Kelsey Rice Emissaries of Enlightenment: Azeri Theater Troupes in Iran and Central Asia, 1906–44 At the turn of the century, Azeri intellectuals embraced their unique position at the intersection of the Russian, Ottoman, and Iranian Empires by taking on the self- appointed role trans-imperial reformers. Moving with relative ease from Baku to Istanbul, Tabriz, Tehran, Bukhara, and beyond, Azeri reformist intellectuals were neither insular nor modest in their aspirations as they promoted social and cultural reform. This article explores Azeri efforts to promote their vision of progress to fellow Muslims in Iran and Central Asia through the most radical genre of cultural expression embraced by Azeri intellectuals: the theater. Using indigenous language sources to focus on these activities, this article demonstrates the far-reaching influence of Azeri cultural productions and the expansive ambitions of Azeri reformist intellectuals. Keywords: Azerbaijan: Iran: Central Asia: Theater Troupes: Drama: Opera: Huseyn- qulu Sarabski: Uzeyir Hajibeyov With the increased freedoms of association and press that came with the Russian Revolution of 1905, the new class of reform-minded Azeris that had emerged in the late nineteenth century was able to organize and engage in a nascent public life that had previously been impossible. They eagerly embraced the opportunities offered by the revolution and embarked upon ambitious projects of social and cultural reform that they promoted throughout their society through education, publishing, and performance. Although determined and enjoying financial support from wealthy Azeri industrialists, the efforts of reformists were beset with obstacles in the form of social opposition, government censorship, and their own infighting. Despite their struggles, they were neither insular nor modest in their aspirations. Members of the Azeri intelligentsia moved with relative ease among the major Kelsey Rice is Assistant Professor of History at Berry College. This work was supported by the Social Science Research Council under the International Dissertation Research Fellowship, American Councils under the Title VIII Combined Research and Language Train- ing Grant, and the American Research Institute in the South Caucasus under the Graduate Student, Post- doctoral, and Junior Faculty Research Fellowship. I would like to thank Dr. Gulnar Kendirbai for organizing and inviting me to participate in the workshop “Reform and Revolution: Discourses of Mod- ernity in Late Imperial Russia and Beyond” at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, from which this article was born. Iranian Studies, 2021 Vol. 54, Nos. 3–4, 427–451, https://doi.org/10.1080/00210862.2020.1753022 © 2020 Association For Iranian Studies, Inc