Is the capital of one of the most famous provinces of Iran, The Azarbaijan or Aturpatgan. It is the land of Azargoshnasp temple; The fire temple of the Kings and the Nobles of Iran.
It is perhaps the birth place of Zaratushtra.
Sabalaan
" Meanwhile the poet sat at the loom of inspiration day and night, busily weaving the giant carpet of his song.
- Giant carpet into which the poet miraculously wove
his country's legendary chronicles,
the ancient kings of Iran, the heroes cherished by his people,
chivalrous deeds and adventures, wizards and
demonic creatures, boldly entwined with magic flowers
- All blossoming and alive, sparkling with colours, blossoming, burning,
and gloriously irradiated by the holy light of Iran,
by the divine, pure, primeval light and
the last fire temple which, despite the Koran and the mufti, flared up in the poet's heart."
Ferdosi e Toosi
It all began about 6000 years ago when the dwellers of the sweeping plains of what is now Southwestern Iran began to establish settlements that would grow into cities bustling with rich commerce. Susa (Shush), capital of the region known as Elam, was first among them, and it would be followed by the Elamite cities such as Anshaan.
Standing as it did between the Indus valley to the east and the ancient civilization of Sumer to the west, Susa became a focal point for trade. It also became a rich prize for conquerors.
Although the history of the time is murky, the third millennium B.C. seems to have been marked by frequent warfare between Elamites and Mesopotamian forces from Akkad, who eventually overran and occupied Susa. In time the armies of Elam regained the city, but control would fall intermittently to Elamites and to Mesopotamians for centuries to come.
Elamites were renowned for their metalwork, exemplified in the three-inch gold statuette - thought to represent a king at worship, bearing a sacrificial goat, which was unearthed beneath a temple in Susa from about 1200 B.C.
Then came the Aryans from a land according to the Avesta called Aeria Veich, or Iran Veich. They were groups of Indo-Europeans living in cold, icy lands of north western Asia. Maads (Medes according to Greeks) were first of four Indo-European groups (Medes, Persians, Parthians, Segs or Sistanis)who settled in the land they called Iran.
The Medes settled in Northwest of Iran which is today the Azarbaijan, Hamadan, Kermanshahan, Qazvin, Tehran and Espahan. These were called the Median Lands with Azarbaijan being the "Smaller Medes" and the other part being called the "Greater Medes". Medes formed their own Iranian Empire by defeating Assyrians and capturing Asia Minor all the way to Syria.
By the time the Assyrian King, Ashurbanipal sacked Susa in 647 B.C., the Elemites had already been eclipsed by the Indo-European Medes, who would in turn oust the Assyrians. There then arose a new power, the Persians, also Indo-Europeans, and once vassals to the Medes. Under the great king, Koorosh (Cyrus) the Great, (whose mother was a Median Princess and daughter of the great Median king, Astyag), a new alliance was formed between the Persians and the Medes. They defeated the Babylonians ending the Babylonian empire and became undisputed rulers of the old territory of the Elamites. Claiming descent from the legendary Persian King Achaemenes, Cyrus the Great founded the Achaemenid dynasty, thus forming another more powerful Iranian Empire. Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Iranian Nation and the Persian empire, embarked on an ambitious imperial adventure that would see the Iranian conquest of Syria, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia. At his death in 529 B.C., Cyrus the Great was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II who added Egypt to the Persian empire.
Darius the Great, seized the throne in 522 B.C. after Cambyses II, consolidated and expanded the empire and brought Achaemenid Persia to its height. Choosing as his capital the ancient Elamite city of Susa. Achievements of the king Darius’ reign surpasses in glory and majesty anything that history has ever recorded.
Iran, Achaemenid(Hakhaamaneshiaan) Empire
Iran, Sasanian Empire
In reference to the etymology of the term Azarbaijan, the late scholar and iconoclastic thinker, Ahmad Kasravi Tabrizi, himself an Iranian from Azarbaijan, has numerous enlightening articles, the following, is a shortened version of one called The Azarbaigan.
Among the provinces of Iran, perhaps none is as renowned as Azarbaijan or Azarbaigan. Specially after the beginning of the constitutional era, when she achieved all those heroic victories in those revolutionary movements, Azarbaigan gained more prominence both in Iranian and European newspapers. This name, from over 2000 years ago, has been one of the most famous terms in Iran's geography, and in each century her name has been synonymous with momentous historic events. However, if we search for this name in history books we will find three different variations of it listed in Persian books: Azarbaijan, Azarbaigan and Azarbadgan. Ferdosi in Shahnameh calls it Azarabadgan:
Be Yek Mah Dar Azarabadgan Be Boodand Shahan o Azadegan
And again:
Hameh Vijeh Gordan o Azadegan Beiamad Sooyeh Azarabadgan
Arabs refer to it as Azarbaijan. In Armenian books both Azarbayaghan and Azarbadaghan are recorded. In ancient Pahlavi books it is listed as Aturpatgan.
As an explanation for the origin and appearance of the name Azarbaigan, Strabo (63 B.C. - 24 A.D.), the famous Greek geographer happens to be the most accurate. According to him, at the end of the Achaemenid Empire, When Alexander of Macedonia was prevailing in Iran, an Iranian commander by the name of Aturpat, fought successfully against the invaders of Macedonia and prevented them from capturing this region ( part of the " Median territory referred to as the smaller Mede -Maad e Koochek). Thus, this land was named after him - The Aturpatgan. People elected Aturpat as their sovereign and he protected their independence and ruled independently during Alexander's attack on Iran ( 328 B.C.). Aturpat and his children ruled for three centuries independently of Selukian and Ashkanian (Parthian) dynasties over this land in the Northwest of the country which became Iran again later. Strabo, in his book, which was written at the time of the Parthians and close to the birth of Jesus, declares that:
"still the successors of Aturpat are reigning independently. Occasionally they have married into the family of the Armenian, Parthian, and Syrian rulers".
Thus Azarbaigan is a combination of three words:1. Atur, meaning Azar
2. Paat or paay, from paayeedan, meaning To Look After/To watch Over,
3. Gaan or Kaan, meaning A place, as in Golpaygaan or Zangaan (Zanjaan) .Now, the meaning of Azarbaigan is clear to us:
Azarbaigaan is derived from: Aturpaatgaan
and it means: The Land Of Aturpaat or Azarpaad
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