Muslim schools in Azerbaijan (1849-1918)

Gulistan treaty signed by the government on 12 October 1813 between Tsarist Russia and Iran, and the treaties of Turkmenchay, signed on 10 February 1828, which changed the course of Azerbaijan's history. According to these agreements, the Aras river was accepted as a border and the territory of Azerbaijan was divided into two as North and South. A new history began to be written in the northern lands occupied by Tsarist Russia. Tsarist Russia tried to eliminate the characteristics of the society such as religion, language and culture in order to take deeper roots in the lands it seized. One of the areas where Russia could implement this policy was education. In 1829, the Tsar government began to open public schools in Northern Azerbaijan, and the language of instruction was Russian. The main objective of these schools was to educate the public on basic level and to provide loyal interpreters and civil servants. However, many young intellectuals, who took their education in Russian public schools, started to come to the forefront in the enlightenment of the public. Issues such as the opening of schools providing education in Azerbaijan Turkish, preparing textbooks in this language, training of teacher and preserving the purity of language have started to come up frequently. Some of them have always kept the issue on the agenda with their works, some of them with their writings in newspapers and magazines. As a result of these efforts, XIX. Beginning in the second half of the century, Usul-u Jadid and Russian Muslim schools were opened in Azerbaijan in Turkish. The second step in the struggle for identity against tsarist occupation is to bring women into education. Hacı Zeynelabidin Tağıyev, who has a special interest in this matter and who has no material and moral support. He opened a girls' school in Baku, so that Muslim Turkish girls in Azerbaijan could receive education on "Usul-u Jadid" and become the pioneer. Keywords: Tsarist Russia, North Azerbaijan, Education, Usul-u Cedid Schools, Rus- Tatar Schools, Women's Education