Bayat (name)
The surname Bayat or Baiyat is derived from clans in Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan.
Clans
Bayat is the name of an originally Turkic clan in Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iran which traces its origin to the 12th century. When Bayat clan started to migrate from the Aral steppes, their first destination was the city of Nishapur in the south of Khorasan, a state in the north-east of Iran. The Bayat clan moved in the 13th century to three different locations after attacks by Mongol forces.
The Bayat clan made war with the Mongols, killing Genghis Khan's son-in-law with his army. Then Khan attacked Nishapur with all his forces, killing many Bayat clansmen, and the rest of the Bayat clan escaped to the mountains around Nishapur.
From there, one group went east and north-east, so that the surname Bayat is still found in Afghanistan. A second group went south-west towards Isfahan, and the surname Bayat is prominent in Arak, Hamedan, Malayer, Isfahan, Zanjan and Shiraz. The third group went north-west, and in Azerbaijan they divided in two; one part of the group took the west to Anatolia, and second part went south into Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.
Bayat was the name of one of the 24 Oghuz Turkish clans purported to descend from Oghuz Khaqan according to Oghuzname and the oral legends prior to the writing of that book in the early 14th century. It is also the name of several localities and persons connected to the legend. In Afghanistan, the clan is known to have who originally emigrated into the country with Nader Shah.
People
Bayat is a common surname today in Iran, Azerbaijan and to a lesser extent in Turkey, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan where it carries the meaning "Knight" or "Chevalier".
Notable figures from this clan include:
- Ata Korkut, legendary figure of the Oghuz
- Fuzûlî, famous Azeri poet of Ottoman era
- Abbas Bayat (born 1947), Iranian businessman
- Asef Bayat, Iranian professor of sociology
- Ehsan Bayat, Afghan-American entrepreneur, owner of Ariana Television Network and founder of the Bayat Foundation[1]
- Morteza Gholi Bayat (1890–1958), former Prime Minister of Iran
See also
References
- ↑ The Bayat Foundation - Making a Difference in Afghanistan. October 18, 2006. WorldPress.org.