Why does Iran have Azerbaijan Province?

Iran is located in West Asia, with an area of about 1.645 million square kilometers and a population of about 88.55 million. It is a large country in West Asia. In terms of administrative division, Iran is divided into 31 provinces, and two provinces have special names, namely East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is a country located in the southern part of the Great Caucasus Mountains, with an area of 86600 square kilometers and a population of about 10.14 million. The territory of Azerbaijan is divided into two parts. The part where Baku, the capital, is located belongs to Azerbaijan itself and is located on the coast of the Black Sea. In addition, Azerbaijan also has an enclave called Naxichevan.

Iran's West Azerbaijan Province, bordering Iraq, Turkey and Azerbaijan's Naxichevan respectively, covers an area of about 37400 square kilometers, and the provincial capital is Urmia. With a population of about 1 million, Urmia is the second largest city in Azerbaijan, Iran.

East Azerbaijan Province of Iran is respectively bordered by Nakhichevan region of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Azerbaijan itself, with an area of about 46900 square kilometers and the provincial capital of Tabriz.

Tabriz, with a population of about 1.7 million, is the largest city in Azerbaijan, Iran, and also a transportation hub in northern Iran. The traffic between Azerbaijan and the enclave of Naxichevan will also transit through Tabriz. This is because Armenia and Azerbaijan have relatively poor relations, and Azerbaijan has long been prohibited from entering Naxichevan through Armenia.

Tabriz has always been Iran's transportation hub connecting the Caucasus and Asia Minor, known as the thoroughfare of all directions. Until now, Iran's railway connecting Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia still passes through Tabriz.

Iran has a simple way of naming its provinces, but it has established two Azerbaijani provinces in the east and west according to their location. The northern part of these two Azerbaijani provinces is Azerbaijan, so why does Iran have Azerbaijani provinces?

First, Azerbaijan once belonged to Iran. Azerbaijan is a country with Azerbaijan as the main body. Azerbaijanis are mainly distributed in the southern part of the Great Caucasus Mountains, between Asia Minor and the Black Sea. The strategic value of this land is important, and it has always been a battleground for military strategists.

The overall strength of Azerbaijani people is relatively weak. In history, they have not established a state, but have been ruled by neighboring powers in turn. From the 11th century to the 13th century, the Azerbaijani nation gradually formed. From the 13th century, Azerbaijanis were ruled by the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Azerbaijanis and Turks maintained close relations. Until now, Turkey and Azerbaijan still have relatively good relations.

In the 16th century, Iran's Safavid dynasty gradually rose and began to expand northward. Safavid Dynasty is one of the most powerful dynasties in Iran's history, and also the third dynasty that completely ruled all areas of Iran after the Achaemenid Dynasty and the Sassanian Dynasty.

The capital of the Safavid dynasty is located in Tabriz. With the rise of the Safavid dynasty, it defeated the Turks and controlled the whole Azerbaijan region. In 1722, the Safavid Dynasty collapsed, and Iran was in a chaotic situation. There were several short dynasties successively. Iran was not stable until the Kaiga Dynasty was established in 1779.

Teheran was the capital of the Kaiga Dynasty, and Azerbaijan became the frontier of Iran. In the 19th century, Tsarist Russia began to expand southward across the Great Caucasus Mountains, forcing Iran's Kaiga Dynasty to sign the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Turkmenchai, ceding a large part of the northern territory. Since then, Azerbaijani populated areas belong to two countries, the northern part belongs to Russia and the southern part belongs to Iran.

Second, the Azerbaijanis in Iran. Iran is a multi-ethnic country. The main ethnic group is Persians, accounting for 66% of the total population. The second largest ethnic group is Azerbaijani, accounting for 25% of the total population of Iran. The third largest ethnic group is Kurds, accounting for 5%. In addition, there are a small number of Arabs and Turkmen.

Azerbaijanis have played an important role in Iran's history and made great contributions to Iran's resistance to foreign aggression. From 1911 to 1914, Iran set off a peak of resistance to Russian aggression. In the 19th century, after occupying some Azerbaijani populated areas through unequal treaties, Russia tried to continue to move south and control the whole Azerbaijani populated area.

This was firmly resisted by the Azerbaijani people in Iran. At that time, many leaders who resisted the tsarist Russian aggression were Iranian Azerbaijanis. In the process of resisting the Russian aggression, the Azerbaijani and Persian nationalities of Iran fought together.

After the establishment of the Soviet Union, the Azerbaijani Republic was established in the Azerbaijani populated areas under the control of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union still coveted the Azerbaijani region of Iran. In 1941, the Soviet army occupied Tabriz, trying to integrate the Azerbaijani region into the Soviet Union. Under the opposition of Iran and the resistance of local Azerbaijani ethnic groups, the Soviet Union was forced to withdraw its troops. Since then, Iran has established East Azerbaijan Province and West Azerbaijan Province in Azerbaijan. Both provinces are dominated by the Azerbaijani ethnic group.