Study of historical demographic issues in pre-Islamic funeral ceremonies of Turkic peoples in Azerbaijani historiography

Authors : Aydın MAMMADOV

Pages : 481-494

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Publication Date : 2021-06-25

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The exact date of the funeral ceremonies in Azerbaijan in prehistoric times is still unknown. For a long time, it was believed that burial in pitcher tombs in Azerbaijan took place in 2nd century BC and lasted until 3rd century AD. The ancient funeral rites that existed in Azerbaijan associated with the graves of jugs were closely related to the cult of the sun and water. The purpose of the article is to study the demographic views of our ancient ancestors on life and death in the pre-Islamic burial customs of Azerbaijan and other Turkic-speaking peoples. Our ancestors, seeing in death the continuation of life in another space and time, believed its eternity. So, thinking about the infinity of the world around us, our ancestors deeply believed that the growth of generations is also associated with the laws of the universe and space. Thus, the pre-Islamic burial customs of our ancestors, who believe in the infinity of the Universe, contribute to the science of historical demography, proving that the views of the Azerbaijani and Turkic-speaking peoples with regard to population growth have ancient roots. As a source, the article uses scientific works of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Russian researchers. When writing the article, the method of comparative analysis was used.
Keywords : historical demographics, funeral ceremony, pitcher graves, population growth