Qazax District (; az, Qazax rayonu) 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 ...

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-west of the country and belongs to the

Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region Gazakh-Tovuz Economic Region ( az, Qazax-Tovuz iqtisadi rayonu) is one of the 14 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It borders Georgia to the north and Armenia to the south and west, and Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Regi ...

. The district borders the district of

Aghstafa Agstafa ( az, Ağstafa) is a town, municipality (assigned in 1941) and the capital of the Aghstafa District of Azerbaijan. Agstafa district was established in 1939, abolished in 1959 and merged with Gazakh district, became an independent distric ...

, and the Tavush Province of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

. Its capital and largest city is

Gazakh Qazax (; ) is a city in and the capital of the Gazakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 20,900. Gazakh is a city and administrative district in the west of Azerbaijan, the "western gate" of Azerbaijan. History Early history In ...

. As of 2020, the district had a population of 98,400. It has two

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

s inside

, which include the villages of Yukhari Askipara, Barkhudarly, Sofulu. Both of the exclaves and parts of mainland Qazax District (the villages of Baghanis Ayrum, Ashaghi Eskipara, Gyzylhajily, and Kheyrimli) were captured by Armenian forces during the

First Nagorno-Karabakh war The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

History

The region was conquered by a succession of neighboring powers or invaders, including

Sassanid Persians The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

, the

Seljuq Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

, the

Georgians The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, ...

, the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

, the

Timurids The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani ( Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Turco-Mongol empire ...

, the

Qara Qoyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu ( az, Qaraqoyunlular , fa, قره قویونلو), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, En ...

and

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu ( az, Ağqoyunlular , ) was a culturally Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two tribal confederations: Akkoyunlu (W ...

Turkoman tribes, and finally

Safavid Iran 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 ...

. It was also ruled by

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

between 1578 and 1607 and again 1722 and 1735. By the end of the XV century, the

Kazakh Sultanate Kazakh sultanate or Gazakh sultanate was established at the end of the 15th century. During the Safavid Empire, it was part of the Karabakh principality. In 1605, by the decree of Abbas the Great, Shamsaddin sultan of Kazakh was given the rank ...

was established as a sovereign geopolitical entity in the region. Though it was part of the Karabakh principality during the

Safavid Empire 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 ...

, Sultan Shamsaddin of Gazakh was given the rank of

Khan Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

by the decree of

Abbas the Great Abbas I ( fa, ; 27 January 157119 January 1629), commonly known as Abbas the Great (), was the 5th Safavid Shah (king) of Iran, and is generally considered one of the greatest rulers of Iranian history and the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son ...

in 1605. After the

Russo-Persian War (1804-1813) The Russo-Persian Wars or Russo-Iranian Wars were a series of conflicts between 1651 and 1828, concerning Persia (Iran) and the Russian Empire. Russia and Persia fought these wars over disputed governance of territories and countries in the Cau ...

, 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 ...

gained control of the area by virtue of the

Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (russian: Гюлистанский договор; fa, عهدنامه گلستان) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (now in the Goranboy Distr ...

. Under Russian rule, it was part of Tiflis Governorate before forming the northeastern part of the

Kazakh Uyezd The Kazakh uezd was a county ('' uezd'') of the Elizavetpol Governorate of the Russian Empire and later of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic with its center in Kazakh (present-day Qazax) from 1868 until its formal abolition in 1929 by the Sovie ...

of the

Elisabethpol 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 ...

in 1868. A contemporary military historian noted the following ethnographic detail: "Abbas Mirza's route lay through the country of the great tribe of the Casaks, which is extremely strong and thickly wooded." He further notes that: "These have no connection with 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-ei ...

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. They are descended from men of the Kirgis Casaks, left by

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

. They are frequently called

Karapapakh The Karapapakhs or Tarakama ( az, Qarapapaqlar, Tərəkəmələr; tr, Karapapaklar, Terekemeler) are a Turkic people, who originally spoke the Karapapakh language, a western Oghuz language closely related to Azerbaijani and Turkish. Nowad ...

