Discover

'Arran' (), also known as 'Aran', 'Ardhan' (in Parthian), 'Al-Ran' (in Arabic)⁴¹, 'Alvank' (in Armenian), or 'Caucasian Albania'⁴ (in Latin), was a geographical name used in ancient and medieval times to signify the territory which lies within the triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the junction of Kura and Aras rivers,^[1] including the Mil plain and parts of the Mughan plain, and in the pre-Islamic times, corresponded roughly to the territory of modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan. The term is the Middle Persian^[2][3] equivalent to the Greco-Roman ''Caucasus Albania''. It was known by its natives as ''Aghvania'', ''Alvan-k''^[4] in Armenian, and ''Al-ran'' (Arabized form of ''Arran'') in Arabic.
Today, the term Arran is mainly used in the Republic of Azerbaijan to indicate territories consisting of Mil and Mughan plains (mostly, Beylaqan, Imishli, Saatli, Sabirabad provinces of the Republic of Azerbaijan).

Contents

Origins of the name

Boundaries

History of Arran

Pre-Islamic

Islamic

People

See also

Sources

References

Origins of the name

According to some legends and ancient sources, such as Movses Kagankatvatsi, ''Arran'' or ''Arhan''^[5] was the name of the legendary founder of Caucasian Albania, who in some versions was son of Noah's son Yafet (Japheth) and also, possibly the eponym of the ancient Caucasian Albanians (''Aghvan''),^[6] and/or the Iranic tribe known as Alans (Alani). The nearby Araks (Aras) river was known to Ancient Greek geographers as the ''Araxes'', and has a source near from Mt. Ararat. Moreover, this region, long considered the earliest seat of the Zoroastrian faith, is traditionally (eg., in the ''Bundahish'' 29:12) considered a likely candidate to be the place referred to in the Zend Avesta as the "First land" (''Airyana Vaego''). According to C.E. Bosworth:

Boundaries

In a medieval chronicle "''Ajayib-ad-Dunia''", written in the 13th century by an unknown author, Arran is said to have beed 30 ''farsakhs'' (200 km) in width, and 40 ''farsakhs'' (270 km) in length. All the right bank of the Kura river until it joined with the Aras was attributed to Arran (the left bank of the Kura was known as Shirvan). The boundaries of Arran have shifted throughout history, sometimes encompassing the entire territory of the present day Republic of Azerbaijan, and at other times only parts of the South Caucasus. In some instances Arran was a part of Armenia^[7].
Medieval Islamic geographers gave descriptions of Arran in general, and of its towns, which included Barda, Beylagan, and Ganja, along with others.
Prior to 1918, Arran was still a term used in Iran to signify areas of the Caucasus north of the Aras river. Today, the term Arran is mainly used in the Azerbaijan Republic to indicate territories consisting of Mil and Mughan plains (mostly, Beylaqan, Imishli, Saatli, Sabirabad provinces of the Azerbaijan Republic).
According to Vasily Bartold:
In fact, there is a general consensus among scholars that the term Azerbaijan was not generally used to refer to the area above the Aras river, with Azerbaijan being separate from the regions of Armenia and Arran.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}. In some descriptions, the entire South Caucasus above the Aras river, including the territory of Arran, was either part of Armenia^[15][16] or Georgia^[17]. Although the overwhelming majority of accounts, starting from ancient times until 1918, distinguish the separate regions of Arran, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, there are a few instances where some have described the region of Azerbaijan extending above the Aras river, however, these accounts usually include many geographic errors or were not made by geographers. When Azerbaijan had been extended above the Aras river, it was mainly for administrative and tax purposes^[18], and simply incorporated the already existing regions in the region and did not supplant those regions.

History of Arran

:''History of Arran is summarized in History of Azerbaijan section, where you can refer for detailed description.''

