Brenda Shaffer's falsifications in "research"on history of Azerbaijan are disquieted  

Ruben Galchyan exposed falsifications of history in the “research” of Brenda Shaffer on Azerbaijan.

In an interview with the Azerbaijani news agency “News.az”, the American and Israeli scholar, former president of the Foreign Policy Department of the American Association of Political Sciences, Brenda Shaffer again has showed a pro-Azerbaijani position. This is stated in an open letter from a historian and cartographer Ruben Galchyan, who lives in London to news agency “News. Az”.

As it is stated in the letter, Shafer is an “expert” in the history of Azerbaijan, it can be clearly seen from her book “The Azerbaijani Turks”, where she refers to the anti-Armenian Azerbaijani academician Ziya Bunyatova, who writes: “The concept of Azerbaijan …it is correct to use for the territories of Northern and Southern Azerbaijan, starting from the 6th century BC … According to Persian and Arabic sources … since the 8th century of our era both North and South Azerbaijan were understood as Azerbaijan.”

Galchyan notes that Buniatov’s quotation is a complete distortion of history, because, firstly, according to the Greek geographer Strabo and others, the territory of the Atorpatkan (northwest of Iran) was renamed Atropaten in honor of the Median military commander in 2nd Century BC. After the invasion of the Arabs, this name gradually turned into Aderbayjan – Azerbaijan. Consequently, during the period indicated by Shaffer / Buniyatov, no Azerbaijan existed, which is confirmed by all ancient historians.

“Secondly, until the 9th century there was no Arab historical or geographical literature, as Bunyatov argues, and of course neither in Arabic nor in Persian literature there is any mention about the invented terminology of Northern and Southern Azerbaijan. In all Islamic literature, only one Azerbaijan is mentioned, which is the northwestern province of Iran, located on the southern bank of the Araks River. Mrs. Shaffer should know that the name “Azerbaijan”, referring to the territory located on the northern bank of the Araks, first appeared in 1918,” the scientist writes.

Galchyan noted that the historian should be well informed about these facts and do not repeat the falsification of other people, using them in the framework of their anti-Armenian and anti-Iranian rhetoric. “Apparently, Mrs. Schaffer did not find another platform for spreading her views,” is said the letter.

Source: panorama.am