[Turkish azerî, from Persian āzarī, from āzarbaijān, northwest Iran, from Arabization of Persian āzarbāyigān, alteration of āzarbādgān, from Middle Iranian āturpātakān, ultimately after Aturpāt, Atropates, the satrap of Media who became an ally of Alexander the Great and founded a dynasty that ruled northwest Iran, from the Old Iranian name Atərəpāta-, literally "protected by fire" : *ātar-, fire; see āter in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + pāta-, protected (from pā-, to protect); see pā- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]