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preferable to resistance. The Arabs’ political success contributed to Islamization and Arabization, but they did not stem from the military victories. The process was a gradual one triggered by the people’s desire to become part of the dominating culture.
Abbas QURBANOV
Ph.D. (Hist.), Independent Researcher (Baku, Azerbaijan).
SOME ASPECTS OF THE RESETTLEMENT POLICY OF THE ARAB CALIPHATE IN AZERBAIJAN
Abstract
Before the Arabs appeared in Azerbaijan, its territory was the theater of a brutal battle between the Byzantine and Sassanid empires, which had a very negative effect on the country’s political and socioeconomic situation and brought the na-
tion to poverty. This article analyzes the period after Azerbaijan was conquered by the Arabs and takes an in-depth look at the administration system they adopted, as well as their political, economic, religious, and demographic policy.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
Since the time of Caliph Umar, incursions were made into Azerbaijan. After the Persians were routed under Nahavand (21/641-642), the country was controlled by the Arabs from Ardabil to Der-bent (Babul Abwab). It is worth noting that the local rulers and population perceived the arrival of the Arabs as salvation from the Byzantine, Sassanid, and Khazar conquerors.
Moreover, when the Arab conquests began, a moderate policy was conducted, which helped the local population to accept the Islamic religion.
But after Caliph Umar came to power, the Arabs began carrying out a resettlement policy, which reached its peak during the rule of the Abbasids.
When the Umayyad dynasty came to power, repression of the local population intensified, which was expressed in its compulsory Islamization and repeated raising of taxes. During the rule of the Abbasid caliphs, this policy led to an outburst of national discontent.
In this respect, it should be noted that the fairest policy was conducted during the rule of the four rightful caliphs (632-661); however, after the Umayyad dynasty came to power, national uprisings and revolts began to break out again in Azerbaijan.
Resettlement Policy of the Arab Caliphate in Azerbaijan
Over many millennia, the history of mankind has been accompanied by innumerable wars and conquests. It was customary for some of the people of the victorious country to settle on the seized territory in order to spread their religion and culture there. It is also worth noting that scientists and artists left the defeated countries.
The Arabs also conducted a resettlement policy and territorial expansion was directly associated with spreading their religion. The conquerors wanted the Muslims, with their way of life, traditions, and views, to coexist with the indigenous people; this is precisely how Islam was spread.1 According to Bartold, Islam was not spread by individual missionaries (as was the case with Christianity), but by all the settlers wherever they lived; and they were able to do this without repressing the representatives of other confessions.2 However, some think that the Arabs wreaked greater havoc with their conquests and resettlement policy than the Greeks.3
Arab settlers also moved to Azerbaijan; during the rule of the Rawwadids, they became so assimilated with the local population that they were considered an integral part of it.
According to Belazuri, the first migration of Arabs to Azerbaijan took place during the rule of Caliph Osman (23-35/644-656). At that time, the ruler of Kufa Walid ibn Uqba and Eshas bin Qays arrived in the country; they were instructed to put down the uprising and settle some of the migrants there, as well as convert the people to Islam.4
Like Huzaifa bin al Yaman, the first vali (leader) of Azerbaijan, Eshas bin Qays chose the town of Ardabil as the place to build his residence. This town became the homeland of the first Arab settlers (mainly Sahaba), who were entrusted with converting the people to Islam.5
Larger-scale mass migration began during the rule of Caliph Ali (35-40/656-661). According to Eshas bin Qays, who was reappointed as ruler (36/656-657), at this time most Azerbaijanis accepted Islam and learned to read the Koran.6
According to the sources, most migrants of this period were members of the Yezd and Kinda tribes (from Yemen), who were known for their good managerial and other capabilities. It is worth noting that Huzaifa bin al Yaman, the first vali of Azerbaijan, was also from the Yezd tribe, while Eshas bin Qays (who ruled longer than anyone else) was from the Kinda tribe.7
The sources of that time do not provide any precise statistics regarding the number of migrants. Tabari mentions the deployment of a 6-thousand-strong army in Azerbaijan, but this only referred to the defense forces that were replaced in the country every year.
There is also information about 2,000 people from the Beni Taghlib tribe headed by Shuayb bin Malik (during the rule of Abdul Malik bin Marwan) settling in Azerbaijan.8 The number of settlements also increased in the 2nd century of Hijra, that is, during the rule of the Abbasids.9
1 See: Sh. Faisal, Al-Mujetemeatu'l-Islamiyye fi’l-Karni’l-Awwal, Beirut, 1973, pp. 31, 210.
2 See: V.V. Bartold, Mesto prikaspiiskikh oblastei v istorii musulmanskogo mira, Baku, 1925, pp. 45, 142.
3 See: Kh. Ganim, “Intisharu’l-Islam fi’r-Rikhab,” Majallatu’l-Azkhar, Cairo, 1970, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 516-517.
