Qakh District ( az, Qax rayonu; ka, კახის რაიონი, K′akhis raioni;
Tsakhur: Къахын район) is one of the 66
districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
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 th ...
. 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 districts of
Zagatala,
Shaki,
Samukh
Samukh ( az, Samux, formerly known as ''Nəbiağalı'' (1992–2008)) (also, Sabarkend, Sabir, Safarabad, Safaraliyeb, and Safaraliyev) is a city and the most populous municipality in, and the administrative center of, the Samukh District of Azerba ...
,
Yevlakh
Yevlakh ( az, Yevlax, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of capital Baku. It is surrounded by, but administratively separate from, the Yevlakh District.
Etymology
The settlement is mentioned by the 13th century Armenian historian Step ...
, and the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n
Republic of Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia sit ...
. Its capital and largest city is
Qakh
Qakh District ( az, Qax rayonu; ka, კახის რაიონი, K′akhis raioni; Tsakhur: Къахын район) is one of the 66 districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north of the country and belongs to the Shaki-Zagatala E ...
. As of 2020, the district had a population of 57,200.
Geography
The region is dominated by hot and subtropical climate. However mountainous areas are rather cold. Annual rain precipitation varies from 300mm (in the south) to 1600mm in mountain areas.
Meadows, water resources, forests, and fertile soils are providing space for agricultural development, especially for walnut, chestnut production.
Heavy rains and snowmelts from mountains often result in a flood.
The region also has one of the biggest Natural Reserves in Azerbaijan named “Ilisu Natural Reserve”. Reserve is located near Aghchay village.
Region borders with Dagestan Republic (Russia) in north east, Zagatala region in the north, Samukh region in the south, Georgia in the west.
Gakh region accounts for 13% of water supplies of Caucasus (3873 cubic kilometers), 100 thousand cub meters of which are extracted for the administrative district, 63 000 of which used for irrigation and only 2 000 cub meters are used for agriculture. Rest is used for domestic consumption and production.
Local economy
The local economy is specialized in crop production and livestock. The most common products produced here are tobacco and grain.
The main enterprises are canned food and vegetables. Other enterprises cover sweets, oil products, and beverages. Enterprises mainly cover domestic demand and ship products to other districts.
The region is also rich with minerals and building raw materials, such as rubble, sand, clay, sulfur, etc.
These materials are widespread in river valleys, especially in the valleys of the Kurmuk River and its branches.
Furthermore, mineral springs are also common in the region. Near Suskand village “Gah” mineral water is produced.
History
The Qakh region of Azerbaijan has a long history dating back to ancient times. Archaeological excavations the area had been populated during
Eneolithic
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star.
Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...
,
Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
and early
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 mostly appl ...
s. What remains of these early inhabitants' activities indicates they engaged largely in sedentary cultivation, animal-breeding and art.
Qax (Kakhi) region was part of Kakheti-Hereti Kingdom and then part of the united Georgian kingdom.
In 1921 Kakhi Region became part of Azerbaijan.
With the spread of Christianity throughout the region during the existence of
Caucasian Albania
Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...
, some Churches were built in the Qakh district. In the 8th century A.D., Qakh fell under Arab occupation. Starting from the 11th century first
Oghuz Turks
The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...
and later
Qipchaq Turks inhabited the area, the region was incorporated into the
Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuk Empire, or the Seljuk Empire was a high medieval, culturally Turko-Persian, Sunni Muslim empire, founded and ruled by the Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. It spanned a total area of from Anatolia and the Levant in the west to th ...
. Qakh was later a part of
Atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...
and
Shirvanshah
''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, a ...
states. With the invasion of
Hulaguids
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
in Azerbaijan in the 13th century, Mongolian nomadic tribes populated the region. In 1562, by the order of the
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 ...
Shah
Tahmasp I
Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after t ...
,
Ilisu Sultanate was established in Qakh. In the 18th century, Ilisu Sultanate became so powerful that, the
Ottoman Emperor
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı padişahları), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to its dissolution in 1922. At its he ...
conferred its ruler Ali Sultan Bey the highest title of
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...
recognizing him as the
Beylerbey
''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...
of
Shaki.
In 1803 the sultanate of Ilisu was annexed to the Russian empire. The ruler of the sultanate,
Daniyal
Daniyal ( ar, دانيال) was a Palestinian village in the Ramle Subdistrict. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on July 10, 1948, by the Yiftach Brigade under the first phase of Operation Dani. It was located 5 km eas ...
