![Samux rayonu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Samux_rayonu.jpg)
Samukh District ( az, Samux 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 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-west of the country and belongs to the
Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region
Ganja-Dashkasan Economic Region ( az, Gəncə-Daşkəsən iqtisadi rayonu) is one of the 14 economic regions of Azerbaijan. It borders Georgia to the north and Armenia to the south, as well as the economic regions of Shaki-Zagatala, Central Aran ...
. The district borders the districts of
Goranboy,
Goygol,
Shamkir,
Tovuz,
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 ...
,
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 St ...
, city of
Ganja
Ganja (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for marijuana. Its usage in English dates to before 1689.
Etymology
''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi/Urdu ( hi, गांजा, links=no, ur, , links=no, IPA: aːɲd ...
and the
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
region 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 ...
. Its capital and largest city is
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 ...
. As of 2020, the district had a population of 58,800.
History
The name "Samukh" comes from a
Caucasian Albanian
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 t ...
word for 'Forest Hunting Place'. A related term, Samonis, is used to mark this area on
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
's 2nd-century BC map of the Caucasus.
There are Bronze Age burial mounds around
Samux Town.
As an administrative unit, an entity known as Samukh Rayon was formed in 1930, centred on Garachayly settlement. However, in 1954, the construction of
Mingechevir Hydro Power Plant rendered the region impractical as an administrative unit and Samukh Rayon was abolished, its territory thereafter falling within an expanded
Safaraliyev Rayon. Safaraliyev Rayon had itself been detached from the
Ganjabasar on January 24, 1940, by Decree No.11 of the
Supreme Soviet
The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...
of the
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 1959, Safaraliyev Rayon was itself abolished. However, after Azerbaijan's independence, the entity was recreated albeit under the name Samukh Rayon according to Decree No.72 of National Soviet of the Supreme Soviet of Azerbaijan on February 18, 1992. Its administrative center, Safaraliyev settlement, was renamed Nəbiağalı on December 31, 1992, then renamed again as Samux during 2008.
Population
By the beginning of 2017, the population of the region was 57.1 thousand, of which 21.4 thousand were urban population and 35.5 thousand were rural population. In 2018, total population increased by 0.6 thousand people and was 57,7. By the beginning of 2018, 28.9 thousand or 49.6% of the total population are men, 28.8 thousand or 50.4% are women.
Also, 1860 refugees are displaced in the region. Census states that 97.88 percent of the population are Azerbaijanis, 0.07-Russians, 0.54-Turkish, 1.40-Kurds and the remaining belong to other ethnic group
Geography
There are such rare trees as Eldar pear and Gum-tree, which grow right on rocks, not saline lands. The tree grows only on an area of 392 hectares in Samukh. The
Eldar pine-tree emits a lot of oxygen, therefore, it is good for those suffering from asthma.
Historical monuments and heritage
Many famous kurgans are found in Samukh. They belong to Bronze/Stone ages. Also, there is a famous natural monuments-old trees the age of which can be more than a millennium (1000 years). One of the trees has been named as Düldül, in honor of Imam Ali's horse. One of the historical sightseeing of the region includes the Imamzadeh Tomb (VIII century), the height of this tower reaches 12m and “Koroglu Tower”.
Other exhibits can be found in the Heydar Aliev Center built in 2007. Center consists of 12 cultural houses, 14 clubs, 34 libraries, and 3 children's music schools.
National reservation
Reservation named “Eldar Shamy” is created to protect the unique and endemic population of rare Eldar Pine trees.
Main sectors of region
Samukh region has a well developed first sector (farming). This region is fertile for grains, livestock, and fruit growing. There are over 200 greenhouses, which cover 61.3 hectares of regions area. Over 5 000 000 kg of fruits and vegetables are cultivated and imported to former soviet union countries (now known as CIS)
Also, factories and agro entities are built in this area. Such as: "AQRO DAIRY" Limited Liability Company, "Boz mountain" livestock complex, "Ulduz 2011" LLC, "Garabagh Region MKT" LLC, "Region Agro" LLC.
References
{{Coord, 40, 49, 57, N, 46, 30, 35, E, region:AZ, display=title
Districts of Azerbaijan