Balakan District (, av, Билкан мухъ, Bilkan muq) is one of the 66
districts of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
. It is located in the north of the country and belongs to the
Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region
Shaki-Zagatala Economic Region ( az, Şəki-Zaqatala iqtisadi rayonu) is one of the 14 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It borders Russia to the north and Georgia to the west, as well as the economic regions of Quba-Khachmaz, Mountainous Shirvan ...
. The district borders the district of
Zagatala, and the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n
Republic of Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
. Its capital and largest city is
Balakan. As of 2020, the district had a population of 99,100.
History
Before creation of district
Archaeological finds including many historical monuments and
kurgan
A kurgan is a type of tumulus constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into much of Central As ...
s in the region speak of early human habitation. Balakan was a part of
Caucasian Albania. A Greek writer of the time who authored books on the battle between the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
troops and Caucasian Albanians on the bank of
Alazani
The Alazani ( ka, ალაზანი, az, Qanıx) is a river that flows through the Caucasus. It is the main tributary of the Kura in eastern Georgia, and flows for . Part of its path forms the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan, before i ...
(Qanıx) river in 65 AD., described the locals as calm, prideful and full of courage.
In the 7th century, Balakan was invaded by Arabs and Balakən settlement was destroyed. After the Arab rule was overthrown in 9th–10th centuries, Balakan established its political and economic links with
Shaki. Both provinces developed
sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...
as their primary industry.
The etymology of names such as "Getovlar" (similar to Hettax), Hunbulanchay (similar to
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
),
Ingiloy (similar to Gellah) and others confirm habitation of the region by early nomadic
Turkic tribes.
In 1803, the territory of the Balakan District was incorporated into 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 was administratively part of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
until 1842, when it became a separate
oblast
An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...
. Two years later, the self-governing communities of
Djaro-Belokani
The Djaro-Belokani communities (also Char, Car, Jar, Djari, Chary, rarely Chartalah) were a group of self-governing communities in the Caucasus from the 17th to the 19th centuries. They had close ties with the Elisu Sultanate to the southeast.
Ge ...
was founded. From 1860 until the end of the Russian Empire territory of the district was part of the
Tiflis Governorate
The Tiflis Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire with its administrative center in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). In 1897, it constituted 44,607 sq. kilometres in area and had a population ...
.
After the independence of Georgia and Azerbaijan in 1918, the territory was subject to dispute between the 2 countries. After the Soviet takeover of Azerbaijan, Georgia established control over region, however, the territory was given to
Azerbaijani SSR after Georgia was annexed by Soviet Union.
After creation of district
Balakan District was created on 8 August 1930. The town of
Balakən was made the administrative centre of the district. It later grew to become a city-type settlement in 1954 and received a status of a city in 1968.
In 1963, the district was incorporated into the
Zagatala District. In 1965, it was again re-established independently.
Among the historical monuments are the
Parigala, dating to 7th–8th centuries in
Qullar village, 17th-century mosque with a 45-meter minaret in
Balakən city, Nokho cave in the Qubek gorge pertaining to the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
, ruins and pilgrimage site from the 5th–8th centuries located 2 km west of
Mahamalar village, 1st–2nd century BC
necropolis 1 km north of the same village, mosque built in 1780 and an underground water storage facilities from the 18th century in Qullar village, a 19th-century fortress and 18th-century mosque in Mahamalar, a 14th-century mosque in
Katex
Katex (; av, Катихъ) is a village at the foot of the Caucasian Mountains and the second most populous municipality in the Balakan District of Azerbaijan. The village (called Katekhi () in Georgian) and its Katekhi Church are mentioned by Ca ...
village, 17th-century four-edged castle and two tombs, a 14th-century mausoleum in
Tülü village, mosque built in 1910 in
İtitala village, 14th-century temple in
Hənifə
Hənifə () is a village and municipality in the Balakan District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 5,571. The municipality consists of the villages of Hənifə, Böyüktala, Məlikzadə, Cincartala, Gülüzənbinə, and Göyəmtala.
Not ...
village, 16th-century mosque in
Xalatala and temples in
Mazımçay, ruins of a settlement from Middle Ages on Maklakan mountain.
During the
Great Patriotic War
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...
, 6,882 residents of Balakan fought
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and 2,315 of them died on the front lines. During the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War, Balakan lost 152 residents who fought in Karabakh.
