The Tsakhur or Caxur ( lez, ЦIахурар, az, Saxurlar, russian: Цахуры) people are a Lezgin sub-ethnic group of northern
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
and southern
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...
(
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
). The group numbers around 30,000 people and are called ''yiqy'' (pl. ''yiqby''), but are generally known by the name ''Tsakhur'', which derives from the name of a Dagestani village, where they make up the majority.
History
The Tsakhurs are first mentioned in 7th-century
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
n and
Georgian sources where they are named ''Tsakhaik''. After the conquest of
Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among t ...
by the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
, Tsakhurs formed a semi-independent state (later a
sultanate
This article includes a list of successive Islamic states and Muslim dynasties beginning with the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad (570–632 CE) and the early Muslim conquests that spread Islam outside of the Arabian Peninsula, and continuin ...
) of
Tsuketi and southwestern Dagestan.
By the 11th century, Tsakhurs who had mostly been
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, converted to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
. From the 15th century some began moving south across the mountains to what is now the
Zaqatala District
Zagatala District ( az, Zaqatala rayonu; av, Закатала мухъ, translit=Zakatala muq; Tsakhur: Закаталайни район) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country and belongs to the Sha ...
of Azerbaijan. In the 18th century the capital of the state moved south from
Tsakhur in Dagestan to
İlisu
İlisu is a village and municipality in the Qakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,370. It was the capital of the Elisu Sultanate
The Sultanate of Elisu, also known as Elisou or Ilisu, was a sultanate in the 18th and 19th centuri ...
and came to be called the
Elisu Sultanate
The Sultanate of Elisu, also known as Elisou or Ilisu, was a sultanate in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Geography, population and government
Located mostly on the southern slope of the Caucasus Mountains in what is now northwest Azerbaijan, it ex ...
. West of the Sultanate Tsakhurs formed the
Djaro-Belokani
The Djaro-Belokani communities (also Char, Car, Jar, Djari, Chary, rarely Chartalah) were a group of self-governing communities in the Caucasus from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They had close ties with the Elisu Sultanate to the southeast.
G ...
free communities. The sultanate was in the sphere of influence of the
Shaki Khanate
The Shaki Khanate ( fa, خانات شکّی, also spelled as Sheki Khanate, Shekin Khanate, Shakki Khanate) was one of the most powerful of the Caucasian Khanates established in Afsharid Iran, on the northern territories of modern Azerbaijan, ...
. It became part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
by the beginning of the 19th century.
Geography
Tsakhurs live in Azerbaijan's
Zaqatala region, where they make up 14% of the population, and in
Gakh
Qakh District ( az, Qax rayonu; ka, კახის რაიონი, K′akhis raioni; Tsakhur: Къахын район) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country and belongs to the Shaki-Zagatala Ec ...
, where they constitute less than 2%. In Dagestan, they live in the mountainous parts of the
Rutulsky district
Rutulsky District (russian: Рутульский райо́н) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the south of the republic. The area of th ...
. According to
Wolfgang Schulze
Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...
, there are 9 villages in Azerbaijan, where Tsakhurs make up the majority of the population, all of them in Zaqatala. 13 more villages in Zaqatala and Gakh have a significant Tsakhur minority.
[The Sociolinguistic Situation of the Tsakhur in Azerbaijan](_blank)
by John M. Clifton et al. ''SIL International'', 2005
Culture
The main traditional occupation of the Tsakhurs include raising sheep, which is the most important part of their economy. However, Tsakhurs are also known for their skills as stonemasons, tailors, carpenters, and makers of handicrafts (which includes carpet-weaving and knitting).
Language
Most Tsakhurs speak the
Tsakhur language
Tsakhur ( az, Saxur dili; russian: Цахурский язык) is a Northeast Caucasian language spoken by the Tsakhurs in northern Azerbaijan and southwestern Dagestan (Russia). It is spoken by about 11,700 people in Azerbaijan and by about 10 ...
as their native language. The rate of
bilingualism
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...
in Tsakhur and
Azeri
Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...
is high.
Other languages popular among Tsakhurs include
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and
Lezgian.
References
External links
http://geo.ya.com/travelimages/az-tsakhur.html
Shakasana (site maintained by Tsakhur about their language, culture, history, etc.)
{{Authority control
Lezgins
Ethnic groups in Azerbaijan
Ethnic groups in Dagestan
Muslim communities of Russia
Peoples of the Caucasus