The Talishis on Opposite Banks of the Araxes River: Identity Issues

Abstract

The Talishis are the fourth largest ethnic group in the South Caucasus and the largest nonstate people in the Caucasian-Iranian region. The problems of their ethnic history, culture, and identity are among the topical issues of Caucaso-Caspica. The Talishis are a divided people living on opposite banks of the Araxes River, in the current Azerbaijan Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This historical division occurred in the 19th century as a result of the Russian-Persian wars and seriously affected the cultural, linguistic, religious and other markers of the Talishi identity. Up to the 19th c., the whole land inhabited by the Talishis had been part of Iran. Since 1813, northern Talysh has successively been ruled by the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and finally, since 1991, by the former Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijan Republic). These historical peripeteia have resulted in the actualisation of different identity markers on opposite banks of the Araxes River; they are of different relevance in Iran and in Azerbaijan Republic. Accordingly, the idea of Talysh (the Talishis’ ethnic territory) and its status is also approached in different ways among the two groups. This paper focuses on the Talishi identity, its transformations and peculiarities in Azerbaijan Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran.