minister and President of Iraq, Aziz often played the role of Iraq's de facto head of government. Because of security concerns, Hussein rarely left Iraq, and Aziz in turn would often represent Iraq at high-level diplomatic summits. What the United States wanted, he averred, was not "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He summed up the Bush Administration's reasons for war against Iraq tersely: "oil and Israel."
He was born in Mosul. In 1950, he joined the Ba’th Party as one of its early members. In 1958, he received a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of Arts at the University of Baghdad. During this year he also started working as a journalist on a Jumhuria newspaper. In 1963, following the Ba’th coup, he became editor of al-Jamahir newspaper, the mouthpiece of the party. In 1964, he worked in the press office of the Arab Ba’th Socialist Party in Syria. In 1966, he moved back to Iraq and, in 1969, he became editor in chief of the new al-Tawra newspaper, established by the Ba’th Party. In 1972, he was appointed as a member to the Revolutionary Command Council. In 1974, he became deputy chairman of the Bureau of Culture and Information for the Ba’th Party, a position he would hold until 1983. Later that year, he was elected as candidate member of the Iraqi Command of Ba’th party, and on November 11, he was appointed as Minister of Information.
On January 10, 1977, 'Aziz was elected as member of the Iraqi Command of the Ba’th Party, a position involving more power than a cabinet post. On September 4, 1977, he was appointed as member of the Revolution Command Council. On October 8, 1977, he was elected as member of the Ba’th National Leadership. On October 15, 1977, he was discharged as Minister of Information to assume the functions of Ba’th party leadership.
On July 16, 1979, 'Aziz was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. In April 1980, 'Aziz was the target of an assassination attempt by Islamist militants, but 'Aziz survived the attempt without any injuries.
On January 14, 1983, 'Aziz became Foreign Minister of Iraq, getting the difficult position of defending Iraq’s attack on Kuwait in August the previous year. On March 23, 1983, 'Aziz was discharged as Minister of Foreign Affairs and began working full time as Deputy Prime Minister. In this position, 'Aziz was Iraq’s top negotiator with the dealings with the United Nations after Iraq’s surrender to the allied forces at the end of the Gulf War.
On April 18, 2001, 'Aziz was appointed Foreign Minister for the second time.
Throughout his career, 'Aziz proved to be talented in keeping cordial contacts with foreign powers especially the Soviet Union, France, and the United States. However, with the strong negative reactions from Western powers following Iraq’s attack on Kuwait in 1990, he lost the propaganda war in Western media.
'Aziz is a Chaldean Catholic, a fact that often was used against him both by Iraqi Muslims and leaders of neighbor Muslim countries like Iran. But as he remained loyal to Saddam Hussein, Hussein also remained loyal to 'Aziz. 'Aziz was married and had two daughters and two sons.
'Aziz was captured in April 2003 as a consequence of the United States invasion of Iraq.
He was acquitted of some charges on March 1 2009 following a trial, but was jailed for 15 years on March 11 2009 for his role in the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering in 1992.
Like other senior Baʿthists, Aziz was tried on numerous charges, and in October 2010 he was sentenced to death for crimes against Islamic political parties during Saddam’s reign. His death sentence was never carried out, however, and he died in prison in 2015.
Tariq 'Aziz see 'Aziz, Tariq
Mikhail Yuhanna see 'Aziz, Tariq
Tareq Aziz see 'Aziz, Tariq
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