, from wearing black sheep-skin caps." When the South Caucasus came under British occupation, Sir John Oliver Wardrop, British Chief Commissioner in the South Caucasus, decided that assigning the

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central ...

and the

Kars Oblast The Kars Oblast was a province ('' oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in Turkey. The ''oblast'' bordered the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Batum Obla ...

Democratic Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...

(DRA) and the Elisabethpol and

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Governorates to the

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 A ...

(ADR) would solve the region's outstanding disputes. However, this proposal was rejected by both Armenians (who did not wish to give up their claims to Gazakh, Zangezur (today Syunik), and

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...

) and Azerbaijanis (who did not wish to give up their claims to Nakhchivan). As conflict broke out between the two groups, the British left the region in mid-1919.

Population

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

During the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...

, Armenian troops took control of several villages of the Gazakh District. Several Azerbaijani inhabitants were killed during the war although some of them were able to flee. In July 2020, Gazakh became a site for clashes with Armenia.

List of historic and tourist sites

There are 112 protected monuments in the region of Gazakh, of which 54 are archaeological, 46 are architectural, 7 are historical, and 5 are of artistic significance. Historic and tourist sites in this region include: * ''The House of the Poet

Samad Vurgun Samad Vurgun ( az, Səməd Vurğun ; born Samad Yusif oghlu Vekilov;, . March 21, 1906 – May 27, 1956) was an Azerbaijani and Soviet poet, dramatist, public figure, first People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR (1943), academician of Azerbaijan Nat ...

'' in Yukhari Salahli village, since 1976. * ''The Museum of History and Ethnography'', since 1984. * ''The Gazakh State Picture Gallery'' by the Ministry of Culture of

, since 1986. * ''The Memorial museum of Molla Panah Vagif and

Molla Vali Vidadi Molla Vali Vidadi ( az, Molla Vəli Vidadi) (17 March 1709, Shamkir – 13 May 1809, near Gazakh) was an Azerbaijani poet. Little is known about Vidadi. He spent most of his life in his native town of Shamkir (then called Shamkhor) where he ...

'', since 1970. * ''The House of Teachers Seminary of Gazakh'', built in 1910, functioned between 1918 and 1959. * ''The Bath House of Israfil Agha'', built in the first decade of the 20th century by Israfil Agha Kerbelayev from the village of Kasaman. * ''The Damjili Caves'', in the village of Dash Salahli, south-east of the mount Avey, cover an area of 360 km² and refer to Middle and

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories coin ...

Mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

and

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

eras. * ''Sining Korpu (The Broken Bridge)'' ( az, Sınıq körpü), a 12th-century bridge built over the Ehram (Khram) river in the village Ikinji Shikhli. * ''Didevan Castle'' ( az, Didəvan qalası), a 6th-7th century monument in the village of Khanliglar. * '' Mount Goyazan'' ( az, Göyəzən dağı), a rare archaeological monument in the village of Abbasbeyli, rises 857.9 metres above sea level. * ''The Baba Dervish Habitation'', an archaeological site in the village Demirchiler. * ''The Kazim Bridge'' in the village of Yukhari Askipara, allegedly built during the reign of Shamsi Khan. * ''The Juma Mosque'' of Qazakh, built in 1902 by Akhund Haji Zeynalabdin Mahammadli oghlu from the village of Kasaman. * ''The Aslanbeyli Mosque'' built in 1909 by Hamid Efendi, the native of village Aslanbeyli. * ''Santepe'', an archaeological site dating to the 9th-8th centuries B.C. and the Iron Age. * ''The Gazakhbeyli Hills'', an archaeological site dating from the 8th-6th centuries B.C. near the village of Gazakhbeyli. * ''The Shikhli Human Camp'', an archaeological site near the village of Birinji Shikhli. * ''Shakargala'', in the Gazakh region.

