Tribes of Arasbaran

Arasbaran, also known as Karadagh in Azerbaijani language (قره‌داغ) is a vast mountainous area in the north of East Azarbaijan Province in Iran. In this area there were several Turkic tribes, including the Beghdillu, Chalabianlu, Haji-Alilu, Mohammad Khanlu, Hoseynaklu, Hasanbeyglu, Ilyaskhanlu, Tokhmaqlu, Bayburdlu, Qaradaghlu, and Qarachorlu. All of these tribes are now sedentary, but characteristic aspects of their culture, developed around nomadic pastoralism, have persisted to our times.

According to A. Lampton, in the Karadagh Khanate the pasturage belonged to Khans, who also owned arable land in winter quarters.

In the following sections a brief history of Arasbaran tribes is given according to a comprehensive article by Oberling and other English language sources. More information may be found in a Persian book by Colonel H. Baibordi.

In the wake of Russo-Persian War (1804–13) a significant fraction of the inhabitants of Arasbaranlived as nomadic tribes. The major tribes included the Chalabianlu, with 1500 tents and houses, Qarachorlu 2500, Haji-Alilu 800, Begdillu 200, and various minor groups 500. At the time Ahar, with 3500 inhabitants, was the only city of Qaradağ. It is not clear when the remaining three tribes were founded. It should be noted that in Arasbaran the tribe is a political entity rather than an ethnic concept, and therefore the bond between different families in the tribe is through their allegiance to a common chief. Therefore, at a critical moment of time a strong man, often from the ruling family of a tribe, may have gathered sufficient number of nomadic families and form a new tribe. There are unconfirmed evidences, based on oral traditions, that this may have been the case for Mohammad Khanlu tribe.

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