Research

The Book of Dede Qorqud is the most famous heroic dastan of the Oghuz, and it is made up of the twelve epic stories. The heroes are often portrayed as great warriors who fight on the path of the one true God – Tanri, against the invading villains who are referred to as infidels. The stories carry morals and values significant to the social lifestyle of the Oghuz peoples and their pre-Islamic beliefs. The book's mythic narrative is part of the cultural heritage of the peoples of Oghuz origin, mainly of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.

Although, the Oghuz State was made of 24 pronvinces, the stories take place in Azerbaijan. It evolves around two main groups – the Inner Oghuz (Aranli) and the Outter Oghuz (Daghli), who lived on two opposite sides of The Greater Caucasus Mountain Range.

Manat is a name for the national currencies of Azerbaijan (since 1918), Turkmenistan (since 1993), Georgia (1918–1923), North Caucasian Emirate (modern Dagestan-Chechnia-Ingushetia, 1919–1920), and Provisional National Government of the Southwestern Caucasus (1918–1919). Manat was also the designation name for the Soviet ruble in Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Georgian languages. Azerbaijani manat is subdivided into 100 qapik. The purpose of this article to analyze the origin and prove the relationship to the ancient Sumerian word ma-na (𒈠𒈾), a measurement of unit of weight equivalent to 60 siklu. Mana derives from word 'mani', which translates into English as 'to count'.

Azerbaijan is a birthplace of many ancient cultures and civilizations, such as Shulaveri-Shomu and Kura–Araxes cultures, Mannea, Urartu, Media, Atropaterna, Caucasian Albania, etc. Through the history there have been many speculations about the origin of Azerbaijanis: Persians who adopted the Turkic language; Seljuk Turks who came from Central Asia and settled in Transcaucasia. None of these hypothesis came true. Recent DNA analysis show that Azerbaijanis are the aboriginal people who live in their ancestral land for many years. So who are the Azerbaijanis, their national identity, and their place in the history?