Yanar Dag, Baku, Azerbaiyán, 2016-09-27, DD 03

''The Land of Fire'' ( az, Odlar Yurdu) is the adopted motto of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

Historical and political development

The etymology of the phrase is thought to be related to

Atropates Atropates ( peo, *Ātr̥pātaʰ and Middle Persian ; grc, Ἀτροπάτης ; c. 370 BC - after 321 BC) was a Persian nobleman who served Darius III, then Alexander the Great, and eventually founded an independent kingdom and dynasty that wa ...

, who ruled over the region of

Atropatene Atropatene ( peo, Ātṛpātakāna; grc, Ἀτροπατηνή), also known as Media Atropatene, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established in by the Persian satrap Atropates. The kingdom, centered in present-day northern Iran, was ruled by A ...

(present Iranian Azerbaijan). The name "Atropates" itself is the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

transliteration of an

Old Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are grouped ...

, probably Median, compounded name with the meaning "Protected by the (Holy) Fire" or "The Land of the (Holy) Fire". The Greek name is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo. Over the span of millennia the name evolved to ''Āturpātākān'' then to ''Ādharbādhagān'', ''Ādharbāyagān'', ''Āzarbāydjān'' and present-day ''Azerbaijan''. The word is translatable as "The Guardian" o
fire
or "The Land of the Fire" in

Modern Persian New Persian ( fa, فارسی نو), also known as Modern Persian () and Dari (), is the current stage of the Persian language spoken since the 8th to 9th centuries until now in Greater Iran and surroundings. It is conventionally divided into thre ...

. Some critics have argued that the phrase is a reference either to the natural burning of surface oil deposits or to the oil-fueled fires in

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

of the once-dominant

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

. The symbolism of the term widely been used in most fields such as in heraldry, the shield in national emblem of Azerbaijan contains the image of a fire in the center of an eight-point star against a background of the colors of the

Azerbaijani flag The national flag of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan bayrağı), often referred to in Azerbaijani as ( en, Tricolour flag), is a horizontal tricolour that features three equally sized bars of bright blue, red, and green; a white crescent; and ...

Promotional usage

After

's independence from

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, the phrase was used as a touristic campaign to promote the country as a tourist destination and as a location for industry. The phrase appeared in many touristic promotions, the most notable on Atlético Madrid's shirts between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. In 2014, the phrase appeared on

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...

and

Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

shirts after the clubs' promised but subsequently cancelled takeover by Azerbaijani businessman Hafiz Mammadov. The motto "Light your fire!", used to promote the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

, which was held in Baku, was based on the "Land of Fire" concept.

European calques

The "Land of Flames" expression became the origin for the literary expressions denoting

in a number of European languages, such as in Russian language ''Strana Ogney'' (Страна Огней, i.e. "Country of the Fires").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Land of Fire History of Azerbaijan Azerbaijani culture Culture of the Caucasus National symbols of Azerbaijan

Historical and political development

Promotional usage

European calques

See also

References