Historians posit different theories as to why Gorsky Jews - also known as kavkazi Jews, Caucasian Jews, and mountain Jews - originally chose to settle in countries like Azerbaijan and Dagestan. Several claim that Jews fled there to escape the persecution in neighboring Persia. Others that they entered Azerbaijan from the Byzantine empire. Some mountain Jews believe they are descendants of the ten lost tribes and were exiled to Azerbaijan and Dagestan by sancheriv. Regardless of their source, however, gorsky jews were abel to build houses, involve themselves in trades, and study torah without disruption. In fact, it is possible that gorsky jews even scored a line on the hallowed pages of Talmud yerushalmi: rabbi shimon safra of derbent reveals a connection with the city of derbent in Dagestan. Because many gorsky Jews originally lived in Persia, and were surrounded by other Islamic countries like turkey, their traditions have been influenced by a melange of culture's. In fact, the language that gorsky jews speak, known as "juhuri," is a mix of Farsi and Hebrew. Unbeknownst to many, "juhuri," joins the ranks of Yiddish and ladino as another dialect exclusive to Jews. Yet, in spite of Azerbaijan bieng a refuge for fleeing Persian Jews, it wasn't always unscathed country. In the 18th century Persia fought the Ottoman empire and Russia to conquer Azerbaijan. Persian ruler nadir shah rampaged Azerbaijan Villages, slaughtered many Jews, and forced them to convert to Islam. In the last quarter of the 18th century, divine relief finally arrived: fath ali Khanna ruled in Kuba, Jews from across Azerbaijan moved to this village. Due to the dense Jewish population, kuba was called "little Jerusalem." In the 19th century, the Persians gave away to Russian governance. Gorsky Jews did not object. They finally enjoyed freedom of religion. In fact, during this era, jews in Azerbaijan thrived. Younge men went to Lithuanian yeshivot and returned to the caucuses montains as spiritual leaders and rabbis. They cleansed gorsky customs of all non-Jewish influence and strengthened the community by building synagogues in Kuba and derbent. Although the caucuses mountains created a geographical isolation between Gorskys and other Jewish sects, the community still sustained religious observation with vigor and authenticity.
