Azari (Persian: آذری Āḏarī, [ɑːzæri], also spelled Adari, Adhari) is the name used for the Iranian language composed of groups of dialects which were spoken in Iranian Azerbaijan at one time. Some linguists have also designated the southern Tati dialects of Azerbaijan like those spoken by the Tats around Khalkhal, Harzand and Keringan as a remnant of Azari. In addition, Old Azari is known to have strong affinities with Talysh.
It was the dominant language in Azerbaijan before it was replaced by a Turkic language, now known as the Azerbaijani language.
Azari is believed to be a part of the dialect continuum of Northwest Iranian languages. As such, its ancestor would be close to the earliest attested Northwest Iranian languages, Median. As the Northwestern and Southwestern Iranian languages had not yet developed very far apart by the first millennium AD, Azari would also still have been very similar to classical Middle Persian (also called Pahlavi).
Azari was spoken in most of Azarbaijan at least up to the 17th century, with the number of speakers decreasing since the 11th century due to the Turkification of the area. According to some accounts, it may have survived for several centuries after that up to the 16th or 17th century. Today, Iranian dialects are still spoken in several linguistic enclaves within Azarbaijan. While some scholars believe that these dialects form a direct continuation of the ancient Azari languages, others have argued that they are likely to be a later import through migration from other parts of Iran, and that the original Azari dialects became extinct.
View More