4 See: Belazuri, Futukh al-buldan (Conquering Countries), Beirut, 1987, p. 459; A. Dikhkan, Serzemin-I Zardusht Ridaiyye, 1348, p. 334; Kh.A. Makhmud, Al-Islam fi Asya’l-Vusta, Egypt, 1972, p. 56.
5 See: Kh. Ganim, op. cit., pp. 514-515; A. Dikhkan, op. cit.
6 This is only found in Belazuri (Futukh al-buldan, p. 460); it is not found in other sources.
7 See: Kudama, Ibn Jafar Abu'l-Faraj ibn Ziyad, al Haraj ve-s-Synatu’l-Kitabe, M. Husain ez-Zebidi Publishers, Baghdad, 1981, p. 378; Masudi, Muruju'z-Zeynab, Vol. 1, Beirut, 1997, p. 325; Ya’kut el-Khamavi, Mujamu’l-Bul-dan, Vol. 1, Beirut, 1990, p. 129; O.R. Kekhkhala, Mujemu kabaili-Arab al Kadime ve l Hadisa, Vol. 3, Beirut, 1985, pp. 998-999.
8 See: Tabari, Tarikhu'l-Umemi ve'l-Muluk, Vol. 5, Beirut, 1987, p. 246; Z.V. Togan, “Azerbaijan,” in: Islamic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, Istanbul, 1979, p. 95.
9 See: A.T. Kesrevi, Shakhriyaran-i Gumnam, Tehran, 1335, p. 149; Z.V. Togan, op. cit.
THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION
The Arab settlement zone covered territory from the south to the north; Islamic armies were deployed in the central cities, strategically important districts, and in places where there were potential military threats. So the towns of Ardabil, Tabriz, Bazz, Maraga, Barda, Beylagan, Shamakhy, and Derbent became places of compact Muslim residence.10 It is worth noting that the first settlers included advocates of and people close to the Prophet (S.A.W.).
Arab settlement had an exclusively positive influence on Azerbaijan’s development. The people’s convictions, language, and thoughts changed,11 while the locals and the new settlers became quickly assimilated. Arabic toponyms can still be found in the names of several villages and settlements of contemporary Azerbaijan, and there are Azerbaijanized descendents of Arabs who have still not forgotten their own language.12
In contrast to the Byzantines and Persians, the Arab settlers did not resort to violence, but adopted “soft” administrative methods (particular during the first conquests), thus disposing the local population toward them. This stands to reason, since integrity of life and property are primary human values.13
For this reason, the population of Azerbaijan, brought to ruin by the Iranian-Byzantine wars and Khazar invasions, regarded the Arabs as their saviors. For example, during the rule of the Umayyads (during the first 10 years), the Arabs limited themselves to collecting taxes, without interfering in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan. This led to a better and more peaceful life for the country’s population.14
According to several researchers, the main reason the Arabs did not engage in religious repression (during the first years of their conquest) was the fact that most of Azerbaijan’s population was made up of “People of the Book,” that is, Christians.15 However, the local aristocracy, wishing to draw closer to the Caliphate, accepted the new religion faster than the peasant population.16 According to the sources, Balasagun in Arran was the first district of Azerbaijan where Islam became established.17
However, the sources say nothing about why the new faith was adopted; only suppositions can be made.
■ The first suggests that the Muslims wanted to convert the people, who were mainly pagans, to Islam.18
■ The second supposition suggests that the people who adopted Islam found something in the new religion that was missing in the convictions of their fathers and grandfathers.
So the resettlement policy based on the principle “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (Qur'an, Surah 2, Al-Baqarah, ayat 256), and not permitting any religious compulsion,19 imbibed the people with a feeling of fraternity and created prerequisites for peaceful coexistence. The people of
10 See: Belazuri, op. cit, p. 463; Istakhri, Mesalik’l-Memalik, Beirut, 1997, p. 108; Ya’kut el-Hamavi, op. cit., p. 201; O.R. Kekhkhala, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 49; V. Minorski, A History of Sharvan andDarband, Cambridge, 1958, p. 18; A.A. Bakykhanov, Gulistan-i Irem, Baku, 1970, p. 51; N. Velikhanly, Arabskii khalifat i Azerbaidzhan, Baku, 1993, p. 63.
11 See: A.A. Bakykhanov, op. cit., p. 17; R. Sheshen, Salakhaddin Ayyubbi ve Devlet, Istanbul, 1987, p. 36.
12 Azerbaijanized Arabs are mostly found in Southern and Northern Azerbaijan. They are called seyids and belong to the ulems. For more information about this, see: Z.V. Togan, op. cit, p. 93.
