The Kangarlis were the ancient Turkic tribe. The word “Kangar" emerged after the occupation of the Kang state between the Aral and Balkhash lakes by the Huns in the III century. A part of the Kangarlis joined the Huns came from the North Caucasus to Azerbaijan in the IV-V centuries. There are reports that the Kangarlis were living in Azerbaijan, particularly in Nakhchivan after that period. Kangarli's tribe had a history of 6,000 years, and their names were first mentioned in connection with the Sumerians. The Sumerians’ name was Kangar. Today’s Persian Gulf was called the Gulf of Kangar for centuries. The Kangarlis established the Kang state in Central Asia (IV century), the state of Sallarids in Azerbaijan (X century) and the Nakhchivan khanate (XVIII century). In the “Book of Dada Gorgud", Kangarli is called as "Kanqali". The Kangarlis were involved in the ethnogeny of the Azerbaijani people. From the second half of the XVIII century Kangarli rulers had high ranks and they ruled the Nakhchivan khanate, one of the strongest khanates of Azerbaijan. Although the Nakhchivan khanate was ceded to Russia under the Turkmenchay Treaty in 1828, the authorities of the Kangarlis were continuing to hold positions with the title of “Naib” until 1840. A part of the Kangarli tribe was given the Nakhchivanski surname during the Russian Empire. There are a number of prominent socio-political and military figures, scientists and cultural workers among the Kangarlis. The names of the six generals of the Kangarli tribe are known in the history of the Azerbaijani military.
Heyran and Gonchabayim Kangarli, the prominent representatives of Azerbaijan's classical poetry, were Azerbaijani poets who lived and worked in the XIX century. Bahruz Kangarli, who was among the first Azerbaijanis who received specialized education in the XX century, also served the creation of different genres in our national painting and enrichment with new artistic means of expression.