, inspired the people to rise against Russian rule in 1844, due to a disagreement between him and the government of Russia. Sultan Daniyel was defeated near the village of
İlisu
İlisu is a village and municipality in the Qakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,370. It was the capital of the Elisu Sultanate
The Sultanate of Elisu, also known as Elisou or Ilisu, was a sultanate in the 18th and 19th centuri ...
and continued his struggle against Russian along with the leader of the national freedom movement,
Sheykh Shamil. Russians burnt Ilisu and divided the territory of the sultanate into mahals (territorial units) and annexed them to the ''Jar-Balaken'' daire (a territorial unit) converting it into a colony of tsarist Russia. With proclamation of independence of
Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic), or simply as Azerbaijan in Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920,''Bulletin d'Information de l'Azerbaidjan'', No. I, September 1, 1919, pp. 6–7''125 H.C.Debs.'', 58., February 24, 1920, p. 1467. Caucasian Az ...
in May 1918, Qakh became disputed between ADR and DRG. During the Soviet rule, Qakh was established as raion of
Azerbaijan SSR
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
in 1930.
Demographics
The overall statistics indicate the population growth fluctuates. For instance, In 2000 there were 832 newly born, in 2006 - 816, down to 753 in 2009.
The Qakh District is also a centre of the Georgian minority in Azerbaijan, with most of the ones in this district being of Christian origin.
Villages
There are 59 villages in the district:
*
Ağçay
*
Ağyazı
*
Almalı
*
Amanlı
*
Armudlu
*
Bağtala
*
Baydarlı
*
Böyük Alatəmir
*
Cəlayer
*
Çinarlı
*
Çüdüllü
*
Dəymədağlı
*
Əlibəyli
*
Əmbərçay
*
Əmircan
*
Fıstıqlı
*
Güllük
Güllük is a small harbor quarter within the district of Milas, situated north of Bodrum in the Muğla Province of Turkey. It is a small Turkish town and a growing holiday destination.
Transport
Güllük is only 9 km. away from Milas-Bodru ...
*
İbaxlı
*
İlisu
İlisu is a village and municipality in the Qakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,370. It was the capital of the Elisu Sultanate
The Sultanate of Elisu, also known as Elisou or Ilisu, was a sultanate in the 18th and 19th centuri ...
*
Keşqutan
*
Kiçik Alatəmir
*
Kötüklü
*
Ləkit
*
Ləkit Kötüklü
*
Ləkit Malax
*
Lələli
*
Lələpaşa
*
Malax
Malax (; fi, Maalahti) is a municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population dens ...
*
Marsan
Marsan (; oc, Marçan, link=no, ) is a commune in the Gers department, southwestern France.
Geography
Population
There exists a Swedish vanilla sauce product called , the name inspired by a visit by the owner to Marsan, Gers in the 1920s. ...
*
Meşəbaş
Meşəbaş (also, Meshabash) is a village and municipality in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 382. It was historically the Georgian village Tkistavi. The great majority of the population are ethnic Georgians
The Georgian ...
*
Oncallı
*
Qapıçay
*
Qarabaldır
*
Qarameşə
*
Qaratala
Qaratala is a village and municipality in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country locate ...
*
Qaşqaçay
*
Qaxbaş
*
Qaxingiloy
*
Qaxmuğal
*
Qaysarlı
*
Qazmalar
*
Qımır
*
Qındırğa
*
Qıpçaq
Qıpçaq (Гыпчаг and قيپچاق; also, Kypchag, Kypchak, and Kypchakh) is a village and municipality in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 616.
References
*
See also
* Gypjak
* Kipchak people
The Kipchaks or ...
*
Qorağan
*
Qum
Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...
*
Sarıbaş
*
Şıxlar
*
Şotavar
*
Süskən
*
Tanqıt
Tanqıt (also, Tangıt and Tangyt) is a village and municipality in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a tran ...
*
Tasmalı
*
Turaclı
*
Üzümlü
Üzümlü ( ku, Cîmîn/Cimnî) is a town and district of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinent ...
*
Uzuntala
*
Xələftala
*
Yeni İlisu
*
Zərnə
Zərnə is a village and municipality in the Qakh Rayon of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country locate ...
*
Zəyəm
Gallery
Image: Qalacha.jpg
Image: Qalaça.jpg
Image: Sumuqala1.jpg
Image: İçəri bazar8.jpg
Image: Ala qapı.jpg
Image: Burc.jpg
Image: Frescos in St. Georges church in Qax, Azerbaijan 3.jpg, Fresco in St. George's Church
Image: Cinli qala10.JPG
Image: Cinli qala4.JPG
Image: Cinli qala9.JPG
Image: Qala kompleksi.jpg
Image: St. Georges church in Qax, Saingilo 005.jpg, St.George's Church
Image: İçəri bazar4.jpg
Image:İçəri bazar2.jpg
References
{{Coord, 41.4167, N, 46.9167, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:AZ, display=title
Districts of Azerbaijan