Although the origins of Azerbaijanis are unclear, it is known that they have been subjected to numerous invasions throughout their history. The homeland of Azerbaijanis was first conquered by the Persians in the 6th century B.C. Islam was introduced to this land in the 7th century A.D. and has been practised here ever since.
By the eleventh century, Persian influence had been superseded by Turkic influence, which explains the mixture of Turkic and Persian aspects of their culture. The Azerbaijanis settled around the same time as the Turks, between the 6th and 11th centuries. In the 13th century, this region of Asia was conquered by Genghis Khan's short-lived Mongol Empire.
The Azerbaijani language belongs to the southwestern (Oghuz) branch of the Turkic language family. There are two main subgroups of the Azerbaijani language: Northern Azerbaijani and Southern Azerbaijani. The main differences lie in the sound and basic grammatical structure of the languages. The Azerbaijani language has a written tradition dating back to the 14th century.
In the past, a clan-based family structure was common among Azerbaijanis. The clan, or khoj, was usually named after a common ancestor. Clan members were obliged to provide mutual assistance to each other. In business relations, they often acted as a single unit. In an effort to protect their culture, Azerbaijanis usually married within the family. They favoured unions between cousins. Marriage to non-Azeris was virtually unheard of until the Soviet period.
Numerous invasions and the tribal character of the people led to the settlement of Azerbaijanis throughout Central Asia. In 1979, a significant number of Azerbaijanis formed emigrant colonies in Central Asian countries. For example, the Azerbaijani colony in Turkmenistan consists almost entirely of urban oil workers. In other countries, including Kyrgyzstan, the community is divided between rural farmers and urban dwellers who are mainly technicians and engineers.
