Etymology and Usage
The name "Āzar" (Persian: آذر) means Fire and Baijan was originally known as "Pāyegān" (Persian: پایگان) meaning Guardian/Protector. (Āzar Pāyegān = "Guardians of Fire") (Persian: آذر پایگان). Such name roots back to the "Zoroastrianism" era of Persia (Iran); However after the Arab invasion of Persia (Iran) many Persian words lost their original form as in Arabic there are no letter for pronouncing "G / P / ZH / CH"; Hence "Azar Paigān" came to be known as Azarbaijan. (e.g. The Persian language in Persian is now both known as "Pārsi" (Persian: پارسی) & Fārsi due to the Arabs invasion of "Greater Iran" (Persia) and the great resistance of Iranians around the north.
(i.e. Iranians warriors Babak Khorramdin & Banu Khorramdin's leaderships of the "Khurramites" resistance armies). The very name "Bābak" was originally "Pāpak" meaning (Young Father).
The name Azerbaijan itself is derived from Atropates, the Satrap (governor) of Medea in the Achaemenid empire, who ruled a region found in modern Iranian Azerbaijan called Atropatene. Atropates name is believed to be derived from the Old Persian roots meaning "protected by fire." The name is also mentioned in the Avestan Frawardin Yasht: âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide which translates literally to: We worship the Fravashi of the holy Atare-pata. َAccording to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the name of the province was pronounced as: In Middle Persian the name of the province was called Āturpātākān, older new-Persian Ādharbādhagān آذربادگان/آذرآبادگان, Ādharbāyagān, at present Āzerbāydjān/Āzarbāydjān, Greek ᾿Ατροπατήνη, Byzantine Greek ᾿Αδραβιγάνων, Armenian Atrpatakan, Syriac Adhorbāyghān. The name Atropat in Middle Persian was transformed to Adharbad and is connected with Zoroastrianism. A famous Zoroastrian priest by the name Adarbad Mahraspandan is well known for his counsels. Azerbaijan, due to its numerous fire-temples has also been quoted in a variety of historic sources as being the birthplace of the prophet Zoroaster although modern scholars have not yet reached an agreement on the location of his birth.
Read more about this topic: Azerbaijan (Iran)
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