A Turkmen girl in traditional clothing, standing in front of a yurt. A yurt is a tent-like shelter made out of skin, felt, or hand-woven textiles on wooden poles, used by the Oghuz tribes, who were the ancestors of modern-day Azerbaijanis, Turks, and Turkmen (from Turkmenistan).

Oghuz Turkic Migrations

One of the most important phases in the history of Azerbaijan was the influx of Oghuz Turkic nomads into the region. Of the Turkic groups that settled in Azerbaijan over millennia, the Oghuz Seljuks most prominently impacted Azerbaijani cultural identity and language. Azerbaijan, already with a sizeable Turkic population, became a stronghold for Turkic peoples as they migrated south and west. The Oghuz Turks established the Seljuk Empire in Caucasus, Iran, parts of Iraq and Anatolia. The Seljuk heritage is shared by the Ottoman Empire, Kara Koyunly, Ak Koyunly, Safavid Empire, Afshar Empire, and Qajar Empire, and the modern day Turkic nation-states of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, as well as Turkic people living in Iraq and Iran.