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Thanks for the ping cronos.

For those interested:

There are 2 Azarbaijans. One is the present day Iranian province, located in Northwestern Iran (aka Southern Azarbaijan). The other is now called Republic of Azarbaijan (used to be part of the USSR) until the fall of the Soviet Union. Prior to that there used to be only one Azarbaijan, which was located in Iran. But, the Soviets partitioned it. Thereafter the Soviets wanted to take over the other one in Iran, but were eventually kicked out.

A more thorough history regarding Babak Korramdin. His ethnic origins are not clear. But, his name "Babak Khorramdin is an Iranian "Persian" name, not Turkic or Turkish.

According to Waqed (quoted in wikipedia), the oldest biographer on Babak, Babak’s father was a Persian from Madain (formerly known as Ctesiphon, former capital of Sassanian Persian Empire, 35 km south of modern Baghdad in Iraq) who left for the Azarbaijan frontier zone and settled in the village of Balalabad in the Maymad district. According to Fasih, his mother – a native of Azarbaijan – was known as Maahru; (meaning Moon-Face/Belle in Persian)

Anyway, Azarbaijan has a very long history in Iran before Turkic tribes settled in that part of Iran. Also, I had never heard of Babak being called "Hasan" (lol) - at least not in Iran. "Hasan" is an Arabic/Islamic name, completely inappropriate for Babak & related history.

Babak’s sensational and legendary campaign to defend Iran’s national identity and interest is still pursued after nearly 1200 years in Southern Azarbaijan, Kaleibar, Iran every year in Teer Maah (month of July). True Iranians visit Babak’s fortress to hail their Iranian hero, Babak, as the symbol of Iranian resistance against Tazi Arab occupiers. They read poetry including Shahnameh (the Book of Kings - Iran’s most famous epic by Ferdowsi) and play traditional Persian music. They also light up bonfires to follow traditional rituals of ancient Iran.

See more photos of Iranian 'pilgrimage' to Babak's fortress in Iran, and a youtube clip here

An image of Babak Khorramdin - "Khorramdin" means "Joyous religion i.e. Zoroastrianism

“Ghaleye Babak” meaning “Babak fortress”, located in the mountains of Qaradag, in Iran.

P.S. - The flag Babak is holding in the posted image is called Derafshe Kaviani. It is a very old, pre-Islamic flag of Iran. It symbolizes freedom from ancient times.

It was customary in ancient Persia that every king would add a piece of jewlery to the Derafsh. When Arab Moslems invaded Iran, the Derafsh was seized in a bloody battle fought around Nahavand (a city with the same name in today’s Hamadan province in the mid-western Iran) and taken, among many other war spoils. The Arabs burned the flag and used the valuable items.