The Aresh ''uezd'' was a county ('' uezd'') of the

Elizavetpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate st ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic with its center in Aresh (present-day Agdash) from 1874 until its formal abolition in 1929 by Soviet authorities.

Geography

The Aresh ''uezd'' was located in the northeastern section of Elizavetpol Governorate, on the eastern bank of the Kura River, bordering the

Baku Governorate The Baku Governorate, known before 1859 as the Shemakha Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its center in the booming metropolis and Caspian Sea port of Baku. Area (1897): 34,400 sq ...

to the east, the

Nukha uezd The Nukha uezd was a county (''uezd'') of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic with its center in Nukha (present-day Shaki) from 1868 until its formal abolition in 1921 by the Soviet au ...

to the north, the

Elizavetpol uezd The Elizavetpol uezd, also known as the Ganja uezd after 1918, was a county (''uezd'') of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire, and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and Azerbaijan SSR until its formal abolition in 1929. The ...

to the northwest and

Jebrail uezd The Jebrail uezd, also known after 1905 as the Karyagino uezd, was a county (''uezd'') of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire with its center in Jebrail (Jabrayil) from 1873 until its formal abolition in 1921 by the Soviet authoriti ...

to the southwest. The area of the ''uezd'' was 2822.9 square verst. The territory of the county was mainly made up of lowlands. The county capital was initially in Uchkovakh, later being moved to Agdash, which was considered the largest cotton-trading center in the lowlands of Transcaucasia.

History

The territory of Aresh ''uezd'' was located in the Turyanchay River basin. The area was called ''Aresh'' ( az, Ərəş) in the Middle Ages and formed a part of Shirvan Baylarbaylik which was gradually made significantly weaker after repeated Ottoman-

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

conflicts on its territory, eventually being subdued into the

Shaki Khanate The Shaki Khanate ( fa, خانات شکّی, also spelled as Sheki Khanate, Shekin Khanate, Shakki Khanate) was one of the most powerful of the Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian Khanates established in Afsharid dynasty, Afsharid Iran, on the n ...

in the 1750s. After the establishment of Russian rule, Aresh was a part of Nukha ''uezd'' of

, however, in 1874, the territory was detached and established as a separate Aresh ''uezd'' of the newly established Elizavetpol Governorate in 1868. The Aresh ''uezd'' was formally abolished by Soviet authorities in 1929, and superseded by the Agdash Rayon, which was established in its place in 1930.

Administrative divisions

The subcounties (''

uchastok An uchastok (russian: yча́сток}, plural russian: yча́стки, translit=uchastki, label=none), or dilyanka in Ukrainian usage ( uk, ділянка, plural uk, ділянки, translit=dilyanki, label=none), was a territorial-administrat ...

s'') of the Aresh ''uezd'' in 1912 were as follows:

Economy

The population was engaged primarily in agricultural farming and gardening. During summers, they would take the cattle to the mountains and return only in September. Wool production played an important role in the economy of uezd.

Demographics

Russian Empire Census

According to the

Russian Empire Census The first general census of the population of the Russian Empire in 1897 ( pre-reform Russian: ) was the first and only nation-wide census performed in the Russian Empire (the Grand Duchy of Finland was excluded). It recorded demographic data as ...

, the Aresh ''uezd'' had a population of 67,277 on , including 36,623 men and 30,654 women. The plurality of the population indicated Tatar to be their mother tongue, with significant

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and Kyurin ( Lezgian) speaking minorities.

''Kavkazskiy kalendar''

According to the 1917 publication of ''

Kavkazskiy kalendar ''Kavkazskiy kalendar'' (russian: Кавка́зский календа́рь, lit=Caucasian calendar) was an annual almanac published in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi) in the Russian Empire by the office of the Viceroy of the Caucasus, published ...

'', the Aresh ''uezd'' had a population of 99,400 on , including 53,144 men and 46,256 women, 97,280 of whom were the permanent population, and 2,180 were temporary residents. The statistics indicated

Sunni Muslims Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

to be the overwhelming majority of the population of the county with significant

and Shia Muslim minorities:

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{coord, 40, 39, 00, N, 47, 28, 34, E, display=title Geographic history of Azerbaijan States and territories established in 1874 1929 disestablishments in the Soviet Union Uezds of the Soviet Union Uezds of Elizavetpol Governorate States and territories disestablished in 1929