Ebn al-Moqaffa’ (died 142/759) is quoted by ibn Al-Nadim in his famous
Al-Fihrist as stating that Azerbaijan, Nahavand, Rayy, Hamadan and Esfahan speak Fahlavi (Pahlavi) and collectively constitute the region of Fahlah. A very similar statement is given by the medieval historian Hamzeh Isfahani when talking about Sassanid Iran. Hamzeh Isfahani writes in the book Al-Tanbih ‘ala Hoduth alTashif that five "tongues" or dialects, were common in Sassanian Iran: Fahlavi, Dari, Persian, Khuzi and Soryani. Hamzeh (893-961 CE) explains these dialects in the following way: Ibn Hawqal states: Ibn Hawqal mentions that some areas of Armenia are controlled by Muslims and others by Christians.
Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn al-Husayn Al-Masudi (896-956), the
Arab historian states: Al-Moqaddasi (died late 10th century) considers Azerbaijan as part of the 8th division of lands. He states:"The languages of the 8th division is Iranian (al-‘ajamyya). It is partly Dari and partly convoluted (monqaleq) and all of them are named Persian". Al-Moqaddasi also writes on the general region of Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and states: Ahmad ibn Yaqubi mentions that the ''People of Azerbaijan are a mixture of Azari 'Ajams ('Ajam is a term that developed to mean Iranian) and old Javedanis (followers of
Javidan the son of Shahrak who was the leader of Khurramites and succeeded by Babak Khorramdin).'' Zakariya b. Mohammad Qazvini's report in Athar al-Bilad, composed in 1275, that "no town has escaped being taken over by the Turks except Tabriz" (Beirut ed., 1960, p. 339) one may infer that at least Tabriz had remained aloof from the influence of Turkish until the time. From the time of the Mongol invasion, most of whose armies were composed of Turkic tribes, the influence of Turkish increased in the region. On the other hand, the old Iranian dialects remained prevalent in major cities. Hamdallah Mostawafi writing in the 1340s calls the language of Maraqa as "modified Pahlavi" (Pahlavi-ye Mughayyar). Mostowafi calls the language of Zanjan (Pahlavi-ye Raast). The language of Gushtaspi covering the Caspian border region between Gilan to Shirvan is called a Pahlavi language close to the language of Gilan. Following the
Islamic Conquest of Iran,
Middle Persian, also known as
Pahlavi, continued to be used until the 10th century when it was gradually replaced by a new breed of Persian language, most notably
Dari. The
Saffarid dynasty in particular was the first in a line of many dynasties to officially adopt the new language in 875 CE. Thus Dari is considered the continuation of
Middle Persian which was prevalent in the early Islamic era of western Iran. The name
Dari comes from the word (دربار) which refers to the royal court, where many of the poets, protagonists, and patrons of the
literature flourished.
The Iranian dialect of Tabriz According to
Jean During, the inhabitants of
Tabriz did not speak Turkish in the 15th century. The language of Tabriz, being an Iranian language, was not the standard Khurasani Dari.
Qatran Tabrizi (11th century) has an interesting couplet mentioning this fact: There are extant words, phrases, sentences and poems attested in the old Iranian dialect of Tabriz in a variety of books and manuscripts. Hamdullah Mustuwafi (14th century) mentions a sentence in the language of Tabriz: {{blockquote|
تبارزه اگر صاحب حُسنی را با لباس ناسزا یابند، گویند "
انگور خلوقی بی چه در، درّ سوه اندرین"؛ یعنی انگور خلوقی (انگوری مرغوب) است در سبد دریده "The Tabrizians have a phrase when they see a fortunate and wealthy man in a uncouth clothes: "He is like fresh grapes in a ripped fruit basket." A Macaronic (mula'ma which is popular in Persian poetry where some verses are in one language and another in another language) poem from Homam Tabrizi, where some verses are in Khorasani (Dari) Persian and others are in the dialect of Tabriz. Another Ghazal from Homam Tabrizi where all the couplets except the last couplet is in Persian. The last couplet reads: Another recent discovery by the name of Safina-yi Tabriz has given sentences from native of Tabriz in their peculiar Iranian dialect. The work was compiled during the
Ilkhanid era. A sample expression from the mystic
Baba Faraj Tabrizi in the Safina: The Safina (written in the Ilkhanid era) contains many poems and sentences from the old regional dialect of Azerbaijan. Another portion of the Safina contains a direct sentence in what the author has called "Zaban-i-Tabriz" (dialect/language of Tabriz) A sentence in the dialect of Tabriz (the author calls Zaban-i-Tabriz (dialect/language of Tabriz) recorded and also translated by Ibn Bazzaz Ardabili in the Safvat al-Safa: A sentence in the dialect of Tabriz by Pir Zehtab Tabrizi addressing the Qara-qoyunlu ruler Eskandar: A sample of one of the four quatrains from Khwaja Muhammad Kojjani Two qet'as (poems) quoted by Abd-al-Qader Maraghi in the dialect of Tabriz (died 838/1434-35; II, p. 142). A text probably by Mama Esmat Tabrizi, a mystical woman-poet of Tabriz (died 15th century), which occurs in a manuscript, preserved in Turkey, concerning the shrines of saints in Tabriz. A phrase "Buri Buri" which in Persian means Biya Biya or in English: Come! Come! is mentioned by Rumi from the mouth of Shams Tabrizi in this poem: The word Buri is mentioned by Hussain Tabrizi Karbali with regards to the Shaykh Khwajah Abdur-rahim Azh-Abaadi as to "come". In the Harzandi dialect of Harzand in Azerbaijan as well as the Karingani dialect of Azerbaijan, both recorded in the 20th century, the two words "Biri" and "Burah" means to "come" and are of the same root.
On the language of Maragheh Hamdollah Mostowfi of the 13th century mentions the language of
Maragheh as "Pahlavi Mughayr" (modified Pahlavi). The 17th-century Ottoman Turkish traveler Evliya Chelebi who traveled to Safavid Iran also states: "The majority of the women in Maragheh converse in Pahlavi". "At the present day, the inhabitants speak Adhar Turkish, but in the 14th century they still spoke "arabicized Pahlawi" (Nuzhat al-Qolub: Pahlawi Mu’arrab) which means an
Iranian dialect of the north western group." == See also ==