Azerbaijan and Arabic Caliphate

The spread of Islam in Azerbaijan

During the rule of Caliph Abu Bakr (10-12 AH/632-634 AD) the Islamic religion,
with the caliphate’s army, moved beyond the borders of the Arabian Peninsula.
However, there are some indications that this movement had begun even during the
lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). After the battles of Muta in 7/629 and
Tabuk in 8/630, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had prepared an army under Usama’s
command in 8-9/630-631 for dispatch to the city of Sham. Sometime later, the
Arabian army went to Kadisiya, located between Azerbaijan and Iran and, after a
victory at Nahavend, the army invaded Azerbaijani lands. 

Muslims first made contact with Azerbaijan during Caliph Omar’s rule (12-22/634-
644). The caliph’s first action after coming to power was to dispatch an army to Iraq
under the command of Abu Ubeyd bin Masud es-Sagafi in 12-13/634-635. At that
time disorder within the Sassanid government and rule by the underage Yazdigird III
increased the chances of a Muslim victory. Caliph Omar ordered sahabas (people who
had attended homilies of the prophet), Bukeyr b. Abdullah el-Leys and Utba b. Farhad
es-Sulemiya to conquer Azerbaijan. Bukeyr b. Abdullah fought Isfendiyar b.
Farruhdad, the brother of the Sassanid commander Rustam, on Mount Germidan and
captured him during the battle. As Isfendiyar was not treated as a captive, he and all
his attendants adopted Islam and became Muslims. Isfendiyar and Utba b. Farhad
concluded an agreement in 17/639 in the following manner: 
“In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful! This is confirms the guarantee
of peace to the Azerbaijani population, to people living in the valleys, mountains and
borders belonging to Utba b. Farhad, the tax collector of emir el-Muminin Omar ibn
Khattab. People, their properties and estates, religions and rites are guaranteed peace
in return for jizya (the head or poll tax that early Islamic rulers demanded from their
non-Muslim subjects). Children, women, the sick and the poor, who have no property
or income, and the clergy are exempted from the jizya. Every family is obliged to
accommodate a soldier of the Muslim army and help him. A person wishing to be a
soldier in the Muslim army will be exempted from tax for his year of service. People
who decide to live in this country have equal rights. Those who desire to leave the
country will have this guarantee until they find accommodation for themselves. This
is written by Junadib and witnessed by Bukeyr b. Abdullah el-leys and Simak b.
Harashi el-Ensari. Year of 18/639” 

The exact dates of the first marches by the Muslim Arabian armies into Azerbaijan are
not known. They are known to have occurred between 18-22/639-642-643. Incursions
before this period had been sporadic and were for reconnaissance purposes. The
Muslim Arabian armies launched sustained attacks against Azerbaijan after the battle
of Nuhavend in 22/4-643. Sources vary greatly when dealing with this occupation of
Azerbaijan. 
In this period the Caucasian Albanian ruler, Javanshir sent a messenger to the
Byzantine Emperor, Constanta II (20-47/641-668) and asked him to take them under
his patronage as a precaution against future attacks by the Arabian army. The
Emperor, who had dreamed of expansion, seized this opportunity. However, the
political situation within the country did not stabilize. Khazar tribes attacked Albania
from the north, plundered it and left it in ruins. The Byzantine Emperor gave no help
in this situation, leaving Javanshir to solve the problems by himself. 

Arabian invitation

Javanashir was frustrated with all these political games and his entrapment within the
Byzantine, Sassanid and Khazar triangle; he began to establish relations with the
stronger Arabian Caliphate for the long term. His people were also tired of the
continuous battles and heavy taxes and supported Javanshir’s policy. In taking this
step, Javanshir also avoided further attack from the Arabian armies. 

According to the sources Javanshir met twice with the Arabian caliph, Muaviya. The
first meeting was in 47/667 in Sham city and the second meeting took place in
Damascus in 50/670. Caliph Muaviya met Javanshir in grand style and asked him to
rule Atropatena as well. Javanashir did not agree because of the weight of taxes and
asked the caliph to reduce them. The caliph implemented Javanshir’s request. Thus,
Albania was adjoined to the Arabian caliphate but retained independence in its
internal affairs. A conclusion from this is that, in giving his consent to Albanian
independence, Caliph Muaviya recognized the great authority of Javanshir in the
region. This situation also reveals that Arabian political control had not yet been
completely established here, nor did Arabian armies have full dominion over Albania.
This agreement was valid until 60/680, until, that is, Javanshir was assassinated. 

During the first conquests by the Arabian armies, Caliph Abu Bakr established the
properties and rules of behavior for the armies of Islam. The Arabian armies which
occupied Azerbaijan and Muslim deputies signed agreements with local governors in
this context. According to these agreements, taxes were imposed on Muslims and
non-Muslims as in any other part of the Muslim world. People were not forced to
adopt the Islam religion and had the right to continue their current religion and
customs. 
Gradually Arabian armies located in Azerbaijan began to use both Muslims and non-
Muslims as foot soldiers in the army. These forces did not receive salaries from the
government. They only took shares in the loot seized during fighting and were
exempted from taxes for the year of service. Local people familiar with the region
played decisive roles during these struggles and were on the frontlines. 

