The difference between Azerbaijanis and Armenians in religion.

The Caucasus is one of the few regions in the world where a huge number of diverse ethnic groups are concentrated in a relatively small territory. It is sometimes difficult for a person inexperienced in local realities to understand all the diversity of local cultures, languages ​​or religions. Let's try to understand the problem using the example of the two largest Caucasian peoples. So, how do Azerbaijanis differ from Armenians? The differences will be considered in several aspects:

  • linguistic;
  • religious;
  • historical;
  • cultural.

Languages ​​

According to the modern linguistic classification, the Armenian language belongs to the Indo-European family. Its closest relative of the currently existing languages ​​is presumably Greek, and of the dead languages ​​- Phrygian. Among Indo-European languages, Armenian belongs to the group, the only representative of which is recognized, while many other groups (Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Romance) gave a large number of "descendants" in the form of national languages, which are spoken by most of the world's population. By the way, in this respect, Armenian has much in common with Greek: the latter is also the only representative of a separate Indo-European branch, although some linguists distinguish a number of Greek dialects spoken by the Greeks of the diaspora.

The difference between Azerbaijanis and Armenians is that their language, belonging to the Oguz branch of the Turkic languages, has nothing to do with Indo-European. According to one of the hypotheses, the Indo-European and Altaic languages ​​(including the Turkic languages) are "relatives" at a higher taxonomic level, being part of the so-called Nostratic macrofamily. The separation of the Proto-Indo-European language and the ancestor of the Altai languages ​​took place presumably 12 thousand years ago. Naturally, there can be no direct evidence for this, the hypothesis was put forward on the basis of glottochronology data, which studies the order and rate of change in languages ​​under the influence of time and in interaction with other languages. The Azerbaijani language is so similar to Turkish that many even consider it a dialect of the latter.

Comparison

According to the second parameter, there is also a fundamental difference: the Armenians were the first people in the world to adopt Christianity as a state religion. This happened in 301 AD. The second was Georgia - 324, and in the Roman Empire the final formation of Christianity as a state religion took place only at the end of the 4th century during the reign of Theodosius the Great. For more than 18 centuries, despite all the historical troubles, Armenia has professed Christianity.

Azerbaijanis adhere to Shiite Islam. This is how they differ from their close relatives, the Turks, who profess Sunni Islam. The rest were either physically destroyed or, having converted to Islam, were assimilated by the Turks, there are few exceptions. And now fewer Armenians live in Armenia than outside the country (about 3 million and 8-9 million, respectively). Diaspora Armenians left a noticeable mark on the culture of the countries of their settlement. These are Sherilyn Sargsyan, better known as the singer Cher, the French singer Charles Aznavour (Shahnur Aznavuryan), the Russian marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Ayvazyan) and many others.

The majority of Azerbaijanis also live outside Azerbaijan (8 million and 24-27 million people, respectively). In contrast to the Armenians who have settled all over the world, the Azerbaijanis are concentrated mainly in the nearby Muslim states. More than twice as many Azerbaijanis live in Iran alone than in Azerbaijan itself! But this did not happen as a result of the exodus from the country, but because in the 19th century, Russia and Iran divided the disputed territory arbitrarily, not looking at the fact that as a result entire peoples were divided. Azerbaijanis have also left a noticeable cultural mark outside their country, and above all in Iran: poet Mohammed Shahriyar, singer Gugush, historian and linguist Ahmed Qesrawi.

Having been in contact with each other for a long time, Azerbaijanis and Armenians had a lot of conflicts. Differences in language, culture and religion, multiplied by the high density of the population of the Transcaucasus and the relatively small amount of free lands, often gave rise to interethnic clashes. The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijani name), or Artsakh (the same in Armenian) is another confirmation of this. As anyone who has studied history is clear, in this case the definition of “who first started” the conflict is meaningless. It is necessary to negotiate on the basis of the status quo - the current state of affairs.

Table

Azerbaijanis Armenians
Affiliation of the language according to modern classificationAltai language family, Turkic group, Oguz subgroupIndo-European language family, is an independent branch
ReligionPredominantly Shiite IslamPredominantly Armenian Apostolic Church from the group of Ancient Eastern Orthodox Churches
Numbercountry8 million 172 thousand people2 million 261 thousand people
AbroadAccording to various estimates, from 24 to 27 million peopleAccording to various estimates, from 8 to 9 million people
.