Azerbaijanis

Azerbaijanis (/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːniz/; Azerbaijani: Azərbaycanlılar آذربایجانلیلار) or Azeris (Azerbaijani: Azərilər آذریلر), also known as Azerbaijani Turks (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Türkləri آذربایجان تورکلری), are a Turkicethnic group living mainly in Iranian Azerbaijan and the independent Republic of Azerbaijan and they speak Azerbaijani language, a Turkic language. They are the second most numerous ethnic group among the Turkic peoples after Anatolian Turks. They are predominantly Shi'i Muslims, and have a mixed cultural heritage, including Iranian,Turkic and Caucasian elements. They comprise the largest ethnic group in Republic of Azerbaijan and by far the second-largest ethnic group in neighbouring Iran. The world's largest number of ethnic Azerbaijanis furthermore live in Iran followed by the Azerbaijan Republic.

Following the Russo-Persian Wars of 1804–13 and 1826–28, the territories of the Iranian Qajar dynasty in the Caucasus were forcefully ceded to the Russian Empire and the Treaty of Gulistan in 1813 and the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828 finalized the borders between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran. The areas to the north of the river Aras, including the territory of the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan, were Iranian territory until they were occupied by Russia over the course of the 19th century. The Russo-Persian Wars of the 19th century settled the modern-day boundary of Iran, stripping it of all its Caucasian territories and incorporating them into the Russian Empire. The eventual formation of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 established the territory of modern Azerbaijan.