Sharur-Daralayaz Uezd

The Sharur-Daralayaz uezd was a county (''uezd'') of the Erivan Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. It bordered the governorate's Erivan and Nor Bayazet ''uezds'' to the north, the Nakhichevan uezd to the south, the Zangezur and Jevanshir ''uezds'' of the Elizavetpol Governorate to the east, and Persia to the southwest. It included most of the Vayots Dzor Province of present-day Armenia and the Sharur District of the Nakhchivan exclave of present-day Azerbaijan. The administrative center of the ''uezd'' was the town Bashnorashen (present-day Sharur).

Economy

Armenians were mostly concentrated in mountainous Daralayaz, while lowland Sharur was overwhelmingly Tatar. The population in Daralayaz was engaged primarily in cattlebreeding while the residents of Sharur were engaged in agricultural farming and gardening. Manufacturing was not developed in this part of the governorate. Only 47 winemaking enterprises, 299 mills, 89 cotton-cleaning, 4 rice-cleaning factories existed in the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd.

Geography

The geography of the ''uezd'' resembled a crater surrounded from the south, north and east by tall mountain ranges of the Lesser Caucasus. The plain, which made up a small part of the ''uezd'', was close to the Aras River, into which the only river irrigating the plains, the Arpa-chay, discharged. The mountainous part of the territory was called Daralayaz and the lowland part was called Sharur. Daralayaz constituted approximately 70% of the whole ''uezd'' area and Sharur constituted approximately 30%, even though it included about half of the uezd's population. The Arpa-chay started at the southeastern tip of Lake Sevan (Gokcha) and flowed 107 versts before discharging into the Aras. It had many tributaries, the Alagyoz-chay being the longest. Approximately 12,150 desyatins of the mountainous part of ''uezd'' was forested. The temperature in the winter reached -27 °C.

History

The territory of the ''uezd'' was part of Persia's Erivan and Nakhchivan Khanates until 1828, when according to the Treaty of Turkmenchay, they were annexed to the Russian Empire. It was administered as part of the Armenian Oblast from 1828 to 1840. In 1844, the Caucasus Viceroyalty was re-established, in which the territory of the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd formed part of the Tiflis Governorate. In 1849, the Erivan Governorate was established, separate from the Tiflis Governorate. It was made up of the Erivan, Nakhchivan, Alexandropol, Nor Bayazet, and Ordubad uezds. Following administrative reforms, the northern part of the Nakhchivan uezd (Daralayaz) was separated to form part of the new Sharur-Daralayaz uezd in 1870.

Throughout 1918–1920, the ''uezd'' was heavily contested between forces of the First Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.Tsutsiev, pp. 71–76.

After the establishment of Soviet rule in 1920, the territory of the ''uezd'' was divided. Daralayaz (modern-day Vayots Dzor) became part of the Armenian SSR and Sharur became part of the Nakhichevan ASSR of the Azerbaijan SSR in accordance with the treaties of Moscow and Kars.

Administrative divisions

The subcounties ('' uchastoks'') of the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd in 1912 were as follows:

Demographics

Russian Empire census (1897)

According to the Russian Empire census of 1897, the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd had a population of 76,538, including 41,055 men and 35,483 women. The plurality of the population indicated Tatar (later known as Azerbaijani) to be their mother tongue, with significant Armenian and Kurdish speaking minorities.

Caucasian Calendar (1917)

According to the 1917 publication of the ''Caucasian Calendar'', the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd had 90,250 residents in 1916, including 47,399 men and 42,851 women, 88,496 of whom were the permanent population, and 1,754 were temporary residents. The statistics indicated the ''uezd'' to be overwhelmingly Shia Muslim with a significant Armenian minority:

Settlements

According to the 1897 census, there were 58 settlements in the Sharur-Daralayaz uezd with a population over 500 inhabitants. The religious composition of the settlements was as follows:

Notes

References

Bibliography

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Geographic history of Azerbaijan
Vayots Dzor Province
History of Nakhchivan
Uezds of Erivan Governorate