Azerbaijan mountain Jews (A historical, religious and socio-cultural research)

In this study, the researches made on the Azerbaijan Mountain Jews, the references made in the historical process, the interviews we made, the information in the archive documents were analyzed according to academic methods. While examining how long mountain Jews have been called by this name, their previous existence and their demographic, religious, socio-cultural status in the geography they live in, different claims and observations of scientists are also included. In some studies, it is claimed that an ancestor group of Mountain Jews settled in regions of Azerbaijan during the Assyrian exile in 722 BC. Some researchers have hypothesized that the Mountain Jews were the successors of Jewish groups who took refuge in the Caucasus during the Mazdek uprisings in the Sassanid era in the VI century AD. According to very few researchers, they are the heirs of the Jews who lived in the Caucasus with the abolition of the Caspian state. Apart from these views, there is also a claim that Mountain Jews consisted of various Jewish groups settled as a result of the settlement policies of the states established in Azerbaijan from the X century to Tsarist Russia. From Tsarist Russia to the post-independence period of Azerbaijan, the history, demographic, religious and socio-cultural issues, field studies, interviews and obtained data of Mountain Jews were analyzed with impartial and scientific methods. Historically, although the religious beliefs of the Mountain Jews are closely related to the traditions of the Sephardic and Mizrahi sects of Judaism, they are closely linked to the various beliefs and folk traditions of the communities in which they live. Although the mountain Jews turned to the modern religious interpretations and understanding of Judaism after the independence of Azerbaijan, the middle and old sections of the society did not give up their traditional folk beliefs. However, while the socio-cultural situation and some studies related to them were traditional, it gained momentum by following a modernist approach with the organized work of religious brothers from countries such as Israel, Russia and the USA after independence. At the end of the study, photos which connection with the subject were given under additional titles and ended with a general evaluation.