Afshars hold specific place in the history and culture of Azerbaijan. Afshars had been first mentioned by XI century Turkic philologist Mahmud al-Kashgari among 22 Oghuz Turkic tribes. During Seljuq invasions, part of the tribe had been settled in the Caucasus, where they played important role in Azerbaijani ethnogenesis. In this connection, it isn’t surprising that afshars named their language the “Azeri language”.
In XIV-XV centuries, afshars supported the dynasties of Kara Koyunlu and Ak Koyunlu and contributed a lot to the establishment of Azerbaijani states. Later they played important role in the union of tribes which rendered military support to the Safavid dynasty. For this reason, many representatives of the tribe were often appointed to various military and civil positions. During Safavid period, afshars were already regarded as Azerbaijani Turkic tribe.
By a decree of Shah Abbas I, part of the tribe was resettled to the empire’s eastern peripheries, officially to protect the state’s frontiers, but actually to prevent tribal leaders from interfering with the ruling dynasty’s affairs.
In middle XVII century, afshars managed to restore their past influence, and actively participated in the state’s military and political system. In the first decades of XVIII century, Nadir khan (later named shah) Afshar managed to liberate Safavid territories which had been previously seized by Ottoman and Russian empires. He returned influence to the state’s central power, strengthened the Safavid army and set the beginning of Afsharid dynasty. However, at the second half of XVIII century, the Afsharids lost their positions in a race for the power, and could only maintain their rule over Khorasan province. Finally in 1796, the final stronghold of Afsharids had been seized by the dynasty of Qajars.
Afshars had played important role in the ethnogenesis and culture of the Azerbaijani people. Moreover, they still remain to be a subethnicity within the Azerbaijani nation. Today, “Azeri” of afshars is a dialect of the contemporary Azerbaijani language.