APA presents an article about the city of Tufargan by Mahammad Rahmanifer as part of the "Explore South Azerbaijan" project.
You can read the previous post on the project here .
Tufargan (Azershahr) city is located 85 kilometers from Tabriz, the center of East Azerbaijan province, and 20 kilometers from Lake Urmia. It should be noted that according to the administrative territorial division of the country in Iran, the South Azerbaijan region is divided into West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Zanjan, Alborz, Qazvin and Hamadan provinces (provinces). Tufargan (Azershahr) city is actually located in the center of Tufargan (Azershahr) district (shahristan) and is surrounded by smaller cities and towns of this district such as Mamagan, Gogan, Teymurlu, Yengija, Qaf (Qibla) Mountain, Sheramin and Ghazi Jahan.
According to the 2017 census, the population of the city of Tufargan (Azershahr) is 45 thousand people, and the population of the Ajabsher district is 107 thousand people. The population speaks Azerbaijani Turkish. They are Muslims and Shiites. It should be noted that Alevis also live in some villages of this city.
Explanation of the name of the city of Tufargan, Duvargan (Azershaher)
The policy of changing the names of places and cities in South Azerbaijan began in the 1920s and is still ongoing. As we noted in the article we wrote about this issue , after the Turkish Qajar dynasty was officially abolished in Iran in 1925, the change of place names with the coming to power of the Persian Pahlavi dynasty became part of a broader policy implemented to erase the identity of Azerbaijani Turks. In other words, in accordance with the policy of Persianization of Turks, especially South Azerbaijani Turks, in Iran, in addition to the prohibition of their native languages, distortion of their history, and humiliation of their national identity, the process of changing the geographical names of the places they lived in also took place. One of the places that underwent name changes was the city of Tufargan. In 1937, by decision of the Iranian State, the name of the city was changed to Azershahr!
The decree of the Ministry of Education on changing the name of the city of Tufargan to Azershahr. Interestingly, the decree talks about changing the name of the city from Dehkhargan to Azershahr without even mentioning the name Tufargan.
Of course, as a result of the Persianization policy, it was not easy to change all geographical names. Thus, even though the city was renamed, the names of the settlements, villages, mountains, valleys and rivers in the region still remain and reflect that these are the homeland of the Azerbaijani Turks. We have written the names of the settlements located in this region above. In this regard, names such as Qaf (Qibla) Mountain, Chubuglu Mountain, Gala Mountain, Tufargan River, Dry River, Almali River, Boyuk River, Gunbay River, Taptapan Spring, and Golden Mountain Spring still retain their existence.
The city of Tufargan (Azershahr) - from the past to the present
Like some other cities of Azerbaijan, no serious scientific research has been conducted on the ancient history of this city. However, the presence of numerous ancient hills dating back to pre-Islamic times around this city, as well as the location of one of the oldest Mithraic temples in this region, indicate that this region, like many regions of Azerbaijan, has an ancient history. In the works of historians and geographers of the early Islamic period and later periods, including Muhammad Jalil Tabari (3rd century AH), Abu-al-Ishaq Ibrahim Estakhri (4th century AH), this city is mentioned as “Dakhargan”. The geographer Hamdullah Mostufi of Qazvin, who lived in the 8th century AH (1281-1349 AD), describes this place as a small city with a mild climate and abundant gardens.
From the reign of the Mughal Ilkhanate (1256–1335) to the end of the Safavid period (1501–1736), this region attracted the interest of the rulers of the time with its favorable climate, abundant crops, and unique transportation and passage routes. Sometimes it was used as a resting place for courtiers. During the Safavid period, a strong bridge was built over the Tufargan River, and during the wars of the Qizilbash and Ottoman soldiers, this city was used as a food and fodder depot.
During the Qajar-Russian wars, the city was the place where Abbas Mirza and General Paskovich met and discussed a ceasefire. During the Sattarkhan movement, or the Mashrut Wars (1905-1911), it, like many other cities in South Azerbaijan, sided with Sattarkhan and Mashrut and fought against the central government (some historical and ancient monuments in this region, especially the Mithra Temple, better reflect the ancient history of this region, so history enthusiasts are recommended to read the section on getting acquainted with the historical monuments of this region).