Pre-Islamic

Islamic

Following the Arab invasion of Iran, the Arabs invaded the Caucasus in the 8th century and most of the former territory of Caucasian Albania was included under the name of Arran. This region was at times part of the Abbasid province of Armenia based on numismatic and historical evidence. Dynasties of Parthian or Persian descent, such as the Mihranids had come to rule the territory during Sassanian times. Its kings were given title ''Arranshah'', and after the Arab invasions, fought against the caliphate from the late 7th to middle 8th centuries.
Early Muslim ruling dynasties of the time included Rawadids, Sajids, Salarids, Shaddadids, Shirvanshahs, and the Sheki and Tiflis emirates. The principle city of Arran in early medieval times was Barda (Partav). It reached prominence in the 10th century, and used was used to house a mint. Barda was sacked by the Rus and Norse several times in 10th century.
From 11th century, the importance of Arran as a region declined and consequently the use of the word Arran as well. The territory of Arran became a part of the Seljuk empire, followed by the Ildegizid state, and the Mongol Hulagu empire in the 13th century. Later it became a part of Chobanid, Jalayirid, Timurid, and Safavid states.

People

Arranis were the inhabitants of Arran. Prior to the Islamicization of the region, the Arranis had been Christians^[19]. They later adopted the Sunni branch of Islam, which was later followed by the Shia branch. They spoke Arranian, as well as Arabic and Persian language^[20][21][22]
After the Turkification of the region, the population became Turkic speaking, and thus referred to by Europeans, particularly the Russians, as Tartars. They were later called Azerbaijanis.

See also

★ Caucasian Albania

★ South Caucasus

★ Transcaucasia

★ Azerbaijan Democratic Republic

★ Azerbaijan SSR

Sources

★ Bashi, Munnjim, 'Duwal Al-Islam'

★ Minorsky, V., 'Studies in Caucasian History'

★ Volkmar Gantzhorn, 'Oriental Carpets'

References

1. Encyclopedia Iranica. C. E. Bosworth. Arran
2. ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland''. The Society, published 1902, page 64. Text states: ''"In Mustawfi's lists, however, the Arabic article has everywhere disappeared and we have Ray, Mawsil, etc.; while names such as Ar-Ran and Ar-Ras (spelt Al-Ran, Al-Ras in the Arabic writing), which in the older geographers had thus the false appearance of Arab names, in the pages of Mustawfi appear in plain Persian as Arran and Aras."''
3. Prasad, Ganga. ''The Fountain Head of Religion''. Published by the Book Tree in 2000, page 46
4. V. Minorsky. Caucasica IV. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 15, No. 3. (1953), p. 504
5. http://rbedrosian.com/kg7.htm
6. Moses Kalankatuatsi. History of country of Aluank. Chapter IV.
7. Abi Ali Ahmad ibn Umar ibn Rustah, al-A'laq Al-Nafisah, Tab'ah 1,Bayrut : Dar al-Kutub al-ʻIlmiyah, 1998, pg 96-98.
8. Richard J. A. Talbert, ''Barrington atlas of the Greek and Roman world: Map-by-map Directory'', Princeton University, Published 2000, Page: 1292
9. V. Minorsky. Caucasica IV. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 15, No. 3. (1953), p. 504
10. Tadeusz Swietochowski, Russia and Azerbaijan: A Borderland in Transition. ISBN 0231070683
11. Encyclopædia Iranica. C.E. Bosworth. Arran.
12. Encyclopædia Iranica. X. D. Planhol. Azerbaijan. Geography
13. Ben Fowkes, Ethnicity and ethnic conflict in the post-communist world (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002) pg 30
14. ''The Paths of History'' – Igor M. Diakonoff, Contributor Geoffery Alan Hosking, Published in the year 1999, Cambridge University Press, pg 100
15. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge By Johann Jakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, Albert Hauck, published in 1908, page 288
16. Methodist Magazine and Review, Vol. LI., published in 1900, page 209
17. Map showing the region north of Iran's Caucasus border as Georgia
18. A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-E Qarabagh by Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi and George A. Bournoutian, Mazda Pub (November 1994)
19. C.E Bosworth. "Arran". ''Encyclopaedia Iranica
20. In Russian, text states: Язык в Адербейджане, Армении и Арране персидский и арабский, исключая области города Дабиля: вокруг него говорят по-армянски: в стране Берда'а язык арранский.
21. Al-Muqaddasi, 985
22. Ibn-Hawqal, 978