History of the Jews in Azerbaijan
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (30,000) | |
| Languages | |
| Hebrew (in Israel), Azerbaijani, Judeo-Tat, Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Judaism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mountain Jews, Ashkenazi Jews, Georgian Jews. |
The History of the Jews in Azerbaijan dates back to Late Antiquity. Azerbaijani Jewry traces its roots back to the existence of Khazar Khaganate, an ancient kingdom situated in what is now Azerbaijan. Today, Jews in Azerbaijan mainly consist of three distinct groups: Mountain Jews, the most sizable and most ancient group; Ashkenazi Jews, who settled in the area during the late 19th-early 20th centuries, and during World War II; and Georgian Jews who settled mainly in Baku during the early part of the 20th century.
Historically, Jews in Azerbaijan have been represented by various subgroups, mainly Azerbaijani Jews, Ashkenazi Jews and Georgian Jews. Azerbaijan at one point was or still is home to smaller communities of Krymchaks, Kurdish Jews and Bukharian Jews, as well Gerim (converts) and non-Jewish Judaistic groups like Subbotniks. In those days, Jews used to live in and around the city of Shamakhi (mainly in the village of Mücü), but the community has been non-existent since the early 1920s. In 2002, the total number of Jewish residents in Azerbaijan was 8,900 people with about 5,500 of them being Mountain Jews. A few more thousand descend from mixed families. In 2010, the total Jewish population in Azerbaijan was 6,400. Jews mainly reside in the cities of Baku, Ganja, Sumqayit, Quba, Oğuz, Goychay and the town of Qırmızı Qəsəbə, the only town in the world where Mountain Jews constitute the majority (and the only fully Jewish town outside of Israel).
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