13 See: Kh. Nedzhdet, Al-Idara fi’l-Asri’l Amavi, Beirut, pp. 131-132.
14 See: N.V. Pigulevskaia, K voprosu ob obshchestvennykh otnosheniiakh na Blizhnem Vostoke, St. Petersburg, 1948, p. 68.
15 For more information, see: E. Beliaev, Musulmanskoe sektanstvo, Moscow, 1957, pp. 17-18; Kh.K. Aziz, el-Va-vakiye, Damask, 2000, p. 59.
16 See: V.V. Bartold, K istorii krestianskikh dvizhenii v Persii, Moscow, 1923, p. 57.
17 See: Belazuri, op. cit., p. 285.
18 See: A. Dikhkan, op. cit., p. 58.
19 See: V.V. Bartold, Istoriia islamskoi kultury, Transl. by M.F. Korpulu, Ankara, 1963, p. 108.
Azerbaijan, oppressed by the Byzantine and Sassanid yoke, readily adopted the new religion of justice and charity.
However, the situation significantly changed, giving rise to uprisings and outbreaks of discontent in the country.
The Ethnic Composition of Azerbaijan
After the Arab conquest, the ethnic composition of Azerbaijan significantly changed, although the sources do not provide any precise information about this.
The Arabs only occupied the most important places in the conquered lands, while small groups of soldiers defended the transportation routes; the rest of the army, its greatest part, continued to fight.20 The soldiers of the Islamic army who participated in the expansionist incursions served for four years and were then replaced by new soldiers.21
Arab families were not able to move to Azerbaijan until the dominion of the Caliphate was ultimately established there; Belazuri provided the first information about this.
The Umayyads were the first to give the families who moved to Azerbaijan land plots suitable for setting up resident farmsteads, which made it possible for the Caliphate to stop paying the migrants from government funds, on the one hand, and to create a social foundation in the conquered country, on the other.
It should be noted that later whole tribes of Arabs began migrating to Azerbaijan.22
According to Belazuri, most of the migrants were families from Basra and Syria, but the Arabian historian does not indicate which tribe was the first to settle in Azerbaijan23 ; they were given as much land as they could farm (the Arabs also bought land for them from the local people).
When carrying out their resettlement policy, the Arabs took into account the condition of the conquered lands, their strategic location, and the composition of the population.
For example, most of the population of Arran was comprised of Christians; moreover, this district was frequently attacked by the Khazars. So the Arabs built military garrisons—“ritabs”24— there, while all the expenses for their upkeep were covered by the taxes collected from the people.25
The same happened when the Arab army conquered the northern “gates of Arran”—Derbent (Babul Abwab), which was of immense strategic significance. Mesleme bin Abdul Malik deployed 24,000 soldiers from Syria there, who were issued a special payment26—“ata.”27
The soldiers deployed in the conquered territories were given plots of land; later, members of the clergy and cultural figures moved there (they were to convert the people to Islam). So those regions where Arab garrisons were located primarily became centers of the new religion.
After the fall of the Umayyad dynasty and establishment of Abbasid power, some changes occurred in the resettlement policy.
20 See: Tabari, op. cit., Vol. 4, pp. 22, 251.
21 See: Tabari, op. cit., Vol. 5, pp. 529.
22 See: Z. Buniyatov, Azerbaidzhan VII-IX, Baku, 1989, p. 163.
23 See: Belazuri, op. cit., p. 329; I.Kh. Atcheken, “Azerbaidzhan ve Ermeniyye Bolgesi Fetikhleri Achysyndan Khisham b. Abdulmelik Donemi,” in: Ilmi Arashtyrmalar Dergisi, Baku, No. 7, 2004, pp. 185-193.
24 This means all the troops in the town, or the town in which troops were deployed.
25 See: K. Patkanov, Istoriia Agvana, St. Petersburg, 1861, p. 144.
26 Ata, an annual payment to the Muslims from the state divan during the time of Caliph Umar; during the time of the Umayyads and Abbasids, this is what soldiers’ salaries were called. For more information, see: M. Faida, “Ata,” in: Islamskaia entsiklopediia Diianat, Vol. IV, Istanbul, 1991, pp. 33-34.
27 See: V.V. Bartold, Mesto prikaspiiskikh oblastei v istorii musulmanskogo mira, p. 27.
THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION
In order to prevent centrifugal forces from emerging and to keep a firm grip on their power, the Abbasids moved their supporters to the land of former settlers who were sent back to their homeland (this process was accompanied by clashes among the settlers, which was detrimental to the local pop-ulation)28; time confirmed that this policy was correct.
