1. about the subject

About the word “Azerbaijan”. The history of the notion of “Azerbaijan”.
History of Azerbaijan: historical-geographical and subject area.

About the word “Azerbaijan”. According to the preliminary assumptions on the word Azerbaijan, it was derived from Atropaten. The famous geographer and historian Strabo (64-64 BC) wrote about Atropatena: “Midia is divided into two parts. One part is called the Great Midia, the great city and capital of which is Ectabana. The other part is Atropatian Midia: which got its name from the commander Atropat, who announced this country independent by his own judgment, and prevented from becoming dependent on the Macedonians. The inheritance still remains in his family.

Later, Atropaten (in Middle Persian Atur – pat- akan; in Syrian - Adorbijan, in new Persian - Ader-bay-gan, in Arabic - Ader-bay-jan) sounded like Azerbaijan. As noted by Strabo, it is perfectly legal to name the country after Atropat. First of all, Strabo gives a lot of valuable material not only about this fact, but also about Azerbaijan in general; second, a historically short period of time, 250–260 years, separates Strabo from the information he provided, while the heir of power still remained in Atropat’s family. This also means that most probably it continued to exist; Thirdly, it stands to reason why the country, as it has been throughout history, was named after Atropat, a man who "struggled and defended the country against Macedonians like the Great Media (!)" and "made this country independent by his own judgment."

It should be noted that such an explanation of the word Azerbaijan did not seem convincing for many researchers, and as a result, new interpretations have emerged. The historical and philological literature have put forward ​​more than dozens of definitions of the word Azerbaijan.

It is scientifically and morally unacceptable to turn such an important issue as the name of the country into an object of endless discussion, and even to "reveal" its incomprehensible meaning. Therefore, the best way out would be to put an end to the debates in this area and to accept the meaning which has risen to the level of public opinion.
From this point of view, it is preferable to acknowledge the common meaning of Atropaten- Azerbaijan as "The Land of Fire"