Turkic penetration in the region started in the Khazar era, however there are no unambiguous references to settlements.[11] The Turkification of the region started in the Seljuq era, although the area in parallel maintained its Persian culture under the Persianized Shirvanshah until the Safavid era. From the Safavid era onwards, the Turkification of the region accelerated with new wave of Turkoman settlements.[12]