According to Belazuri and Istakhri, under Caliph Al Mutawakkil (232-246/847-861), the military garrisons deployed in Azerbaijan under the Umayyads were not banished; nor did the Abbasids bother the Syrians who settled in Derbent. Later, “Babul Abwab” separated from the Caliphate and the Sulamid emirate was founded there, which existed right up until the Mongol invasion.29
Under Caliph Harun al-Rashid (169-193/786-809), the inflow of settlers abruptly decreased (according to the ruler, this was in keeping with Caliphate’s interests), while the local Arab rulers were responsible for settling the families who arrived and found places for their relatives and fellow countrymen to live in the central districts. This led to many problems and contradictions.
Northern Azerbaijan eventually became “Umayyad,” while Southern Azerbaijan was known as “Abbasid,” and weapons were used to resolve the problems that arose.30
Serious contradictions emerged between the Arab migrants who were settled in Azerbaijan by the Umayyads and the Abbasids during division of the conquered lands, tax collection, etc.; however, due to the difficult sociopolitical situation in the Caliphate itself, the central government ignored these problems.
Despite Azerbaijanization, the families who moved to Azerbaijan from the Caliphate retain their ethnic uniqueness to a certain extent to this day; they call the places where they live by their own names, they often use Arabic words, and their lifestyle is characterized by certain features of the desert way of life.31
The Arab conquests led to an abrupt drop in the number of Christians in Arran and Derbent. Most of them moved to Byzantium, while the rest (the lower strata of the population who had been forced to convert to Christianity against their will) readily accepted Islam.
The Udins, a nationality that lives to this day in the republic and numbers several thousand people, are the direct descendents of the Christians who lived in Azerbaijan.32
After conquering Azerbaijan, the Arabs introduced their language into the country; all state affairs were conducted in Arabic. Moreover, the people’s desire to find favor with the Muslim rulers prompted them to adopt Islam.
In the 11th-12th centuries, after the Seljuks came to the region, the Azerbaijani language began to replace the Arabic. The Seljuks and Mongols also played an important role in this process.
At the initial stage of their conquests, the Arabs preserved the former way of conducting state affairs. But later, the local rulers and the state language were changed (from Persian to Arabic), which led to sociopolitical tension in the country. The upper strata of the population was left jobless and lost their former prestige. The number of unemployed also significantly increased (this was primarily associated with the change in language).
Some researchers are of the erroneous opinion that predominance of the Persian language in literature and science was associated with the population’s support of the Sassanids and their administration system.
But there is no doubt that Persian was the main literary language in all the regions (apart from the ones populated by Arabs); it is enough to mention such world renowned poets as Firdousi, Hagani, Nizami, and Fizuli.33
28 See: Z. Buniyatov, op. cit., pp. 165-167.
29 See: Belazuri, op. cit, p. 207; V.V. Bartold, Mesto prikaspiiskikh oblastei v istorii musulmanskogo mira, p. 27.
30 See: Z. Buniyatov, op. cit., pp. 167-168.
31 See: M. Kh. Veliev, Azerbaidzhan Ekhalisi Etnografik Servetler Muzeyidir, Baku, 1924, pp. 401-402.
32 See: E. Samadov, Azerbaidzhanda Din Egitimi (unpublished doctoral dissertation), Istanbul, 2006, p. 9.
33 See: M.E. Rasulzade, Nizami, Ankara, 1951, pp. 5-6.
So, most of the intelligentsia, academics, and literary figures continued to use Persian.
Nevertheless, it was obvious that many of the poets followed Islam; they sang the praises of Allah and His Prophet, and unity of motivation and thought could be traced in their works, while Fir-dousi’s creative work (which is an exception) contains motifs of Zoroastrianism and paganism.
Azerbaijani poets were not given land plots in the Caliphate because they wrote in Persian; in other words, there were almost no literary figures who wrote in Arabic.34
As for the settlers, they only spoke their native language.
However, as noted above, in the 11th-12th centuries, the Azerbaijani language became much wider spread. In order to assimilate with the rest of the population, the Arabs were compelled to study and use it.
C o n c l u s i o n
In the Middle Ages, notable events occurred in the history of Azerbaijan that were directly related to the Arab conquests; these included conversion to Islam and changes in the people’s traditions, views, and cultural values.
Arab reconnaissance incursions into Azerbaijan headed by Bukeyr bin Abdullah, Surak bin Amr, and Utba bin Farkad began under Caliph Umar (from 18/639); this resulted in some of the land being transferred to Muslim control.
The resettlement policy that began under Caliph Osman led to an increase in the Muslim population in Azerbaijan; this policy was successfully continued by Caliph Ali.
The military garrisons and Muslim families who came with them mainly settled in towns that were of immense strategic significance (Derbent, Barda, Beylagan, and so on), as well as in the southern regions of the country.
The first Muslims to settle in Azerbaijan played a significant role in spreading Islam in the country. Acceptance of the new religion and its expansion in the region were promoted by the fair policy conducted by the Arabs and the prudent administration system they established.
34 See: Ibid., pp. 173-175.
