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Azarbaijan Province in North-Western Iran is a mountainous region and the winters are very cold. The province should not be confused with the "Azerbaijan Republic" - The Azerbaijan Republic was part of Iran before it was lost to the Russians in the mid 19th century. However, the independent republic was called "Aran" and at other times "Alban". The name was delibaretly changed to "Azerbaijan" by local Pan-Turkic forces who intended to use the name-change as a pretext to claim the REAL Azarbaijan on the other side of the border, in Iran. The Azarbaijanis, although largely a people of Iranian stock, speak a Turkic dialect possessive of a considerably vast amount of Persian vocabulary. Azarbaijanis in Iran are very proud Iranian nationalists, and have always played a very important role in Iranian history. Many of Iran's most prominent figures have been Azaris, and this is also the case in today's Iran.
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North Africa/Middle East