Geography and economy
![BalakenCentralPark](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/BalakenCentralPark.jpg)
The district is situated at the foothills of
Greater Caucasus
The Greater Caucasus ( az, Böyük Qafqaz, Бөјүк Гафгаз, بيوک قافقاز; ka, დიდი კავკასიონი, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; russian: Большой Кавказ, ''Bolshoy Kavkaz'', sometimes translat ...
and is very rich with flora and fauna. Balakan mountains make up the big part of
Zakatala State Reserve. The
Katex
Katex (; av, Катихъ) is a village at the foot of the Caucasian Mountains and the second most populous municipality in the Balakan District of Azerbaijan. The village (called Katekhi () in Georgian) and its Katekhi Church are mentioned by Ca ...
waterfalls are located in the reserve. Due to the existence of many mountains in the rayon, Balakan is rich with many rivers. The mountainous part of rayon is cold, the temperature in the lower parts is mild. Average annual humidity reaches 41%, average monthly temperature is . The northern part of rayon is enriched with vegetation, among them
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam ...
,
alder
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
,
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
,
chestnut,
walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''.
Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
,
acacia trees, as well as
raspberry,
rose hip
The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollina ...
and
medlar
''Mespilus germanica'', known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. The fruit of this tree, also called medlar, has been cultivated since Roman times, is usually available in winter and ea ...
. There are over 30 plants used for medical treatment purposes.
Balakan District is considered one of the most resourceful regions of Azerbaijan by its economic potential, natural resources and cultural heritage. The economy of rayon is based on
agrarian sector. Main segments of the agriculture are
tobacco growing, horticulture,
sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...
and corn cultivation. Additionally, cattle breeding, wheat growing,
winemaking
Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...
and
fishery are widely practised. There are 123 agricultural farming businesses in Balakan rayon.
Infrastructure
The 1970-1980s saw rapid economic reforms due to the construction of
Baku-Balakan Railway which connected the region with capital
Baku and industrial
Absheron Peninsula
The Absheron Peninsula ( az, Abşeron yarımadası) is a peninsula in Azerbaijan. It is the location of Baku, the biggest and the most populous city of the country, and also the Baku metropolitan area, with its satellite cities Sumqayit and Khyrd ...
.
There are 48 secondary schools with 16,872 (2007 census) students and 1,629 teachers and 24 kindergartens in the region. Additionally, there are 1 stadium, 29 sports facilities and 20 sports complexes. There are 6 hospitals,
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
treatment centre and
family planning centres with 126 doctors and 497 nurses. The capital city has one central library which has 49 branches throughout the rayon. Over 370 students study at 7 musical schools.
Demographics
There is one city of Balakən and 59 villages in the rayon.
According to the 2018 census, Balakan rayon has 97,600 residents, out of which 14,900 (15%) live in urban and 82,700 (85%) live in rural areas. Men make up 49.6%, women – 50.4% of the population. The population density is 95.7 people per 1 km2. In 2010, there were 1,238 newborns and 510 deaths in rayon.
The ethnic composition of the rayon is very rich. Representatives of 27 ethnicities live in Balakan rayon.
The largest group,
Azeris
Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...
make up 88.4% of the population (61,170 people living throughout the region),
Avars – 18,4% (25,370 people living mainly in
Qabaqçöl,
Mahamalar and
Mazımçay villages),
Ingiloys (Muslim
Georgians) – 2.4% (2,145 people living mainly in
İtitala village) and other ethnicities such as
Georgians (23 residents),
Lezgins (223 residents),
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
(138 residents),
Laks (23 residents),
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
(226 residents),
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different (27 residents),
Tsakhurs
The Tsakhur or Caxur ( lez, ЦIахурар, az, Saxurlar, russian: Цахуры) people are a Lezgin sub-ethnic group of northern Azerbaijan and southern Dagestan (Russia). The group numbers around 30,000 people and are called ''yiqy'' (pl. ''yiq ...
(13 residents),
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
(11 residents),
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...
(6 residents),
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...
(3 residents) and
Talysh Talysh may refer to:
*Talysh people
* History of Talysh
*Talysh language
*Talysh Khanate, in existence from 1747 to 1828
*Talysh-Mughan Autonomous Republic, a self-declared autonomy, which existed briefly in the south of Azerbaijan in 1993
*Talysh ...
(1 resident) – 1.49%.
Population
According to the
State Statistics Committee
The State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Statistika Komitəsi) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of collection, processing and disseminating statistical data ...
, as of 2018, the population of city recorded 97,600 persons, which increased by 13,100 persons (about 15.5 percent) from 84,500 persons in 2000.
48,400 of total population are men, 49,200 are women. More than 26 percent of the population (about 25,700 persons) consists of young people and teenagers aged 14–29.
Language
The majority of the population speak the Azerbaijan language with a minority of
Avar and
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
speakers.
Recreation and tourism
Festivals
As the district is contributing mostly to the persimmon production in
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
, Balakan started to host annual Hazelnut Festival since 2017. The festival is organized annually in October–November when the most delicious persimmon grows. In the festival, different varieties of persimmon, culinary products and different compositions made of persimmon are displayed. It also features a field trip to the persimmon garden in the Gerekli village and planting persimmon trees.
References
{{Authority control
Districts of Azerbaijan