Tufargan: An ancient cemetery where mystics and Sufis from the Safavid era were buried
With the end of the Qajar Turkish government in 1925 and the beginning of the Persian-oriented Pahlavi government, this region, like other regions of Azerbaijan, remained outside the focus of the central government. The history, language, and culture of the Azerbaijani Turks were humiliated, destroyed, distorted, and denied. The Azerbaijani economy, which had been unparalleled in Iranian geography for hundreds of years, except for short periods, weakened. When we look at the policies of the Pahlavi government, we can say that it waged a merciless war against Southern Azerbaijan. The war that this regime waged against the Southern Azerbaijani Turks continued in some periods by silently implementing policies against Southern Azerbaijan, and in other periods by using the power of armed repression against the Azerbaijani people. In fact, one of the real reasons why the Southern Azerbaijani Turks played a leading role in the Iranian Revolution (1979) was the people's hatred of the Pahlavi regime. Unfortunately, even after the collapse of the Pahlavi regime, the South Azerbaijani Turks did not smile, and similar repressions continued shortly after the Revolution. However, these repressions failed to silence the South Azerbaijani Turks.
Today, the Turks of South Azerbaijan, especially the younger generation, seem determined to preserve their Azerbaijaniness, Turkishness, culture, history, and language despite all obstacles and pressures. These people, who stand firm against the cultural, economic, and political pressures of the central government, promise a bright future for South Azerbaijan. It is true that they may be considered empty-handed in the face of a system that is trying to destroy Azerbaijani culture, but their hearts are full of love for Azerbaijan. As a result of their unwavering will and serious efforts stemming from this love for Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani identity, history, language, and culture have been able to survive and even develop.
As we have mentioned in our articles about other cities and regions of South Azerbaijan, the central government has tried to assimilate the people of South Azerbaijan over the past hundred years, and Azerbaijani culture, history, art, and language still live in this city and other cities of Azerbaijan. As long as customs, fashions, and traditions such as Azerbaijani dance art, performances by folklore representatives, performances by ashugs, bayatis, Azerbaijani mughamat, Chershenbashi, Novruz holiday, sayachils, kosa, tekemchils, Chilla night, and the epic poem "Koroglu" live in this city, it means that Azerbaijan still lives in this city.
The Mithra Temple, reflecting the ancient history of the Tufargan (Azershahr) region
Cold and darkness have been one of the oldest and perhaps the first fears of mankind. That is why fire and the sun have always been sanctified. It is possible to find sacred hearths throughout Azerbaijan. It is clear that the word hearth is derived from the word fire. However, before mankind discovered fire and built hearths, they did not know anything that gave light and warmth to their lives except the sun shining in the sky. That is why the sun was very important to early people. According to ancient mythology, there is a serious battle between darkness and light, and between heat and cold. The defeat of the sun in this cruel battle means that the earth and the sky are covered in darkness and cold. Therefore, it was necessary to pray to inspire the warriors of light. This was the function of the Mithraist temples.
The Mithra Temple, located on Mount Qaf (Qibla) in the Tufargan region, is considered one of the oldest temples. This temple is carved into the heart of the mountain. Archaeologists have estimated the age of this temple to be between 5,000 and 12,000 years. It should be noted that this temple was a refuge and place of worship for mystics and Sufis during the Safavid era, and was used as a mosque in later periods. After entering this temple, we encounter a cool, dark, and narrow corridor. The dark corridor ends after 9 meters and leads to a dome-shaped cave 12 meters high. There is a hole in the ceiling of this cave, dug into the heart of the mountain, allowing sunlight to enter the cave.
The Mithras Temple is not the only example of stone architecture in the region. In our previous articles, whether we talked about the Urartu state (860–547 BC) or introduced the village of Kandivan, we mentioned examples of Azerbaijani stone architecture. It is possible to see other examples of this architecture in the Tufargan region. For example, in the village of Jiragil, we can witness a very perfect stone architecture. This architectural style reflects how ancient the history and civilization of Azerbaijan go back to. The Tufargan region is also one of the regions that has this architecture, reflecting the ancient civilization of Azerbaijan.
(Tufargan, Jirağıl village)
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