Settlement ....
Sources record no problems between Arabs and local population in the first years of
the occupation of Azerbaijan by Arabian armies. This situation continued until the
end of the rule of the Amavi Caliph Muaviya (Moauwiyeh). The problems occurred
later, when the population was forced to adopt the Islam religion and because of the
settlement policy, unfair tax laws and tyranny of Arabian governors who abused
disorders at the centre. The Arab settlement policy was carried out in a more regulated
manner than the migration policies enacted by other countries on Azerbaijani
territory. Arab armies had to resettle Muslims into occupied territories. Actually, the
spread of Islam and the popularisation of its culture were not conducted only by the
occupation of territory. The life style, standards of behaviour and forms of prayer of
Muslims could only be explained by living among the local people. In general, the
adoption of the Islam religion by other nations occurred in this way. 

Azerbaijan was one place where Arabs purposely settled a Muslim population. This
settlement, however, was not practiced with the aim of colonization. On the contrary,
Azerbaijani and Arab relations were so close that, as in the Ravvadis state, they were
gradually considered to be inhabitants of this country. However, not all historians
assess events in this way and do not see a difference between the settlement policy
and one of colonization. In the opinion of Bartold, the Islam religion, in contrast to
Christianity, was not spread by individual missionaries. Thus Islam was spread by
personal example and without the exertion of pressure on people of other religions. 

Governor Ashas b. Gays, like the first governor of Azerbaijan, Huzeyfa b. el-Yeman,
chose the city of Ardabil to be the centre of his settlement policy. The first group
conveyed to Azerbaijan, mostly consisting of sahabas, was settled in Ardabil. Thus
the city of Ardabil became the first homeland for Arab families entrusted with the task
of attracting people to Islam. The more important and larger waves of resettlement
took place during Hazrat Ali’s rule (35-40/656-661) when Ashas b. Gays was
reassigned to Azerbaijan as a governor in 36/656-657. According to his words, by that
time there were in Azerbaijan many people who had already adopted the Muslim
religion and started to read the Koran. 

Most Arabian tribes came from Yemen and consisted mainly of the Azd and Kinda
tribes engaged in administration. For example, the first governor of Azerbaijan,
Huzeyfa b. el-Yemen, belonged to the Azd tribe and Ashas (Eshas) b. Gays, who
governed longer than others, belonged to the Kinda tribe. There is no precise
information about the numbers of Arabians settled in Azerbaijan. Arabian settlements
continued along the routes of conquests, in other words, from the south to the north.
The Arabian armies particularly preferred central cities, regions of strategic
significance and locations exposed to military threat. So the cities of Ardabil, Tabriz,
Bazz, Beylagan, Shamakhi, Maragha, Barda and Derbend were cities with significant
Muslim settlers. 
In consequence of the settlement and accommodation of tribes here after the
occupation of Azerbaijan by Arab armies, these lands underwent various changes.
These changes were manifested not only in architecture, reconstruction and
development but also in beliefs, ways of thinking, language and ethnology, due to
people’s adoption of Islam. The human values carried with Islam in the early days
created close relations between local people and the Arabs. There are villages and
settlements in Azerbaijan today where many Arabic names and words are used.

...and example

The main duty of the Muslims resettled here was to gain people’s confidence by their
exemplary conduct and behaviour and mild administration as compared with the
Byzantium and Sassanid states. As life and property are highly valued by all, the
security of life and property granted to people during the first conquests had a great
influence on them. Local people had suffered from the battles between Byzantium and
Persia and the destructive attacks of the Khazars and they were living in want. The
population viewed the Arab armies as saviours. Prior to the rule of the Amavi
Caliphate, the Arab administration had only collected taxes from the population; they
had not interfered with their internal affairs. During the first decade after occupation,
the population of Azerbaijan led a better and quieter life than in previous times. 

There were several reasons why the Arab armies did not exert religious pressure from
the start. Firstly, because the Arabs in the Arab armies which invaded Azerbaijan did
not know the Islam religion well enough to propagate it. Secondly, most of the
Azerbaijani population were possessors of the Bible; they were Christians.
Notwithstanding all this, the Azerbaijani aristocracy adopted Islam earlier than the
village populations. 
This is explained by the aristocracy’s strong desire to be closer to the caliphate’s
administration. 

The population located in Balasagun, in the Arran region, was the first to adopt Islam.
Most of them, prior to adopting Islam, belonged to the religion of Majusi. It may be
that either the Muslims worked harder on the followers of the Majusi religion
(Zoroastrianism) or that the adherents to the latter religion considered the religious
basis of the Islam to be superior and relevant to human nature. Thus, these people
found spiritual comfort, not in the inherited religions, but in Islam. 

Due to the tolerance and brotherhood cultivated by Islam they (local people and
settled Muslims) were able to live together. Delivering freedom of religion, prayer,
temples and life are the main terms of the expression “There is no compulsion in a
religion”. The presence of sahabas and people close to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
was also very important. We can see it in the love and respect shown to them. Thus,
people who had not forgotten the oppression and pursuits of Byzantium and Sassanid
rulers adopted the religion of mercy and justice brought by the Muslims
.