Tat people (Caucasus)
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (10,900–22,041) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Azerbaijan, Dagestan (Russia) | |
| Languages | |
| Tat language, Azerbaijani, and Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| (genealogically) other Iranian peoples (culturally and genetically) Azerbaijani people, and Persian people |
The Tat people (also: Tati, Parsi, Daghli, Lohijon, Caucasian Persians, Transcaucasian Persians) are an Iranian people, presently living within Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia (mainly Southern Dagestan). The Tats are part of the indigenous peoples of Iranian origin in the Caucasus.
Tats use the Tat language, a southwestern Iranian language, related to but different from Persian,Azerbaijani and Russian are also spoken. Tats are mainly Shia Muslims, with a significant Sunni Muslim minority.
As late as the turn of the 20th century, the Tat constituted about 11% of the population of the entire eastern half of Azerbaijan (see Baku Governorate, section on Demography). They formed nearly one-fifth (18.9%) of the population of the Baku province and over one-quarter (25.3%) of the Kuba Province—both on the Caspian Sea. Either through misrepresentation, data manipulation or simple assimilation, the Tat portion of the population of Azerbaijan has shrunk to insignificance, facing assimilation.
The earliest mention of Persians in the Caucasus is found in the Greek historian Herodotus' account of the Achaemenid expansion of 558–330 BC, during which they annexed Transcaucasia (South Caucasus) as the X, XI, XVIII and XIX satrapies of their empire.
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