Ayrums

Ayrums (Azeri: ayrım; Template:Lang-hy) are an Urum tribe of the Caucasus, believed to be the descendants of earlier Greek colonialists present in the area. More recently, they have become assimilated by Azeris, Armenians, and other Caucasian peoples. In the early 20th century, small pockets of Ayrums migrated to Turkey and Iran. Toponyms derived from the word "Ayrum" still exist (or existed until recent decades) in northwestern Azerbaijan and northeastern Armenia, e.g. Mets Ayrum, Pokr Ayrum, Baganis-Ayrum, Polad-Ayrum, Gushchu-Ayrum, etc.

History

Some ethnographers, such as Veniamin Kobychev and Alasgar Alakbarov, believed that those Azeris from Azerbaijan's Gazakh and Agstafa districts, as well as from Armenia's Tavush province, who are referred to by a sub-ethnic term "Ayrum", in fact descend from Hayhurums and Greek Orthodox Caucasian Albanians, who were later Islamized. However, this theory was challenged by theories advanced by Vladimir Minorsky, Ivan Meshchaninov and Mammad-Hasan Valiyev (Baharli), who argued that Ayrums were originally Turkic-speaking late migrants from either Persia or the Ottoman empire.

Notable Ayrums

• Noush-Afarin Ayromlou, who was Reza Shah of Iran's mother.
• Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlou, Reza Shah's second wife and the queen-consort of Iran.
• General Muhammad-Husayn Ayrom, Tadj ol-Molouk's first cousin and a high-ranking general in the Persian Cossack Brigade.

See also

• Urums
• Hayhurum
• Caucasian Albania
• Greek Muslims