Prominent people from Gazakh

*Sabir Azeri (1938-2010) - Writer, author of best-selling books. *

Aliagha Shikhlinski Ali Agha Ismail Agha oghlu Shikhlinski ( az, Əli Ağa İsmayıl Ağa oğlu Şıxlinski;); – )Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are in the Julian calendar with the start of year adjusted to 1 January. All other dates in this article are in ...

- (1865–1943) general-lieutenant of the artillery, known as "God of Russian artillery". * Farrukh Gayibov - (1889–1916) the first Azerbaijani pilot, was awarded the 4th class order of "Saint Georgi". * Ibrahim agha Vekilov - (1853–1934) general, the first Azerbaijani military topographer. * Javad bey Shikhlinski - (1876–1940) general-mayor, the commander of the division. * Ibrahim bey Usubov - (1872–1920) general-mayor, the commander of the division. *

Mirza Huseyn Afandi Qayibov Mirza Huseyn Afandi Qayibov ( az, Mirzə Hüseyn Əfəndi Qayıbov) - Azerbaijani clergyman, literary critic, publicist, enlightener and Mufti of the Caucasus (1884-1917). He was the author of 4-volume work on Azerbaijani literature. Early li ...

- (1830–1917) the Chair of the Ecclesiastical Department of Transcaucasia. *

- (1707–1809) prominent poet of Azerbaijan. * Molla Panah Vagif - (1717–1797) prominent poet of Azerbaijan and social figure. * Mukhtar Hajiyev - (1876–1938) the first chairman of Azerbaijan Central Executive Committee in 1921 *

- (1906–1956) National Poet of Azerbaijan (the first who deserved this title) * Vidadi Babanli - (1927-)

National Writer of Azerbaijan National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

* Osman Sarivelli - (1905–1990) national poet of Azerbaijan. *

Mehdi Huseyn Mehdi Ali oglu Huseynov – famed under the pseudonym Mehdi Huseyn ( az, Mehdi Hüseyn; 17 April 1909 – 10 March 1965) was an Azerbaijani and Soviet writer and critic, laureate of the State Stalin Prize of the third degree (1950) and member of ...

- (1909–1964)

. Prominent writer-dramatist, critic. *

Mirvarid Dilbazi Mirvarid Dilbazi ( az, Mirvarid Paşa qızı Dilbazi), (19 August 1912, Xanlıqlar, Azerbaijan – 12 July 2001, Baku) was an Azerbaijani poet. Biography She was born in the village of Xanlıqlar located in the Gazakh, Azerbaijan. Both of her ...

- (1912–2001) national poet of Azerbaijan *

Amina Dilbazi Amina Pasha qizi Dilbazi ( az, Əminə Dilbazi; 26 December 1919, Qazakh, Azerbaijan – 30 April 2010, Baku, Azerbaijan) was an Azerbaijani folk dancer. Biography Cousin of poet Mirvarid Dilbazi, Amina Dilbazi was born in a rural community near ...

- (1919–2010) ballet-master. National Artist of Azerbaijan. * Elazan Bayjan (Haji Hasanzadeh) - (1913–1989) poet-doctor. Set up private medical clinics in Freyburg, Germany. * Ismayil Shykhly - (1919–1995)

, scientist- pedagogue, social-political figure. * Elmira Huseynova - (1933–1995) sculptor. * Fatma Vekilova - (1912–1987) professor, doctor of geology-mineralogy sciences. * Sayad Zeynalov - (1886–1942) deserved 4th class "Saint Georgi" order * Teymur Bunyadov - (1928) academician, historian-ethnographer. * Tahir Isayev, a.k.a. Serafino - (1922–2001) * Ali Mustafayev - (1952–1991)

National Hero of Azerbaijan The National Hero of Azerbaijan ( az, Azərbaycan milli qəhrəmanı) is the highest Hero (title), national title in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The title was named on 25 March 1992, and the "Qizil Ulduz" Medal awarded as a sign of receiving this t ...

References

External links

Official website of Gazakh District
{{coord missing, Azerbaijan Qazax District Districts of Azerbaijan